Merry Christmas 2020! Let's roll on with startup weekly updates from entrepreneurial world. Discover what's trending and innovating this week.
21st December, Monday
1. Bolt adds $75M to its Series C, as the battle to rule online checkout
Bolt, a startup that provides online checkout technology to retailers, has added $75 million. Funding will be invest on venture activity and larger customers need more customizations and sales support. Bolt offers four connected services: checkout, payments, user accounts and fraud protection. It is a hybrid payments-and-software company. Read more.
2. OneTrust nabs $300M Series C on $5.1B valuation to expand privacy platform
Atlanta based OneTrust privacy platform startup raised a $300 million Series C on an impressive $5.1 billion valuation. the products are helping them be compliant without adding a lot of friction to the building or buying process. It helps companies to compliant to all laws around privacy, trust and risk. Read more.
22nd December, Tuesday
1. Singapore-based open finance startup Finantier gets backing from Y Combinator
Singapore-based open finance startup, Finantier has been accepted into Y Combinator’s Winter 2021 startup batch. The startup also recently raised an undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding. It Wants to streamline that data with a single API that offers financial services access to user data, with their consent. It also includes machine-learning-based analytics to enable credit scoring and KYC verifications. Read more.
2. Austin-based ReturnSafe raises $3.25 million for its employee health management tools
ReturnSafe, a symptom checking and contact tracing employee health management toolkit for businesses has raised $3.25 million as funding. ReturnSafe provide a symptoms screener, a testing dashboard, and a new vaccine management service. Read more.
3. Fintech startups are increasingly focusing on profitability
This year economic downturn has been a challenge for the running class of fintech startups. Some have grown perfectly, while others have struggled, but the vast majority of them have changed their focus. Usage of consumer products are flexible and when you’re growing rapidly, supporting growth and opening new markets require a ton of effort. Read more.
23rd December, Wednesday
1. Octopus, An AI-driven energy startup hits $2B mark after $200M investment from Tokyo Gas
The U.K. startup Octopus Energy has attained a $2.06 billion valuation after attracting a $200 million investment from Tokyo Gas, for a 9.7% stake, in order to launch a joint venture. Company aiming for 100 million customers around the world by 2027, and recently launched in the U.S., Australia, Germany and New Zealand. Read more.
2. On-demand logistics company Lalamove gets $515 million inSeries E
Lalamove, on-demand logistics company raising $515 million in Series E funding. Established in 2013 for on-demand deliveries within the same city, Lalamove has since grown its business to include freight services, enterprise logistics, moving and vehicle rental. Read more.
3. Chinese autonomous driving startup WeRide bags $200M in funding
WeRide, among one of China’s most-funded startups has raised a $200 million strategic round from Chinese bus maker Yutong. Company sources said "The model, which comes without a steering wheel, accelerator or brakes, is designed for operating in urban open roads". Read more.
4. Indian TikTok clone Josh gets Google, Microsoft backing in $100 million fundraise
Alphabet’s Google and Microsoft joined an investment round of more than $100 million in VerSe Innovation Pvt, maker of India’s Josh short-video app and Dailyhunt news aggregator, valuing the company at more than $1 billion. read more.
24th December, Thursday
1. Fluent Forever raises $4.9M for its language learning system
Fluent Forever, a startup who provide online language learning services that help its users master a new language faster, has raised a $4.9 million funding. Presently supports nine languages such as Japanese, French, Russian, Mexican and Spanish Spanish, Italian, Korean, German and Brazilian Portuguese, and hoping to add with Dutch soon. Read more.
25th December, Friday
1. Daily Crunch: Alibaba faces antitrust probe
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation said that it’s investigating the e-commerce giant over a policy that forces merchants to sell exclusively with Alibaba and skip rival platforms JD.com and Pinduoduo. For the time being it's initial public offering has been called off and the company has now received another “meeting notice” from regulators. Read more.
26th December, Saturday
1. Amsterdam start-up aims to breathe new life into pickled gherkins
Bikl cornichons with rosemary and garlic Launching a company selling a new brand of pickled gherkins and cornichons to the catering industry. Pekelen, or pickling, is an old Dutch word and is something that has been done for thousands of years. It's something experimenting and new in startup industry. Read more.
27th December, Sunday
1. Content discovery firm Outbrain reportedly seeks IPO at $2 billion valuation
Content discovery firm Outbrain was set up in 2006 is seeking to hold an initial public offering of shares on Wall Street at a $2 billion valuation after a merger deal . This is not the first time that Outbrain has sought to hold a share sale, the failed merger plans with Taboola, which, like Outbrain, directs users to related content on the internet. Read more.
2. YouTube Cofounder Steve Chen Launches Hedge Fund That Uses AI To Make Investment Decisions
YouTube cofounder Steve Chen is partnering with veteran money manager Jack Fu to launch a hedge fund that picks stocks and fixed-income assets through the use of artificial intelligence. The Draco Capital Macro Quant Fund has already raised $50 million with a goal of $200 million by the end of 2021. Read more.
If you missed out the previous week or entire month updates of startup world news, follow the link to read it now and stay updated with every passing update with us.
Startup News: 14th December 2020 - 20th December 2020
Startup News: 7th December 2020 - 13th December 2020
Startup News: 30th November 2020 - 6th December 2020
Startup News: 23rd November 2020 - 29th November 2020
Startup News: 16th November 2020 - 22nd November 2020
Startup News: 9th November 2020 - 15th November 2020
We, at OpenGrowth, are constantly looking for latest news in the startup ecosystem. If you want to share any important news from last week, then do let us know in the comment section below.
