Europe-Grown Tech Stack

The startup raised the funding at a time when calls to develop a tech stack for Europe, independent of US big techs, have been on the rise. A European coalition, which draws membership from the region’s tech industry, has asked lawmakers to take radical action to lessen reliance on foreign-owned tech infrastructure.

The coalition advocates for Europe-grown alternatives to chips, apps, AI models, and cloud services. Evroc is seeking to leverage this momentum. The company plans to set up hyperscale data centers in Europe and provide a range of cloud services in Europe. Founded in 2023, the company plans to set up eight data centers by the year 2028.

Currently, Evroc has two co-location facilities in Paris and another two in Stockholm. The startup plans to establish two more facilities in Frankfurt by the close of quarter two of this year. Its primary focus is to complete and commence AI workloads in its data centers in France and Sweden by 2026.

“They [data centers] are designed for the energy density required for AI, where racks can consume 20 times what a traditional server rack can, Both will be equipped with liquid cooling but will also host compute and storage servers,” Evroc CEO and founder Mattias Åström said.

Åström says that the startup is already pursuing debut customers in sectors like defense, health care, and the public sector as it prepares to launch later this year. Evroc is targeting sectors that require high sovereignty of data.

Push for Data Residency

Discussions on digital sovereignty are not new in Europe. Many US big techs have embarked on establishing local infrastructure in the region as they seek to comply with EU’s data residency requirements.

Recently, OpenAI launched an offering that enables users to process and store data in Europe. But in light of the recent trade wars, Åström says that control of EU tech infrastructure is critical, and it’s more than just placing servers in the region.

“I simply want Europe to control its own destiny. And while we’re at it, try to build something that is better,” Åström said.

As the geopolitics continue to play out, this Åström’s argument continues to gain weight. A case in point is the executive order that President Donald Trump signed last month, approving economic sanctions against the Netherlands-based International Criminal Court (ICC).

Trump accused the court of taking baseless and illegitimate actions against Israel and the US. With the ICC relying heavily on Microsoft Azure cloud service to store its data, these sanctions will have an impact on how Microsoft supports the ICC.

Shift to Cloud Computing

The ongoing focus on AI means that businesses across the world must shift on-premise infrastructure to cloud computing in order to maximize on the technology. Several startups have already started building European cloud infrastructure. These include DataCrunch in Finland, FlexAI in France, and Nebius in the Netherlands.

As these companies focus on AI computing, Evroc is seeking to build a European AWS alternative. A bigger portion of the company’s workforce of over 60 individuals works in software development throughout the UK, France, and Sweden. Åström says the company didn’t plan on setting up a hub in London. However, the decision was made after it became important to help the company attract top tech talent.

“I’m actually very excited about our London office, that wasn’t part of the initial plan, but in order to get extremely smart people that are working for the hyperscalers, it was the right decision,” Åström added.

Evroc’s funding round attracted participation from US-European venture firms Giant Ventures, EQT Ventures, Norrsken VC, and Blisce. Astrom says the startup will use the funding to build a European software stack.

“Europe has a lot of data centers, but we don’t really have that cloud. This equity round is really helping us build the software stack,” he said.

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Bringing AI to Business Communication

AI application in generating decks in business presentations is one of the areas where the technology can make a difference. Ready-made models tend to be mediocre because they are not designed to understand industry-specific language and vocabulary. Prezent seeks to address this gap.

Founded in 2021, Prezent is based in Los Altos, California, it has a subsidiary in India’s Bengaluru city. The startup was founded by Rajat Mishra, who had worked with McKinsey and Cisco previously. Mishra admits that at a young age, he struggled with speech impediments. This challenge drove his passion for communication technology.

“The idea for Prezent was, wouldn’t it be cool if we could build an AI platform that democratizes business communication and makes everyone a great business communicator?” he said.

Prezent has developed an AI assistant known as Astrid. Users upload documents like PDFs, Excel files, links, and other communication assets to the Prezent platform to give Astrid context about the company.

Prezent’s AI slide design automatically uses the content to generate presentations. Users can include specific terms, team abbreviations, and any other preferences to customize their presentations.

