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☆ A wave of AI 'acquihires' is coming. Here's who could be looking for deals.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

But the tech giant's play underscores the market's demand for tech talent — and venture capitalists expect a wave of "acquihires" to hit the AI ecosystem later this year. M&A dealmaking among AI startups is already off to a strong start this year, with 55 exits recorded in Q1 of 2024, per Crunchbase data. AdvertisementThe majority of AI startups are overpriced, said Konstantin Vinogradov, general partner at Runa Capital. AI startups with revenue in the single-digit millions that raised money at unicorn valuations, Dash said, might not even have that option. Those deals don't make sense for buyers, he said, which could lead Big Tech companies or other AI startups to poach their talent instead.

Persons: —, Inflection's, Ayangar, Konstantin Vinogradov, Somesh Dash, overshadowing, Shmuel Chafets, Sivesh Sivakumar, Shaun Johnson, Naveen Rao, Sivakumar, Johnson, PhotoRoom, Aravind Srinivas, Mike Smeed, Chafets, Dash, they'll Organizations: Service, Microsoft, Business, Investors, Runa, Big Tech, Apple, Target, Ventures, Accenture, Boston Consulting Group, Intuit, Nike, American Express, Safeway, InMotion Ventures, Disney, Netflix Locations: OpenOcean, Snowflake, Databricks

☆ Roll up, roll up: Private equity funds target buyouts and consolidation at Europe's cash-strapped tech startups
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

More importantly buyers – in the form of private equity firms – are starting to line up. "Growth is clearly harder so we'll see a lot of M&A because PE funds are trying to grow their business and so are looking at early-stage tech businesses." This increased interest means private equity is set to play an enlarged role in Europe's startup ecosystem. Rollups, where private equity firms buy up a bunch of small businesses in an industry and consolidate them into a larger company, are also on the acquisition hunt. Crucially, private equity funds are unlikely to approach deals for companies that are not yet profitable, or unlikely to become so in the short term.

Persons: Alex Prokofjev, Claire Trachet, It's, Pedro Barros Organizations: Business, Venture, Bain, KKR, PE, Target Locations: London, Paris

☆ Deutsche Bank and UniCredit back $4.5 billion insurance startup Wefox with $55 million in fresh funds
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Wefox, the $4.5 billion German insurance technology group, has raised $55 million of fresh funding from Deutsche Bank and UniCredit , two anonymous sources familiar with the deal told CNBC. The deal was structured as a convertible debt agreement, meaning that the debt will be converted into equity when Wefox next raises cash, the sources told CNBC. The fresh funding follows on from a $55 million debt round Wefox raised from JPMorgan and Barclays and a $55 million internal fundraise earlier this year. As Wefox didn't raise equity, its valuation remains unchanged at $4.5 billion. Wefox is also pushing into a new model of selling insurance called "affinity" distribution.

Persons: Wefox, Goldman Sachs Organizations: Deutsche Bank, CNBC, JPMorgan, Barclays, VC, Salesforce Ventures, Target, Horizon Ventures, UBS, Mubadala Capital Ventures, Jupiter Asset Locations: U.S, Germany, Paris, Barcelona, Milan

☆ Tech bosses and workers are joining up to fight in Israel and say it's their 'duty to protect our country'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Israel's tech CEOs and workers are volunteering and being conscripted for military service. They've said it's their duty to "protect our country" after the "bloodiest day in Israel's history." "I want to be part of the people who are protecting our country," Israeli startup CodiumAI CEO Itamar Friedman, who has reported for reservist duty, told The Wall Street Journal . People have been rushing into military service," he added. Israel has compulsory military service, with all male citizens over the age of 18 required to serve 32 months in the armed forces.

