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☆ Hague court rejects India's objections over water treaty arbitration
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

AMSTERDAM/NEW DELHI, July 6 (Reuters) - The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in the Hague rejected on Thursday India's objections to a Pakistan-initiated procedure over water use in the Indus River basin, reopening a procedure that had been blocked for many years. India called the arbitration proceeding illegal as a neutral expert was also looking at the issue and the World Bank-brokered treaty prohibits parallel proceedings. India has boycotted The Hague court proceedings and questioned the competence of the court. A spokesperson for India's foreign ministry, Arindam Bagchi, said India's "consistent and principled position has been that the constitution of this so-called court of arbitration is in contravention of the clear letter and spirit of the Indus Water Treaty". Pakistan's Foreign Office said that it remained fully committed to the implementation of the Indus Water Treaty and its settlement mechanism, which it termed a "foundational agreement" between the two countries.

Persons: Hague, Arindam Bagchi, Bagchi, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Krishn Kaushik, Gibran Peshimam, Richard Chang, Kim Coghill Organizations: AMSTERDAM, World Bank, Ratle Hydro, GV De, Thomson Locations: DELHI, Pakistan, India, Hague, Pakistan's, Amsterdam, New Delhi, Karachi

June 29 (Reuters) - Typeface, a generative AI platform for enterprise content creation, said on Thursday that it was valued at $1 billion after an oversubscribed Series B funding round led by Salesforce's (CRM.N) global investment arm, bringing the total capital raised to $165 million. The $100 million round also saw participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Madrona, GV (Google Ventures), Menlo Ventures, and M12, Microsoft's Venture Fund, the company said. In February, Lightspeed Venture Partners, GV, Menlo Ventures, and M12 invested $65 million when Typeface emerged from stealth and launched publicly. AI startups have emerged as a bright spot for investments this year amid a wider slowdown in funding caused by rising interest rates and high inflation. Editing by Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Salesforce's, Gokul, Krystal Hu, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Lightspeed Venture Partners, GV, Google Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Microsoft's Venture Fund, Google, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru, Toronto

☆ There's a big venture capital funding downturn — except for this one set of investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Venture capital funding into startups has drastically slowed. Corporate venture capital grew in 2022 and looks to grow again in 2023, bucking the broader downturn. Continuing a pullback in funding activity in 2022, venture capital into European startups fell by 32.1% in Q1 of 2023, per Pitchbook data. Faced with the prospect of raising down rounds at slashed valuations, startups are turning to an alternative mode of funding — corporate venture capitalists. A corporate venture capital firm, or CVC, is the investing arm of a specific business.

Persons: Ekaterina Almasque, Almasque, Sabrina Maniscalco, Luis Valente, Valente, iLoF, Charlie Bullock Organizations: Corporate, GV, Google, Catalyst, Catalyst Fund, Presidio Ventures, Japan's Sumitomo Corporation, Microsoft, OSRAM Ventures

☆ Carl Pei's smartphone startup Nothing raises $96 million from investors for U.S. expansion
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Nothing, the hardware startup from OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, raised $96 million from investors in a new round of funding to fuel an expansion of its business into the U.S. and the launch of its new smartphone. Nothing said it has now launched more than 1.5 million products to date. With another $96 million in the bank, the company plans to scale its operations further so that it can produce more products and ramp up sales. Nothing has launched three products to date — the Ear 1, Ear 2 and Ear Stick wireless earbuds, and the Nothing Phone, its first smartphone. Pei first disclosed plans to expand its business in the U.S. in December 2022, in an exclusive interview with CNBC.

