Despite the pandemic, venture capital dollars are flowing freely to nascent firms in Asia.
September 08, 2020
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U.S. & Canada
Why Venture Capital is Accelerating in Asia
Despite the pandemic, venture capital dollars are flowing freely to nascent firms in Asia that are tackling the need for contactless interactions and platforms that match supply and demand — setting the stage for innovation on the other side of the public health crisis.
Read more on PYMNTS.com Image: joyfull / Shutterstock.com
California Hydrogen Station Race Winners
With 45 hydrogen stations in operation, California continues to lead the way in hydrogen infrastructure development. the CEC identified three big hydrogen race winners. The top winner, First Element Fuel, Inc., will build 21 station in the first batch with the $15.5 million contribution from the CEC Clean Transportation.
Read more on Forbes.com Image: Alexander Kirch / Shutterstock.com
Epic Games Asks Court to Prevent Apple's 'Retaliation'
Epic Games said late on Friday that it has asked a court to stop what it saw as Apple Inc’s retaliation against the “Fortnite” creator after the iPhone maker terminated Epic Games’ account on its App Store.
Read more on Reuters.com Image: plavevski / Shutterstock.com
Can Platforms Help Reduce Wasteful Healthcare Spend?
The healthcare industry is particularly ripe for platforms to add value. Healthcare involves coordinating care, information, financing, and payment among a highly fragmented set of constituents (payers, employers...).
Read more on Forbes.com Image: FGC / Shutterstock.com
3 Essential Ways to Prepare Your Business for 5G
5G is coming to a town or city near you soon. If it hasn’t already arrived, that is. But what is 5G, why is it such a key technology trend and, most importantly, what should businesses do to prepare for 5G? Read on to find out.
Read more on Forbes.com Image: kkssr / Shutterstock.com
Startups to Watch
Crunchbase News uncovers these startups which they feel are worth highlighting for their interesting approaches, despite their smaller capital raises... CH4 Global, Mustard, Undock, and LaunchNotes.
Read more on Crunchbase.com Image: Macrovector / Shutterstock.com
The Cyndx YTD Capital Raising Report
YTD 2020, Cyndx identified $153.2bn in recorded capital investments, down 10% vs prior year. The number of deals transacted also saw a -35% decline, to 12,753 deals for the year, to date.
Cyndx is happy to send you a summary of YTD August 2020 capital raising activity, globally. Just request a free demo of the Cyndx platform and we will provide you your report.
The following capital raises were reported yesterday and this morning:
S2G Ventures, a Chicago-based investment firm focused on food and agriculture, human health, climate change, and planet health, has established a new oceans and seafood investment team with commitments of up to $100 million. Crunchbase.com
Mustard is working to supplant pricey coaching with a new mobile app designed to analyze an athlete’s mechanics and offer corrective tips to help them improve, announced it has raised $1.7 million, led by Shasta Ventures and Intersect VC. Techcrunch.com
AnyVision, a NYC-based provider of AI-enabled visual intelligence software, raised $43m in funding. The backers were not disclosed. Finsmes.com
Cyndx International News - Europe & Asia
UK Takeover Deals Slump in Second Quarter
The number of M&A deals involving British companies fell sharply to 152 in the second quarter, down from 463 in the first quarter, the country’s statistics said. The value of deals involving foreign companies acquiring British ones totaled 2.1 billion pounds ($2.75 billion), down from 5.1 billion pounds in Q1.
Read more on Reuters.com
Image: Ezume Images / Shutterstock.com
IKEA's Shopping Centers Arm Buys San Francisco Mall
IKEA’s shopping centers business has made its first U.S real estate acquisition, buying the 6X6 mall in San Francisco from Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc and TMG Partners. It told Reuters in May it was engaged in several negotiations for inner-city acquisitions in the U.S.
Read more on Reuters.com
Image: Graeme Dawes / Shutterstock.com
Goldman Sachs Joins Syndicate for ANT IPO
Goldman Sachs (GS.N) has joined the growing list of investment banks working on Chinese financial technology firm Ant Group’s mammoth initial public offering of up to $30 billion, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Read more on Reuters.com Image: VIS Fine Art / Shutterstock.com
More Bank Mergers Loom
Banks across Europe are struggling to cope with record low interest rates and the economic downturn sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic, leading analysts to predict more tie-ups to cut costs. Bankia and Caixabank are in talks over a merger that would create a lender with more than 600 billion euros ($709 billion) in assets in Spain.
Read more on Reuters.com
Image: Sonia Oviedo / Shutterstock.com
Read more on Telegraph.co.uk
Image: Willy Barton / Shutterstock.com
Buyer Scrum to Pick off FirstGroup's US Divisions
Some of the world’s biggest buyout funds are circling FirstGroup’s American business as the top investor in the embattled bus and rail operator launches a fresh boardroom coup. Canary Wharf owner Brookfield, Apollo Global Management and KKR are among a slew of potential suitors.
Read more on Telegraph.co.uk
Image: Tupungato / Shutterstock.com
Are Gig Economy Disruptors Finally Running Out of Road?
Britain’s highest court will take centre stage for another landmark gig work showdown – this time between Uber and its drivers. A five-year battle over the status and rights of the drivers is expected to be decided, with the potential to upend the gig economy’s model and reverse labour market shifts. Are Uber and the gig economy finally running out of road?
