Here is Read Magazine’s Weekly Roundup of the top news from global markets. In this fast paced world, breaking down information helps readers grasp the nuances that follow the news.
In Aerospace News this week…
Iridium Announces Ninth SpaceX Launch. Iridium Communications Inc. has made an announcement unveiling a deal with SpaceX to use its Falcon 9 rocket to launch up to five of the company’s remaining ground spare satellites from the Iridium NEXT programme. The launch, known as Iridium-9, is scheduled to occur at Vandenberg Space Force Base in the middle of 2023. Iridium celebrated the 25th anniversary of its first launch, which also took place from Vandenberg on May 5, 1997, earlier this year. A Delta II rocket used in that first launch also placed five Iridium satellites in orbit.
In Agritech News this week…
The Green Coffee Company Launches its $100 Million Series C Funding Round. Colombia’s largest coffee grower, The Green Coffee Business, a Legacy Group portfolio company, today announced the launch of its $100 million Series C investment round. A $25 million equity investment and a $75 million debt investment are proposed for the round.
More than 275 high-net-worth investors have contributed more than $35.0 million in equity fundraising to date. The 2017-founded coffee company with its headquarters in the United States now has 27 farms totaling 6,652 acres of land and about 7.7 million coffee trees. With ambitions to significantly improve revenue and profitability in the upcoming years, the company is on target to achieve $13.4 million in revenues in 2022 (a 10x increase from 2021), and about $1.95 million in EBITDA.
In Automotive News this week…
Amp X And Smartcar Partner To Bring Smart Charging To EV Owners To Lower Energy Bills. With the help of Smartcar, Amp X, a division of Amp Energy, is now able to provide smart charging management solutions to owners of electric vehicles (EVs) who want to cut costs, lessen their carbon footprint without losing comfort, and increase grid flexibility. Following a successful integration of the Smartcar technology into the Amp X behind-the-meter energy management system within the Energy Systems Catapult (ESC) Living Lab, this cooperation was established.
In BFSI sector news this week…
Ageas Partners with eBaoTech to Enable Its Digital Platforms’ Strategy. Ageas Group (Ageas) has chosen eBaoTech’s InsureMO platform for its digital transformation as part of the Group’s Impact24 strategy to explore and invest in new growth engines, adding new capabilities that complement Ageas’ strengths and keep the company future-proof. Ageas Group is a leading global provider of insurance industry digital solutions. Ageas Group will use InsureMO, an insurance PaaS platform, to enhance its systems and operational agility, boost its ecosystem connectivity, and advance its technological capabilities while enabling growth through B2B2C channels.
In Biotechnology news this week…
Harmonic Discovery Launches With $8 Million In Seed To Develop A New Generation. The therapeutics company, Harmonic Discovery has announced its official launch with $8 million in preliminary investment. Harmonic Discovery is developing an integrated computational and experimental platform for kinase drug discovery and tailored polypharmacology. Y Combinator, Boom Capital, Caffeinated Capital, Fifty Years, and a few angel investors joined Innovation Endeavors in leading the round. A new board member has been appointed: Dr. Joel Dudley, PhD, Partner at Innovation Endeavors.
Polypharmacology, a well-known phenomenon wherein many drugs exert their effects through various modes of action, is a term used to describe this phenomenon. The pharmaceutical business, however, has generally concentrated on developing “magic bullets,” or medications that are designed to engage a particular target. This paradigm is intended to be questioned by the fully integrated kinase drug discovery platform from Harmonic Discovery.
In Chemicals sector news this week…
Orion Engineered Carbons to Increase Specialty Carbon Black Prices Produced in Europe. Global specialty chemicals manufacturer Orion Engineered Carbons announced price increases for all specialty carbon black grades made in Europe. Customers will be informed of the increase individually, and it will differ based on the goods, the manufacturing process, and the location.
During this time of increased natural gas and oil prices as well as political unrest in Europe, these price adjustments will guarantee that Orion continues to deliver the distinctive, high-quality specialty products that clients seek. Additionally, it will allow for increased investment in the creation of fresh products and services to meet the demands of the international market, according to Corning Painter, Orion’s CEO.
In Energy & Power news this week…
NuScale Power, Habboush Group and ENTRA1 form Strategic Alliance. In an agreement establishing a strategic partnership, NuScale Power Corporation (NuScale) and Habboush Group (HG) have joined forces to create a “one-stop-shop” for the financing, investment, development, execution, and management of NuScale-powered projects and opportunities.
In response to the rapidly expanding global demand for NuScale’s top-tier clean energy solutions, this new globally focused strategic alliance between NuScale and HG, along with energy transition platform ENTRA1, aims to provide integrated capabilities for financing, investment, development, management, and execution of large-scale assets and projects.
In Food & Beverage news this week…
Beeflow & Cal Poly Strawberry Center Partner For A Study On Strawberry Pollination. A new project from The Cal Poly Strawberry Center and Beeflow will investigate the use of controlled honeybees in strawberry pollination, despite the fact that bees are not traditionally thought to be essential for strawberry growth. The California Strawberry Commission (CSC) and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) are funding this groundbreaking study in an effort to reduce food waste by up to one-third among other outcomes.
In Healthcare news this week…
Scopio Labs Launches World’s First Digital Application for Bone Marrow Aspirate. The Full-Field Bone Marrow AspirateTM (FF-BMA) Application has been announced by Scopio Labs, a provider of Full-Field Cell Morphology imaging and AI-powered analysis platforms to assist laboratory professionals in the diagnosis of malignancies, anaemia, infections, and other blood-related disorders. This platform is the first to make it possible to scan and analyze bone marrow aspirates using a full digital process. The high resolution Full-Field imaging and AI-driven Decision Support System from Scopio bring hematopathology one step closer to the much-needed digital transformation.
The application offers the option to evaluate the aspirate from any place, in the lab or from remote sites, thanks to incorporated remote analysis capabilities over a secure hospital network, negating the need for a manual microscope to carry out a BMA assessment.
In IT news this week…
MMA Operations, Inc. Notifies Customers of Cybersecurity Incident. MMA Operations reports that a cybersecurity problem that occurred lately led to unauthorized access to its networks. Since becoming aware of the event, MMA Operations has tried to safely restore its systems and carry on with business as usual.
An inquiry into the incident was done by MMA Operations. An outside cybersecurity company was hired to aid with the investigation. Law enforcement and regulators were contacted. An unauthorized person had access to MMA Operations’ systems, according to the inquiry. MMA Operations found through its investigation that some of its employees’, clients’, and other parties’ personal information may have been susceptible to unauthorized access during this incident.