SBF started a $2 billion venture fund using Alameda loans

October 11, 2023
On January 14, 2022, former crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried tweeted: “First, we’re launching a $2 billion venture fund, FTX Ventures. As a founder, it’s important to support other founders creating great companies. Hopefully this will allow us to do that a lot more.” A noble goal, to be sure. But rather than raise capital for […]

Mastercard CFO says India’s UPI ‘incredibly painful experience’ for ecosystem participants

October 11, 2023
India’s UPI is “fantastic at many levels” but remains an “incredibly painful experience” for ecosystem participants, Mastercard CFO said at a recent conference, underscoring tensions around the mobile payments rail that facilitates over 10 billion transactions monthly in the nation with low card penetration. When questioned about Mastercard’s prospects in emerging markets such as India, […]

Recs is a social ‘wallet’ for stashing and sharing your favorite places

October 11, 2023
The most popular apps suck us into the technological equivalent of couch lock, but it’s easy to imagine how things might have gone differently. Rather than idly scrolling and mindlessly issuing likes into the void, social media could — and, at its best, does — empower us to connect beyond its virtual confines. It’s not […]

WM Motor’s bankruptcy highlights challenges faced by EV startups in China

October 11, 2023
Chinese electric vehicle startup WM Motor has filed for bankruptcy, an example of yet another once-promising EV upstart that has been pushed to insolvency as bigger players gain market share and Chinese spending on big ticket items dwindles. WM Motor, backed by Baidu and Tencent, was one of the most well-funded EV startups in China, […]

Evolution Space to build solid rocket motor testing center at NASA Stennis

October 11, 2023
Mojave, California-based Evolution Space has a new deal with NASA to begin building a solid propulsion center and solid rocket motor testing at the agency’s Stennis Space Center, which will see former facilities repurposed into Evolution’s “Space Propulsion Center.” Evolution plans on repurposing former facilities that were part of the Mississippi Army Ammunition Plant, which […]

India’s InsuranceDekho raises another $60 million

October 11, 2023
InsuranceDekho, the insurer that was incubated within the automobile marketplace group CarDekho, has raised $60 million in a new funding round as the startup looks to supercharge its growth. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, insurer BNP Paribas Cardif, Beams Fintech Fund and Yogesh Mahansaria Family Office financed InsuranceDekho’s Series B funding, valuing the Indian startup at […]

Japanese VC Beyond Next Ventures raises $67.7M in a first close of its deep tech fund

October 11, 2023
A Japanese fund focused on early-stage, Asian deep tech startups is doubling down on the opportunity, despite a wider slowdown investing in moonshots globally. Tokyo-based Beyond Next Ventures is targeting up to ¥25 billion (about $168 million) for BNV Fund 3, its third fund, and today, the venture capital firm said it completed a first […]