Leveraging Open-Source AI Models

Prezent AI pitch deck creator utilizes open-source models to improve proprietary data to power its platform. According to Mishra, the startup’s proprietary data includes a dataset that has more than 2 million slide decks.

Prezent also develops AI models based on specific applications. For instance, the startup can develop models that recommend layouts that users can use for specific decks. Prezent offers businesses that have tight timelines and require minimum human effort to polish presentations an expedited service.

Prezent’s AI automation tool for slides converts draft documents into professional grade presentations by leveraging a mix of AI and human reviewers, who include designers and consultants. The service spruces drafts for users overnight. The startup plans to unveil APIs to enable users develop presentations directly from chatbots, search engines, apps, and other platforms.

Unlike OpenAI models , DeepSeek has made its AI models freely accessible on the internet. This allows for modification and redistribution, giving AI startups an opportunity to leverage the technology.

“DeepSeek recently showed us that AI companies don’t need these massive funding rounds to make a big impact any longer,” Mishra said.

Prezent has a workforce of close to 200 employees. Mishra says that 75% of this workforce is based in India and works remotely.

Growing Customer Base

Prezent has been growing its user base gradually over the years. The company already has various users in Europe and is seeking to expand its operations into Southeast Asia in quarter two of this year. Currently, Prezent says it serves about 150 Fortune 2000 companies in the US, mostly targeting companies in the tech and biopharma industries.

Prezent’s latest investment will enable the startup to pursue potential customers in the manufacturing and financial service sectors. The company will also use the all-equity investment to expand to new markets in Japan, Europe, and Singapore.

The new funding is an extension of the Series A funding round that the tech startup launched in 2022. Last year, Prezent reported annual revenues of more than $10 million. The new funding pushes Prezent’s valuation to over $100 million.

The funding round was led by Greycroft. Other investors who participated in the funding round include Zoom Ventures, WestWave, and Emergent Ventures. The funding round attracted new tech investors like Alumni Ventures, True Global Ventures, and Manulife Ventures.

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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is looking to control Intel’s chip manufacturing plants. A Broadcom acquisition could reportedly see the company take over Intel’s chip design and marketing business.

Better Value

Analysts say that Intel’s breakup could maximize the company’s value in favor of shareholders who have suffered for a considerable period of time. Mark Lipacis, an analyst with Evercore said that based on his conservative analysis of the company, its value could be about $167 billion. This is equivalent to $38.24 per share.

Lipacis says the company’s value could shoot to $237 billion or $54.18 per share. This value is based on a robust analysis of the financial performance for each Intel business. He however says a deal at this valuation could be difficult to close.

“Depending on how a deal is structured, it might require regulatory approval from countries around the world, including China. Also, Intel has historically designed its factories to make x86 CPUs, so it is not clear if Intel’s factories would be able to make external chips efficiently with its current physical plant. Finally, Intel’s foundry business reported a 76% operating loss in 2024, vs Taiwan Semiconductor’s 45% operating margin,” Lipacis said.

On Friday February 14, Intel shares prices stood at $23.60, about 50% less than the price last year. Intel’s stocks have lost 65% of their value over the last year. The company’s current market capitalization is $102 billion.

The Regulatory Challenge

Analysts from Bank of America, Bernstein, and Raymond James also weighed in on Intel’s corporate breakup and the challenge it presents. The analysts have raised concerns over antitrust issues and regulatory challenges.

Vivek Arya, an analyst at Bank of America said an Intel split would be complex and time-consuming. Arya also says that acquisition deals involving Intel’s chip production business and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company would be constrained tightly by the rules underlying Intel’s Chips Act funding. Intel is expected to maintain ownership of over 50% of its foundry business under those rules.

The US government “could be wary of a foreign entity completely taking over an iconic US-firm that has deep involvement with US Department of Defense customers,” Arya added.

In September last year, Intel received $3 billion in government funding to produce chips for the US military. Some analysts say that the Trump administration could find a way around a TSMC-Intel deal.

“A better outcome for the US government would be to work with TSMC separately to expand its US manufacturing footprint,” Raymond James Analyst Srini Pajjuri stated in a note.

Broadcom is a better place to acquire the product business at Intel, Bernstein analyst Stacy Ragon wrote in a note on February 18.

