AI inference chip startup Groq secures $1.5 billion from Saudi Arabia as a part of a $14.9B global data center
Artificial intelligence semiconductor company Groq has received a $1.5B commitment from Saudi Arabia to increase the number of AI processors going to the country for expanded LPU™ AI inference infrastructure.
Silicon Valley AI pioneer Groq has secured a $1.5 billion commitment from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) for expanded delivery of its advanced LPU-based AI inference infrastructure. Announced at LEAP 2025, this major agreement advances the Kingdom's position as a global leader in AI computing infrastructure while meeting rapidly growing regional demand.
This agreement follows the operational excellence Groq demonstrated in building the region's largest inference cluster in December 2024. Brought online in just eight days, the rapid installation established a critical AI hub to serve surging compute demand globally.
From its state-of-the-art data center in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, Groq is now delivering market-leading AI inference capabilities to customers worldwide through GroqCloud™. At LEAP 2025, Jonathan Ross, CEO and Founder of Groq, alongside Tareq Almin and Ahmad O. Al-Khowaiter, Chief Technology Officer of Saudi Aramco, demonstrated reasoning LLMs, a KSA-created model Allam, and text to speech models in English and Arabic running live.
The $1.5 billion commitment towards Groq AI infrastructure represents a defining moment for both Groq and the Kingdom to deliver on the Vision 2030 goal of an AI-powered economy in Saudi Arabia.
"It's an honor for Groq to be supporting the Kingdom's 2030 vision," said Jonathan Ross, CEO and Founder of Groq. "We are excited to work alongside Saudi innovators to shape the next chapter of AI."
The startup has an existing agreement with Aramco Digital, the technology subsidiary of oil major Aramco, through which the companies built a critical AI hub in the region in December.
Groq told Reuters it will receive funds over the course of this year to expand its existing data center in Dammam. The company's chips, which specialize in fast responses from chatbots and other large language models, are subject to U.S. export controls, but Groq said it has obtained the licenses it needs to ship them to Dammam.
The commitment was announced at Saudi's global technology event, LEAP 2025. At this event, the country secured $14.9 billion in fresh AI investments.
One of the technologies that the Dammam data center will support is an AI technology called Allam, an AI language model that works in both Arabic and English and was developed by the Saudi government.
In August, Groq clinched a valuation of $2.8 billion after raising $640 million in a funding round led by Cisco Investments, Samsung Catalyst Fund and BlackRock Private Equity Partners.
Learn more about how Groq is changing the AI industry at groq.com and if you're interested in access to GroqCloud, learn more here.
About Groq
Groq builds fast AI inference technology. GroqCloud™ delivers exceptional AI compute speed, quality, and energy efficiency for enterprises and developers with its LPU™ AI inference technology. Groq, headquartered in Silicon Valley, provides cloud and on-prem solutions at scale for AI applications. The LPU and related systems are designed, fabricated, and assembled in North America. Build fast with Groq at groq.com.
Media Contact
LemFi raises $53m Series B to accelerate their global remittence and payments platform
LemFi is transforming how immigrant communities access financial services, starting with international remittance and payments to ease financial hurdles. The platform enables diaspora communities in Europe and North America to move money reliably and affordably to emerging markets, including China, India, Kenya, Nigeria and Pakistan.
ALSO READ
LemFi moves remittances further into Asia and Europe with $53M in new funding - Techcrunch
Lemfi, a remittance startup serving African immigrants across 22 countries, has raised $53 million in a Series B round to support its expansion into Europe through the acquisition of a European firm.
The round was led by Highland Europe, a London-based growth-stage investment firm that only backs startups with more than €10 million in annualised revenues, and with follow-on investment from existing investors like Endeavor Catalyst, Left Lane Capital, Palm Drive Capital, and Y Combinator. This round means the startup has received $85 million in funding since it was founded in 2019 by Ridwan Olalere and Rian Cochran.
Lemfi’s expansion into Europe came off the back of a partnership with Modulr, but its acquisition of an unnamed Republic of Ireland-based company will allow it to begin its European operations independently from next month. The startup makes money from transaction fees and foreign exchange spreads across the countries it operates in.
