Financial Technology Weekly | Issue 13

Cybersecurity startup Drata raises $200 million in Series C funding

According to foreign media CrunchBase, Drata, a San Diego-based network security technology start-up, announced last month that it had received US$200 million in Series C funding. Drata built an automated platform to help companies meet security compliance requirements and ensure compliance with regulations such as GDPR. For businesses, staying on top of the latest regulations can also help build trust among customers, thereby improving customer retention.

 

Information link:

https://apnews.com/article/cc6d222c3b89cabf54612d4ace29252c

Comments: According to Crunchbase, Drata has raised more than $328 million in less than two years. Since its establishment, the company has maintained a rapid pace of financing, completing a seed round in January 2021, followed by a Series A round in June 2021. In November of the same year, after completing the B round of financing, the company officially joined the ranks of unicorn companies. With the gradual supplementation and improvement of laws and regulations in industries such as finance, medical care, and health care, the governance, risk, and compliance of cybersecurity have already aroused the interest of investors.

 

 

Dataiku, an artificial intelligence data analysis platform, received US$200 million in Series F financing

According to foreign media TechCrunch, Dataiku, an artificial intelligence data analysis platform, recently announced the completion of a US$200 million Series F financing led by Wellington Management. USD valuation. Dataiku currently has more than 500 enterprise customers, including more than 150 world-class enterprises. According to co-founder and CEO Florian Douetteau, the platform is mainly used for predictive maintenance, supply chain optimization, engineering quality monitoring, marketing optimization and other purposes.

 

Information link:

https://news.yahoo.com/ai-analytics-platform-dataiku-raises-171055915.html

Comments: Dataiku was launched in Paris in 2013. Its competitor Databricks raised US$1.6 billion in August 2021, and DataRobot raised US$300 million in Series G funding in July 2021 at a valuation of US$6.3 billion. Data show that venture capital investment enthusiasm for artificial intelligence start-ups is cooling.

 

 

Israeli cybersecurity startup Snyk raises $196 million

Founded in Israel and headquartered in Boston, cybersecurity startup Snyk has raised $196 million in Series G funding at a $7.4 billion valuation. Total funding to date stands at $1.55 billion. In their funding round last September, they were valued at $8.5 billion. Founded in 2015, Snyk helps software developers and businesses embed cybersecurity solutions into their workflows to defend against sophisticated cyberattacks.

 

Information link:

https://www.crn.com/news/security/snyk-raises-196-5m-in-latest-funding-round-eyes-potential-acquisitions

Comments: Funding funds will be used to improve their system platform. Snyk became a unicorn company in 2020 and has more than 2,300 customers worldwide, including Google, Asurion, Intuit, MongoDB, New Rel, and Salesforce.

 

Zhicun Technology completed 200 million yuan in B2 round financing, accelerating the commercialization of integrated storage and computing

On January 6, Zhicun Technology, a chip company integrating storage and computing, announced the completion of the B2 round of financing of 200 million yuan. This round of financing was led by SDIC Venture Capital, followed by Shuimu Chunjin Capital and Linghang New Territories, and Index Capital continued to serve as the exclusive financial advisor. This round of financing will be mainly used for mass production of in-memory computing chips and new product development, expanding the scale of industrialization. Founded in 2017, Zhicun Technology is a company that 36Kr has been following for a long time. Zhicun Technology has released and mass-produced two generations of storage-computing integrated accelerator WTM1001 and in-memory computing SoC chip WTM2101.

 

Information link:

http://www.xinhuanet.com/tech/20230106/ec33e33e368740729d06a4dc093ab768/c.html

Comment: In 2022, Zhicun Technology announced in January and September that it had completed the B1 round of financing of 200 million yuan and the B1+ round of financing of 100 million yuan. With the gradual failure of Moore's Law, the integrated storage and computing technology that can solve the problems of bandwidth, delay and power consumption caused by the storage wall has shown its advantages, especially in 2022, it will attract the attention of the industry. The discussion around the development of various technical routes has also become one of the hot spots in the industry.

