 Oil prices rose to $139 a barrel on Monday amid talks of a ban on Russian oil and natural gas. Brent crude jumped 18% to $139.13 a barrel, its highest since 2008, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose to $130.50 a barrel. By 12:45 ET, Brent crude had settled to $122.97 a barrel and WTI to $118.53 a barrel. The U.S. and Ukraine have called for a western ban on Russian oil and gas as part of international sanctions against the country. With the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, J.P. Morgan analysts estimate oil could rise to $185 per barrel this year. More: - Russia exports about 7 million barrels per day of oil and refined products, about 7% of the world’s supply.
- Global oil prices have risen 60% since the start of 2022. In Europe, natural gas prices have risen almost 80%.
- On Monday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejected calls to ban Russian oil and gas, saying Europe cannot wean itself off Russian energy overnight.
In related news: Global markets have also fallen amid the ongoing conflict. - The Stoxx 600, an index of European stocks, fell 7% last week, marking its worst performance since March 2020. It fell an additional 3% in early trading on Monday.
- The Dow Jones fell almost 800 points on Monday, down 2.4%, the S&P 500 was down ~3%, and the Nasdaq fell 3.6%.
- The euro has fallen to its lowest level in two years against the dollar, trading at $1.09 to a euro.
- The Russian rouble fell to a record 150 roubles to a dollar.
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Samsung on Monday said it experienced a security breach involving some source codes relating to the operation of its Galaxy devices. The company noted the breach did not include the personal data of its consumers or employees. Samsung did not give details on the hackers or details on what data was stolen. However, over the weekend, hacking group Lapsus$ claimed in their Telegram channel they had stolen 190 gigabytes of confidential Samsung source code. More: - Samsung said it strengthened its security system as soon as it was made aware of the breach.
- Samsung Galaxy devices include the company’s smartphones and tablets.
- Lapsus$ is the hacking group behind U.S. chipmaker Nvidia’s hack that resulted in 1 terabyte of stolen confidential company data, including the credentials of more than 71,000 Nvidia employees.
- According to Lapsus$, the data stolen from Samsung includes confidential data from U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm. Qualcomm supplies chips for Samsung smartphones sold in the U.S.
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Pharmaceutical giant Moderna has reached a preliminary agreement with Kenya to build a COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing plant in the country. Moderna plans to invest $500M to produce messenger RNA, the technology behind its COVID vaccines, at the facility with a target of making 500 million vaccines doses a year. The agreement comes as the company has faced criticism from activist groups like Doctors Without Borders for not sharing its vaccine technology with middle- and lower-income countries. More: - According to Moderna, vaccine production at the Kenya facility could start as early as 2023, subject to demand.
- Moderna has committed 650 million doses of its vaccine to COVAX through 2022. COVAX is an international alliance backed by the WHO to deliver COVID vaccines to low-and middle-income countries.
- In Oct. 2020, the company said it would not enforce COVID-related patents during the pandemic and would license its vaccine after the pandemic.
- Moderna is in a patent dispute with the National Institutes of Health over the technology behind the vaccine.
- NIH plans to license the technology globally if it wins the dispute with Moderna.
- Moderna generated $18.5B in revenue in 2021, of which $17.7B were from sales of its COVID vaccine.
- The company delivered 807 million vaccine doses worldwide in 2021.
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 Pony.ai CEO James Peng at a product event | REUTERS/Yilei Sun Autonomous driving technology company Pony.ai announced the first close of its Series D funding round, giving the company an $8.5B valuation. The company did not disclose how much it has raised but said it will release more information once the entire round closes. Pony.ai was founded in 2016 and has raised $1.1B to date, excluding its recent raise. Investors include Toyota, which invested $400M in the startup, and Sequoia Capital, Legend Capital, 5Y Capital, and ClearVue Partners. Pony.ai was last valued at $5.3B in 2020 after raising $267M in a Series C funding round. The company is developing its autonomous driving technology for the long-haul trucking market as well as the robotaxi market. More: - Pony.ai is testing autonomous vehicles in four major Chinese cities — Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen — and in California in Fremont and Irvine.
- The company plans to use the new funds to expand its autonomous vehicle testing and operation sites, hire more talent, and grow its fleet.
- In August, it was reported Pony.ai suspended its plans for a New York public listing via SPAC after it failed to gain assurances from Beijing that it would not be a target of China’s tech crackdown.
- The company had planned to go public in Oct. 2021 at a $12B valuation.
- It is still aiming for a U.S. public listing.
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 Dash Ghana-based fintech company Dash has raised $32.8M in seed funding led by New York venture capital and private equity firm Insight Partners. Dash was founded in 2019 by Prince Boakye Boampong. The company aims to solve the interoperability problem between mobile money wallets and banks. Dash allows users from different countries to send and receive money and pay bills by routing payments through banks and telecommunications companies. Dash has about 1 million users and operates in Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria. More: - The company has processed over $1B in Total Payment Volume (TPV) since its launch in 2020; in January, it processed over $300M in TPV, a 300% monthly increase from Q4 2021.
- Dash generates revenue from processing fees, FX fees, commissions earned when users pay bills with Dash, and through its subscription premium service, Dash+.
- Other investors include ASK Capital, Techstars, Global Founders Capital, and 4DX Ventures.
- The company plans to use the new funds to expand into other markets, including South Africa and Tanzania, build out its team, invest in technology, and launch new features.
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Amazon has acquired Veeqo, an e-commerce startup based in Wales that helps online businesses sell products on and off Amazon. Amazon bought the company in November but did not announce it. An Amazon spokeswoman confirmed the acquisition but declined to disclose the terms of the deal. More: - Veeqo was founded in 2013 and had raised $9.4M in funding before its acquisition. Investors include Octopus Ventures and Upscale.
- According to eMarketer, as of 2021, Amazon accounts for about 40% of the U.S.’s online sales, about $367B.
- Veeqo could be integrated into Amazon’s Multi-Channel Fulfillment program, which allows businesses to store and ship their products using Amazon’s services regardless of where they sell their goods.
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Quick Hits - Not getting what you need from your payments processing company? Maybe it's time for a new one.*
- President Biden is expected to sign an executive order this week that will detail the U.S. government's strategy for cryptocurrencies. The order will instruct federal agencies to examine cryptocurrencies' economic and national security impact.
- Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, in a series of tweets on Saturday, warned that World War III has likely already started. Ackman called on the U.S. and Europe to stop buying oil from Russia and funding the war.
- Uber raised its guidance for Q1 FY2022, pointing to a faster than expected recovery in both its mobility and delivery segments. The company expects adjusted EBITDA to fall between $130M and $150M, up from $100M to $130M. It reported trips are back to 90% of their Feb 2019 figures. NOTE: Inside.com's founder and CEO, Jason Calacanis, is an investor in Uber.
- Meta Platforms, Facebook's parent company, has signed a $10M deal with America250 Foundation, the nonprofit planning the government's observance of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026.
- Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi warned the U.S. against forming Asia's equivalent of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). During the two-hour briefing, Yi noted that Taiwan would eventually return to the motherland's embrace.
- More than half of U.S. organizations said they currently spend $1M to $50M on AI initiatives every year, while another 15% are spending $51M or more, according to LXT's new executive report.*
*This is sponsored content.
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 |  | Vanessa Omeokachie is a Researcher at Inside. Her interests include finance, tech, and startups. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending music festivals, and traveling. Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or through email at vanessa@inside.com |  | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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