All Stories
Octaura Nabs $46.5M To Give Traders A Way To Trade Loans ‘More Easily’
Octaura, which has developed a syndicated loan platform, has raised $46.5 million in a funding round which included participation from a group of banking heavyweights. Founding investors Bank of America, Citi, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and Moody’s all participated in the New York-based company’s latest financing. New backers include Barclays, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, Apollo and Motive Partners, MassMutual Ventures, and Omers Ventures 1. Octaura was founded in April 2022 by a consortium of banks, including Bank of America and Citi, as an independent company. Their goal was to create the first open market electronic trading platform for syndicated loans and CLOs, or collateralized loan obligations. The company’s digital platform launched in 2023, allowing traders to buy and sell loans and CLOs “more easily,” something that hadn’t been available to the market before, according to Brian Bejile, CEO of Octaura. “As a result, participants have better accessibility, less errors and a more streamlined trading process,” he told Crunchbase News. “In addition, Octaura was created to improve the availability and use of data and analytics solutions for the loan and structured credit markets.” While the company declined to reveal hard revenue figures, Octaura noted that between April 2023 and April 2025, the New York-based company grew its dealer network from three to 25 and expanded its buy-side participation from 34 to 146 firms. Its share of secondary loan trading volume is also up. In the first quarter of 2024, Octaura reached 1% of secondary loan trading volume, compared to one year later when the trading activity on its platform totaled 4.6% of total market volume. Octaura’s loan and CLO trading platform operates with a transaction-based fee model. Its data and analytics product offerings are subscription-based. Presently, the company has 60 employees. Octaura currently operates in the U.S. with a view toward expansion into the U.K. and Europe “when appropriate,” Bejile said. Investor interest It is not clear how much Octaura has raised in total funding. It received an unknown amount of capital at the time of its founding in 2022. Omers Ventures partner Laura Lenz told Crunchbase News that her firm has been looking at the alternative asset class space for “a long time.” “Unlike incumbents or point solutions that digitize narrow parts of the workflow, Octaura is vertically integrated: combining trade execution, analytics and data in a single platform,” she said. “Its ability to deliver end-to-end trading and post-trade capabilities is what sets it apart.” Also, Lenz argues that Octaura is “not just a tech provider.” Rather, she describes it as a consortium-backed exchange. “The buy-in from major market participants gives it a structural advantage in adoption and network effects,” she added. Related Crunchbase query: Related reading: Illustration: Dom Guzman
Most-Active US Investors: Khosla, Accel Top May Ranking
This is a monthly feature that runs down some of the most-active investors in U.S.-based companies, looks at some of their most interesting investments, and includes some odds and ends of who spent what. See April’s most-active startup investors here Venture dealmakers kept busy in May, with a handful of especially active U.S. investors leading the way. It was also a standout period for large rounds, with at least five deals at or surpassing $500 million. All told, there were more than two-dozen valued at $100 million or more. Khosla Ventures and Accel were the most-active investors for the month, each backing a dozen venture funding rounds, per Crunchbase data. Accel Accel participated in a bevy of big rounds last month. The largest were a $900 million Series C for AI coding startup Anysphere, a $600 million financing for food delivery unicorn Wonder, and a $500 million investment for generative AI platform Perplexity. Overall, the Silicon Valley-headquartered firm invested in a dozen reported venture financings in sectors including AI, healthcare and financial services. That was double its pace in April. Khosla Ventures Khosla Ventures also backed 12 rounds in May. Of those, the largest was a $350 million Series C for ClickHouse, an analytics and data warehousing provider. The firm also participated in a $130 million Series B for NewLimit, a longevity-focused biotech, and an $85 million Series A for Stylus Medicine, a