The funding will allow Lemfi to acquire more licenses and partnerships as it expands its offerings to include localised services for customers. Lemfi is set to launch a card for customers in the US, the UK and Canada. It will also hire staff as it continues to grow rapidly.
Lemfi is now processing $1 billion in monthly payment volume, a significant jump from 2023 when it processed $2 billion in annual transaction volume. The startup has also doubled users, revenue, and transactions over the past two years. Olalere credited the growth to strong adoption in the Asian corridor, which rakes in $160 million in monthly TPV and is growing 30% month-on-month since it launched last year.
After expanding into the US in 2023, the startup entered large remittance markets like China, India, and Pakistan in 2024. It entered these markets by poaching C-suite executives from domestic companies like Terrapay, DeliveryHero, and OPay.
TrueFoundry closes $19 Million Series A to transform AI deployment at scale powered by their AI DevOps Agents
With funding led by Intel Capital, TrueFoundry empowers enterprises to build and deploy AI applications with unparalleled efficiency and governance.
AI isn’t just about models anymore—it’s about full-stack AI systems. Companies aren’t just deploying one AI model—they’re managing multiple models, external tools, vector databases, and complex workflows. Yet, AI infrastructure remains the biggest bottleneck.
That’s why the founders built TrueFoundry, to bring AI deployment on autopilot, enabling enterprises to focus on innovation instead of infrastructure.
FOLLOW TRUEFOUNDRY on LinkedIn | YouTube | Twitter
TrueFoundry, a leading AI deployment and scaling platform, today announced it raised $19 million in Series A funding, led by Intel Capital. Existing investors Eniac Ventures and Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India & SEA) participated, alongside new investor Jump Capital and several angel investors including Gokul Rajaram, Mohit Aron, Cyan Banister, and executives from Fortune 1000s. In conjunction with the financing, Avi Bharadwaj, Investment Director at Intel Capital, will join TrueFoundry’s board of directors.
The rapid rise of generative AI has made deploying machine learning models from development to production increasingly challenging. Enterprises grapple with governance, data privacy, and rising infrastructure costs like GPU orchestration and model scaling, which slow innovation and limit the impact of AI. TrueFoundry’s platform tackles these pain points head-on, enabling companies to deploy, manage, and scale AI applications seamlessly, securely, and cost-effectively.
“Enterprises using TrueFoundry have built and launched their internal AI platforms in as little as two months, achieving ROI within four months–a stark contrast to the industry average of 14 months,” said Nikunj Bajaj, CEO & Co-founder of TrueFoundry. “Our platform integrates seamlessly across clouds, models, and frameworks, ensuring no vendor lock-in while future-proofing deployments for evolving AI patterns like RAGs and Agents.”
TrueFoundry’s unified platform as a service (PaaS) enables enterprise AI/ML teams to build, deploy, and manage large language model (LLM) applications on cloud or on-prem infrastructure with speed, scalability, and security. With a developer-first interface, it simplifies the AI deployment process, empowering full-stack data scientists to independently create, test, and scale applications. The platform integrates essential AI deployment functions—from model cataloging and fine-tuning to API
deployment—into a single system, ensuring secure, efficient operations while bridging the gap between DevOps and MLOps.
This funding round follows a year of significant achievements for TrueFoundry, including:
● A 4X year-over-year growth in customer base
● Deploying 1,000+ clusters across clients for ML workloads
● Partnering with Fortune 500 companies and enterprises such as Siemens Healthineers, Resmed,
Automation Anywhere, Games 24x7, and NVIDIA.
TrueFoundry has helped customers accelerate development cycles, achieve 10X faster business value, save on infrastructure costs, and scale with smaller teams. For example, TrueFoundry optimized NVIDIA’s GPU usage for LLM workloads by automating resource allocation and job scheduling, reducing idle time, cutting costs, and improving efficiency. The platform’s real-time monitoring and adaptive scaling ensured reliable AI model training and deployment, while seamless integration sped up iteration and time-to-value.
