DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

So what's hot in fintech right now? One area fintech companies are getting excited by is an improvement to online checkout tools. Callan Carvey, global head of operations at Cleo, said the firm's AI connects to a customer's bank account to get a better understanding of their financial behavior. "A job that typically would take around one or two weeks can now be completed in 30 minutes, right. Several fintech executives CNBC interviewed spoke of how they're not interested in launching products tailored to crypto as the demand from their customers isn't there.

Persons: MacKenzie Sigalos, hasn't, they've, Starling, Richard Davies, Davies, Niklas Guske, —, B2C fintechs, David Singleton, Guske, dazzled, Cleo, Callan Carvey, Carvey, Teo Blidarus, Taktile's, Hiroki Takeuchi, Takeuchi, Changpeng Zhao, they're, Jack Zhang, Zhang, Prajit Nanu, cryptocurrencies, Banks, Nanu Organizations: Bank, fintechs, CNBC, Business, Allica Bank, B2B, Tiger, Schroders Capital, Atom Bank, Schroders, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, U.S, cryptocurrencies Locations: Amsterdam, MacKenzie Sigalos AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, British, Atomico, U.S

☆ Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls: Amazon, Apple, GameStop, T-Mobile, Skechers, Lowe's & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Jefferies downgrades Las Vegas Sands and Wynn to hold from buy Jefferies downgraded several casino stocks, mainly on valuation. Jefferies reiterates Apple as buy Jefferies said it stands by its buy rating on the Mac maker but that it's concerned about the lack of social experience with Apple's VR technology. Jefferies reiterates GameStop as hold Jefferies said the revolving door of GameStop executives is "more of the same" for the company. Skechers is the world's 3rd largest footwear brand and an underappreciated growth stock, in our view." Bank of America reiterates Lowe's as a buy Bank of America said investors should buy the stock "when the market is fearful."

Persons: Wells, Jefferies, Wynn, WYNN, LVS, Oppenheimer, Apple, Wolfe, Goldman Sachs, Salesforce, Goldman, Morgan Stanley, Skechers, Lowe's, Bernstein Organizations: Vegas Sands, Citi, Apple, VR, GameStop, Mobile, Smart, Rio Tinto, UBS, Amazon, Carrier, Bank of America, of America, NextEra Energy, Xcel Energy, American Electric Power, Barclays, FedEx Locations: Vegas, Rio, China, 2023E

☆ Exclusive: Fractal, a New York venture studio, is laying off staff and will stop creating new startups
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Melia Russell | Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The venture studio Fractal Software will no longer start new companies, Insider has learned. Fractal Software, a venture studio that creates startups by hatching its own ideas and hiring founders to execute, has laid off staff and will stop starting new companies, Insider has learned. At least 28 employees, about 25% of staff, have left Fractal in the past six months, according to LinkedIn. Fractal confirmed layoffs occurred starting in December, but would not specify the number of employees affected. Fractal has a few more startups in the pipeline, with a goal of launching 145 companies, two people familiar with the company's strategy said.

Persons: Omri Bloch, That's, Joe Lonsdale's 8VC, Bienville, Melia Russell, Stephanie Palazzolo Organizations: New, Software, Investors, Tiger Global, Bienville Capital, Securities and Exchange Commission, Twitter Locations: New York, 8VC, Bienville

☆ AI startup MindsDB aims to help every developer be a machine learning engineer. Here's the pitch deck it used to raise $25 million from investors like Mayfield Fund and Benchmark.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Vishal Persaud | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

AI startup MindsDB just raised a $25 million seed extension round led by Mayfield. The round comes less than three months after it raised a $16.5 million round led by Benchmark. The founders of MindsDB aims to help software developers worldwide perform the roles of machine-learning engineers. Founded in 2017, MindsDB is now gaining the interest of investors as AI has become the talk of the town in tech. In February, the startup announced $16.5 million in funding led by Benchmark.

Persons: Mayfield, MindsDB, Navin Chaddha, Chaddha, MindDB's cofounders Jorge Torres, Adam Carrigan, Torres, Chetan Puttagunta Organizations: Benchmark, Mayfield Fund, Ventures, Australian National University Locations: San Francisco, Europe

☆ VMware employees in end-user computing and security believe Broadcom may divest their units after it closes its $61 billion deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Rosalie Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Broadcom plans to acquire VMware for $61 billion, and they're preparing to close the deal this year. Workers in end-user computing and Carbon Black security think their units could be spun out or sold. Broadcom's upcoming $61 billion acquisition of VMware has led employees in two units — end-user computing and Carbon Black security — to speculate that their units could be spun out or sold. The EUC unit builds products such as Horizon and Workspace One that allow users to access their enterprise applications from anywhere over the cloud. After Carbon Black was acquired, it was supposed to take a year or two to get integrated with VMware.