“Hock Tan [Broadcom CEO] has shown the ability to take a hatchet to costs, ruthlessly, while still preserving innovation,” Rasgon wrote.

A Rough Ride

Intel has had a rough ride over in recent months to a point of parting ways with its former CEO, Pat Gelsinger last December. Gelsinger worked aggressively to turn the chip manufacture around for over three years. His turn-around strategy included reducing Intel’s workforce, building foundry business, securing Chips Act funding, and reducing spending.

Before his departure, Gelsinger had promised that Intel would manufacture fast AI chips to compete with rivals like AMD and Nvidia. Upon releasing Gelsinger, the Intel board appointed former Client Computing head Michelle Johnston Holthaus and CFO David Zinser to serve as co-CEOs on an interim basis. Holthaus also serves as the CEO of Intel Products. Intel is likely to tap a big name outside the company to fill the CEO slot.

The new CEO will have to work hard to rebuild investor confidence after the giant tech company missed its financial targets. The CEO will also be expected to decide on Intel’s foundry business and explore possibilities of splitting the company to drive shareholder value.

The post Intel Breakup Could Push the Chip Company’s Valuation to $200 Billion, Analysts Say appeared first on Tech Research Online.

In 2024, TravelPerk raised $104 million at a valuation of $1.4 billion from SoftBank and others to develop AI technology and products. Along with that the Travel startup also raised a debt financing worth $135 million to acquire AmTrav.

TravelPerk’s Market Growth and Expansion

TravelPerk’s recent funding round has made it one of the fastest-growing players within the travel expense management sector and has achieved great growth despite general economic uncertainty. TravelPerk has been especially popular for being a seamless online travel booking and management solution company.

The surge in the valuations showcases the success of TravelPerk in scaling operations and expansion into new markets. Investors see the company as a strong contender in the corporate travel industry, as its AI-driven tools provide businesses with real-time insights into travel expenses, policy compliance, and cost-saving opportunities.

Hillary Ball, Atomico’s growth-focused partner, said, “the firm was drawn to investing in TravelPerk as it’s addressing “a complex and hard problem to solve” around corporate travel. This is a market that resurged following the pandemic,” Ball told CNBC. “In the past year, the global value of corporate travel was $1.5 trillion — that’s up by 6% relative to pre-pandemic and 2019. It’s really clear that this is a market that’s here to stay and one that’s growing.”

TravelPerk Acquires Yokoy to Strengthen Fintech Capabilities

As part of its fintech strategy, TravelPerk acquired Yokoy to improve its automated expense management capabilities. TravelPerk has made this strategic acquisition because it targets the achievement of integrated travel booking and financial management tools that create whole solutions for business needs.

The expense tracking expertise delivered by Yokoy combined with their AI automation capabilities will enable TravelPerk to deliver better corporate travel solutions. The TravelPerk platform aims for platform improvement through the combination of Yokoy technology that streamlines expense reporting as well as reimbursement and budget optimization capabilities. TravelPerk transforms beyond its basic corporate travel capabilities to become an ensemble financial control solution for the modern enterprise.

Taunay-Bucalo, president and chief operating officer at TravelPerk told CNBC, “TravelPerk will continue investing in AI to enhance its product offering and that the Yokoy acquisition will bring an “extremely strong AI team.”

TravelPerk Investor Confidence Remains Strong

Investor confidence increased after the latest TravelPerk funding round because SoftBank along with other backers decided to make additional investments. The increasing consumer need for single-platform travel and financial solutions positions. TravelPerk is an appealing investment opportunity for businesses working to optimize their travel budget management.

TravelPerk’s investors predict that expansion into fintech areas will simultaneously establish new revenue opportunities and bolster its marketplace lead. TravelPerk establishes itself as a top provider of business travel solutions but new fintech initiatives have the potential to address and seize more market opportunities.

Taunay-Bucalo said, “Venture capitalists were drawn to the firm’s growth story after it rebounded from times of struggle faced during the Covid-19 pandemic. TravelPerk saw revenues decline rapidly in 2020 and 2021 as most business travel came to a standstill. Revenue has since grown to around five times the size it was before Covid hit. Why we are doing so well now is because we had that period where you had to be strong. You had to have a good foundation, you had to be scrappy.”

