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☆ What's more important? AI or the election.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In today's big story, we're announcing the finalists for our business, tech, and innovation bracket. What's on deck:This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. If you're just catching up, a few weeks ago we identified eight of the biggest trends in business, tech, and innovation. And then there were two: the AI race vs the US presidential election. Dan Rosen, founder and partner, Commerce Ventures:Advertisement"As a fintech investor, AI strikes me as more important.

Persons: —, we're, Chelsea Jia Feng, Readers, Bruce K, Lee, Dan Rosen, Ira Allen, Tracy Albert, Wendy Craft, Elle, Dodd, Frank, Zach Blank, Nick DiGiovanni, Adam Jeffery, Ian MacNicol, David Einhorn, Jesse Cohn, Greg Coffey, Goldman Sachs, Brian Robinson, Nelson Peltz's, James Park, would've, Justin Sullivan, Marissa Mayer's, Enrique Munoz Torres, Elon Musk, Musk, Lukas Schulze, it's, Dan DeFrancesco, Jordan Parker Erb, Hallam Bullock, George Glover Organizations: Service, Business, Keebeck Wealth, Commerce Ventures, CNBC, NBCU, Getty, Elliott Management, Sohn, Street Journal, Disney, UCLA, Yahoo, LinkedIn, Elon, Apple, Ford, Workers, Advertising Research, NCAA Locations: Europe, California, New York, London

☆ Digital firm Kevel raised $23 million to help brands stand up advertising businesses. Here's the pitch deck it used to take on giants like Criteo and Epsilon.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-21 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Earlier this month, the adtech firm Kevel announced that it had raised $23 million in a Series C round of funding to help retailers set up and run advertising businesses. Fourteen-year-old Kevel, formerly known as Adzerk, sells software that brands, including Klarna and Delivery Hero, pay a monthly fee for to manage advertising businesses on e-commerce websites. Kevel's products help retailers sell search ads on e-commerce websites, provide an ad server to manage and place ads, and give access to an audience tool that collects retailers' first-party data. Kevel competes with a growing number of adtech firms that help retailers stand up ad businesses, like Criteo, Epsilon, and Microsoft. Kevel doesn't sell ads, which Avery said the firm benefits from as more retailers like Target's Roundel take their ad businesses in-house.

Persons: Kevel, James Avery, Puja Rios, —, Avery, Morgan Stanley Organizations: Business, Walmart, Epsilon, Microsoft, Interactive, Fulcrum, Partners, Godwin Capital Group, Iberis, Dunnhumby Ventures, Commerce Ventures

☆ Here's the 14-slide pitch deck Deft, an AI-powered search engine for e-commerce, used to raise $1.8 million in a round backed by Jason Calacanis
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Deft, an AI-powered search engine startup for e-commerce, has emerged from stealth with a $1.8 million funding round. "Google and Amazon continue to push the most relevant searches down so they can make more money and marketers have figured out how to bump up results using SEO," Zach Hudson, Deft cofounder and CEO, told Insider. The rise of AI following the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT 3 last year led to increased pressure to launch for Deft, Hudson added. Deft is emerging from stealth with its product after raising $1.8 million in funding at the beginning of 2022. The company's funding round comes from Hustle Fund, Frontier VC, Vitalize, Long Ecommerce Ventures, 43 Ventures, Launch, and angel investor Jason Calacanis alongside a variety of founders.

Persons: Alex Gunnarson, Zach Hudson, Hudson, Long, Jason Calacanis, I've Organizations: Google, Hustle Fund, Frontier, Long Ecommerce Ventures, Ventures

☆ India’s fintech partygoers nurse a needed hangover
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Shritama Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MUMBAI, Sept 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - India’s financial technology industry is suffering from overindulgence. And it was on full display at a sombre Global Fintech Festival in Mumbai last week. The South Asian country is the world’s third-largest fintech market by number of unicorns. Poster child Byju’s is squabbling with lenders as investors walk away and financial reports get delayed. Follow @ShritamaBose on XCONTEXT NEWSThe Global Fintech Fest organised by the National Payments Corporation of India and industry association Payments Council of India was held between Sept. 5 and 7 in Mumbai.

Persons: securitisation, ’, hesitatingly, Vishwas Patel, they’re, fintechs, Mukesh Ambani’s, Antony Currie, Katrina Hamlin, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Founders, Boston Consulting Group, Venture, Reserve Bank, One97 Communications, FSN, Commerce Ventures, Innoven Triple Blue Capital, XV Partners, Financial, National Payments Corporation of India, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, Mumbai, India, fintech, Sequoia Capital’s India, Southeast Asia, Rwanda, Japan, Germany, Peru

☆ Indian shares set to open lower ahead of RBI policy decision
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, April 6 (Reuters) - Indian shares are poised to open lower on Thursday, ahead of what many expect to be the Reserve Bank of India's final interest rate hike in the current cycle. India's NSE stock futures listed on the Singapore exchange were down 0.12% at 17,603 as of 7:59 a.m. IST. The MSCI's gauge of the broader index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) was down 0.42%. ** Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd (EQUI.NS): Co posts 36% YoY growth in gross advances at 280.61 billion rupees in the quarter-ended March. ** Avenue Supermarts Ltd (AVEU.NS): Co posts standalone revenue from operations at 103.37 billion rupees for the quarter-ended March, up 20% YoY; total stores at 324.

