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SG startup K25.ai lands $2m from Nasdaq-listed NIVF

Singapore-based K25.ai, a prediction market and livestreaming startup led by former OKX COO Andy Cheung, said that Nasdaq-listed NewGenIVF Group invested an initial US$2 million at a US$100 million valuation.

The investment could later increase to US$10 million.

The deal also gives NIVF an exclusive APAC agency partnership between the companies.

K25.ai and NIVF plan to expand markets including Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.

The startup said it is exploring a public market route through options including a strategic transaction or reverse takeover, though it said there is no assurance any listing plan will proceed.

🔗 Source: K25.ai

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

The investor is a micro-cap company with a record of sharp shifts

  • NewGenIVF Group (NIVF) does more than provide fertility services.
  • The Nasdaq-listed company calls itself a technology-driven, diversified growth company. It now treats in vitro fertilization (IVF) services as a legacy business while pursuing United Arab Emirates (UAE) real estate and digital assets or tokenization 1.
  • With a market capitalization below US$500,000 and less than US$1 million in cash, NIVF is a micro-cap public company 2.
  • The K25.ai investment fits a run of bold plans from NIVF, including a proposed US$5 billion reverse merger with SAXA, Inc. and an engagement to tokenize an initial US$100 million tranche, or portion, of gold-backed assets 3.

This deal mentions a reverse takeover as one route

  • Company materials describe a reverse takeover as a possible path to public markets rather than the central plan.
  • That structure would let K25.ai list through a merger with NIVF instead of a traditional initial public offering (IPO). NIVF’s small market value could make it a workable vehicle for that move 2.
  • The materials do not say K25.ai’s founders would join NIVF’s board to control the public company. They say K25.ai’s co-founders are expected to join the board or nominate candidates, subject to governance and other requirements, to improve alignment and collaboration 4.
  • The US$100 million figure is a negotiated valuation between the parties. It does not come from an independent valuation, fairness opinion, or third-party analysis 1.

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