News Hub | News Direct

Employers turn to freelancers to fill tech skill shortages following global layoffs, reports Freelancer.com

FREELANCER.COM

Freelancer.com (ASX: FLN) (OTCQX: FLNCF), the world’s largest freelancing and crowdsourcing marketplace by number of users and jobs posted, today released its quarterly Fast 50 Index for Q3 2022 which reveals insights into the fastest growing freelance projects and most in-demand skills. The index, which is based on data from 296,000 jobs posted on Freelancer.com between July 1 to September 30, 2022, reveals a major surge in tech-related jobs in Q3 when compared to Q2 2022 and Q3 2021. Android App Development (up 80.5%, from 1,082 to 1,954) ranked as the fastest growing project type in Q3 2022 when ranking the percentage growths from all 2,000 skills available on Freelancer.com. This was followed by AJAX (up 66.4%, from 1,059 to 1,763) and API (up 59.5%, from 1,587 to 2,532) jobs which are both skilled related to website and software development. The sudden surge in tech-related freelance jobs first observed in Freelancer’s Q2 2022 index, comes off the back of global tech layoffs and hiring freezes across the so-called ‘tech winter’, that started with a ‘crypto winter’, as informed by Freelancer.com in earlier Fast 50 reports. According to a tech layoff tally, more than 42,000 workers in the U.S. tech sector lost their jobs in 2022. Tech-related jobs dominated the rankings when comparing Q3 2022 to Q3 2021 year-on-year. Software Development jobs were the fastest growing skill (up 54.7%, from 1,587 to 2,442), while jobs for Coding ranked as the second highest growing skill (up 45.5%, from 1,004 to 1,461) and Backend Development came in third (up 37.7%, from 1,111 to 1,530). “The macroeconomic environment, tech winter and nosebleed inflation has led to an almost daily string of announcements of layoffs. The most similar event was the Global Financial Crisis where we saw three trends: businesses looking to cut costs and going online to hire freelancers, people looking for work online and a lot of startup businesses formed to bridge people through hard times. However this was mostly contained to the United States. We think that heading into 2023 we could see this all over again, but on a more global scale,” said Matt Barrie, Chief Executive at Freelancer.com. These layoffs may also increase the amount of startups being founded, not only across the US but also in Europe, with skilled people being cut from bigger organizations, but with experience either building their own companies or working in highly successful startup environments, as described by Alan Poensgen, in his Fortune article of October 5, 2022. Fast 50 Q3 2022 vs Q2 2022 Analysis Employers look to freelancers to plug tech skill gaps Overvaluations and dropping stock prices have caused mass hiring freezes and layoffs across the tech companies globally in 2022. According to online tracker Layoffs.fyi, there have been 83,173 layoffs from 661 startups this year, as of October 2022. This is almost half of the total of 179,164 tech layoffs since the beginning of COVID-19. These layoffs, which accelerated in May 2022, have contributed to increases in tech-related jobs across the platform. While Android App Development dominated Q3 and was ranked as the fastest growing job on Freelancer.com, employers have been turning to the platform to support niche, highly specialized tech projects. AJAX, which is used to develop websites, and API, which allow software programs to communicate with each other also took second and third place, respectively. Niche skills in AngularJS, a toolset for building apps, and Codeigniter, a toolset for web development, equally rose by 22% in Q3. “Michael Milken said ‘the defining characteristic of the 21st century was the competition for intellectual capital’. There’s a chronic skill shortage in western nations, forcing businesses to go to the Internet to find talent. Freelancer.com has the largest online pool of talent in the world.” said Matt Barrie. Projects seeking experts in Amazon Web Services (AWS) grew by 27.6%, from 3,004 to 3,834 jobs in Q3, while Software Development continued its growth from Q2 with a 18% increase from 2,069 to 2,442 jobs in Q3. Artificial Intelligence jobs also grew by 15.9%, from 1,055 to 1,223. Marketing Trends - Marketers turn from SEM to SEO, YouTube & traditional This quarter, the data revealed shifting trends in marketing and advertising. Projects for Search Engine Marketing (SEM) fell by almost a third (30.4%) in Q3 - from 2,300 jobs to 1,600 from the previous quarter. On the other hand, digital marketing, traditional marketing and YouTube jobs spiked in interest. Most commonly, in Q3 employers are looking for support with SEO ranking. Blog Writing jobs, which are usually associated with businesses hiring freelancers to write SEO-friendly blog content, increased by 55% in Q3, from 1,058 to 1,642 projects. Digital Marketing also saw a 23.1% increase in Q3, jumping from 1,738 to 2,141 jobs. These jobs range from hiring business consultants supporting social media strategies to SEO managers. Notably, Q3 also saw many employers turn to the platform to hire community managers, digital marketing campaign managers and social media managers. Traditional advertising also saw an increase in Q3. Flyer Design