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Boosting xAI Infrastructure

With the new funding, xAI will accelerate advancement of its infrastructure and ship innovative products for millions of users. The AI startup will also use the funds to advance its mission by accelerating xAI AI research and development of future technologies and enhance its understanding of the universe.

“xAI’s most powerful model yet is currently training and we are now focused on launching innovative new consumer and enterprise products. The funds from this financing round will be used to further accelerate our advanced infrastructure, ship groundbreaking products and accelerate research and development,” xAI said in a statement.

The company plans to allocate the funding strategically to boost xAI’s infrastructure in the Memphis data center where it has 100,000 Nvidia processors. The data center plays a critical role in expanding xAI’s computational power and training AI models. By boosting its processing capabilities, the AI startup can build complex AI products and enhance current ones. This will boost its competitive advantage over OpenAI.

X and GrokAI

Tesla CEO Elon Musk founded xAI last year. The company released its generative AI Grok soon after. The model powers various features on X, including a chatbot that’s accessible to free users and premium subscribers. Grok is designed to respond to spicy queries that many other AI models reject. Musk has been on record deriding ChatGPT and other AI models for being politically correct or being woke.

Musk fueled AI ambitions by terming Grok as less biased and truth-seeking, as opposed to rival models. Over the last one year, Grok has become fully ingrained on X. The AI model uses Aurora, an image generation model to generate images on X. It’s capable of analyzing images and summarizing trending events and news.

Moving into the future, Grok will reportedly handle more functions on the social media platform. These include improving account bios, boosting search capabilities, and supporting post analytics and reply settings. Just recently, X added a Grok button to assist users in discovering relevant content and delve deeper into real-time events and trending discussions.

Playing Catchup

xAI is moving fast to catch up with generative AI rivals like Anthropic and OpenAI. In October 2024, the company unveiled an API that allows users to build its AI model into third-party applications, services and platforms. The AI startup recently rolled out a Grok iOS application to a selected audience for testing.

But the X owner argues that the generative AI race hasn’t been fair. Musk has filed a lawsuit against Sam Altman, OpenAI and its close collaborator, Microsoft. In the lawsuit, Musk accuses the ChatGPT owner of trying to eliminate competitors such as xAI by extracting investor promises not to fund them. Musk also argues that OpenAI unfairly benefits from the vast expertise and infrastructure from Microsoft.

Despite these allegations, Musk says that data from his X platform gives xAI an advantage over his rivals. Musk co-founded OpenAI with Sam Altman in 2015 and left in 2018 following disagreements over the AI startup’s direction. OpenAI has disagreed with Musk’s lawsuit, terming it baseless and misleading.

Leading investors participated in the latest Elon Musk xAI funding round. These included Blackrock, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Blackrock, Fidelity, MGX, and Lightspeed. Other investors included Morgan Stanley, QIA, Valor Equity Partners, OIA, Nvidia, Vy Capital, and AMD. Only investors who had participated in the previous xAI funding round reportedly backed this round. Investors who supported Elon Must acquire Twitter got access to a maximum of 25% shares.

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Competition Watchdog Concerns

The CMA recognizes the critical role of semiconductor chips in advancing technologies that consumers and businesses in the UK need.

“Semiconductor chips are crucial components in technologies used every day by UK consumers and also in key sectors including artificial intelligence and cloud computing,” the CMA said.

However, the UK regulator says the Synopsys-Ansys deal raises a range of UK semiconductor competition concerns in the supply of light simulation and semiconductor chip design products in the UK market. According to the CMA, the acquisition could reduce customer choices and eliminate innovation.

These are mostly companies that use software in products like TV displays and camera lenses. Reduced innovation could lead to low quality software products and increase prices, which could overburden UK consumers and businesses. CMA says that the deal could also lessen competition in the supply of three software products where Ansys and Synopsys compete closely and have strong market positions.

The issues raised by the regulator relate to the analysis used to assess the amount of power a chip uses and needs to function as well as the software that is used to design and model light-related products.

