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Drop closes $25.8 million Series A, repatriates former Airbnb exec (BETAKIT)
Drop used its hefty Series A to bring Canadian Valley talent back home, as the company looks to dominate millennial loyalty.
Alibaba is picking up 33% of Ant Financial, its FinTech affiliate that’s valued at over $60B (TECHCRUNCH)
The deal, which both parties said stems from an agreement made in 2014, will see Alibaba pick up newly issued shares in Ant, seemingly paving the way for a public listing.
OneEleven launches insurtech growth program with Aviva Canada (BETAKIT)
The four-month program is open to six companies.
eBay takes control over online payments by ditching PayPal(ZDNET)
Dutch FinTech Adyen will become eBay’s primary payments processor as the online marketplace looks to move its payments intermediary service in-house.
U.S. banks’ Venmo alternative, Zelle, moved $75B last year, says 100,000 people enroll daily(TECHCRUNCH)
The company also painted a picture of growing traction, noting it processed over 247 million payments in 2017, an increase of over 45 percent year-over-year, totalling $75 billion in peer-to-peer payments.
Singapore’s SpherePay completes $10 million funding round (FINEXTRA)
SpherePay, a mobile payment app, has not disclosed the names of investors.
Bench raises $23 million to expand its accounting automation features (BETAKIT)
The funding was led by iNovia Capital.
Kodak’s move toward cryptocurrency raises uneasy questions(THE STAR)
Industry experts are calling the move a last-ditch effort to make money, while the CEO says the company’s blockchain ambitions will solve a real problem.
Ethereum Capital wants to raise $50 million to invest in Ethereum-based companies
(BETAKIT)
Ethereum Capital will acquire Ether and make strategic acquisitions of controlling stakes in Ethereum-based businesses.