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Africa Roundup: African startup investments turn to fintech this winter season

11 Jun 2018/0 Comments/in /by

By Jonathan Shieber

Forty-seven and a half million dollars is a big commitment to African technology companies — even with the recent uptick in VC investment on the continent.

But for the Kenyan-based fintech firm Cellulant, whose digital payments platform processed 7 million transactions worth $350 million across 33 African countries in the last month alone, raising that amount in a series C round led by TPG Growth’s Rise Fund just makes sense.

In 2017, the company processed $2.7 billion in payments, said chief executive, Ken Njoroge.

Clients include the continent’s largest banks: Barclays Bank, Standard Chartered, Standard Bank, and Ecobank. Cellulant also has multiple revenue streams and is EBITDA positive, according to its CEO.

So what does an African technology company do with $47.5 million? “The round is to accelerate our growth of around 20 percent…north of 50 percent,” said Njoroge. “Most of the investment is to scale out our existing platform in Africa and build usage …read more

Source: Tech Crunch

    

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Here’s what EA announced at E3 2018

09 Jun 2018/0 Comments/in /by

By Brian Heater

Good afternoon, downtown L.A.! The sun is shining, the birds are singing and the giant banners with gun toting cyborgs have been unveiled.

That can only mean one thing: it’s time for E3! Electronic Arts kicked the show off this morning with the first official press conference, and the big news was, as anticipated, Battlefield V.

Battlefield V

The World War II title will likely get a little more love at the Xbox press conference tomorrow morning, but we did get a look at some compelling gameplay. Notably, the title is getting a Fortnite-style multiplayer, battle royale mode.

Anthem

Bioware’s next title isn’t due out until next February, but Anthem still managed to get a lot of love today at E3. The multiplayer shooter finds players assuming the role of mech suit wearing “Freelancers.”

FIFA 19

Due out September 28, EA’s big soccer (or football or whatever) title is adding UEFA Champions League gameplay, after picking up the license from Konami. That’s big news for European soccer fans, bringing the annual tournament to the title. The company also announced a free trial for Xbox, Playstation and PC …read more

Source: Tech Crunch

    

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This box sucks pure water out of dry desert air

08 Jun 2018/0 Comments/in /by

By Devin Coldewey

For many of us, clean, drinkable water comes right out of the tap. But for billions it’s not that simple, and all over the world researchers are looking into ways to fix that. Today brings work from Berkeley, where a team is working on a water-harvesting apparatus that requires no power and can produce water even in the dry air of the desert. Hey, if a cactus can do it, why can’t we?

While there are numerous methods for collecting water from the air, many require power or parts that need to be replaced; what professor Omar Yaghi has developed needs neither.

The secret isn’t some clever solar concentrator or low-friction fan — it’s all about the materials. Yaghi is a chemist, and has created what’s called a metal-organic framework, or MOF, that’s eager both to absorb and release water.

It’s essentially a powder made of tiny crystals in which water molecules get caught as the temperature decreases. Then, when the temperature increases again, the water is released into the air again.

Yaghi demonstrated the process on a small scale last year, but now he and his team have published the results of a larger field test producing real-world amounts of water.

They …read more

Source: Tech Crunch

    

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Alibaba’s Ant Financial fintech affiliate raises $14 billion to continue its global expansion

08 Jun 2018/0 Comments/in /by

By Jon Russell

Ant Financial, the financial services affiliate connected to Alibaba which operates the Alipay mobile payment service, has confirmed that it has closed a Series C funding round that totals an enormous $14 billion.

The rumors have been flying about this huge financing deal for the past month or so, with multiple publications reporting that Ant — which has been strongly linked with an IPO — was in the market to raise at least $9 billion at a valuation of upwards of $100 billion. That turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg here.

The money comes via a tranche of U.S. dollar financing and Chinese RMB from local investors. Those names include Singapore-based sovereign funds GIC and Temasek, Malaysian sovereign fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Warburg Pincus, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Silver Lake and General Atlantic.

Ant said that the money will go towards extending its global expansion (and deepening its presence in non-China markets it has already entered), developing technology and hiring.

“We are pleased to welcome these investors as partners, who share our vision and mission, to embark on …read more

Source: Tech Crunch

    

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Evernote is spinning out its Chinese business and it plans to take it public

07 Jun 2018/0 Comments/in /by

By Jon Russell

Here’s a unique approach to Western companies doing business in China. Today, Evernote — the U.S. note-making service — span out its China-based unit into an independent entity with “full autonomy” over its business and services.

Evernote introduced its Yinxiang Biji China-based service in 2012, but now it is transitioning to a minority shareholder with the Chinese management team taking day-to-day control. As part of its move to independence, Yinxiang Biji has raised an undisclosed Series A round from the Sequoia CBC Cross-border Digital Industry Fund.

The terms are not disclosed, but Raymond Tang, CEO of Yinxiang Biji, said ownership of the business is split roughly equally between Evernote, the Chinese investors and the startup’s management team — while Yinxiang Biji itself has raised “several hundred million RMB.” (For comparison, 100 million RMB is roughly $15 million.)

Evernote and Yinxiang Biji have inked a two-year deal that will see them cross-license IP, and Tang and Evernote CMO Andrew Malcolm told TechCrunch in an interview that the duo will continue to work closely. The IP deal could also be extended, according to Malcolm, who added that the spin-out has been a move that …read more

Source: Tech Crunch

    

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What does leaving the EU’s Digital Single Market mean for UK startups?

