Amir M Golbakhsh’s Post

Why Darktrace’s US private equity deal isn’t all bad for UK tech. 🔎 Darktrace is the UK’s largest homegrown success story for public tech stocks in recent years. The news that it will soon be an asset owned by US private equity firm Thoma Bravo has led to another round of despair in the UK public market and tech and investment communities. This take-private is, rightly, yet another example of the UK’s tech company exodus. The US markets are often seen as more appealing and more dynamic for attracting capital and supporting growth than the UK. ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eSTahZe9 🔗 Opinion piece by Andrew Ross, private equity and cross-border M&A partner at Marriott Harrison. #darktrace #privatequity #security #deal #growth #uk #investment #tech #UKtech

RocketBoots confirms that it has received firm commitments to raise ~$832,000 via a placement to new and existing shareholders. Funds will be used for expansion activities, advancing trials and progressing contract negotiations with several customers. Commenting on the raise, Chief Executive, Joel Rappolt, said: “This capital raise, when combined with our SPP funds and forecast cash inflows in the new financial year, should provide RocketBoots with the opportunity to complete its current eight (8) international trials. Successful conversion of any of these trials to a scaled site, multi-year contract has the potential to make a significant impact on our business fundamentals. The capital will also enable RocketBoots to install a second wave of trials, due in mid-2024 & continue converting its growing pipeline to new trials. We look forward to updating the market on our progress in the near future.” Twyford Hawk Australia Pty Ltd acted as sole lead manager for the placement of 10,400,000 shares at $0.08 a share. Link to Release: https://bit.ly/3KarkIy $ROC #ROC #rocketboots #AI #machinelearning #computervision #nvidia #dell #software #technology #banking #retail #optimisation #insights ASX:ROC #invest

The news that #Darktrace will soon be an asset owned by US #PEfirm Thoma Bravo has led to another round of despair in the UK tech and #investment communities.    As the UK’s largest homegrown success story for public tech stocks in recent years, this take-private is yet another example of the UK’s #tech company exodus.    But despite this, there are a number of reasons why this deal doesn’t only spell doom and gloom for the UK.    What is often left out of these discussions, for example, is that the UK is evidently producing some of the high-quality tech companies that those with deep pockets want to own.    Private equity and cross-border M&A Partner Andrew Ross wrote about why this deal isn’t all bad for UK tech for UKTN. Read the full piece here: https://bit.ly/3KoDoWN 

Hope everyone had a good weekend! In this week’s transaction / technology news update, we cover the latest US & Canadian tech news including: - Parallel Studios raises C$47mm in early-stage financing - Wesley Clover acquires majority stake in Martello Technologies - Zapata AI completes a reverse merger with Andretti Acquisition Corp. (NYSE:WNNR) for US$200mm - Descartes Systems Group acquires OCR Services Inc. for US$90mm   Have a great week!   #mergersandacquisitions #venturecapital #investmentbanking #privateequity #technology #technews #canadiantechnews

Keep your eyes on AlphaSense! We've just been included on Crunchbase News's list on companies they predict will be next to #IPO! 🔥🙌🏾 From the recent acquisition of Tegus and a $4B valuation, to our latest #GenAI offerings, it's been an incredible year of growth so far — and AlphaSense is just getting started! 🚀🚀🚀 #ai #technews #fintech https://lnkd.in/euvgEK3E

Vawlt reached 3M euros of VC funding! There are many things to be said about this, but as a professor/researcher, the first thing that comes to my mind is that the company works with truly cutting-edge research turned into a product. When I started working on Byzantine fault-tolerant replication (20+ years ago), my 'dream' was to see these systems being used in practice. Most of the research I was involved (e.g., BFT-SMaRt) targeted that, but nothing represents this aim better than the trilogy of papers on cloud-of-clouds storage (DepSky, SCFS and Charon). Most of the algorithms and concepts described in these papers are implemented in Vawlt. This means we use techniques such as distributed trust, replica diversity, f-disseminating Byzantine quorum systems, BFT leases, erasure codes, and read/write registers to securely store petabytes of critical data from many users. It still amazes me :-) Thanks to our investors, advisors, partners, and the amazing Vawlt team, in particular, Ricardo Mendes (CEO) and Tiago Oliveira (CTO), who are responsible for turning our papers and prototypes into an amazing product with a lot of value to the market.

