Kickstarter, the popular online crowdfunding platform, has just banned a project for its failure to provide evidence of a working prototype. The project was for a laser-powered razor called Skarp which has raised over $4 million in crowdfunding since it was first announced.
Funding
Billionaire George Lucas donates $10M to recruit young padawans to filmmaking
American film maker, producer, writer and creator of Star Wars, billionaire George Lucas and his wife Mellody Hobson, through the George Lucas Family Foundation, are donating $10 million to George Lucas' alma mater - the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts.
Cloud storage startup ClearSky Data gets $27 million in Series B funding
Cloud storage is getting lots of attention recently as more companies shifting their data storage to cloud storage rather than physical storage. Due to high demand in the area, ClearSky Data, a company focusing on managing a hybrid data-management solution was awarded a $27 million worth of investment to expand its operation.
New crowdfunding norms to push US start-ups
The newly-approved crowdfunding norms will enable start-ups to mobilize funds from mom-and-pop investors over the internet. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has okayed the new rules on crowdfunding with a majority voting of three to one. The Business Startups (JOBS) act has been enacted with bipartisan support to facilitate new startups with more flexibility in the mobilization of funds. SEC also changed the audit provisions of the crowdfunding rules.
Revlon raises over $2M in crowdfunding for women's health charities
Revlon, Inc. has recently exceeded their goal of raising $1 million on crowdfunds for women's charity organizations, mainly owing to the support of mega stars such as Halle Berry, Emma Stone, Olivia Wilde, among others.
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The ongoing talks between Airbus and Bombardier have ended incomplete as the former called off discussions soon after they became public.
Marking the first ever single major investment in financial technology (fintech) segment, SoftBank Group Corp has led an investment of $1billion in the US startup SoFi. Private equity (PE) firms such as Third Point have invested in SoFi. Both the companies are of a positive view that the Series E funding round will speed up the growth rate of SoFi. The fintech services are gaining support from customers, who're not satisfied with traditional banking services. SoFi is aiming at expanding financial offerings in the near future.
Suffering from weakening global commodities for the past one year, Glencore has informed its investors about its plans to reduce debt by $10billion. Towards this debt reduction target, Glencore is planning to conclude two deals by the end of this year or early of next year. The Anglo-Swiss multinational commodities major has been facing rough conditions in the market.
Chicago-based start-up lender Avant Inc has mobilized $325millions in its latest round of funding from a private equity (PE) firm General Atlantic and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Balyasny Asset Management and Tiger Global Management LLC are also investing in the round taking total fund-raising for Avant to $659mn till date. General Atlantic-led round is expected to close in October. With this fund-raising, the valuation of Avant is pegged at $1billion. The start-up firm is planning to use the mobilized funds to offer various financial products and fund its global expansion plan.
As part of its debt reduction exercise, the world's largest bullion producer Barrick Gold Corp has offered to buy back some part of its outstanding debt. Despite the drop in gold prices, The Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp has been selling assets.
Donation-based and rewards-based crowdfunding are the most popular ways for entrepreneurs to bring their startups and projects to life. Entrepreneur reports that 2015 is considered as "the year of crowdfunding" with all the significant growth and rapid changes in the market. In 2012, a total of $16.2 billion was raised by companies and individuals all over the world.
Zscaler, a California-based cloud security firm, has mobilized $25million from Google Capital, an equity investment arm of Google. Adding to the oversubscribed round, the total amount raised by Zscaler reaches $110mn. The cyber security firm raised $85million in August. Zscaler was waiting for a strategic partner to close the round. Google Capital is engaged in late-stage financing activity.
The UK-based department store chain British Home Stores (BHS) has secured a loan from Grovepoint Capital. The latest loan amount is believed to be worth GBP 65 million.
Analysts believe that, as we begin the age of venture capital revolution, disruptive technology draws majority of venture capitalists. But firms are becoming overwhelmed by high-tech innovations. That's the challenge venture capital is facing today.