Read more on Telegraph.co.uk Image: Ink Drop / Shutterstock.com
Volkswagen Unit to Resume Navistar Takeover Push
Volkswagen AG’s heavy-truck business plans to make a fresh push to acquire Navistar International Corp. after talks were put on hold amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to people familiar with the matter.
The following capital raises were reported yesterday and this morning:
Nreal, one of the most-watched mixed reality startups in China, secured $40 million from a group of high-profile investors in a Series B round that could potentially bring more adoption to its portable augmented headsets. Techcrunch.com
auxmoney, a Düsseldorf, Germany-based credit marketplace, raised an equity funding of €150m. Centerbridge made the majority equity investment and acquired shares of existing shareholders. Finsmes.com
InxMed Co., Ltd., a Nanjing, China-based clinical stage biotech company dedicated to developing innovative, individualized medicines with international impact, completed a Series A+ financing of approx. US$19m. The round was led by Ennovation Ventures and China Growth Capital. Finsmes.com
DT Equipment ehf., a Reykjavik, Iceland-based developer of analytics technology for metals production and processing, closed a Series A financing of undisclosed amount. Backers included Chrysalix Venture Capital and Brunnur Ventures. Finsmes.com
LiveEO, a German space startup, has closed its second fundraising round, a six-figure sum, from DvH Ventures, one of the leading early-stage investors in Europe. EU-startups.com
Mamamade, a British home-delivery service of healthy homemade baby meals, has secured around €340K in seed funding from investors such as Andrew Webster from Horseplay Ventures. EU-startups.com
Lokalise, a Latvian startup that focuses on translation and localization of apps, websites, game raised a $6 million funding round led by Mike Chalfen. Techcrunch.com
Thunes, a Singapore-based startup developing a cross-border payments network to make financial services more accessible in emerging markets, announced it has raised a $60 million Series B, led by Helios Investment Partners. Techcrunch.com
Skin Analytics, a U.K.-based startup that has developed a skin cancer screening service that uses artificial intelligence, has raised £4 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Hoxton Ventures. Techcrunch.com
Sarbacane, the French company that makes the Mailify SaaS-based email and text marketing platform, along with other other martech software, has raised $27 million, in a round led by IDI. Techcrunch.com
Byju’s has raised $500 million in a new financing round that values the Indian online learning platform at $10.8 billion, a source familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. The round was led by Menlo Park-headquartered PE firm Silver Lake. Techcrunch.com
BIMA, a Stockholm/London-based startup that provides life and health insurance policies, along with telemedicine via a mobile-first platform in emerging markets has raised $30 million in funding, led by China’s CreditEase Fintech Investment Fund. Techcrunch.com
ThoughtRiver, a London-based legaltech startup that’s applying AI to speed up contract pre-screening, has announced a $10 million Series A round of funding led by Octopus Ventures. Techcrunch.com
Mollie, a startup that offers a simple, API-based way to integrate payments into a site or an app, has raised €90 million ($106 million) in a Series B round of funding led by TCV. Techcrunch.com
ThoughtRiver, a London-based legaltech startup that’s applying AI to speed up contract pre-screening, has announced a $10 million Series A round of funding led by Octopus Ventures. Techcrunch.com
HumanForest, a UK-based, dockless, shared and ad-supported e-bike service has taken in £1.8 million (~$2.3M) investment from backers in the mobility space. Techcrunch.com
Daybridge, a productivity and time management app by former Monzo engineer Kieran McHugh, has picked by £750,000 in a seed round led by early Monzo backer, Passion Capital. Techcrunch.com
ClinSpec Diagnostics, a Glasgow, Scotland-based early cancer detection company, raised £2.4m in funding. The round was led by Mercia’s EIS Funds with Scottish Investment Bank. Finsmes.com
VAIOT, a Valletta, Malta-based developer of AI-powered digital services for businesses and consumers, secured €5m in seed funding and a private sale of its VAI Tokens. Finsmes.com
Cycle Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge, England-based patient-dedicated biotechnology company focused on rare diseases, executed a definitive agreement for a $25m credit facility with Deutsche Bank AG. Finsmes.com
AMMP Technologies, the operations platform for decentralized renewable energy systems, has raised €1.15 million in venture funding led by Point Nine Capital. Eu-Startups.com
Acerta Analytics, an Automotive Intelligence startup has announced it has raised $7 million in Series A funding led by OMERS Ventures. UKTech.news
European + Asian
Deals of the Day: M&A and Strategic Investments
Sandbox, a London, UK-based operating platform for digital educational products and services, acquired Teachit, a UK-based teacher resource provider from education charity AQA.Finsmes.com
The private equity owner of Cambridge Medical and Rehabilitation Center, a long-term care business in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, has hired corporate advisory firm deNovo for a potential sale. Reuters.com
British aviation and energy infrastructure group Stobart said on Friday it was in early-stage discussions for the potential sale of its stake in regional airline Stobart Air and its leasing firm Propius. Reuters.com
SoftBank Group is taking a direct role in managing its virus-hit hospitality startup Oyo’s operations in Latin America through a joint venture which will control all hotels in the region. Reuters.com
Making the News
The following stories have made financial news:
EU antitrust regulators have set a new Dec. 16 deadline for their decision on the London Stock Exchange’s $27 billion takeover of data company Refinitiv after resuming their investigation into the deal. Reuters.com
Italy’s Treasury wants to find a buyer for Monte dei Paschi di Sienaby the end of the year to help the bailed-out bank to clean up its remaining problem loans, two sources familiar with the matter said. Reuters.com
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