Persons: They've, —, Itamar Friedman, Shmuel Chafets, Armis, Amitai Ratzon, Israel Organizations: Hamas, Service, Gaza, Wall Street, Bloomberg, Target Global Locations: Israel, Tel Aviv, Gaza

☆ The chipmaker powering the AI revolution has canceled a 2,500 person conference in Tel Aviv due to the Israel-Hamas war
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Chipmaker Nvidia canceled its AI Summit in Tel Aviv which had sessions on topics like AI and LLMs. Some Israeli tech CEOs and VCs are even volunteering for military service to help out in the war. On its website, Nvidia highlighted over 6,000 startups in Israel with investments from VCs, which makes it "one of the world's most vibrant technology hubs." AdvertisementAdvertisementThe event was supposed to have 60 sessions on topics about AI, LLMs, cybersecurity, autonomous vehicles and more. Some Israeli tech CEOs and VCs are volunteering for army service to help out in the war against Hamas.

Persons: —, Benjamin Netanyahu, Jensen Huang, Itamar Friedman, Shmuel Chafets Organizations: Nvidia, Hamas, Service, Gaza Ministry, Health, CNBC, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Lenovo, Target Locations: Tel Aviv, Israel, Gaza, Snowflake, VCs

☆ Embedded finance, FinOps, and treasury management are grabbing VC attention right now despite a collapse in fintech funding, investors say
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Global VC fintech funding has been cut in half to $23 billion so far this year, per S&P data. Fintech startups focused on solving business issues have remained somewhat resilient. Globally venture capital funding to fintech companies dropped 49% year-on-year to $23 billion in the first half of 2023, according to S&P data. Within that, investment in consumer-facing fintech startups, such as banking and trading apps, has endured an even more torrid year, sliding by 73.8% to $1.9 billion in Q2. Insider spoke to four fintech investors who identified the areas within B2B fintech that are capturing their attention right now.

Persons: Khalil Hefaf, fintech, Hefaf, Uber, Banks, Alix Brunet, Europe's, Weavr, Griffin cofounders Allen Rohner, David Jarvis Griffin, Dan Chaplin, Kaushik Subramanian, Payrails cofounders Emre Talay, Orkhan Abudullayev, Nicolas Thouzeau Payrails, Chaplin Organizations: Target, Mass Mutual Ventures, Griffin, Dawn Capital, Treasury, Payrails, EQT Ventures, London, UBS Locations: Europe, digitize, London, Germany, Payrails

An influential oil producers' alliance could collapse if unity dissolves around output policy, according to the managing partner of investing group Clean Energy Transition. The breakup of OPEC+, Lekander said, could send oil prices careening to as low as $35 per barrel. Oil prices, which are down sharply year-to-date, were trading slightly higher on Thursday afternoon. The OPEC+ group has sought to distance itself from accusations of cartel behavior, saying its policies target global supply inventories, rather than specific fixed prices. Nevertheless, some Middle East nations in the coalition, which heavily depend on fossil fuel revenues, list oil price assumptions and forecasts in their national budget plans.

Persons: Per Lekander, Lekander Organizations: OPEC, Brent, U.S, West Texas Locations: OPEC

PARIS, June 19 (Reuters) - Ukraine is in negotiations with Western arms manufacturers to boost production of weapons, including drones, and could sign contracts in coming months, a Ukrainian minister told Reuters. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year Ukraine has been scrambling to secure weapons ranging from munitions to rocket launchers to missiles. "That's why we think international partners coming to Ukraine, setting up production and making Ukraine part of the security framework for the free world is so essential." And some of the companies say that they are willing to come and invest and produce drones," he said. But Boyev is hopeful that the country can attract foreign drone makers and said the Ukraine government could offer substantial support.

Persons: Sergiy Boyev, Boyev, Volodomyr Zelenskiy, dronemakers, Baykar, Joanna Plucinska, Valerie Insinna, Olena Harmash, Susan Fenton Organizations: Strategic Industries, Kyiv, Reuters, Ukraine's, British, BAE Systems, Paris, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Western, Ukrainian, United States, Germany, Britain, Italy, France, Europe, Paris, Kyiv, Turkish, Russia, Moscow, Turkey, Norway, European

☆ Check out the 8-slide pitch deck German health tech startup Patient21 used to raise $108 million in a mix of equity and debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The startup offers both in-person clinical services and software for healthcare providers. We got an exclusive look at the 8-slide deck it used to raise the fresh funds. A startup that combines brick-and-mortar clinical services with software for healthcare providers just raised $108 million in fresh funds despite a drop off in global healthtech funding. While the average dental clinic in Germany operates four to six different software solutions to manage a whole patient journey, Patient21 aims to stand out by consolidating these services into one. With the fresh funds, Patient21 will hone the development of its software platform, and expand from Germany into newer European markets.

