On Tuesday, Mastercard said that it had reached a deal to buy Minna Technologies, a software company that helps customers better manage their subscriptions.

The action was taken in response to Mastercard’s and Visa’s aggressive efforts to diversify their businesses beyond credit and debit cards and into technology services including pay-by-bank payments, cybersecurity, and fraud prevention.

Mastercard refuses to share the transaction’s financial information, which is presently being examined by regulators.

The payments giant claimed that the agreement will enable it to provide customers with a method to access all of their subscriptions in a single view, whether inside your banking app or a central “hub,” in conjunction with other projects it is committed to surrounding subscriptions.

Based in Gothenburg, Sweden, Minna Technologies creates technology that enables users to manage subscriptions within banking apps and websites, irrespective of the payment method they originally used.

According to the company, it collaborates with some of the biggest financial institutions in existence today. It already counts rival Visa and Mastercard as important partners.

In a blog post on Tuesday, Mastercard stated, “These teams and technologies will add to the broader set of tools that help manage the merchant-consumer relationship and minimize any disruption in their experience.”

Modern consumers frequently have a tonne of subscriptions from various providers, including Netflix, Amazon, and Disney Plus, to keep track of. Having numerous subscriptions can make it challenging to cancel them because users may forget which ones they have paid for when.

According to Mastercard, this may have a detrimental effect on retailers since customers who find it difficult to cancel their subscriptions often contact their banks to ask that payments be stopped.

Data from Juniper Research indicates that there are currently 6.8 billion subscriptions worldwide; by 2028, that figure is predicted to increase to 9.3 billion.

Establishment businesses in the financial services industry, like Mastercard, have been expanding their product line quickly to stay competitive with up-and-coming fintech companies that provide consumers with easier-to-use, digitally native methods of managing their money.

A U.S. fintech company called Finicity was purchased by Mastercard in 2020. It allows other banks or other third parties to access a customer’s banking data and process payments on their behalf.

In other words, as a customer, you would simply need to use your fingerprint to confirm your identity when you pay, instead of having to manually enter your card details as it was previously stated that the company would tokenize all cards issued on its network in Europe by 2030.

Meanwhile, Visa is making an effort to compete with fintech rivals. The business introduced Visa A2A, a new service that makes it simpler for customers to set up and manage direct debits—payments that are deducted from your bank account instead of using a credit or debit card—last month.On Tuesday, Mastercard said that it had reached a deal to buy Minna Technologies, a software company that helps customers better manage their subscriptions.

The action was taken in response to Mastercard’s and Visa’s aggressive efforts to diversify their businesses beyond credit and debit cards and into technology services including pay-by-bank payments, cybersecurity, and fraud prevention.

Mastercard refuses to share the transaction’s financial information, which is presently being examined by regulators.

The payments giant claimed that the agreement will enable it to provide customers with a method to access all of their subscriptions in a single view, whether inside your banking app or a central “hub,” in conjunction with other projects it is committed to surrounding subscriptions.

Based in Gothenburg, Sweden, Minna Technologies creates technology that enables users to manage subscriptions within banking apps and websites, irrespective of the payment method they originally used.

According to the company, it collaborates with some of the biggest financial institutions in existence today. It already counts rival Visa and Mastercard as important partners.

In a blog post on Tuesday, Mastercard stated, “These teams and technologies will add to the broader set of tools that help manage the merchant-consumer relationship and minimize any disruption in their experience.”

Modern consumers frequently have a tonne of subscriptions from various providers, including Netflix, Amazon, and Disney Plus, to keep track of. Having numerous subscriptions can make it challenging to cancel them because users may forget which ones they have paid for when.

Mastercard pointed out that this could be detrimental to retailers because customers who find it difficult to cancel their subscriptions wind up contacting their banks to ask that payments be stopped.

Data from Juniper Research indicates that there are currently 6.8 billion subscriptions worldwide; by 2028, that figure is predicted to increase to 9.3 billion.

Establishment businesses in the financial services industry, like Mastercard, have been expanding their product line quickly to stay competitive with up-and-coming fintech companies that provide consumers with easier-to-use, digitally native methods of managing their money.

