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☆ Here's the 14-page pitch deck that 40Seas, a fintech looking to bring "buy now pay later" to the trade industry, used to raise $16 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Bianca Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

It raised an $11 million seed round in January and raised an additional $6 million in an extension. Here's the pitch deck the startup used to fundraise, which attracted investors like QED Investors. Even though his startup 40Seas only launched seven months ago, for Eyal Moldovan, the business has been decades in the making. 40Seas raised its seed round in January as investors funneled $11 million into the fledgling startup. Here's the 14-page pitch deck 40Seas used to raise its seed and seed extension.

Persons: Eyal, Igor Zaks, Gil Shiff, Suki Gao, Camila, Saruhashim, 40Seas Organizations: QED, Eyal Moldovan, Moldovan, ZIM, Eminence Ventures Locations: Israel, China, India, Tel Aviv, Canada, Europe, Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Moldovan

☆ IRS says it will deliver faster refunds to millions of taxpayers in coming years. Here’s how.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Tami Luhby | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The two-pronged effort, dubbed the “Paperless Processing Initiative,” aims to cut down on the millions of paper documents the IRS receives annually. Although the vast majority of taxpayers file their returns electronically, millions still send in paper returns. By next year’s filing season, taxpayers will be able to digitally file all correspondence, non-tax forms and responses to notices. This will enable up to 125 million paper documents to be sent in online every year, the agency said. Those who prefer to mail in paper returns and correspondence will continue to be able to do so.

Persons: Janet Yellen, Daniel Werfel, ” Werfel Organizations: New, New York CNN, Internal Revenue Service, IRS, Service, House Republicans Locations: New York

☆ Sensorfact helps industrial companies manage their energy and water usage. Check out the 11-slide pitch deck it used to raise $28 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sensorfact has created a smart monitoring system to help industrial companies cut energy and water use. Check out the 11-slide pitch deck it used to secure 25 million euros (around $28 million). A Dutch startup helping industrial companies manage their energy and water use has just raised 25 million euros (around $28 million) from growth impact fund Blume Equity. Sensorfact, founded in 2017, has developed a smart monitoring system for industrial companies including food and beverage, plastic and rubber, and metals manufacturers. It uses wireless sensors that are clipped onto machine cables and gas, water, and compressed air pipes to monitor flow every 30 seconds, which is fed back to a user-facing platform.

Persons: Sensorfact, Pieter Broekema's, Broekema, Biden's, Blume, Eleanor Blagbrough Organizations: Blume Equity, Sensorfact, Industry, SET Ventures Locations: Dutch, Europe

☆ Startup studio Fractal created 130 companies in 3 years. Founders say the deal structure has led VCs to 'blacklist' them.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Melia Russell | Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

www.fractalsoftware.comOf the dozens of Fractal startups that have raised a seed round of funding, about half had Bienville Capital lead the deal, according to people familiar with the matter. Others say they knew what they were getting into with a venture studio, where a large ownership position is standard. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty ImagesThe biggest draw for some Fractal founders was its plug-and-play approach. The founder of one Fractal startup remembered a time when his company was struggling to grow its customer base. That firm is raising a new $325 million fund to provide additional funding to Fractal companies exclusively, according to a person familiar with the effort.

Persons: Fractal's, he'd, they'd, Andreessen Horowitz, Mike Furlong, Nate Baker, Bienville, —, Brendan Smialowski, Founders, Angela Lee, Furlong, Baker, Ezra Shaw, who'd, who's, It's, Lee, She's, 8VC, Bain, Jeff Greenberg, Omri Bloch, who've, didn't, Stephanie Palazzolo, Melia Russell Organizations: Flatiron Health, Bienville, Insight Partners, Bienville Capital, Getty, Columbia Business School, Alpha, Midwest, Science, Olympic Club, Tiger Global, Craft Ventures, Founders, Vertical Venture Partners, Zag, Crew Capital, Bain Capital, Universal, Foundation, Fifth Locations: Bienville Capital, New York, Bienville, Indio, AFP, Santa Monica , California, Miami, San Francisco, GreenSpark, Columbia, Barti, Aktos, Bessemer, 8VC

☆ India's Infosys signs $454-mln deal with Danske Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, June 26 (Reuters) - Infosys (INFY.NS), India's No.2 IT services provider, signed a $454-million contract with Denmark's Danske Bank on Monday, at a time when the broader sector is struggling with a slowdown in an uncertain global economy. The IT company will help digitize the lender's core business and add more cloud and data facilities to it, including Infosys acquiring Danske Bank's IT centre in India, it said in a regulatory filing. The contract is for five years, with an option to renew for one more year for a maximum of three times. Bengaluru-based Infosys' contract comes days after Mumbai-based bigger rival TCS signed a deal worth 840 million pounds with British pension scheme Nest, for an starting tenure of 10 years. "Despite a strengthened order pipeline, the effects of this deal might be offset by macro factors such as inflation and increased labour costs," Akshara Bassi, an analyst at Counterpoint Research, said on the Danske Bank deal.