Ford signs UBI auto insurance data partnership with several insurtech companies

American automaker Ford recently cooperated with insurance technology Wejo, CerebrumX and J.D. Power's ChromeData for remote vehicle mobile communication and vehicle data services, and also cooperated with Pie Insurance to enter the commercial insurance market products. Wejo's ADEPT platform can process vehicle driving data and help insurance companies understand the driving behavior of policyholders. Ford said insurers wanting to use the data would need not only to obtain explicit consent from customers, but also to follow appropriate data usage guidelines.

 

Information link:

https://www.dig-in.com/news/ford-partners-with-insurtechs-wejo-cerebrumx-and-chromedat

Comment: CerebrumX Lab, a vehicle data management platform, has also begun to capture Ford’s connected car data to help insurance companies improve UBI auto insurance products. And J.D. Power's ChromeData is licensed to feed Ford vehicle data into its VIN identification service.

 

 

Quotey Canada launches multi-insurer commercial insurance quotation tool

Canadian insurtech company Quotey has launched what it calls “Canada’s first multi-insurer commercial insurance quote and product comparison tool” for brokerage firms. Since its inception 3 years ago, Quotey has been looking to revolutionize the way the commercial insurance market works. Their platform simplifies the workflow of brokers, adds more value, and provides more support.

 

Information link:

https://quotey.io/

Comment: Quotey said that in the past, commercial insurance brokers had to choose between speed and completeness, either using a certain insurance company's port to conduct a fast and limited search, or sending quotation requests to multiple insurance companies, so the insurance application process changed. very time consuming. The Quotey platform can apply for real-time quotations of more than 700 types of products from multiple insurance companies at one time, compare products, and notify customers.

 

 

Charles Taylor moves services to the cloud

Insurance services, claims and technology solutions provider Charles Taylor has announced that it has migrated all of its service functions to cloud infrastructure. The shift from on-premises data centers to cloud infrastructure marks a major milestone for the company, following the launch of InHub, a cloud-based SaaS function hub, earlier this year. InHub brings together all functions - document management system, business process management, claims optimization and policy administration - in one unified system. Additionally, the Legacy Modernization Pillar allows InHub to connect to legacy systems so that it can work seamlessly with existing software.

 

Information link:

https://www.charlestaylor.com/en/news/news-post/inhub-migrating-onto-the-cloud/

Comments: Charles Taylor said the cloud migration will enable it to help customers quickly and efficiently adapt to future technology stacks while minimizing disruption to day-to-day operations. Cloud platforms are also scalable, so customers can take advantage of new services and technologies at their own pace. They can also seamlessly migrate different aspects of their business to the cloud in a timeframe that suits their needs.

 

 

HawkSoft and Insurance Payments Leader Agave Form Digital Payments Partnership

HawkSoft announced that Agave is now participating in its Solution Partner Program. Agave is a leader in payments with a passion for developing and delivering digital payment solutions to SMEs and corporates in the insurance industry. HawkSoft provides agency management system platforms to independent insurance agencies seeking workflow and process efficiencies. Agave brings a wealth of experience in the payments space to independent institutions. Agave provides a high-tech digital payment platform with a high-touch customer experience. This includes online, self-service, invoicing, in-person, back office check acceptance and accounts payable through a single platform.

 

Information link:

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hawksoft-and-agave-form-partnership-for-digital-payments-301707442.html

Comment: HawkSoft worked with Arobed to ensure its payment portal worked well with HawkSoft's HawkLink for Google Chrome™ - a crowdsourced intelligent data mapping/prepopulation tool that bridges customer and policy data into web forms.

Bank for International Settlements talks about the regulation of technology giants: digital market problems need to be solved through structural intervention
Recently, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) released a working paper on the regulation of large technology companies. The article points out: Digital platforms, especially social media platforms, enjoy enormous market power, which can be used in economic and political fields, but are prone to "dumping". Furthermore, the article emphasizes that the problems of digital markets can only be addressed through structural interventions, such as enforcing interoperability and promoting greater data sharing. National regulators are often ill-equipped to intervene and appropriate incentives are needed to promote effective regulation. Finally, rising international tensions can create political opportunities for such international regulation.