"TrueFoundry is uniquely positioned to address the growing complexities of AI deployment. Their platform simplifies the process for AI teams, enabling them to build, deploy, and scale applications with speed and efficiency,” said Avi Bharadwaj, Investment Director at Intel Capital. “With a focus on cost-efficiency, governance, and security, TrueFoundry is solving critical challenges for businesses, and we believe they are poised to lead in the rapidly expanding AI infrastructure market."
The Series A funding–which brings the company’s total financing to $21 million–will allow TrueFoundry to accelerate its mission toward building a universal platform to build and deploy AI applications with zero infrastructure hassles. It fuels growth in key areas, including team expansion and go-to-market efforts to drive customer acquisition and expansion.
"At TrueFoundry, we’re building a future where AI manages AI–removing the bottlenecks of human intervention and unlocking unparalleled speed and scale,” said Abhishek Choudhary, CTO & Co-founder of TrueFoundry. “Our platform streamlines infrastructure with auto-scaling, intelligent maintenance, and proactive issue detection to ensure smooth operations. By centralizing model access, cost tracking, and maintaining zero data leakage, we ensure security and compliance, empowering businesses to deploy AI seamlessly and efficiently at scale."
Looking ahead, TrueFoundry aims to redefine AI deployment with its AI Agent—a proactive, self-sustaining system that anticipates and adapts. By automating workflows, optimizing resources, and resolving potential issues before they arise, the AI Agent ensures enterprises can deploy smarter, scale faster, and achieve AI-driven results with unprecedented efficiency.
About TrueFoundry
TrueFoundry is an enterprise platform as a service that empowers enterprise AI/ML teams to build, deploy, and manage large language model applications at scale with speed, cost-efficiency, and robust governance. Designed for full-stack data scientists, it simplifies the end-to-end AI deployment process, offering features like auto-scaling, proactive maintenance, and centralized access controls. TrueFoundry’s vision is to create a self-sustaining AI ecosystem where AI manages AI, driving unparalleled speed, scale, and innovation for businesses. To learn more about TrueFoundry, visit www.truefoundry.com.
Apptronik robotics partners with Google DeepMind to advance AI-powered humanoid robots
The Apprtonik strategic partnership with Google Deepmind Robotics will drive new frontiers in embodied AI, bringing useful, general-purpose humanoids to the world.
ALSO READ:
Mercedes begins piloting Apptronik humanoid robots - Techcrunch
Apptronik’s Apollo humanoid robot gets to work at CES 2025 - Techcrunch
Apptronik, the AI-powered humanoid robotics company, announced it had entered a strategic partnership agreement with the Google DeepMind robotics team. The partnership will bring together best-in-class artificial intelligence with cutting-edge hardware and embodied intelligence, advancing humanoid robots that can be more helpful to people in dynamic environments.
“We’re building a future where humanoid robots address urgent global challenges,” said Jeff Cardenas, CEO and co-founder of Apptronik. “By combining Apptronik’s cutting-edge robotics platform with the Google DeepMind robotics team’s unparalleled AI expertise, we’re creating intelligent, versatile and safe robots that will transform industries and improve lives. United by a shared commitment to excellence, our two companies are poised to redefine the future of humanoid robotics.”
Apptronik has one of the most established legacies in humanoid robotics, positioning it as the leading platform built for the AI age. Founded in 2016 out of the Human Centered Robotics Lab at the University of Texas at Austin, Apptronik brings nearly a decade of expertise in human-centered design and hardware engineered for safety and reliability. After building and testing 15 different types of robots, including NASA’s Valkyrie Robot, Apptronik developed the current iteration of Apollo. Standing 5 feet 8 inches and weighing 160 pounds, Apollo is designed to perform physically demanding tasks and operate safely in industrial spaces alongside humans. Its thoughtfully crafted, approachable design balances complexity and functionality, earning praise from customers and partners alike.
Google DeepMind’s robotics team has been at the forefront of AI and robotics. It brings together world-class expertise from machine learning, engineering, and physics simulation, around the hardest challenges facing the development of AI-powered robots. From pioneering advancements in foundation models to leveraging state-of-the-art AI models like Gemini, Google DeepMind’s robotics team is developing advanced AI systems that can support robotics applications, enabling reasoning and action in the real world.
