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The Brazilian fintech Stark Bank, backed by Jeff Bezos, has seen a significant rise in profits while effectively managing its funding.

What Happened: Stark Bank, a Sao Paulo-based company, has witnessed a three-fold increase in its payment processing business, reaching 155 billion reais ($31 billion) in 2023. This expansion has resulted in a doubling of the firms net income to 71.5 million reais, reported Bloomberg.

Despite this substantial growth, the company has kept its funding from its 2022 Series B round, which included investments from Bezos Expeditions, the family office of Amazon.com Inc AMZN founder Jeff Bezos, and Ribbit Capital, largely untouched.

The firms founder, Rafael Stark, who owns 38% of the company, has no plans to dilute his stake and is instead focused on creating long-term value.

"While a lot of tech companies are trying to stop losing money we're posting high levels of profitability," Stark, 35, said. "There's no need to keep raising money and diluting my stake. It's better to grow and create much more value further down the road."

See Also: NASA, The US Navy And The US Army Are All Partners Of This Cutting-Edge Company Laser Photonics Corporation

Stark Bank, which helps companies process payments, invoices, and receivables, is concentrating on capturing a larger share of the domestic market from major corporate banks. Despite its small market share in Brazil, the firm has shown potential for further growth.

Stark, who legally changed his surname to Stark on all official documents, is considering a potential initial public offering (IPO) around 2029, following a similar growth path to digital bank Nu Holdings. He is currently focused on expanding the companys presence in Brazil and Sao Paulo, where the countrys largest firms are located.

Why It Matters: The success of Stark Bank is a testament to the potential of the Brazilian fintech industry. This development also highlights the strategic investments made by Bezos in the Latin American startup scene.

Earlier this year, Bezos sold over $6 billion in Amazon stock, prompting speculation about his future plans. This move followed his investment in Perplexity, an AI startup aiming to challenge Googles dominance in internet search.

This news comes after Bezos was referred to as the most unusual business leader of our era by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. Bezos unique approach to business and investment strategies has continued to yield results, as seen in Stark Banks success.

In January, a fund backed by Bezos exceeded $5 million in single-family home acquisitions. This further highlights Bezos successful investment strategies and the positive impact they are having on the companies he supports.

Read Next: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin Trade Mixed Amid Soaring Demand For BTC ETFs: Analyst Forecasts King Crypto Surge To $600K By 2025, Matching 300 Ounces Of Gold

Image Via Shutterstock Engineered by Benzinga Neuro , Edited by Kaustubh Bagalkote

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Sports

Braves activate RHP Anderson, sign OF Rosario

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Braves activate RHP Anderson, sign OF Rosario

It was old faces in familiar places for the Atlanta Braves on Monday after they activated right-hander Ian Anderson to the active roster and signed outfielder Eddie Rosario to a major league contract.

In corresponding moves, outfielder Jarred Kelenic was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett, while right-hander Davis Daniel was optioned to Triple-A after Sunday’s game.

Both Anderson and Rosario emerged as 2021 postseason heroes in Atlanta as the Braves went on to win the World Series.

Anderson, who was claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday, went 4-0 with a 1.26 ERA in eight postseason starts for the Braves over the 2020 and 2021 postseasons.

In the 2021 World Series, Anderson famously pitched five no-hit innings in Game 3 to lead Atlanta to a 2-0 victory over the Houston Astros. The Braves defeated the Astros in six games.

Anderson, who turns 27 Friday, was traded by the Braves to the Angels on March 23 for left-hander Jose Suarez. He struggled badly with his new club, going 0-1 with an 11.57 ERA in seven relief appearances. He allowed 17 hits and seven walks in just 9⅓ innings.

Rosario, 33, signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in February and played in two games with the club, going 1-for-4. He was designated for assignment and became a free agent when Shohei Ohtani returned from the paternity list just over a week ago.

Rosario was the 2021 National League Championship Series MVP, when he powered the Braves past the Dodgers with three home runs, nine RBIs and a 1.647 OPS in six games.

Over parts of 11 seasons, Rosario is a career .261 hitter with 169 home runs and 583 RBIs in 1,123 games with five different clubs, including five seasons with the Minnesota Twins (2015-20) and four with the Braves (2021-24).

