Bruce Bentley

Bombay: Local startups and technology companies are likely to draw funds this year similar to what they did in 2021 despite ostensible headwinds, as the system has enough appetite for quality assets, Bain & Co's India Venture Capital Report 2022 shows. Investors are expected to double down on quality assets with larger rounds, setting a more measured pace of deal-making in 2022. Deal-making will likely be affected by the funding winter that has set after tech stocks took a huge beating in the global markets , causing a moderation in the funding frenzy also in the private market. “We expect that macro headwinds and compressions in global public markets are likely to have a trickle-down impact over the next couple of quarters – however, this is likely to reflect more in the quality of deals vs. overall capital deployment,” said Sai Deo, an associate partner in Bain & Company's private equity practice and co-author of the report. "Investors will likely double down on...

March 22 (Reuters) - Bitcoin just isn't anonymous enough for a growing cohort of crypto users who are seeking greater seclusion. A volatile class of crypto known as privacy coins, created with the primary aim of masking the identity of users and details of transactions, has quietly been gaining ground this month as maturing bitcoin inches towards mainstream finance. Monero and Zcash, among the most popular, have respectively gained 7.6% and 46% since March 1, according to CoinMarketCap data, even as bitcoin has lost about 5%. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com register The pair has gained 4.7% and 16% in the past week. An index tracking privacy coins more broadly, compiled by research firm Macro Hive, has risen 4%. This could be a blip in the wild ride of privacy coins, which conceal more information about transaction amounts and parties through differences in their underlying blockchains. In the past five years, Monero's market cap - the total value of all ...

Plans to build a rocket-launching spaceport in the Outer Hebrides could be dealt a blow over links to Russia, we can reveal. Western Isles Council has signaled it may need to order a “review” of its partnership with consultancy firm Commercial Space Technologies (CST) Ltd, depending on future government advice. The firm is registered in the UK but has long-standing connections with Russia. Scottish ministers urged businesses on Thursday to cut their ties to Russia amid international outrage at Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine. CST said it had sought advice from the UK Government's department of international trade. The company is involved in a consortium which is driving the Spaceport 1 project at North Uist. North Uist It is working alongside the local authority, also known as Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, development agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), and defense firm QinetiQ. The original plans attracted a flood of objects, but h...