This partnership builds on Apptronik’s rapid momentum. In just under a year since unveiling Apollo, the company has partnered with industry leaders like GXO and Mercedes-Benz, with more exciting collaborations set to be announced next year.
To see Apollo in action, watch Google DeepMind’s video
About Apptronik
Apptronik is a human-centered robotics company developing AI-powered humanoid robots. Our goal is to create human helpers to support humanity in every facet of life. Our robot, Apollo, is designed to collaborate thoughtfully with humans—initially in critical industries such as manufacturing and logistics, with future applications in healthcare, the home, and beyond. Apollo is the culmination of nearly a decade of development, drawing on Apptronik’s extensive work on 15 previous robots, including NASA’s Valkyrie robot. Apptronik started out of the Human Centered Robotics Lab at the University of Texas at Austin and has 150 employees.
Media Contact:
Narrative I/O Launches New Partnership with Yahoo DSP, Empowering First-Party Data Activation and Accelerating Data Monetization
Another big step in the world of digital advertising and data collaboration. Narrative’s new integration with Yahoo DSP is making it easier than ever for advertisers to activate their first-party data and for data providers to monetize their assets—fast.
With this data collaboration integration, users can:
✅ Seamlessly match data with Yahoo ConnectID
✅ Reduce time-to-market from months to days
✅ Effortlessly manage segmentation, taxonomy, and pricing
✅ Gain a holistic view of campaign performance with Yahoo DSP
As privacy shifts reshape digital advertising, the ability to activate first-party data efficiently is more critical than ever. Our Yahoo DSP Connector ensures businesses stay ahead.
ALSO READ:
Narrative Unveils LLM Fine-Tuning Platform and Rosetta Stone 2.0, Pioneering a New Era of Data Normalization and Custom Model Training
Narrative I/O introduces Narrative Anywhere, Powered by Snowflake, to enhance data collaboration on the Snowflake AI Data Cloud
Narrative I/O, the leader in data collaboration, is proud to announce a new partnership with Yahoo DSP. This innovative addition to Narrative's platform enables advertisers to activate their own first-party data and data providers to monetize their data more efficiently within Yahoo's Demand-Side Platform (DSP) from the very start. Through this integration businesses can seamlessly match their data with Yahoo ConnectID and leverage them for omnichannel campaigns in the Yahoo DSP in a privacy-centric way.
Empowering Data Activation and Monetization
In partnership with Yahoo DSP, we are revolutionizing how users and data providers interact with their data by:
- Accelerating Data Monetization: Data providers can reduce their time to market from months to weeks, quickly preparing and launching data products within Yahoo's marketplace or to specific advertisers.
- Future-proofed First-Party Data activation: Users can send their data segments directly to their Yahoo advertiser seat, and seamlessly match them against Yahoo ConnectID, an identity solution that's resilient in signal loss.
- Efficient Data Segmentation: Utilize Narrative's intuitive UI, AI capabilities, or APIs to slice datasets into valuable sub-datasets tailored for specific market needs.
- Simplified Taxonomy Management: Easily create and manage taxonomies with segment-level pricing, ensuring accurate and dynamic offerings.
- Real-Time Updates: Adjust taxonomies in real-time to meet evolving market demands without delays.
- Holistic Measurement: Yahoo DSP passes back measurement log files for a holistic view of campaign performance
"At Narrative, our mission is to empower businesses to unlock the full potential of their data assets from day one," said Tim Mahlman, Chief Executive Officer at Narrative I/O. "By launching our Yahoo DSP Connector, we're enabling users to activate their first-party data and monetize their data efficiently. With our intuitive tools for data segmentation and seamless integration, we're transforming how businesses engage with the advertising ecosystem."
