Psychedelic medicines start up raises £58m August 16, 2021 An Oxford based company which uses psychedelic medicines to treat neurological disorders has completed an oversubscribed £58m funding round. Beckley Psytech today announced that their Series B financing round had to be upsized from $50m (£36m) to $80m on account of investor demand. The funding will be used to complete an ongoing trial which uses [...]
DoorDash swings to loss in second quarter since IPO August 13, 2021 Aggressive expansion into a crowded global grocery delivery market plunged SoftBank-backed DoorDash into a wider than expected loss in the second quarter since its December 2020 IPO. The NYSE-listed food delivery firm reported a net loss of $102m in the second quarter, wider than the $74.6m loss Wall Street had been expecting. This translated to [...]
The latest British unicorn? Insurtech Marshmallow is waiting in the wings August 11, 2021 Marshmallow Financial Services is soon to announce its latest fundraising round that will bring its valuation to $1.2bn (£869m), joining the ranks of other recent UK unicorns Starling Bank, Gousto and Zego. Its latest cash injections is fuelled largely by existing investors, according to reports in Sky News citing “city insiders” with knowledge of the [...]
Exclusive: Cult Beauty founder Jessica DeLuca on selling to THG and what happens next August 6, 2021 In the thirteen years since launching online cosmetics retailer Cult Beauty, Jessica DeLuca and Alexia Inge grew the business from £72,000 to £275m – the amount it sold to The Hut Group (THG) for this week. Jessica DeLuca, a former IT analyst, worked in the spare bedroom of her basement flat through 2007 building the [...]
Historic IPO: India’s first woman-led unicorn could stoke a $4bn valuation August 3, 2021 Upcoming unicorn and beauty e-commerce startup Nykaa could be looking at a $4bn valuation once it makes the final touches to its initial public offering. The Mumbai-headquartered startup hitting a billion-dollar valuation would make it India’s first-ever woman-led unicorn. The country’s woman-led unicorn has emerged from former investment banker Falguni Nayar, who has bagged the [...]
Bolt doubles valuation to €4bn as investors pour into on-demand grocery push August 2, 2021 Estonian ride-hailing startup Bolt announced on Monday it had closed a fresh €600m (£512m) funding round, increasing its valuation to more than €4bn (£3.4bn). The latest funds raised from investors will be funnelled into its new 15-minute grocery delivery service, Bolt Market, as the startup seeks to capitalise on the fast-growing market. Bolt said it [...]
Over two-fifths of Hong Kong migrants plan to start business in the UK July 19, 2021 The UK could be set for an entrepreneurial boost from an unlikely source – with almost half of wealthy Hongkongers coming to the UK set to start their own businesses. According to UKHK.org, a charity supporting Hongkongers in the UK, a new survey of Hongkongers found more than half (52.1 per cent) have or intend [...]
Exclusive: Two City lawyers on a mission to make their fintech the ‘Amazon of Islamic finance’ July 19, 2021 Islamic Finance Guru (IFG), a UK-based Islamic finance platform, has closed an investment round led by Outward venture capital, as the market for Islamic fintech grows. The UK-based startup has raised £3m from Outward VC and B&Y Venture Partners. The news come just a week after the Boubyan Bank Group announced that the world’s first [...]
Alibaba to launch £186m venture fund for startups in Southern China July 13, 2021 Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba announced said today it will launch a HK$2bn (£186m) venture fund to support startups in the Greater Bay Area of southern China. Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund (AEF) will be an anchor investor for the new fund, which will target startups in the region focusing on sustainability, deep tech, health tech, [...]
Tide banking valued at $650m, after securing $100m in funding July 12, 2021 Tide Banking, the UK fintech startup, has raised over $100m in Series C funding, bringing its valuation to over $650m (£468m), the company announced today. The four-year-old startup has raised a total of $200m to date including the latest funding. The injection of cash will allow the company to grow its market share, and expand [...]