A $200 million funding round led by Japanese billionaire Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank gave a little-known California-based semiconductor startup a boost in the nascent logistics chip space.
SoftBank Group’s Vision Fund 2 led the investment in Wiliot, a four-year-old startup with presence in Australia, Germany, Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine. Previous investors include Amazon Web Services and the venture capital arms of Samsung and Japanese mobile carrier NTT Docomo.
SoftBank’s investment marks a boost for Wiliot, says Mario Morales, group vice president of enabling technologies and semiconductors at market research firm IDC. “Most of these guys have gotten not as much funding as this one,” he notes. “Most of them are running out of money.”
Wiliot, whose stamp-sized chips are designed to allow object identification on a mass scale, could benefit from cross-pollination with the Vision Fund portfolio’s e-commerce and logistics companies, analysts say.
“Vision Fund is spraying billions of dollars on tech firms, and the flow of cash appears almost limitless,” says Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics. “Wiliot could potentially work with other Vision Fund investments such as Coupang or Flipkart for leaner e-commerce logistics.”
Wiliot’s encrypted and cloud-enabled chips connect products that move through global supply chains in crates, packaging and on pallets. The startup has raised a total of $270 million in venture capital over time and the latest round was over subscribed, says Stephen Statler, a senior vice president at Wiliot. “We’ve seen a consistent level of interest between financial and strategic investors in what we do,” he says.
Attention to autonomous warehouses, robotics and “smart” retail raise interest in object-finder tech, Statler adds. “One of the basics is to have a real-time view of inventory so when (a customer) does show up, you’re not constantly searching for what you want,” he says.
Wiliot belongs to a small high-tech sub-industry that designs chips for object identification akin to QR coding and RFID (radio-frequency identification) tags, says Morales. The global market for this space spans just 10 startups worth a few tens of millions of dollars, he says.
Over five years, Morales forecasts the space will grow to around $2 billion, but led by half the number of companies that are active now. “The logistics chip industry could eventually be measured in the trillions of units, as every product or thing can potentially be tagged with a battery-less, wireless tracker for real-time inventory management of the demand chain,” he says.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in technology, financial and energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also pushed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 171.41 points at 23,298.39.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 278.37 points at 41,369.79. The S&P 500 index was up 38.17 points at 5,630.35, while the Nasdaq composite was up 177.15 points at 17,733.18.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.19 cents US compared with 74.23 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up US$1.75 at US$76.27 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.10 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$18.70 at US$2,556.50 an ounce and the December copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.22 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2024.
The crypto market has recently experienced a significant downturn, mirroring broader risk asset sell-offs. Over the past week, Bitcoin’s price dropped by 24%, reaching $53,000, while Ethereum plummeted nearly a third to $2,340. Major altcoins also suffered, with Cardano down 27.7%, Solana 36.2%, Dogecoin 34.6%, XRP 23.1%, Shiba Inu 30.1%, and BNB 25.7%.
The severe downturn in the crypto market appears to be part of a broader flight to safety, triggered by disappointing economic data. A worse-than-expected unemployment report on Friday marked the beginning of a technical recession, as defined by the Sahm Rule. This rule identifies a recession when the three-month average unemployment rate rises by at least half a percentage point from its lowest point in the past year.
Friday’s figures met this threshold, signaling an abrupt economic downshift. Consequently, investors sought safer assets, leading to declines in major stock indices: the S&P 500 dropped 2%, the Nasdaq 2.5%, and the Dow 1.5%. This trend continued into Monday with further sell-offs overseas.
The crypto market’s rapid decline raises questions about its role as either a speculative asset or a hedge against inflation and recession. Despite hopes that crypto could act as a risk hedge, the recent crash suggests it remains a speculative investment.
Since the downturn, the crypto market has seen its largest three-day sell-off in nearly a year, losing over $500 billion in market value. According to CoinGlass data, this bloodbath wiped out more than $1 billion in leveraged positions within the last 24 hours, including $365 million in Bitcoin and $348 million in Ether.
Khushboo Khullar of Lightning Ventures, speaking to Bloomberg, argued that the crypto sell-off is part of a broader liquidity panic as traders rush to cover margin calls. Khullar views this as a temporary sell-off, presenting a potential buying opportunity.
Josh Gilbert, an eToro market analyst, supports Khullar’s perspective, suggesting that the expected Federal Reserve rate cuts could benefit crypto assets. “Crypto assets have sold off, but many investors will see an opportunity. We see Federal Reserve rate cuts, which are now likely to come sharper than expected, as hugely positive for crypto assets,” Gilbert told Coindesk.
Despite the recent volatility, crypto continues to make strides toward mainstream acceptance. Notably, Morgan Stanley will allow its advisors to offer Bitcoin ETFs starting Wednesday. This follows more than half a year after the introduction of the first Bitcoin ETF. The investment bank will enable over 15,000 of its financial advisors to sell BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC. This move is seen as a significant step toward the “mainstreamization” of crypto, given the lengthy regulatory and company processes in major investment banks.
The recent crypto market downturn highlights its volatility and the broader economic concerns affecting all risk assets. While some analysts see the current situation as a temporary sell-off and a buying opportunity, others caution against the speculative nature of crypto. As the market evolves, its role as a mainstream alternative asset continues to grow, marked by increasing institutional acceptance and new investment opportunities.