🚀Pausefika news: The Surprising Second Wind of SPACs 📈 If you follow me here on LinkedIn, you know that as an entrepreneur, I'm interested in Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) as a faster track towards an IPO. However, as a private investor, I avoid them like the plague (cf. Fisker, Lordstown Motors, Workhorse, Canoo, Lucid Motors, Arrival, Faraday Future, Mullen Automotive, Polestar, or VINFAST SPACs). Despite being written off too quickly, SPACs have seen a resurgence since January. The expected decline in interest rates in the US and the need for equity capital from unicorns are contributing to their revival. Since January, SPACs have raised $3.4 billion from investors, according to Dealogic, and this figure is expected to grow further by the end of the year. With new SPAC rules going into effect, the market is showing a tepid comeback. Investors are bidding up shares of older SPACs, some of which have been searching for deals for years. 2024 is on pace to outdo 2023 in terms of dollars raised through the IPO market. Halfway through this year, SPACs have already raised $2.5 billion, compared with $3.8 billion for the entirety of 2023. The average size of the SPAC IPO is slightly bigger, too, at $156.5 million compared with $124.1 million in 2023. While the numbers are still tepid compared to the heady days of 2020 and 2021, optimists persist. Out of 118 SPACs that have found a partner but not yet merged, the returns are negative for only four companies. The top-performing SPAC is Ault Disruptive Technologies, whose shares are up 69 percent since launch in December 2021. Despite the realities, a few older SPACs that haven’t even found a partner are also showing double-digit returns. New Providence Acquisition Corp. II has a return on investment of more than 40 percent since it was launched in November 2021. What do you think about the future of SPACs? Share your thoughts and connect with experts on Pausefika to stay updated on the latest developments. #SPACs #Investment #Finance #IPO #Pausefika #Polestar

#SXSW24 starts in 2.5 weeks! I couldn't be more excited that Clearwater Benefits is hosting a Panel Discussion with CFOs, #Founders, and #VC Investors, "Financing Growth in a Tough Environment" for founders, business owners and executives of growing companies. Join us for a lively and insightful panel discussion on financing growth in today's challenging business landscape. This in-person event will take place at Capital Factory in Austin, TX, USA. Our esteemed panel includes Don Collis, the legendary CFO who led Dell Technologies to its IPO. Teja Yenamandra, founder and CEO of Gun.io will also share the stage. Hear from founders of thriving tech startups, and venture capital investors who will share their expertise and strategies for navigating growth through challenging financial terrain. Learn from the best in the industry as they discuss funding options, managing cash flow, and overcoming financial hurdles. Don't miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights and network with like-minded professionals. This event will fill up and $0 cost seats are limited, so reserve your spot today! https://lnkd.in/gvQdiMU7

🌟FCF DeepTech – Insight of the Month🌟   DeepTech IPO Deal Activity in Europe between ‘19 and ’23 – skyrocketing Activity in 2021, rock-bottom in 2022, uptick in 2023   📊 The last five years were quite turbulent for the global economy and capital markets (COVID, Ukraine war, energy crisis). Therefore, IPO Deal Volume and Deal Count in the European DeepTech sector was relatively low, ranging between approx. €650m and €850m and 11 to 28 listings, respectively.   🌍 However, DeepTech IPO activity skyrocketed in 2021 to €4.8bn and 63 public listings. This was mainly driven by the strong SPAC activities (Lilium (€704m), Arrival ((€551m), Vertical Aerospace Group (€349m), Navitas Semiconductor (€275m), Wallbox Energy (€213m), among others) and two large IPOs (Ebusco® (€300m), Buddi (€235)), accounting for approx. 57% of the 2021 annual deal volume.   📈 After a weak 2022, IPO activity in 2023 rose again to approx. €1.8bn. However, this peak was primarily fuelled by the two large listings from Zapp Electric Vehicles Group Limited (€649m) and thyssenkrupp nucera (€605m), accounting for >70% of the total 2023 volume raised.   💰 During the last 5 years, Lilium closed the largest DeepTech IPO deal in Europe with €704m issuing volume (SPAC) and ranks first in the top 5 table. Ranks 2-5 are occupied by Zapp Electric Vehicles Group Limited (€649m, SPAC), thyssenkrupp nucera (€605m), Arrival (€551m, SPAC) and Ferroamp (€531m).   To receive more information about FCF DeepTech, please click here: https://lnkd.in/gh2mFN4V   #fcffoxcorporatefinance #financingspecialist #corporatefinance #deeptech #vc #capital #vcinvestor #VentureCapital #Europe #EuropeInvestor #investments #fundraising #data #capitalmarkets #IPO

SoftBank Acquires Troubled British Chip Developer Graphcore SoftBank has recently acquired the British chip developer Graphcore, a company currently facing significant financial struggles. Over its existence, Graphcore managed to raise $700 million, reaching a peak valuation of $3 billion in 2020. Notable investors included Microsoft and Sequoia, with even business angel Ilya Sutskever on board. Despite these substantial investments, the company has struggled to generate revenue, reporting $2.7 million in revenue against over $200 million in losses for 2022. Now, SoftBank is acquiring Graphcore for $600 million, which is less than the total amount of investments the company received. For more details, check out the Financial Times report: https://lnkd.in/grn5DiHV #SoftBank #Graphcore #Acquisition #TechInvestment #ChipDeveloper #FinancialStruggles