Not having WhatsApp even on the Nokia 8110 4G ‘banana phone’ was a deal-breaker for many users. That feature gap has now been closed thanks to a collaboration between the makers of KaiOS, the OS that runs on the Nokia 8110, and Facebook-owned WhatsApp. […]
Fintech startup Curve raises USD55m
Curve, a banking platform that consolidates multiple cards and accounts into one smart card and an app, has secured USD55 million from a leading group of investors as part of a successful Series B funding round, valuing the company at a quarter of a billion dollars. […]
Interview: Cathay Innovation
The VC fund’s Nicolas du Cray explains the rationale behind its recent investment in KaiOS. […]
Distributed teams are helping startups scale faster
Alexandre “Alex” Lazarow is a Director at Cathay Innovation, a global venture capital firm based in San Francisco. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), a Term Member with the Council on Foreign Relations, and an adjunct professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. […]
Cathay Innovation leads Laiye’s $35M round to bet on Chinese enterprise IT
For many years, the boom and bust of China’s tech landscape have centered around consumer-facing products. As this space gets filled by Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, and more recently Didi Chuxing, Meituan Dianping, and ByteDance, entrepreneurs and investors are shifting attention to business applications. […]
The Rise of AI-Driven Enterprise Software in China
In what is now the largest-ever single financing in China’s Robotic Process Automation (RPA) + AI field, we are excited to announce the close of Laiye Technology’s Series B+ funding round of $US35 million, led by Cathay Innovation. With this investment, we are happy to partnering again with existing investors as Sequoia China, Lightspeed China, […]
Orange and KaiOS Technologies reinforce their partnership to close Africa’s digital divide through Series B funding
Today, KaiOS Technologies, maker of KaiOS, the leading mobile operating system for smart feature phones, confirmed Orange’s participation in a recent Series B funding round led by Cathay Innovation. This participation is a testament to both companies’ dedication to providing internet access and digital services to people across Africa. […]
Biotech Investors Are Flocking to Paris
Ask a summer tourist the prime attraction of Paris and the apt response will be the museums, the restaurants and the shopping. But for investors around the globe the answer is HealthTech Investor Days, an event sponsored by France Biotech, an association of French entrepreneurs in the life sciences. […]
Cathay Innovatoin hits €320m first close for Fund II
The firm said Cathay Innovation is looking to close the vehicle on €500m, substantially more than the €287m raised for Cathy’s first fund. The fund has secured commitments from Accor, BioMérieux, Dassault, JCDecaux Holding, Kering and Pernod Ricard. Previous investors including Bpifrance, Groupe ADP, Groupe SEB, Michelin, Valeo and GL events also committed to the fund. […]
Cathay Innovation Raises EUR 320M in First Close for Fund II
Paris, San Francisco, Shanghai, June 18, 2019 Cathay Innovation today announces the launch of a new investment vehicle, with a first closing at EUR 320 million and a fundraising target of EUR 500 million. The new investment vehicle will allow Cathay Innovation’s team – now strong of 30 members based in Paris, San Francisco, Shanghai […]