VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Apps for children with special needs offer many sensory activities that enable the young user to imitate and interact with their surroundings.

Goldman Sachs-backed consumer finance startup CompareAsiaGroup got its new CEO Sam Allen. In 2015, CompareAsiaGroup closed a Series A round of funding led by Goldman Sachs and is planning to go for a Series B round funding soon.

India's largest private industrial conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has announced that its telecom venture Jio is the world's biggest startup with an estimated investment of INR 150,000 ($23 billion). A soft launch of Reliance Jio is expected in April 2016.

Allowing proxy access, Yahoo Inc has revised its bylaws. It'll also enable long-time shareholders to nominate candidates at board on ballots. The new bylaws will come into force after 2016 annual general meeting (AGM) scheduled in June or July.

Chinese consumers are spending more on spa visits, travel and entertainment as income levels are on upward movement. The consumer spending is expected rise 10 percent annually for the next decade.

Facebook Inc is bullish on Asian market potential. Recently, Facebook's Free Basics service has been banned by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). Despite this jolt, Facebook is still optimistic about adding number of users as the region is recording much faster growth rate than other parts of the world.

Optimizely, a San Francisco-based cloud-based startup, is slashing its workforce by 10 percent across all the departments. Based on recent round of finance, Otpimizely was valued at $585 million. Since its inception in 2009, Optimizely has raised over $146 million investments including $58 million round in 2015.

There is a saying "Strike while the iron is hot". That is what Silicon Valley is doing - investing big in India where the economy grows faster.

Blippar has a total funding of $55 million in Series D including those from its present investors which CEO and founder Ambarish Mitra called as investors with 'long-term vision'. The said fund will be used to 'power the future of visual discovery'.

Israel is witnessing an increasing number of new venture capital (VC) firms coming up. The country registered an inflow of $665 million VC funding during the first two months of the year. Unfazed with the recent market crash, the funds inflows continue for Israel startups.

Due to the increased sale of Airbus superjumbo A380, the company's earnings rose to 1.6% last year. The aircraft maker is hoping another boost in its earnings this year because of the overwhelming order bookings from different countries.

Indian smart phone market is witnessing robust growth rate and attracting foreign venture capitalists (VCs). The home-grown apps are creating more demand for venture capital. India is second largest market for smartphones after China.

Time Inc. which owns Sports Illustrated and People magazine to name a few, expressed its interest in buying Yahoo. It said that it is interested too in Yahoo's core business which reaches more than 1 billion users across the globe aside from taking into consideration the Reverse Morris Trust. The magazine company will vie with other giant companies including Verizon and AT&T. core business

Canadian company GuestLogix Inc has received court approval for implementing sale and investment solicitation process (SISP). Canaccord Gunuity Corp will be financial advisor to the company under the SISP. The bidding process is being executed in a phased manner.

NYSE-listed Broadridge Financial Solutions has invested in AMA Partners, BV (AMA). By taking minority stake in AMA Partners, Broadridge will expand its corporate governance solution in Europe.