Persons: Carl Pei, Tony Zappala, Pei Organizations: OnePlus, Highland, GV, EQT Ventures, C Capital, Swedish House Mafia, Qualcomm, CNBC Locations: London, Highland Europe, U.S

The resignations of GV Ravishankar of Peak XV Partners, earlier Sequoia Capital India, Russell Dreisenstock of Prosus, and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative's Vivian Wu mean Byju's board now only comprises the founder's family. In a statement to Reuters on Friday, Byju's said it is in discussions with investors about reshaping the board, including the addition of independent directors. A "few" investors had to vacate their board seats as their shareholding dropped below the required minimum threshold, necessitating a board reshuffle, it said. The confirmation of the resignations comes after Reuters and other media outlets reported on Thursday that three Byju's board members had quit recently. On Friday, sources told Reuters that the edtech was asking its three global investors to reconsider their decision to quit its board.

Persons: Russell Dreisenstock, Chan Zuckerberg, Vivian Wu, Byju's, Akriti Sharma, Shivani Tanna, Shounak Dasgupta, Anil D'Silva Organizations: GV, XV Partners, Sequoia Capital, Blackrock, Reuters, Deloitte, Thomson Locations: Sequoia, Sequoia Capital India, Bengaluru

☆ A Nvidia-backed platform that turns text into A.I.-generated avatars boosts valuation to $1 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

In this article NVDA Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTAn animated avatar generated by the AI video platform Synthesia. To do that, Synthesia has created animated avatars which look and sound like humans, but are generated by AI. Synthesia is a form of generative AI, similar to OpenAI's ChatGPT. The company doesn't disclose its sales or revenue metrics, though it says it "consistently driven triple digit growth," with over 12 million videos produced on the platform to date. Synthesia plans to ramp up investment into its technology, with a particular focus on advancing its AI research and making Synthesia avatars capable of performing more tasks.

Persons: Synthesia, Slack, Kleiner Perkins, Morgan Stanley, Victor Riparbelli, Matthias Niessner, Steffen Tjerrild, Lourdes Agapito, Philippe Botteri, Riparbelli, Nvidia isn't, it's, They're, Felix Capital, Atomico, they're, David Beckham, Beckham Organizations: Nvidia, CNBC, Accel, Facebook, Spotify, GV, FirstMark, MMC, YouTube, Netflix, Business, Iconiq, Felix, Meritech Locations: London, A.I

☆ Generative AI startup Synthesia just raised $90 million in fresh funds from US fund Accel and Nvidia at a $1 billion valuation
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

London-based generative AI firm Synthesia has raised $90 million in new funding. Synthesia is now valued at $1 billion, making it the latest AI unicorn despite the difficult market. Generative AI startup Synthesia has raised $90 million in new funding at a unicorn valuation. "What we're also proud of is being a leading AI company that's based in Europe, we intend to stay in Europe and build an impactful AI company here because the talent is available." Synthesia previously raised $50 million in funding in December 2021 in a Series B round led by Kleiner Perkins, with participation from GV.

Persons: Synthesia, We've, Victor Riparbelli, OpenAI's, it's, Kleiner Perkins, Riparbelli, David Beckham Organizations: Accel, GV Locations: London, NVentures, Europe

☆ Alphabet-backed U.K. payment firm GoCardless to cut 15% of headcount
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Alphabet -backed British fintech unicorn GoCardless has said it will reduce its global headcount by 15%, slashing 135 roles in a bid to cut costs. A separate 15 roles will be transferred from Britain to Latvian capital Riga. The payments firm most recently raised $312 million in a Series G funding round in February, earning a $2.1 billion valuation. Its backers include Alphabet's venture capital investment arm GV, BlackRock and Permira. Takeuchi hinted at the firm's renewed focus on profitability to CNBC in comments at the Money 20/20 conference last week.

Persons: GoCardless, Hiroki Takeuchi, Permira, Takeuchi, CNBC's Ryan Browne, — CNBC's Ryan Browne Organizations: GV, CNBC Locations: British, Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Latvian, Riga, London, BlackRock

☆ The decision to split Sequoia Capital into 3 entities puts to bed any questions of a power struggle at the VC powerhouse
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

VC powerhouse Sequoia Capital announced Tuesday that it is splitting into three entities. One of those entities, Sequoia China, known locally as HongShan, will operate as a distinct firm. The mighty Sequoia Capital is dropping branches. The decision puts to bed any question of a power struggle at one of Silicon Valley's most respected firms. And unlike some other global firms that had veto power over investments overseas, according to Bloomberg, Sequoia China had full autonomy to strike its own deals.

