Glory Technology Group is acquiring a minority stake in OneBanks

GLORY LTD, a popular name in the global cash tech solutions to the fast food, retail, and financial industries, has recently made an announcement that it will now invest in OneBanks, an innovator in the banking segment. Glory will be the cornerstone of the funding round, and it will also support the ambitions of OneBanks to become a prominent name in the global everyday banking sector. oneBanks has already secured funding from several prominent angel investors like Baroness Bottomley and Rupert Pennant-Rea. After the latest funding round, Glory will become the main external investor with a large minority in the enlarged capital.

Along with Glory’s commitment and support from additional funds, OneBanks is all set to take over the market. As of now, OneBanks is testing its shared branch kiosk in three locations, and plans are in motion to replicate the same in 15 locations by the end of 2022. The company is expecting to have at least 150 kiosks by the end of 2025. OneBanks developed new proprietary technology to allow multiple banks to offer greater services from one location.  This will significantly lower the costs when compared to the traditional banks. The customers participating in the same will have free access to multiple transactions.

 

Singapore-based Cloud Delivery Platform Parcel Perform Raises $20 million

 

The cloud-based delivery experience platform Parcel Perform announced that it has secured $20 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Cambridge Capital, with new investor SoftBank Ventures Asia. Existing investors Wavemaker Partners and Investible joined the round too.

The Singapore-based company manages over 100 million parcel tracking updates every day and provides real-time visibility of tracking data. It also helps businesses to increase customer lifetime value by up to 40%. The company has seen fantastic growth, with its revenues growing five times since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are thrilled that our investors recognize our ability to build a sustainable and profitable business by serving some of the most sophisticated enterprise customers worldwide to help them boost their customer satisfaction online,” said Dr. Arne Jeroschewski, CEO and Co-founder of Parcel Perform. 

Parcel Perform will be using the fresh funding to support its global expansion and recruitment efforts. The company will also use the funding to build its technology offerings and invest in AI solutions, which will include scaling its proprietary ‘Date of Arrival’ prediction engine which allows customers to know precisely when their parcels will arrive. Further, the company also plans to establish a regional headquarters in North America and grow its global employee count to 150 by the end of this year.

 

Popular investment firm Aretha Capital Partners is gearing up to launch a new real estate platform to ease buying and selling

Aretha Capital Partners, a popular name in the investment segment, has recently made an announcement that it will be launching a platform called Novyy.com. The new platform is expected to be a unique integrated platform aimed at global real estate investing and buying. The main motto of the platform is to democratize the retail real estate segment so that there is reduced friction while the buyers have to go through various stages. The cost is also expected to reduce, and the fees will also be lower by almost 50-70 percent for the buyers.

As of now, Novyy.com has properties listed in the UK, India, and Key European markets with a valuation that is the same for any buyers globally. New features are expected to be added soon to identify and fulfill the requests. The integration for real estate was long overdue, and it was left unaddressed for a long time.  Heft price and multiple prices offered for the same property was creating a huge gap in the buying and selling process of the real estate. More than 100 million people are expected to buy homes in the coming decade, and half of the same are expected to be in the emerging market.

 

Tokyo-Headquartered TechnoPro Group Acquires Robosoft for $108 Million

India-headquartered digital transformation pioneer Robosoft has been acquired by Japan’s TechnoPro Group for a reported $108 million. Headquartered in Tokyo, TechPro specializes in IT, engineering, and R&D.

“Robosoft has had a phenomenal journey over the last two decades and has grown by leaps and bounds during this period. The partnership with Ascent Capital and Kalaari Capital heralded a strong growth era for us and I am very happy that we are handing over the reins of the Company to a global player like TechnoPro,” said Rohith Bhat, Founder of Robosoft, in a press release.

TechnoPro Group is one of Japan’s largest technology solutions group with more than 20,000 engineers and researchers in its payroll. The company provides support for technical development and R&D to 2,000 companies including major corporations, universities, and research organizations.

“We look forward to a close collaboration with Robosoft in the company’s next phase of growth and see tremendous synergies between TechnoPro and Robosoft,” said Takeshi Yagi, President, Representative Director and CEO, TechnoPro.

Founded in 1996, Robosoft has worked with the largest firms of the world. Its first client was famously Apple. Today, Robosoft counts media network Viacom and McDonald’s India as its clients.

This partnership with TechnoPro will provide Robosoft with new opportunities to grow in Japan. It will also help it expand in its core markets of US, Europe and India.

 

Packaging Solutions Major Berry Global Announces Healthcare Investments in India

The U.S. Packaging and Protective Solutions major Berry Global has announced that it will be making big healthcare investments in India. Through this investment, the Fortune 500 Company will be establishing a second manufacturing facility and global center of excellence in India.

This planned development through fresh investment is going to happen in Bangalore, India close to its first site. The first facility opened in 2009.

The new facility will help Berry Global to extend its R&D expertise and scale up production in several key healthcare sectors, including ophthalmic, nasal pumps, inhalation, and injectable administrations. The facility will also enable the company to enhance its supply in India and throughout South Asia.

“Investing in our global healthcare business in Bangalore is a significant step in supporting our pharmaceutical, over-the-counter, and medical device customers aligned to forecasted market needs,” remarked Tom Salmon, Berry Global's Chairman and CEO. "During the pandemic, we've learned that strategically placed facilities across the world provide efficient localized support for customers of any size. We believe this investment significantly benefits the India and South Asia patient populations."

The work on construction of the new facility is set to begin later this year and expected to be completed in 2023.