Persons: Akshara Bassi, Navamya Ganesh Acharya, Varun, Sohini Goswami, Nivedita Organizations: Infosys, Denmark's Danske Bank, Danske Bank's, TCS, Counterpoint Research, Danske Bank, Varun Vyas, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, India, Bengaluru, Mumbai

The sources cautioned that no deal is certain and asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential. Spokespeople for nCino did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while Insight Partners declined to comment. Shares of nCino ended trading in New York on Friday up 24% at $31.69 on the news, giving the company a market value of about $3.6 billion. Based in Wilmington, North Carolina, nCino offers cloud-based software to banks and financial institutions that helps digitize their processes, including around lending and deposit-taking. The company subsequently attracted several venture capital investors beyond Insight Partners, including Wellington Management, Salesforce Ventures, Bessemer Partners and T. Rowe Price.

Persons: nCino's, nCino, Rowe Price, Milana Vinn, David French, Daniel Wallis, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: nCino, Insight Partners, Wellington Management, Salesforce Ventures, Bessemer Partners, Thomson Locations: New York, Wilmington , North Carolina, North Carolina

☆ One Change Could Help U.S. Drugmakers Save 11 Million Trees a Year
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

That equals more than 3.8 million metric tons of emissions from the production and disposal of the paper, or about 10.9 million trees. The company aims to have a plan by 2025 for all its medical information to go electronic by the end of the decade. PREVIEWOther countries have digitized drug information, with Japan leading the way. Singapore has been in the process of switching to digital information or so-called e-labeling for consumers and medical professionals since 2020. And since 2009, Australia has required digitized instructions for medical professionals and patients, although some drugs such as injectables may contain a hard copy.

Persons: Pam Cheng, Alyssa Schukar, ”, Cheng, Johnson, Joshina Kapoor, Eli Lilly, Avery Dennison, JP Gould, WestRock, Diana Harshbarger of, Diana Harshbarger, Richard Scholz, Jeremy Kahn, AstraZeneca’s Cheng, Joshua Martin, Dieter Holger Organizations: Alliance, AstraZeneca, Wall, pharma, Johnson, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Pfizer, Pharmaceutical, Literature Association, Republican U.S . Rep, . House, REUTERS Rep, FDA, Senate, Association, Sustainable Business, Environmental, “, dieter.holger Locations: U.S, Japan, Diana Harshbarger of Tennessee, Tenn, American, Maihara, Singapore, Australia, North America

☆ Percent is looking to digitize the analog world of private credit. Here's the 18-page pitch deck it used to raise a $30 million Series B.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

This startup is building a digital solution for the historically analog world of private credit. Private credit is an alternative asset class consisting of loans privately negotiated outside of the public debt markets. Examples of private credit include student loans taken from outside the government, small-business loans, and consumer loans. Digitizing an analog marketplaceThe private-credit market traditionally operates in an analog system, with deals being conducted over phone calls and emails and monitored on spreadsheets. "We're ready to scale in a market and a time right now that is all in favor and support of private credit," Chu said.

Persons: Nelson Chu, Chu, it's Organizations: underwriters, Goldman Sachs, Management, White Star Capital, Underwriters, Fitch Group, Juniper Locations: Chu

☆ Quantitative tightening: What happens when $2 trillion is sucked out of the global economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

“Quantitative tightening,” or QT, by top central banks will suck $2 trillion in liquidity out of the financial system over the next two years, according to a recent analysis by Fitch Ratings. Investors and banks calibrate their strategies to the amount of money in the financial system, he noted. Then, central banks started withdrawing liquidity from the financial system. Even worse, many banks have large holes on their balance sheets because central banks have simultaneously jacked up interest rates. While government debt levels have skyrocketed in recent years, the cost of servicing that debt has been tamped down by the willingness of central banks to buy large chunks of it.

☆ BT jobs: Company will shed as many as 55,000 workers by 2030
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

London CNN —BT Group is planning to slash up to 55,000 jobs in the next five to seven years as it makes greater use of technology to cut costs and simplify its business. The UK telecom company said Thursday that its total workforce would fall to between 75,000 and 90,000 by 2028-2030, from 130,000 at present. “New BT Group will be a leaner business with a brighter future.”Earlier this week, Vodafone (VOD), once the world’s biggest mobile telecom group, said it would cut 11,000 jobs, or about 11% of its workforce, over three years. The company also unveiled a turnaround plan to revive its ailing fortunes under new CEO Margherita Della Valle. Its adjusted earnings rose 5% to £7.9 billion ($9.8 billion).

