DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Vartana, a B2B sales and financing fintech startup, just raised $20 million with this 10-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Vartana, a B2B sales and financing platform, has raised $20 million in Series B funding. The deal comes months after the company's $12 million Series A round in January. Vartana, a B2B sales and financing platform, has raised $20 million in a Series B round led by US investor Activant Capital. The funding round comes only a few months after its $12 million Series A round in January. Check out Vartana's Series B pitch deck below:

Persons: We've, Mayfield, Kella Organizations: Activant Capital, Motive, Activant Locations: San Francisco

☆ Hyro, a conversational AI startup for enterprise, raised $20 million in new funding using this 15-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Hyro, an AI tool for enterprise users, has raised $20 million in fresh funding. Founded in 2018 and launched in 2020, Hyro works with healthcare providers to replace chatbots. The company has raised new money from Macquarie Capital amid a boom in AI interest. Hyro, a conversational AI startup for enterprises, has raised $20 million in new funding. Founded in 2018, Hyro is a plug-and-play AI startup that provides conversational AI tools to sectors such as healthcare.

Persons: ChatGPT, Israel Krush, GPT, Krush Organizations: Macquarie Capital, Investors, Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, Black Opal Ventures, Hanaco Ventures, Spero Ventures, Ventures Locations: New York

☆ UK fintech bank Monzo more than doubles revenue but marginally narrows losses to $143 million, results show
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

London-based fintech bank Monzo more than doubled its revenue last year, results show. The company, founded in 2015, also narrowed losses marginally to £116.3 million ($143.4 million). British fintech bank Monzo more than doubled its revenue last year and marginally narrowed losses to £116.3 million ($143.4 million), according to results published on Wednesday. Monzo, famous for its bright coral pink debit cards, added another 1.6 million customers with the bank now servicing around 7.4 million users. The company's results come after fellow London-based fintech bank Starling, announced a pre-tax profit of £195 million ($241 million).

Persons: Anil, Monzo, Starling, Y Combinator, Tom Blomfield, Combinator Organizations: Catalyst, Abu Dhabi Growth Fund Locations: British, London, Abu Dhabi

☆ Events marketplace startup Togather just raised $8.5 million in round led by Untitled with this 18-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Togather, a London-based events tech startup, has raised $8.5 million in new funding. Check out the 18-slide pitch deck it used to raise the fresh funds below. A startup that handles the "unsexy parts" of event management has raised $8.5 million in fresh funding. London-based Togather, previously known as Feast It, has built an events marketplace that connects suppliers and organizers in one place. Togather's funding was led by VC firm Untitled, alongside Material Ventures, Best Nights VC, and Fuel Ventures.

Persons: Togather, Digby Vollrath, Vollrath Organizations: Material Ventures, Fuel Ventures Locations: London

☆ Europe's startups overpaid and over-hired in the COVID-19 boom. Now they're feeling buyer's remorse.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Tech workers in Europe enjoyed a golden period of inflated salaries during the pandemic. One CEO told Insider that he now feels some staffers aren't "worth" the pandemic price tag. That didn't just apply to good engineers, always gold dust, but to good HR staff, marketers, and other less technical roles. Few CEOs will say this aloud, but this attitude has clearly manifested in widespread, global layoffs across the tech industry. Pay for tech workers in Europe in general rose significantly during COVID-19 with salaries increasing by around 50% between 2018 and 2021, according to data from Advanced HR, cited by Sifted.

☆ Microsoft-backed identification verification startup Onfido acquires US counterpart Airside for undisclosed fee
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

British digital identity startup Onfido has made its second acquisition. The TPG Growth-backed firm has purchased US counterpart Airside for an undisclosed sum. British digital identity company Onfido has made its second acquisition to date, snapping up US counterpart Airside for an undisclosed fee. Onfido boss Tuchen said Airside solved a "critical problem" that will change how people prove their identities. "To date, digital identity has evolved by digitizing the process of identity verification in the physical world," he said.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ Ex-Facebook and DeepMind employees in talks to raise sizable initial funding round to build OpenAI rival
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A French startup that wants to be Europe's answer to OpenAI is in talks to raise an initial funding round. The secretive new project, named Mistral, was founded by two AI research scientists. Mistral, a secretive new startup pitched as Europe's answer to OpenAI, is in discussions to raise a substantive funding round, sources say. London-based generative AI startup Synthesia is in talks to raise a major round while ElevenLabs raised at a $100 million valuation last month. It's also widened the race for AI supremacy with Google launching its own AI assistant, Bard, to compete with OpenAI.

