European insurtech is showing strength that venture data doesn’t fully detail
If you only tracked American insurtech companies that went public recently, you might think insurtech is in its flop era. Thankfully, that’s not true.
Why the US and Europe could lose the race for fusion energy
Fusion energy holds the potential to shift a geopolitical landscape that is currently configured around fossil fuels. Harnessing fusion will deliver the energy resilience, security, and abundance needed for all modern industrial and service sectors. But these benefits will be controlled by the nation that leads in both developing the complex supply chains required and…
Technology
FedNow is finally live in the US
The U.S. government’s instant payment system, FedNow Service, went live this week. Here’s a quick refresher on what that is: FedNow is an instant payment infrastructure for transferring money that promises to be a faster payment rail for financial institutions, offering immediate access to funds no matter the day or time. As you know, this […]
Pitch Deck Teardown: CleanHub’s $7M seed deck
Plastic in ocean bad. Plastic not in ocean good. That’s, in a nutshell, the pitch for CleanHub. The company has designed a whole business model and a track-and-trace model around that, so brands can rest assured that their plastics don’t end up in the oceans. Who these brands are, and what happens to the plastic […]
The Download: digital dollars, and AI guidelines
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Is the digital dollar dead? In 2020, digital currencies were one of the hottest topics in town. China was well on its way to launching its own central bank digital currency, or CBDC,…
OpenAI’s head of trust and safety Dave Willner steps down
A significant personnel change is afoot at OpenAI, the artificial intelligence juggernaut that has nearly single-handedly inserted the concept of generative AI into global public discourse with the launch of ChatGPT. Dave Willner, an industry veteran who was the startup’s head of trust and safety, announced in a post on LinkedIn last night that he […]
Grab acquires Singapore’s third-largest taxi operator Trans-cab
Singapore’s ride-hailing and food delivery company Grab has signed an agreement for its car rental unit Grab Rentals to acquire Trans-cab, the city state’s third largest taxi operator. The deal, Grab’s first local competitor acquisition, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2023 and includes “Trans-cab’s taxi and car rental business, maintenance workshops and […]
Is the digital dollar dead?
It’s summer 2020. The world is under a series of lockdowns as the pandemic continues to run its course. And in academic and foreign policy circles, digital currencies are one of the hottest topics in town. China is well on its way to launching its own central bank digital currency, or CBDC, and many other…
Kasha raises $21M Series B led by Knife Capital to expand health access platform across Africa
As Africa’s youthful population continues to grow exponentially, it’s of the utmost importance that entrepreneurs create various healthcare solutions that will cater to the medical needs of the continent’s future. While the pandemic made investors pay attention to Africa’s private healthcare space, women’s health — a subcategory dominated by women founders that broadly addresses women’s […]
Autonomous vehicle company Aurora sells $820M worth of stock
Aurora Innovation, the self-driving technology company that aims to launch an autonomous trucking business in 2024, has completed a capital raise of $820 million from a public and concurrent private offering of its stock. The company expects the deal to close Friday. The stock sale will help fund Aurora through commercial launch at the end […]
Cruise starts initial robotaxi testing in Miami
Cruise, the self-driving arm of General Motors, has begun initial testing and data collection in Miami, the company said in a tweet Wednesday. “Phase 1 is to familiarize our fleet with additional, diverse road conditions while collecting data,” the company said. Cruise declined to provide any further information, like what Phase 2 entails and when […]