Chipper Cash convinces Joe Montana to invest in African fintech
The African no-fee, cross-border payment startup Chipper Cash has raised a $2.4 million seed round led by Deciens Capital. The payments company also persuaded 500 Startups and Liquid 2 Ventures—co-founded by Joe Montana—to join the round. Chipper Cash’s Ugandan chief executive, Ham Serunjogi, pitched the U.S. football legend directly. “He was quite excited about what […]
Tink, the European banking platform, partners with British incumbent NatWest
It’s easy to push a narrative of fintech upstarts versus the big incumbent banks, but the more subtle reality is that as well as competing on numerous fronts, there are partnerships being formed across the board. The latest such move sees Tink, the Sweden-based banking platform that raised €56 million in new funding in February, […]
Heetch raises $38M to take on Uber in French-speaking countries
With Uber just days away from going public, a small challenger has raised some funds of its own to take it and the rest of the field on in francophone markets. Heetch, a ride-sharing platform based out of Paris with operations across France and French-speaking Africa, has picked up a Series B of $38 million, […]
Educational gaming platform Kahoot acquires math app maker DragonBox for $18M
Kahoot, the popular e-learning platform that provides a range of games to teach subjects (it has described itself as the “Netflix of education”), has made its first acquisition: it has acquired DragonBox, a startup that builds math apps, for $18 million in a combination of cash and shares. Åsmund Furuseth, Kahoot’s CEO and co-founder, said […]
Sharp will resume selling its smart TVs in the US this year
Good news for U.S. consumers, the smart TV market is about to get more competitive after Sharp announced plans to resume selling TVs in America before the end of this year. The Japanese firm quit the U.S. in 2015 when crumbling finances threatened its very existence. It was bailed out by Hon Hai Precision — […]
Disney reports strong second-quarter, but takes $353 million write-down on Vice
Walt Disney Co. is writing down its investment in Vice Media for the second time in less than a year. In its otherwise upbeat second-quarter earnings report, the company said it was taking an impairment of $353 million for Vice. This follows the $157 million write-down Disney disclosed during its fourth-quarter earnings report in November. […]
‘Weird Cuts’ is Google’s new AR experiment that lets you cut out pieces of reality to make collages
In addition to preserving art and historic landmarks around the world, Google’s Arts & Culture division also likes to collaborate with artists to experiment with integrations between technology and art. The latest of these efforts, a new AR app called “Weird Cuts,” was formally introduced this evening at the Google I/O developer conference. The concept […]
Pearl, the healthcare spinout from LA-based AI startup, GumGum, raises $11 million
GumGum, the Los Angeles-based startup that’s spent the past decade applying machine learning technologies to advertising and sports, has spun out a new healthcare startup focused on the dental industry called Pearl. The company has raised $11 million in financing from undisclosed strategic investors and Craft Ventures, the investment firm set up by former Yammer […]
Google to allow users to pay for Android apps using cash
Today, the Android platform sees more app downloads than iOS, but Apple’s App Store continually dominates in terms of revenue. Now, Google is aiming to narrow the revenue gap by introducing a new way for users in emerging markets to pay for apps: with cash. The company today announced it’s launching “pending transactions,” which offers […]
Execs at Mobike, the bike sharing startup, are raising $20M to buy out the European business by end of June
Some big changes are afoot for Mobike, the Chinese bike-sharing company that was acquired by IPO-bound on-demand service startup Meituan-Dianping for $2.7 billion last year. Mobike executives in Europe are raising $20 million from outside investors as part of a plan to spin off the European operation. Under the deal, Mobike would not completely divest […]
