First Aussie crowdfunding start-up exit Jayride gives investors back 107pc
Investors in airport transport start-up Jayride have made a 107 per cent return on their initial investment, in the first equity crowdfunding exit in the country. It is the first time Jayride’s realised rate of return has been revealed, with the majority of investors who bought into its first round through VentureCrowd in December 2015 remaining investors in the business following its January IPO. The first crowd-sourced equity funding raise was priced at 24¢ per share and was one of three rounds the company raised in this manner, equating to about $700,000. All up, the business had raised $15 million in capital, including $8 million from global venture capital network […]
Alex Waislitz’s Thorney Investments, Regal back Credit Clear ahead of IPO
Rich lister Alex Waislitz’s Thorney Investments has taken a significant stake in debt payment fintech start-up Credit Clear, ahead of a potential float in mid 2019. The investment from Thorney was part of an $8.5 million capital raise, which was also supported by Regal Funds Management and some high net worth individuals. The raise was lower than its original target of $10 million, but co-founder Lewis Romano said the round was actually over-subscribed, with the company having made the decision to scale back the raise to $6 million and go after just one international market, the US, rather than expanding to the US, UK and Asia at once. “The lead […]
How real is the competition to Bitcoin?
Cryptocurrencies continue to take the world by storm, with values increasing and new products entering the market all the time. While Bitcoin is still the world’s biggest digital currency, it faces serious competition from Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Ripple just to name a few. The rise of cryptocurrencies has been called the biggest evolution of the financial system in history, as decentralised exchanges and blockchain technology continue to change how the world views money. While no-one knows exactly what’s in store for the crypto market for the remainder of 2018, the trending markets seen in 2017 seem to be consolidating into trading ranges across time scales. The entire cryptocurrency market […]
NAB’s UBank to ‘use technology as a weapon’
National Australia Bank says its digital bank UBank will take advantage of the government’s ‘open banking’ reforms by developing new ‘platforms’ that will connect users to a broad range of financial services – not necessarily NAB’s – which could open up new revenue streams. NAB chief executive Andrew Thorburn described the open data reforms as “potentially a transformational-type change” and said in an interview NAB is planning to “use technology as a weapon, not just a tool of commerce”. NAB created UBank a decade ago; its customer base has grown to 400,000, half are Millennials, and only a small minority are existing NAB customers. NAB is lifting investment in UBank […]
IRESS dismisses Intelliflo threat, ups AI investment following royal commission
Financial software company IRESS has dismissed the threat of new market entrant Intelliflo, with chief executive Andrew Walsh saying the local marketplace is already competitive and values IRESS’s independence. IRESS, which is valued at $2.1 billion and generated $430 million in revenue in the last financial year, is also making significant investments in artificial intelligence. About half of its 1800 employees are now part of its technology team, and this could increase on the back of the Hayne royal commission. “What we’ve seen in aspects of the royal commission is collecting data to respond to the commands of the commission has been a massive exercise for some businesses. But the […]
Quantifeed eyes Australian expansion with $13.5m raising
The fintech is looking to expand its B2B robo-advice business in Australia as a part of a $13.5 million venture capital raising announced today. The series B funding was led by Taiwanese giant Cathay Financial Holdings, with participation from US-based asset manager Legg Mason, and will go towards Australia and Asia Pacific growth. “We will be growing the Australian team over the next six to 12 months and also open an office [on an undisclosed timeline],” Quantifeed co-founder and chief executive Alex Ypsilanti told Financial Standard. The five-year-old fintech has now raised a total of $24 million. This includes today’s $13.5 million, a series A funding of $6 million in […]
Bought Bitcoin? The Tax Office has you in its sights
Unless you are living under a rock, most of us have heard of the term cryptocurrency or, at the very least, Bitcoin. If you haven’t, cryptocurrency is generally used to describe a digital asset in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of additional units and verify transactions on the blockchain. Not that most of us understand what that means. To most people, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were discussed at dinner tables and over drinks across Australia because they were the new black when it came to surging assets. Suddenly, it wasn’t just Dungeons and Dragons players or underworld types who were dealing in cybercurrency, everyone wanted to […]
Australian fintech success Optal seeks new global investor
Forget Prospa, SocietyOne and the like; a new fintech has popped on to dealmakers’ radars and it is one with more than a decade’s history and a significant amount of earnings. Street Talk understands there is at least a stake up for grabs in Australian-based but globally focused business to business payments company Optal Ltd, which is the liquidity event some of its early backers have been waiting for. Optal CEO Rob Bishop and his team have hired a boutique adviser in the United States, FT, to market the stake to potentially interested parties and set up a sale process. Optal is known in fintech and payments circles worldwide, and has had no shortage […]
