Top tech startup news stories you need to know this Monday, September 10
Good morning! Here are some of the top tech startup news stories for today, Monday, September 10.
Seattle-based startup Migo raises $9 million Series A to help grow its transportation search engine app across North America. Dubbed as “Netflix of transportation,” Seattle-based startup Migo announced it has raised a $9 million Series A investment round to accelerate its real-time search engine app for on-demand transportation services — Uber, Lyft, car2go, Lime, Flywheel, etc. — in 75 cities. The round included investors from Clayton Venture Partners, a venture capital firm run by Enterprise Holdings Inc., and Hyundai CRADLE, an investment arm of auto giant Hyundai.
Global venture capital investment in FinTech reaches record $27.4 billion high. According to a report from UK research company, Consultancy, the global investment in FinTechs by venture capital grew to a record $27.4 billion in 2017, spurred on by high deal value in the US, UK and India. Digital payments and lending services attracted the most investment capital. In addition, about $100 billion has flowed into fintech ventures since 2010.
Alibaba CEO Jack Ma to step down in Sept 2019, Daniel Zhang to become chairman. Jack Ma, the co-founder of China’s largest e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, will step down as chairman in one year to concentrate on philanthropy and education, passing on the reins to trusted lieutenant Daniel Zhang.
Visa, Citi-backed Chain acquired by Stellar Protocol startup Interstellar for undisclosed sum. Chain, which raised more than $40 million from financial institutions including Visa and Nasdaq, in the process helping define the narrative for business interest in the technology through its partnerships and stage appearances, has been acquired in an undisclosed deal by Interstellar (formerly Lightyear.io), a startup building on the Stellar protocol.
Big food companies are entering into startup game to learn how to keep up with food trends. Last week, we wrote about PepsiCo’s launch of its accelerator program. PepsiCo is not alone. According to a post from CNN, other big food companies like Chipotle (CMG), Chobani, and Land O’Lakes are entering the startup game to help innovative food and beverage startups grow their businesses. With these accelerator programs, these companies hope to learn how to keep up with food trends and compete like entrepreneurs.