"Providing choice and control for Yahoo DSP advertisers is a priority for us. We are thrilled to partner with Narrative to offer advertisers an efficient and scalable way to connect with more data providers and seamlessly target their audiences on Yahoo DSP. This integration simplifies access to premium data and drives measurable outcomes. Together, we're creating new opportunities for success in today's competitive digital landscape." - Giovanni Gardelli, VP, Ads Data Products, Yahoo DSP
Key Benefits for Users and Data Providers
By connecting directly with Yahoo DSP through Narrative, users and data suppliers can:
- Activate and Target First-Party Data: Advertisers can utilize their data segments for precise targeting in display and video campaigns within Yahoo's DSP.
- Customize Data Offerings: Create tailored data products to meet specific advertiser needs, enhancing the appeal and effectiveness of their offerings.
- Optimize Revenue Streams: Implement dynamic, segment-level pricing to maximize revenue potential.
- Streamline Processes: Avoid duplication and resource-intensive steps traditionally associated with data syndication, completing integrations within a day.
Availability
This is now available to all Narrative I/O users. Businesses interested in leveraging this new capability can access it through the Narrative platform for immediate integration, activation, and monetization opportunities.
About Narrative I/O
Narrative I/O is the leader in data collaboration, providing businesses with powerful tools to simplify data acquisition, integration, and monetization. Our platform enables organizations to control their data, efficiently segment it, optionally enrich it through third-party sources, and activate it across multiple endpoints like Yahoo DSP—all within a day. This accelerates time to market and drives innovation and growth through enhanced data collaboration.
For more information about Narrative I/O and the new Yahoo DSP Connector, visit narrative.io.
Logistics fintech leader RoadSync and Tai join forces to revolutionize payment processing in logistics
Tai Software has announced a strategic partnership with RoadSync, a leading technology company specializing in freight payment solutions. This alliance is designed to improve payment processing and simplify back-office operations for freight brokers and third-party logistics providers (3PLs), enhancing overall productivity.
“Our collaboration with Tai delivers cutting-edge payment infrastructure for carriers, accelerating transactions and simplifying operations for brokers,” said Robin Gregg, CEO of RoadSync. “This integration underscores our dedication to advancing payments across the logistics industry, making processes faster, smarter, and more reliable.”
RoadSync’s best-in-class technology enables digital payments in under 60 seconds, significantly reducing the turnaround time between carrier invoice and final settlement. When integrated with Tai’s TMS, brokers gain seamless synchronization of carrier profiles, automatic payment recording, and instant shipment data integration. These features help eliminate costly and time-consuming reconciliation challenges, minimize manual data entry, and offer visibility into potential issues upfront.
“At Tai, we remain focused on empowering freight brokers and 3PLs with technology that simplifies operations and enhances efficiency,” said Daniel Ely, CPO at Tai Software. “Our partnership with RoadSync brings transformative payment capabilities directly into the Tai platform, allowing our customers to expedite workflows, improve transparency, and concentrate on driving their businesses forward. Together, we’re reshaping what’s possible in logistics payment processing.”
Through this partnership, freight brokers will benefit from the combined capabilities of two software powerhouses dedicated to helping clients save time, reduce costs, and elevate the value of their technology solutions.
To learn more about Tai Software, visit www.taisoftware.com. To learn more about RoadSync, please visit https://roadsync.com/. For more information about the Tai-RoadSync integration, please contact Vanessa Galvis, Marketing Director, at vanessa.galvis@tai-software.com.
About Tai
Tai Software is a fully integrated freight management platform that drives brokers' efficiency and growth. Tai TMS automates operations for both Full Truckload (FTL) and Less-than-Truckload (LTL) shipments, integrating seamlessly with major carriers and technology partners. With over 500 tool integrations and over 20 years of industry innovation, freight brokers trust Tai TMS to simplify their processes and focus on strategic business growth.
About RoadSync
RoadSync is the digital financial platform for the logistics industry. By removing paper and phone calls from business transactions, RoadSync offers a fast, convenient, and secure way to move and manage money and conduct business, dramatically reducing payment processing time and maximizing revenue collection. RoadSync offers payment products for warehouses, carriers, brokers, repair/tow merchants, and drivers, integrating and automating the financial systems fueling the logistics industry. For more information, visit www.roadsync.com.
