Top tech startup news of the week (startup weekend roundup – June 9)
Nickie Louise
Posted On June 10, 2018
Happy weekend! Here is a roundup of the top startup news of the past week. Please subscribe to the TechStartups Newsletter using the form at the right corner of this page, if you want this weekly update in your inbox every week.
IDG Capital invests in zero-trading fees cryptocurrency exchange startup COBINHOOD.
COBINHOOD, a cryptocurrency service platform startup, today launches decentralized blockchain platform DEXON with investment from IDG Capital. The new investment will allow DEXON to focus on mass adoption from the banking industry. DEXON is an infinitely scalable permissionless distributed ledger technology that eliminates existing blockchain technology that does not make for practical market adoption. COBINHOOD is the world’s first zero-trading fees cryptocurrency exchange. IDG Capital, is one of the top VC firms with over 150 successful exits and manages more than 20 billion in assets. Some of their portfolio companies include; App Annie, 5Miles and WeCash. DEXON is also backed by other top VCs in the world.
Coinbase acquires Keystone Capital in bid to become a regulated broker-dealer.
Coinbase is always in the news. The cryptocurrency exchange leader announced it would acquire securities dealer Keystone Capital in an attempt to become a fully SEC-regulated broker dealer, according to a report from Wall Street Journal. “If approved, Coinbase will soon be capable of offering blockchain-based securities, under the oversight of the US Securities and Exchange Commission,” says Coinbase President and Chief Operating Officer Asiff Hirji. Coinbase will also be able to trade startup tokens. a Cardiff, Calif.-based financial-services firm. Keystone is a Finra-registered broker-dealer, and it has licenses to operate as a registered investment adviser, as well as to run an alternative trading system, or ATS.
Israeli cybersecurity startup, CyberBit, has raised $30 million investment to expand sales and marketing, primarily in North America, boost product development, and enhance customer and partner support. The current investment is led by Claridge Israel. Cyberbit is a subsidiary of Elbit Systems Ltd., and a world leading provider of cyber range training and simulation platforms, and provider of IT/OT threat detection and security orchestration. Elbit Systems acquired Cyberbit in May 2015 for $157.9M.
Hailo has secured a $12.5 million Series A funding round to further develop its deep learning processor, which will deliver datacenter processing capacity to edge devices. The latest round is led by investors, including: Ourcrowd.com, Maniv Mobility, the Drive accelerator fund: Next Gear; as well as angel investors, Hailo Chairman Zohar Zisapel and Delek Motors CEO Gil Agmon. This latest funding round brings the total raised to date to $16 million. Hailo’s breakthrough deep learning processor, whose initial samples are expected to enter the market in H1 2019, will be able to run embedded AI applications on edge devices that are installed in autonomous vehicles, drones, and smart home appliances such as personal assistants, smart cameras and smart TVs, alongside IoT, AR and VR platforms, wearables and security products.
AI-based travel platform startup WhereTo raises $8 million in Series A funding.
WhereTo, an AI-based travel platform that simplifies and improves business travel planning for corporations and their employees, has raised $8 million in Series A funding, led by Emergence Capital. WhereTo is an AI-based smart business travel booking startup that inspires and empowers today’s corporate travelers with an AI-based travel experience. The solution is the industry’s first intelligent business travel platform that searches across dozens of channels for the best prices, and allows corporations to easily adjust pre-configured algorithms to meet their business objectives, generating real time, complete trip recommendations that balance cost against convenience and user preferences.
Founded in 2015 by David Gelbard, Parachute Health is a provider of medical equipment ordering software. The story started back in 2013 after a back surgery. David Gelbard’s 78-year-old father was discharged from the hospital with instructions to use a walker. His dad had trouble getting access to a walker. Even though, the walker was supposed to get to his house the same day he did, but instead it took weeks until, eventually, he fell and hurt himself again. This led Gelbard to start the company. Parachute Health solves an enduring pain point in the healthcare system by providing a seamless, all-digital solution for ordering the critical medical equipment and services patients need after they are discharged from the hospital – such as oxygen tanks, wheelchairs and medical supplies.
Microsoft acquired GitHub for $7.5 billion.
Microsoft has acquired GitHub. We covered this story on Saturday and yesterday. After a few days of rumors, Microsoft confirmed this morning that it has reached an agreement to acquire GitHub, the world’s leading software development platform where more than 28 million developers learn, share and collaborate to create the future. Together, the two companies will empower developers to achieve more at every stage of the development lifecycle, accelerate enterprise use of GitHub, and bring Microsoft’s developer tools and services to new audiences.