A U.S. fintech company called Finicity was purchased by Mastercard in 2020. It allows other banks or other third parties to access a customer’s banking data and process payments on their behalf.

In other words, as a customer, you would simply need to use your fingerprint to confirm your identity when you pay, instead of having to manually enter your card details as it was previously stated that the company would tokenize all cards issued on its network in Europe by 2030.

Meanwhile, Visa is making an effort to compete with fintech rivals. The business introduced Visa A2A, a new service that makes it simpler for customers to set up and manage direct debits—payments that are deducted from your bank account instead of using a credit or debit card—last month.

Chip giant Nvidia has acquired Seattle-based startup OctoAI, which specializes in developing tools to optimize the building and deployment of generative AI models. This acquisition is the latest in a series of AI-related deals for Nvidia, a dominant player in the chip industry, benefiting from the surge in AI demand due to its widely used GPUs.

OctoAI, which recently updated its homepage with the message “OctoAI is now NVIDIA,” informed customers via email that it will cease commercial operations by October 31. According to reports, Nvidia was initially in talks to acquire OctoAI for around $165 million, but a source indicated that the deal could reach over $250 million, including incentives for retaining key personnel.

Founded in 2019 as a spinout from the University of Washington, OctoAI raised more than $132 million in funding and was valued at approximately $900 million in 2021. The company was previously known as OctoML but rebranded earlier this year to reflect its evolving product offerings. OctoAI’s platform, which includes the recently launched OctoStack, serves as a comprehensive tech stack for running generative AI models across different hardware configurations.

OctoAI’s co-founder and CEO Luis Ceze announced on LinkedIn that he will be joining Nvidia, expressing excitement about contributing to Nvidia’s efforts in machine learning compilers and AI cloud infrastructure. The future of OctoAI’s over 100 employees remains uncertain, with some team members already referring to themselves as “free agents” on LinkedIn.

Nvidia, which has made multiple AI-related acquisitions in 2023, structured this deal as a traditional M&A transaction. OctoAI had significant backing from investors including Tiger Global Management, Madrona Venture Group, and Amplify Partners. The startup’s customers and partners include major tech players like AWS, Google, and Nvidia itself, with which OctoAI had collaborated earlier this year.

Matt McIlwain, managing director at Madrona, praised the acquisition, calling Nvidia the “perfect partner for OctoAI” and highlighting the strategic alignment between the two companies. He noted that OctoAI had reached “significant single-digit millions” in annual revenue prior to the acquisition.

Luis Ceze, a well-known figure in the AI community and professor at the University of Washington, co-founded OctoAI with a team that included researchers behind the Apache TVM deep learning compiler stack, a notable project from the university’s computer science department.

Coral, a climate tech company harnessing the power of blockchain and AI, has successfully raised $3 million in pre-seed funding to scale its operations and enhance its platform for carbon emissions management. With this investment, Coral plans to establish a new office in Abu Dhabi, expand its team, and further develop its AI-driven system.

Blockchain-Powered Carbon Credit Traceability

Announced on September 23, Coral’s funding round was led by a group of seasoned tech investors with over 40 years of collective experience. The funds will support Coral’s expansion efforts, including increasing its customer base and improving its platform, which streamlines carbon data collection, evaluation, and reporting within one system.

Coral offers businesses an innovative way to manage their carbon emissions, leveraging blockchain technology for complete “full lifecycle traceability” of carbon credits. This ensures the quality and transparency of carbon offsets with real-time auditability.

Scaling for a Sustainable Future

Daniele Sileri, Coral’s Director of Product and Strategy, expressed excitement over the successful funding round, stating, “We’re thrilled to have completed our seed round and are grateful for the support from our investors who share our vision for a sustainable future. This funding will enable us to scale our platform, expand our team, and accelerate our mission to make carbon neutrality accessible and transparent for businesses worldwide.”

Jürgen Hoebarth, Director of Operations and Research at Coral, highlighted how the company stands out by integrating AI and blockchain into its Emissions Management System, allowing Coral to help organizations achieve their sustainability objectives more effectively.