Bitget crypto exchange lists Foresight Ventures-backed Analog ANLOG token on launch pool
Bitget, the leading cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 company, has announced the listing of ANLOG token. Eligible users will have the opportunity to lock Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) to participate in a reward pool of 23,333,431 ANLOG tokens. The locking period will run from February 6, 2025, at 11:00 UTC to February 11, 2025, at 11:00 UTC.
Analog operates as a suite of omni-chain interoperability protocols designed to simplify access to Web3 data and facilitate seamless cross-chain communication. With a total token supply of 9,057,971,000 ANLOG, the project aims to address critical challenges in blockchain interoperability, enabling more efficient data sharing and communication across decentralized networks.
The Launchpool campaign is structured into two locking pools: one for BTC and another for ETH. Each pool offers 11,666,715 and 11,666,716 ANLOG tokens, respectively. Rewards will be distributed hourly based on the proportion of assets locked by each participant relative to the total locked in the pool. Bitget will take hourly snapshots of locked volumes, with airdrops calculated and distributed accordingly. Participants can unlock their tokens at any time, and all locked assets will be automatically returned to their spot accounts once the locking period concludes.
This initiative marks a pivotal step for Analog as it prepares to expand its ecosystem and enhance cross-chain functionality. The integration with Bitget Launchpool provides users with an early opportunity to engage with the project while contributing to its growing community.
Analog has secured $5 million in a recent funding round, bringing its total funding to $21 million and valuing the company at $300 million. This investment precedes the launch of its native token, ANLOG, scheduled for February 6, 2025. The round attracted backing from top VCs such as Foresight Ventures, Gate Ventures, BackerDAO, and Black Label Ventures. Previously, Bitget listed ANLOG for pre-market trading allowing users to engage in ANLOG transactions ahead of its official spot market debut.
For more information about ANALOG tokens on Launchpool, please visit here.
About Bitget
Established in 2018, Bitget is the world's leading cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 company. Serving over 100 million users in 150+ countries and regions, the Bitget exchange is committed to helping users trade smarter with its pioneering copy trading feature and other trading solutions, while offering real-time access to Bitcoin price, Ethereum price, and other cryptocurrency prices. Formerly known as BitKeep, Bitget Wallet is a world-class multi-chain crypto wallet that offers an array of comprehensive Web3 solutions and features including wallet functionality, token swap, NFT Marketplace, DApp browser, and more.
Bitget is at the forefront of driving crypto adoption through strategic partnerships, such as its role as the Official Crypto Partner of the World's Top Football League, LALIGA, in EASTERN, SEA and LATAM market, as well as a global partner of Turkish National athletes Buse Tosun Çavuşoğlu (Wrestling world champion), Samet Gümüş (Boxing gold medalist) and İlkin Aydın (Volleyball national team), to inspire the global community to embrace the future of cryptocurrency.
For more information, visit: Website | Twitter | Telegram | LinkedIn | Discord | Bitget Wallet
For media inquiries, please contact: media@bitget.com
AlphaSense record award wins for AI innovation in 2024
AlphaSense, the leading market intelligence and search platform, today celebrated a landmark year of achievements in 2024, including record-breaking industry and individual award wins from prestigious organizations such as CNBC, Fast Company, Fortune, Inc., and more.
The accolades underscore AlphaSense's leadership in AI-driven market intelligence and its commitment to empowering decision-makers worldwide. Trusted by 88% of the S&P 100 and 80% of the top asset management firms, AlphaSense's innovative AI search capabilities and vast content library are indispensable tools for confident and efficient decision-making.