☆ 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.

☆ Prescient bets by the likes of Shaquille O'Neal and Serena Williams have triggered an explosion in tech investing among Europe's sports stars
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

European sports stars are following US counterparts, such as Shaquille O'Neal, in betting on tech. O'Neal, who also made early bets on Google and Lyft, has shown how sports stars can become successful venture capitalists once their playing careers end. He's not alone in the US, with the football star Tom Brady and the basketball stars LeBron James and Steph Curry all actively investing in tech. The tennis legend Serena Williams went a step further and set up her own fund, Serena Ventures. Shaquille O'Neal has proven to be a shrewd tech investor with early bets on Ring, Google, and Lyft.

☆ 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.

☆ The rapid grocery app bubble, inflated by the pandemic, is nearing its endgame
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Grocery apps exploded during the pandemic and attained wild, multibillion-dollar valuations. European market leader Getir and smaller rival Flink are both set for big valuation haircuts. That's against a backdrop of grocery startups quitting markets, being acquired, delaying IPO, and going bankrupt. Grocery startups took massive hits as they chased usersWhat happened? Consolidation has come quickly, as smaller startups run into the realities of a low-margin model and find they can't keep up the requisite spend to chase consumers.

☆ DoorDash-backed Flink is in talks to raise around $100 million at a haircut to its earlier $2.85 billion valuation, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Callum Burroughs | Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Flink is raising around $100 million at a haircut to an earlier valuation, sources said. The startup most recently raised funding in 2022 at an estimated $5 billion valuation. Any prospective funding is mooted to be at a down round valuation of around $1.5 billion, two sources said. Discussions around fresh funding remain at an early stage and figures are subject to change. These firms, often only months old, raised funding rounds in rapid succession, hitting billion-dollar and multibillion-dollar valuations fast.

☆ Grocery app Getir, once worth $11.8 billion, sees valuation almost halved with new funding, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Getir, one of the biggest remaining grocery apps, has raised $500 million, per sources. But its valuation has been almost halved to around $6.5 billion, from $11.8 billion. Other existing shareholders added another $150 million to $200 million to the round, two further sources said. The deal is a 45% markdown on the $11.8 billion price tag that was placed on Getir during its last fundraise in March 2022. Getir could have been valued even lower but the deal came with a high liquidation preference, the sources added.

☆ This startup that automates SME invoices with AI just raised $8 million. Check out the 10-slide pitch deck Triver used to raise the fresh funds.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The startup was founded by former Funding Circle executive Jerome Le Luel and is backed by Stride.vc. A London-based startup that will provide instant working capital to SMEs has emerged from stealth with an $8 million funding round. Like most forms of short-term working capital, financing solutions for the SME market are often expensive and time-consuming. Most providers run checks based on e-commerce data, but Le Luel believes that Open Banking data allows for better risk and analytics modeling. The company wants to launch its platform within this quarter and said that it had a "line-of-sight" to a very profitable business by 2027.

☆ Yonder, a fintech startup that helps expats get credit cards and offers rewards for spend, raised $78 million in debt and equity using this 11-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

London-based fintech startup Yonder has raised $78 million in debt and equity. Yonder, a London-based credit card startup, has raised $78 million in debt and equity in a new funding round. Yonder previously brought in $26 million in debt and equity as part of a seed funding round. This latest raise comes in the form of £12.5 million, about $15.7 million, in equity and £50 million, roughly $62.6 million, in debt. Yonder also plans to launch in two further unspecified cities and offer more events to users with its new capital, Chong said.

☆ Check out the 9-slide pitch deck Quantexa, a data intelligence startup, used to raise $129 million at a $1.8 billion valuation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Quantexa, a data intelligence startup, has become a unicorn following its latest funding round. The London-based company has raised $129 million in a round led by GIC. The startup positions itself as a "decision-making" platform that provides companies with the best data available to help reduce costs and optimize growth. The new investment values the business at $1.9 billion, bringing Quantexa's total funds raised to $370 million. The company had seen a lot of inbound interest from investors leading into this funding round, Marria added.

