– Lightyear is a NYC-based provider of software to buy and manage business telecom services (internet, voice, WAN, data center) through a single dashboard.
– The company raised $13.1m in Series A funding.
– The round was led by Ridge Ventures with participation from Zigg Capital, Barry Sternlicht (CEO of Starwood), Gokul Rajaram (DoorDash exec, Coinbase Board), Michael Rapino (CEO of Live Nation), Marcus Ridgway (Invitation Homes Founder), and Stephen Klenert (Founder of Atlantic Metro), as well as existing investors Amplo, Ludlow Ventures, Susa Ventures, Operator Partners (founders of Flatiron Health), Contrary Capital, and Darco Capital. Ridge Ventures Partner and serial CIO-turned-investor Yousuf Khan will join the Lightyear board.
– The company intends to use the funds to boost hiring and resources in development and go-to-market functions.

– Scythe Robotics from Boulder, Colorado develops advanced, commercial-grade autonomous robotic solutions for the landscaping industry.
– The company raised $13.8M in Series A funding.
– The round was led by Inspired Capital with participation from existing investors True Ventures, Zigg Capital, and Lemnos.
– The new investment will be used to expand with new customers, grow its existing operations in Texas, Florida and Colorado, and accelerate development of further products.

– Scythe Robotics, a landscaping robotics company, raised $13.8m in Series A funding.
– The round was led by Inspired Capital and featured True Ventures, Zigg Capital and Lemnos.
– It brings the Boulder, Colorado-based landscaping robotics company’s total funding up to $18.6m, including a $4m seed, also led by True Ventures.
– The startup’s first product is an autonomous mower, offered to customers through a Robot-as-a-Service (RaaS) model.
– The method is becoming increasingly popular in the enterprise and industrial space, essentially offering clients robotics through a rental model that includes regular updates and maintenance.
– The mower features eight HDR cameras and a variety of sensors designed to help avoid people, animals and various obstacles it might encounter on the job.

– Spruce is a New York-based provider of an online residential closing technology platform.
– The company raised $60m in Series C funding.
– The round was led by Zigg Capital with participation from existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners and Scale Venture Partners.
– The new investment will be used to expand the company’s reach and further develop its platform.

– OpenSpace, the global leader in 360° construction photo documentation and analysis, recently announced a $55M Series C funding round, led by Alkeon Capital Management.
– The funding comes at an exciting time for the company, which also announced recently that it’s expanding access to the ClearSight Progress Tracking platform to its full customer base.
– Additional participants in the round include PSP Partners, GreenPoint Partners and New World Development, as well as returning investors Lux Capital, Menlo Ventures, JLL Spark, Navitas Capital and Zigg Capital.
– Over the past year, accelerated global adoption of digitization and remote work has fueled growth for OpenSpace, which has seen revenue triple, customer count increase by more than 150%, and customer site captures increase by more than 300% during that time.

– Crusoe Energy Systems from San Francisco has closed a $128m Series B equity financing led by Valor Equity Partners.
– Lowercarbon Capital, DRW Venture Capital, Founders Fund, Bain Capital Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Polychain Capital, KCK Group, Upper90, Winklevoss Capital, Exor, Zigg Capital and JB Straubel participated.
– The company provides solutions for the energy industry.