Chicago-based start-up lender Avant Inc has mobilized $325millions in its latest round of funding from a private equity (PE) firm General Atlantic and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Balyasny Asset Management and Tiger Global Management LLC are also investing in the round taking total fund-raising for Avant to $659mn till date. General Atlantic-led round is expected to close in October. With this fund-raising, the valuation of Avant is pegged at $1billion. The start-up firm is planning to use the mobilized funds to offer various financial products and fund its global expansion plan.
Funding
Uber plans to raise $1B in fund raising
Last Friday, Uber Technologies have revealed plans of raising $1 billion from a new pool of investors which will make it the most powerful, and most valuable, privately-owned, start-up in the whole world.
Bitcoin startup Abra announces U.S. and Philippines launch
Bitcoin startup company, Abra, recently announced that it is set to launch in the United States and the Philippines after getting $12 million in Series A Round funding from investors, including the American Express and Ratan Tata, the chairman emeritus of Tata Sons.
KickStarter bans laser-powered razor campaign for lack of working prototype
Kickstarter, the popular online crowdfunding platform, has just banned a project for its failure to provide evidence of a working prototype. The project was for a laser-powered razor called Skarp which has raised over $4 million in crowdfunding since it was first announced.
Airbus calls off talks with Bombardier on C-Series Jet project
The ongoing talks between Airbus and Bombardier have ended incomplete as the former called off discussions soon after they became public.
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As part of its debt reduction exercise, the world's largest bullion producer Barrick Gold Corp has offered to buy back some part of its outstanding debt. Despite the drop in gold prices, The Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp has been selling assets.
Donation-based and rewards-based crowdfunding are the most popular ways for entrepreneurs to bring their startups and projects to life. Entrepreneur reports that 2015 is considered as "the year of crowdfunding" with all the significant growth and rapid changes in the market. In 2012, a total of $16.2 billion was raised by companies and individuals all over the world.
Zscaler, a California-based cloud security firm, has mobilized $25million from Google Capital, an equity investment arm of Google. Adding to the oversubscribed round, the total amount raised by Zscaler reaches $110mn. The cyber security firm raised $85million in August. Zscaler was waiting for a strategic partner to close the round. Google Capital is engaged in late-stage financing activity.
The UK-based department store chain British Home Stores (BHS) has secured a loan from Grovepoint Capital. The latest loan amount is believed to be worth GBP 65 million.
Analysts believe that, as we begin the age of venture capital revolution, disruptive technology draws majority of venture capitalists. But firms are becoming overwhelmed by high-tech innovations. That's the challenge venture capital is facing today.
As part of its business expansion drive, craft beer maker BrewDog is raising funds through Crowdcube, which is UK's biggest crowdfunding platform. The Scottish BrewDog will raise GBP 25million though two crowdfunding routes by next April.
Newscred announced that it had successfully raised $42 million in additional funds. The company was established in 2008, which acted as a system for readers to rate an online story or publication's credibility.
The ten teams in Formula One auto racing are under a total debt of $318.2 million, and 64.2% of that belongs to Lotus. Lotus belongs to Genii Capital, a private equity firm founded by Skype investor Gerard Lopez. Creditors have been going after Lotus for the last several months. Its cars were almost impounded during the Belgian Grand Prix last weekend after former reserve driver Charles Pic filed a legal dispute.
US Defense Secretary Ash Carter on August 8 gave $75 million to FlexTech Alliance, a consortium of giant tech and research firms, to develop an electronic device small enough for soldiers to carry.
