Startups

Nigerian digital freight marketplace startup Kobo360 raised $20 million in a Series A funding round led by Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) while pocketing another $10 million in working capital financing from Nigerian commercial banks. Kobo360 is one of the most recognized FreightTech players in Africa,...

Nightmarish urban gridlock is fueling a bumper crop of on-demand bus startups that seek to get drivers out of their single occupancy vehicles and into more efficient mass transit options. Airlift, based in Lahore, Pakistan, is the latest enterprise to attract interest from investors, who have sunk...

Despite fears of slowing growth, it seems small businesses have not lost their outlook for expansion, and a greater number are turning to alternative lenders to achieve it.  That’s according to the latest edition of the quarterly Pepperdine Private Capital Access Index, which surveyed...

The freight industry is comprised of many small- and mid-tier freight forwarders that are perennially trying to increase efficiency within their operations and eventually grow to compete against far larger freight forwarding competitors.  To address inefficiencies within the system, it is critical...

Ibotta, the company behind the mobile shopping app that bears its name ("I bought a ... "), has reached unicorn status after confirming a Series D financing round at a roughly $1-billion valuation. What Happened The latest round of financing makes Ibotta one of the fastest-...

CBD Vida, a startup based in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil has become the first company with administrative headquarters in Brazil to market cannabidiol-based drugs with direct import through prescription and medical report. The Brazilian national market for CBD is expected to turnover $4.7...

A Fed meeting. Apple earnings. The monthly payrolls report. Renewed talks with China. This week has it all, and it starts with the stock market at all-time highs after solid results late last week from Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG), Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX), and Twitter Inc...

Investing is scary. The idea of placing hard-earned money into “risky” assets is daunting, leading many to avoid the practice completely. For Kerim Derhalli, the founder and CEO of Invstr, those fears are unjustified.  Invstr is changing the way that people look at trading: the...

Fetch Robotics, a Silicon Valley startup that's bringing robots and a supporting cloud-based software system to industrial environments, today announced a $46 million Series C round of funding. The round was led by Fort Ross Ventures, with additional participation from CEAS Investments, Redwood...

A London-based fintech startup is bringing a data-driven approach to an investment sector that isn't known for its precision.  How It Started Vidur Gupta, the founder and CEO of Beekin, spent 15 years working at institutions like MAPE Advisory, Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) and H.I...

The real-time audio platform Mixhalo announced a $10.7-million Series A financing round Tuesday led by Foundry Group. What Happened The platform is a result of musicians wanting to give every fan in a venue the same sound the players hear through in-ear monitors, according to...

sennder, a Berlin-based logistics startup, has raised €62.4 million ($70 million) in its Series C round led by Lakestar, with existing investors like venture capital firms Accel, Holtzbrinck Ventures, Project A and Swedish automaker Scania being a part of this raise. Founded in 2015 as a digital...

California-based startup Cargomatic competes in the local freight-matching marketplace, using technology to connect drivers and shippers without all the back office red tape. The company has rebuilt its C-suite over the last several months, bringing on new talent in the hopes of propelling itself...

Another viral trend, another round of questions about information security. FaceApp, the app that shows users aged pictures of themselves using artificial intelligence, has more than 80 million users all over the world and is currently the number one free app in both Apple Inc’s (NASDAQ: AAPL...

The Fintech Focus Rewind is a recurring feature in which we revisit previous episodes of Benzinga's Fintech Focus Podcast. To get the Fintech Focus delivered to your inbox weekly, subscribe to the Fintech Focus newsletter. Don’t forget to check out upcoming programming at Benzinga events...