Apoorva Mehta
Instacart co-founder Apoorva Mehta is checking out with a $1.1 billion fortune following the grocery delivery company’s initial public offering.
Mr Mehta, 37, who stepped down as chief executive in August 2021, relinquished his board position as executive chairman to current chief executive Fidji Simo, a former Meta Platforms executive.
The transition marks the end of Mr Mehta’s 11-year tenure with the company he co-founded in 2012.
In the past decade, the start-up has transformed from a Webvan clone to the largest grocery-delivery business in the US. Revenue grew 31 per cent to about $1.5 billion in the six months to June 30.
At its peak in March 2021, following a pandemic boost, the company was valued by venture capitalists at $39 billion.
Mr Mehta’s 10 per cent stake had already made him a billionaire, with a $3.5 billion fortune at its highest point.
Instacart priced its IPO at $30 a share, giving it a $9.9 billion valuation.
“What matters is how Instacart performs over the next few years, rather than what it means on day one,” Mr Mehta said after the stock began trading.
“We focus more on the long-term and that’s what we’re excited about.”
Mr Mehta’s $1.1 billion fortune includes his 10 per cent ownership of Instacart, as well as a stake in his new company, Cloud Health Systems, which aims to address chronic illness.
The health technology start-up, which Mr Mehta leads as chief executive, has raised $42 million from investors. It was valued at $200 million in a November 2022 financing round.
Mr Mehta sold stock worth $21 million in the offering, but will remain Instacart’s largest individual shareholder, according to its amended registration filing.
Venture firms Sequoia Capital and D1 Capital Partners own larger stakes, 14 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively.
Mr Mehta started Instacart more than a decade ago, getting into start-up accelerator Y Combinator after he missed the application deadline by two months.
While he was born in India and grew up in Libya, he credits his time living in a small town outside of Toronto as one of the reasons he wanted to start Instacart. He hated waiting in the cold at a bus stop with bags of groceries and believed the shopping experience should have evolved by then.
After studying engineering at the University of Waterloo, Mr Mehta spent two years working on supply-chain logistics at Amazon before deciding to leave and build a company.
He burnt through 20 ideas from enterprise software to advertising start-ups before settling on the idea of a personal shopper.
Mr Mehta had a knack for fundraising too, raising more than $2.8 billion over the past decade from investors, including Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, according to PitchBook.
Amazon’s 2017 purchase of Whole Foods could have derailed the business, but instead it drove retailers like Costco Wholesale and Kroger to align with Instacart in the delivery wars.
“It really was like a thermonuclear bomb against the entire grocery industry,” Mr Mehta said at the time.
“When we look back, that may have been a turning point for Instacart.”
The other came when the pandemic struck in 2020 and people stuck at home were looking for ways to get everything from groceries to medicine delivered. Its volume grew to 262.6 million orders in 2022, from 171.5 million in 2020.
Instacart reached its peak in spring of 2021 when it raised new funding at a $39 billion valuation.
But around the same time, board members started to lose confidence in Mr Mehta’s leadership, according to sources.
By July, the company announced that Mr Simo, 37, would be taking over as chief executive the next month, with Mr Mehta moving to executive chairman.
Mukesh Ambani
Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s broadcasting unit Viacom18 is set to sign a lease deal with Blackstone-owned Nucleus Office Parks for its new headquarters in Mumbai, spread over 400,000 square feet, sources said.
Viacom, which runs TV channels and digital streaming platform JioCinema, competes with the likes of Walt Disney in India.
Its new headquarters will be spread across eight floors in the One International Centre complex in Mumbai’s business district of Lower Parel.
“It is a marquee deal in terms of area. In Mumbai, rents are so high and every year only three to five such deals happen. This type of relocation is rare,” according to a source, who said the monthly estimated rent paid by Viacom18 will be 60 million Indian rupees ($722,180).
Mr Ambani, Asia’s richest man, has quickly expanded his media and entertainment empire. He runs TV channels including MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central in India, and his streaming platform competes with the likes of Netflix and Disney+ Hotstar.
Viacom18’s shareholders include Mr Ambani’s Reliance, as well as Paramount Global and Bodhi Tree, a joint venture between James Murdoch and former senior Disney executive Uday Shankar.
Sources said Viacom18 was moving to a new headquarters as it wanted to consolidate all its business units – be it tax, finance, sports or digital – in one office.
Andrew Bialecki
The seemingly low-stakes world of text and email customer messaging revealed some big fortunes, as marketing technology company Klaviyo began trading in New York.
Andrew Bialecki founded the Boston-based company in 2012 and it grew rapidly, attracting investors including Summit Partners, Lone Pine Capital and Shopify.
Klaviyo’s $30-a-share offering price valued it at more than $9 billion based on its fully diluted share count.
That is set to make Mr Bialecki, 37, very rich. He still owns about one third of Klaviyo, making him the company’s largest shareholder, a stake worth $3.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Born into a family of small business owners, Mr Bialecki calls himself a proponent of ownership and independence.
“My advice to founders: raise as little as you need and prove some traction with customers,” Mr Bialecki told Inspired Capital’s Alexa von Tobel in a 2022 podcast.
“Once you do that, fundraising for the rest of your life gets a lot easier.”
After studying physics, astronomy and astrophysics at Harvard University, Mr Bialecki joined retail analytics company Applied Predictive Technologies as an engineer.
My advice to founders: raise as little as you need and prove some traction with customers. Once you do that, fundraising for the rest of your life gets a lot easier
Andrew Bialecki,
Klaviyo founder
He later worked at marketing software companies Performable and Rocktech Digital before starting Klaviyo, which enables businesses to create targeted marketing campaigns, track customer behaviour, and analyse their performance.