Kelenic, 25, was batting .167 with two home runs in 23 games and is a career .211 hitter with 49 home runs and 156 RBIs in 406 games with the Seattle Mariners (2021-23) and Braves.

Daniel, 27, made his only appearance for the Braves on Sunday with a scoreless inning and has appeared in 10 games (six starts) over the past three seasons with a 4.95 ERA.

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Technology

Spotify paid over $100 million to podcasts in the first quarter, including Joe Rogan, Alex Cooper and Theo Von

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Spotify paid over 0 million to podcasts in the first quarter, including Joe Rogan, Alex Cooper and Theo Von

Pavlo Gonchar | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Spotify said Monday it paid more than $100 million to podcast publishers and podcasters worldwide in the first quarter of 2025.

The figure includes all creators on the platform across all formats and agreements, including the platform’s biggest fish, Joe Rogan, Alex Cooper and Theo Von, the company said.

Rogan, host of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Cooper of “Call Her Daddy” and “This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von” were among the top podcasts on Spotify globally in 2024.

Rogan and Cooper’s exclusivity deals with Spotify have ended, and while Rogan signed a new Spotify deal last year worth up to $250 million, including revenue sharing and the ability to post on YouTube, Cooper inked a SiriusXM deal in August.

Read more CNBC tech news

Even when shows are no longer exclusive to Spotify, they are still uploaded to the platform and qualify for the Spotify Partner Program, which launched in January in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia.

The program allows creators to earn revenue every time an ad monetized by Spotify plays in the episode, as well as revenue when Premium subscribers watch dynamic ads on videos.

Competing platform Patreon said it paid out over $472 million to podcasters from over 6.7 million paid memberships in 2024.

YouTube’s payouts are massive by comparison but include more than just podcasts. The company said it paid $70 billion to creators between 2021 and 2024 with payouts rising each year, according to YouTube CEO Neal Mohan.

Spotify reports first-quarter earnings on Tuesday.

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Environment

BYD now has the world’s largest car transport ship and it just set sail overseas

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BYD now has the world's largest car transport ship and it just set sail overseas

The BYD “Shenzhen” set sail on its first voyage overseas this week. With 9,200 parking spots, or about enough to fill 20 football fields, BYD’s new car transport ship is now the world’s largest.

BYD’s largest car carrier sets sail for Brazil

BYD’s Shenzhen is on its maiden voyage to Brazil after setting sail on April 27. The vessel is carrying over 7,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs), including electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). It’s the largest single batch of NEVs exported from China so far.

The new vessel is BYD’s fourth car transport ship and the world’s largest, capable of carrying 9,000 vehicles. According to the company, that’s enough to fill about 20 football fields.

BYD launched its first car carrier, the Explorer No 1, in January 2024. It has already completed several trips to Germany, Spain, and Brazil.

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Its second, the BYD Changzhou, set sail in December 2024, followed by the Hefei earlier this year. All three vessels can carry up to 7,000 vehicles, making the Shenzhen the largest so far.

BYD's-largest-car-transport-ship
BYD Shenzhen, the world’s largest car transport ship (Source: BYD)

The Shenzhen is named after the automaker’s hometown and demonstrates “BYD’s firm determination to promote sustainable development in Brazil.”

BYD is preparing to launch two more vessels, the Changsha and Xi’an. The Changsha is expected to launch soon, while the Xi’an was introduced on April 2.

The new car carriers will help accelerate BYD’s aggressive overseas expansion. In the first three months of 2025, the company sold over 206,000 NEVs overseas, more than double the number it sold last year.

BYD sells a wide range of vehicles in Brazil, including the low-cost Dolphin Mini, starting at around $20,000 (99,800 BRL). In October, it launched its first hybrid pickup truck, the Shark, starting at 379,800 BTL ($66,900).

Brazil is only one overseas market that BYD is targeting. BYD’s sales are expected to double in Europe in 2025, with significant growth in other key regions like Southeast Asia, Japan, Mexico, and South Korea, to name a few.

Source: BYD

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