☆ Dutch neobank Bunq files application for US banking license as it tries to succeed where many European fintechs have struggled
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Dutch banking startup Bunq has launched its application for a US banking license. Dutch banking startup Bunq has launched its application for a US banking license, looking to succeed where others have failed. Europe's biggest fintech startups have pursued US banking licenses but very few have succeeded to date. The cost and difficulty of gaining approval from the FDIC is a huge barrier to entry, leading to many fintech startups to partner up with already registered institutions instead. Niknam said Bunq had the advantage of holding an EU-wide banking license through the Dutch regulator, becoming the first institution to achieve one in 35 years in 2014.

☆ AI is so hot that top-tier funds are fighting to back tiny seed-stage startup ElevenLabs at valuation of around $100 million, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A16z is among a raft of top-tier funds battling to invest in a tiny British AI startup, sources say. London-based ElevenLabs closed a $2 million pre-seed round two months ago but is set to raise again. The deal is testament to the hype that surrounds AI startups following the release of ChatGPT last year. Andreessen Horowitz is among a raft of top-tier investors fighting to lead a round into a tiny AI startup that will value it at around $100 million as investor hype around the technology intensifies, sources say. Now, the startup is set to raise new funds again, in part due to its rapid growth in revenue, three London-based investors said.

☆ StellarFi, a fintech startup that helps people improve their credit scores, just raised $15 million with this 10-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Fintech StellarFi, which helps people improve their credit score, just raised $15 million. Check out the 10-slide pitch deck StellarFi used to raise its Series A round below. StellarFi, a fintech startup that helps people improve their credit scores, has raised $15 million in new funding. Paying the debt on time each month is designed to boost users' credit scores which are otherwise improved using high-interest loans or expensive credit cards, according to Zarrad. StellarFi raised a $7.2 million seed round in March 2022 and has now brought in $15 million in Series A funding in a round led by Acrew Capital.

☆ This fintech enables banks to offer charitable giving services. Check out the 13-slide pitch deck Spiral used to raise $28 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Spiral, a fintech startup that helps banks offer charitable giving services, has raised $28 million. The startup believes it can help banks differentiate their brand and attract Gen Z customers. Check out Spiral's 13-slide Series A pitch deck below:A startup that enables financial institutions to embed charitable giving into their services has raised $28 million in fresh funds. New York City-based Spiral has developed a system it calls "impact-as-a-service" that it offers to banks, credit unions, and other financial service providers. The startup believes it can help banks differentiate their brand, attract Gen Z customers who are keen on more sustainable products, and increase customer loyalty and retention.

☆ This Bessemer-backed startup clamping down on bad data quality just raised $12.8 million. Check out the 15-slide pitch deck Sifflet used to raise the cash.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Sifflet, a data observability startup, has raised $12.8 million in Series A funding. Check out the 15-slide pitch deck the Bessemer-backed company used to raise $12.8 million. Paris-based Sifflet, a startup that helps companies improve their data quality, has raised $12.8 million in funding. "I saw how painful it was to work with unreliable data and wanted to see if we could do something better because poor data quality is very costly." "Companies have become very proficient at collecting data because they can leverage big data to become smarter as businesses," Bakouk added.

☆ This Sequoia-backed startup bringing a form of buy now, pay later to B2B payments just raised $19.3 million. Check out the 10-slide pitch deck Two used to land the funds.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sequoia-backed payments startup Two just raised $19.3 million in a Series A round. The Oslo-based company plans to bring a version of buy now, pay later to B2B transactions. Check out the 10-slide pitch deck Two used to land the fresh cash below. A Sequoia-backed startup that wants to bring a version of the buy now, pay later model to B2B transactions just raised $19.3 million in fresh funds. Two's solution is to effectively offer a form of buy now, pay later for B2B payments to both small and medium-sized businesses and multinational corporations.

☆ Inside the opaque tech market where startup employees and early investors are trying to get rich now IPOs have collapsed and the VC party is over
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Startup employees and early investors tended to get rich at IPO or acquisition. That's the tough reality for startup employees and early investors as IPOs drop off and venture capital funding dries up. There's a glut of highly valued, late-stage private companies that should be debuting on stock exchanges in the next 12 to 36 months. Share options held by employees and investors can also come with an array of terms and conditions that make them harder to liquidate. "Investors are defending valuations that hurt employees – and companies long term – but help them raise their new funds.

Search resuls for: "Callum Burroughs"

25 mentions found