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    Daily Crunch: ​​In an all-cash deal, Microsoft will buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7B – TechSwitch

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    Hello and welcome to Daily Crunch for January 18, 2022! Today kicked off the working week with a bang, because of Microsoft and one other public firm. But will all offers introduced turn into offers accomplished? We’ll see. We even have an acre-feet of startup information objects in your enjoyment. Let’s go! – Alex
    The TechSwap Top 3
    Microsoft to purchase Activision Blizzard: After months of inside turbulence – what TechSwap described as “sexual harassment controversies and ongoing executive turmoil” – Activision Blizzard is promoting itself to Microsoft for an enormous premium on its pre-deal share value. Microsoft has bought different gaming studios in recent times, making the acquisition not completely not possible to parse. But now we have to marvel if the transaction received’t catch the attention of regulators, given a typically extra energetic antitrust vibe around the globe right now. Let’s see.
    Apple takes smartphone crown again: Smartphone shipments grew by 1% within the closing quarter of 2021, with Apple passing Samsung because the main world producer of the class. The two corporations have traded the highest spot over time, although — because of the chips disaster, world pandemic and bigger provide chain snarls — volatility on this kind of metric is hardly a shock. Still, it’s excellent news for Apple followers.
    China’s digital yuan matures: In the wake of China’s ban on cryptocurrencies and associated exercise – learn: mining – the nation’s personal digital forex is selecting up market share. Dubbed the digital yuan in English, the digital variant of the Chinese forex has been put in by 261 million of us, or a few fifth of the nation’s inhabitants.
    Startups/VC
    Before we dive into the startup information listing, our personal Anna Heim has an interesting interview on the positioning digging into what impression a altering office can have on the startup market; it’s not solely communications software program and HR tech which might be going to see a modified world. Give it a learn!
    British startup snags $200M for autonomous supply: Wayve simply landed 9 figures of capital to maintain engaged on “robo-deliveries and logistics” by way of the ability of autonomous automobiles. This spherical caught my eye not merely attributable to its scale, but additionally the truth that I used to be, till I learn it, utterly unfamiliar with Wayve. The startup market is now so massive that even mega-rounds can crop up seemingly from nowhere!
    Roll bets that personal pictures are the way forward for creator-fan relationships: The creator financial system continues to draw founder consideration in 2022, right now’s launch of Roll reminds us. The app needs to “give fans access to their favorite creators’ camera rolls,” per the startup’s CEO. It doesn’t actually give entry to digital camera rolls as that may be, we famous, “a disaster waiting to happen,” however the concept is unpublished pictures from creator to fan, for a recurring charge. Let’s see the way it performs in-market.
    Mustard’s sports activities teaching software program raises extra capital: After securing $1.7 million again in 2020, Mustard went again to the capital effectively to lift $3.75 million extra, it introduced right now. The startup is increasing its “sensor-free approach to [sports] data capture” to new domains, TechSwap experiences. The app picked up funds from plenty of athletes as a part of the spherical, which may assist it safe a bigger viewers.
    Hell yeah, vertical farming: The concept behind vertical farming — that we should always develop meals up, as an alternative of vast in city environments — guidelines. Why? The potential for more energizing meals and decrease carbon footprints for our eats. Upward, a startup within the vertical farming area, introduced that it will construct a 250,000-square-foot facility in Pennsylvania subsequent 12 months. We need a tour.
    Clockwise needs to make your clock, effectively, extra smart: Meeting tradition is hell on productiveness, and regardless of everybody claiming that their firm doesn’t overly index on conferences, most do regardless. Clockwise landed $45 million in a Series C for its resolution to the issue. Per TechSwap, the startup “uses artificial intelligence to help teams free up their workdays and avoid the challenges associated with remote and hybrid workplaces, such as burnout.” If it really works, it sounds fairly neat.
    Appcues raises $32.1M for no-code consumer onboarding: Taking the no-code strategy and making use of it to completely different ache factors within the consumer journey is massive enterprise. Appcues’ give attention to onboarding is seemingly discovering traction, its new funding spherical hints. It’s price noting at this juncture that no-code has gone from buzzword to fad to straightforward enterprise observe for startups. Why? My guess is that it’s a results of a basic developer scarcity around the globe — and folk simply bought bored with ready for eng groups to get to their ticket.
    And that’s simply the beginning. The startup recreation is at full-boil this January, with information touchdown like raindrops in a storm. Also on TechSwap right now was information about what Castiron is as much as and what the time period “food artisans” means, Pinwheel elevating $50 million in an enormous Series B, and a fantastic column from Owen Williams in regards to the open-source world and the way the free employees who assist hold the world working are discovering their true energy – which, you already know, impacts basically each single startup out there right now.
    Will quantum computing stay the area of the specialist VC?
    Image Credits: Olemedia (opens in a brand new window) / Getty Images
    Quantum computing’s potential purposes embrace machine studying and computer-aided drug design, however the business continues to be very a lot in its early days.
    In 2021, there have been roughly 90 quantum investments that totaled $1.4 billion. A big leap from $700 million the 12 months earlier than, however in comparison with SaaS, not even a drop within the bucket.
    Even so, we’re already seeing quantum exits: IonQ reached a $2 billion valuation after its 2021 SPAC, and Rigetti plans to do the identical this 12 months because it develops its superconducting quantum pc.
    In a complete market map of the quantum computing business, Maria Lepskaya, a senior affiliate at Runa Capital, sorted the highest corporations within the area into 12
    (TechSwap+ is our membership program, which helps founders and startup groups get forward. You can enroll right here.)
    Big Tech Inc.
    Snap cracks down on drug offers: In the wake of an exterior investigation into of us dying after shopping for tablets on the social service that had been laced with fentanyl, Snap claims that it’s making progress find and eradicating sales-related content material.
    GM faucets Blink Charging for EV chargers: As conventional automobile corporations push headfirst into the electrical automobile recreation, they need assistance at occasions. GM, the U.S. transit behemoth, for instance, is tapping an exterior firm to assist equip its dealerships with charging factors. TechSwap notes that Blink has “around 30,000 EV chargers set up across 13 countries,” that means that it has the expertise it doubtless must sort out GM’s bodily footprint.
    And to shut out the day’s information roundup, Twitter is increasing its misinformation reporting function to extra worldwide markets, which seems like a great, if late, concept.
    TechSwap Experts
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