developer of genetic medicines. For Silicon Valley-based Khosla, this is the second month in a row it’s been in one of the top two most active slots. In April, the firm participated in 10 deals, second only to Andreessen Horowitz. Spendiest lead investors As for highest-spending lead venture investors, the top slots for May go to General Catalyst and Thrive Capital. For General Catalyst, that’s mostly due to a single deal — a $1 billion financing for AI writing and productivity assistant Grammarly in which the firm was the sole backer. General Catalyst won’t get an equity stake in the company with this financing, but rather a cut of its revenue until a certain cap is met. Thrive, meanwhile, led Anysphere’s $900 million round, with Andreessen and Accel participating. New York-based Thrive also took part in Neuralink’s $650 million financing, although the firm is not listed as a lead investor. Also notable: Related reading: Methodology This is a list of investors which took part in the most rounds involving U.S.-based startups. It does not include incubators or accelerators due to the fluctuations their investment numbers can have. Illustration: Dom Guzman
Cast your vote: Help shape the TechCrunch All Stage agenda
TechCrunch All Stageis just around the corner — and you get to help shape the agenda. From a competitive pool of applicants, two of the six visionary finalists are one step away from leading a roundtable session on July 15 at SoWa Power Station in Boston. Your vote determines who makes it. Audience Choice voting closes May 2 at 11:59 p.m. PT.Choose wisely — you only get one shot. While you’re at it,grab your ticket now to save up to $210and lock in your spot for the winning sessions — some of the most tactical, founder-focused conversations of the day. Don’t miss your chance to connect, learn, and scale smarter. Finalist sessions Building team intelligence: How product-led innovation transforms collaborative problem-solvingJeff Chow, Chief Product and Technology Officer, Miro AI can automate, but it can’t replace the magic of a well-connected team.Jeff Chow, Miro’s CPTO, shares how to design products that don’t just streamline tasks but also supercharge collaboration. From boardroom strategies to product blueprints, he’ll show how inclusive, human-first design turns communication chaos into high-performance teamwork. What venture investors are looking for in AI investment targets in enterprise startups in 2025Darrell Etherington, Head of Network and Sourcing, OMERS Ventures AI hype is everywhere — but enterprise buyers want more than just buzzwords.Darrell Etheringtonof OMERS Ventures offers a rare insider’s take on what actually gets enterprise-focused AI startups funded in 2025. Discover what today’s investors demand, and how your pitch can rise above the noise. How I created a $40 million business from my kitchenMike Kurtz, Founder, Mike’s Hot Honey From pizza slice to pantry staple,Mike Kurtztook a homemade recipe and turned it into a $40 million cult brand. In this spicy session, he’ll break down how he sparked a movement with zero marketing budget, proving that great taste and word-of-mouth hustle can go a long way. From fundraising to IPO: How to build a PR & marketing engine that drives growthNikki Parker, EVP, Marketing and Communications, Insight Partners Great products don’t sell themselves — especially when you’re chasing growth and an IPO.Nikki Parkerfrom Insight Partners reveals how to architect a high-impact PR and marketing machine that commands attention, earns trust, and drives exponential value. If you’re ready to scale, this session is your playbook. Thriving with anxiety: How startup founders can turn fear, pressure, and self-doubt into their greatest advantageDr. David H. Rosmarin, Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School Startups are pressure cookers — and anxiety comes with the territory. But what if it could be your edge?Dr. David Rosmarin, a leading Harvard psychiatrist, shares how founders can reframe fear and stress into clarity, confidence, and decisive action. Come for the science, stay for the mindset shift. Mistakes startups make and hacks when raising money from VCsHyuk-Jeen Suh, General Partner, SkyRiver Ventures Pitching VCs? There’s a fine line between a compelling story and a costly misstep.Hyuk-Jeen Suhof SkyRiver Ventures pulls back the curtain on the mistakes that stall fundraising — and the smart, scrappy hacks that actually work. If you want to land your next round, don’t miss this one.
