New Portfolio Company: Overalls
/We’re excited to share with you our latest investment, Overalls.
Project Canary Enters into Strategic Arrangement with Quantum Energy Partners to Facilitate Improvements in Energy Industry ESG Performance
/The companies will collaborate to facilitate improvements in ESG performance through the provision of sustainability-linked financings and third-party continuous emissions monitoring data
DENVER, June 07, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Project Canary, a climate tech and environmental assessment company focused on providing trusted third-party ESG data for emission-intensive industries, announced today that it has expanded its strategic relationship with Quantum Energy Partners ("Quantum") related to Quantum’s credit and structured capital investment efforts. Quantum is a leading provider of private capital to the energy industry and is focused on providing sustainability-linked capital to both public and private energy companies. Project Canary and Quantum believe that meaningful synergies exist between Quantum’s sustainability-linked investment initiatives and Project Canary’s emissions monitoring solutions.
California Employers Could Soon Have To Include Salary Ranges In Job Ads, A ‘Game Changer’ For Pay Transparency
/California’s state senate voted to pass what’s been called the nation’s most aggressive pay transparency measure Tuesday, moving forward a bill that would require many businesses to post salary ranges in job ads, as well as publicly report more data about how groups of employees are paid.
If a similar version of the bill passes the state’s assembly and is signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), California could become the third state and the seventh jurisdiction in the nation to require employers with at least 15 employees to publish pay ranges in job postings, giving applicants access to information before they lowball answers about salary expectations or waste time applying for underpaying jobs.
Yet while California is playing catch-up to states like Colorado and Washington, which already have similar laws on the books, the bill is also likely to make an outsized impact if it passes, even acting as a tipping point for employers to take such policies nationwide.
Pokemon Go dev Niantic acquires AR studio NZXR
/Pokemon Go maker Niantic has acquired augmented reality studio NZXR for an undisclosed fee.
Based in New Zealand, NZXR has worked on a number of "AR-first" experiences including interactive apps and prototypes for smartphones and headsets, providing engineering support on skateboarding title Skatrix and assisting with Unreal Engine-powered interactive theatre experience Destination Mars.
The deal will see NZXR become an integral part of the Niantic design and development team working on multiplayer real-world AR experiences.
"Our goal has always been to create augmented reality experiences that can be enjoyed by millions of people and to build the technology that powers them and third-party applications – Niantic Lightship," said the company.
Ethereum Startup Partners With Visa To Spend Unused Phone Minutes On A Virtual Credit Card
/Christian Duffus realized that the extra airtime on his Kenyan SIM card couldn't be used in the United States or redeemed online. So, in collaboration with Visa V +2% Inc., he devised a global solution for converting airtime to cryptocurrency and essentially turning the SIM card into a debit card.
He created an app called Fonbnk. The app allows its users to convert airtime to an ERC-20 (Fungible token run on Ethereum blockchain) stable coin called MIN. This token is pegged on the US dollar.
This innovation was based on observation of existing infrastructure that could be integrated into a product. On one side, the founder of Fonbnk realized that most telecommunication companies that offer prepaid airtime have some form of functionality that allows users to send and receive airtime for free. As a result of this functionality, most of these markets have developed a floating market for reselling airtime.