projects increased by more than a quarter (27.5%) from 1,658 to 2,114 jobs. A similar increase was also seen for projects relating to Covers and Packaging, which increased by 27.3% from 1,253 to 1,596 jobs. Many employers turn to the platform to crowdsource ideas for packaging labels and shipping boxes designs. When comparing Q3 2022 to 2021, advertisement design is up 15.7%, from 1.516 to 1,755 jobs. “With the onset of new digital marketing channels, businesses are learning that their strategies must diversify and move away from primary channels, such as SEM. Paid advertising alone is no longer the most viable alternative. What we are witnessing is demand for freelancers with skills in social media, short video platforms, earned & owned content, SEO and a whole spectrum of marketing strategies that before were in the realm of large corporates only,” said Hector Perez-Nieto, Marketing Director at Freelancer.com. Jobs seeking YouTube skills were the fifth fastest growing skill in Q3 2022 - growing by 32.3% from 1,138 to 1,505 jobs. Many of the jobs seeking YouTube skills are related to vertical videos and Shorts content. While there was a 10% increase in TikTok related skills and projects seeking TikTok content creators, employers seek YouTube and video editing skills three times more. Companies turn to freelancers for lead generation & customer support The layoffs aren’t just affecting tech roles, but also sales and customer services roles across businesses. Over the last quarter, there was a significant increase in demand for customer service, customer support and sales-related skills on the Freelancer platform. While virtual assistance jobs have always been a popular freelancing project type, Q3 2022 saw an increase in employers hiring virtual assistants. Jobs for Customer Support grew by 30.5% in Q3, from 1,531 to 1,998 jobs. This was also closely followed by Customer Service projects which rose by 27.4% from 1,370 to 1,746. Lead generation and cold calling was also a popular project type in Q3. Jobs to generate Leads jumped by a quarter (25.3%), from 1,387 to 1,738. Sales specific jobs also increased by 18.7% from 2,544 to 3,020 total projects. One boutique recruiting agency in the US successfully hired a freelancer to manage cold calling and follow ups for only US$38 per hour, with a maximum of 40 hours available for the freelancer per week. The platform is also used by mortgage brokers to source sales virtual assistants to call realtors for loan officers. Ethereum and NFT projects continue steep decline In Q2 2022, Freelancer reported a fall from grace for jobs relating to Bitcoin, Crypto and NFTs, which were once ranked as the fastest growing freelance jobs on the platform for 2021. It’s now Ethereum’s turns as Ethereum-related jobs plunged in Q3 2022. The fastest falling job types on the Freelancer platform in Q3 were Solidity, a programming language used to implement smart contracts for mostly Ethereum based platforms, and Smart Contracts were - declining by -56%, from 1,422 to 613 jobs, and -49%, from 1,442 to 726 jobs, respectively. NFTs jobs were slashed by half (49.5%) in Q3, dropping from 1,424 to only 718 in total. This trend was closely followed by jobs for Ethereum specifically, which fell by 39.9% from 1,173 jobs to only 705. Blockchain jobs also fell by 26.7%, from 3,216 in Q2 but continue to retain interest with 2,357 jobs reported in Q3. Business cards are back in business With corporate and networking events back in action, so are business cards. In Q3 2022, Business Card design spiked by almost one third (30%) from 1,861 to 2,427 jobs. This is the first time since the start of 2020 that projects for Business Cards have grown significantly. ##### Freelancer Fast 50 The Freelancer Fast 50 index is the world’s largest forward indicator of trends in online jobs related to industries, technologies, products, and companies. The data is based on 296,000 jobs posted to the Freelancer platform between 1st July to 30th September 2022. Fast 50 Quarterly Index – Q3 2022 Fast 50 - Q3 Year-on-Year Comparison ###### About Freelancer Twelve-time Webby award-winning Freelancer.com is the world’s largest freelancing and crowdsourcing marketplace by total number of users and projects posted. More than 60 million registered users have posted over 20 million projects and contests to date in over 2,000 areas as diverse as website development, logo design, marketing, copywriting, astrophysics, aerospace engineering and manufacturing. Freelancer owns Escrow.com, the leading provider of secure online payments and online transaction management for consumers and businesses on the Internet with over US$6 billion in transactions secured. Freelancer also owns Freightlancer & Loadshift, enterprise freight marketplaces with over 550 million kilometres of freight posted since inception. Freelancer Limited is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange under the ticker ASX:FLN and is quoted on OTCQX Best Market under the ticker FLNCF. Contact Details Freelancer.com Marko Zitko +61 404 574 830 mzitko@freelancer.com Freelancer.com Sebastian Siseles +1 415-801-2271 sebastian@freelancer.com

October 13, 2022 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

CHARGEFUZE BRINGS INNOVATIVE MOBILE CHARGING STATIONS TO WESTFIELD SHOPPING CENTERS IN THE U.S.

