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Art by Mike Sullivan
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Amazon Pumps the Brakes on Global Domination

By Theo Wayt · Mar 7, 2024 6:00am PST
Less than two years ago, Amazon had big plans to continue its march into the sizable areas of the world where it hadn’t yet officially opened an online store for business. In 2022, it planned to launch local versions of its store that year in at least three new European countries—Ireland, Belgium and Switzerland—according to a... Less than two years ago, Amazon had big plans to continue its march into the sizable areas of the...
Garry Tan. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.
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Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan Discussed OpenAI Board Role

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Mar 6, 2024 7:05pm PST · 1 comment
Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan, a longtime venture capitalist, early this year talked with directors of OpenAI about joining the board that governs the artificial intelligence startup valued at more than $80 billion, according to a person who has spoken to board members. The talks were preliminary, and it’s not clear if the board is still... Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan, a longtime venture capitalist, early this year talked with...
Boston Harbor. Photo via Getty Images.
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Embattled Venture Firm OpenView to Give Back 75% of Capital to Investors

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Mar 5, 2024 5:20pm PST · 6 comments
OpenView Venture Partners, the Boston-based venture capital firm whose abrupt decision to wind down late last year epitomized the challenges facing startup investors in the aftermath of the tech funding boom, has figured out its final chapter. The 18-year-old firm plans to return the majority of a $571 million fund it raised a year ago to its... OpenView Venture Partners, the Boston-based venture capital firm whose abrupt decision to wind...
Chipper Cash CEO and co-founder, Ham Serunjogi. Photo by Getty.
The Latest Fintech Retreat: a $2 Billion Challenger to Western Union Suspends U.S. Services
By Abubakar Idris · Mar 5, 2024 1:16pm PST
Chipper Cash CEO and co-founder, Ham Serunjogi. Photo by Getty.
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The Latest Fintech Retreat: a $2 Billion Challenger to Western Union Suspends U.S. Services

By Abubakar Idris · Mar 5, 2024 1:16pm PST
In the go-go days of 2020–22, venture capitalists poured billions of dollars into African payment startups, enthusiastic about their potential to revolutionize access to financial services on the African continent. Among the lucky startups was Chipper Cash, a San Francisco–based firm that raised $300 million from Jeff Bezos’s... In the go-go days of 2020–22, venture capitalists poured billions of dollars into African...
Miles Grimshaw at Cerebral Valley AI Summit in 2023. Photo via YouTube/Newcomer.
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Another VC Boomerang: Benchmark General Partner Grimshaw Leaves for Thrive

By Kate Clark · Mar 5, 2024 8:00am PST · 4 comments
Miles Grimshaw, a general partner at Benchmark, is leaving the firm to rejoin Thrive Capital, the New York venture capital firm where he started his career in 2013, according to a Thrive spokesperson. Grimshaw’s departure represents a rare resignation from Benchmark, a storied early-stage venture firm with early bets on Twitter, Uber and... Miles Grimshaw, a general partner at Benchmark, is leaving the firm to rejoin Thrive Capital, the...
Photo by Shutterstock.
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Trendy Soda Brand Olipop Seeks Fresh Cash, Targets $400 Million in Sales

By Ann Gehan · Mar 4, 2024 3:50pm PST
Olipop, a fast-growing brand of soda that has built buzz on TikTok and Instagram with help of celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, is aiming to lift its sales this year to around $400 million, up from more than $250 million last year, and is in talks to raise fresh capital to help fuel its growth, according to a person with direct knowledge of... Olipop, a fast-growing brand of soda that has built buzz on TikTok and Instagram with help of...
ByteDance offices in Singapore. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.
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ByteDance Revenue Growth Accelerated to 43% in Third Quarter

