Top tech startup news stories you need to know this Friday, July 6

Good morning! Here are some of the top tech startup news stories for today, Friday, July 6.

Polish startup Photon Entertainment, the maker of award-wining robot that teaches children to code, has just been named the best startup in Europe. Polish startup Photon Entertainment is a developer of Photon, an educational robot that assists children with developing their logical thinking abilities. It offers computer science, robotics, and coding classes for children. The startup has just been given the title of best startup in Central and Eastern Europe by the European Business Angels Network (EBAN) at the EBAN Annual Congress. Photon Entertainment was founded in 2016 by Michal Grzes and Martin Joka and is based in Podlaskie.

Airwallex raises $80 million to make cross-border payments more efficient. Airwallex a financial technology startup that helps small-and-medium-sized businesses make cross-border payments more efficiently, has raised $80 million in Series B funding led by Tencent and Sequoia China. Late last year,  the Melbourne-based  startup closed a $22 million round. It has raised more than $100 million, to date. The startup was founded in 2015 by Jack Zhang, Jacob Dai, Ki-Lok Wong, Lucy Yueting Liu, and Max Li. AirWallex facilitates international money transfers through a combination of local payment collection, foreign exchange and distribution.

China Parenting Network is investing $6.3 million On 18% Of Blockchain Startup Ccloud. China Parenting Network Holdings Ltd. plans to invest HK$50 million (US$6.3 million) through its subsidiary to purchase 18% share of a new blockchain startup firm Ccloud Technology Based in Hong Kong, China Parenting Network is principally engaged in e-commerce and provision of marketing and promotional services in the maternal industry in China. It operates online platforms and mobile applications for infants, children and the maternity market.

Ex-Google employee launches monthly subscriptions for a toilet paper delivery service. The Nashville-based startup, ElementalProducts was launched by a former Google employee Steve Poleskey, and Stephanie Roach, a former elementary school teacher, created the company this year after becoming frustrated with recycled household product options they viewed as low quality and inconvenient to find. Their subscription service brings recycled household essentials to customers’ doorsteps in an effort to align consumer convenience with sustainable living.

Modus is a new tech-powered escrow startup that makes home closing less ‘painful.’ Modus is a Seattle startup launched by Day, Sim, and Abbas Guvenilir to speed up and protect home closings and make home closing less painful. The Seattle-based startup handles title and escrow all within its own closed platform to speed up the process and eliminate fraud. Their new platform enables real estate agents to choose to use Modus as their title and escrow shop. Their goal is to allow real estate agents to leverage Modus platform to handle every aspect of their home closing instead of working with a traditional title company or escrow agent.

Teslyne is a new ride hailing startup bets on Teslas to differentiate itself. Teslyne is a Denver-based startup that provides affordable private car services in 100% electric, Tesla SUVs in Colorado. Sit back, relax and enjoy the amazing scenery that Colorado has to offer. The startup  is banking on customers paying more than they would for Uber or Lyft for the chance to ride in an electric Tesla. Unlike with Uber or Lyft, the company owns the Teslas and though it interacts with riders through an app, Teslyne CEO Kyle Ewing says it is “more similar to a limousine company,” than a rideshare service. The new startup currently only has five drivers, and has been operating since the beginning of 2018.