Born to run. Allbirds, which makes environmentally friendly sneakers, is partnering with Adidas to make a more sustainable running shoe under Adidas’ Futurecraft line.
Wired
Return trip. PayPal will acquire the reverse logistics company Happy Returns. The startup makes it easier for shoppers to return online orders through its 2,600 returns locations. PayPal previously invested in Happy Returns in 2019.
TechCrunch
Deals
Robot (cooked) chicken. Chef Robotics, which plans robots to make restaurant cooking more efficient, raised a seed round of $7.7M from Kleiner Perkins, Stewart Alsop, Promus Ventures, and others.
Getting up to speed. Jakarta-based BukuKas raised a $50M Series B round to help small- and medium-sized businesses in Indonesia digitize their finances.
In fashion. Online wholesale marketplace Ankorstore raised $102M from Bain Capital Ventures and Tiger Global in a Series B round. Boutiques in Europe source fashion, beauty, home furnishings, and more from the Paris-based site.
Hunting and gathering. Forager, a platform that helps grocers source food from local farmers, raised a seed round of $4M from Coastal Enterprises and angel investors.
Perspectives
Buy button. Cathaleen Chen (@Cathaleen_Chen) explores why Instagram Checkout hasn’t made users shop on the social platform.
Business of Fashion
Have it your way. Kathryn Lundstrom (@klundster) highlights how fast-food restaurants are using reusable containers to reduce their container waste.
Adweek
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