Tiger Global on a Mission to Raise $6B Tech-Related Fund

Tiger Global Management is on a mission to raise a humongous sum of $6 billion for a new investment fund that invests in privately-held tech firms, according to Axios.

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The funding effort is currently ongoing. Axios reported that the first close will happen in January, citing an investment letter it reviewed.

The amount seems high but is half of what it raised previously, reflecting a decrease in startup funding round sizes and valuations.

Tiger has already invested in more than three dozen crypto and blockchain startups since 2020, and the company’s existing portfolio companies include TikTok parent ByteDance, Databricks, Stripe, ByteDance and Shein.

Axios reported that “Tiger’s letter reports that its Private Investment Partners funds have called over $36 billion since inception in 2003, distributed $30 billion and generated a net IRR of 24%.”

As per Tiger: “The funds have generated positive IRRs in every vintage year of investment and consistently robust distributions, with each of our first 10 funds having returned between 130% and 1,058% of called capital.”

Tiger has invested most of its existing funds in early-stage enterprise software and fintech companies in the US and India. The company’s average investment size falls to $30 million, and it expects that strategy to persist.

While in the past few months, Tiger has acquired stakes in gaming infrastructure startup Lysto and the NEAR protocol.

In April, Tiger led a funding round for Near protocol, a layer-1 blockchain network, from investors cutting across the traditional finance and crypto industries.

According to Bloomberg, the platform pulled in $350 million, which is more than double what it raised ( $150 million) back in January.

In Asia, Tiger led a Series B funding round in February for Philippine Cryptocurrency Exchange (PDAX) to raise $50 million. The Philippine Digital Asset Exchange raised a total of $63.6M in funding over 5 rounds.

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Tech Experts Urge Regulators to be Sceptical on Digital Currencies Innovation

A group of technology innovators has sent a letter to the United States Congressional Leadership, Committee Chairs, and Ranking Members, urging them to take a critical look at cryptocurrency innovations.

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These experts, numbering 26 in total, including Harvard lecturer Bruce Schneier, former Microsoft engineer Miguel de Icaza and principal engineer at Google Cloud, Kelsey Hightower admonished the lawmakers not to listen to stakeholders with a vested interest in the crypto industry who claims the technology is designed for the good of all.

“We write to you urging you to take a critical, sceptical approach toward industry claims that crypto-assets (sometimes called cryptocurrencies, crypto tokens, or web3) are an innovative technology that is unreservedly good,” the letter reads, adding, “We urge you to resist pressure from digital asset industry financiers, lobbyists, and boosters to create a regulatory safe haven for these risky, flawed, and unproven digital financial instruments and to instead take an approach that protects the public interest and ensures technology is deployed in genuine service to the needs of ordinary citizens.”

These experts argued that not everything that can be built should be built and that the history of technology is replete with innovations that started out good but turned out bad in the end. They said the technology is not as novel as the proponents claim they are, adding that the only group of protocols, privacy coins, which offer true anonymity, are a disaster in that they are the right haven for money launderers.

They believe the clamour around blockchain technology is not also worth it in that it promotes only very few real-world use cases. 

Drawing on all these points, experts implored the lawmakers tasked with formulating regulations that bind the crypto ecosystem to “take a truly responsible approach to technological innovation and ensure that individuals in the US and elsewhere are not left vulnerable to predatory finance, fraud, and systemic economic risks in the name of technological potential which does not exist.”

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Tech Experts Press Regulators to be Sceptical on Digital Currencies

A group of technology innovators has sent a letter to the United States Congressional Leadership, Committee Chairs, and Ranking Members, urging them to take a critical look at cryptocurrency innovations.

W2.jpg

These experts, numbering 26 in total, including Harvard lecturer Bruce Schneier, former Microsoft engineer Miguel de Icaza and principal engineer at Google Cloud, Kelsey Hightower admonished the lawmakers not to listen to stakeholders with a vested interest in the crypto industry who claims the technology is designed for the good of all.