Troubled startup CaaStle is now facing two new lawsuits and more allegations
CaaStle, the embattled fashion startup whose board of directors accused its founder, Christine Hunsicker, of financial misconduct, is starting to face lawsuits from a partner and a supplier over missed payments and more allegations of fraud. Asfirst reported by Axiosand by suits seen by TechCrunch, CaaStle is being sued by P180, a vehicle it launched to invest in companies that used CaaStle technology, and by EXP Topco, an apparel company that says CaaStle never paid it after reaching a settlement for copyright infringement. A representative for CaaStle did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment. TheP180 suitalleges, “Nothing about CaaStle was true.” The lawsuit claims that CaaStle tried to hide details of its income and financial stability from P180. “It then fraudulently induced P180, among other things, to raise capital and take out multiple loans in the expectation that P180 would acquire viable assets, which P180 ultimately did,” the suit alleges, adding that CaaStle also tried to force the two to merge. The suit goes on to say that because P180 believed it was misled, its “investors took full control of the board,” the suit continues. “P180 has been harmed in excess of $58 million and seeks recovery of those proceeds, rescission of contract, and unwinding of corporate ties between itself and CaaStle.” Meanwhile, EXP Topco is also suing. Italleges that CaaStle breacheda settlement agreement by not paying fines after reaching the settlement over alleged copyright infringement. And Axios is alsoreporting on rumors of a possible class-action lawsuitagainst an investment firm that brought CaaStle retail investors, although it didn’t report the name of the investor. Axios first reported the news of CaaStle’s financial troubles a month ago. Hunsicker, the company’s founder, resigned from the board and stepped down from her role as CEO when the company said it was investigating allegations of financial misconduct. The company is exploring bankruptcy and secured $2.7 million in financing to help that process, Axios further reported. CaaStle raised over $530 million total, with its last round raised in 2019 at $43 million, PitchBook estimates. In April, the board confirmed to TechCrunch that its financial circumstances were so dire at that time that it had to furlough employees. Should that whole $530 million be gone, this would be one of the largest startup fraud cases in recent history. In comparison, Frank, the student loan application startup, was purchased by JPMorgan for $175 million. Frank’s founder, Charlie Javice,was found guilty of fraud last month. TechCrunch spoke to two former employees who said they were not surprised to hear that the company had financial troubles, though they didn’t witness any of the alleged fraud. One former employee, who asked to remain anonymous, doesn’t recall the company holding updates about its financial health or how well it was doing. “I think everyone laughed it off and was like, ‘Oh, we probably don’t make any money,” the employee told TechCrunch. When asked for a reaction to the fraud allegations, this person said, “I don’t think anyone expected it.”
Deel officially agrees to be served legal papers in Rippling’s lawsuit
HR tech giant Deel says it has formally accepted to be served legal documents in its ongoing court battle with rival Rippling in Ireland. This ends weeks of suspense afterRippling’s bailiffs couldn’t find Deel’s execsto serve them — only for Deel’s CEO and top lawyerto turn up in Dubai. Deel CEO Alex Bouaziz, along with Deel lawyers Asif Malik and Andrea David Mieli, all agreed to accept service through Deel’s Irish law firm today, Deel confirmed to TechCrunch. Deel Inc., which is Deel’s U.S. entity, was already served on April 16, an affidavit filed by Rippling this morning in Irish court shows. “Today in court in Dublin Hayes Solicitors agreed to accept service on behalf of all four parties,” a Deel spokesperson told TechCrunch. In the affidavit filed this morning, Rippling repeated that it hadn’t been able to serve Bouaziz, Malik, and Mieli, detailing its efforts to do so in France and Italy. For example, Rippling hired French bailiffs to serve Bouaziz at a listed address in Paris on April 10, but only stumbled upon a relative who told them Bouaziz was in Dubai. On April 15, TechCrunch reported Bouaziz was in Dubai, with Deel not responding to requests for comment at the time. However, 10 days later,Deel told TechCrunchthat Bouaziz “lives in Israel” and was only in Dubai for a few days to celebrate Passover. TechCrunch asked Deel if it can clarify where Bouaziz is currently located, but Deel declined, citing privacy reasons. Deel slammed the idea that its executives have been avoiding getting served, despite Rippling’s failed attempts to do so through various process servers. “It’s a misrepresentation that anyone was avoiding service and that narrative was clearly being used as a public smear tactic,” Deel’s spokesperson said. Deel told TechCrunch that Malik’s move to Dubai had been planned for over a year, well before Rippling’s lawsuit. Regarding Andrea David Mieli, whom Rippling said in their affidavit they had been unable to serve in Italy, Deel said he lives and works from home in Italy and was available. The lawsuit centers on Rippling’s claims that Deel bribed one of its employees in Ireland, Keith O’Brien, to spy on its internal affairs on behalf of Deel. And O’Brien himself testified that he had been spyingin a lengthy affidavit. After weeks of silence, Deel is very publicly fighting back, filing a countersuit in the U.S. last week, making various accusations against Rippling, including that it cultivated its own insider inside Deel. In response, Rippling CEO Parker Conradtook to Xto post, “Nowhere does Deel dispute our central allegation — that@Bouazizalexpersonally recruited a spy to steal rippling’s trade secrets, and personally directed the theft.” Rippling did not respond to a request for comment.
