Vietnam-based internet startup VNG Ltd. has decided to postpone its plans for a US initial public offering, Bloomberg reported, quoting a person familiar with the matter. VNG was advised to hold off until market demand improves, said the person. The news came after mixed performances by a trio of newly public companies this month, the report added. The IPO could be postponed until next year.
Neara, which is an infrastructure modeling platform that employs AI to create models for simulations and analytics has raised $10 million (~US$6.35 million) with funding from Dutch VC Prosus Ventures, placing its Series B total funding at $24 million (~US$15.23 million). Neara provides tools that allow engineers and others to optimize and manage large infrastructure by offering simulations that illustrate risks of extreme climate conditions.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said the country expects to receive investment of at least US$5 billion from Tesla, Google and Microsoft. “Tesla would be looking into an EV (electric vehicle) manufacturing facility, Microsoft and Google are looking at data centres,” he said, without detailing whether the US$5 billion was expected to be a combined investment or made individually by each company.
Just over half of consumers (54%) like to receive personalized messages because they show the consumers are known to the brand, plus they can be time savers. The rest (46%) find it at best unimportant, at worst creepy. Relevance far outstrips personalization when it comes to driving email opens (54% vs. 19%). Takeaway: treat each customer the way they prefer.