<div>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <p>
        Ro, a New York-based telehealth startup, has announced the acquisition of at-home fertility test kit provider Modern Fertility for an estimated total consideration of more than USD 225 million. The company plans to expand its women&rsquo;s health offering via the acquisition.&nbsp;
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <p>
        Ro plans to leverage Modern Fertility&rsquo;s research capabilities and team of reproductive health experts to meet the growing demand for women&rsquo;s health care, while Modern Fertility can scale its operations by using Ro&rsquo;s infrastructure and nationwide reach. Following the acquisition, Modern Fertility co-founders Afton Vechery and Carly Leahy will join Ro&rsquo;s women&rsquo;s health division.
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <p>
        California-based Modern Fertility provides personalized fertility information, individual consultations with a fertility nurse, and support through at-home tests and digital tools. The company&rsquo;s test kits include prenatal multivitamins, quantitative ovulation tests, early-detection pregnancy tests, and a cycle tracking app. In Q1 2021, Modern Fertility&rsquo;s revenue grew 300% YoY.
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <p>
        Founded in 2017, Ro&rsquo;s platform specializes in women&rsquo;s health, men&rsquo;s health, and smoke cessation. The company provides treatments covering around 20 conditions, such as sexual health, hair loss, and menopause. As of May 2021, the company had facilitated more than 6 million telehealth visits across the US. 
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
  <p>
  </p>
</div>


<div>
  <p>
    <a href="https://ro.co/press/ro-acquires-modern-fertility">
      Company press release
    </a>
  </p>
  <p>
    <a href="https://www.mobihealthnews.com/news/d2c-virtual-care-company-ro-strengthens-reproductive-offerings-modern-fertility-acquisition">
      MobiHealthNews
    </a>
  </p>
  <p>
    <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/05/19/ro-acquires-modern-fertility-in-a-reportedly-225-million-deal/">
      TechCrunch
    </a>
  </p>
</div>


Telehealth

Ro acquires Modern Fertility to expand women’s health offerings

The tools that power remote work are define the next generation of enterprise software.

Remote Work Tools

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

INCUMBENTS_PRESENT

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

<div>
 
 <p>Google is collaborating with HP to inaugurate Project Starline, a business telecommunication system. The project is projected to be commercially ready by 2025, as announced before the Google I/O 2024 conference. The platform is designed to imitate face-to-face interactions in a virtual environment for a more authentic remote conversation experience.</p>
 <p>Project Starline leverages 3D imaging, camera technology, and custom-built displays to create a lifelike virtual meeting. It's integrated with video conferencing tools like Google Meet and Zoom and can generate the perception of a real-time, in-person discussion regardless of spatial distance.</p>
 
</div>
 <p><b>Analyst Quicktake:<br>
 </b> This announcement comes after years of testing and private technical previews, during which the project faced numerous setbacks in the project's early days (which began in 2021), including technical challenges, and a reorganization of its in-house R&amp;D division in 2022.</p>

Google and HP partner for commercial launch of Project Starline in 2025

Empowering Tomorrow's Innovations with Generative AI Infrastructure

Generative AI Infrastructure

<div>
 
 <p>AI governance software firm, Monitaur, has successfully raised USD 6 million in a Series A funding round. This round was led by Cultivation Capital and saw participation from Rockmont Partners, Defy VC, Techstars, and Studio VC.</p>
 <p>With these raised funds, the company plans to accelerate its growth and expand its team across various roles.</p>
 <p>Monitaur also reported a six-fold increase in its revenue, customer base, and product use for the year 2023.</p>
 
</div>

Monitaur raises USD 6 million for accelerated growth and staff expansion

Travel Tech

<div>
 
 <p>Booking.com, under the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA), is recognized as a gatekeeper bringing new regulations and penalties for non-compliance. The company has a six-month window to meet the majority of the DMA requirements.</p>
 <p>With 45 million monthly active users and over 10,000 yearly active business users, Booking.com's role as a bridge between businesses and customers is significant. It must follow obligations such as non-preferential rules, business user terms, and inform the EU of intended acquisitions. Failure to comply can result in hefty fines, up to 10% (or 20% for repeat offenders) of the yearly revenue.</p>
 <p>The classification of Booking.com as a gatekeeper puts it in the company of seven other tech giants: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft.</p>
 
</div>

Booking.com designated as 'gatekeeper' under EU's Digital Markets Act

Using AI to automate, enhance and optimize marketing activities

Marketing Automation

<div>
 <p>Zitcha, an Australian AdTech startup, and Venvee, a US-based company, have collaborated to enhance the precision and measurability of advertising campaigns. They aim to help businesses understand the effect of their advertisements through a combination of Zitcha's retail media platform and Venvee's spatial AI.</p>
 
 <p>The integration of Venvee's technology into Zitcha's platform will offer advertising analytics rooted in in-store behavior. Venvee's advanced AI constructs a 3D "digital twin" of the retail space, tracking shoppers' journeys and their engagement with products and advertisements. This will be an essential tool in refining marketing campaigns.</p>
</div>