He was joined by Ed Hallen, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate who also worked at Applied Predictive Technologies and is now the company’s chief product officer.
Mr Hallen, 41, owns a stake in Klaviyo worth $1.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Mr Bialecki and Mr Hallen have already begun cashing in on their company’s success.
Mr Bialecki sold almost $30 million of stock in a repurchase programme in 2020, while Mr Hallen sold shares worth $90 million between 2020 and 2021.
Klaviyo had net income of about $15 million on revenue of $321 million for the first six months of 2023, compared with a loss of $25 million on revenue of $208 million for the same period last year. Its IPO raised $576 million.
“We believe in aiming long-term, getting close to the customers and being a disciplined company,” Mr Bialecki told Bloomberg Television. “I am excited for public shareholders, and to have them.”
Andrew Forrest
Fortescue Metals Group, the world’s No 4 iron ore producer and a major greenhouse gas emitter, is to end its use of voluntary carbon offsets.
Billionaire Andrew Forrest’s company, which generated 2.55 million tonnes of scope 1 and 2 carbon dioxide pollution in the 12 months to June 30, announced it had begun implementing a policy to end the purchase of credits from the current financial year.
Offsets have been beset by questions over their quality and ability to deliver genuine reductions in emissions, the miner said in an annual report last month.
Even so, the voluntary carbon market is forecast to grow to as high as $953 billion by 2037 from $2 billion now, according to BloombergNEF.
Fortescue spent $6.2 million in fiscal 2023 on voluntary offsets and surrendered a total of 336,833 tonnes of credits, according to the report.
Fortescue is aiming to eliminate scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030, and to end the use of fossil fuels at its Australian iron ore sites.
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3EFounder%3A%20Hani%20Abu%20Ghazaleh%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20with%20an%20office%20in%20Montreal%3Cbr%3EFounded%3A%202018%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Virtual%20Reality%3Cbr%3EInvestment%20raised%3A%20%241.2%20million%2C%20and%20nearing%20close%20of%20%245%20million%20new%20funding%20round%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%2012%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company profile
Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space
Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)
Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)
Based: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Industry: Back to Games (retail); Boardgame Space (wholesale and distribution)
Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space
Growth: Back to Games: from 300 products in 2015 to 7,000 in 2019; Boardgame Space: from 34 games in 2017 to 3,500 in 2019
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
List of UAE medal winners
Gold
Faisal Al Ketbi (Open weight and 94kg)
Talib Al Kirbi (69kg)
Omar Al Fadhli (56kg)
Silver
Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Khalfan Belhol (85kg)
Zayed Al Mansoori (62kg)
Mouza Al Shamsi (49kg women)
Bronze
Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi (Open and 94kg)
Saood Al Hammadi (77kg)
Said Al Mazroui (62kg)
Obaid Al Nuaimi (56kg)
Bashayer Al Matrooshi (62kg women)
Reem Abdulkareem (45kg women)
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The years Ramadan fell in May
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The%20Iron%20Claw
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sean%20Durkin%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Zac%20Efron%2C%20Jeremy%20Allen%20White%2C%20Harris%20Dickinson%2C%20Maura%20Tierney%2C%20Holt%20McCallany%2C%20Lily%20James%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
THE BIO
Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
Favourite travel destination: Switzerland
Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers
Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
%3Cp%3ECory%20Sandhagen%20v%20Umar%20Nurmagomedov%0D%3Cbr%3ENick%20Diaz%20v%20Vicente%20Luque%0D%3Cbr%3EMichael%20Chiesa%20v%20Tony%20Ferguson%0D%3Cbr%3EDeiveson%20Figueiredo%20v%20Marlon%20Vera%0D%3Cbr%3EMackenzie%20Dern%20v%20Loopy%20Godinez%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETickets%20for%20the%20August%203%20Fight%20Night%2C%20held%20in%20partnership%20with%20the%20Department%20of%20Culture%20and%20Tourism%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20went%20on%20sale%20earlier%20this%20month%2C%20through%20www.etihadarena.ae%20and%20www.ticketmaster.ae.%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.6-litre%2C%20V6%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eeight-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E285hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E353Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDh159%2C900%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The five pillars of Islam
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EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPowertrain%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle%20electric%20motor%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E201hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E310Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBattery%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E53kWh%20lithium-ion%20battery%20pack%20(GS%20base%20model)%3B%2070kWh%20battery%20pack%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETouring%20range%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E350km%20(GS)%3B%20480km%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh129%2C900%20(GS)%3B%20Dh149%2C000%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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DIVINE%20INTERVENTOIN
%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Elia%20Suleiman%2C%20Manal%20Khader%2C%20Amer%20Daher%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Elia%20Suleiman%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
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ANDROID%20VERSION%20NAMES%2C%20IN%20ORDER
%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Alpha%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Beta%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Cupcake%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Donut%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Eclair%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Froyo%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Gingerbread%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Honeycomb%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Ice%20Cream%20Sandwich%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Jelly%20Bean%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20KitKat%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Lollipop%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Marshmallow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Nougat%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Oreo%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Pie%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%2010%20(Quince%20Tart*)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%2011%20(Red%20Velvet%20Cake*)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%2012%20(Snow%20Cone*)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%2013%20(Tiramisu*)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%2014%20(Upside%20Down%20Cake*)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%2015%20(Vanilla%20Ice%20Cream*)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3E*%20internal%20codenames%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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