EMC

(LOS ANGELES – October 13th, 2022) –chargeFUZE will scale its innovative and autonomous out of home mobile phone charging stations into Westfield shopping centers in the US, the company announced today. The initiative is part of a thorough effort to ensure that Westfield guests have the best experience possible and can take advantage of all digital and tech forward initiatives on site. chargeFUZE’s portable charging network is being rolled out across Westfield’s US shopping centers, allowing guests to charge their devices while ‘on the go.’ ChargeFUZE’s innovative technology will enable Westfield visitors to remain untethered and to charge any device from the comfort of their person, while shopping, dining, and more. ChargeFUZE’s all-in-one portable chargers will be made available for rental via a quick QR code scan. When finished, guests can return the charger at their convenience to any of the chargeFUZE kiosk locations throughout the network. ChargeFUZE co-founder, Brandon Afari said, “We are incredibly excited for the opportunity to partner with a company like Westfield. Both our companies hold similar values in creating a meaningful brand and experience for our customers, and we are proud to align our objectives with theirs. In looking at all of our partners and locations, chargeFUZE is the perfect fit for Westfield, and we are looking forward to expanding across the US together.” ChargeFUZE co-founder Ryan Levy said, “Westfield is another large scale partnership that we are excited to announce and proud to be affiliated with. We are privileged to align with amazing corporate leaders across industry sectors, all of whom are a testament to the large scale need for chargeFUZE and its best in class technology platform. Our goal is to become the ubiquitous solution across all out of home experiences - and we are working hard on achieving this goal. We believe that in today’s digital world, individuals should always be enabled by their devices and we are excited to offer chargeFUZE to Westfield shoppers across the country.” chargeFUZE is already live at Westfield World Trade Center, Westfield Valley Fair, and Westfield San Francisco Centre, with installations continuing in most of Westfield’s US shopping centers throughout the year. Guests will be able to access chargeFUZE products via iOS and Android applications, or via a web application. ChargeFUZE is the largest and most innovative provider of high-speed, on-the-go mobile charging. It is making the experience of mobile charging ubiquitous by allowing users to rent a portable charger on the go from any of their kiosks. ChargeFUZE’s comprehensive network of autonomous kiosks enables users to charge their phones anywhere, and never miss a moment of the action, the event or their experience. When they’re done, users can easily return the portable charger at any chargeFUZE kiosk nationwide in over 25 states. They are currently powering guest experiences across sports, entertainment venues, music festivals, experiential retail, hospitality venues, casinos, hospitals, universities, restaurants, bars and many more. More information is available at chargefuze.com, contact@chargefuze.com LinkedIn or Instagram. Contact Details chargeFUZE contact@chargefuze.com

October 13, 2022 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Image

Velocity Global named a Leader in Everest Group’s global Employer of Record PEAK Matrix®

