Connect with us

Technology

Rimac Automobili Welcomes Further 70m EUR Investment From Porsche

Published

on

Porsche has further increased its investment into Rimac Automobili, expanding its stake in the business to 24% with an additional 70M EUR. Porsche bought a 10% stake of the business in 2018, before increasing it to 15.5% in 2019. The latest investment reinforces Rimac Automobili’s status as a leader in high-performance electrified vehicle technologies.

Since Porsche’s first investment in 2018, the team at Rimac Automobil has doubled to nearly 1,000 people, and the Croatian technology company has continued to produce some of the world’s most advanced electrified powertrains, batteries, infotainment and other components related to electrification. Rimac Automobili now works with many major car manufacturers, including Hyundai, Kia, Porsche, Aston Martin, Automobili Pininfarina, Koenigsegg and many more.

Mate Rimac, founder and CEO of Rimac Automobili, said: “Porsche has been a big supporter of our company since 2018, and it has always been a privilege to have one of the world’s most iconic sports car brands be a part of Rimac. We’re proud to work together on new exciting and electrified products and of the fact that Porsche’s trust in Rimac resulted in several rounds of investment, making Porsche an important shareholder of the company.

With many OEMs across the world being Rimac customers, it is important, both for Rimac and Porsche, that we remain an entirely independent business. Our projects and our shareholders are – and will always be – entirely separate, allowing us to maintain the information firewall that our partners rely on, and enabling us to continue working with many OEMs. The partnership with Porsche helps the company develop and grow which is beneficial for all of our customers.”

“Rimac is excellently positioned in prototype solutions and small series,” says Lutz Meschke, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board and Member of the Executive Board for Finance and IT at Porsche AG. “Mate Rimac and his team are important partners, especially when it comes to supporting us in the development of components. Rimac is well on its way to becoming a Tier 1 supplier for Porsche and other manufacturers in the high-tech segment.

“Porsche has already placed its first orders with Rimac for the development of highly innovative series components,” says Meschke. “Both partners benefit from this closer collaboration,” Meschke emphasizes: “Mate Rimac inspires us with his innovative ideas. By the same token, he benefits from our know-how in production and methodological expertise in development. Our investment in the company has turned out to be absolutely right. Rimac’s value has increased many times over since our initial investment. In addition, the company has developed very well technologically. We are expanding our cooperation step by step and are also benefiting from Rimac’s strength in innovation.”

Mate Rimac first dreamed of creating his own electric supercar in 2009, working in his garage in Croatia. Just two years later Rimac Automobili revealed the world’s first electric supercar, the Concept_One. With limited resources, Mate and a small team developed many of the components for the car in-house, while also developing electrified vehicle technology for other brands. Porsche’s first investment came in June 2018, and Hyundai Motor Group invested in May 2019.

In just 10 years, Rimac Automobili went from garage to global and this year will release its second generation electric hypercar, codenamed C_Two. Every major component of the C_Two has been designed, engineered and produced by the in-house team at Rimac. Following a multi-year development process of virtual and real-world testing and homologation, the C_Two will be revealed to the world in just a few months. The C_Two, limited to just 150 units, is available in the world’s key markets via Rimac Automobili’s global network of dealer partners.

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

Continue Reading
Comments

Technology

EU Raises Tariff on Chinese Electric Vehicles by 35%

Published

on

Electric car

In an effort to slow down Chinese infiltration of the European market with more affordable options, the European Union has hiked tariffs on electric vehicles from China by 35% to 45% from the usual 10%.

According to people familiar with the situation, ten member states voted in support of the new tariff while Germany and four others voted against it. The remaining 12 states reportedly abstained.

Last month, the former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi warned that Chinese state-sponsored competition was a threat to the European Union and could leave the region vulnerable to coercion.

The bloc had claimed that China unfairly subsidized its industry to have an edge over EU businesses, a claim Beijing denies and has threatened retaliatory action on European dairy, brandy, pork and automobile sectors.

However, given the size of trade between the bloc and China, €739 billion or $815 billion in last year, it’s believed the two parties will continue negotiations to find an alternative to the tariffs.