Zitcha partners with Venvee to enhance retail advertising using spatial AI

Clear the air on carbon capture, reuse, and storage

Carbon Capture, Utilization & Storage (CCUS)

<div>
 
 <p>Infinium, a developer of low-carbon electrofuels (e-fuels), and SMA Mineral, a Swedish lime and limestone producer, have partnered to develop the former's e-fuels project at the Mo Industripark in Mo i Rana, in Norway.</p>
 <p>Under the partnership, Infinium will capture CO2 from SMA’s Zero Emission Quick Lime production facility as a feedstock for the production of e-fuels.</p>
 <p>In addition, the collaboration is expected to stimulate local economic growth, create more job opportunities, and position Mo i Rana as a key hub for sustainable industries.&nbsp;</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
</b> This collaboration was announced on the heels of a <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/28553"> similar partnership </a> with a subsidiary of midstream energy company Kinetik Holdings to purchase CO2 captured from Kinetik's amine gas processing facilities in West Texas for use at Infinium’s second e-fuels project, Project Roadrunner.</p>

Infinium partners with SMA Mineral to produce e-fuels using waste CO2

Disrupting the traditional financial system using blockchain

Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

<div>

 <p>Obligate, a blockchain debt issuing platform, has teamed up with Lisk, a layer-2 network provider. The objective is to launch the protocol on the Lisk network. </p>
 <p>This collaboration aims to utilize Lisk's superior efficiency and scalability, potentially leading to new solutions for real-world and off-chain assets. Worth mentioning, Obligate intends to allow businesses to use their physical assets to secure funding.</p>

</div>

Obligate partners with Lisk to deploy on layer-2 network

<div>
 
 <p>Antonio Juliano, dYdX founder, has decided to step down as CEO of the decentralized exchange platform. He will be taking on the roles of chairman and president of dYdX Trading instead.</p>
 <p>His business partner, Ivo Crnkovic-Rubsamen will take over as CEO, continuing to lead the company's operations, while Antonio will focus on its strategic direction.</p>
 
</div>

Antonio Juliano steps down as CEO of dYdX

<div>
 
 <p>Bitcoin-based lending platform, Zest Protocol, has successfully raised a seed funding round of USD 3.5 million. The funding was led by investor, Tim Draper with additional participation from Binance Labs, Flow Traders, Trust Machines, among others.</p>
 <p>Zest has developed a lending protocol that operates on Stacks, which is a Bitcoin layer-2 network. This protocol enables users to borrow and lend Bitcoin, through the use of a bridging asset named "sBTC". Designed to be pegged to the value of Bitcoin, sBTC allows users to deposit their Bitcoin via a transaction on the Bitcoin blockchain and fund their account balances. Once deposited, these tokens can then be used for lending or engaging in yield-generating activities within the protocol. It's important to note, prior to the official launch of sBTC, the lending infrastructure of the protocol is currently operational on the Stacks’ money market platform.</p>
 
</div>

Zest Protocol raises USD 3.5 million in seed funding

Buy Now, Pay Later

<div>

 <p>Aplazo, a Mexico-based Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) platform provider, has successfully raised $70 million in an equity funding round. The funding was spearheaded by QED Investors and saw participation from Oak HC/FT, Kaszek, Picus Capital, and Volpe Capital. Of the total amount, $45 million comes from a Series B funding round. This brings Aplazo's total funding received to date to $175 million.</p>
 
 <p>Looking ahead, Aplazo will allocate these newly-acquired funds towards product development and innovation. In particular, the company is interested in incorporating AI capabilities to better meet the diverse needs of consumers and merchants and provide support in decision-making processes.</p>
 
 <p>Due to its expanding market share from both online and offline merchants, in conjunction with a robust financial performance and near breakeven operating over the recent months, Aplazo has experienced a threefold increase in revenue.</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> Aplazo’s USD 70 million funding comes after Ramp raised <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/28597"> USD 150 million in Series D </a> (last month) to accelerate AI integration and Colombia-based Addi raised <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/27801"> USD 86 million in funding </a> , comprising USD 36 million in equity and USD 50 million in debt funding from Goldman Sachs Group (two months ago) to support business expansion.</p>

Aplazo raises USD 70 million in equity and Series B funding

AI-based solutions for evolving digital threats

Next-gen Cybersecurity

<div>
 <p>AppOmni, a SaaS security company, has introduced a new tool, Zero Trust Posture Management (ZTPM) that strengthens zero-trust security to the level of application layer.</p>
 <p>ZTPM provides extensive insights into SaaS applications, encompassing application configuration, security posture, and user engagement within the application.</p>
 <p>This product by AppOmni addresses the shortcomings of conventional zero-trust architecture by allowing detailed access and configuration control of SaaS applications across a company's environments.</p> 
</div>

All Updates