☆ Aibidia, a fintech helping multinational giants pay their taxes, just raised $14.2 million using this 10-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The Helsinki-based firm helps large multinationals automate and digitize their transfer pricing. Check out the 10-slide pitch deck it used to raise the round co-led by DN Capital and FPV Ventures. Aibidia, a fintech that helps multinational giants pay taxes globally, has raised $14.2 million in funding. Multinationals use transfer pricing to manage their tax exposures by moving transactions between subsidiaries, affiliates, or holding companies to reduce their overall tax burden globally. "The reason no one has done this before is the number of data points and its taxonomy," Leppänen said.

☆ Digitized Silhouette Portraits Shed Light on 19th Century Life
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Mckenna Oxenden | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

More than two decades ago, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery acquired a 19th- century album filled with nearly 2,000 silhouette portraits, including those of two former presidents. Before displaying the cut-paper portraits, made by a traveling artist named William Bache, the museum needed to create a new, sturdier binding for the book. The museum put the collection online last month, allowing anyone to virtually thumb through the images and learn more about Bache’s life and work through an interactive timeline. Robyn Asleson, the museum’s curator of prints and drawings, said that researchers had identified a little over 1,000 of the 1,800 portraits. By digitizing the album and making it available online, she said, she hoped it will eventually be possible to identify every portrait in the collection.

☆ The IRS released its $80 billion funding plan. Here's what it means for taxpayers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Kate Dore | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel testifies before a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Feb. 15, 2023. Kevin Lamarque | ReutersThe IRS on Thursday released a plan for the nearly $80 billion in agency funding enacted through the Inflation Reduction Act in August — including expected boosts for customer service, technology and enforcement. "Now that we have long-term funding, the IRS has an opportunity to transform our operations and provide the service that people deserve," IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel told reporters on a press call. IRS tools will help taxpayers identify their mistakes before filing returns, and upgrades may help resolve filers' errors more quickly. "That's a departure from the organization's traditions," said Mark Everson, a former IRS commissioner and current vice chairman at Alliantgroup.

☆ Huawei reports biggest profit decline ever as U.S. sanctions, pandemic controls hit Chinese giant
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

But its profit plunged as pressure from U.S. sanctions and China's pandemic controls weighed on the Chinese technology giant. The Chinese telecommunications giant said net profit for 2022 totaled 35.6 billion yuan ($5.18 billion), a 69% year-on-year decline. Huawei reported on Friday its biggest annual decline in profit on record as U.S. sanctions continue to hit its business and strict pandemic controls in China weighed on the company. With challenges in both the carrier and consumer business, Huawei has sought to diversify the company into new areas. Huawei said its nascent "Intelligent Automotive Solutions" unit brought in 2.1 billion yuan in 2022.

☆ Tapping into the future of finance: 3 experts discuss the ways frictionless payments will revolutionize digital banking within the decade
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Elizabeth Wood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Experts share their insights into how frictionless payments are changing the way people engage with online banking. Carter Johnson, senior finance reporter at Insider, spoke with Douglas and other financial experts about frictionless payment systems. Rajan agreed that building loyalty and trust in banking technology and frictionless payment systems requires due diligence. The future of finance is digitalThe experts agree that in the next decade, digital wallets and frictionless payments will be the banking rule, not the exception. Rajan noted that each person is going have a unique way of engaging with frictionless payment systems.

☆ Experts from Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo share insights on how digital transformation in finance protects and enhances client experiences
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Elizabeth Wood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Experts shed light on what digital transformation in finance means for banks and people. In the session "Demystifying digital transformation in finance," part of the "Finance Meets Its Future" event presented by Amberdata, experts discuss digital transformation in finance on wall street. Customer convenience is at the forefront of digital transformation discussions. Reetika Grewal, head of digital transformation for CB and CIB at Wells Fargo said that that client concerns are at the center of digital transformation. Digital transformation poses key challengesWhen asked about the challenges of driving digital transformation in banks, Akwaboah said the industry is contending with multiple competing agendas.

☆ Wall St regulator mulls ditching array of paper forms
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 22 (Reuters) - The top U.S. markets regulator on Wednesday unveiled a proposal to abolish a set of paper-based forms and digitize disclosure requirements to modernize how broker-dealers, stock exchanges, clearing agencies and others report to the government. The forms include annual compliance reports by securities-based swap dealers and risk assessments by broker-dealers. Under the proposal, securities exchanges could simply update their websites when they begin trading in new derivatives. The SEC decided the proposed text was not ready for adoption, a spokesperson said. Reporting by Douglas Gillison; Editing by Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The Evolving Payments Purchasing Chain: How Pressures Are Changing the Ecosystem
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Insider Intelligence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Insider IntelligenceThe changing economic landscape is leading to consolidation and a stronger focus on innovation. The rise of digitization and noncard payment methods could pose a large threat to issuers' transaction-based revenues. What is abundantly clear is that the diversification of the payments landscape paired with the threat of new regulation is creating more opportunities for the savvy consumer. Curious to learn more about the evolving payments purchasing chain? Click here to purchase The Payments Ecosystem collection.

