CEO of Cloud Software Company Anaplan on Stock's NYSE Debut
*By Christian Smith*
Shares of Anaplan soared after the cloud software company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, despite making its debut at the tail end of one of the worst weeks for tech stocks in months.
Frank Calderoni, the CEO of Anaplan ($PLAN), attributed the stock's success to his company's sterling reputation among big businesses.
"It really shows that Anaplan, our platform, is really established in the business community to help them better make decisions in doing what they do," Calderoni said Friday in an interview on Cheddar.
Shares of Anaplan hit a high of over $24 per share after pricing shares at $17 apiece.
The company provides cloud-based enterprise software for financial and operations planning. It primarily targets mid- to large-sized clients, including HP ($HPQ) and Coca-Cola ($KO).
Through the IPO, Anaplan raised over $250 million in capital, which Calderoni said will be used to build new technology and invest in more foreign markets ー which already account for 40 percent of Anaplan's revenue.
"We're continuing to invest in our technology, so that we can keep it fresh and innovative over the next number of years," Calderoni said.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/anaplan-soars-on-first-day-of-trading).
Fundrise is an investment platform that allows its users to access a diversified portfolio of real estate investments. The company found more than 70 percent of 1,000 Gen Z and Millenial investors surveyed were concerned about inflation and 66 percent were putting their money in real estate, venture capital, and crypto as a safety net. Ben Miller, CEO and co-founder of Fundrise, joined Cheddar to talk about providing retail investors access to the previously difficult-to-access private real estate markets. "I think there's there's an understanding in society that real estate is where you go when there's high inflation," Miller said.
In January alone, the gaming sector has seen three major acquisitions. Yesterday, Sony added to the flurry of M&A activity in the gaming space, snatching up game developer 'Bungie' for $3.6 billion dollars. Renee Gittins, executive director at the International Gaming Developers Association, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
General Motors reported its Q4 earnings Tuesday. While chip shortages impacted sales and revenue last quarter, Paul Jacobson, GM Chief Financial Officer, told Cheddar chip availability has gotten better since Q3. This is crucial as GM has pivoted its focus toward electric vehicles. It recently announced it will be building a new battery plant in Michigan, making $35 billion in EV investments, and producing a million electric vehicles by 2025.
Google’s philanthropy arm, Google.org, recently announced a $10 million grant for the AARP Foundation to aid in teaching digital skills to low income older workers. As the implementation of hybrid work expands, a greater emphasis is being placed on helping workers 50 years old and up — especially among women and people of color — to be digitally literate in order to keep the workplace generationally diverse. Lisa Marsh Ryerson, president of the AARP Foundation, joined Cheddar News to talk about the curriculum of the partnership. "Those of us who are 50 and older are not digital natives, so we do have a learning curve that we have to address," she noted.