When 500 Startups partner Hasan Haider announced the $15 million first close for the accelerator and investment firm’s Middle Eastern focused fund, 500 Falcons, Dave McClure was still at the helm of Silicon Valley’s second most famous accelerator. Within a month, McClure was removed from the accelerator after admitting to sexual misconduct and 500 Startups […]
View More Two years after a first close, 500 Startups wraps its Middle East fund with $33 millionCategory: online retailer
Alibaba and Amazon move over, we visited JD.com connected grocery store in China
The arms race to build the future of grocery stores is heating up in China. To no one’s surprise, the main contestants are the country’s ecommerce titans Alibaba and JD.com, which are turning offline for growth. Online retail has flourished in China, but it still accounts for less than 20 percent of the nation’s overall consumption, according […]
View More Alibaba and Amazon move over, we visited JD.com connected grocery store in ChinaAlibaba sets new Singles’ Day record with $31B in sales, but growth is slowing
Alibaba scored another blockbuster Singles’ Day after customers around the world shopped in stores and online on the tenth edition of its November 11 shopping festival. That puts this year’s gross merchandise volume – a measure for the dollar value of total transactions – at a staggering $30.8 billion, although the company recorded its lowest-ever […]
View More Alibaba sets new Singles’ Day record with $31B in sales, but growth is slowingMinds, the blockchain-based social network, grabs a $6M Series A
Minds, a decentralized social network, has raised $6 million in Series A funding from Medici Ventures, Overstock.com’s venture arm. Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne will join the Minds Board of Directors. What is a decentralized social network? The creators, who originally crowdfunded their product, see it as an anti-surveillance, anti-censorship, and anti-“big tech” platform that ensures […]
View More Minds, the blockchain-based social network, grabs a $6M Series AWeed in space is going to be a thing now
Scientists interested in cannabis as a subject for pharmaceutical studies may find an unlikely new home for their research into the plant, its byproducts and biochemistry aboard the International Space Station. Yes, weed is going to space thanks to the work of a small Lexington, Ky.-based startup called Space Tango. The company makes a “clean […]
View More Weed in space is going to be a thing nowMallforAfrica and DHL launch MarketPlace Africa global e-commerce site
Jake Bright Contributor Jake Bright is a writer and author in New York City. He is co-author of The Next Africa. More posts by this contributor Nigerian logistics startup Kobo360 accepted into YC, raises $1.2 million Breaking down France’s new $76M Africa startup fund MallforAfrica and DHL are giving African merchants a global stage. This week […]
View More MallforAfrica and DHL launch MarketPlace Africa global e-commerce siteA new $124 million for Brazil’s Movile proves that investors still see promise in Latin American tech
Brazil’s macroeconomic picture may be gloomy, but technology investors still see hope in the nation’s burgeoning technology sector — and a recent $124 million financing for the mobile conglomerate Movile is the latest proof that that the pace of investment isn’t slowing down. Brazil was already the hottest spot for technology investment throughout Latin America […]
View More A new $124 million for Brazil’s Movile proves that investors still see promise in Latin American tech