Continue Reading

Technology

OpenAI’s Valuation Soars to $157 Billion After $6.6 Billion Funding Round

Published

on

openai

OpenAI, the company that owns Chatgpt, has raised $6.6 billion in a new funding round to boost the company’s valuation to $157 billion as it looks to strengthen its lead in generative AI technology.

Thrive Capital led the funding round with $1.3 billion, while Microsoft invested an additional $750 million, bringing its total investment in OpenAI to $13.75 billion.

According to a source familiar with the matter, Khosla Ventures, Fidelity Management & Research Co., and Nvidia Corp., the chipmaker whose powerful processors are driving the AI boom—were also among the investors.

Apart from Elon Musk’s SpaceX and TikTok owner ByteDance Ltd, this deal ranks as one of the largest-ever private investments.

The ability of OpenAI to raise such a substantial amount despite heightened global risks demonstrates the industry’s confidence in the power of AI.

Other investors included Tiger Global Management, which contributed $350 million, and Altimeter Capital, which invested at least $250 million.

SoftBank Group Corp. and the new Abu Dhabi-based tech investment firm MGX also participated, with SoftBank’s investment totaling $500 million, according to one source who requested anonymity. Venture firm Coatue was another participant.

In a statement, the company said it plans to use the funds to advance AI research and expand its computing capacity. “AI is already personalizing learning, accelerating healthcare breakthroughs, and driving productivity,” said OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar. “And this is just the start.”

Continue Reading

Fintech

Kazang Pay Launches Card Acquiring Service in Zambia

Published

on

Startup

Kazang, the prepaid value-added services (VAS) and card acquiring business within JSE-listed fintech Lesaka Technologies, has launched its Kazang Pay card acceptance solution for merchants in Zambia. Kazang Pay makes it affordable for merchants to accept card payments on the same Kazang terminal they use to sell prepaid products and services.

The Kazang Pay enabled terminal in Zambia accepts VISA debit and credit cards as well as mobile wallet payments. Payments are settled to the merchant’s Kazang wallet on the same day. It’s as easy as letting the customer tap or insert their bank card and enter their PIN on the secure scramble PIN pad.

Kazang operates around 12,000 VAS terminals in Zambia. The goal is to enable the majority to accept card payments over the next six months. Benefits to merchants include low transaction fees and no monthly terminal rental fee for those that meet a modest monthly transaction threshold as well as the opportunity to grow their business through card acceptance.

Kazang is Zambia’s largest VAS point-of-sale terminal provider, enabling mobile money payments, bank and mobile money cash in and out, bill payments, airtime, Zesco, and many other prepaid services on one platform. The addition of card acceptance makes the platform even more comprehensive for merchants and consumers alike.

The launch of Kazang Pay in Zambia follows the introduction of the solution in South Africa, where around 60,000 small and micro merchants use Kazang Pay to accept card payments.  In Zambia, there are around 3.8 million debit, credit and ATM cards in issue and 41,000 point of sale (POS) terminals in place. The value of POS transactions has grown to K 111.4 billion by 2022 from less than K 20 billion in 2018, according to the Bank of Zambia.

Says Leon de Wit, managing director at Kazang Zambia: “Zambia has made enormous strides in terms of financial inclusion, with card usage and penetration growing at a rapid pace. With Kazang Pay, merchants can now easily accept card payments on the same all-in-one terminal they already use for vending of VAS products.

“Card transactions help merchants to grow basket sizes and potentially attract more customers, and at the same time, reduce the risks and costs of handling cash. Moving towards digitalised payments will also enable merchants to track sales, manage cash flow,  and create a footprint that could make it easier for them to access loans.”

Ashley Naidoo, director of Kazang Pay in South Africa says: “Our Zambian merchants have eagerly embraced our card acquiring service as a valuable part of our one-stop solution. Following the launch of Kazang Pay in Zambia, we have seen higher VAS sales across our merchant base and much-improved merchant retention and with our card acquiring solution we now appeal to a broader merchant base.”

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement




Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending