DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Getir emerged as a tentative winner in Europe's pandemic-fueled rapid-delivery sector. But it still faces sizable threats.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

In March 2022, Nazım Salur invited thousands of Getir employees to a Zoom meeting to celebrate its newfound "decacorn" status. However, as soaring inflation and rising interest rates began to hobble the tech sector, investors became far less forgiving of businesses that had oriented themselves more toward growth than sustainability. In December 2021, The Guardian reported that Getir had offered customers a deal where they could get £15 off if they spent £16. About 21 rapid-delivery startups were operating across Europe in 2021, with Getir joined by the German outfits Gorillas and Flink, as well as the British startup Zapp. Getir tentatively emerged as the winner in the rapid-delivery sector when it bought its main competitor, Gorillas , in a heavily discounted deal for $1.2 billion in December.

Persons: Nazım Salur, Nazım, Getir, Blok, London's, Alexi Rosenfeld, they've, Adam Neumann, Michael Moritz Organizations: Tiger Global, Mubadala, Financial Times, Getir, TechCrunch, Guardian, DST Global, Gorillas, Abu Dhabi Growth Fund, Google, PayPal Locations: Spanish, Berlin, Turkey, Turkish, Germany, Netherlands, Istanbul, Turkey's, Europe, British, Abu Dhabi

☆ How $7.75 billion Hopin went from pandemic darling to selling off its flagship business for $50 million and handing back some investor cash
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Callum Burroughs | Tasmin Lockwood | Michael Cogley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Virtual-events startup Hopin was a pandemic winner when it hit a $7.8 billion valuation in 2021. Now its CEO is stepping down, it's selling off parts of its business, and is set to hand back investor cash. But as vaccinations arrived and the travel restrictions eased, demand for Hopin's platform waned. "The pandemic was an extraordinary time to be investing," one London-based tech investor who had not backed Hopin said. Armed with more than $1 billion in investor cash, Boufarhat opted to make acquisitions.

Persons: Johnny Boufarhat, Boufarhat, Andreessen Horowitz, Catalyst, Slack, Hopin, Johnny ", Hopin Boufarhat, outsized, Streamyard, Badri Rajasekar, Klarna Organizations: Tiger, UPS, RingCentral, University of Manchester, Financial Times, Venture, Founders, Microsoft, Private Locations: London, Australia, Lebanese, US, Dubai, Papua New Guinea, Switzerland, Hopin

☆ Hopin, last valued at $7.8 billion, has sold its flagship virtual events business with founder set to step down as CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Hopin, last valued at $7.8 billion, said on Wednesday it has sold its virtual events business. Hopin founder Johnny Boufarhat is also set to depart his role as CEO next month. Hopin, one of Europe's fastest-growing startups in history, has sold its main events business for an undisclosed fee, the company announced on Wednesday. But a slowdown in demand for virtual events as the world reopened mixed with a broader downturn in tech has hobbled the company's growth. Now, Hopin said it has sold its main events business – Events and Sessions – to RingCentral, a publically-listed cloud communications provider.

Persons: Hopin, RingCentral, Johnny Boufarhat, Andreessen Horowitz, Badri Rajasekar, Boufarhat, StreamYard Organizations: Tiger Global, Catalyst, Financial Times, Sunday Times Locations: Hopin

☆ British payments fintech Volt in talks to raise fresh funds from Coinbase-backer IVP, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

London-based fintech startup Volt is set to raise fresh funds, sources say. The company, founded in 2019, is in talks with VC firm IVP over a deal worth around $50 million. British fintech startup Volt is in talks to raise fresh capital from Silicon Valley investing firm IVP, sources say. The payments firm, founded in 2019, has already raised around $28 million to date and counts Swedish investor EQT Ventures among its biggest backers. Volt is set to raise around $50 million as part of the deal, two London-based sources said.

Persons: Slack, PSD2, IVP, Hopin, Tom Greenwood, Jordan Lawrence Organizations: EQT Ventures, Fuel Ventures, Open Finance Association, Open Banking, IFX Locations: British, Silicon Valley, London, Europe, Volt's, Brazil

☆ Sequoia bolsters London office with sixth partner hire as VC firm unveils radical restructure
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Venture capital firm Sequoia has hired a sixth partner for its London office, Insider understands. Venture capital firm Sequoia has bolstered its presence in Europe with the hire of its sixth partner in London, Insider understands. "Since Julien joined us as an associate five years ago, he's become a valued member of our London team," Accel partner Sonali De Rycker said. Sequoia will expand in Europe despite a broader contraction in venture capital funding to European startups. Sequoia has closed 21 deals in Europe in the three years since it opened in London, Crunchbase data shows.

