TechCrunch |
- Eksab gets $3M to scale its fantasy football platform across MENA and Africa
- Sea’s Shopee shutting down India operations
- Apple TV+ becomes the first streaming service to win a Best Picture Oscar with “CODA”
- Australian fintech Zepto raises $25M AUD Series A to enhance payment infrastructure
- Meet your co-founder or find your next gig at TC Sessions: Mobility 2022
- Freelancer marketplace Malt acquires consulting marketplace Comatch
| Eksab gets $3M to scale its fantasy football platform across MENA and Africa Posted: 28 Mar 2022 01:16 AM PDT Football or soccer, the latter commonly used in the US, is the most popular and watched sport globally with over five billion football fans according to its apex governing body, FIFA. While the World Cup, its pinnacle event of football and arguably the world’s most popular sporting event, shows the popularity of the sport in full colors, it’s the yearly leagues in different countries across Europe, South America, Asia and Africa that puts diehard nature of football fans on display. FIFA says Latin America, the Middle East and Africa represent the largest fan bases across the world. With fans of various sports including football, becoming increasingly interested in virtual versions of their favorite sports, startups from these regions are satisfying their cravings by providing fantasy sports platforms. Today’s news comes out from the Middle East and Africa where Eksab, an Egyptian platform that says it’s making football more exciting and interactive for every fan in both regions through gaming and online community building, has raised $ 3million in seed funding. The round led by 4DX Ventures saw participation from Darwazah Capital, Golden Palm Investments, P1 Ventures and some angel investors from sports and entertainment profession, the company said. Eksab stated that it intends to use this investment to scale its user base across MENA and Africa. Some of the funds will also go into product development, hiring talent in engineering and product teams and executing partnerships with football clubs. Founder and CEO Aly Mahmoud started Eksab in 2018. “Eksab’s mission is to make football more exciting for every football fan in the Middle East and Africa,” he said to TechCrunch in an interview. Eksab launched with a prediction game where users create fantasy lineups and participate in free or premium competitions. There’s a leaderboard to show how well they perform; winners get cash and other prizes. More recently, Eksab started churning out content for users to get news and updates about their favorite players and teams, using that information to better inform their fantasy decisions. In the long run, Eksab hopes to build a fully integrated platform that according to its statement, will see it become the go-to platform for football play-to-earn gaming, content, stats, NFTs, digital collectibles and merchandise. Eksab takes a percentage of all the fees paid on the platform, especially on premium contests and merchandise. Mahmoud, who worked at a startup incubator in Canada while he got the idea for Eksab, said he built the platform with inspiration from incumbents such as Dream 11, DraftKings and FanDuel as well as newer startups infusing web3 into the world of fantasy sports like Sorare. Others such as Draftea are showing what’s possible in other regions outside U.S. and Europe. “During my time there as well, I got exposed to the rise of DraftKings and FanDuel. My friends were playing these two games and while I didn’t know much about Canadian sports, specifically hockey, I found that playing these games was the easiest way for me to kind of get to know the sports and kind of develop that sense of camaraderie with my friends,” he said to TechCrunch. “I enjoyed the games and realised ‘why is no one doing this for the hundreds of millions of football fans in the Middle East and Africa,?'” he said. “So we did some research and realised there was a massive market gap for this kind of game [fantasy football] in the Middle East and Africa.” Eksab currently has over 700,000 users in Egypt on its platform who participate in daily, weekly and monthly fantasy and predictions contests. Its user base makes over a million 'picks' each month and since the launch of its premium competitions in 2021, its paying user base has increased an average of 60% month-on-month, the company said. In a bid to further invests in its technology, Eksab said it is planning some integration with blockchain platforms to enable football fans to capitalize on web3's supposed speed and transparency. “As a football fan, what would you want to do online? Buy jerseys, play with favorite team’s players on your fantasy lineup, get news and stats on favourite players,” said the founder. “We want to build this in such a way that fans can get all these from one place and in a play-to-earn manner so every interaction you would make on our platform will earn you rewards which in turn you