Roundup of news and ideas from the world of startups – Week ending 17th June 2018
News you can use
Blockchain in Trade Finance: Breakthroughs on the Horizon – Trade finance has long been ripe for digitization, and electronic trade documents are already in use by some supply chain participants. Blockchain technology has the potential to take this digitization to the next level, by providing a shared, tamper-proof ledger of digital records. Recent news concerning HSBC and ING underpins the promise of blockchain technology for trade finance. The banks participated in a live transaction that facilitated an electronic letter of credit covering a shipment of soybeans between Argentina and Malaysia. The trade finance application, based on R3’s Corda platform, processed the transaction in 24 hours, versus 5 to 10 days that it might normally take.
HSBC Accelerator 2030 Program selects 5 FinTech Startups -T-Hub and HSBC Bank, under its fintech focussed Accelerator 2030 Program, has announced the names of the final five startups. These startups, selected on basis of their innovative products and solutions for improved banking operations, will undergo eight-week-long training, mentorship and workshops by senior HSBC leadership.
US blood-testing startup Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes charged with fraud – Elizabeth Holmes, the founder and CEO of secretive blood-testing US startup Theranos, has been indicted for defrauding investors, doctors and patients. Claims of a revolutionary way to test blood are in doubt.
Corporate M&A
Tableau acquires Empirical Systems, an AI startup with MIT roots – Tableau Software Inc. is looking to enhance its data visualization platform through the newly announced acquisition of Empirical Systems Inc., an artificial intelligence startup with roots at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As part of the transaction, made public this morning, Tableau is gaining Empirical’s Analytics Engine, a software tool designed to take much of the complexity out of large-scale data modeling.
Software AG acquires Belgian industrial big data startup Trendminer – Belgian startup Trendminer that provides analytics software solutions for large industrial companies has been fully acquired by Germany-based enterprise software giant Software AG, Tijd.be reported. The parties didn’t disclose the amount of the deal, mentioning only that is was a “significant multiple of the turnover,” which reached €6 million in 2017. The startup has yet to turn a profit. Founded in 2012, Trendminer is a search and analytics engine that helps companies in the industries of chemicals, oil and gas extraction, and mining make sense of their big data. As an example of the scale of the solution, a chemical plant in the port of Antwerp can use up to 500,000 sensors to track temperature, pressure, flow, and other values.
Toyota invests $1 Billion in ride Ride Hailing service, Grab – The automobile industry continues to transform and is coming to grips with the transformation by ride-sharing, that is disrupting the industry’s traditional model of vehicle ownership. This week, Toyota Motors announced (link) a large bet in ride hailing service Grab. Toyota’s investment in Grab is double the size of General Motors’s investment in Lyft in 2016.
Startup shut and failed last week
Common Pitfalls that Startup Founders Must Avoid – Across the UK, there were 589,000 new businesses launched in 2017 – that’s more than 1,600 every day, or 67 each hour. It’s a remarkable statistic that illustrates how there is an insatiable appetite among large portions of the British public to move away from traditional methods of employment and instead pursue the life of an entrepreneur. However, for those launching a startup, it is important that they recognise how difficult it can be to get that company off the ground. In fact, the latest data from the ONS shows that almost half (46.3%) of new businesses in the UK cease to exist within just three years of being founded.
Zomato To Shut Down Its Own Cloud Kitchen Operations Under ZIS – Invests $15 Mn In Loyal Hospitality. Zomato Is Now Looking To Fnction Its Cloud Kitchen Model Through Captive Units With Strategic Investments. Zomato, in its push towards cloud kitchen, has now committed to investing $15 Mn in Bengaluru-based Loyal Hospitality, reports ET. The first tranche of $5 Mn has already been invested in Loyal Hospitality which will help its team to expand operations and outlets further through a shadow kitchen model.