Velocity Global

Velocity Global, the leading provider of global talent solutions, today announced that it was recognized as a Leader in Everest Group’s PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2022 for Employer of Record (EoR) Solutions. The report evaluated 15 EoR solution providers on their vision, capability, and market impact, taking into account client references as well as an ongoing analysis of the EoR market. “Velocity Global’s extensive global coverage and cloud-based technology underpinned by in-country local expertise have been well received by the market,“ stated Priyanka Mitra, practice director at Everest Group. “Its expertise in serving clients of all sizes and its continued investments in improving its technology capabilities as well as its mobile-first approach are well appreciated by clients and have helped it emerge as a Leader on Everest Group’s PEAK Matrix® Assessment." As the largest global EoR provider, Velocity Global enables companies to compliantly hire, manage, and pay any type of worker anywhere in the world. The company’s Global Work Platform™ simplifies the employer and talent experience by combining proprietary cloud-based talent management technology, personalized expertise, and unmatched global scale. Being a Leader in Everest Group’s PEAK Matrix for EoR Solutions, Velocity Global distinguishes itself by expanding its geographical presence, enhancing self-coverage, and constantly improving its EoR solutions while investing in state-of-the-art proprietary technologies and supporting integrations with the client’s existing technology stack. Specifically, the Everest Group report highlights several strengths contributing to Velocity Global’s positioning as a Leader, including: Investments enabling continued innovation and expansion. Velocity Global received multimillion-dollar investments, including a $400 million Series B earlier this year that will be used to enhance and broaden its technology and solutions, while recent acquisitions of iWorkGlobal and ShieldGeo allowed the company to further expand its capabilities and reach. Breadth of solutions and coverage. A full suite of global hiring and workforce solutions — including global EoR, Global Immigration, Contractor Payments, Contractor Management (Agent of Record), and Global Payroll — spanning over 185 countries. To ensure global regulatory compliance, Velocity Global has a network of experts and an internal compliance committee to track changes in local laws. Comprehensive, cloud-based technology. The company’s easy-to-use technology allows clients to onboard, manage, and pay employees as well as contractors worldwide. Additionally, it features a “country knowledge center” that acts as a repository of local labor law. To enhance the employee experience, the employee self-service interface and dashboard are mobile-enabled. Exceptional service. Clients referenced strong customer support and sharp focus on compliance. “We are thrilled to be recognized as a Leader in global EoR solutions by Everest Group,” says Brad Collins, chief strategy officer at Velocity Global. “For companies looking to expand geographically or hire the best possible person for a job, wherever they might reside, our global EoR solution provides an excellent opportunity to do this in a way that maximizes agility and efficiency. Our teams are constantly enhancing the user experience and adding capabilities to our Global Work Platform™ to meet the needs of our clients today and in the future.” To learn more about what sets us apart download the report here. About Velocity Global Velocity Global accelerates the future of work for anyone, anywhere, anyhow. Its Global Work Platform™ simplifies the employer and talent experience through its proprietary cloud-based talent management technology, backed by personalized expertise and unmatched global scale. The platform offers a full suite of talent solutions, including global Employer of Record and Contractor Management, to help companies onboard, manage, and pay talent in more than 185 countries. Thousands of brands rely on Velocity Global to build international teams without the cost or complexity of setting up foreign legal entities or state registrations. Velocity Global was named a "Leader" in Global Employer of Record Services by prominent analyst firm NelsonHall. Founded in 2014, the company has hundreds of employees across six continents. For more information, visit velocityglobal.com. Contact Details Velocity Global Anja Koltes +1 720-650-4348 news@velocityglobal.com Company Website https://velocityglobal.com/

October 13, 2022 07:00 AM Mountain Daylight Time

Image

Getir and No Kid Hungry Partner to Fight Childhood Hunger

Getir

In recognition of Tackling Hunger Month and Children’s Health Month this October, ultrafast grocery delivery app Getir will allow customers to make direct donations to Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign. Additionally, Getir has made a contribution to No Kid Hungry, a national campaign working to end childhood hunger in the US. Getir’s funding will help support programs that feed children and can help provide 100,000 healthy meals*. Along with its contribution, Getir is encouraging its customers to donate to No Kid Hungry while placing delivery orders through its app for the next two weeks, until October 25. Every dollar of customer contributions goes directly to No Kid Hungry and can help provide 10 meals to kids. Additionally, the Getir app will be given a temporary makeover to include No Kid Hungry campaign branding and exclusive artwork for the duration of the contribution period. “Getir is delighted to contribute to No Kid Hungry and do our part to help end childhood hunger for good,” said Darienne Page, Head of Public Engagement at Getir. “As a rapid delivery service operating around the world, food insecurity is at the forefront of what we do on a daily basis. With No Kid Hungry, we know this contribution will go a long way toward providing healthy meals to children who need it most.” Millions of children in the United States are facing hunger, including as many as 1 in 8 kids. Through a combination of emergency grants, strategic assistance, advocacy and awareness, No Kid Hungry works with communities across the country to improve and expand existing programs that feed kids school breakfast, after school suppers and snacks, and summer meals to ensure all kids have access to three healthy meals a day. Getir’s contribution to No Kid Hungry comes at the heels of Hunger Action Month in September, when Getir announced a milestone of 80,000 pounds of food donated to local nonprofits in Chicago, New York, and Boston through its partnership with Copia, the world’s first end-to-end solution that addresses both food waste and hunger. * No Kid Hungry does not provide individual meals; your donations help support programs that feed kids. Learn more at NoKidHungry.org/OneDollar. About Getir Getir is the pioneer of ultrafast grocery delivery. The tech company, based in Istanbul, has revolutionized last-mile delivery with its “groceries in minutes” delivery proposition, offering approximately 2,000 everyday items to its customers. Getir has operations in all 81 cities of Turkey, and launched operations in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal and the United States in 2021. Getir is, first and foremost, a technology company that operates in retail and logistics. It was founded in 2015 by Nazim Salur (founder of BiTaksi, Turkey’s leading taxi app), Serkan Borancili (founder of GittiGidiyor, acquired by eBay in 2011), and Tuncay Tutek (ex-PepsiCo and P&G executive in Europe and the Middle East.) Learn more at www.getir.com/us. About No Kid Hungry No child should go hungry in America. But millions of kids in the United States live with hunger. No Kid Hungry is working to end childhood hunger by helping launch and improve programs that give all kids the healthy food they need to thrive. This is a problem we know how to solve. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of Share Our Strength, an organization committed to ending hunger and poverty. Contact Details Arielle Goren +1 212-717-5863 getir@kivvit.com Company Website http://www.getir.com/us

October 13, 2022 08:00 AM Central Daylight Time

Avvir Joins Hexagon AB, Announces New Integrations and Product Enhancements

Avvir

Avvir, a reality analysis company providing a system of record for buildings to the construction industry, recently announced that it has joined the Geosystems division of Hexagon AB, strengthening its Smart Digital Reality[TM] capabilities. By integrating with Hexagon, Avvir gained access to a suite of reality capture solutions and services allowing the company to continue developing solutions for an autonomous workflow approach to construction. On the heels of that announcement, Avvir is announcing the launch of a new integration with DroneDeploy, and enhancements to its financial tracking product. Avvir is launching Avvir Cost Beta to support construction site managers in their efforts to track project and scope costs against their Schedule of Values, providing unparalleled financial visibility to the actual earned value. Avvir Cost also allows users to view comments within the 3D viewer of the project in order to visually contextualize subcontractor’s justifications of costs with a detailed analysis of the work that’s been completed. Understanding that some costs are sensitive, subcontractors within the platform will only be able to view tracking details that they are granted explicit permissions to. Avvir has also integrated with DroneDeploy to allow users of that technology to seamlessly integrate their existing images into Avvir’s system, eliminating the need to duplicate any work. “Everything we build at Avvir is designed to enable smarter construction sites. Access to Hexagon has allowed us to accelerate our product development, enabling us to deliver more value to our users more quickly,” said Matt Curry, Head of Product at Avvir. “Looking ahead we’re excited to continue to tap what’s now in our disposal to better integrate with best-in-class solutions offered by Hexagon to make our experience even more seamless.” In addition to Avvir Cost and the DoneDeploy integration, Avvir has also made a slew of other product updates aimed at improving the overall workflow for construction industry professionals. Some of these updates include, improvements to quality control workflows that enable seamless corrections between Avvir and other platforms like Revizto, a Do Not Track option, to allow users to opt out of tracking unnecessary items and algorithm performance improvements to improve the prediction ability. Looking ahead, Avvir is currently working on product enhancements that will improve the ability for users to customize their workflow within the platform to support their individual processes. For more information on Avvir please visit Avvir.io Avvir’s BIM-focused reality analysis platform gives construction teams control with automated schedule tracking, cost and earned value analysis, installation issue detection, and an updated BIM with as-built conditions. Avvir delivers the only hardware agnostic platform that not only provides critical insights but closes the loop by updating the BIM, allowing customers to focus on solving issues, not finding them.Avvir is based in New York City and serves customers all across North America, Europe and Japan, including AECOM, Related, Columbia and DPR. Learn more at avvir.io. Contact Details Shayla Ridore +1 401-464-1772 avvir@n6a.com Company Website https://www.avvir.io/

October 13, 2022 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Redbird Gives All Employees Data Superpowers, Raises $7.6 Million in Oversubscribed Seed Round Led by B Capital

Redbird

Redbird, an analytics operating system for the enterprise, today announced it has raised $7.6 million in an oversubscribed seed round led by multi-stage investment firm B Capital. The funding also included participation from Y Combinator, Thomson Reuters Ventures, Alumni Ventures and Soma Capital, along with several other funds and angel investors. Redbird empowers anyone within an organization to easily automate and unify their analytics work in minutes without writing code. The platform connects all of an organization’s data sources into a no-code environment where users can effortlessly do complex data prep, wrangling, analysis, reporting and data science. The capital will further strengthen Redbird’s offering as it continues to add advanced no-code capabilities, which will enable an even broader swath of nontechnical users to self-serve with advanced analytics. Founded by Erin Tavgac and Deren Tavgac, COO, data analytics experts with deep enterprise experience, Redbird currently partners with large enterprise customers across diverse verticals. The company, formerly known as Cube Analytics, has experienced rapid growth, with revenue growing 9X over the past year. “Every modern enterprise has a need for deeper automation and orchestration across the data lifecycle,” said Erin Tavgac, Co-Founder and CEO of Redbird. “We are moving quickly to empower organizations to develop the custom applications that solve the specific needs of their different stakeholders. We’re thrilled to have the support of all our investors to accelerate this mission.” Companies have rapidly growing data analytics needs, yet most employees lack the technical skills to self-serve against those needs. Data teams are on average outnumbered 100 to 1 by nontechnical stakeholders, and therefore often struggle to keep up with business demands. Redbird gives both technical and nontechnical users the tools to effortlessly collaborate and meet their increasingly complex analytical needs. “We believe that Redbird will become a mission-critical platform for enterprises to manage complex data workflows,” said Karen Page, General Partner at B Capital. “This investment underscores our strategy of working with innovative companies that enable rapid technological transformation across traditional industries. We’re excited to partner with Redbird as it grows its platform.” "Thomson Reuters customers need technology that helps them get more out of their data without adding point solutions,” said Tamara Steffens, Managing Director at Thomson Reuters Ventures. “TR Ventures is excited about our investment in Redbird because its end-to-end data automation is a game changer for enterprise data management and analysis." About Redbird Redbird is an analytics operating system for the enterprise - empowering anyone within an organization to easily automate and unify their analytics work in minutes, without writing code. Learn more at www.redbird.io. About B Capital B Capital is a multi-stage global investment firm that partners with extraordinary entrepreneurs to shape the future through technology. With $6.5 billion in assets under management across multiple funds, the firm focuses on seed to late-stage growth investments, primarily in the enterprise, financial technology and healthcare sectors. Founded in 2015, B Capital leverages an integrated team across eight locations in the US and Asia, as well as a strategic partnership Contact Details Redbird Bilal Mahmood +44 7714 007257 b.mahmood@stockwoodstrategy.com Company Website https://www.redbird.io/

