Tech Round-Up: March 2021 - Gravity Strikes
Since our bumper February edition, the world has seen a sharp correction and subsequent rebound in tech stocks, with some massively overvalued household names bearing the brunt (then bouncing). Here at NRP we’ve lived through a few cycles - interest rate hikes, booms, crashes, rotations, and corrections. One thing stands true: no matter which way markets are going - truly disruptive technology always finds a way to get through.
Original thinking from North Ridge Partners
The Warung Wars are on! Shauraya Bhutani continues the conversation about Indonesia’s B2B eCommerce players. Leading venture capital firms are in a fierce contest to win over the Warungs of Indonesia. The Prize? Billions of dollars (and bragging rights).
The travel sector is the Rocky Balboa of the equity markets, picking itself up off the canvas again and again to prevail in the final round. In a sequel to our previous analyses, Peter Hynd checks the scoreboard again. Should you bet on Rocky this time?
Riding the roller coaster that is tech investing
Just when you thought things can’t get any crazier, venture capital goes ballistic and Series A valuations extend their record rise. All fueled by the pandemic, by low-interest rates, and by the stimulus as the eye can see.
Private markets may be nuts, but the Ark has sprung a leak. Cathie Wood’s huge positions in tech stocks made Ark the world’s largest active ETF, with 2020 returns exceeding 150%. But that was then, and now nearly 90% of Ark’s holdings are down, shorts have risen 200%, and $2 billion has been redeemed. Read about Ark’s fall here and here. Is Ark done? Don’t bet on it!
Saved by COVID? Softbank’s irrepressible Masayoshi Son is on the up again after a brutal couple of years. Respect.
And Tencent has proven to be one of the world’s savviest tech investors. The Information reveals how its unrealised 2020 gains from ~100 public tech companies amounted to $120 billion, or six times its profit.
The result of all of this - 412 new billionaires in 2020!
Media circus
Suddenly, the digital media landscape is changing. Maryland taxes digital advertising while in Australia, politicians stare down Facebook and Google, then pass laws requiring them to negotiate to pay for news content.
Meanwhile, the Cookie Monster has struck. Google’s decision to ban all third party cookies looks like a savvy PR stunt designed to entrench its dominance.
Snap bounces back! Evan Spiegel targets a 50% growth rate without new users or engagement.
Asia Pacific tech news
Warung Pintar officially acquires Bizzy Digital for US$45 million. North Ridge Partners was Bizzy’s financial advisor.
Grab’s SPAC merger could be the world’s largest, valuing the company at $40 billion.
“How did we ever live without Coupang?” customers wonder, as the South Korean e-commerce giant raises $4.6 billion in American IPO.
Read how the Chinese Communist Party’s crackdown on Jack Ma could just backfire.
Ride the wave: Sea Group posts robust growth from a pandemic gaming and e-commerce surge.
The wait is over folks: here are the 10 most innovative Asia-Pacific companies of 2021.
The geopolitical bifurcation of technology continues as China declares its intention to become more self-reliant in advanced tech.
Myanmar watch: as the military resorts to violence, Big Tech is dragged into the conflict.
The final frontier
In a twist reminiscent of the Cold War, Russia turns away from NASA to build a moon base with China. (If you’re into black humour from the last century and need a laugh, try this).
Musk, Master of Everything now plans to roll out satellite broadband to the globe. SpaceX has already deployed more than 1,000 Starlink satellites in low-Earth orbit and plans to beam its Starlink Internet service-wide and far.
Notable fundraisings
Indonesia’s delivery startup SiCepat raises $170 million.
Temasek-backed Openspace Ventures closes Fund No 3 at $200 million to seek the next big opportunities in Southeast Asia.
B Capital launches US$126 million Ascent Fund.
Leapfrog leapfrogs: Temasek commits $500 million.
Klarna’s US$650 million mega round makes it Europe’s most valuable fintech.
Stuff we found interesting
NASDAQ is 50! CEO Adena Friedman spills the beans on the venerable US equity market.
Who can even count to $24 trillion? That’s the world’s post-Coronavirus debt.
From one successor to another: Tim Cook’s words of advice for Jeff Bezos’ successor.
Clubhouse, the hot new social media network has privacy problems. However, it still poses a threat to some tech giants.
Bill Gates on Bitcoin’s climate problem. Sobering reading if you care about the planet.
From celebrity corner
Getting underneath those Tom Cruise deep fakes: They’re certainly clever - but do they make him any more likeable?
Is this an adjacency or just a tangent? Square buys Tidal. Jay-Z goes on the board.
Offering a glimpse into the future, Jack Dorsey tokenises and offers his first-ever tweet for sale.
Tech companies doing cool stuff
Shopify until you dropify: as Shopify surges, so are the software startups riding its coat tails.
A reborn Microsoft continues to do interesting stuff: LinkedIn enters the gig economy.
Meanwhile in India, with 60 million interactions Apna is a local version of LinkedIn to a sprawling workforce.
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