In 2021 there was still seven billion dollars for the eight largest startups, but investors are now cautious. Also: Amazon buys Belgian company Cloostermans and Tesla is considering its own lithium refinery.
Good morning! Even during the weekend, work in the digital scene continued in many places.
The top topics:
According to a report by the American medium “The Information”. express delivery services the options. The companies that experienced global hype during the pandemic are now struggling with high costs. Many of the startups “burn” large sums of cash and urgently need new cash injections. According to research firm Pitchbook, investors poured around $7 billion into the eight largest instant delivery startups last year. However, the investor environment is now difficult due to the overall economic situation. The latter raises the question of how much longer companies can continue to operate. According to the media report, most management teams and investors are currently focused on cutting costs and abandoning expensive locations. Apparently, takeovers within the industry are rather unrealistic.
Gorillas is just one example of many. The Berliners have been looking for a deal for a long time. According to the medium, which refers to four people familiar with the situation, a merger with the Berlin-based rival was planned Considerable. Another consideration was a cash injection from existing investors. However, a decision is still not said to have been made. [Mehr bei The Information]
on Founder scene: An industry is currently facing a key moment: For the first time, meat substitutes prevail in the crowd. Editor Nina Anika Klotz found out which startups could achieve the notorious “moonshot” moment. Her research led her, among other things, to the restaurant of star chef Tim Raue. [Mehr bei Gründerszene+]
And here are the other headlines of the night and the past few days:
Amazon takes over the Belgian company Cloostermans, which produces warehouse robots. The online retailer plans to automate its logistics processes. Cloostermans will be added to the Amazon Robotics division, launched in 2012 with the acquisition of Kiva Systems. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Cloostermans, which employs around 200 people, was founded in 1884 as a manufacturer of machines for textile manufacturers. In the meantime, the company has established itself as a specialist in automation. [Mehr bei CNBC und Wall Street Journal]
Tesla According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, it is considering building its own lithium refinery. The US electric car maker is considering potential locations in Texas and Louisiana. Lithium, which is a key material for making batteries, would be refined at the plant. With this step, Tesla would make itself independent of external producers, logistics problems and delivery bottlenecks. [Mehr bei Wall Street Journal]
Investments: that to Alphabet affiliated healthcare companies Verily raised $1 billion in a funding round led by its parent company. The clinical research company, which launched a Covid-19 testing program in 2020, is also getting a new CEO in Stephen Gillett. Gillett joined Verily in 2020 after working at Alphabet’s X Moonshot Factory and for venture capital arm GV. Tonal Systems according to a media report, should receive funding of over 100 million US dollars. The latter would catapult the market value of the home fitness company to $1.9 billion. The San Francisco firm said it raised $250 million last year at a $1.6 billion valuation. Tonal’s supporters include Serena Williams, Drew Brees and Mike Tyson. [Mehr bei The Information und Bloomberg]
Roblox has announced new funding for developers to develop games on the gaming platform. The Californian company introduced a so-called game fund last summer. This initially started with 25 million US dollars. Now Roblox wants to spend another ten million dollars on a handful of selected projects. Each individual project should receive at least half a million dollars. Also, the company plans to introduce 3D advertising on its platform in the next year to further diversify its revenue streams. [Mehr bei Techcrunch und Reuters]
Bolt Financial announced on Friday that it was acquiring cryptocurrency infrastructure provider Wyre Payments will not complete. The US fintech called off the $1.5 billion deal after crypto and fintech company valuations plummeted. [Mehr bei Reuters]
Our reading tip on Gründerszene: In Markus Lanz’s talk format, Ulrike Herrmann accused the entrepreneur Frank Thelen citing false causes of inflation and called it “embarrassing”. Thelen now reacted to the allegations online. [Mehr bei Gründerszene]
Don’t want to miss anything? Then subscribe to our Gründerszene newsletter! It appears every morning at 8:30 a.m. and brings you all the important news straight to your inbox.
Have a good start into the week!
Your Gründerszene editors
Source: https://www.businessinsider.de/gruenderszene/business/schnelllieferdienste-optionen/