 

HGS to Divest its Healthcare Services Biz

Hinduja Global Solutions Limited has announced that it will be divesting its healthcare services business. The healthcare services biz will be bought by Baring Private Equity Asia for a reported $1,200 million. Baring Private Equity Asia is one of the largest private alternative investment firms in Asia.

The HSG healthcare services delivers solutions that support payer, providers, laboratories, durable medical equipment firms and pharmaceutical companies. These services cover the entire lifecycle of a payer organization, including member acquisition, enrollment & billing, benefit set-up, claims adjudication, provider credentialing & data management, payment integrity & financial recovery, grievance & appeals, provider & member engagement, prior authorizations, case management and population health management, and the various functions in the revenue cycle of a provider organization.

“Our Healthcare Services business has steadily grown over the years. We reached a stage where we could recommend to promoter to divest stake in this business to unlock value for all HGS stakeholders. We will use the generated funds to strategically invest for the future growth of the organization. We see a long-term value and benefit to HGS in doing so. HGS will continue to focus on aggressively expanding its CES and Digital businesses in line with our goal to transform itself into a "digitally-enabled customer experience (CX) company", said Partha DeSarkar, Global CEO, HGS.

With over 20,000 employees on its payroll across India, Philippines, the US, and Jamaica, the company recorded $400 million in revenues in FY2021. In a statement, HGS said that post the completion of transaction, HGS will transfer all client contracts, employees, and assets, including infrastructure related to the Healthcare Services business.

 

 

Biden Aims to Boost Electric Car Sales, Fuel Efficiency in the US

President of the United States of America Joe Biden has recently signed an executive order calling for new automobile emissions standards and setting a new goal of having new vehicles sold in the US be electric by 2030.  In a recent press meet, The White House said that the target would include battery-electric, plug-in hybrid electric, and fuel cell electric vehicles.

Many leading automotive manufacturers have made voluntary commitments in line with the administration's goals. Most renowned automakers like Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis have said in a joint statement that even they aspire to have electric vehicles make up 40 to 50 percent of new sales by 2030. Toyota has also stated that it will do its part by increasing the manufacturing of electric vehicles.

Automakers said that such a shift would require more than just them making different types of cars. They stated that the government would have to support incentives for both car manufacturers and buyers to choose electric vehicles, money to expand electric vehicle supply chains, and enough funding to build sufficient charging points across the country.

 

Huawei Unveils Its Plan to Commit $100Mfor Startups in APAC

At the inaugural HUAWEI CLOUD Spark Founders Summit that took place simultaneously in Singapore and Hong Kong, Huawei has announced that it will be investing $100 million on the startup ecosystem in the Asia Pacific region for the next three years. This investment will go towards its Spark Program in the Asia Pacific region, which aims to build a sustainable startup ecosystem.

Huawei also announced that this program will focus on developing startup ecosystem in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The company aims to recruit a total of 1,000 startups into the Spark accelerator program and is looking to shape 100 of them into scaleups.

“Startups and SMEs are the innovators, disruptors, and pioneers of our times. 34 years ago, Huawei was a startup with just 5,000 dollars of registered capital. Recently, we have been thinking: How can we leverage our experience and resources to help more startups address their challenges? Doing so would allow them to seize the opportunities posed by digital transformation, achieve business success, and develop more innovative products and solutions for the world,” said Huawei Senior Vice President and Board Member Catherine Chen.

Last year, Huawei launched the Spark Program in Asia Pacific to work with local governments, well-known VC firms, leading incubators, and top universities to build support platforms for startups. Currently, 40 startups are participating in this program.

 

Neobanking Startup Jupiter Raises $44M in Series B

Neobanking startup Jupiter is now valued at $300 million after it raised $44 million in its Series B round. The round was led by Brazil-based Nubank, Sequoia Capital India, Matrix Partners India, and Global Founders Capital. Mirae Assets Venture also joined the round. Existing investors Tanglin VC, 314 Capital, Beenext, Greyhound, and Addition Ventures participated in the round.

Jupiter was founded in 2019 and was established as a neobank for the consumers in India. Earlier, Jupiter had raised $25 million in seed funding and Series A rounds. With the latest funding round, Jupiter has more than doubled its valuation.

The latest funding will be used by the 100% digital bank to recruit talent and scale up its business.

“Nubank and Jupiter share the mission of making banking the best experience possible for our customers, putting an end to all the bureaucracy and the pain in the current system. The Indian and Brazilian markets have many similarities and through this investment, we aim to support Jupiter in their growth path. We see a lot of potential and are excited about joining them so early on their journey,” said David Vélez, founder and chief executive of Nubank, in a statement.

Jupiter was founded by the industry-veteran Jitendra Gupta who wants to solve India’s inflexible traditional banking system.

 

CIBC Innovation Banking to Provide Karbon with Credit Facility to Support its Growth Plans

CIBC Innovation Banking, in a recent press meet, has announced that it has provided a $5 million credit facility to Nevada-based Karbon Inc. ("Karbon"), which predominantly offers industry-leading practice management software for various accounting firms. The company plans to use this facility to support its hiring plans and to further improve and invest in its diverse product set.

Founded in 2014, Karbon's cloud-based solution enables accounting practices to manage internal workflows and communications more efficiently. It currently has employees across the USA with extensive experience in the accounting and software development industries and offices in New Zealand, the UK, and Sydney, Australia.

Desktop legacy solutions have historically dominated the workflow software market, and the immediate shift to 'work from home' provided an opportunity for Karbon, which saw its active users double in 2020. Accounting practices with cloud-based workflow versus legacy desktop solutions immediately realized the value of having the flexibility to work from anywhere efficiently. With the support of the CIBC Innovation Banking team, Karbon will continue building its product set and become the premium cloud-based workflow solution for accountants.