October 13, 2022 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Image

Volatus Aerospace Adds Over 500,000 km of Oil & Gas Pipeline Right of Way Surveillance with Acquisition of Synergy Aviation Ltd.

Volatus Aerospace Corp.

Volatus Aerospace Corp. (TSXV: VOL) (OTCQB: VLTTF) ("Volatus" or "the Company") announced today that it has signed an arm's length definitive agreement dated Oct 12, 2022, to acquire Alberta-based Synergy Aviation Ltd. This acquisition will solidify Volatus’ position in Western Canada providing privileged access to much of the oil and gas industry. Synergy’s leadership in the sector combined with Volatus’ drone technology solutions will position the Company with a strong competitive advantage to introduce innovative, efficient, green, remotely operated drone solutions to fulfill regulatory and asset monitoring requirements. Founded in Alberta in 2014, Synergy Aviation is an industry leader in aerial surveillance, pipeline integrity monitoring, and specialized geomatics, patrolling and inspecting more than 500,000 KM of pipeline right of way stretching from the coast of British Columbia to the Manitoba/US border. The company provides Canada’s largest oil & gas producers and pipeline operators with uninterrupted, consistent and highly detailed right-of-way integrity data. “Pipeline inspection, much like other long linear inspection requirements, has traditionally been completed using crewed helicopters and small fixed wing aircraft,” said Glen Lynch, CEO of Volatus Aerospace. “Leveraging Synergy’s oil & gas presence combined with our existing pipeline operations in Ontario will allow us to introduce the power of innovative drone solutions to meet regulatory compliance and asset management requirements with improved efficiencies and a material reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.” “There are nearly 5 million kilometers of oil & gas pipeline in North America requiring annual inspections and, in many cases, weekly patrols to meet regulatory and asset management requirements,” said Todd Tkach, President of Synergy Aviation. “Becoming part of Volatus gives us the added geomatics capabilities, market reach, and the opportunity to disrupt traditional methods in this sector.” Synergy recorded unaudited revenues of $7 million with a 14% EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) during the first nine months of 2022 and is targeting year end revenues of $9 million. Under the terms of the agreement, Volatus will make an equity investment of $2.29 million in Synergy Aviation over the course of 10 months from closing in exchange for newly issued shares that will represent 51% of all outstanding shares. The investment will be used by Synergy for ongoing expansion activities. The transaction is scheduled to close on October 31 st conditional on satisfactory completion of due diligence, approval of the respective Board of Directors, and regulatory approval by the TSX Venture Exchange. Subject to operational and financial metric as defined in the definitive agreement, the Synergy investors will have an option, expiring in December 2024, to sell the remaining 49% equity to Volatus at the same valuation at Closing in exchange of Volatus shares based on 30 days VWAP (volume weighted average price) on date of Closing. This announcement marks another step in a series of interrelated technology, regulatory, and commercial milestones intended to drive and scale the commercialization of drone technologies. Recent announcements include the launch of the Aerieport drone nesting station, regulatory authority to remotely operate a drone at an airport, the remote operation of drones in Las Vegas from our operations center 3,000 km away, and most recently, a collaboration agreement with Accipiter Radar to provide for larger scale deconfliction between drones and low flying aircraft. The combination of these events with other Volatus technologies provides large scale opportunities in oil and gas, power distribution, and rail throughout the markets served by Volatus. About Volatus Aerospace: Volatus Aerospace Corp. is a leading provider of integrated drone solutions throughout North America and growing into Latin America and globally. Volatus serves civil, public safety, and defense markets with imaging and inspection, security and surveillance, equipment sales and support, training, as well as R&D, design, and manufacturing. Through our subsidiary, Volatus Aviation, we are introducing green and innovative drone solutions to supplement and replace traditional aircraft and helicopters for long-linear inspections such as pipeline, energy, rail, and cargo services. Volatus is committed to carbon neutrality; the fostering of a safe, equitable and inclusive workplace; and responsible governance. Forward-Looking Statement This news release contains statements that constitute “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Corporation with respect to future business activities and operating performance. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates”, or “believes” or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or statements formed in the future tense or indicating that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” (or other variations of the foregoing) be taken, occur, be achieved, or come to pass. Forward-looking information includes information regarding (i) the business plans and expectations of the Corporation; and (ii) expectations for other economic, business, and/or competitive factors. Forward-looking information is based on currently available competitive, financial and economic data and operating plans, strategies or beliefs as of the date of this news release, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Corporation to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors may be based on information currently available to the Corporation, including information obtained from third-party industry analysts and other third-party sources, and are based on management’s current expectations or beliefs. Any and all forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking information is not based on historical facts but instead reflects expectations, estimates or projections concerning future results or events based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made. Forward-looking information reflects the Corporation’s current beliefs and is based on information currently available to it and on assumptions it believes to be not unreasonable in light of all of the circumstances. In some instances, material factors or assumptions are discussed in this news release in connection with statements containing forward-looking information. Such material factors and assumptions include, but are not limited to: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Corporation; meeting the continued listing requirements of the TSXV; and anticipated and unanticipated costs and other factors referenced in this news release and the Circular, including, but not limited to, those set forth in the Circular under the caption “Risk Factors”. Although the Corporation has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. The forward-looking information contained herein is made as of the date of this news release and, other than as required by law, the Corporation disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Source: Volatus Aerospace Corp. TSXV: VOL Contact Details Abhinav Singhvi +1 833-865-2887 abhinav.singhvi@volatusaerospace.com Company Website https://volatusaerospace.com