“We write to you urging you to take a critical, sceptical approach toward industry claims that crypto-assets (sometimes called cryptocurrencies, crypto tokens, or web3) are an innovative technology that is unreservedly good,” the letter reads, adding, “We urge you to resist pressure from digital asset industry financiers, lobbyists, and boosters to create a regulatory safe haven for these risky, flawed, and unproven digital financial instruments and to instead take an approach that protects the public interest and ensures technology is deployed in genuine service to the needs of ordinary citizens.”

These experts argued that not everything that can be built should be built and that the history of technology is replete with innovations that started out good but turned out bad in the end. They said the technology is not as novel as the proponents claim they are, adding that the only group of protocols, privacy coins, which offer true anonymity, are a disaster in that they are the right haven for money launderers.

They believe the clamour around blockchain technology is not also worth it in that it promotes only very few real-world use cases. 

Drawing on all these points, experts implored the lawmakers tasked with formulating regulations that bind the crypto ecosystem to “take a truly responsible approach to technological innovation and ensure that individuals in the US and elsewhere are not left vulnerable to predatory finance, fraud, and systemic economic risks in the name of technological potential which does not exist.”

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Tech Stocks to Grow this Year thanks to Crypto & Metaverse, Wall Street Analyst Says

Cyrus Mewawalla, the head of thematic research at data analytics and consultancy firm GlobalData believes that tech companies whose operations extend into the metaverse and crypto, despite the massive uncertainties experienced in the stock market, end up in gains at the end of the year.

Speaking in an interview with CNBC, the analyst said metaverse, Web 3.0, cryptocurrencies, and quantum computing could be the key drivers of growth for many tech stocks that operate in the area.

Among the prominent names that come to mind is Meta Platforms Inc (formerly Facebook), which rebranded its name last year to focus more on the metaverse. Humans can interact in various forms through their digital avatars in this virtual reality world. The company has a subsidiary Oculus which manufactures VR headsets that can easily be adapted to represent more metaverse related functions.

The analyst believes Meta, Microsoft, and other outfits tilted towards these emerging technologies can turn their books around irrespective of macroeconomic conditions.

However, Mewawalla is not so hopeful about the growth of Apple Inc as one of the tech stocks billed for growth this year. This is perhaps due to the fact that the tech giant is neither known for floating new innovative products nor has it indicated its move into the fast-growing metaverse world.

“Apple is probably the least likely to grow from here in terms of maintaining its valuation,” he said. “It’s got a very, very strong ecosystem with very strong execution. So I see very little downside risk. But the upside potential I see more in other big tech stocks.”

The cryptocurrency ecosystem is a growing industry is no longer a viable excuse for institutional investors to stay out. Instead, they should consider it for long-term investment. For a renowned analyst to hinge crypto as a factor for growth for huge multinationals is a show of how far emerging tech has come in establishing itself as a force of massive innovation and global transformation.

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The Sandbox co-founder wants to defend Metaverse against Big Tech

The Sandbox co-founder Sebastien Borget wants to defend the Metaverse from the Big Tech giants aiming to make a foray into the nascent market. 

In a recent interview, Borget said that he is not very keen on big tech companies such as Meta joining the Metaverse. He explained further that major technology companies could threaten the decentralization of the Metaverse as their business model goes against it.

The Sandbox co-founder went on to add that it’s not about the competition, rather more about an open, decentralized future. Tech giants hold the monopoly over Web 2.0, something the Web 3.0 technologies like the Metaverse and crypto are trying to break. Borget explained:

“We don’t think those companies can build something truly fun that’s catered to the users because they’ve been so focused on their key business model and how to satisfy shareholders rather than satisfy users who own the asset, who own the governance of their own platform.”

Facebook rebranded itself as Meta to acknowledge its focus on the virtual world. The social media giant has shifted its focus to be the leading tech giant in the nascent virtual reality metaverse after a failed attempt at launching a universal stablecoin.

Related: Just did it: Nike enters the metaverse game following RTFKT acquisition

Facebook’s record with user data mismanagement has created distrust among the masses, and the company’s business model worries The Sandbox COO.

The Sandbox closed a $93 million funding round led by Japanese banking giant Softbank. It also launched the first Metaverse game where people can buy virtual lands, and the game has already attracted many headlines over a $4.3 million virtual land sale. The metaverse projects combine the best of crypto and a virtual reality-based gaming ecosystem, making them among the most sought-after projects in the crypto world.