By Kaya Yurieff and Jon Victor · Mar 4, 2024 2:58pm PST · 1 comment
ByteDance revenue in the third quarter of 2023 rose roughly 43% to $30.9 billion, indicating that the TikTok parent company accelerated advertising and ecommerce sales slightly from the first half. It also demonstrated that ByteDance is continuing to grow at nearly twice the growth rate of Facebook-owner Meta Platforms. For the first nine months... ByteDance revenue in the third quarter of 2023 rose roughly 43% to $30.9 billion, indicating that...
Rami Zeidan, founder and former CEO of Life House. Photo via YouTube/Influence Group. Art by Shane Burke.
Life House CEO Departs After The Information’s Report on Company
By Paris Martineau · Mar 4, 2024 10:32am PST · 1 comment
Rami Zeidan, founder and former CEO of Life House. Photo via YouTube/Influence Group. Art by Shane Burke.
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Life House CEO Departs After The Information’s Report on Company

By Paris Martineau · Mar 4, 2024 10:32am PST · 1 comment
The founder and CEO of the hospitality startup Life House, Rami Zeidan, has resigned and left the board, board member Chris Hemmeter told shareholders in an email on Monday. The board hired two travel industry veterans to take over the company’s management. The shakeup follows a February 14 report in The Information which cited customers... The founder and CEO of the hospitality startup Life House, Rami Zeidan, has resigned and left the...
Meta Quest 3 headset. Photo by Getty.
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Meta Rebuffed Google Proposal For a VR and AR Tie-Up

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Mar 1, 2024 6:00am PST
Late last year, in a meeting between Google and Meta Platform staffers, Google suggested that Meta partner on Android XR, the new software platform Google is developing for virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed-reality headsets, according to a person involved in the talks. The two companies had long been in regular contact over... Late last year, in a meeting between Google and Meta Platform staffers, Google suggested that...
Bill Gurley. Photo by Getty.
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How Nextdoor Became a Missed Opportunity for Benchmark’s Gurley

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 29, 2024 6:00am PST · 3 comments
Nextdoor once looked like the next great bet for Bill Gurley, the prominent Benchmark venture capitalist known for early investments in Uber, Zillow and Stitch Fix. Now the neighborhood social network is looking like a missed opportunity for him. Gurley urged Nextdoor co-founder Nirav Tolia not to sell the startup in 2018, when it was valued at... Nextdoor once looked like the next great bet for Bill Gurley, the prominent Benchmark venture...
Art by Clark Miller.
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For TikTok, Universal Standoff Shows Music No Longer Matters Like It Once Did

By Erin Woo · Feb 28, 2024 1:05pm PST · 1 comment
TikTok once depended on the music industry to provide the soundtrack for its viral lip-syncing and dancing videos. But TikTok’s leaders have decided the app just doesn’t need those relationships the way it once did. Multiple times over the past two years, TikTok executives told employees handling music on the platform that one of the... TikTok once depended on the music industry to provide the soundtrack for its viral lip-syncing...
Art by Mike Sullivan
Meta Wants Llama 3 to Handle Contentious Questions as Google Grapples With Gemini Backlash
By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Kalley Huang · Feb 28, 2024 6:30am PST · 8 comments
Art by Mike Sullivan
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Meta Wants Llama 3 to Handle Contentious Questions as Google Grapples With Gemini Backlash

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Kalley Huang · Feb 28, 2024 6:30am PST · 8 comments
As Google grapples with the backlash over the historically inaccurate responses on its Gemini chatbot, Meta Platforms is dealing with a related issue. As part of its work on the forthcoming version of its large language model, Llama 3, Meta is trying to overcome a problem perceived in Llama 2: Its answers to anything at all contentious... As Google grapples with the backlash over the historically inaccurate responses on its Gemini...
Photo by Getty
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EU Antitrust Cops Investigate Microsoft’s Security Software Practices

By Aaron Holmes · Feb 27, 2024 12:25pm PST
European Union regulators are probing whether Microsoft is preventing its customers from buying security software that competes with Microsoft’s, according to a document the EU sent to at least one rival in January. It’s the latest sign of growing scrutiny from policymakers, especially in the EU, of Microsoft’s fast-growing... European Union regulators are probing whether Microsoft is preventing its customers from buying...
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. Photo by Getty
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TikTok Shakes Up Executive Ranks, Giving CEO More Oversight of Content Moderation

