🔋 China Energy Turns Positive, Up 10%. $865M+ VC Funding.

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📈 Today's Global Economic Update: China's retail sales increased by 2.3% YoY in April 2024, falling short of projections and marking the smallest increase in 15 months. Sales for personal care, furniture, and communications equipment increased, while declines were observed in clothing, jewelry, office supplies, cars, and building materials.

🫁 Deal of the Day: CinDome Pharma, a developer of chronic gastroparesis treatments, raised a $40M Series B to support their ongoing trials.

What's New?

🔋 China Energy. China energy turns positive, up 10%
💰 Funding. Cloud AI, cloud analytics, voice assistants + more
💼 M&A. Oil and natural gas, biotech, and hospice services
📅 Economics. US inflation data, retail sales, balance of trade + more

🔋 China Energy Turns Positive, Up 10%

HolonIQ's China Energy Index has witnessed a 10% increase, reversing a downtrend that saw lows of -14% in October 2023. In 2023, China hit a record in installed capacity of new energy. However, partly due to a constrained macroeconomic environment, the index experienced a downward trajectory for most of the year.

The Chinese economy has begun to show some signs of recovery, and the index turned positive in February, growing by 18% over the past six months. Significant stocks in the index have also seen growth over this period. Despite China Yangtze Power’s ($86B MCap) first quarter earnings missing expectations, its stock price has grown by 12% over the last six months. Huaneng Lancang River Hydropower ($23B Mcap) also saw its stock increase by 14%. The outlook for energy firms in China is positive, with the government announcing plans to accelerate investments in clean energy in early March. China’s new strategy will see a ‘new trio’ of industries – solar panels, electric vehicles (EVs), and lithium batteries – replacing clothing, furniture, and appliances. At the same time, China's heavy reliance on coal persists, with traditional energy companies continuing to play a prominent role under the banner of energy security.

💰 Funding

☁️ Vercel, a California-based cloud platform for developers who build modern applications, raised a $250M Series E from Accel to broaden the reach of its frontend Cloud AI and enterprise security.

🔑 Sigma, a California-based cloud analytics solutions provider, raised a $200M Series D from Spark Capital and Avenir Growth Capital to expand its operations and business reach.

🤖 CRMBonus, a Brazilian startup providing a marketing automation platform for businesses, raised a $75M Series B from BOND to continue developing its platform.

🗣️ PolyAI, a UK-based company that produces AI voice assistants for call centers, raised a $50M Series C to expand the use of voice-first, AI-driven automation.

🫁 CinDome Pharma, an Ohio-based developer of chronic gastroparesis treatments, raised a $40M Series B from Perceptive Advisors and CinRx Pharma to support their ongoing trials.

💰 Agora, a New York-based investment management solutions provider, raised a $34 Series B from Qumra Capital to speed up expansion and enhance product offerings.

🤖 Voxel51, a Michigan-based visual AI company, raised a $30M Series B from Bessemer Venture Partners to accelerate its product roadmap.

🥗 Fay, a California-based platform that connects individuals with nutritionists, raised $25M from General Catalyst to expand operations and development initiatives.

🏦 Aeropay, an Illinois-based company providing payment processing solutions, raised a $20M Series B from Group 11 to use the funds to expand operations and develop new products.

💼 M&A

⚡ Crescent Energy, a Texas-based energy company, signed a definitive agreement to acquire Texas-based oil and natural gas company SilverBow Resources for $2.1B.

🏥 Johnson & Johnson, signed a definitive agreement to acquire Proteologix, a California-based biotech company.

💉 The Pennant Group, an Idaho-based healthcare service provider, acquired Nurses on Wheels, a Texas-based hospice provider.

📅 Economic Calendar

US Inflation Data, Retail Sales, Balance of Trade + More

Friday, May 17th 2024

🇯🇵 Japan Inflation Data, April
🇯🇵 Japan Balance of Trade Data, April

Monday, May 20th 2024

🇦🇺 Australia Westpac Consumer Confidence Index, May
🇦🇺 Australia RBA Meeting Minutes

Tuesday, May 21st 2024

🇨🇦 Canada Inflation Data, April
🇯🇵 Japan Balance of Trade, April

Wednesday, May 22nd 2024

🇬🇧 UK Inflation Data, April
🇺🇸 US FOMC Minutes

Thursday, May 23rd 2024

🇩🇪 Germany HCOB Manufacturing PMI (Flash), May
🇯🇵 Japan Inflation Data, April

Friday, May 24th 2024

🇬🇧 UK Retail Sales Data, April
🇺🇸 US Durable Goods Orders Data, April

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