Vote for the session you want to see at TechCrunch All Stage on July 15
We’ve been blown away by the overwhelming response to speak atTechCrunch All Stageon July 15 at SoWa Power Station in Boston. After thorough consideration, we’ve selected six standout finalists. The power to choose who will take the stage and share their startup scaling expertise is now in your hands! This Audience Choice voting will be open until May 2 at 11:59 p.m. PT. You get one vote, one speaker — make it count! Meet the finalists Get to know the six exceptional Audience Choice finalists and their proposed sessions, and vote for the speaker you think should take the lead in their own roundtable session. Building team intelligence: How product-led innovation transforms collaborative problem-solvingJeff Chow, Chief Product and Technology Officer, MiroWhat venture investors are looking for in AI investment targets in enterprise startups in 2025Darrell Etherington, Head of Network and Sourcing, OMERS VenturesHow I created a $40 million business from my kitchenMike Kurtz, Founder, Mike’s Hot HoneyFrom fundraising to IPO: How to build a PR & marketing engine that drives growthNikki Parker, EVP, Marketing and Communications, Insight PartnersThriving with anxiety: How startup founders can turn fear, pressure, and self-doubt into their greatest advantageDr. David H. Rosmarin, Associate Professor, Harvard Medical SchoolMistakes startups make and hacks when raising money from VCsHyuk-Jeen Suh, General Partner, SkyRiver Ventures Building team intelligence: How product-led innovation transforms collaborative problem-solvingJeff Chow, Chief Product and Technology Officer, Miro What venture investors are looking for in AI investment targets in enterprise startups in 2025Darrell Etherington, Head of Network and Sourcing, OMERS Ventures How I created a $40 million business from my kitchenMike Kurtz, Founder, Mike’s Hot Honey From fundraising to IPO: How to build a PR & marketing engine that drives growthNikki Parker, EVP, Marketing and Communications, Insight Partners Thriving with anxiety: How startup founders can turn fear, pressure, and self-doubt into their greatest advantageDr. David H. Rosmarin, Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School Mistakes startups make and hacks when raising money from VCsHyuk-Jeen Suh, General Partner, SkyRiver Ventures
StrictlyVC heads to London and Athens this May: Featuring prime minister of Greece and Europe’s leading tech and VC voices
It’s been a busy year for TechCrunch events — and it’s about to get even bigger. StrictlyVC, our boutique, highly exclusive event series for VCs and startups, is crossing the Atlantic this May with stops inLondonandAthens! We’re bringing StrictlyVC’s insider conversations to Europe. On May 8, we’ll dive into Athens’ booming tech momentum with a special appearance by the prime minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Then, on May 13, we’ll head to London to explore the investment and financial strategies shaping Europe’s tech ecosystem. If you’re thinking about expanding globally — or wondering how to start — these StrictlyVC events in Europe are ones you won’t want to miss. StrictlyVC Athens on May 8 Venue:Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center We’re thrilled to welcome theprime minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, to the stageas he shares how Greece is positioning itself as a rising hub for innovation and investment. From policy reforms to global partnerships, hear firsthand what’s fueling Greece’s tech momentum — and what’s ahead for startups scaling within and beyond its borders. We’ll also sit down with other leading voices across the tech and startup ecosystem to dive deeper into Europe’s evolving innovation landscape. Get all the details and reserve your spot —visit the StrictlyVC Greece event page. Myrto PapathanouPartner, Metavallon VC Apostolos ApostolakisFounding Partner, Venture Friends Panos PapadopoulosPartner, Marathon Venture Capital Dimitrios KottasCo-founder and CEO, Delian Alliance Industries Konstantina PsomaFounder and CEO, Kaedim Haris PylarinosCo-founder and CEO, Hack the Box Simon SchaeferFounder / Co-initiator, Factory / EU Inc. petition Coen JonkerCo-founder of Tyme John TsiorisFounder and CEO, Revotech StrictlyVC