Persons: Roelof Botha, Neil Shen, Forbes, Alex Konrad, Doug Leone, Instagram, Bytedance, Botha, Shen, Julian Bek, Elon Musk's Organizations: Sequoia Capital, Sequoia, XV Partners, YouTube, Bloomberg, Shen, Sequoia China, Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Accel, Elon, Twitter, Fidelity Locations: Sequoia China, China, Europe, HongShan, India, Southeast Asia, Sequoia, Sequoia Capital China, Asia, Silicon Valley, London, FTX

☆ Safran confirms talks with Raytheon over flight control assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The logo of Safran is seen outside the company's headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, January 2, 2019. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File PhotoPARIS, June 5 (Reuters) - French aero engine maker Safran (SAF.PA) said on Monday it was s in discussions with U.S. aerospace company Raytheon Technologies (RTX.N) for the potential acquisition of certain flight control and actuation activities, confirming earlier media reports. As appropriate, detailed information on a possible transaction would be given in due course," Safran said in a short statement. Safran shares ended down 1.3% at 137,24 euros on the French stock market while Raytheon shares were up 0.4% at around 15:40 GMT. Earlier, Bloomberg reported that Safran was in talks with Raytheon over flight control assets for a deal worth one billion dollars.

Persons: Safran, Gonzalo Fuentes, SAF.PA, Benoit Van Overstraeten Organizations: REUTERS, French, Raytheon Technologies, Raytheon, Bloomberg, GV, Thomson Locations: Issy, Paris, France

OAKLAND, California, May 31 (Reuters) - Lightmatter, a Boston-based startup using light for AI computing, said on Wednesday it raised $154 million and tripled its valuation as customers in need of faster, more energy efficient computing for AI work are buying its systems. "We use light to link computer chips together and we also use light to do calculations for deep learning," Lightmatter co-founder and CEO Nick Harris said. "The reason that we're getting these customers and data center scale deployments with our interconnect is that the generative AI boom is driving high-end chips like crazy." Light has been used for decades in the telecommunications industry to move data across the world with fiber optic cables. Harris said Envise will be able to run large AI models but will not train them.

Persons: Lightmatter, Nick Harris, Harris, Envise, Jane Lanhee Lee, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: GV, Google Ventures, Inc, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Thomson Locations: OAKLAND, California, Boston

☆ Here's the 25-page pitch deck a fintech helping Gen-Z shoppers get the best deals online used to attract investors like Paris Hilton, The Chainsmokers, and GV to back its $15 million Series A
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The startup scrapes users' emails for discounts and promotions, applying them at the point of sale. Checkmate is a savings app and web browser extension for Gen-Z online shoppers that pushes promotions and deals to the user at the right time. Checkmate utilizes machine learning and language processors to scrape users' emails for promotions and discounts from their favorite brands. Pall introduced Checkmate to other potential celebrity investors, including Paris Hilton, who participated in the Series A. Check out the 25-page deck Checkmate used to raise its $15 million Series A.

☆ Apple investigated in France over product obsolescence
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS, May 15 (Reuters) - The Paris prosecutor has opened a judicial inquiry into planned obsolescence of Apple products, a spokesperson for the prosecutor said on Monday, confirming an AFP report. "Following a complaint, an investigation was opened in December 2022 into deceptive marketing practices and programmed obsolescence," the spokesperson said, adding that the complaint had been filed by NGO Halte a L'Obsolescence Programmee (HOP). Reporting by GV De Clercq Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bowery: 2023 CNBC Disruptor 50
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Cnbc.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Founded in 2015 in New York City, Bowery is among several urban plant factories that are changing food supplies, and attracting substantial funding. The need to grow produce more efficiently, and closer to end markets, is represented in Bowery and the concept of vertical agriculture. Early last year, Bowery secured a $150 million credit investment from KKR & Co. Overall, Bowery increased its retail distribution 40% in 2022, with supermarket chains Albertsons, Giant Food, Walmart and Whole Foods on board. Almost a decade on from its founding, the idea behind Bowery remains novel, but skeptics say vertical farming remains closer to a DIY niche than a grown up, globally scalable agtech industry.