Synopsys’ Response

The CMA said it could give the deal a nod if the two entities involved address these concerns. If the companies fail to submit proposals that sufficiently address the concerns, the CMA may proceed to mount an in depth probe into the merger. Synopsys says that CMA’s announcement was expected. The chip design software maker added that it was taking steps to address the concerns raised by the UK antitrust body.

“We will continue our constructive and collaborative engagement with the CMA in relation to our proposed remedies. We remain confident in a positive resolution of the ongoing regulatory review process, and we continue to expect the transaction to close in the first half of 2025,” Synopsys Spokesperson said.

Synopsys announced its Ansys acquisition deal in January this year. Ansys makes software that is used in the manufacturing of a wide range of products including airplanes and tennis rackets. Previously, Synopsys announced plans to sell off its optical solutions business to Keysight Technologies once the Ansys acquisition process is complete.

Regulator Scrutiny

Synopsys’ new investment in Ansys is among the tech transactions that the CMA has scrutinized closely in recent years. The antitrust regulator has been paying close attention to acquisitions that involve the cloud, AI, and semiconductor chips.

Next year, the regulator is expected to tighten its grip on tech transactions under the new digital markets law. Based in California, Synopsys is among the few firms that manufacture the software that’s used in the design of semiconductors. Anysys, on the other hand, manufactures simulation software that engineers use to predict how their products will work in the real world.

By acquiring Ansys, Synopsys is looking to expand its customer base and product range. Ansys shareholders are set to receive a $197 cash payout and 0.345 shares of Synopsys stock for every share held.

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Led by T. Rowe Price Associates owned by Joshua Kushner, this VC funding round attracted leading financial investors like Andreessen Horowitz and Coatue Management, Canaan, and Tiger Global Management, the company reached $1.6 Billion in the funding round. Other participants of the round included existing investors Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, and new investors ICONIQ Growth, MGX, Sands Capital, and Wellington Management.

This is one of the biggest VC funding rounds ever and will help to meet the increased interest in AI tools to support companies’ development. AI startup Databricks is looking forward to receiving positive free cash flow in January 2025 and is aiming to hit a revenue run rate of $3 billion after the latest funding round. The company has surpassed Open AI, which raised a funding of $6.6 billion in October, and Elon Musk’s xAI which raised $6 billion.

Databricks’ Rapid Rise in AI

AI startup Databricks was started in 2013 by a team of data scientists and engineers who have developed a strong demand in a short span of time for its integrated data processing system backed by artificial intelligence and machine learning. The Lakehouse platform is the primary product of the company that integrates data warehouse and artificial intelligence solutions to provide better insights to businesses. Some of the clients include Comcast, Shell, and CVS health among others this shows that the data analytics startup has been effective in expanding its market across different sectors.

The company’s CEO Ali Ghodsi attributed Databricks’ boosted valuation to the fact that the firm is highly capable of meeting the increasing demand for AI and big data. “Our mission has always been to democratize data and AI for every organization,” said Ghodsi.

What’s Next for Databricks?

According to the CEO, Ali Ghodsi, Databricks will use the capital from the latest funding round to let some employees cash out their stocks. It will also use a big chunk of the funds to hire the best AI talents, venture into new AI products, and look for merger opportunities with other AI startups.

He said, “The company, I believe, will be a public company for the majority of its lifetime. And it’s not if, it’s a when. The absolute theoretically earliest we could do it would be next year, but we have some flexibility now. The thing that is top of mind for management and me is providing liquidity opportunities to the employees.”

Vince Hankes, partner at Thrive Capital said, “Databricks is one of the iconic private tech companies that we think are poised to become the next platforms. And in technology, the platforms have shown that as they get bigger, they get better, and there’s more advantages to scale.”

Analysts believe that the Databricks valuation boost is a benchmark for the tech industry and highlights the company’s power to bring in a revolution in the industry.

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GlobalWafer’s Investment

According to the US Commerce Department, the subsidy will enable GlobalWafers to establish the first high-volume 300-mm wafers production facilities in Texas and Missouri.. The Taiwanese company will also use the funding to increase its production of silicon-on-insulator wafers. These wafers are an important component of US advanced semiconductors.

“We look forward to innovating with our U.S.-based chip customers for decades to come,” GlobalWafers CEO Doris Hsu said.

