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On a bumpy road to IPO, Airbnb doubles down on corporate governance

By
Polina Marinova
Polina Marinova
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Polina Marinova
Polina Marinova
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 17, 2020, 9:38 AM ET

This article originally ran in Term Sheet, Fortune’s newsletter about deals and dealmakers. Sign up here.

This morning, Airbnb announced that it will serve “all stakeholders,” not just investors. Calling it “the right thing to do for society,” the home-sharing giant wrote in a statement that its stakeholder base will include guests, hosts, communities, shareholders, and employees.

In other words, Airbnb is sending the message that companies should no longer advance only the interests of shareholders.

“These principles inspire behaviors that lead to thinking not just about near-term actions but longer-term horizons,” Airbnb’s statement reads. “They encourage us to think about all our stakeholders and instill accountability. And they summon our creativity.”

Airbnb is a rare type of unicorn: The company has been generally well-liked by the public, run by a CEO who’s done things differently than the uber-aggressive founder types who started companies around the same time. 

But its road to an initial public offering has also been full of hurdles. A company whose business is built on mutual trust between hosts and guests, Airbnb is now facing a trustworthiness crisis. My colleague Aric Jenkins recently reported on the challenges within the company as it tries to implement safety changes and stake its claim as the ultimate one-stop shop travel company.

With Airbnb under even more scrutiny in the public markets following the meltdown of WeWork and the underwhelming performances of Uber, Lyft, and Slack, it’s making changes. Today, it also announced changes to its compensation program by considering factors such as progress on guest safety when calculating employee bonuses.

After the outrage sparked by WeWork’s governance practices, it’s only natural that fellow startups on the road to IPO will place a bigger focus on corporate governance, employee rights, and inclusive cultures. I wouldn’t be surprised if Airbnb’s actions become the new norm.

HOUSEKEEPING: As a reminder, Term Sheet won’t be in your inbox this Monday for the MLK holiday. I’ll still be around, so feel free to tweet at me here. Have a great weekend, and see you next week!

Polina Marinova
Twitter: @polina_marinova
Email: polina.marinova@fortune.com

VENTURE DEALS

- Funnel, a Sweden-based developer of a platform that helps marketers automate their data collection, raised $47 million in Series B funding. Eight Roads Ventures and F-Prime Capital co-led the round, and was joined by investors including Balderton Capital, Oxx, Zobito, Industrifonden, and Kreos Capital.

- Homebound, a Santa Rosa, Calif.-based construction tech company modernizing custom homebuilding in communities affected by wildfires, raised $53 million in funding. Investors include Fifth Wall, Thrive Capital, Khosla Ventures, Forerunner, Google Ventures, Sound Ventures and Atomic.

- Verbit, an Israel-based AI-powered transcription platform, raised $31 million in Series B funding. Stripes led the round, and was joined by investors including Viola Ventures, Vertex Ventures, HV Ventures, Oryzn Capital and ClalTech.

- WorkBoard, a Redwood City, Calif.-based provider of execution intelligence applications for enterprise managers, raised $30 million in Series C funding. Andreessen Horowitz led the round, and was joined by investors including GGV Capital, M12 (formerly Microsoft Ventures) and Workday Ventures.

- Cyral, a Redwood City, Calif.-based cloud security company, raised $11 million in Series A funding. Redpoint Ventures led the round, and was joined by investors including A.Capital Ventures, Costanoa VC, Firebolt, SV Angel and Trifecta Capital.

- Uplevel, a Seattle-based engineering effectiveness platform, raised $7.5 million in seed funding. Investors include Norwest Venture Partners, Madrona Venture Group, and Voyager Capital. 

- LOLIWARE, a New York-based seaweed-based material technology company, raised $6 million in funding. Hatzimemos / Libby led the round. 

- Rebound Technologies, a developer of an alternative to traditional vapor compression cooling systems, raised $5 million in Series A funding. Clean Energy Ventures and Skyview Ventures co-led the round, and was joined by investors including Autodesk Foundation.

- Upflex, a New York-based developer of office workspace software, raised $4.1 million in seed funding. Ecosystem Integrity Fund led the round. 

- Compound, a New York City-based fintech marketplace for urban residential real estate investing, raised $2.1 million in seed funding. Kairos led the round, and was joined by investors including Blue Ivy Ventures and Zing Capital.

- TestFit Inc, a Dallas-based building configuration software, raised $2 million in funding from Parkway Venture Capital.

PRIVATE EQUITY DEALS

- Skyview Capital acquired Fidelis Cybersecurity, a Bethesda, Md.-based company focused on automated detection and response. 

OTHER DEALS

- CarGurus acquired Autolist, a San Francisco-based car shopping platform. Financial terms weren't disclosed. 

IPOs

- Phoenix Tree Holdings, a Beijing-based online marketplace for residential rentals, raised $130 million (58% insider bought) in an offering of 9.6 million ADSs priced at $13.50 apiece. The firm posted revenue of $374.3 million and loss of $191.6 million in 2018. Tiger Global (20% pre-offering), Joy Capital (15.7%), CMC Capital Partners (9.4%), and Ant Financial (7.8%) back the firm. It plans to list on the NYSE as “DNK.” “Read more.”

- I-Mab, a Chinese drug developer focused on autoimmune diseases, raised $104 million in an IPO of 7.4 million ADSs priced at $14. It listed revenue of $7.8 million in 2018 and loss of $58.7 million. C-Bridge Capital and Hony Capital back the firm. It plans to list on the Nasdaq as “IMAB.” Read more.

- Atotech, a U.K.-based maker of finishing solutions, filed for an $100 million IPO. The firm posted revenue of $1.2 billion and loss of $23.7 million in 2018. Carlyle backs the firm. It plans to list on the NYSE as “ATC.” “Read more.”

- Velocity Financial, a Westlake, Calif.-based mortgage lender, raised $94 million in an IPO of 7.25 million shares priced at $13 apiece. The firm posted net interest income of $124.7 million and net income of $10.6 million in 2018. Snow Phipps and PIMCO back the firm. It plans to list on the NYSE as “VEL.” Read more.

-F45 Training, a provider of group workout classes that started in Australia, filed confidentially for a U.S. IPO, Bloomberg reports citing sources. Read more.

PEOPLE

- Pantheon promoted Toni Vainio and Erik Wong to partner.

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About the Author
By Polina Marinova
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