❌it's off
Pentagon ends Amazon-Microsoft tussle, Didi's post-IPO mess, and some more updates.
Hey👋
Welcome to In The Loop➰
A biweekly newsletter that brings you valuable insights from finance, business, and tech to help you take your net worth #ToTheMoon🚀
Sounds good? Sign up below 👇
Read time: 750 words, 3:45 minutes
This week’s financial tip 💰
It's always a good idea to review your investments every year to see whether you're aligned with your financial objectives. Here's how you can do it:
Ask yourself -
Is my investment strategy on track to meet my goals?
Am I saving taxes through my investments?
Is my income safeguarded against future uncertainties?
But that's not all. Your annual investment review should have some more questions.
Top Stories 📰
1. Didi's post-IPO party is cancelled 😔
After launching a $4.4 billion IPO last week, Didi Chuxing's shares plunged amid China’s investigation into the company’s data security measures and a wider probe into overseas listings by Chinese firms.
The result? Didi's shares fell 20% to $12.49, almost $2 below its $14 price from its initial public offering on June 30. The drop wiped out nearly $15 billion of its market value, stunning investors and one of its largest backers, Alibaba Group, which faced similar antitrust investigation during Ant Group's $35 billion IPO back in February.
Additionally, two other Chinese firms that recently went public—Kanzhun and Full Track—also faced similar restrictions.
Data security: China's new security crackdown is part of President Xi Jinping's broader campaign to bring the nation's tech firms under control. Regulators have ordered Apple and other app operators to remove Didi from their listing, saying that Didi violates China's cybersecurity rules.
Overseas Listing: China has been recently revamping its regulatory oversight on companies trading in offshore markets. While there's still uncertainty over its implementation, some believe that it could impact the long-term profitability of tech firms.
Why it matters? Up until recently, China was seen as a country with incredible growth opportunities. However, the regulatory crackdowns have forced many to rethink their investments in the country.
2. Pentagon scraps $10 billion JEDI contract ⚔️
Microsoft dealt a hard blow after the Pentagon announced that it's scrapping the $10 billion cloud-computing contract awarded to the company by the Trump administration.
In a news release, the Defense Department said that the contract “no longer meets its needs,” adding that it would now welcome new players, including Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Oracle, and IBM, in the bidding process of a new contract called ‘Joint Warfighter Cloud Capability.’
Wait, let's rewind: In 2019, Microsoft beat Amazon to secure the 10-year Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure Cloud (JEDI) contract, which is part of a broad modernisation of the Pentagon's IT systems. But Amazon contested the decision, accusing then-US President Donald Trump of exerting "improper pressure" on the Defense Department to award the contract to Microsoft.
The outcome: Microsoft's stock fell 0.4% following the news. Meanwhile, Amazon jumped 4.7% to 3,675.74, raising Jeff Bezos's net worth by $8.4 billion and making him the world's richest man with a $211 billion fortune just as he officially hands over the reins of the e-commerce giant to Andy Jassy.
Why it matters? The global cloud computing market size is huge and is expected to reach $791 billion by 2028. And while Amazon AWS currently leads the market, the JEDI deal's cancellation could be advantageous for Microsoft as it has had almost two years to invest in improving its cloud-computing technologies.
3. Deals this week 🎉
Gredu, an Indonesian ed-tech startup that facilitates involvement and collaboration among students, parents, and teachers, has wrapped up a $4 million Series A round led by Intudo Ventures. The company was founded in 2016 and is now being used in more than 400 schools in the country. Gredu hopes to use the capital for hiring, product development, and expansion throughout the country.
Zerion, a San Francisco-based startup creating a decentralized finance “interface” for crypto investors, has raised an $8.2 million Series A funding round. Led by Mosaic Ventures, the round was participated by DCG, Placeholders, Blockchain.com Ventures, and Lightspeed, among others. Founded in 2016, Zerion has processed over $600 million in transactions and has more than 200,000 monthly active users. The company now plans to use the capital to popular blockchains among De-Fi users in the third quarter.
Don’t Think, Just Click 🖱️
To be the best, you gotta learn from the best. Here's how you can build the next Amazon.
Trying to make sense of crypto's future? Well, these 30+ experts are tackling the same question.
If you’re feelin' bullish on 5G, here are 3 industries you should look out for.
More Fun Stuff 📜
Small, daily habits are powerful. But there are some habits out there that, if you practice consistently, can make be quite rewarding.
Share What You Learn 🤝
If you find this newsletter insightful, valuable, funny, etc., forward this email to your friends and colleagues. Or share it on your social media using the link below and let us know your thoughts!
PS: If you sign up with North Loop, you can get 5000 points that you can use to invest in 3000+ stocks, mutual funds, ETFs and more.
Awesome, see ya next week. Bye👋