can use to enter more contests.” According to the founder, Eksab is the only licensed fantasy football platform in Egypt; in essence, it faces little or no competition in the country or MENA. In addition to acquiring licences to operate in three new markets mid this year, CEO Mahmoud told TechCrunch that his company is on the verge of signing a partnership with one of the biggest football clubs in the Middle East and Africa. And as the World Cup approaches later this November, and for the first time in the Middle East (Qatar), Eksab sees itself uniquely positioned to dominate the growing football gaming market in both regions. "We started with football because that’s the main sport that people care about. Given that the World Cup is also around the corner, we’re going to be spending a lot on partnerships with specific football players to grow our platform and our user base,” the CEO said. “But once we feel like we’re confident that we’ve nailed football and we’re doing the best job that we can there, then we’re going to start unlocking other sports as it makes sense on a per market basis.” |
| Sea’s Shopee shutting down India operations Posted: 28 Mar 2022 01:13 AM PDT Singapore’s giant Sea said on Monday it is shutting down its e-commerce business, Shopee, in India, months after the firm began recruiting sellers in the country. The announcement follows India’s decision to ban Sea’s popular title “Free Fire” in the country last month, a move that contributed to a loss of over $15 billion in Shopee’s market cap. A source familiar with the matter told TechCrunch Shopee’s India shutdown decision is not linked with the Free Fire ban in India. The company also insisted in a statement that it is closing down the business in the South Asian market factoring in the “global market uncertainties.” “In view of global market uncertainties, we have decided to close our early-stage Shopee India initiative. During this period of transition, we will focus on supporting our local seller and buyer communities and our local team to make the process as smooth as possible. We will continue to focus our efforts on delivering a positive impact to our global communities, in line with our mission to better the lives of the underserved through technology,” a spokesperson told TechCrunch. In September last year, TechCrunch reported that Shopee had quietly launched a website for sellers in India. The six-year-old e-commerce service, which was seen as a late entrant in Southeast Asia, was also onboarding sellers and offering them lucrative perks such as free shipping and zero commission. The quiet launch of Shopee in India last year had prompted criticism from local retailers in the country. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), an influential lobby group for scores of offline retailers in India, had reached out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cautioning him that the arrival of yet another foreign player engaging in what it alleged “unfair trade practices” will hurt the local ecosystem. Shopee said it will cease operations in India on Tuesday. It plans to process all orders placed before March 29 and will provide after sales support services. The move has come as a surprise to hundreds of people that Shopee employs in India. They learned about the decision in an all-hands call earlier on Monday. This is a developing story. More to follow… |
| Apple TV+ becomes the first streaming service to win a Best Picture Oscar with “CODA” Posted: 27 Mar 2022 10:31 PM PDT Apple TV+ has beat out Netflix to become the first streaming service to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards, with "Coda's" triumph. "CODA" actor Troy Kotsur also won the best supporting actor trophy, marking the first time a Deaf male actor, and the second Deaf actor after "CODA" co-star Marlee Matlin won in 1986 for "Children of a Lesser God." Writer and director Sian Heder won for Best Adapted Screeplay. "CODA's" three Oscars are the first for Apple TV+, which launched at the end of 2019. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Apple spent an estimated $10 million on its Oscar campaign for "CODA," which follows the story of Ruby (Emilia Jones), a Child of Deaf Adults (which the movie's title is taken from), who plans to join her family's fishing business, but is drawn toward a music career. Apple paid $25 million for distribution rights to CODA, which is currently streaming on Apple TV+ and was also in theaters for a limited run. Other contenders in the category included Netflix's "The Power of the Dog." Netflix has had several Best Picture nominees in previous years, including Martin Scorsese's "The Irishman" and Alfonso Cuarón's "Roma." While Netflix has failed to pick up the top Oscar award so far, it has received 116 nominations in total and won 15 other categories, including Best Director (Cuarón for "Roma and Jane Campion for "The Power of the Dog," Best Supporting Actress (Laura Dern in "Marriage Story"), Best Foreign Language Film ("Roma") and Best Animated Short Film ("If Anything Happens I Love You"). |
