DC Inno Beat 2/17: NSA Catches Fade, Local VC's Big On NYC Retailer and AU Produces Entrepreneurs

Who get's more excited for snow days – federal employees/contractors or elementary schoolers? It's a real toss up.

Breaking as the Beat was about to go out ... Snapchat is reportedly looking to raise at a $19B valuation.

...On To The Beat

The Big One

Chris: If you haven’t heard, then you may want to read up on this one, but a groundbreaking Kaspersky Labs report ties the NSA in yet another global privacy breach. The cybersecurity firm declined to publicly name the country behind the spying campaign, but said it was closely linked to Stuxnet, the NSA-led cyberweapon that was used to attackIran's uranium enrichment facility. In fact, the new report provides detailed evidence that strongly implicates the US spy agency.

Just prior to the report's release, we spoke with Kaspersky Lab Managing Director Chris Doggett concerning a now infamous global hacking operation that may have stolen nearly $1B from major financial institutions, globally. This is definitely a story that we will be sure to keep our eyes on.

Making Moves

Chris: NYC-based Moda Operandi — a high-end online clothing retailer — secured a $60 million Series E round led by Fidelity Investments and joined by return backers New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Advanced Publications Inc. We're hitting on this because Reston-based New Atlantic Ventures (NAV) is an existing shareholder while local investors Tony Florence (NEA) and Thanasis Delistathis (NAV) are on the company's board.

Reid: Lot of DC connection on this one. Florence is on the boards of local pillars Cvent and Everfi and is an expert in the consumer internet space, having led investments in companies like Gilt Groupe, Quidsi (Diapers.com), and Casper (the 'Warby Parker of mattresses,' not the ghost). Delistathis has a strong background in e-commerce and currently serves as a board member for companies like Scoutmob, Zerve Inc. and Bambeco (based in Baltimore).

Community 

Chris: American University alumna Rachel Koretsky’s app Upace officially launched in partnership with the university. Upace is a web-based fitness time management app, which allows students to preschedule workouts and view real-time occupancy in workout facilities without even stepping foot in the gym. The software also allows universities to analyze data that can improve the facility in order to meet student needs. AU will be piloting the web-based application, with a native app coming soon.

Reid: So if you want to be seen strutting your stuff, just look up the peak times? Got it. Joking aside, great to see AU going to one of its own to implement a service that helps its students and saves time/money.

What We're Reading

Reach outTips? Rumblings? Complaints? Something you want to see in the email? Reid@dcinno.com