Is San Francisco — like shell art — over?
If you read between the lines of Jack Dorsey’s comments last week on an earnings call, it might seem like the Twitter CEO thinks so. While revealing that the company plans to make 1,000 new hires, Dorsey reportedly noted that “our concentration in San Francisco is not serving us any longer” and suggested that the company will be looking elsewhere for future hires.
A company spokesperson told BuzzFeed that the bulk of Twitter’s workforce will be based in SF “for the foreseeable future” so it’s hard to say whether Dorsey will make good on his thinly veiled threat.
Pod save the housing crisis: One of the factors that might be pushing Twitter to reduce its Bay Area workforce is the city’s high cost of real estate, which also means a high cost of living and affordable housing shortages for those who work there. It’s why some workers have moved as far away as the Central Valley. Business Insider is reporting that one developer’s solution for the problem is a project consisting of two underground apartment buildings in the Mission District.
The buildings will include 88 55-square-foot underground “sleeping pods” priced at between $1,000 and $1,375 a month. Above ground, 161 studios will cost up to $2,375 a month to rent. The average rental price for a one-bedroom in SF, as of last fall, was $3,550 a month.
Giving back, one expense report at a time: What if using your corporate card could come with a contribution to social causes you care about? Expensify’s newest product does exactly that. According to CEO David Barrett, it’s part of the company’s effort to engage more with the surrounding community in San Francisco. [Built In]
Hit the road, Uber: Uber just got approval from the California Department of Motor Vehicles to begin testing self-driving cars on the road. The company has said it has no immediate plans to do so, but it is reportedly eyeing SF as a potential testing site in the future. Meanwhile, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi just said the company will finally be profitable by the end of 2020.
Zillow’s got curb appeal: We recently got a look inside Zillow’s dog-friendly San Francisco office, which features a truly impressive retro game room, lots of free candy and a homey feel. [Built In]
That’s a lot of zeroes: The past week was another big one for venture capital in SF, including Andreessen Horowitz’s unveiling of Bio Fund III, a $750 million fund focused on biotech and health care startups. The previous two funds totaled $650 million together. [FierceBiotech]
It’s a vibe: Turo just raised another $30 million in an ongoing Series E funding round to expand its P2P car-sharing services. The company is also bringing on celebrity shareholders including 2 Chainz with the new funding. [PitchBook]
Fast as lightning: Lightning Labs, a startup aiming to make Bitcoin transactions run more quickly, just raised a Series A funding round. The company boasts backing from Dorsey at Twitter and its CEO Elizabeth Stark says the funding will help the company grow past its current crew of 16 employees. [Fortune]
VC funding lightning round: Digital pharmacy Alto Pharmacy just announced it has raised $250 million in Series D funding to accelerate its global expansion. [FinSMEs]
Deliverr has pulled in $40 million in Series C funding to continue to grow its e-commerce order fulfillment business across the U.S. The company has offices in SF, Chicago and Toronto. [VentureBeat]
Sendoso is coming off a big 2019 — with 330 percent total revenue growth — and the online-to-offline platform just raised a $40 million in Series C funding to continue its growth. [TechCrunch]
Flexible leasing startup Landing has raised $20 million in Series A funding led by Greycroft. Former Shipt CEO Bill Smith helped the company get off the ground last year with $15 million of his own money. [Crunchbase]
Logistics startup ClearMetal just raised $15 million in its efforts to help companies compete with Amazon. [Wall Street Journal]