Top award wins in 2024 included:
- Inc.'s 2024 Best in Business list, which celebrates organizations and leaders for superior execution across all facets of entrepreneurial business
- Fortune's AI 50 Innovators annual list, highlighting the top companies driving the adoption of cutting-edge AI technologies
- Fast Company's Next Big Things in Tech for its Generative Search tool
- Fast Company's Best Workplaces for Innovators list and a finalist for the Artificial Intelligence and Robotics list
- 2024 CNBC Disruptor 50 list, awarded to the 50 fastest-growing and most innovative private companies disrupting their industries
- 2024 Inc. Best Workplaces list, which recognized the company's workplace culture and opportunities for employees
- Three recognitions from WatersTechnology, including best artificial intelligence (AI) technology provider, best AI/machine learning data initiative and best AI technology
- Fintech Global's AI Fintech 100, celebrating the world's most innovative AI solution providers for financial services
"These recognitions are a testament to the transformative impact of AlphaSense's AI-driven search capabilities and our team's dedication to pushing the boundaries of what's possible," said Heather Zynczak, Chief Marketing Officer at AlphaSense. "2024 was a pivotal year for us, not just in terms of awards but in our ability to deliver meaningful value to our customers. As we move into 2025, these achievements inspire us to continue innovating and scaling our solutions globally."
The market intelligence leader also celebrates accolades for its leadership team:
- Heather Zynczak, Chief Marketing Officer: Chief Marketing Officer of the Year Award, Women in Tech Global Awards and Gold Stevie Award for Female Executive of the Year - Business Products (11 to 2,500 Employees), The American Business Awards
- Kiva Kolstein, President and Chief Revenue Officer: Pavilion GTM Award's 'CRO of the Year', Gold Stevie Award for Worldwide Sales Executive of the Year, Stevie Awards For Sales & Customer Service, and The Modern Sale and Collective[i]'s Top 100 Global Sales Leaders of 2024.
- Stephen Lynch, EVP of Product Development: Gold Stevie Award for Product Development/Management Executive of the Year, The American Business Awards
Building on this momentum, AlphaSense is poised for another groundbreaking year in 2025. The company plans to further expand its content and data offerings, enhance its AI capabilities, and deepen its impact across industries and geographies, reaffirming its role as the trusted partner for AI-driven market intelligence.
About AlphaSense
The world's most sophisticated companies rely on AlphaSense to remove uncertainty from decision-making. With market intelligence and search built on proven AI, AlphaSense delivers insights that matter from content you can trust. Our universe of public and private content includes equity research, company filings, event transcripts, expert calls, news, trade journals, and clients' own research content. Founded in 2011, AlphaSense is headquartered in New York City with over 2,000 people across the globe and offices in the U.S., U.K., Finland, India, Singapore, Canada, and Ireland. For more information, please visit www.alpha-sense.com.
Media Contact:
Remi Duhé
Email: media@alpha-sense.com
Lemfi finance expands European markets with the acquisition of Irish currency exchange Bureau Buttercrane
The Central Bank of Ireland has granted regulatory approval for LemFi's acquisition of Irish Fintech, Bureau Buttercrane Limited. With this, we inherit their Payment Institution License, enabling us to offer our services in the European Economic Area (EEA).
Lemfi, a financial services platform for immigrants operating in 22 countries, has acquired the Irish currency exchange platform Bureau Buttercrane, marking a key step in its European expansion. The deal, which received regulatory approval from the Central Bank of Ireland, enables Lemfi to use its Irish licence to operate across the European Economic Area (EEA), unlocking new growth opportunities.
The acquisition is a strategic move to ensure regulatory compliance in Europe post-Brexit. While Lemfi already holds a British license from its 2021 acquisition of RightCard, it couldn’t process European transactions directly. The Irish license allows it to operate in all EEA countries using a system called passporting.
‘Rather than focusing on [Buttercane’s] tech stack or profitability, the acquisition was driven by our need to secure the right regulatory framework for our expansion,” said Ridwan Olalere, Lemfi’s CEO. “We already have the technology; this was a strategic acquisition to ensure smooth and compliant operations across Europe.”
The deal comes 21 days after Lemfi told customers it could operate in Europe using a partnership with Dutch company Modulr Finance. “We established that partnership because we wanted to start operating in Europe while pushing for an approval from the Central Bank of Ireland,” Olalere said.
That approval came quickly because Lemfi had “the right team and followed the correct processes.” “If another European regulator has already approved you in the past, it works in your favor because it shows credibility,” Olalere said.
With the deal completed, Lemfi plans to make Dublin its European headquarters, hire local staff, and deepen its relationship with regulators as part of its long-term strategy. Given its track record in Asia and Africa—Lemfi processes $1 billion in monthly payment volume— the company is positioned to tap into the $64 billion European remittance market.