Persons: Thoma, they'd, Rob Ruelas, John Ryan, Sarah Swatman, Angus McGeachie, Chris Rottner Organizations: Broadcom, VMware, Workers, Symantec, Securities, Exchange Commission, CA Technologies, Thoma Bravo, Cyber Security Services, Accenture, HCL Technologies, EUC Employees, Carbon, Symantec's Locations: EUC, Europe, Africa

☆ VMware employees are increasingly concerned over Broadcom's pending $61 billion acquisition, predicting spinouts of business units, layoffs, and lost customers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Rosalie Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Broadcom and VMware announced the $61 billion deal last year and recently pushed back the deadline as it undergoes regulatory scrutiny. Insider spoke with one former and four current VMware employees about the changes they expect to face once they are owned by the chipmaker Broadcom. A VMware spokesperson said in a statement that after the deal closes, VMware customers will obtain "more choice and flexibility" in managing their IT needs, especially across multiple cloud-computing services. Executives leaving VMwareVMware has lost several key executives since the Broadcom deal was announced (including several defecting to VMware's archrival Nutanix). "Nonetheless, I've continued to see questions in press reports about whether we intend to raise prices on VMware products.

Persons: —, Sanjay Poonen, Patrick Morley, haven't, Robert Ruelas, EUC, Kit Colbert, hasn't, Zane Rowe, Tom Gillis, Mark Lohmeyer, Ajay Patel, Kal, Karen Egan, Tom Kellermann, Raghu Raghuram, Hock Tan, Colbert, Tan, Hock E, Lucas Jackson, I've Organizations: VMware, Employees, Broadcom, SEC, Carbon, Symantec, Workers, Tech, VMware hasn't, VMware Employees, VMware VMware, Nutanix, Raghuram, Reuters

☆ Opus uses AI to help train up deskless workers. Check out the 19-slide pitch deck it used to raise $6.8 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

New York-based Opus is using AI to train America's deskless workforce. A startup that uses AI to improve the training of non-office-based workers just raised $6.8 million in fresh funds. New York-based Opus, founded in 2020, has developed a platform that can help speed up employee onboarding for so-called deskless workers. Opus works as a mobile app, allowing employers to create training content tailored to every individual workplace. "By using AI, our content builder helps you build it faster than legacy solution," Nemeth told Insider.

Persons: onboarding, Rachael Nemeth, Nemeth, Klara Organizations: Vanderbilt University, Cable, Gutter, NextView Ventures Locations: York, New York

☆ Welcome to the final phase of software eating the world. SaaS companies beware, you're on the menu this time.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

This could disrupt the way software is created, distributed, and used, VCs and startup founders say. This outcome would flip the traditional software industry on its head, calling into question the value of SaaS companies in a world where everyday people can build software themselves. "This is the final chapter of software eating the world, where a bunch of people can create enterprise software within the enterprise." A 'healthy pressure' for traditional SaaS providersTo be sure, the death of the traditional software company still seems a long way off. However, even skeptics admit that the threat of generative AI to traditional SaaS will push established software companies to prove their worth.

☆ Check out the 13-slide pitch deck Mitiga, a startup using AI to predict climate risks, used to raise $14 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A startup using AI to predict climate risks has just raised 13 million euros (around $14 million). A startup using AI to predict climate risk to protect people and assets has just raised 13 million euros (around $14 million) in a round backed by Microsoft. A bevy of voluntary initiatives exist encouraging businesses to report climate risk, while some businesses in Europe must report physical risks associated with climate change. Existing solutions use historical data to predict risk, Mitiga cofounder and CEO Dr. Alejandro Martí told Insider. Mitiga also presents customers with an overall climate risk score and a breakdown of how risks relate to one another.

☆ This startup deploys AI in restaurants to make them operate more efficiently. Check out the 12-slide pitch deck Nory used to raise $7.6 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Nory has created an AI operating system to enable hospitality businesses to operate efficiently. "The hospitality industry has been under a lot of pressure, with inflation and staffing issues," he told Insider. Sheridan founded Nory in 2020 to help restaurateurs and other hospitality businesses "navigate that environment so they perform consistently." The platform is used by a range of UK and European hospitality businesses, including Stonegate Pubs and Dr. Juice. "Our thesis is that the hospitality industry is ripe for disruption," he said.