Vahia is one among India’s young and aspirational 1.4 billion population, whose propensity for online spending has attracted global companies and digital platforms. And as private consumption underpins economic growth in India, financial investors are targetting new ways to tap into it. India's per capita consumption of food was at $314 in 2020 compared to $884 for China, while that of clothing stood at $53.9 versus $212.9 for China, data from CLSA showed. FOREIGN INVESTORS JUMP INWith private consumption accounting for 60% of India's $3.5 trillion GDP, foreign portfolio investors have been quick to latch on. To be sure, it has not been all smooth sailing for investors as they chased India's consumption boom.

☆ Indian shares set to rise ahead of U.S. inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Indian shares are set to open higher on Tuesday, tracking the gains in global equities ahead of U.S. inflation data due later in the day, with a rise in domestic retail inflation in January above the Reserve Bank of India's upper threshold likely capping the move up. Wall Street equities closed higher on Monday, as investors expected consumer price index (CPI) data for January to ease. STOCKS TO WATCH** FSN E-Commerce Ventures (FSNE.NS): Co posts slide in consolidated net profit in Q3 on high expenses. ** Zee Entertainment (ZEE.NS): Co reports fall in consolidated net profit in third quarter on slide in ad spends and rise in costs. ** Steel Authority of India (SAIL.NS): Co reports fall in consolidated net profit in Q3** Power Finance Corporation (PWFC.NS): Co reports rise in consolidated net profit in Q3.

☆ Fintechs are opening up access to alternative investments previously reserved for sophisticated investors, but some VCs question if that's a good thing
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Asia Martin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

But some don't think retail investors are ready for the level of risk in the asset class. Alternative investments, as the name suggests, is an asset outside of traditional investments like stocks, bonds, and cash. Investors choose from private-equity funds, venture capital, hedge funds, real estate, and art, among other areas. Such returns have attracted state pension funds, university endowments, and, most recently, individual investors from the ultra-high-net-worth to the Joe Schmoes. Companies like iCapital, Allocate, RealBlocks and CAIS (pronounced case) launched to help wealth-management firms usher their clients into sought-after private market funds.

☆ Tencent’s Top Shareholder Prosus Embraces Tech’s New Normal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Stephen Wilmot | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The chill in technology markets has spread to Prosus, the problematic Amsterdam-listed investment company that sometimes appears insulated from wider trends by its $94 billion stake in Chinese internet giant Tencent. Prosus said Wednesday that its half-year consolidated trading losses more than doubled to $449 million, as it continued to invest in its roughly $30 billion portfolio of e-commerce ventures, which are engaged in cash-hungry businesses such as food delivery and fintech. It also signaled that this would be the peak period for cash burn as it adapts to the rising cost of capital by cutting costs and shifting its operating focus toward profitability. The company thinks its e-commerce investments need another two years to break even.

☆ INDIA STOCKS Indian shares seen opening higher, Fed in focus
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BENGALURU, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Indian shares may kick off November trading on a higher note on Tuesday, after rising for three straight sessions, tracking gains in broader Asia as investors turn focus to the U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting this week. India's NSE stock futures, listed on the Singapore exchange , were 0.61% higher as of 0203 GMT. Investors this week will be looking for the outcome of the Fed policy meeting and the outlook on future rate hikes path. The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates by 75 basis points on Wednesday at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting. ($1 = 82.7910 Indian rupees)Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ This Y Combinator-backed startup wants to transform how hotels manage guests. Check out the 21-slide pitch deck Canary Technologies used to raise $30 million.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Canary Technologies has raised $30 million to overhaul the way hotels manage guests digitally. The startup's platform is used by global brands such as Radisson Hotels and Best Western. Check out the 21-slide pitch deck it used to raise the Series B round below. The startup's tech is used by brands such as Radisson Hotels, Best Western, and Four Seasons. Check out the 21-slide pitch deck it used to raise the funds below:

☆ INDIA STOCKS Indian shares rise on metals, auto boost
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Indian shares opened higher on Thursday after six consecutive sessions of losses, boosted by gains in metals and auto companies, with investors eyeing support from central banks to allay fears of a global recession. The NSE Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) rose 0.9% to 17,005 as of 0351 GMT, while the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) gained 0.9% to 57,093.19. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterForeign institutional investors sold a net 27.72 billion Indian rupees ($340.5 million) worth of equities on Wednesday, while domestic investors purchased 25.44 billion rupees of shares, as per provisional data available with the National Stock Exchange. The Nifty metals index (.NIFTYMET) rose 2.5%, while the auto index (.NIFTYAUTO) gained 1.4%Indian cosmetics-to-fashion retailer Nykaa's parent FSN E-Commerce Ventures (FSNE.NS) rose 4.3% after the company said it will consider an issue of bonus shares. read more($1 = 81.4060 Indian rupees)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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