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The digital space isn’t all about fundraising or hosting events, however. Neil Sequeira, cofounder and a partner at defy.vc, believes disruptions are ahead for legacy businesses. “You’ll see the crypto DeFi [decentralized finance] blockchain businesses opening up more business models in traditional markets that are already being disrupted,” says Sequeira.

Retail-data platform provider SoundCommerce has launched a new cloud solution that aims to help retailers better serve customers by using data to create shopper profiles that allow retailers to provide better offers and promotions based on shopping preferences.

“In some cases, angel investors have ‘morphed into more of an institutionalized firm,’ says Defy Partners founder Neil Sequeira.”

For the third year in a row, we contacted readers and others in the VC community to discover who are the industry’s rising stars.

There are always some resistant to change, so not all companies pivoted to remote work quickly or without missteps. “People who thought this was going to be a temporary move really struggled because they never fully settled in,” said Masha Sedova of Elevate Security. “And those who didn’t settle in started seeing long-term impact on culture.”

Short video app Triller is set to go public via a reverse merger with video-tech company SeaChange International, the two companies announced on Wednesday. The combined entity will be valued at approximately $5 billion. The boards of both companies have approved the proposed merger and the deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022, subject to regulatory and stockholder approvals.

Short-video app Triller will go public through a reverse merger with SeaChange International Inc, in a deal that will value the combined entity at around $5 billion, the companies said on Wednesday.

The combined company will be called “TrillerVerz,” and is valued at $5 billion.

Since early 2020, the workplace has been turned upside down. First came COVID-19 work-from-home policies that isolated workers. Then the Great Resignation revealed widespread employee dissatisfaction.

The founders of Portland, Ore.-based startup Field Day would like to help workplaces rekindle some of their collegiality and connect with their broader communities. Their solution is a platform that allows companies to find and sign up for volunteering opportunities with local nonprofits.

A new venture from former Elemental Technologies employees aims to encourage businesses to promote volunteerism among their employees. The startup, called Field Day, is developing software to manage companies’ relationships with nonprofits.