☆ The Evolving Payments Purchasing Chain: How Digitization and Economic Pressures Are Changing the Ecosystem
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Insider Intelligence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Insider IntelligenceThe changing economic landscape is leading to consolidation and a stronger focus on innovation. Both large and small players in the space can adapt their products to address current market needs and press on toward digitization. The rise of digitization and noncard payment methods could pose a large threat to issuers' transaction-based revenues. Curious to learn more about the evolving payments purchasing chain? Click here to purchase The Payments Ecosystem collection.

☆ See the pitch deck Zus Health used to convince top VCs like Andreessen Horowitz, F-Prime, and Maverick to back its solution for healthcare's $140 billion data-sharing problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Blake Dodge | Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Zus Health launched in 2021 with $34 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, F-Prime Capital, Maverick Ventures, and Rock Health. Bush, Zus' CEO, told investors in a pitch, per a video Bush sent to Insider. Bush told Insider he was "blessed" to have his stake in the company diluted in this fashion, given the funding climate. "There's all these little pieces, but all of them are just re-clipboarding because nobody has a common clinical story," Bush told investors. Here's the deck Zus used to raise $40 million from Andreessen Horowitz, F-Prime Capital, Maverick Ventures, and Jazz Venture Partners.

☆ We got the presentation health-tech veteran Jonathan Bush used to land $40 million for his new startup Zus Health
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Blake Dodge | Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Zus Health, his new startup, aims to continue some of his work at Athena to digitize patient health. Zus Health launched in 2021 with $34 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, F-Prime Capital, Maverick Ventures, and Rock Health. Bush, Zus' CEO, told investors in a pitch, per a video Bush sent to Insider. Bush told Insider he was "blessed" to have his stake in the company diluted in this fashion, given the funding climate. "There's all these little pieces, but all of them are just re-clipboarding because nobody has a common clinical story," Bush told investors.

☆ The $322 billion impact investment market is grappling with a fundamental question: How does it measure how much good it has achieved?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Global impact funds now have over $322 billion in assets under management, PitchBook data shows. Matteo Cera, cofounder at Hogaru, Maria Oliva Farriol of Oryx Impact, and moderator Marta del Castillo, CEO of Social Next. Tasmin Lockwood/InsiderSocial impact measurement is all about the baseline, said Maria Oliva Farriol, impact and ESG manager at Oryx Impact. Oryx Impact is a Barcelona-based fund of funds focused on economic development, climate change, and equality in Africa. To avoid this, Oryx Impact is taking advantage of technology to digitize its impact measurement and management strategy.

☆ This startup has developed an operating system for GPs that cuts down on admin. Check out the 13-slide pitch deck Doctorly used to raise $10 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

German health tech startup Doctorly has raised $10 million in Series A funding. The startup, founded in 2018, offers practice management software for healthcare providers. A German health tech startup that has developed an operating system for medical practices has raised $10 million in fresh funds. The startup wants to "re-digitize" practices and make it easier for them to adapt to external innovations in health tech. Doctorly is one of the very few regulated health tech startups in Germany and it believes its technology can help cut the time spent by practitioners on administration in half.

☆ This exec is using technology to improve the fan experience at live events
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Insider Studios With Ibm | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Using IBM technologies and volumetric video systems, he's giving people an opportunity to more effectively engage with events, such as sports matches. Together, Canon and IBM are giving viewers access to an immersive video experience by enabling video viewpoints from any angle. "With a volumetric video, you can watch sports from inside the field," he said. Volumetric video systems use more than 100 digital cameras to capture and digitize places, such as stadiums. Date and his team tapped IBM to aid in the development of volumetric video technology.

☆ GE’s Finance Chief Sees Future for AI Across Company’s Business
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Thomas Gryta | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

General Electric Co. sees a future for using generative artificial intelligence like ChatGPT across its business, from the shop floor to the front office, according to Carolina Dybeck Happe, the company’s chief financial officer. Ms. Dybeck Happe said the use of AI in manufacturing begins with gathering a huge amount of data from different complex systems. A native of Sweden, she joined GE after spending about a year as finance chief of Denmark-based shipping giant A.P. She became GE’s finance chief in early 2020, taking on a role traditionally held by long-term employees of the company, which has long prided itself on its management training. Using artificial intelligence and automation is part of increasing efficiency and quality, Ms. Dybeck Happe said.

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