Back in 2013-2014 it was possible to almost see in real time the jump in professionalism and ambition of investors backing entrepreneurs through tracking the number of large rounds of at least $100m being done and hence the valuation increases of the overall businesses.

James Mitchell, chief strategy officer at China-listed gaming group Tencent, in its annual earnings call yesterday reported by newswire Reuters said the company would stick with its normal practice of acquiring minority stakes in Chinese startups.

Through covid-19 and lockdowns around the world, people’s desire to stay fit and healthy has led to a surge of interest in connected fitness companies.

September saw the UK’s largest initial public offering (IPO) since 2015 when The Hut Group (THG) raised £1.88bn ($2.7bn) on its stock market debut, giving it a valuation of close to £5.4bn.

China-listed gaming and internet conglomerate Tencent publishes its annual results in a week’s time, on 24th but it is already clear the performance will be phenomenal.

Amy Sun, partner at venture capital firm Sequoia, has a nice line in Atlantic magazine’s latest magazine feature: “The age of conformity is over.”

It is a very rare exit.

Nathan Grawe, an economist at Carleton College in Minnesota, a few years ago predicted US college-going students would drop by 15% between 2025 and 2029 and continue to decline by another percentage point or two thereafter given the marked drop in births after the global financial crisis struck in 2008.

One billion people work in agriculture delivering, since 1961, an increase of more than 30% in food supply per person.

It is the first significant initiative from Singapore state-backed investor Temasek’s new CEO-designate but the $500m strategic partnership with UK-based impact investor LeapFrog Investments is a powerful statement.