FB Roundup Korawad Chearavanont, Ken Griffin, Safra family
Thai billionaire heir’s startup raises $60 million
Bangkok-based software corporation Amity Corp has raised $60 million in Series C funding led by Insight Capital with participation from several other new and existing investors.
The chief executive of Amity is Korawad Chearavanont, grandson of Thai billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont. Dhanin is senior chairman of Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group), one of the world’s largest producers of animal feed and livestock. Its roots are in a shop that sold seeds imported from China, which opened in 1921. Forbes estimates his net worth at $12.3 billion.
Founded in 2012, Amity’s products are used by more than 50 of Thailand’s leading companies including government agencies, banks, financial services firms, retailers, and many more. It is best known for Amity Bots Plus, an enterprise platform whose chatbot mimics human conversations through generative AI learnings which results in better customer service delivery and profitability.
The company says that within a year of its launch, it saw an eightfold growth in annual recurring revenue from the product which now accounts for 27% of the product’s recurring revenues.
“[Amity] is focused on the untapped value that GenAI applications can deliver for the end-user business segment,” says Korawad Chearavanont, the group’s Executive Chairman and Founder.
“We see a significant market gap in applying and integrating GenAI with tried and tested SaaS and software products. Most resources these days are dedicated to progressing large language models that form the basis for Generative AI. The market for developing high-value use cases with existing SaaS software is underserved and we see immense potential there,” he added.
Ken Griffin buys stegosaurus for $45 million
Ken Griffin, the founder and chief executive of hedge fund Citadel, bought a late Jurassic stegosaurus skeleton for $44.6 million at Sotheby’s in New York last week. It is the most valuable fossil ever sold at auction and exceeds its pre-sale low estimate more than 11 times.
In 2022, commercial palaeontologist Jason Cooper discovered the skeleton in Moffat County, Colorado, near the town of Dinosaur, Colorado. The skeleton is 11 feet tall and 27 feet long with a femur length of 45 inches.
Sotheby’s reported that from the overall size and degree of the bone development, it can be determined that the skeleton belonged to a large, robust adult individual.
Evidence of arthritis, particularly notable in the fusion of the four sacral vertebrae, suggests that it lived to an advanced age.
The specimen, it said, shows neither signs of combat-related injuries, nor evidence of post-mortem scavenging.
CNBS reports that Griffin won the live auction after competing with six other bidders for 15 minutes. He has indicated that the dinosaur will be loaned to a US institution.
Forbes estimated that Griffin is worth $37.6 billion. He founded Miami-based Citadel in 1990 now which manages $59 billion in assets. He is known for his donations to philanthropic causes.
Safra family resolves inheritance dispute
The heirs of one of the world’s richest bankers, Joseph Safra, reached an agreement last week that draws a years-long, international and very public dispute over his estate to a close.
Alberto, one of Joseph Safra’s sons, claimed that his father had lacked the mental capacity to execute new wills that disinherited him. Safra had suffered from Parkinson’s disease at the end of his life.
Alberto later sued Vicky, his mother, and his two brothers. He claimed that he had been a victim of manipulation and wanted to regain his share of New York’s Safra National Bank.
The Lebanese-Brazilian banker was worth an estimated $25 billion.
Under the terms of the resolution, Alberto will divest his interests in the J. Safra Group. and pursue his business interests through his own fund management company ASA.
“I am happy to put that matter behind me. After clarifications, I understood that there were no wrongdoings and that Mr. Safra’s estate was properly disposed of in accordance with his wishes,” said Alberto Safra.
“We are pleased to put this matter behind us and reaffirm our family bonds. The resolution we have reached will allow us to pursue our respective business interests in ways that help ensure that the success of every member of our family is a reason for shared satisfaction,” said Vicky Safra and her children in a statement.
Joseph Safra died in December 2020.
