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| Here's your daily Startups briefing: - 🔀 Onyx Private changed its business model from B2C to B2B
- 🚀 Surge in the number of startups in America points to potential economic recovery
- 🤝 Sensor Tower acquired Data.ai to widen marketing intelligence offerings
Thank you. Karan
p/karan-chafekar | |
| 1 | | Digital banking startup Onyx Private is changing its business model from B2C to a "B2B white-label platform-as-a-service model for community banks, regional banks, and credit unions," co-founder and CEO Victor Santos told TechCrunch. The company sent emails to existing high-earning individual customers informing them about the impending account closure and termination of bank operations starting March 13. More: - Sources claim the changes may be due to regulatory issues.
- Santos dismissed the claims, adding that the decision was strategic, which allowed it to leverage its existing base of financial institutions.
- Last May, Onyx Private raised a $4.1M funding round from Village Global, Y Combinator, Global Founders Capital, One Way Ventures, 186 Ventures, and Olive Tree Capital.
- At the time of the fundraiser, the firm was processing about $4M worth of transactions every month and had seen a 30% MoM growth.
- The account closures will be finalized by April 14.
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| 2 | | Number of startups less than a year old increased by 16% between 2019 and 2023, surpassing the pre-Great Recession levels for the first time, per a new analysis from the Center of American Progress. 
What the numbers say: Between January 2021 and December 2023, 5.2 million entrepreneurs in the U.S. filed for "likely employer" business applications. 450,000 entrepreneurs filed the application in Q4 2023, up 37% compared to the same period in 2019. Every state witnessed a surge in the number of applications. Wyoming recorded the highest surge of 93%, while Alaska recorded the lowest increase at 15%. What happened: Business applications remained consistent even during the pandemic, thanks to the American Rescue Plan, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act. A surge in new business applications suggests the economy is recovering from the pandemic-era recession. | | | |
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| 3 | | App analytics firm Sensor Tower paid an undisclosed amount to acquire global mobile app marketing intelligence startup Data.ai. The acquisition will help Sensor Tower widen its marketing intelligence offerings, broaden its reach, and create an industry-standard solution. Sensor Tower will keep a part of Data.ai's 400-person staff, while the other members will be let go. More: - Sensor Tower financed the deal with a new credit-based facility from Bain Capital.
- In addition, Riverwood Capital and Paramark Ventures invested an additional sum into Sensor Tower, independent of the other investment.
- Data.ai touched $100M in annual recurring revenue and has raised about $157M over the years from investors, per TechCrunch.
- Data.ai had raised three times the amount of funding compared to Sensor Tower.
- The SEC charged the startup with securities fraud in 2021 for deceptive data collection practices, which the firm agreed to settle for $10M.
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| 4 | | DevOps software maker GitLab is set to acquire cloud-native application security testing startup Oxeye, per Calcalist. The transaction price is expected to range between $30M and $40M. This marks GitLab's second acquisition in Israel after it bought Fuzzit in 2020. More: - The Israeli startup develops application security testing solutions for AppSec, Dev, and DevOps teams.
- Oxeye's products help developers detect and patch vulnerabilities in application codes during the development stage itself.
- This helps accelerate the development cycles, eliminate friction, and mitigate risks while publishing newer versions of applications.
- Since its launch, the firm has raised $10M from Dell Capital, Intel Capital, Merlin Ventures, MoreVC, i3 Equity Partners fund, and several angel investors.
Zoom out: - GitLab offers a web-based software development platform with Git repository management, issue tracking, and automated testing and deployment processes.
- It currently has a market capitalization of $8.6B.
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| 5 | | Cloud-based mobile and desktop messaging platform startup Telegram raised $330M in capital through bond sales last week, as confirmed by founder and CEO Pavel Durov. Durov said on his channel, "The terms of the bonds (when adjusted for the Federal Reserve rate) were the most favorable for Telegram in the history of our company." More: - The oversubscribed bonds were issued at a price of $91 and promised a yield of 7.7%, per sources.
- The issue price for the bond was higher than the company's previous bond offering, where the company raised $210M in capital from bonds priced at $78.
- The maturity date for the latest bonds is 2026 or Telegram's public debut, whichever comes first.
- Over the past few years, the Dubai-based messenger company has increased revenue by monetizing ads, username sales on blockchain, and launching premium subscriptions.
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| 6 | | Data and cybersecurity startup BigID's valuation surged past the $1B mark while raising a new $60M growth funding round. Riverwood Capital led the round with additional support from Silver Lake Waterman and Advent International. The new funding will help the startup accelerate product development, scale global go-to-market capabilities, and expand in the AI data security and compliance domains. More: - The New York-based startup, which provides AI-augmented data security, compliance, and privacy solutions for private and public cloud, makes about $100M in yearly recurring revenue.
- BigID expanded its service offerings to include cybersecurity tools to protect AI platforms, such as OpenAI's ChatGPT.
- The new round brings BigID's total capital raised to date to $320M.
Zoom out: - VC funding for global startups offering cybersecurity solutions for AI applications surged by 81% last year to $224M, per Pitchbook.
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| 7 | | Quick Hits: - Sign up for real-time, easy-to-understand business credit alerts and get the insights you need to help you reach your business goals.*
- Ecosystem Integrity Fund led a $20.75M Series B funding round into Poseidon Ocean Systems, a Canadian startup that aims to make fish farming more eco-friendly and mitigate ecosystem damage. InBC and existing investor Export Development Canada participated in the round.
- Fintech startup Abaxx Technologies is looking to raise fresh capital as it sets out to launch its commodities futures exchange and clearinghouse in Singapore.
- German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall acquired Dutch light hybrid vehicle startup REEQ to expand its lightweight tactical vehicle portfolio. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
- Visa and Mastercard have reached a groundbreaking $5B settlement, reshaping the landscape of financial transactions as we know it.*
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 | Analyst | | Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
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