☆ Pledge, a carbon accounting startup founded by ex-Revolut and Freetrade staffers, just raised $10 million with this 10-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

London-based carbon accounting startup Pledge just secured a $10 million Series A round. A startup founded by former staffers at Revolut and Freetrade has raised $10 million to build out its carbon accounting product aimed at the logistics industry. London-based Pledge, set up in 2021, enables businesses in the sector to track, reduce, and manage their carbon footprint. Some 70% of a company's emissions sit in its supply chain, which are referred to as scope three emissions. Pledge adheres to the Global Logistics Emissions Council framework, the only globally-recognized methodology for calculating greenhouse gas emissions in the logistics supply chain.

☆ Australia's TechnologyOne halts trading after being hit by cyber attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 10 (Reuters) - Australia's TechnologyOne Ltd (TNE.AX) said on Wednesday it had detected an unauthorised third-party access to its back-office systems, becoming the latest target in a series of cyber attacks that has bogged companies in the country since last year. "TechnologyOne's customer-facing SaaS platform is not connected to the Microsoft 365 system, and therefore, has not been impacted," the enterprise software maker reassured its customers in an exchange filing. The software maker immediately went on a trading halt after the announcement, and said it has isolated the affected systems and will contact the impacted customers after an investigation is conducted. Major firms such as top grocer Woolworths Ltd (WOW.AX), and telecoms Telstra (TLS.AX) and TPG Telecom (TPG.AX) have reported data breaches and unauthorised access, bringing to light corporate vulnerability to cyber attacks. Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Exclusive: Google's VC firm just led a $12 million Series A investment in Range, a startup that's training AI to give financial advice
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The company is training an AI model to give financial advice and hopes to make human advisors obsolete within a decade. Enter Range, a startup that's looking to use artificial intelligence and machine learning to make human financial planners obsolete. The company is building out a suite of financial planning tools aimed at aging millennials and designed to help streamline investing, saving, and estate planning. 'We're looking to replace you'These recommendations are reviewed and "massaged" by human advisors before being passed on to clients. She said she's excited about the prospect of making her own job obsolete if it means more people having access to financial planning.

☆ TympaHealth, a startup making hearing tests more accessible, just raised $23 million with this 27-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

TympaHealth has raised $23 million from Octopus Ventures for its hearing assessment platform. The London-based startup aims to make hearing diagnostic tests more accessible outside of hospitals. A startup that enables clinicians to perform hearing assessments outside of hospital settings has raised $23 million in fresh funds. TympaHealth founder and CEO Dr Krishan Ramdoo said the goal of the company was to make hearing and ear care more accessible. Despite this, waiting times for hearing services can stretch from 12 to 16 weeks given increasing pressures on the National Health Service's hearing care services, Ramdoo added.

☆ Centuro Global becomes the latest AI startup to tap up investors in 2023. Check out the 16-slide pitch deck it used to raise $4 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

AI startup Centuro Global just raised $4.1 million in fresh funds. The London-based company is among a raft of AI startups to lure cash from investors in 2023. London-based Centuro Global, founded in 2018, wants to make an array of time-consuming tasks associated with expansion – often outsourced to consultants – much easier to complete. Centuro Global is the latest in a line of AI startups to raise capital in Europe since the advent of ChatGPT-3 in November. Early-stage AI startups are getting traction on the continent, with the likes of ElevenLabs, Teton.ai, and DeepRender all raising rounds this year.

☆ Benioff vs. Benioff
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Ashley Stewart | Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +29 min

Within Salesforce, Benioff riffs are at times met with backlash from an angry workforce. "You're not going to fire your family during times of need," a former Salesforce executive told Insider. "I don't think they understand Ohana," Benioff told Insider. "Look, we have to be the example of stakeholder capitalism," Benioff told Insider. A 'New Day' at Salesforce"I use the Japanese principle of shoshin, beginner's mind," Benioff told Insider in a phone interview in March.

☆ M3ter, a startup that enables SaaS firms to offer usage-based pricing, just raised $14 million with this 12-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

SaaS pricing startup M3ter has raised $14 million in Series A funding. M3ter helps companies manage their software spend by employing usage-based pricing. A startup that enables SaaS companies to offer usage-based pricing to customers has raised $14 million as it prepares to expand its presence in the US. "Usage-based pricing is a trend that is already happening so we're just selling shovels in a gold rush," Parry told Insider. In addition, the growth of usage-based pricing has come from a shift in the needs of B2B customers and the rise of automation.

☆ Iris Audio, a startup that uses AI to isolate voices and remove background noise from calls, just raised $7 million with this 13-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Iris Audio has secured $7 million in Series A funding from Puma Private Equity. The London-based startup uses AI to detect and remove background noise from calls. A startup that has developed an AI-based voice isolation technology just raised $7 million in Series A funding from Puma Private Equity. London-based Iris Audio deploys its technology to "intercept comms channels and improve the quality of the audio in real time," founder and CEO Jacobi Anstruther. Iris Audio's software can be deployed across everything from voice calls to videos, podcasts, and audiobooks.