☆ Insurance startup Wefox maintains $4.5 billion valuation as it taps up investors and lenders for $110 million in fresh funds
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

German insurance tech startup Wefox has raised $110 million in a mix of debt and equity. Wefox, which counts Target Global and Mubadala among its backers, has kept its $4.5 billion valuation. Half of the fresh funds come in the form of debt funding from Barclays and JPMorgan. Wefox, an insurance tech startup backed by the likes of Target Global and Mubadala, has raised $110 million in a mix of debt and equity funding as it pushes to become a profitable business. The remaining $55 million is made up of debt funding from Barclays and JPMorgan.

☆ Check out these 12 digital-health startups that could be acquisition targets in 2023 as founders seek IPO alternatives, according to Dealroom data
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Insider has identified 12 digital-health startups that are M&A targets in 2023 with Dealroom data. Dealmaking remains strong among healthtech startups in the region, which recorded $13.27 billion in M&A exits in 2022 across 546 deals, according to PitchBook data. Insider has used data from Dealroom to analyze potential M&A targets in the digital-health sector. The criteria used on Dealroom's platform are not exhaustive but are a data-centric approach to looking at some potential targets. Here is a list of the 12 digital-health startups that could be scooped up as investors flock to the M&A market.

Iran has acknowledged sending drones to Russia but said they were sent before Russia's February 2022 invasion on Ukraine. Moscow has denied its forces used Iranian drones in Ukraine. The U.S. move on Thursday comes after the United States has accused China of considering supplying arms to Russia and warned Beijing against such a move. Moscow and Tehran have moved to forge closer relations after Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago, prompting sweeping Western sanctions. Russia and Iran, which is also under Western sanctions, are among the world's largest oil exporters.

REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiSEOUL, Jan 3 (Reuters) - South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) and affiliate Kia Corp (000270.KS) forecast on Tuesday that their combined global sales will jump nearly 10% in 2023, even as last year's sales fell short of target due to supply chain disruptions. The companies sold 6.85 million vehicles in 2022, about 4% less than their combined target of 7.16 million vehicles, largely due to problems including chip and component shortages. They said they would target global sales of 7.52 million vehicles this year. Shares of Hyundai Motor and Kia closed up 1.3% and 1.5% respectively, versus a 0.3% fall in the benchmark market KOSPI (.KS11). In October, Hyundai Motor cut its 2022 global sales target by about 7% to 4.01 million vehicles from 4.32 million vehicles.

☆ The cofounder of venture capital firm Target Global left after his Russian oligarch father was sanctioned
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Shona Ghosh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Alexander Frolov, the son of a sanctioned Russian oligarch, has left his tech investment firm. The UK sanctioned Alexander Frolov Senior on November 2. Alexander Frolov, the son of a sanctioned Russian oligarch, has left the venture capital firm he cofounded and ran, Target Global, amid ongoing concerns about Russian money flowing into European tech startups. The move was first reported by German publication FinanceFwd and was confirmed to Insider Monday by a spokesman for Target Global. The UK sanctioned Russian oligarch Alexander Frolov, formerly CEO of steel-mining firm Evraz, in November 2022.

☆ Kuda, a Nigerian fintech backed by Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures, is launching in the UK to offer remittances to Africans
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Nigerian fintech banking startup Kuda is launching its UK operations to offer remittances. UK to Nigeria remittances are worth $3.1 billion each year, according to data from the World Bank. Kuda has looked to diversify its sources of revenue in 2022 and is on the lookout for M&A. Nigerian fintech startup Kuda is launching in the UK to offer its remittance services for Africans. The banking startup, which was founded in 2017, has raised $90 million in funding from the likes of Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures and Target Global.

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