| Australian fintech Zepto raises $25M AUD Series A to enhance payment infrastructure Posted: 27 Mar 2022 10:30 PM PDT Zepto, an Australian real-time account-to-account (A2A) merchant payments platform, said Monday it has raised a $25 million AUD Series A (about 18.8 million USD) co-led by AirTree Ventures and Decade Partners. The instant payment platform lets merchants make, manage and receive secure payments by connecting directly from the payer’s bank to a merchant’s bank. The Series A funding comes after its 10x year-over-year revenue growth throughout the four years since its launch in 2018. The company, which didn’t provide a baseline for that growth and its valuation, says it facilitates more than $4 billion in payment volume every month and expects to process more than $50 billion in payments this year. More than 100 Australian organizations, including banks, fintech companies and credit unions, use NPP (new payments platform), Australia’s open-access infrastructure for fast payment, according to the NPP website. NPP’s PayTo is a new digital tool for merchants and businesses to initiate real-time payments from customer bank accounts. Zepto became the first non-bank approved as an NPP-connected institution in October. That means Zepto will be able to connect its clients directly to the NPP’s PayTo service, which is due to roll out in mid-2022. “Data-rich, real-time payments, directly between bank accounts are the future of how we transact, and Australian policymakers have acknowledged this with the rollout of NPP’s PayTo, which will replace direct debit in roughly 3-5 years,” Chris Jewell, CEO of Zepto, told TechCrunch. “Merchant and consumer payment preferences are shifting away from expensive legacy payments methods like credit cards and slow, blind traditional direct debit.” There’s an entire generation of consumers coming who will never own a credit card or get approval for a buy-now-pay-later product, but bank accounts are ubiquitous, and payments directly between them are a simple, clean and efficient way to pay for things, Jewell continued. The real-time payments through Australia’s NPP accounted for 31% of all account-to-account payments in October 2021, according to Jewell. He added that the total cumulative value of NPP payment since its launch in November 2017 was about 2.6 billion. Jewell said account-to-account (A2A), which refers to bank account-to-bank account transactions, is no need for a card or pin. While debit cards are usually powered by Visa and Mastercard, A2A cuts them out as the intermediary. According to FIS’s global payment report 2020, A2A payments will take up 20% of all e-commerce payments, surpassing credit and debit cards by 2023. Zepto serves hundreds of Australian corporations, including lenders, trading/crypto platforms, third-party processors, proptech companies, travel and tourism operators. Binance Australia, Superhero, Novatti Group, Nimble, Powerpay, Till Payments, Bluestone, Rentbetter, Biz Pay and Get Blys are among its customers. The startup will use the latest funding to advance its functionalities on top of the NPP’s PayTo framework and accelerate its international expansion, starting with New Zealand, driven by growing demand for Zepto’s infrastructure in the region, Jewell said. After New Zealand, Zepto wants to enter the U.S. “The global payments landscape is in the middle of its biggest upheaval in decades, as open banking and real-time, bank-to-bank payments are transforming how we pay and get paid,” said partner at AirTree Ventures James Cameron. “With open banking and the NPP, Australia has found itself at the centre of this disruption – and Zepto is the leading innovator in this space. With companies like Afterpay, Athena and Airwallex, Australia has shown that we punch well above our weight in fintech innovation globally.” |
| Meet your co-founder or find your next gig at TC Sessions: Mobility 2022 Posted: 27 Mar 2022 05:25 PM PDT Engineers, coders and product designers, lend us your ears! TC Sessions: Mobility 2022 goes big, live and in-person on May 18-19 in San Mateo, California. This two-day deep dive — dedicated to mobility tech, early-stage startups and the investors who fund them — is a prime networking opportunity you don't want to miss. Looking for a co-founder to help you build your mobility-centric startup? Searching for your next gig where you can put your mad maker skills to the test? Join more than 2,000 attendees — representing the mobility community's leading visionaries, founders and builders (like you) — and make essential connections that can move your professional aspirations forward. Super savings: Early-bird passes are available now for a limited time. Buy your pass before the price increases (you'll save $300). Our last in-person mobility event took place back in 2019, so networking face-to-face might