Information link:
 https://www.weiyangx.com/417512.html
 
 
Turkey's central bank completes first 'digital lira' payment transactions
On December 30, 2022, the Central Bank of Turkey (CBRT) conducted the first test of the digital lira. The statement noted that as part of the initial testing phase, CBRT successfully completed the first payment transactions on its central bank digital currency (CBDC) network. CBRT said that it will continue to conduct small-scale closed-loop application pilot tests with technology partners in the first quarter of next year. The test results will be published in a comprehensive assessment report. In addition, the Turkish digital lira will enter an advanced stage in 2023, and the central bank will conduct pilot tests with the participation of a wide range of banks and fintech companies.

Information link:
https://www.coinspeaker.com/cbrt-payment-digital-turkish-lira-test/
 
 
UAE central bank announces phased rollout of new instant payment platform
Recently, the Governor of the UAE Central Bank hosted a meeting with CEOs of the UAE banking sector and representatives of foreign exchange and remittance groups. The meeting pointed out that it is planned to launch a new instant payment platform with a group of licensed financial institutions in the first quarter of 2023 to provide round-the-clock convenience for real-time payments and fund transfers in the UAE. In addition to this, the UAE central bank also emphasized the key role of exchanges in the UAE's financial system and encouraged them to cooperate with the banking industry to further support financial consumers and the transformation of financial infrastructure and the national payment system.

Information link:
https://finance.stockstar.com/IG2023010600003002.shtml
 
 
Indonesia to Launch National Crypto Exchange in 2023
Indonesia plans to set up a new national encrypted asset exchange in 2023, Bloomberg reported recently. In addition, cryptocurrency regulation will also be transferred from the country’s Commodity Futures Trading Agency (Bappebti) to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in 2024. While the aforementioned moves appear to be supporting Indonesia’s crypto industry, the government still sees cryptocurrencies as a potential threat to its financial system. On December 1, 2022, Bank Indonesia published a white paper outlining their views on a possible Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

Information link:
https://bitcoinist.com/indonesian-to-launch-a-new-cryptocurrency-exchange/

ISSB incorporates biodiversity into climate reporting standards

Recently, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) under the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation (IFRS) will incorporate biodiversity into the climate reporting standards, which requires disclosure of impacts and risks related to natural ecosystems. ISSB said that it would develop a framework for climate reports related to natural ecosystems, aiming to guide organizations to disclose changing natural risks, especially TNFD (Nature related Financial Disclosures) work on the links between climate and natural themes, as well as other relevant important initiatives.

Information link:

https://tnfd.global/news/strategic-support-and-market-engagement/

Switzerland will solve the problem of green floating through sustainable investment labeling rules

According to the new proposed rules published by the Swiss Federal Council, financial products and funds marked as "sustainable", "green" or "ESG" in the Swiss financial market will be required to be consistent with specific sustainable development goals. In addition, suppliers need to disclose their actions to achieve the goals. The Council stated that the new proposed rules were intended to prevent greenwashing, misrepresenting or exaggerating the sustainability characteristics and attributes of financial products and services. The Commission announced that a working group under the Federal Ministry of Finance had been established to implement the green bleaching rules, and the complete plan would be submitted at the end of September 2023.

Information link:

https://www.myswitzerland.com/zh-hans/planning/about-switzerland/sustainability/

The Ministry of Finance signed a memorandum with the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation (IFRS), and IFRS set up a Beijing office

On December 29, the Ministry of Finance signed a memorandum with the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation (IFRS). IFRS will set up a Beijing office, which is expected to be put into operation by the middle of 2023. According to the memorandum, IFRS Beijing Office is mainly responsible for leading and implementing the strategy of emerging and developing economies of ISSB under IFRS, promoting in-depth cooperation with Asian stakeholders, and helping emerging and developing economies and SMEs to carry out relevant capacity-building activities. The Office will hold relevant meetings of the Council and its various advisory mechanisms.

Information link:

https://www.ifrs.org/

China Shanghai Association released the ESG Industry Report of Listed Companies, focusing on seven key industries

On December 26, China Association of Listed Companies released the ESG Industry Report of Listed Companies. The report focuses on listed companies in seven key industries that are typical in ESG practice and information disclosure, such as electricity, medicine and biology, automobile, electric equipment, electronics, real estate, and banking. It comprehensively combs the industry overview from the aspects of industry development status, policy trends, industry development characteristics, risks and opportunities faced by the industry, and refines the key issues of each key industry in the environmental, social and corporate governance dimensions in combination with the industry development characteristics, so as to guide listed companies to carry out more effective and targeted ESG information disclosure based on their own industry characteristics.

