Startup Around

Phantom AI Raises $22M in Series A Funding Back to HomeBURLINGAME, CA, Phantom AI has raised $22 million in Series A financing led by Celeres Investments.

Analysts are predicting the ADAS market will reach USD $134.9 billion by 2027, up from USD $30billion in 2019.

"We founded Phantom AI to fundamentally change the economics of ADAS by developing modernsoftware-based solutions that are high performing, cost effective, and infinitely flexible andcustomizable," said Hyunggi Cho, co-founder and CEO of Phantom AI.

Phantom AI has created the most accurate and highest-performing AI solutions available today thatmeet car manufacturer requirements, at a much lower price than existing solutions.

Tolearn more about Phantom AI, please visit: https://www.phantom.ai/. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1586188911.4034836/Phantom-AI-Raises-$22M-in-Series-A-Funding?ref=audio_experience

Koch Industries announced today that it has closed on the acquisition of Infor, announced in February.

The company will remain an independent subsidiary of Koch, which tends to deal more in manufacturing than software.

The goal is to use the resources of Koch to continue to build out the Infor product family with a focus on industry-specific solutions, according to the company.

As the company pointed out, Infor is helping customers move to the cloud, even in industries like manufacturing, distribution and finance that might otherwise be stuck on legacy systems.

Its most recent investment before the acquisition was for $1.5 billion in January 2019. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1586187115.0233235/Koch-Industries-closes-nearly-$13B-Infor-acquisition-–-TechCrunch?ref=audio_experience

According to Crunchbase data, Voysis had raised $8 million since it was founded in 2012.

And on March 31, it was announced that Apple had acquired weather app DarkSky, which was not venture-backed.

Then reports over the weekend emerged that Apple had picked up another startup, NextVR, for about $100 million.

Newport Beach, California-based NextVR has a decade of experience marrying virtual reality with sports and entertainment, notes 9to5mac.com.

NextVR has raised about $115.5 million in venture funding since its 2009 inception, according to Crunchbase data. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1586185205.5543168/Apple’s-2020-Buying-Spree:-Tech-Giant-Reportedly-Acquiring-NextVR-For-About-$100M?ref=audio_experience

The coronavirus lockdown has virtually shuttered many businesses in India — but some are coming up with interesting ways to keep operating.

Uber has tied up with Spencer’s Retail, Big Basket and Flipkart for last-mile delivery of essentials during the coronavirus lockdown.

We are exploring opportunities to expand it to other cities,” said Uber India and South Asia director operations and head of cities Prabhjeet Singh.

Uber had earlier struck similar partnerships with Big Basket and Spencer’s Retail.

A Twitter user shared a picture of an Uber car with several Big Basket deliver boxes in the back seat. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1586183407.404413/Uber-Ties-Up-With-Big-Basket,-Flipkart-And-Spencer’s-To-Make-Deliveries-In-India?ref=audio_experience

Contxto – We knew it and so did Twitter: coronavirus (Covid-19) and the current state of affairs are changing the venture capital (VC) scene in Latin America.

The only thing one really pined for was for this to come from the mouths of VC investors themselves.

So read on and heed what the reps from Canary Ventures, Atlantico, Kaszek, monashees, Redpoint eventures, Valor Capital, and SoftBank said.

Related article: Top 10 Venture Capital funds in MexicoChanges to investment behaviorThe 2008-2009 economic crisis left a few lessons that can be applied to today’s upcoming/ongoing recession.

Some, like Valor Capital are pondering follow-on rounds to provide life-support for their startups. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1586181607.9075375/Venture-Capital-investors-in-Latin-America-talk-Covid-19’s-impact?ref=audio_experience

Founder Institute, the world’s largest pre-seed startup accelerator, has announced it’s releasing a series of free startup webinars for entrepreneurs around the world.

The webinars, to be at hosted at OnlineStartupEvents.com, will provide direct access to leading investors, founders, and mentors from around the globe.

The startup accelerator today has an extensive library of video from thought leaders via its programs.

Founder Institute CEO Adeo RessiFounder Institute was founded in 2009 originally as TheFunded.com, before pivoting to become an accelerator for entrepreneurs.

Today Founder Institute is in 65 countries across 180 cities. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1586179807.6204765/Founder-Institute-to-host-free-startup-webinars-with-leading-investors-and-entrepreneurs?ref=audio_experience

Capital, a global private equity investment firm, has invested, through convertible debt, into Modern Logistics, a Brazilian full service logistics firm.

Founded by former JetBlue VP and Co-founder of Azul airlines, Gerald Lee, Modern Logistics has its own fully integrated air cargo operation dedicated to long distance, time-sensitive, and warehousing capabilities.

The company, backed by DXA Investments, has 8 distribution centers, more than 14,000 trucks connected to its network and operates its own air cargo operation, with a current fleet of 4 aircrafts.

Including this convertible debt issuance, Modern has raised U$65 million in funding from H.I.G.

The company expects to raise up to U$150 million, to be used for working capital needs for its expansion. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1586178011.362008/Modern-Logistics-Receives-Financing-from-H.I.G.-Capital?ref=audio_experience

Fintech startup Lydia is the dominating mobile payment app in France with most of its 3.3 million users in its home country.

That’s why the startup has been working hard over the past ten days to ship a feature that was originally planned for this summer — donations to charities and hospitals.

Starting today, Lydia users can choose between 17 charities and send money to those charities using the familiar Lydia payment flow.

You’ll find public hospitals (Paris, Nantes, Strasbourg, Grenoble, Lille and Nice), charities focused on health as well as general public interest charities (Fondation de France, Fondation 101, Médecins du Monde, Epic, Action contre la Faim, La Croix Rouge française, La Fondation Abbé Pierre, La Ligue Nationale contre le Cancer, Réseau Entourage and La Maison des Femmes de Saint-Denis).

Eventually, Lydia will deduct processing fees from your donations before handing them over to charities. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1586176207.157789/Lydia-lets-you-donate-to-hospitals-and-charities-–-TechCrunch?ref=audio_experience

The personal touchThere are several e-learning platforms out there who have made their online videos and courses free in these times.

Moreover, learning with a teacher instead of a pre-recorded video enhances students' critical thinking skills.

By enrolling with Cuemath’s paid online program, students are assigned a trained & qualified math tutor for personalised learning and instant clearance of doubts.

By enrolling in Cuemath’s paid online program, one can also get access to a complimentary online Cuemath Summer Camp kit worth Rs 4,000.

This is designed to help students develop skills complementary to math through activities like:Learning the math behind codingUnderstanding encryption and sorting algorithmsDeveloping critical thinking skills through puzzles& moreTo be continued... | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1586174406.3572738/Love-of-Learning-in-the-time-of-Corona.-India’s-No.1-math-program-is-now-free-for-all-grades?ref=audio_experience

Today London-based startup Yapily, a leading enterprise connectivity platform, has announced snapping up €12 million in a Series A funding round, led by Lakestar, and with participation from existing investors HV Holtzbrinck Ventures and LocalGlobe and angel investors.

The fintech will use the investment to drive open banking adoption by organisations across Europe.

In other words, Yapily works ‘behind the scenes’ helping companies meet rising customer expectations in banking, lending, payments, accounting and money management.

In May 2019, the startup raised €4.8 million in seed funding from repeat investors HV Holtzbrinck Ventures and LocalGlobe, to develop its API platform.

Stefano Vaccino, Founder and CEO of Yapily, said: “We believe open banking is a force for good. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1586172607.6701646/Yapily-raises-€12-million-to-drive-open-banking-across-Europe?ref=audio_experience