Top tech startup news for today, Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Good morning! Below are some of the top tech startup news stories for Tuesday, May 28.

Venture capitalists bet big big on the $1.9 trillion payments industry. Tech firms around the world are all trying to grab a slice of the same $1.9 trillion industry. According to a new report from McKinsey, global payments revenues jumped to $1.9 trillion in 2017, the best single year of growth in the last five years. Upstart payment firms like Silicon Valley’s Stripe and U.K.-based GoCardles are attracting big corporate clients and billions of dollars in venture capital money. Another data from Pitchbook shows investors pumped $18.5 billion into payments start-ups in 2018 spread across 235 deals in total.

Kytopen Secures $3.6M in Seed Funding. Kytopen, a biotech startup accelerating the discovery and manufacturing of gene-modified cell therapies, raised $3.6m in seed financing for the ongoing development of its FlowfectTM. Backers included The Engine, Horizons Ventures and angel investors. Founded by Paulo Garcia, CEO, and Cullen Buie, Kytopen is developing FlowfectTM, a proprietary non-viral cell engineering platform which can process a therapeutic payload of cells in seconds by combining microfluidics and automation.

Alibaba is reportedly eyeing a $20 billion IPO in Hong Kong listing. China’s largest retail giant Alibaba is reportedly working with financial advisors to raise $20 billion via a second listing as early as the latter half of 2019, according to a report from Bloomberg citing sources familiar with the deal. The $20 billion IPO is part of the plan by the company to diversify its funding channels and boosting liquidity, according to a report from Bloomberg. About five years ago, the company raised $25 billion in the world’s largest initial public offering at the time.

Israel autonomous car semiconductor startup TriEye raises $17 million led by Intel Capital. TriEye, a semiconductor startup developing disruptive SWIR (Short Wave Infrared) imaging solution, has closed   $17 million in an early funding round led by Intel Capital. Other backers include Marius Nacht, co-founder of Check Point Software Technologies, and TriEye’s existing investor Grove Ventures, headed by TriEye chairman Dov Moran. The Tel Avivm, Israel-based TriEye was founded in 2016 by CEO Avi Bakal, VP R&D Omer Kapach, and CTO Prof. Uriel Levy, after nearly a decade of advanced nano-photonics research by Prof. Levy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Sovos buys Turkey invoicing and eDlivery startup Foriba. Sovos, a Boston, MA-based global tax software provider, is to acquire Foriba, an Istanbul, Turkey-based provider of e-invoicing, e-delivery notes, e-receipts and periodic value-added tax (VAT) reporting solutions in Turkey and beyond. The amount of the deal was not disclosed. Sovos currently supports 5,000 customers, including half of the Fortune 500, and integrate with a wide variety of business applications. The company is based throughout North America, Latin America and Europe.

ApplyBoard bags $40.92 million in Series B to develop its AI platform and market expansion to make education accessible to students around the world. ApplyBoard, an edtech startup and the world’s largest platform for international students to apply to study at the best educational institutions in North America, has raised $40.92 million (C$55 million) in Series B funding. Anthos Capital, a California-based investment firm that invests in leading growth-stage companies at the forefront of change, led the round with participation from existing investors including Artiman Ventures. To date, ApplyBoard has raised C$72 million in total funding. ApplyBoard will use the fresh capital infusion to further develop its AI-powered platform and accelerate expansion into new markets, advancing the company’s mission of making education accessible to students around the world.