October 13, 2022 07:45 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Image

REPORT: FinTech market set for cooling and consolidation, as macroeconomic factors bite

Finch Capital

In its latest ‘ State of European FinTech’ report, fintech venture capital firm Finch Capital forecasts a period of cooling and consolidation across the FinTech sector, as macroeconomic conditions grow more challenging. However, an abundance of undeployed Growth Capital is cause for optimism for Founders and Talent to make a soft landing. The European FinTech sector has seen significant growth in recent years with fintech funding volume having grown from around $6 billion in 2020, to around $19 billion in 2021. The total number of FinTech exits globally also peaked in 2021 at 966. Over the same period, FinTech investment globally topped US$210 billion, with crypto and blockchain businesses performing especially well. In their 7th State of European FinTech report, the team at Finch Capital assessed four key trends in FinTech as proxies for the health of the sector. The team assessed: the number of new FinTechs founded; volume of funding; number of hires across the industry and the number and value of successful exits. Investor Ecosystem is Retreating to 2018/2019 levels Finch Capital’s research reveals that, as economic conditions have become more uncertain over 2022, FinTech investment has slowed. The report shows that new business formation in the FinTech sector peaked in 2018 and, over the last year, has declined by 80%. Since Q2 2022, Public Tech markets have come down back to 2019 levels after a strong rally since 2020, the private markets are undergoing a similar but slower transition to 2019 valuation levels, wiping out the 200-300% growth in valuations during 2020-2021. This decline has coincided with a 70% drop in IPO and large venture M&As exit windows dry up as well as venture funding with ‘megarounds’ in particular having declined in equal measure. In 2021, the top 20 funding rounds in Europe accounted for 50% of the market. Across the investment ecosystem, there has been a 25% decline in funds raised by FinTechs, with like any previous cycle corporate investors retreating in the face of macroeconomic uncertainty. Caution in the FinTech market is also highlighted by a decline in recruitment, with new hire growth down 50%. Europe accounts for only 10% of total reported fintech layoffs globally, despite receiving 25% of global FinTech funding. Cause for Optimism: A Soft Landing for the strongest FinTechs Nevertheless, the sector is still hiring, with around 10% of FinTech firms currently advertising vacancies. Demonstrating a shift towards a less-well funded and more competitive landscape, existing vacancies are becoming more focused on revenue generation (such as sales roles), and less on technical skills such as engineering. Dry powder is at an all-time high with $28bn of undeployed capital among Fintech investors and it is a function of when and at what terms it gets deployed as opposed to if. First signs are that these levels of dry powder are not sustainable with a 40% decline in new funds raised in 2022 vs 2021. As a result, funding is not going to dry up short term for the better companies who show healthy unit economics, opportunity and potential for growth providing opportunity for a soft landing. Commenting on the findings Radboud Vlaar, Managing Partner at Finch Capital, said: “After many years of impressive growth, perhaps overheated, there is no doubt that a worsening macroeconomic situation and tightening money supply are weighing on the FinTech sector. This doesn’t mean that funding has dried up, simply that investors are becoming more discerning and price sensitive. In fact, our research indicates that dry powder is at an all-time high, with $28bn of undeployed capital among Fintech investors. “With investors becoming more cautious about where they put their money, and potentially overinvested start-ups struggling to exit, we are likely to see a period of consolidation in the FinTech space as many verticals are highly fragmented, creating a smaller but more sustainable ecosystem. “There was always an element of uncertainty around the long term sustainability of valuations for certain companies particularly at growth stages. This shake up, while painful, is also necessary. Consolidation and more competitive investment flows, combined with still significant levels of undeployed capital, will bring maturity to the FinTech sector. And, despite difficult near term prospects in the economy at large, a new normal level of activity will resume in FinTech over the next 12 to 18 months, with a focus on long term sustainability," About Finch Capital Finch Capital is a European Thematic Growth Investor. We currently focus on 3 themes: Financial, Real Estate and Health technology. We back companies generating €2m+ in ARR by investing €5 to €10m initially and help them scale to €30m-€50m revenues by building sustainable and capital efficient business models. We’ve invested in ±45 companies including Fourthline, Goodlord, Grab, Hiber, Twisto, AccountsIQ, ZOPA and Symmetrical. Finch Capital consists of a team of 12 investment professionals with wide entrepreneurial experience (e.g. Funding Circle, Adyen), prior investment experience (e.g. Accel, Egeria) and industry backgrounds (e.g., Facebook, McKinsey), located across offices in Amsterdam and London. For more information see www.finchcapital.com Contact Details Bilal Mahmood +44 7714 007257 b.mahmood@stockwoodstrategy.com Company Website https://www.finchcapital.com/