By Erin Woo and Kaya Yurieff · Feb 27, 2024 8:20am PST
TikTok has shaken up its senior ranks, replacing several senior executives including the person running its trust & safety unit, which handles content moderation, and appointing a protege of CEO Shou Zi Chew to oversee that part of the business, according to people at the company and a memo distributed to staff. The shakeup comes weeks after... TikTok has shaken up its senior ranks, replacing several senior executives including the person...
Photo by Getty.
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Venture Debt Was Supposed to Dry Up After SVB. Instead, Competition Increased

By Michael Roddan · Feb 26, 2024 6:00am PST · 1 comment
When BedRock Systems co-founder Bob Tinker was recently searching for a venture loan to provide extra cash for his cybersecurity startup after it raised a Series A round funding round, he approached a gaggle of lenders specializing in that type of financing: Comerica, HSBC and Stifel as well as Silicon Valley Bank, now operating as a division of... When BedRock Systems co-founder Bob Tinker was recently searching for a venture loan to provide...
Photo by Shutterstock.
U.S. Lawmakers Demand Temu Shipment Ban Over Forced Labor Concerns
By Ann Gehan and Jing Yang · Feb 23, 2024 11:01am PST · 7 comments
Photo by Shutterstock.
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U.S. Lawmakers Demand Temu Shipment Ban Over Forced Labor Concerns

By Ann Gehan and Jing Yang · Feb 23, 2024 11:01am PST · 7 comments
A number of U.S. lawmakers are pushing for a ban on imports of goods sold on Temu, the fast-growing shopping site known for selling bargain products shipped from China, saying it hasn’t done enough to prevent its suppliers from using forced labor, two people with knowledge of the conversations said. In recent weeks, China critics including... A number of U.S. lawmakers are pushing for a ban on imports of goods sold on Temu, the...
Art by Mike Sullivan.
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TikTok Confronts New Threat: Bed Bugs

By Erin Woo and Kaya Yurieff · Feb 23, 2024 7:26am PST
TikTok has hit a snag in its efforts to bring employees back to its New York City office: bed bugs. The discovery of a bed bug in the office last December, where hundreds of employees are based, has sparked a frenzy among workers fretting about the risks of transmitting bed bugs to roommates and pets, not to mention creators and other business... TikTok has hit a snag in its efforts to bring employees back to its New York City office: bed...
Nextdoor CEO Sarah Friar. Photo by Getty
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Nextdoor Board Discusses Replacing CEO Friar or Selling Company

By Cory Weinberg and Natasha Mascarenhas · Feb 22, 2024 2:25pm PST · 4 comments
Board members at the struggling local networking site Nextdoor have been debating the company’s future, including whether to bring in a new CEO or to find a buyer, a person familiar with the matter said. Investment firm Qatalyst has approached companies about their interest, said two people familiar with the matter. Among the options that... Board members at the struggling local networking site Nextdoor have been debating the...
Photo by Getty.
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JPMorgan Pulls Former Compliance Chief Out of Retirement to Clean Up Fintech Mess

By Michael Roddan · Feb 22, 2024 12:57pm PST · 1 comment
JPMorgan Chase has called its former global chief compliance officer out of retirement to help the bank assert its rights as a major shareholder in Greek payments fintech Viva Wallet, after disagreements between the two firms culminated in dueling lawsuits. Frank Pearn, who retired as JPMorgan’s top financial and legal risk manager a year... JPMorgan Chase has called its former global chief compliance officer out of retirement to help...
From left: Matt Miller, Mike Moritz and Roelof Botha. Photos by Sequoia; Getty.
Inside the Board Fight Over Michael Moritz at Klarna
By Kate Clark, Maria Heeter and Cory Weinberg · Feb 22, 2024 10:00am PST · 2 comments
From left: Matt Miller, Mike Moritz and Roelof Botha. Photos by Sequoia; Getty.
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Inside the Board Fight Over Michael Moritz at Klarna

By Kate Clark, Maria Heeter and Cory Weinberg · Feb 22, 2024 10:00am PST · 2 comments
People close to Klarna founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski say he keeps a very tight inner circle. One of the people he trusts the most is Michael Moritz. So when big Klarna investor Sequoia Capital sought to oust Moritz—Klarna’s chair, who was a longtime leader of the venture capital firm before leaving last year—Siemiatkowski... People close to Klarna founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski say he keeps a very tight inner circle....