SendBird, a messaging SDK and chat API for developers to add secure one to one messaging, group chat or open channels in mobile apps or websites has raised $16M in Series A funding round. We added SendBird to our startups portfolio two years ago after it got graduated from YCombinator Winter 2016 batch and we are happy for their growth. Congrats to SendBird!

SendBird, a company that provides the infrastructure for developers to build messaging and chat services into their apps, has raised $16 million in a series A round of funding led by Shasta Ventures and August Capital, with participation from Y Combinator and FundersClub.

“It’s our mission to digitize human interactions for businesses,” noted SendBird CEO and cofounder John S. Kim. “With the new round of financing, we can accelerate our plan to help companies rapidly increase the engagement and retention of their users by enabling real-time conversation with our chat API.”

The company claims that it powers chat and messaging for more than 6,500 applications globally, with the ability to support more than a million concurrent users per application. Its customers include Asian Uber rival Go-Jek, recently touted as Indonesia’s first billion-dollar startup; Korean video game giant Nexon; and Korean bank KB Kookmin Bank.

Please read the full story at VentureBeat.

MyVR, a cloud based complete solution for vacation rental management is quite special for us because it’s one of our initial portfolio startups in 2012 after we incorporated Zillionize and we are glad to announce that finally MyVR has raised $6.1M in Series A funding round. This round pushes their total funding amount forward to $7.5M since their launch in October 2010. We wish them good luck for a better future ahead.

The $6.1 million round was led by True Ventures, with participation from existing angel investors. Previous investors in MyVR include SV Angel, Hotwire president Clem Bason, and Chris Dixon (prior to his joining Andreessen Horowitz).

The company is focused on serving Airbnb hosts and property managers who handle up to roughly 20 properties. MyVR’s software places listings on popular sites like Booking.com, Airbnb, and Home Away. The new funds will be used to expand the management platform’s app and service ecosystem for property managers.

“In the past year, we’ve launched an app marketplace and services marketplace, and this is one of the big reasons for our funding. We want to ramp up these third-party integrations with third-party service providers,” MyVR CEO and cofounder Jonathan Murray told VentureBeat in a phone interview. In terms of focus, Murray said: “cleaners, maintenance, and service providers; home automation; and financial stuff are the big categories we’ll focus on first.”

Please read full story at VentureBeat.