October 13, 2022 07:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Image

HFM Launches Trading on Latest App Version

HF Markets

Global multi-asset broker HFM announced the release of its new mobile application, featuring in-app trading to better cater for the needs of its ever-growing client base. The improved app, available for both Android and iOS users, combines HFM’s industry-leading conditions with cutting-edge technology offering traders a fully customized mobile trading experience. Among the newly implemented features, the award-winning HFM app now allows traders to access their accounts and trade CFDs on more than 1200 assets straight on the app. The easy-to-use interface allows for simple and ultra-fast trade execution, whereas traders are given the opportunity to customize their trading with three trading options (Amount, Lots or Units), access a detailed history of each trade and analyze their performance, monitor their positions 24/7 and enjoy effortless trading anywhere, anytime. An HFM spokesperson said: “After months of development and rigorous testing, we are proud to release our new HFM mobile trading app. Our global audience, many of them are mobile-first, so we wanted to make mobile trading as intuitive and practicable as possible to empower them to access the global financial markets and enjoy seamless trading from within the application.” HFM’s mobile application provides traders with real-time prices, automatic market notifications, advanced charting functionality, powerful trading tools and market analysis, among other helpful features. With promises for many more updates and functionalities to enhance effective user experience, HFM continues to exceed expectations for over 3.5 million live accounts worldwide and growing. Visit the HFM App page to learn more about the app’s newest features. About HFM HFM, formerly known as HotForex and a brand name of HF Markets Group, is an internationally acclaimed multi-asset broker of choice to over 3.5 million live accounts worldwide that have earned over 60 coveted industry awards in its twelve-year history. The company offers a wide variety of account types, innovative products, cutting-edge platforms, tools and educational resources, besides outstanding customer service and unparalleled trading conditions to facilitate individuals and institutional customers to seize opportunities in the financial markets. Contact Details HF Markets Alexandra Tserkezidou +44 20 3097 8571 support@hfm.com Company Website https://www.hfeu.com/

October 13, 2022 04:09 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Image

Technology

Employers turn to freelancers to fill tech skill shortages following global layoffs, reports Freelancer.com

CHARGEFUZE BRINGS INNOVATIVE MOBILE CHARGING STATIONS TO WESTFIELD SHOPPING CENTERS IN THE U.S.

Velocity Global named a Leader in Everest Group’s global Employer of Record PEAK Matrix®

Getir and No Kid Hungry Partner to Fight Childhood Hunger

Avvir Joins Hexagon AB, Announces New Integrations and Product Enhancements

Redbird Gives All Employees Data Superpowers, Raises $7.6 Million in Oversubscribed Seed Round Led by B Capital

Volatus Aerospace Adds Over 500,000 km of Oil & Gas Pipeline Right of Way Surveillance with Acquisition of Synergy Aviation Ltd.

REPORT: FinTech market set for cooling and consolidation, as macroeconomic factors bite

HFM Launches Trading on Latest App Version