Information link:

https://finance.eastmoney.com/a/202212272597899317.html

The Irish Data Protection Commission issued a fine of more than 400 million dollars to Meta

Recently, Meta received a huge ticket for allegedly violating the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). It is reported that the punishment comes from the Data Protection Commission of Ireland, which is mainly divided into two parts. Facebook was fined 210 million euros (about $222.5 million), Instagram was fined 180 million euros, a total of about 390 million euros (about $414 million).

Information link:

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/meta-gdpr-violations/

Korea Financial Services Commission Launches Enterprise Financial Data Infrastructure Optimization Measures

On December 22, 2022, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of Korea announced a plan to improve the corporate financial data infrastructure, in order to help small, medium and micro enterprises and innovative enterprises, because the relevant data infrastructure of these enterprises is not sufficient at present. The main measures include: 1) revising the enterprise data management system operated by Korean Credit Information Service (KCIS); 2) Expand data sharing with the financial sector in new industry innovation business; 3) Improve the access regulations of credit reporting companies more reasonably, and enable credit reporting companies to use them in specialized data institutions; 4) Review the MyData service launched for the sole proprietors' needs. As these measures have been discussed at the fifth meeting of the Financial Regulatory Innovation Committee held on December 20, the authorities will seek to implement specific measures as soon as possible.

Information link:

https://www.fsc.go.kr/eng/index

Amendment of the Israel Securities Authority to incorporate digital assets into existing securities regulations

According to CoinDesk, the Israeli Securities Authority (ISA) is establishing a new legal structure for digital assets, placing digital assets under the supervision of the authorities, and providing greater transparency for the industry. According to the proposal, the amendment of the country's law would incorporate "digital assets" into the existing securities regulations, and would probably treat most cryptocurrencies as financial investments regulated by ISA. The proposal of the authorities was open for comment before February 12, and it was suggested that it should take full effect within six months after being approved.

Information link:

https://programs.isa.org/isa-digital-transformation-virtual-conference

WTO: Global trade in services will continue to weaken at the beginning of 2023

On December 22, 2022, the World Trade Organization released a report saying that global trade in services continued to weaken in the fourth quarter of 2022, dragged down by the slow growth of major economies in the world, and may remain weak in the first few months of 2023. The latest issue of the Service Trade Barometer released by the WTO on the same day shows that the global service trade climate index is 98.3, lower than the 105.5 released in June 2022.

Information link:

http://world.people.com.cn/n1/2022/1223/c1002-32592541.html

Postal Savings Bank puts forward suggestions on residents' wealth management

On December 28, 2022, the "2022 (10th) Banking Development Forum" hosted by Sina Finance and Economics was held. Xu Xueming, Vice President of Postal Savings Bank of China, was invited to participate in the forum in the form of video, and delivered a keynote speech around residents' wealth management. Cultivating and expanding middle-income groups has become an important national strategy. Expanding middle-income groups and managing residents' wealth is a must. In recent years, with the continuous improvement of people's income level, especially the enhancement of investment and wealth management awareness and the decline of deposit interest rate, wealth management has gradually become popular. In many financial institutions, banks, with their deep channels, large customer groups, rich financial products and professional services, especially unique account functions, assume the responsibility of "Mr. Accountant" of customers' financial assets.

Information link:

http://www.chinapost.com.cn/xhtml1/report/23012/9197-1.htm

Wang Xinjie, Chief Investment Strategist of the Wealth Management Department of Standard Chartered China: Breaking 2023, Dangerous Organic and Stable Investment

Stable investment (SAFE) is our way to break the situation for 2023. Specifically, the first is to "secure" multi income assets. Compared with stocks and cash, bonds are over allocated, including government bonds and highly rated corporate bonds; Second, allocate Asian assets with long-term value, including Asian stocks excluding Japan and Asian dollar bonds; The third is to "fortify" in advance, allocate highly rated government bonds, supplemented by cash and gold, to withstand unexpected shocks; The fourth is to "expand" into alternative assets, expanding the scope of investment to alternative strategies (macro/CTA strategies, private credit, etc.).

