Top tech startup news for today, Thursday, August 1, 2019

Good morning! Below are some of the top tech startup news for today, the first day of August 2019.

Fintech startup Revolut launches a Robinhood-style stock trading service. London, England-based fintech startup Revolut is taking on Robinhood with the launch of its own commission-free stock trading platform. The launched online brokerage service, which lets users buy or sell popular U.S. stocks from Apple to Beyond Meat at the tap of a button, with the goal to lure in millennials who normally shy away from investing. Founded in 2015 by Nikolay Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko, Revolut is a digital banking alternative for instant payment notifications: free international money transfers and global fee-free spending.

World’s first AI bar opens in London – helps customers stay in “intelligently virtual” queue. U.K-based data science startup DataSparQ has developed a kit which uses facial recognition technology to ensure customers stay in “intelligently virtual” queue. The system let bartenders know who really was next. The technology has been on trial for a bar, called 5cc Harrild & Sons. , has enlisted the help of an artificial intelligence system to help the bartenders. John Wyllie, Managing Director at DataSparQ, said: “Queuing is a part of British life that we all have to endure – but we wanted to do something to improve the experience. “It’s the uncertainty of waiting times alongside queue jumpers that’s adversely affecting consumer behaviours in bars and pubs,“ He added. “The A.I. Bar ensures it’s a hassle free, first come, first served system that makes ordering drinks more convenient for both drinkers and bar staff alike.”

Holloway secures $4.6M in seed funding. Holloway, a San Francisco, Californi-based online publishing company, has raised $4.6M in seed funding. Investors include NEA, The New York Times Co., & South Park Commons. Co-founded by CEO Andy Sparks, Holloway creates in-depth Guides to important topics in business by distilling the knowledge of industry experts into comprehensive online resources. People can read each guide in a new online reading experience. Guides, each over 200 pages, are popup, ad, and distraction free.

Amazon founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos, sells $1.8 billion worth of Amazon stock in just three days. What’s a billion dollars to multi-billionaire like Jeff Bezos? According to new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, Bezos sold more than $1.8 billion (900,000 worth of shares) in the company in the final three days of July. Bezos previously told reporters he would sell $1 billion in stock each year to fund his space company, Blue Origin. The sale is Bezos’ first since October 2018 and appears to be his largest ever over the short period. Last October, he  sold $33 million worth of stock, according to forms filed with the SEC. Even after the most recent sale, Bezos still owns 58.1 million shares in Amazon and making him the richest person in the world.

SaaS startup QuotaPath launches industry’s first free self-service commission tracking software for sales professionals. Today, QuotaPath announced the launch of its new platform designed to help salespeople calculate and track their commission-based earnings and quota attainment. Anyone with a quota, bonus, commission, or performance incentive can now take advantage of QuotaPath’s diverse set of features, which allows sales reps, sales managers, and executives to own their personal career development. Founded in early 2018 by AJ Bruno and Cole Evetts, QuotaPath is redefining the way sales teams think about their earnings through easy-to-use software. QuotaPath launched its initial platform to a group of early access users in September 2018.

ISF Incubator partners with second Singapore-based startup, No Fry Zone.  ISF Incubator, the startup arm of Intellectual Ventures, is partnering with a second startup company in Singapore, No Fry Zone to provide on-demand access to sunscreen products at outdoor venues. No Fry Zone follows ISF Incubator’s first international startup, Secur3DP+, which was launched in May and is also headquartered in Singapore.

Fintech startup ePayRails closes $2.45 Series A funding round to accelerate growth. ePayRails today announced it has secured $2.45 in Series A funding for further development of its Payment Hub, expand sales and marketing capabilities, and invest in back-office client support. The round was led by Aspire Fund Management, with $2 million investment along with a consortium of additional private investors who invested the balance of $450 thousand. ePayRails was founded in January 2018 in Jacksonville, FL. ePayRails is a fintech payment as a service provider (PaaS) with a mission to make payments smarter and faster, enabling seamless reconciliation for both the customer and vendor via a data-rich, secure B2B payments hub.

Amazon buys Israeli high-performance storage technology startup E8 Storage. Amazon has bought Israeli high-performance storage technology startup E8 Storage for an undisclosed amount. Israeli media outlet Globes first broke the news. The small Israeli startup builds flash storage for the enterprise and software-defined cloud. As part of the deal, E8 Storage will merge with Amazon Web Services development center in Tel Aviv, the source added. Israeli media outlet Globes first reported the deal.