London on May 13 Venue:MidCity Place From cybersecurity and AI to global banking innovation, hear how top leaders are scaling companies that define their categories.Nazo Moosaof Paladin Capital Group shares how she’s investing in a resilient digital future;Sonali De Ryckerof Accel reveals how to spot tomorrow’s global winners; andTS Anilof Monzo dives into how bold strategy fueled one of fintech’s biggest success stories. Lean in for a dynamic evening on VC’s and Europe’s startup scene —find out more about these sessions and save your spot on the StrictlyVC London event page. Nazo Moosa, Managing Director, Paladin Capital Group Sonali De Rycker, Partner, Accel TS Anil, Global CEO, Monzo Join us before seats run out Join us in Europe! It’s a once-in-a-blue-moon chance to access exclusive VC and startup conversations with some of Europe’s top tech and VC voices. Dive into Athens’ tech boom at StrictlyVC— May 8 Explore Europe’s investment future at StrictlyVC London— May 13
Amazon-backed Glacier gets $16M to expand its robot recycling fleet
The world has a trash problem. The amount of stuff we throw away is expected to nearly double, to3.8 billion metric tons, by 2050. Reducing what we use would go a long way to addressing the issue, but let’s face it, we’re not very good at buying less either. That leaves recycling, which has its own problems. People routinely try to recycle dirty yogurt cups or toss plastic in the aluminum bin. It all makes recycling more expensive because, ultimately, someone has to manually pick out the unwanted stuff. In response, several companies have been building automated systems to sort recyclables, includingGlacier, a 6-year-old company that has developedinexpensive robotic armscontrolled by computer vision to identify over 30 different types of materials. The startup has deployed its robots in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Phoenix, and now Seattle. As Glacier looks to expand its robot fleet to more municipalities, it recently raised a $16 million Series A, the company exclusively told TechCrunch. The round was led by Ecosystem Integrity Fund with participation from AlleyCorp, Alumni Ventures, Amazon Climate Pledge Fund, Cox Exponential, Elysium, New Enterprise Associates, One Small Planet, Overlap Holdings, Overture, VSC Ventures, and Working Capital Fund. Materials recovery facilities — or MRFs, as sorting facilities are called — are getting squeezed on both ends, Rebecca Hu-Thrams, Glacier’s co-founder and CEO, told TechCrunch. Governments want more waste to be recycled, but MRFs are having a hard time finding enough people to staff the sorting line. Industry-wide, turnover is extremely high. A typical MRF will have to hire five times per year for a single sorting position. The job is so undesirable that one MRF operator told Hu-Thrams that, even though his wages were higher, he was concerned about losing workers to a new warehouse set to open nearby. “Would you rather stand at a conveyor belt and sort through people’s trash, or would you rather be lifting boxes in an air-conditioned warehouse?” Hu-Thrams said. “That kind of underscores the dilemma that a lot of our customers are facing.” Glacier offers its robots to customers as outright purchases or on a lease-to-own model. It encourages MRFs to make repairs they feel comfortable with, supplying them with training and spare parts. For those that would rather not, the startup offers maintenance packages. Glacier is also offering a data product, in which MRFs and other stakeholders like consumer products companies and government agencies can pay for access to insights about the waste stream. For an MRF, that might mean identifying where on a line it’s losing valuable aluminum cans to the landfill. For a company or regulator, it might mean auditing the waste stream to determine whether packaging that’s designed to be recycled is actually getting recycled. With enough robots, recycling rates should improve, if only because robots are faster and better at distinguishing between recyclables and trash. “Every time we send people to audit our AI systems, the people just do so much worse,” said Areeb Malik, Glacier’s CTO and second co-founder. “AI is getting really powerful, being able to distinguish beyond what people can even notice.”