Persons: Julien Bek, Accel's Luciana Lixandru, Sequoia's Lixandru, Bek, Julien, he's, Sonali De Rycker, Slay, Matt Miller, George Robson, Anas Organizations: Sequoia, . Venture, Apple, Accel, London, Investment, Investments, Trade Republic, Global Founders Capital, Revolut Locations: Sequoia, Europe, London, California, China, India, Southeast Asia, Geneva, Switzerland, Lixandru

☆ Leaked email: Ex-Tiger Global dealmaker John Curtius offered to mortgage home to provide cash to founders fearful of missing payroll during SVB crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Former Tiger Global partner John Curtius offered to mortgage his house during the SVB crisis. Curtius offered founders interest-free loans to help them meet payroll before depositors were guaranteed. Former Tiger Global partner John Curtius offered to mortgage his home to help portfolio founders meet payroll at the height of the Silicon Valley Bank crisis, according to a leaked email seen by Insider. The investor didn't give further detail about the mortgage or his house on the email seen by Insider. Since leaving the New York-based hedge fund, Curtius has spent time trying to secure capital for his new fund Cedar Investment Management.

☆ VCs say hybrid work, generative AI, and niche collaboration tools will be some of the top future-of-work trends that dominate 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Insider talked to VCs about the rising trends they say will revolutionize the way we work and live. Insider spoke with 15 venture capitalists about the trends and verticals they think are most likely to revolutionize the way we work and live today. Therefore, startups that will thrive going forward are those that embrace a mix of in-person and remote work, known as hybrid work, Thacker and other VCs said. An increase in workers caregiving for aging or sick family members is also supported by flexible work, the CRV general partner Kristin Baker Spohn said. "A lot of employees, whether it's the Great Resignation or the pandemic, found themselves changing the way that they work."

☆ The female venture capitalist creating billions in a new world of work beyond the office
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( Rebecca Fannin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Worklife Ventures holds weekly meetings for its portfolio company founders to seek advice from successful Silicon Valley operators. You have to have an eye out for people and for new tools," Kimmel said. Worklife Ventures is betting on good returns from its 50 investments in startups, and with nine of them as unicorns, the stakes are high. With venture funds typically having a 10-year life cycle before investment returns are tallied, Worklife Ventures still has a ways to go. Join us October 25 - 26, 2022 for the CNBC Work Summit — Dislocation, Negotiation, and Determination: The World of Work Right Now.

☆ Check out the 17-slide pitch deck oVice used to raise $32 million to create virtual worlds for remote employees
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-16 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Japan-based oVice provides companies with customizable virtual offices. As businesses faced the new pandemic reality of virtual work in 2020, many organizations struggled with managing employees across hybrid workplaces. oVice, a virtual-office startup based in Japan, has raised $32 million in Series B funding from SBI, a Japanese financial-services company, and an unnamed investor, bringing its total funding raised to $45 million. Sae emphasized that oVice customers use their virtual spaces for more than just office work. Some have questioned the durability of virtual-office startups as employees begin returning to in-person work and other virtual-office and -event startups like Hopin face scrutiny and layoffs.

☆ GoStudent, a $3 billion edtech startup backed by SoftBank and Coatue, is laying off a tenth of its staff
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-16 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

GoStudent, Europe's first edtech unicorn, is laying off 200 employees — around 10% of its workforce. The Vienna-based startup is backed by investing giants like SoftBank, Coatue, and Tencent. It joins 23 other edtech companies that have let staffers go amid the global economic downturn. GoStudent, an edtech unicorn backed by some of the world's biggest tech investors, is laying off a tenth of its workforce, the company's CEO said. Japan's SoftBank, Chinese tech investor Tencent, and New York hedge fund Coatue have all backed GoStudent, which is valued at 3 billion euros (around $3 billion).

☆ These cloud startups were pandemic darlings. Now the downturn is helping giants like Google and Microsoft gobble them up.
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-29 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Productivity startups boomed as a result, but the downturn will give large suites an advantage. Only productivity tools that carve out new niches or address new challenges will have a chance. Startups building new categories are more likely to surviveWhile the downturn makes it harder for productivity and collaboration startups to grow, experts say it's not impossible. Many of the most popular productivity startups address collaboration problems that aren't solved by the existing software tools or are creating a new category of workplace tools. Companies like Miro, Figma, and Canva are creating a new category of visual collaboration tools aimed at remote teams.

Search resuls for: "Hopin"

11 mentions found