The Taiwanese semiconductor maker has already made a GlobalWafers U.S. investment valued at $4 billion. Through this investment, the company is setting up new wafer manufacturing factories in Texas and Missouri. The new Taiwan chips subsidy will support this investment and help the company create 880 manufacturing and 1700 construction jobs.

Chips Act funding to US companies is part of the Biden administration’s strategy to spur domestic semiconductor production.

Silicon Wafer Production Market

The silicon wafer production market isn’t saturated yet. GlobalWafers and five other companies currently control over 80% of the 300-mm silicon wafer manufacturing market in the world. Over 90% of the world’s silicon wafers are manufactured in East Asia.

In 2022, GlobalWafers announced that it will be setting up a $5 billion factory in Texas to manufacture 300-mm silicon wafers that are used in semiconductors. This was a shift from the company’s initial plan to set up such a plant in Germany.

GlobalWafers will be constructing and expanding production facilities in Sherman, Texas. The wafers produced in this facility will be used to make mature-node, leading-edge, and memory chips. Its Missouri facility will be located in St. Peters. The company will produce wafers for defense and aerospace chips in this facility.

Race Against Time

Following the November 2024 elections, the Department of Commerce has been rushing to finalize awards for semiconductor manufacturers before President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month. The US government committed to award a total of $52.7 billion in grants, loans, and tax credits under the Chips and Science Act semiconductor manufacturing and research subsidy program.

To date, the Department has finalized several awards to US-based semiconductor manufacturers. These include memory chip maker Micron Technology that will receive a $6.1 billion subsidy to construct semiconductor production facilities at its New York and Idaho factories. The two facilities are expected to create up to 20,000 jobs by the year 2030. The Department of Commerce finalized a $6.6 billion subsidy award to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) in November 2024.

The Commerce Department has also finalized a deal to award giant chip manufacturer Intel a $7.86 billion subsidy. Intel’s federal chips grant was reduced from the initial $8.5 billion after the chip maker experienced challenges meeting stringent performance benchmarks for the funding.

US chip maker, Wolfspeed was awarded $750 million to expand its North Carolina and New York production facilities. The company manufactures silicon carbide wafers that are used in advanced computer chips.

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Reuters reported that the purpose of the US Bosch preliminary deal is to build facilities for production of silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductors in the company’s California factory.

A Strategic Investment

Bosch is already making significant investment towards construction of the semiconductor factory. Primarily, the facility will produce Bosch silicon carbide semiconductors for the automotive industry. The semiconductors are critical in electric vehicles because of their ability to enhance charging and driving efficiencies.

The Department of Commerce says that the $225 million US chip grant to Bosh will enable the company to realize its $1.9 billion investment needed to complete its Roseville manufacturing facility. Bosch will be receiving an additional $350 million loan from the government to support the project.

The Department will be tapping the $52.7 billion fund established under the Chips and Science Act to provide this support. In recent weeks, US officials have been rushing to finalize terms for US chip grants and loans before President-elect Donald Trump assumes office in January 2025.

Bosch acquired important assets from TSI Semiconductors in 2023. At the time, the company said its chip production operations would rely heavily on federal funding. Like many other automobile makers, Bosch experienced serious disruptions in semiconductor production in Asia due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Boosting Local SiC Production

Following the Bosch preliminary deal, the chip manufacturer expects to commence production of chips on 200-millimeter wafers in the California plant in 2026. Besides electric vehicles, SiC semiconductors are important components in defense and telecommunication industries.

According to the US Commerce Department, the Bosch US chip investment will help increase the domestic SiC manufacturing capacity. The department estimates that upon achieving its full production capacity, the Bosch facility will comprise over 40% of the US SiC device production capacity.

“The Roseville investment enables Bosch to locally produce silicon carbide semiconductors, supporting U.S. consumers on the path to electrification,” Bosch President for North America Paul Thomas said in a statement.

According to California Representative Doris Matsui, the Bosch Chips Act funding was critical in helping the chip maker to build “essential components for advances in clean mobility, electric vehicles and other clean energy technology.” Matsui participated in the writing of the Chips and Science Act, said

US Chips Funding Deals

The US government has finalized several Chips funding deals in a bid to spur local semiconductor production. Earlier this week, the Department of Commerce finalized a $6.1 billion subsidy for Micron Technology. The funding is aimed at helping the memory chip manufacturer to construct semiconductor facilities at its New York and Idaho factories. These factories are expected to create up to 20,000 jobs by the year 2030.

