Technology

Drivers of Southeast Asia-based Grab can now become mini convenience stores. Thatbecause theride-hailingcompany, which bought out rival Uberlocal business earlier this year, has teamed up with U.S. startup Cargo to sell a selection of items to passengers during their ride.

New York-based Cargo claims it can help drivers earn up to $300 in additional wages per month by selling items like snacks, drinks, beauty items, phone chargers and more.

Drivers add a Cargo box which includes free samples and paid productsto their car for free. (Refills are free, too.) They make a 25 commission on all paid sales, plus $1 every time a passenger places an order or free sample request via the Cargo website.

Thatabout it.

Cargo has done deals with Lyft and Uber drivers in the U.S., but this marks its first move overseas. For now the partnership takes effect in Singapore but a Grab representative told TechCrunch that, all being well, it will expand across Southeast Asia, where Grab serves eight countries.

Cargo is targeting 100,000 cars this year, in January it claimed tohave 2,500 cars on the road in New YOrk Chicago, Boston and Minneapolis, with 20,000 driver signups from all 50 states. The company raised $5.5 million this year to facilitate that growth.

Itnot often you get the words &Lisbon&, and &$360 million& in the same sentence when it comes to startups, but thatexactly whathappening today with the news that OutSystems — a player in low-code rapid application development which is based between Atlanta, London and Lisbon — has raised $360 million in an investment round from KKR and Goldman Sachs. KKRinvestment was made through its Next Generation Technology Growth Fund. That puts it into the Unicorn realm and will be a nice win for previous investors Portugal Ventures and Armilar Venture Partners, both Portugal-based VC funds. Outsystems was originally founded in Lisbon and maintains a large team there but is now HQ&d in Atlanta, USA and has 52 operations around the world. Now, that&s a scale-up. The news will be a shot in the arm for the Lisbon startup-scene which has been growing at a clip.

OutSystems provides an open, rapid application delivery platform that makes it easier and faster to develop apps once and deploy across iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and Web. It has over 400 enterprise organizations in 25 countries and includes clients such as Toyota, Logitech, Deloitte, Ricoh, Schneider Electric, and GM Financial.

&We&re attacking one of the biggest problems facing businesses today & the lack of speed and agility of traditional software development that is hindering digital transformation initiatives around the world,& said Paulo Rosado, OutSystems CEO.

&Founded in 2001, OutSystems has always had a strong vision for their platform. their technology is very advanced, creating a high barrier to entry for potential competitors,& said Joaquim Sérvulo Rodrigues, OutSystems Board Member and Partner at Armilar Venture Partners.

Before we automate hotels with AI and robots (which will almost certainly happen) the first wave of this revolution will be brought by the software that runs hotels with humans.

Thus it is thatMews, the hotel property management platform, has closed a €6m Series A funding round. The round was led by Notion.vc Capital, with participation from HenQ and Thayer Ventures.

The funding will be used to accelerate the business and open new offices around the world to support its global customer base.

Mews& platform automates check-ins and payments as also covering booking management and staff training. Itdesigned to be an open platform allowing other tools and apps to connect through its API. So, think ‘Slack for hotels&, perhaps.

Mews was founded in 2012 by entrepreneur and ex-hotelier Richard Valtr. Customers include Different Hotels, Machefert, Clink and Wombats, or 43,000 beds in 350 properties.

Valtr said: &Mews& mission is to help hotels and hostels automate their operations so they can focus on their guests. We want to build the nervous system for hotels that all apps and tools for both guests and hosts can be plugged into. Until recently hoteliers were forced to rely upon a closed one-stop-shop PMS offered up by incumbent players who have held a luddite attitude towards the hospitality industry for years.&

Jos White, General Partner at Notion commented: &We think the hotel industry is at a tipping point in terms of the way it uses technology to better manage their operations and transform the guest experience.&