Information link:

https://new.qq.com/rain/a/20230106A05XXE00

Pacific Securities won the "2022 Yinshi Financial Innovation Award"

On December 30, the selection of the "Silver Persimmon Award 2022" sponsored and hosted by the well-known media Yinshi Finance and Economics in the industry was unveiled. Pacific (601099) Securities won the "Financial Innovation Award". Sponsored by Zhejiang Daily Newspaper Group, "Yinshi Finance" produces high-quality original financial reports for high-end audiences such as domestic and overseas listed companies, value investors, policy makers and economic researchers, including macro policies, industry trends, industrial research, market information, company news, investor education and rights protection, and provides financial information professional services, public opinion monitoring, think tank consulting and other special services.

Information link:

http://stock.10jqka.com.cn/20230106/c644097297.shtml

The wealth steward of Sichuan Tianfu Bank won the "Excellent Case Award for Product Innovation"

Recently, Sichuan Tianfu Bank won the "Excellent Case Award for Product Innovation" by virtue of the "Wealth Steward" product and functional upgrading in the "2022 Urban Financial Service Excellent Case Selection" of the City Bank Clearing Service. Since the launch of "Wealth Steward" in Tianfu Mobile Bank in early 2021, it has provided customers with convenient and professional asset allocation services through wealth diagnosis, asset diagnosis, configuration advice and other digital functions.

Information link:

https://finance.china.com.cn/roll/20230106/5925317.shtml

BIS Report: Information Governance in Sustainable Finance

Financial markets rely on information flows that facilitate capital allocation. Information governance is a set of regulatory provisions designed to mitigate conflicts of interest that may interfere with these flows to ensure that all market participants have access to reliable information as a benchmark. On December 22, 2022, the Bank for International Settlements published a special report on Information governance in sustainable finance, discussing ways to strengthen information governance in sustainable finance.

Information link:

https://finance.stockstar.com/IG2023010400002421.shtml

CES 2023 will introduce the Metauniverse and Web3 Special Session

According to Forbes, Kinsey Fabricio, senior vice president of CES sales, revealed in the latest CES Tech Talk interview that the international consumer electronics exhibition 2023 (CES 2023) will introduce the Metauniverse and Web3 special sessions, and will set up a dedicated booth in the conference center hall. In addition, CES 2023 will also launch "Metauniverse&Games" and "Creator Economy and NFT" channels.

Information link:

https://www.ces.tech/

The Financial Agency of Japan solicited public opinions on some suggestions on the revision of the Guidelines for the Comprehensive Supervision of Financial Instrument Business Operators

On December 19, 2022, the Financial Services Agency of Japan (FSA) compiled and published some draft amendments to the Comprehensive Supervisory Guidelines for Financial Instruments Business Operators (etc). Recently, the number of investment products that incorporate ESG into their names and investment strategies has been increasing. At the same time, concerns about the "green drift" behavior of such ESG statements are attracting global attention.

Information link:

https://finance.stockstar.com/IG2023010400002424.shtml

London payment startup Checkout.com lowered its valuation from $40 billion to $11 billion

Recently, Checkout.com, a British payment processing service company, announced that it would reduce the platform's valuation from $40 billion to $11 billion according to the current macro market environment and the status quo of the technology industry. Reducing internal valuation, different from the valuation determined by investors, may have several purposes. It benefits employees by reducing equity costs, and provides opportunities for higher profits when the company hopes to conduct an initial public offering (IPO). In early 2022, Checkout.com successfully completed a round of $1 billion D-round financing, raising the company's market valuation to $40 billion. Now, the company's valuation has returned to the level close to 2021.

Information link:

https://www.checkout.com/

Tokio Marine, a Japanese insurance giant, will provide services in the meta universe

According to Bitcoin. com, Tokio Marine, Japan's largest property and accident insurance group, announced that it would start providing insurance services in the meta universe. The company will provide insurance and other types of insurance policies in the digital world in January, allowing real employees to act as employees in the virtual world. "By using the meta universe, we will provide a new customer experience, reduce the psychological burden of insurance consulting, and make insurance consulting and consideration possible."

Information link:

https://tokiomarinegroup.com

Disclaimer: The content is from the Internet, WeChat official account and other public channels. We are neutral about the points in the article. This article is only for reference and exchange.