Last month, the Department of Commerce finalized a $6.6 billion award to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). The department also finalized a $7.86 billion for US chip giant Intel. The government reduced Intel’s federal chips grant from the initial $8.5 billion after the chip maker experienced challenges meeting stringent performance benchmarks for the funding.

In September 2024, the Department awarded US chip manufacturer, Wolfspeed $750 million to expand its North Carolina and New York factories. The company manufactures silicon carbide wafers that are used in advanced computer chips in its North Carolina and New York factories. Chips Act funding is part of Biden’s administration to fuel domestic production of semiconductors and reduce reliance on Taiwan and China.

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Mynt’s customer base has reached 12,000 businesses, up from the 3000 the company served a year ago. To date, Mynt has raised a total of €50 million. The latest SME expense funding has pushed its valuation up to about $210 million.

Range of Services

Mynt offers businesses a range of financial services. The fintech startup has partnered with Visa to issue Mynt corporate credit cards to small and medium-sized businesses. Users get access to a range of expenditure management tools and automated integrations to leading accounting applications.

After setting up, Mynt users can automatically manage their business expenses. They can match receipts, virtual cards, and budgets automatically. The company provides users with a mobile app to enable them manage their expenses on the go. The application comes with analytic tools to help users understand how their budgets are being used.

Mynt has developed an API that integrates seamlessly with third parties. The API powers its corporate card services, facilitating enterprise resource planning for businesses as well as fuel, bank, and fleet providers. The company designs its financial services for businesses with a workforce of 2 to 500 employees.

Expense Management Painpoints

Founded by CEO Baltsar Sahlin and CPO Johan Obermayer in 2018, Mynt was developed to alleviate the challenges small businesses experience in managing their expenses. The co-founders worked at Swedish telco giant, Ericsson where they experienced these challenges first hand.

“I experienced this myself, how difficult it is to issue cards and do expense management. The pain points were really the driving force for Mynt,” said Sahlin.

When the fintech startup started operations, very few solutions were available for SMEs.

“For us, it was more about being between the banks and accounting systems, providing a solution that solves that problem for SMEs,” Sahlin added.

Mynt co-founders worked with a systems engineer to fix these gaps for Nordic businesses. Initially, the fintech focused on SMEs in the European market because of the uniqueness of the Nordic eco-system when it comes to payment and accounting processes.

Competition Landscape

Mynt is currently facing fierce competition from large entities within and outside Europe. Danish fintech, Pleo has gained ground in expense management for small and medium-sized enterprises. In 2021 when it raised $200 million, Pleo’s valuation was estimated to be $4.7 billion. Earlier this year, the fintech took on a $42 million debt. It’s not clear how this debt affected its valuation.

Another huge competitor that Mynt is facing in the expense management market is Fornox. This publicly traded fintech company develops financial management tools, including expense management tools, for small and medium sized companies. Although these, and many other companies compete with Mynt, there is space for more fintechs in the European market.

Currently, there are over 26 million small and medium sized businesses in the EU alone. This means that the 12,000 businesses that Mynt is currently serving represents a small portion of the market. Since expense management continues to be a big pain point for businesses world over, demand for Mynt corporate credit cards is set to grow. The latest Mynt funding round was led by Vor Capital.

The post Fintech Startup, Mynt to Integrate AI in Expense Management with New Smart Card Funding appeared first on Tech Research Online.

Large Award

The Micron semiconductor industry subsidy is among the largest awards given to chip manufacturers under the US Chips and Science Act.

“These investments will help the US grow its share of advanced memory manufacturing from nearly 0% today to 10% over the next decade,” the White House said in a statement on Micron Technology.

Micron Technology’s subsidy will finance projects in its New York and Idaho factories. Through the subsidy, the factories are expected to create up to 20,000 jobs by the year 2030.

Additional Funding

The US Commerce Department and Micron Technology have commenced discussions on additional investment. The two parties have already agreed on initial terms for an additional $275 million to expand Micron’s Virginia manufacturing factory. The company produces chips for the networking, automotive, and industrial markets in the plant.

