Top startup news stories you need to know this Monday, January 29
Good morning! Here are some of the top tech startup news stories today Monday, January 29.
Goldman Sachs invests in pea milk startup Ripple Foods. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is participating in a $65 million investment in Ripple Foods Inc., a maker of pea-based dairy products like milk and yogurt. The trend: The four-year-old company is among several Silicon Valley startups developing plant-based alternatives to animal products, including eggs and meat.
‘Tesla clone’ EV startup secures $350 million investment from Alibaba and Foxconn. Xiaopeng Motors, a Chinese electric car startup who built a ‘Tesla clone’, announced that it secured an important 2.2 billion yuan ($348 million) investment round led by two Chinese tech giants: Alibaba and Foxconn.
Tyson Foods invests in lab-grown protein startup Memphis Meats. Tyson Foods’ venture capital arm announced Monday that it has joined high-profile investors in Memphis Meats including Bill Gates and Richard Branson to secure a minority investment in Memphis Meats, the buzzy startup that grows beef, chicken and duck meat with animal cells and petri dishes, no livestock required.
NewSpace startup aims to send first Brazilian probe to moon. Brazilian startup ‘Airvantis’ is planning for a 2021 launch of Brazil’s first lunar probe that would circle the Moon in a highly- elliptical orbit. The company hope that the nominal six month cubesat mission’s 7-kilogram payload — dubbed ‘Garatea L’ — will both further astrobiology and reveal new deep space radiation insights that one day might help astronauts on a mission to Mars.
Boeing HorizonX invests in advanced battery technology startup Cuberg. Boeing today announced its investment in Berkeley, California-based Cuberg for an undisclosed amount. The startup was founded by former Stanford University researchers developing next-generation battery technology for potential aerospace and industrial applications
California-based startup Dispatch brings retailers to your driveway. Dispatch is a California-base startup founded by Ali Ahmed that allows consumers to have goods delivered from retail stores through a text message. “We give people the ability to shop at home for the freshest produce, pick it themselves right in their driveway and at the lowest price because there is no driver,” he said. “So, they get the highest convenience at the lowest price, even cheaper than going to the store themselves.”
Retailers at Brisbane Airport to start accepting payments in cryptocurrencies. According to OpenGovAsia, retailers at Brisbane Airport (BNE) will soon be accepting payments in Bitcoin, Dash, Ethereum and other digital currencies. BNE announced last week that is working with TravelbyBit, in partnership with a number of terminal retailers to introduce cryptocurrency payments into its terminal shopping.