A new unicorn joins the club

Top News

• Mobility startup enters unicorn status: The ride-hailing app Rapido just secured $200 million in Series E funding led by existing investor WestBridge Capital. This puts their valuation at $1.1 billion, catapulting the India-based startup into unicorn status. But this isn’t your typical Uber equivalent. Rapido offers bike taxis, auto-rickshaws, taxicabs, food delivery, and third-party logistics services. Last month, it was reported they brought in $1 billion in GMV with 2+ million orders per day. This is a great company to watch as they compete against large incumbents.

• India and Singapore join forces in chip deal: India and Singapore want to take advantage of tensions between the US and China and become bigger players in the global chip supply chain. The two countries signed agreements to “cultivate talent in chip design and manufacturing and facilitate Singaporean tech investment in India.” Given that Singapore houses some of Southeast Asia's largest chip manufacturing plants, like NXP Semiconductors NV and Micron Technology Inc, this seems like a pretty good deal.

• Verizon to acquire Frontier: The largest phone company in the US is set to acquire their telecom competitor, Frontier, for about $9.59 billion. Verizon stated that investors in Frontier will receive $38.50 a share, putting the company's value at $20 billion. In return, Verizon gets to build up its fiber-optic assets and grow its high-speed internet business. This deal may be the strategic move Verizon needs, especially since it puts their consumer fiber subscribers ahead of AT&T by 300K users.

The Race to IPO

Today, I bring you news of the buy now, pay later startup Zilch. It’s not on the TWiST500 but directly competes with TWiST500 company Klarna in the UK. The British fintech firm has reported its first month of profitability within four years of its founding date - outpacing competitors like Monzo. The company also announced it has doubled its annual revenue run rate to over £100 million ($130 million). How did they reach profitability so quickly? By growing instead of cutting back, despite the current high interest rates. Back in June, Zilch raised $125 million of initial debt financing from Deutsche Bank and has since added ex-Aviva CEO Mark Wilson to its board. CEO Philip Belamant even stated he was planning an IPO in the next 12-24 months. Klarna has also been eyeing a stock market listing in the medium term, so this is one race we’ll be keeping an eye on. — Erika

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This Week in Startups

Startup Legal Basics: Becki DeGraw from Wilson Sonsini talks with Jason about fundraising trends, M&A slowdown, regulatory challenges, and proposed reforms. They also get into compliance costs, cybersecurity, and legal strategies for startups, including data policies.

E2002: Rahul Vohra and Jason discuss Superhuman's premium email experience, highlighting its onboarding strategy and customer feedback focus. Rahul introduces Superhuman 2.0 features, including multiplayer email and AI-driven tools. They dig into AI's impact on podcast production, productivity, and communication with live demos of Superhuman's new capabilities. They end the show with insights into AI's future role in email management and team productivity.

E2001: Sunny joins Jason to explore AI demos, discussing the impact of Q4 on startups, Nvidia's market performance, and advancements in chip design for AI-driven technology. They dive into the experiences with ChatGPT-4 and Google's Gemini in Gmail, examining generative AI, SOC 2 compliance, and the integration of AI in business tools like LinkedIn and Gmail. The conversation also covers AI personalization, ethical considerations, legal challenges, and practical applications, concluding with insights on building apps, image generation tools, and evolving user interfaces.

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