According to the White House, extra funding to Micron Technology will enable the company to p “onshore a critical technology relied upon by our defense industry, automotive sector and national security community.”

Domestic Semiconductor Production

Chips Act funding is part of Biden’s administration to fuel domestic production of semiconductors and reduce reliance on Taiwan and China. This year alone, the US government has finalized several subsidies under the Chips Act.

Last month, the US Department of Commerce finalized a $6.6 billion award to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). The department also finalized a $7.86 billion for US chip giant Intel. The US Department of Commerce reduced Intel’s federal chips grant from the initial $8.5 billion after the chip maker experienced challenges meeting stringent performance benchmarks for the funding.

In September 2024, the department awarded US chip manufacturer, Wolfspeed $750 million to expand its North Carolina and New York factories. The company manufactures wafers that are used in advanced computer chips in its North Carolina and New York factories.

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This funding was set to be the largest government investment designed to subsidize Intel’s chip production. The purpose of the funding was to supercharge Intel’s domestic semiconductor chip production amidst rising global competition.

A Highlight of Intel’s Challenges

Intel’s federal chips funding reduction highlights the challenges that the chip maker faces. The company is striving to reclaim leadership in the tech industry while fulfilling the Biden administration’s vision of revitalizing local production of semiconductor chips. The terms and conditions of the revised grant package remain unclear.

The funding reduction coincides with a $3 billion contract awarded to the tech giant to manufacture chips for the US Defense Department. The chip maker has been struggling to meet production expectations after it suffered the biggest quarterly loss in its close to six decades of existence. Intel and the US Department of Commerce signed a preliminary memorandum in March 2024 for $8.5 billion.

The agreement included an $11 billion loan in Intel Arizona funding. The loan was aimed at positioning the chip manufacturer as a key player in the AI-driven semiconductor industry. The Chips Act funding was part of Intel’s expansion plan through a $100 investment. The company planned to construct new plants in New Mexico, Oregon, Arizona, Ohio, and Oregon.

Meeting Strict Funding Requirements

The Department of Commerce is required to ensure accountability in the administration of grants and loans under the Chips Act. Officials in the department have set stringent performance benchmarks for the funding.

Semiconductor chip manufacturers seeking Chips Act funding have to construct plants and produce semiconductor chips. Chip makers must secure customer commitments for locally manufactured products. Intel has been struggling to meet these requirements.

This may have complicated the company’s ability to negotiate for the final funding terms. The company has experienced setbacks in completing the chip manufacturing plant in Ohio. Recently, the chip manufacturer pushed completion of this plant from 2025 to 2030.

“The delay in Intel’s investment is especially concerning given the current surge in demand for chips, driven by the rise of AI. With AI transforming the industry, the existing IT infrastructure is becoming insufficient to handle its processing requirements,” Senior Analyst at Everest Group, Rachita Rao said.

Growing Competition

Intel is also struggling to match rivals like the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). Analysts suggest that its inability to compete in the chip manufacturing industry may have lowered confidence in its ability to meet its commitments.

“Intel is struggling to keep pace with its competitors, particularly TSMC, which dominates the market with its competitive pricing and significant market share. Additionally, Intel is pursuing riskier strategies at a time when TSMC is focusing on a low-risk, high-production model that appears to be yielding strong results. Given Intel’s inability to effectively compete in the current market, the reduction in funding seems justified to some extent,” Rao added.

Earlier this month, the US Department of Commerce finalized a $6.6 billion Chips funding award to TSMC. The Intel rival also committed more than $65 billion to construct a manufacturing plant in the US.

News of Intel’s funding reduction have certainly hit the company, which is experiencing financial strain, hard. The company announced plans to cut 15,000 jobs as part of its multi-year restructuring strategy aimed at saving $10 billion in 2025. In August 2023, Intel suspended dividend payments for shareholders starting quarter four of this year.

The company posted a $1.61 billion net loss in quarter two of this year, with revenues dipping by 1% to $12.83 billion. Intel shareholders sued the company for concealing the problems that resulted in poor performance, suspension of dividends, and job cuts.

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