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Here’s what you need to know today in startup and venture news, updated by the ½ûÂþÌìÌà News staff throughout the day to keep you in the know.

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Biden picks Ron Klain, a VC at Revolution, as chief of staff

President-elect Joe Biden named , an attorney and former chief of staff during his vice presidency, as White House chief of staff Wednesday. While Klain is best known for his political experience, he also brings a credential of particular interest to the startup space: He’s executive vice president and general counsel at venture and growth investor .

Co-founded by 1 founder , Revolution is best known for its focus on promising startups outside the primary coastal tech hubs. The firm operates a group of  funds, including , Revolution Ventures, and Revolution Growth, that taken together focus on startups across all stages.

The firm invests across a range of sectors, including supply chain and logistic challenges, healthy food, retail and consumer, digital entertainment, software and health care.

Funding news

• Railsbank raises $37M: London-based , a banking-as-a-service platform for fintech companies, in a growth funding round led by and .
• Venminder lands $33M: Elizabethtown, Kentucky-based , a provider of third-party risk management assessment tools, that it raised $33 million in a Series C funding round led by new investor .
• Roots Automation secures $3.2M: , a New York-based digital coworkers-as-a-service company, raised a $3.2 million seed round led by .