Top tech startup news for today, Friday, May 31, 2019

Good afternoon! Top tech startup news for today, the last day of May 2019.

Amazon buys part of ad tech company Sizmek to take on the digital ad duopoly of Google and Facebook. Amazon has agreed to buy part of ad tech company Sizmek, including its ad server, the retail giant announced the deal Friday. As part of the deal, Amazon is buying Sizmek Ad Server and Sizmek Dynamic Creative Optimization, a tool that helps personalize ads using data. Founded in 1999, Sizmek is an ad tech company that offers Open Ad Management services to advertisers and agencies from around the world. The deal will bring an ad server, which is a tool to actually place advertisements around the web, to Amazon. It will also give Amazon “dynamic creative,” which is an industry term for ads tailored to a consumer’s data. Sizmek filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March.

Techsomed secures $2.6 million in funding for further development towards obtaining regulatory approval. Techsomed, an Israeli based biotech startup, has secured $2.6M in funding for further development towards obtaining FDA, PMDA, and CE regulatory approval. The round was led by Johnson & Johnson Innovation, with participation from existing and new investors Screen Holdings, AMIT-Technion (the Alfred Mann Institute), NextLeap Ventures, and Axil Capital. Founded in 2012, TechsoMed is an Israeli based medical device company, developing ultrasound based real-time monitoring systems for thermal ablation procedures. The applications of thermal ablation are numerous: tumor destruction, heart arrhythmia, blood pressure treatments and more. The procedure has market size in the billions, but lacks real-time monitoring capabilities, causing high failure rates. Its  technology offers added value to patients, physicians and insurance companies by solving the high failure rate of these minimally invasive and cost effective procedures.

SpaceX valuation skyrockets to $33.3 billion as investors look to satellite opportunity. The value of Elon Musk’s SpaceX has risen to $33.3 billion, according to a report from CNBC citing people familiar with the company’s recent fundraising. SpaceX is now more valuable than Tesla, an electric vehicle company started by the same founder. As we reported last week, SpaceX has raised just over $1 billion this year, as the space company accelerates its fundraising effort to develop its plan to beam high-speed internet to anywhere on Earth.

Life insurance app yulife receives £10m investment round from backers of Spotify. Life insurance app yulife has secured £10 million in Series A funding led by Creandum Funds, backers of Spotify, iZettle and depop. MMC Ventures and Notion Capital participated in the round alongside existing investors Anthemis Exponential Ventures, RGAX and Israel’s most active venture investor OurCrowd. The London-based company plans to use the funds to develop its product and reach more businesses with its unique approach to group life cove. Founded in 2016 by Jaco Oosthuizen, Jonathan Roomer, Josh Hart, Sam Fromson, and Sammy Rubin, yulife is a lifestyle insurance startup that brings together life insurance, well being, and rewards in one simple app.

Pillo Health raises $11 million in series-a funding from stanley black & decker and samsung ventures to fuel development of voice-first healthcare platform for the home. Pillo Health, a Boston-based technology company improving longevity and quality of life for patients managing their health at home, today announced that is has secured $11 million in funding from leading venture investors to complete its Series-A round. The capital will be used to drive growth and innovation as Pillo Health builds out its voice-enabled medication and care management platform for the home. Founded in 2015 by Dr. Aiden Feng, Emanuele Musini, and James Wyman, Pillo Health provides HIPAA compliant tools for caregivers and health organizations to deliver better care to loved ones and patients living at home.

Ad tech company The Trade Desk’s foray  into China is paying off. The Trade Desk, an online demand-side platform startup company, which was founded by Jeff Green and Dave Pickles in 2009 and went public in 2016, made a strategic decision to take  its ad platform to China to enable multinational brands advertise there more easily. Ever since it moved its ad platform to China, the company has experienced an explosive growth. Its first quarter revenue was up 41% from a year ago, with profits up 12%. The adtech company, which provides technology that helps brands and agencies target and reach audiences across media formats and devices, earning $88 million on revenues of $477 million last year.