✈️ Crisis (not) averted

Belarus case explained, Smart rings that pay, FarEye raises Series E and some more updates.

May 25, 2021

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Read Time: 830 words, 4:09 minutes.

There’s so much to cover today so let’s get started.

First up,

Market Snapshot 📈

Sensex: 50,637.53 (-0.028%) ↓

Nifty 50: 15,208.45 (+0.071%) ↑

Dow Jones: 34,393.98 (+0.54%) ↑

Nasdaq 100: 13,641.75 (+1.72%) ↑

Bitcoin: $37,065.88

Top Stories 📰

1. Belarus flight diversion timeline explained 🛬

What happened? On May 23, a Ryanair aircraft travelling from Greece to Lithuania received a bomb threat from Belarusian flight controllers. The country's military sent a MiG-29 fighter jet to ensure the crew's compliance and forced the plane to land in Belarus.

Soon after landing, Belarusian authorities immediately arrested Raman Pratasevich, a dissident journalist who faces riot charges for his Telegram channel that was key in organizing protests against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Where are we now? The EU, the US, the UK, and Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary have collectively condemned Belarus' actions and have called for the release of Pratasevich.

The EU has urged all EU-based carriers to avoid flying over Belarus and has imposed sanctions against Belarus, essentially banning the country's airlines from using the 27-nation bloc's airports and airspace. Britain has also barred Belavia, Belarus' national airline, from operating in the UK airspace.

Why it matters? In August 2020, Lukashenko was re-elected in a landslide victory against the opposition, who accused him of rigging the elections. What ensued was months of protests accompanied by over 34,000 arrests, proving to be the strongest challenge for Lukashenko since his election in 1994.

However, Belarusian authorities found that Pratasevich’s Telegram channel was essential in organizing demonstrations. While Pratasevich had left the country in 2019, he was charged with inciting mass riots in absentia, and if convicted, faces 15 years in prison.

2. One ring to rule them all... 💍

A Japanese company is revolutionizing the entire shopping experience for customers.

MTG Co., a company that manufactures beauty and health care product, has developed 'Evering,' a chip-embedded ring made out of zirconia (a synthetic crystal) that will act as a one-stop digital wallet, allowing people to pay for drinks in stores or even lock their doors when going for a run.

The ring, which is waterproof and doesn't require charging, is linked to a credit card that allows users to access their payment histories on the phone. It's currently priced at 19,800 yen ($182) in Japan.

This month, the company announced that it's agreed to sell the first batch of 3000 pieces to Visa before opening for general sale. MTG Co. also revealed its future plans to expand Evering's applications into public transportation, sharing economy, etc.

Why it matters? The pandemic has intensified the need for touchless payments. American retailers like 7-Eleven, Foot Locker, and Aldi have recently added tap-and-go smartphone payments and self-checkout stands to facilitate a contactless shopping experience. In India, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has recently partnered with PayCore — a global payment solutions company based in Turkey - to develop SoftPoS solutions for its card payment network RuPay.

3. Today’s big deals 🎉

Crypto monitoring firm raises $20 million in Series A
Solidus Labs, a surveillance startup that flags market manipulation across digital asset trading platforms, has raised a $20 million Series A led by Evolution Equity Partners. The deal comes as US regulators seek to improve their cryptocurrency monitoring abilities to detect illicit transactions. Avon Ventures, Hanaco Ventures, 645 Ventures, FTX (crypto exchange), along with former CFTC chairman Chris Giancarlo and former SEC Commissioner Troy Paredes, participated in the fundraising round. Founded by former Goldman Sachs employees in late 2017, Solidus aims to help companies detect manipulation through their compliance and risk-monitoring tools for the digital asset sector. Back in 2019, the company raised a $3.75 million seed round led by Hanaco Ventures.
SaaS startup FarEye fetches $100 million
FarEye, a Noida-based SaaS startup that helps companies optimize their global supply chain, has raised $100 million in a Series E round. The fundraising was led by Dragoneer Investment Group and TCV, with participation from existing investors including, Fundamentum, Eight Roads Ventures, and Honeywell. FarEye, which has raised $153 million, plans to use the capital to expand its operations to the international markets. The company’s flagship delivery management software allows firms to reduce operational costs, improve customer experience, and provide end-to-end logistics visibility that supports the entire supply chain. So far, FarEye has processed more than 100 million transactions per month and has worked with around 150 e-commerce companies globally, including Walmart, Gordon Foods, UPS, and Amway.