A little over three years ago, private equity investor Orlando Bravo called FTX the “most cutting-edge, sophisticated cryptocurrency exchange in the world,” as his buyout firm helped lead a $900 million investment in the company at a valuation of $18 billion.
Bravo now tells CNBC that he and his firm, Thoma Bravo, are permanently out of crypto after that disaster. FTX spiraled into bankruptcy in late 2022, and founder Sam Bankman-Fried is in the early days of serving a 25-year prison sentence for the massive fraud and conspiracy that doomed FTX and sister hedge fund Alameda Research.
“Once you make a mistake and once you get burned on something, our philosophy and my philosophy is you never touch it again,” Bravo said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Thursday. “Even if it turns out that you missed a big boom.”
FTX marked a sideways turn for San Francisco-based Thoma Bravo, which has emerged as a giant investor in technology, orchestrating multibillion-dollar acquisitions in recent years of companies including cybersecurity software vendor Proofpoint, property management software company RealPage, finance and supply chain software developer Anaplan and spend management software company Coupa.
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Last year, Thoma Bravo returned close to $13 billion to its investors, Bravo said at a conference in March. Its recent exits include the $3.6 billion sale of Imperva to Thales Group in 2023 and the $4 billion sale of Barracuda Networks to KKR the prior year.
Founded in 2008, the firm now oversees roughly $160 billion in assets.
At the time of Thoma Bravo’s investment in FTX, the crypto exchange was riding the wave of soaring crypto prices. Bankman-Fried was an industry icon, having built his company into one of the world’s largest exchanges in about two years.
“We are thrilled to partner with FTX on their next phase of growth as they create a new ecosystem for crypto,” Bravo said in the July 2021 press release. His firm’s investment in the round reportedly amounted to $130 million.
Bravo said on Thursday that the blockchain technology underlying crypto still has promise. But whether it’s bitcoin itself or a company in the space, Bravo is staying away.
“Personally, I’m a believer in blockchain. I think it’s a powerful way of doing many things and for many use cases, and I’ve always believed that,” Bravo said. “From an investment standpoint, after you make a mistake, you kind of move on.”
The new Quantum 3 battery energy storage system (BESS) from Wärtsilä is being describes as an intelligent, cutting-edge solution designed to meet the ever-evolving needs of utility-scale energy storage customers.
Housed in a 20-foot ISO container with single-side access, Quantum 3 is a complete AC block solution, with fully integrated and internalized batteries and string-based power conversion systems (PCS). That size was strategically chosen to facilitate global shipping and on-site transport using (relatively) small wheel loaders and top loaders, aiding in efficient on-site deployment and back-to-back configuration.
Quantum 3 also features a sustainably designed housing (read: aluminum) for low weight, as well as advanced thermal controls that include low noise levels and a low global warming potential (GWP) cooling system, makes it a groundbreaking offering for meeting customers’ environmental and decarbonisation goals.
Wärtsilä built-in enhanced fire safety features are designed to ensure customer facilities are both fire-proof and future-proof.
“These are features we have worked extremely hard on and are very proud of. We have a proven track record of safe and reliable delivery worldwide,” says Andrew Tang, vice president of Energy Storage & Optimisation, Wärtsilä Energy. “Quantum 3 will help to further strengthen confidence among customers (utilities), local communities, and first responders that Wärtsilä’s systems will stand the test of time.”
Wärtsilä is sourcing Quantum 3 components from a geographically diverse set of suppliers, with manufacturing capacity across different regions of North America, Asia, and Europe. This should enable the company’s customers to take advantage of any local tax incentives while avoiding the kind of tariffs currently impacting global battery markets.
Wärtsilä grid scale BESS Specs:
Fully integrated AC block for high system availability and optimised rack-level control to maximise system performance
Industry-leading fire safety and cybersecurity features
Increased energy density and back-to-back layout for optimum land use and efficient on-site deployment and configuration
Standard 20-foot ISO container with a convenient weight for global shipment
Sustainable design and cooling system with low GWP
Advanced monitoring, control, and optimization from battery to fleet with Wärtsilä’s GEMS Digital Energy Platform
Chinese heavy equipment manufacturer SANY has signed a strategic Agreement with European brand Alltrucks to fuel its expansion into the European market. (Probably.)
With this Agreement, the well-known brand Alltrucks will take on responsibility for the maintenance, diagnosis, and repair of the Chinese SANY eTruck vehicles in the EU. The company hopes an alliance with a trusted brand will help to alleviate customers’ concerns about adding “unknown” Chinese-built heavy equipment to their fleet.
“In Alltrucks, we have found a partner that shares our vision of sustainable mobility and has the necessary expertise and infrastructure to provide our customers with the best possible support,” explains Kevin Eichele, Head of Business Development at SANY eTrucks Europe. “Together, we will shape the future of freight transport in Europe.”
Alltrucks is a joint venture between Bosch, Knorr-Bremse, and ZF that offers 24-hour breakdown service, technical and marketing support, and an OEM-quality replacement parts network to truck fleets across the EU.
“We are delighted to be partnering with SANY eTrucks,” says Homer Smyrliadis, Managing Director of Alltrucks. “Our goal is to always offer our customers the best service. By working with such an innovative partner as SANY, we can further expand our service portfolio in the field of electromobility and make our contribution to sustainable mobility.”
The E-mixer shown (above) is the same model already in service at Pan-United Corp. It sends power to its wheels through a 6-speed transmission with significant torque multiplication, enabling it to claw up a 30% grade, even when fully loaded. (!)
Electrek’s Take
As a semi-professional journalist and passably professional person in general, I like to find at least two sources for any story. In this case, though, I couldn’t do that. As such, I feel like I need to tell you that the quotes used in this story are translated from a German email reportedly received by Electrive. The story does not appear on either the SANY Global or Alltrucks news pages, or (from the Google searches I tried) anywhere else.
It’s a significant story if it’s true – one that solves for the question of, “Where do I get my Chinese electric semi truck serviced?” with a very neat and tidy, “The same place you get your truck serviced now,” and I’m hoping that we’re just ahead of an embargo or something and that verification will come soon.
That said, take this one with a bit more than a grain of salt until that verification comes. Call it a teaspoon.
“FedEx is cultivating a strong roster of electric vehicle models that can meet the demands of our network,” says Pat Donlon, Vice President, Global Vehicles, FedEx. “In joining our fleet, the electric Workhorse W56 will be part of our story as we aim to transition our global parcel pickup and delivery fleet to all zero-tailpipe emissions vehicles by 2040.”
That fleet won’t just be cleaner – it’ll be much more efficient. According to the company’s press release, the W56 achieved an impressive 31 MPGe during FedEx’ real-world delivery route testing. That compares favorably to the national average fuel economy of 7 MPG for similar diesel delivery trucks, demonstrating significantly lower energy consumption per mile. Based on an average of 31,875 miles driven per vehicle per year, Workhorse says FedEx will be able to avoid an estimated 607 metric tons of harmful tailpipe emissions annually.
We’re well into Q3 2024, obviously, but I don’t want to be seen as unreasonably harsh on Workhorse. Heck, a few quarters here or there seems downright reasonable on a Tesla Semi timeline – I just think a bit of historical context is needed whenever we talk about startups like this. Head down to the comments and let me know if you agree.