Top tech startup news for today, Friday, August 9, 2019

Good morning! Below are some of the top tech startup news for today, Thursday, August 8, 2019.

Top Apple Health researcher joins Gates Foundation to run a new digital health group. Dr. Andrew Trister, top Apple Health researcher is leaving the company to join the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for a new role focusing in taking digital health companies global.
He joins from Apple, where he worked in the health group on medical research initiatives. In his new role as a deputy director of digital health innovation at the Gates Foundation, Trister said he’s looking to work with entrepreneurs in the digital health world that are thinking of taking their technologies from the U.S. to the developing world, where studies are increasingly finding that people have access to smartphones, according to a report from CNBC citing a phone interview with Trister.

Torii secures $1.4 million in Seed Funding to expand its team. Torii, a Boston, MA-based real estate technology company and licensed real estate brokerage, raised $1.4m in seed funding to expand its team, including a client-focused experience manager, as well as expanding its technology headcount. The backers were not disclosed. Founded in 2017 by James Rogers and Zach Gorman, Torii uses data-backed tools and machine learning to increase brokerage efficiency and provide a superior experience to its clients. Buyers are matched with a licensed real estate agent or broker from Torii. It pays for its buyers’ closing costs, an average of $6,132 per purchase in 2019. The company also gives home buyers visibility into the home purchase process.

On-demand manufacturing marketplace startup Xometry announces the availability of Carbon DLS technology as a 3D printing process option. Xometry announced yesterday it will now offer Carbon DLS™ technology as a 3D printing process option. Customers can now get an instant quote, design feedback, and lead times for parts produced with Carbon DLS™ technology through the Xometry Instant Quoting Engine℠. Carbon DLS™ uses digital light projection, oxygen permeable optics, and programmable liquid resins to produce products with end-use durability, resolution and surface finish. This technology, along with Carbon’s custom liquid resins, unlocks new business opportunities and product designs previously impossible, including mass customization and on-demand inventory. The Carbon Platform enables companies to make the unmakeable and bring products to market that were never thought possible.

Clearbanc raises $300 million in funding to accelerate growth and scale its team. Clearbanc, a Toronto, Canada-based fintech startup that provides finance for businesses, has raised $300M in equity financing to accelerate sales and engineering team expansion and scale the growth capital available to portfolio companies.  The round was led by Highland Capital and existing investors Inovia and Emergence Capital, and the financing facility was led by Arcadia Funds and Upper90. Founded in 2015 by Michele Romanow, Andrew D’Souza, Ivan Gritsiniak, Charlie Feng, and Tanay Delima, Clearbanc leverages data-driven algorithm to provide growth capital to online brands. It can invest from $10k to $10m in less than a day using its data-driven, machine learning funding model. The company has already invested in 1,000+ companies across 43 states so far in 2019 and these brands are expected to generate $1.5+ billion in revenue this year.

Private aviation startup Wheels Up raises $128 million funding at $1.1 billion. Wheels Up, a membership-based private aviation startup that significantly reduces the upfront cost to fly privately, has raised $128 million round of funding for acquisitions, investments in sales and marketing and building the company’s technology platform. The latest round now values the company $1.1 billion. Wheels Up is backed by sport stars Tom Brady and Serena Williams. Its Class D equity capital raise included Franklin Templeton, which co-led the round with funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price and Fidelity Management & Research, along with other investors.