☆ Analysts are getting even more bullish on Microsoft's A.I. prospects after latest earnings report
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft's big swings on artificial intelligence are paying off, and analysts are even more bullish on the tech giant. Rangan has a buy rating on Microsoft and a price target of $335, implying upside of 21.6%. "Azure growth was ahead of expectations with MSFT showing ability to protect margin/EPS in a tough backdrop," Turrin said, who rates the stock as overweight. He also hiked his price target to $345 from $320, pointing to a 25.2% potential gain. Keith Weiss of Morgan Stanley also reiterated an overweight rating on the stock, and hiked his price target to $335 per share from $307.

PROS Holdings ' growth story is only getting stronger, according to Oppenheimer. Industries ranging from airlines to consumer goods already use PROS Holdings' software to give buyers precise personalized offers. "PROS Holdings is an improving profitable growth story and a play on AI-enabled sales optimization solutions for travel and business-to-business commerce. "We estimate PROS Holdings' market opportunity is $9B+ with only a small portion served by pure-play SaaS vendors," Schwartz said. He added that he "see[s] a long, profitable growth runway for the most innovative vertical software suppliers, like PRO."

☆ Chamath Palihapitiya was supposed to be the next Warren Buffett. Then interest rates spiked.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Chamath Palihapitiya was dubbed the "next Warren Buffett" after a series of successful bets in 2019 and 2020. Palihapitiya even compared his returns to Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway in his annual letters. The dealmaking prowess of Palihapitiya sparked comparisons that his Social Capital investment vehicle was essentially a baby Berkshire Hathaway. Even Palihapitiya himself, who has called Buffett an inspiration, compared his investment returns to the early returns of Berkshire Hathaway in his annual shareholder letters. Palihapitiya addressed the destruction in value seen across technology companies in Social Capital's 2022 investment letter.

☆ The former CEO of Aetna shares how he plans to turn around the struggling health insurer Oscar
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Oscar Health struggled to upend the entrenched health insurance industry. Oscar Health has been trying and struggling to upend the US health-insurance industry and the entrenched giants that dominate it for the past 10 years. Oscar Health incoming CEO Mark Bertolini Bridgewater AssociatesLast year, Oscar lost a $60 million contract with its first client, Health First Health Plans. Bertolini wants Oscar to disrupt health-insurance giantsMario Schlosser, founding CEO of Oscar Health Eduardo Munoz/ReutersDespite losing the Health First deal, Bertolini is betting that Oscar will disrupt the insurance industry through partnerships. Oscar has developed health plans with health systems in the past.

☆ How Fanatics and MLB are planning to keep the trading card boom going
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Ian Thomas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

MLB trading card partner Fanatics has plans for new rookie card features this season as part of a bigger plan to increase the value of Topps baseball cards for collectors. "Fanatics is focused on the best experience for the fan, and collectibles is focused on the best collector experience," said Fanatics Collectibles CEO Mike Mahan. After the game, the patch will be authenticated and placed directly onto their rookie card in a future Topps set. While the sports trading card industry had seen growth in recent years, the pandemic put the hobby into overdrive. Cards across sports have been selling for record prices, including a $12.6 million sale for a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie card, the highest price ever paid for a trading card.

☆ This dating-simulator game says it'll help prepare your taxes as you play — and criticizes TurboTax as 'predatory'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

MSCHF announced a free dating simulator that it says helps prepare your 2022 US federal tax return. The game is scheduled to launch April 4, but its listing on the Steam platform has been removed. A screenshot from MSCHF's "Tax Heaven 3000" website, showing a character description for "Turbo." The dating simulator is scheduled to launch on April 4, but the game's storefront page has been removed from the popular platform Steam. A screenshot from MSCHF's "Tax Heaven 3000" dating simulator.

☆ Y Combinator-backed headless commerce startup Vue Storefront just raised $20 million with this 14-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Y Combinator-backed Vue Storefront has developed a frontend system for e-commerce sites. Vue Storefront, a Y Combinator-backed startup that aims to improve customers' experiences with e-commerce sites, just raised $20 million in fresh funds. The Polish company, founded in 2020, has built a plug-and-play frontend system for marketplace sites. This is what customers see and interact with, rather than the behind-the-scenes backend system, and is known as "headless commerce". Vue Storefront is rooted in open-source development, having spun out from a design agency.

Search resuls for: "Saas"

25 mentions found