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Nerdy, a tutoring marketplace startup, is going public via SPAC

TechCrunch

Nerdy will merge with TPG Pace Tech Opportunities (NYSE: PACE), a publicly traded SPAC since 2015. TechCrunch reviewed the Nerdy-SPAC investor presentation, which can be read here. That growth rate is slower than what it managed in 2019, some 26% growth, and is around half of what it anticipates for 2021, namely 31% growth.

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6 investors discuss why AI is more than just a buzzword in biotech

TechCrunch

VCs are also increasingly looking for what biotech startups can do with AI beyond just R&D and are wary of companies that use the technology as a marketing tool. We also see AI being used in the biologics space, although the technology is used there far earlier. Where else can AI play a role in health tech?

Biotech 242
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Why Nigeria leads the way in YC’s participation in Africa

TechCrunch

In 2019, startups based in Nigeria attracted $747 million, or 37% of Africa’s total VC investment. YC W22 batch nets 24 African startups, including 18 from Nigeria. The country has posted steady progress in the last three years as the leading African startup market. Y Combinator is paying attention.

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Nigerian digital bank Carbon hit $240M in payments processed last year, up 89% from 2019

TechCrunch

When Chijioke Dozie, the CEO, spoke to TechCrunch in 2019, he cited recruitment purposes and clientele trust as reasons why the company made its financials public — an exercise it has done every second quarter for two years. It’s a tradition Dozie hopes the company will keep this year. billion (~$241.35

Banking 291
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Coinbase files to go public in a key listing for the cryptocurrency category

TechCrunch

Coinbase’s financials show a company that grew rapidly from 2019 to 2020. More than that, the company also crossed the threshold into unadjusted profitability; it’s common amongst quickly-growing tech companies to lean more heavily on adjusted profit and other more flattering metrics. In 2019 Coinbase $30.4

.Net 270
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YC W22 batch nets 24 African startups, including 18 from Nigeria

TechCrunch

Given Sudan’s very nascent tech ecosystem — Bloom is the country’s second venture-backed startup in over 30 years and YC’s first in the country — it’ll be interesting to see if the startup, with heavyweight founders, can achieve success and open up the Sudanese tech ecosystem. Founded in : 2019.

.Net 228
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Operative Intelligence helps contact centers figure out what customers really need

TechCrunch

Operative Intelligence was founded in 2019 by brothers Peter and James Ianesk, who have spent 25 years working in customer service and contact centers. As a result, James was able to help that contact center increase its net promoter score 5x. We look forward to their next moves to utilize AI technology to reshape an untapped space.”.