☆ ECB policymakers promise more hikes to beat inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"The essence of the effort has been done, although there will probably be a few more rate hikes," Villeroy told French broadcaster Radio Classique. Villeroy explained Thursday's smaller rate increase by saying higher rates were beginning to have an effect on inflation. And two ECB surveys also published on Friday showed economists had cut their inflation forecasts for this year and the next - to 5.6% and 2.6% respectively - and that companies were moderating the pace of price hikes. The ECB aims to bring inflation back to 2% by 2025, "maybe even by the end of 2024", he added. "We will keep rates high for a sufficiently long time to get inflation back to 2%," the Lithuanian central bank chief said.

☆ Newsletter publisher TheSkimm has laid off 13%, its second layoff this year as cuts ripple across media
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Newsletter publisher TheSkimm laid off 13%, or about 22 people. It's the second layoff this year for the once-buzzy millennial media outlet. Layoffs hit newsletter publisher TheSkimm for the second time this year as it continues to face a punishing advertising market. The cuts came amid a tough economic environment in which a wide range of media, entertainment, and tech companies have laid off staff. The company faced tough times in the pandemic when advertisers were spending less and reassessing which media outlets were truly essential, and TheSkimm's lighthearted tone felt out of step with the times.

☆ EU antitrust ruling on UBS' Credit Suisse takeover due by June 7
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS, April 27 (Reuters) - European Union antitrust authorities will decide on UBS' planned takeover of fellow Swiss bank Credit Suisse by June 7, the European Commission said in a statement. The Commission's competition policy website showed that UBS filed for approval on April 26, with a provisional deadline for a decision set for June 7. On March 19, UBS agreed to buy rival Credit Suisse for 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.23 billion) in stock and agreed to assume up to 5 billion francs in losses, in a shotgun merger engineered by Swiss authorities to avoid more market-shaking turmoil in global banking. read moreReporting by Foo Yun Chee Writing by GV De Clercq Editing by Marine StraussOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Generative AI startup Synthesia in talks with US fund Accel to raise funds in a deal that could value it at around $1 billion, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Generative AI startup Synthesia is in talks to raise funds from US firm Accel, sources say. A deal could value the startup at around $1 billion, according to those familiar with the discussions. It is the latest AI startup to benefit from the immense demand from VCs to invest in the sector. AI startup Synthesia is in talks to raise funds in a deal that could value it at around $1 billion as investor demand for the sector continues to intensify, sources say. Fellow London startup ElevenLabs raised $100 million last month while the likes of Fetch.ai and Iris Audio raised $40 million and $7 million respectively.

☆ Belgium's only cryptocurrency platform suspends activities
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Marine Strauss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, April 27 (Reuters) - The first and only Belgian cryptocurrency lending platform, Bit4You, said it was suspending its activities after CoinLoan, one of its main service providers, was declared insolvent by an Estonian court. CoinLoan, a crypto lending company based in the Baltic state, also no longer has the required registration as a custodian of virtual currencies, Bit4You said in a statement on its website. "To date, we have no indication that the virtual currencies held on behalf of our customers with CoinLoan cannot be recovered," Bit4You added. As proportions of Bit4You's customers' investments, CoinLoan holds around 85.66% of Ripple (XRP) coin, around 81.45% of top cryptocurrency bitcoin and 67.32% of Ethereum, according to the statement. The company had limited user withdrawals in July 2022 to $5,000 per 24-hour period to stave off a run on its funds.

