Modi and Trump Hold Phone Call as India Seeks Relief From U.S. Tariffs Over Russian Oil Trade 
Evercore Reaffirms Alphabet’s Search Dominance as AI Competition Intensifies 
Nvidia Develops New Location-Verification Technology for AI Chips 
Trump’s Approval of AI Chip Sales to China Triggers Bipartisan National Security Concerns 
Hong Kong Cuts Base Rate as HKMA Follows U.S. Federal Reserve Move 
Indonesia–U.S. Tariff Talks Near Completion as Both Sides Push for Year-End Deal 
Fed’s Dovish Tone Sends Dollar Lower as Markets Price In More Rate Cuts 
SoftBank Eyes Switch Inc as It Pushes Deeper Into AI Data Center Expansion 
Trello Outage Disrupts Users as Access Issues Hit Atlassian’s Work Management Platform 
Gold Prices Dip as Markets Absorb Dovish Fed Outlook; Silver Eases After Record High 
Global Markets Slide as Tech Stocks Sink, Yields Rise, and AI Concerns Deepen 
Air Transat Reaches Tentative Agreement With Pilots, Avoids Strike and Restores Normal Operations 
ANZ Faces Legal Battle as Former CEO Shayne Elliott Sues Over A$13.5 Million Bonus Dispute 
Wall Street Futures Slip as Oracle Earnings Miss Reignites AI Spending Concerns 
Asian Stocks Rally as Tech Rebounds, China Lags on Nvidia Competition Concerns 
Westpac Director Peter Nash Avoids Major Investor Backlash Amid ASX Scrutiny 
Danggeun Market Inc.’s buying and selling app Karrot has raised $162 million from investors including DST Global, to record a $2.7 billion valuation and makes it one of the largest startups in South Korea.
Karrot is backed by a venture arm of Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group Corp. and the new round. It now joins a list of South Korean unicorns eyeing global expansion as growth at home plateaus.
Karrot’s new investors include Yuri Milner’s outfit and Aspex Management. Its existing investors like Altos Ventures and Goodwater Capital also participated.\
Like other South Korean startups such as Coupang Inc. and Krafton Inc., Karrot is preparing to expand internationally.
South Korean startups can also become successful like Facebook and Google as the quality of their products, marketing, and branding have all matured, said Karrot co-founder Gary Kim.
He added that there would soon be a Korean consumer app that would be used globally.
Kim said the new funds would finance Karrot’s talent acquisition and overseas expansion plans for the next 18 months to two years.
The 200-person Karrot intends to add 100 new employees this year.
The company is focusing on improving profitability, and it may take five years before any potential public listing. While its local ad sales business is growing, Karrot is not yet profitable.
Karrot handled hundreds of billions of dollars of sales last year, according to Kim.
