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Ant Group raises IPO valuation to $280B

Chinese fintech giant   reportedly the valuation target for its initial public offering to at least $280 billion due to strong demand.

The Hangzhou-based company is said to be increasing the target by at least 12 percent from a prior estimate of $250 billion, with plans to raise about $35 billion in the offering.

The offering is poised to set records for its enormous size, with same-day listings planned in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Funding rounds

• Fivestars raises $52.5M: , an integrated payment processing and marketing platform, announced it has raised $52.5 million in a combination of Series D equity and debt financing. The Series D was led by .
• Popmenu inks $17M: , an Atlanta-based digital marketing and ordering SaaS platform for restaurants, raised $17 million in a Series B funding round. led the round with participation from existing investors and , as well as new investors and . Popmenu plans to develop more features to streamline ordering for customers.

Other news

• Engineer productivity declined amid COVID-19: Internal data from reportedly shows a among engineers working from home  amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particularly strong decline from those who were newly hired.

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