☆ Danone raises sales outlook as shoppers absorb price hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Dominique Vidalon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, April 26 (Reuters) - Danone (DANO.PA), the world's largest yoghurt-maker, raised its 2023 outlook on Wednesday after it managed to pass on increased costs through price rises and first-quarter sales growth was the fastest in a decade. Danone, which expects prices to peak this year and also anticipates productivity gains, kept its forecast for a moderate improvement in recurring operating margin for the year. The maker of Activia yoghurt, Evian water and Aptamil infant milk said it expected like-for-like 2023 sales growth of between 4% and 6%, having previously forecast 3%-5% growth. Danone increased its prices by 10.3% during the quarter while sales volume remained positive, up 0.2%. In China, Infant Nutrition, and also Adult and Pediatric Specialties made a particularly strong start to the year with double-digit growth.

☆ Danone raises 2023 sales outlook after price hikes boost Q1
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Dominique Vidalon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, April 26 (Reuters) - Danone (DANO.PA) raised its 2023 sales growth outlook after it reported higher-than-expected first-quarter revenue on Wednesday, as the world's largest yoghurt maker was able to raise prices in the face of high raw materials and energy costs. Danone, maker of Activia yoghurt, Evian water and Aptamil infant milk said it expected like-for-like 2023 sales growth of between 4% and 6%, having previously forecast 3-5% growth. Danone said sales rose 10.5% like-for-like to 6.96 billion euros in the first quarter, beating expectations for 7.3% growth in a company-compiled consensus of 18 analysts. Danone, like its rivals Nestle (NESN.S) and Unilever (ULVR.L), has increased prices to cope with surging commodities and supply chain costs but faces a challenge when it comes to the extent of price hikes before even affluent shoppers decide enough is enough. Danone increased its prices by 10.3% during the quarter while sales volume remained positive, up 0.2%.

☆ France's Macron promises government action plan in next 100 days
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Michel Rose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In a televised speech two days after signing into law plans to increase the retirement age by two years to 64, Macron said he wanted his prime minister to propose measures on working conditions, law and order, education and health issues. "On July 14, we must be able to take stock," Macron said, referring to Bastille Day, France's national day, often a milestone in French politics. "We have ahead of us 100 days of appeasement, unity, ambition and action for France," he said. Macron gave few details about the roadmap he wanted the government to work on but said it should improve working conditions and also tighten immigration laws. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen said Macron was "stuck in a parallel world".

☆ EU says Broadcom's takeover of VMware could hurt competition
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BRUSSELS, April 12 (Reuters) - The European Commission on Wednesday said the proposed $61 billion takeover by U.S. chipmaker Broadcom (AVGO.O) of cloud computing company VMware (VMW.N) could restrict competition in the market for certain hardware components. The commission said it had informed Broadcom of its preliminary view, which is the result of an in-depth investigation of the takeover that was opened late last year. Broadcom now has the opportunity to reply to the commission's objections and to request an oral hearing. Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by GV De ClercqOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Macron: France favours 'status quo' on Taiwan, position unchanged
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Michel Rose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte speak at a news conference during Macron's state visit to the Netherlands, in Amsterdam, Netherlands April 12, 2023. We're in favour of the status quo. This policy is constant and hasn't changed," Macron told a news conference during a state visit in the Netherlands. "So no, France does not support provocations, does not engage in fantasy politics and considers the status quo, respect and clarity are the best allies of European strategic autonomy," Macron said. The meeting between Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California last week - prior to China's drills - was a "provocation", the diplomat said.

☆ French privacy watchdog investigating complaints about ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS, April 11 (Reuters) - France's privacy watchdog CNIL said on Tuesday it was investigating several complaints about ChatGPT after the chatbox was temporarily banned in Italy over a suspected breach of privacy rules. "The CNIL has received several complaints about ChatGPT and is investigating them," the watchdog said by email in response to a Reuters query. Reporting by Silvia Aloisi; Editing by GV De ClercqOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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