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Judging the Future of Self-Driving Truck Startups
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By Marc Vartabedian, WSJ Pro
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Good day. Autonomous trucking startups have, by some measures, rebounded from the hardships that hit the self-driving sector in 2020, when funding dropped and the pandemic delayed testing and development.
In the first half of 2021, investors poured a record $5.6 billion into autonomous trucking companies, surpassing the $4.2 billion that was invested in all of 2020, according to a report published last week by analytics firm PitchBook Data Inc.
The report cites factors including the maturing of a technology that is better suited to long-haul trucking routes than taxiing passengers through complex city streets, which has long been an industry talking point.
It is important to note that a significant chunk of the capital committed to these startups this year came amid the rush of special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, deals; related private investment in public equity deals, known as PIPE financings; and initial public offerings.
For instance, PlusAI Corp. agreed to a SPAC deal in May that would value it at roughly $3.3 billion. Rival TuSimple Holdings Inc. held a $1.35 billion initial public offering on the Nasdaq stock market in April.
It remains to be seen whether autonomous trucking startups will be able to capitalize on investors’ backing and bring to market a complex and capital-intensive technology. TuSimple’s IPO paperwork, for example, revealed a long road ahead in turning a profit.
And other transportation startups that have yet to put their core products on the market have struggled, even amid investor enthusiasm that propelled them to recent public listings.
And now on to the news...
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Financial technology firms, such as Apple Pay, have grown in recent years and become important players in areas traditionally handled by banks. PHOTO: CHRIS RATCLIFFE/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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Fintech regulation. Calls are growing louder to impose more stringent regulation on technology giants that spill over into financial services, WSJ reports.
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A paper published by the Bank for International Settlements, a consortium of central banks and financial regulators, said tech companies that play a critical role in payments and other areas should be subject to stricter regulatory scrutiny that considers issues beyond traditional market risks.
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Banks and insurers can be designated as systemically important. But regulations in most countries don’t address the “potential (possibly global) systemic impact of big-tech operations and of possible spillover effects to the financial sector and across all of the activities that big techs perform,” according to the report. Central banks should study the need for “specific safeguards” for big techs, the paper said.
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$29 Billion
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The value of the all-stock deal in which Square Inc. agreed to acquire Afterpay Ltd. (WSJ)
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Beverage Startups See Money Pour In Following Pandemic Pullback
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Ready-to-drink beverage startups are taking advantage of an uptick in venture funding in their sector following a downturn in deals during the worst of the pandemic last year, WSJ Pro’s Isaac Taylor reports. From 2016 to 2019, the value of venture-capital deals increased in the global water and beverage-alternatives sector, according to PitchBook Data Inc. Last year marked the first decline in the sector in five years. The sector includes water, tea, coffee and nonalcoholic beverages. Firms focused on their existing portfolio companies during the worst days of the pandemic, investors and startup founders said, instead of investing in outside companies, they added. But since then, deals in the beverage space have
climbed higher than in previous years. There were 58 deals in the first half of 2020 totaling $283.5 million. The first half of this year saw 59 deals attract $681.4 million, according to PitchBook.
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Noubar Afeyan’s Immigrant Roots Shape Flagship Pioneering
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Years ago Noubar Afeyan, the founder of Flagship Pioneering, which backs life sciences companies such as Covid-19 vaccine maker Moderna Inc., walked into Managing Partner Doug Cole’s office with a hypothesis, WSJ Pro reports. Mr. Afeyan thought microbiomes, the ecosystem of microbes in our bodies, played a role in cancer and that Cambridge, Mass.-based Flagship should explore the association. While Mr. Cole initially dismissed the idea, it turned out years later that the Flagship chief executive was on the right track. The episode provides an example of the Beirut-born entrepreneur’s approach to investing and developing ideas into new businesses, such as Moderna’s use of messenger RNA as
a way to deliver a Covid vaccine.
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People
Open networking software provider Pica8 appointed Kelly LeBlanc as chief marketing officer and Mike Hoffman as chief revenue officer. Ms. LeBlanc was most recently CMO at 6WIND. Mr. Hoffman was previously CRO and senior vice president of global sales at Aryaka. In April, Palo Alto, Calif.-based Pica8 raised a $20 million Series C round from investors including WI Harper Group, Aspiro Capital Management and Vantage Point Ventures.
Drata, a security and compliance automation provider, appointed Ross Hosman as chief information security officer. He was previously head of information security at Sigma Computing. San Diego-based Drata is backed by investors including GGV Capital, Cowboy Ventures, Leaders Fund, Okta Ventures, SVCI and SV Angel.
Alphabet Inc.’s venture-capital arm GV hired Rhys Hughes as executive talent partner. Mr. Hughes is the former Chief Talent Officer at cloud data company Rubrik.
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Eco, a digital wallet startup, fetched $60 million in new funding. Co-led by Activant Capital and L Catterton, the round also includes support from Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, LionTree Partners, Valor Equity Partners and others.
Lithic, a New York-based debit and credit card issuing platform for developers, raised $60 million in Series C funding. Stripes led the round, which included participation from investors including Bessemer Venture Partners and Index Ventures.
Juno Medical, a New York-based healthcare provider, was seeded with a $5.4 million investment. Vast Ventures led the round, which included contributions from Atento Capital, Company Ventures, RareBreed Ventures and Lafayette Square.
Atlas Digital Group LLC, a St. Louis-based cable and fiber digital commerce startup, secured a $3 million seed investment led by Cultivation Capital.
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Reese Witherspoon said the Hello Sunshine deal is an endorsement of her bet that Hollywood needs more stories told by and for women. PHOTO: EMMA MCINTYRE/GETTY IMAGES FOR AT&T
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Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine to be sold to media company backed by Blackstone
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Theranos patients: The emerging wild card in the trial of Elizabeth Holmes
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Our 2021 laptop buying guide: How to choose the best for you
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Big apple takes bite out of food delivery
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Crypto software startup TaxBit triples valuation in Insight-led round (The Information)
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