feel exhilarating — or awkward. Either way, we've got your back with CrunchMatch, our AI-powered networking platform. It helps you connect and schedule 1:1 meetings — both in-person and virtual — with the people you're most interested in meeting. It's a smart, targeted and efficient way to maximize your time. Jens Lehmann, technical lead and product manager for SAP, attended TC Mobility in 2019 and had this to say about CrunchMatch: "The CrunchMatch platform, which is basically speed-dating for techies, was very helpful. I scheduled at least 10 short, precise meetings. I learned about startups in stealth mode, what big corporations were up to — things not yet picked up by the press. It was great, and I followed up on three or four of those connections." World-class networking is just one important aspect of TC Mobility. Two programming-packed days include panel discussions and 1:1 interviews with top mobility leaders, experienced VCs, government regulators and subject-matter experts. Take the conversations deeper at the smaller breakout sessions, Q&As and topic-driven roundtable discussions. Make time to check out the hundreds of early-stage startups showcasing their innovative products and technology in the huge expo area. Then head outdoors to the expansive test drive area. Take late-stage products for a spin and get hands-on with the latest scooters, e-bikes, EVs and autonomous vehicle technology. TC Sessions: Mobility 2022 takes place on May 18-19 in in San Mateo, California, with an online component on May 20. Whether you're focused on air taxis, autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles, micromobility, robotics or other boundary-pushing tech, you'll connect with influencers who can help move your startup needle in the right direction. Take advantage of early-bird pricing: Buy your pass before the price increases on April 1, and you'll save $300. We can't wait to see you! Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at TC Sessions: Mobility 2022? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling out this form.
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| Freelancer marketplace Malt acquires consulting marketplace Comatch Posted: 27 Mar 2022 01:00 PM PDT It's consolidation time in the freelancer marketplace industry. French startup Malt is acquiring Comatch, a competing marketplace focused on consultants and industry experts. Comatch originally started in Germany, which means that Malt is also doubling down on the German market with this acquisition. Terms of the deal are undisclosed but it involves a mix of equity and cash. Malt started as a marketplace that matches freelance developers, designers and other technical workers with companies looking for talent. The startup has raised quite a lot of money and has managed to attract 340,000 freelancers across multiple European countries. Originally limited to the French market, Malt has expanded to Germany, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland over the past few years. 40,000 companies have turned to Malt to find a freelancer or several freelancers. Clients include Unilever, Lufthansa, Bosch, BlaBlaCar, L'Oréal and Allianz. As you can see, a lot of large-sized companies have used Malt at some point. Malt focuses exclusively on high-skilled freelancing jobs that can fill a gap when a new project comes up. In addition to developers, Malt now also offers opportunities for marketing and communications professionals, graphic designers and more. Using a platform like Malt can be particularly useful when you're getting started as a freelancer and you don't have a big network of potential clients. Malt also helps you take care of the administrative paperwork. Freelancers can charge their clients from Malt directly and, of course, Malt takes a small cut. As for Comatch, the company roughly follows the same model, but with a specific focus on management consultants and industry experts. Malt hasn't specifically targeted business consultants so far. So the company is entering a new vertical. "Comatch is a champion in the field of business consulting marketplaces. As a fellow company that shares Malt's 'community first' approach, placing our talents at the core of the product and business to our vision for the future of work, we are eager and excited to bring our two worlds of high-skilled freelancers together," Malt co-founder and CEO Vincent Huguet said in a statement. Malt also wants to become the go-to freelancer marketplace in Europe. Comatch has attracted 15,000 freelancers across nine markets and the two companies work with 80% of publicly traded companies on the CAC 40 and DAX 40. Comatch represents an interesting external growth opportunity. Following this acquisition, Malt has some ambitious goal. By 2024, the company expects to generate €1 billion in business volume. And Malt plans to hire another 150 employees by the end of 2022. |
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