The nation's largest dealership chain AutoNation Inc. announced it would acquire the auto-repair startup RepairSmith Inc. for $190M. The deal is expected to close in Q1 2023. More: - The Los-Angeles based startup counts Mercedes-Benz Group and Porsche AG among its high-profile investors.
- The acquisition will allow AutoNation to connect customers with mechanics that meet them at their location.
- Over the last few years, AutoNation has begun diversifying its services, including shifting to online sales.
- For example, the company recently purchased CIG Financial for $85, allowing AutoNation to open an in-house auto loan program.
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Indian e-commerce marketplace Snapdeal canceled plans to hold an IPO due to "prevailing market conditions." Snapdeal has said it was looking to raise $152M at a $1B valuation when it filed paperwork for an IPO in December 2021. More: - The company's valuation has declined from its peak of $6.5B in 2016 in recent years amid increased competition in India from Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart.
- Snapdeal has secured $1.8B in funds since its founding in 2010, according to Crunchbase.
- The company has yet to rule out a future IPO but did not share a timeline.
- Publicly traded Indian companies have struggled this year, including online payments firm Paytm, which is down 76% from its $2.5B IPO in Dec. 2021.
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Every now and then, a silly product or business idea unexpectedly takes off, defying business logic and product-market fit expectations. They require nothing more than an audacious founder looking to push the odds. Do you have a silly product or business idea that you came up with? Background: - Gary Dahl sold one million Pet Rocks, smooth stones he collected from a beach in Mexico, at $4 a piece, nabbing $4M across a six-month span.
- Kyle Waring and his wife Jess started a business shipping snow called Ship Snow Yo. The business is now a six-figure seasonal business.
- Kari Unebasami and Eric Nakagawa created a cat meme website, which they sold for $2M to internet entrepreneur Ben Huh in 2007.
Share your thoughts: - What is the silliest product or business idea that you ever had?
- Did you launch your silly product, or do you ever intend to?
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Cloud customer engagement platform MessageGears raised $62M in a funding round led by Long Ridge Equity Partners. The company helps companies shift from an on-premises model to a software-as-a-service business. More: - MessageGears provides a hybrid approach to implement software-as-a-service by accessing brands’ first-party data instead of relying on cloud data syncs.
- The company also offers customer segmentation and marketing message personalization.
- MessageGears platform can deliver messages across different channels (like email and text), drawing on data stored in existing data warehouses.
- Argentum Group and Atlanta Ventures also participated in the funding round, which brought the startup’s total raised capital to $80M.
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 A message from MODERN TREASURY The State of Payment Operations 2022 Watch Modern Treasury's CEO, COO, and Head of Payments discuss the highlights and implications of our landmark survey, The State of Payment Operations 2022. Here's what you'll learn: - The biggest payment operations pain points: From payment returns and failures to delays and lack of real-time insights, we uncovered the greatest drivers of inefficiency in payment operations.
- Trends in payment ops automation: More than ever, finance leaders are pursuing automated solutions to manual and outdated processes. Learn what they are and how they're being implemented.
- FedNow, RTP, and the future of faster payments: Until now, the US has lagged behind in rapid payments technology. With FedNow on the horizon, learn how to prepare for the disruptive power of faster payments.
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In its first funding round, the Web3 startup Nillion announced it raised $20M in an "oversubscribed round." The company uses encryption technologies to decentralize non-finance data. More: - To develop a novel infrastructure for the next-gen internet, the company internally created the "Nil Message Computer" to encrypt and store sensitive data.
- Nillion's novel encryption program will allow "companies and competitors [to] collaborate without passing on key information."
- Nillion's encryption program differs from blockchain in that it "allows for very fast computations of secured data and storage of that data."
- The 40-person bootstrapped company began in Nov. 2021 to expand the Web3 ecosystem.
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The University of Colorado Denver launched a new startup accelerator and incubator program in collaboration with the Colorado Smart Cities Alliance and Innosphere Ventures. The initiative, dubbed Smart Futures Lab, aims to back startups developing applications for 5G technology. The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) provided a $2M grant towards the initiative. More: - The initiative is supported by $500,000 received from local funds.
- The program will start in March next year and run through Dec. 2023.
- Smart Futures Lab is accepting applications from existing pre-seed startups for the program until Jan. 20.
- Ideally, the organization is looking to back startups developing products catered to underrepresented communities.
- The firm is offering a 5G tech laboratory for startups to test their products.
Zoom out: - EDA’s grant is part of the $1.9T American Rescue Plan.
- Colorado State was awarded $104.7M in grants by the U.S. Department of Treasury, some of which it will use to provide loans and venture capital to small businesses.
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Quick Hits: - Customer trust is critical, but creating a continuous security process for your startup can be complex. Learn from Vanta how to enhance security without overextending your resources.*
- Hakuto-R, the lunar lander developed by Japanese startup iSpace Inc., was launched into space by SpaceX's Falcon 9 on Sunday. iSpace intends to build a human settlement of 1,000 people on the moon by 2040.
- Early-stage venture capital firm Hetz Ventures established the Hetz Executive Network, a network of 200 industry professionals that will provide guidance seed to Series A stage startups.
- Podium is laying off 12% of its workforce, according to an internal memo seen by Forbes. In addition, the firm will freeze its hiring, sublease office spaces, reduce perks, and curb software spending.
- Sequoia Capital led a $13.8M (€13M) Series A funding into German low-cost modular robots manufacturer Robco.
- Australian carbon management platform developer Avarni raised $3M in fresh funding led by Main Sequence, with participation from Vulpes Ventures and Common Sense Ventures.
- Recruiting tech ROI of 227%? Here's how Okta achieves its hiring goals using Greenhouse Recruiting and Greenhouse Onboarding.*
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 |  | Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot.
Jigney Pathak is a Business Researcher at Inside who loves technology, finance & sports. He has a Bachelor of Business Administration with a finance specialization & has previously worked at Salesforce.
Courtney Rawlings is an Inside Research Analyst living in Los Angeles, California. She has returned to her hometown of LA after spending several years working at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, where she is completing a Ph.D. in Art and Architectural History.
Martin Ruiz-Cantu is a Business Researcher at Inside.com. He has a Master's in Global Business and Finance from Georgetown University. He previously worked at HSBC and the World Bank. He is passionate about finance, startups and tech. | | | | Editor | Vibha Chapparike is a Freelance Writer & Editor at Inside.com. With her post-graduation in Management and Finance completed, Vibha is expanding her knowledge in venture capital, business, startups, and technology. She has had a career in public relations and communications. An ardent reader and writer currently residing in Singapore, you can follow Vibha on Twitter @VChapparike. | |
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