06 Jun 2018/0 Comments/in /by

By Mike Butcher

What does leaving the EU’s Digital Single Market (DMS) mean for UK startups? No-one actually knows. That’s why three UK VCs are backing an initiative to assess the impact of what leaving the DSM could mean for UK tech startups, if, as is predicted, the UK does leave the EU next year.

The initiative is being led by LocalGlobe but also backed by Index Ventures and Atomico. You can fill out the short survey here.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May previously announced the UK will be leaving the DSM when it formally leaves the EU next year, but, according to sources who spoke to TechCrunch, no industry consultation took place on this decision.

The idea behind the DSM, launched in May 2015 and heavily backed by the UK Government at the time, was to tear down regulatory walls and move from 28 national ‘digital’ markets to a single one. The prediction was that this would contribute €415 billion per year to the EU’s economy and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs.

It’s been made one of the European Commission’s 10 political priorities and is made up of three policy pillars, as outlined below:

1. Improving access to digital goods and …read more

Source: Tech Crunch

    

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Adyen aims for a $1B IPO, valuing the payments startup at up to $8.3B when it lists on June 13

05 Jun 2018/0 Comments/in /by

By Ingrid Lunden

After announcing its intention to go public in May, today Adyen published more details with the finances filled in. The Netherlands-based payments startup — which competes against the likes of PayPal and Stripe to power payment services both to online and physical retailers — said that it will be raising between €922 million and €947 million (approximately $1 billion and $1.1 billion) June 5-12, before it opens for trading on the Euronext Amsterdam on June 13 trading as “ADYEN.” If all goes to plan, the sale will give Adyen a market capitalization of between €6.5 billion and €7.1 billion ($7.6 billion – $8.3 billion).

The 4,189,102 shares being sold bvalued at €220 and €240 per share represent 12.7 percent of the company’s issued and operating share capital, Adyen said.

The figures speak both to the generally strong climate for tech IPOs at the moment, and the strength of Adyen’s business and business prospects.

“We feel that we are still in the early stages of a remarkable journey. Our focus remains on building new functionality and on helping our merchants grow,” said Adyen’s CEO and co-founder Pieter van der Does, in a statement. “This offering provides us with the freedom to keep …read more

Source: Tech Crunch

    

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Three days left to buy TC Tel Aviv tickets

04 Jun 2018/0 Comments/in /by

By Leslie Hitchcock

Three short days — that’s all that stands between you and attending TC Tel Aviv 2018 — our inaugural day-long mobility intensive taking place on June 7. Well, three days and a ticket. You will need one of those. We’ve created a stellar, info-packed agenda that you won’t want to miss, so go and buy your general admission ticket right now.

Why mobility? It’s one of the fastest growing, most disruptive technologies on the planet. Why Tel Aviv? Because Israel’s leading the charge on boundary-pushing mobility and everything that hot topic entails. You’ll hear from some of the people designing and building Israel’s latest mobility technologies — autonomous vehicles, sensors, drones, security and maybe even a flying car or two.

You’ll hear from government officials pushing the edge of alternative transportation and smart mobility, and you’ll hear venture capitalists discussing how mobility startups can scale and navigate international expansion. An entire day focused on mobility tech’s opportunities, challenges and possibilities.

Noted speakers include Uri Levine of Waze, Raj Kapoor of Lyft and Chemi Peres, co-founder and managing general partner of Pitango. You’ll also hear from Anat Lea Bonshtien, chairman and director of Israel’s Fuel Choices and …read more

Source: Tech Crunch

    

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It’s OK to leave Facebook

02 Jun 2018/0 Comments/in /by

By Devin Coldewey

The slow-motion privacy train wreck that is Facebook has many users, perhaps you, thinking about leaving or at least changing the way you use the social network. Fortunately for everyone but Mark Zuckerberg, it’s not nearly has hard to leave as it once was. The main thing to remember is that social media is for you to use, and not vice versa.

Social media has now become such an ordinary part of modern life that, rather than have it define our interactions, we can choose how we engage with it. That’s great! It means that everyone is free to design their own experience, taking from it what they need instead of participating to an extent dictated by social norms or the progress of technology.

Here’s why now is a better time than ever to take control of your social media experience. I’m going to focus on Facebook, but much of this is applicable to Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other networks as well.

Stalled innovation means a stable product

The Facebooks of 2005, 2010, and 2015 were very different things and existed in very different environments. Among other things over that eventful ten-year period, mobile and fixed broadband exploded in …read more

Source: Tech Crunch

    

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Geoffrey Starks nominated as FCC Commissioner to fill Democratic gap left by Clyburn

02 Jun 2018/0 Comments/in /by

By Devin Coldewey

The President has officially named Geoffrey Starks as his pick to fill the FCC Commissioner role left open by Mignon Clyburn’s departure. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai confirmed the news, rumored over the past few weeks, in a statement.

“I congratulate Geoffrey Starks on his forthcoming nomination to serve as a Commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission,” said Pai. “He has a distinguished record of public service, including in the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, and I wish him all the best during the confirmation process.”

Starks isn’t exactly a well known figure, but in public service that’s actually something of a compliment. He has worked in the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau for three years and is currently one of several assistant bureau chiefs. Previously he was at the Justice Department, which makes sense, as the Enforcement Bureau’s responsibility is “to investigate and respond quickly to potential unlawful conduct.”

It’s unclear as yet what his position is on the various measures currently being addressed by the FCC, from net neutrality to the revamping of media regulations.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer reportedly settled on Starks as long as a couple months ago, the interim no doubt being spent on due diligence, cultivating endorsements, and …read more

Source: Tech Crunch

    

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