Operating in multiple markets is necessary for growth for remittance startups, yet expansion comes with unique challenges. “Europe is a big, complicated market with different payment methods, rules, and preferences across countries. We’re optimistic about growth, but it’s a challenging landscape.”
As Lemfi builds its European base, integrating local payment methods will be crucial. “In France, a common payment method is called “Carte Bancaire,” which isn’t Visa or Mastercard. If you enter the French market without supporting this method, you’re missing out on a significant user base,” Olalere said.
Nevertheless, Lemfi remains optimistic, drawing on the lessons from its successful Asian expansion. Buoyed by a recent $53 million Series B raise and strong investor confidence, Lemfi is carving out space in the competitive remittance market and positioning itself to challenge competitors head-on.
For remittance startups, operating in multiple markets is necessary for growth, as serving more corridors (US to India, Europe to Africa), increases its revenue base. More corridors mean a broader and stickier user base as customers are likely to remain loyal if they see the company as a one-stop solution for sending money to different places.
Stoke Space closes $260 million Series C to fuel reusable Nova rocket launch and facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Reusable rocket startup Stoke Space locked up a $260 million Series C as the space tech sector looks to build off a successful 2024 in terms of fundraising.
Also Read:
Bill Gates-Backed Stoke Space Lands $260 Million to Build Out a Fully Reusable Rocket
Stoke Space hotfires rocket engine on new vertical test stand — a ‘very big deal’ for Washington startup
Stoke Space, the rocket company building the world’s first 100% reusable medium-lift rocket, announced today that it has raised $260 million in new Series C investment to drive continued growth and innovation. This investment more than doubles the company’s total funding, bringing it to $480 million.
The funding round involves new and existing investors including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Glade Brook Capital Partners, Industrious Ventures, Leitmotif, Point72 Ventures, Seven Seven Six, the University of Michigan, Woven Capital, and Y Combinator, among others.
This Series C funding round reflects the growing demand for Stoke’s innovative approach to creating ultra-low-cost on-demand space transportation, as well as the exceptional progress the company has made in developing the fully reusable solutions that make low-cost access to and from space possible.
“We deeply appreciate the confidence investors have placed in Stoke and our mission,” said Andy Lapsa, CEO and co-founder of Stoke Space. “This new investment validates our progress and enables us to accelerate the development of technologies that will redefine access to and from space.”
The funding round comes just weeks after the company’s successful vertical test firing of its first-stage Zenith engine on its new, state-of-the-art test stand in Moses Lake, Washington. With Zenith, Stoke became one of only two entities globally to successfully develop and test a full-flow staged combustion engine, the type of rocket engine with the highest possible efficiency. Stoke has also pioneered the world’s first actively cooled metallic reentry heat shield, which is integrated into its high-efficiency upper-stage engine and enables full and rapid reuse.
“Rapid and reliable reuse of a rocket’s upper stage is the last big challenge to solve before mobility to and from space becomes akin to other forms of transportation,” said Lapsa. “It represents a significant inflection in the space economy, and in turn opens the door to an incredible set of business opportunities that make life more vibrant on and off Earth.”
Stoke intends to use the new funding to complete construction at the historic Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, which has been allocated by the United States Space Force for dedicated use by Stoke’s Nova launch vehicle. Launch Complex 14 was host to John Glenn’s iconic Friendship 7 flight in 1962, which made him the first American to reach orbit. The funds will also be used to finalize the development of Nova, and for enhancements to Stoke’s private test facility and manufacturing headquarters.
About Stoke Space
Stoke is scaling the space economy by providing low-cost, on-demand transport to, through, and from space. It’s developing the fully and rapidly reusable Nova rocket and other space vehicles designed to operate with aircraft-like frequency. Stoke’s technology development has been funded by the United States Space Force, DIU, NASA, the National Science Foundation, and other government and private partners.
Contacts
For further information: John Taylor, Stoke PR: (571) 437 – 4685; jtaylor@stokespace.com