Sources: Instagram and TikTok are working on versions of their apps customized to run on TV screens, following YouTube's success in attracting a TV audience
people engage, they post, they engage more, they buy, etc. Scraps of attention being fought over get smaller and smaller. Dev Sethi / @devssethi : brought this idea up while at IG ...
Kalshi raised $185M led by Paradigm at a $2B valuation; sources: Polymarket is completing a $200M+ investment led by Founders Fund at a ~$1B pre-money valuation
Prediction-Market Unicorn Hits $2 Billion Valuation Bogdan Patru / Bitcoin Insider : Prediction Market Kalshi Achieves Unicorn Status with $185 Raised at its $2B Evaluation, as BTC...
Legal AI startup Harvey raised a $300M Series E co-led by Kleiner Perkins and Coatue at a $5B valuation and says it serves 337 clients like KKR and PwC globally
serving global law [video] @globalflows : $5b valuation macro liquidity is making its way into the entire system [image] Ilya Fushman / @ilyaf : Incredibly excited to quadruple dow...
Tesla's robotaxi service will launch in Austin with just ~10 cars that are geofenced to avoid challenging intersections and monitored by backup teleoperators
Autonomous ride-hailing service to make tentative debut in Austin, Texas, with only about 10 cars
Filing: Disney sues YouTube, claiming breach of contract after YouTube hired longtime Disney executive Justin Connolly as its global head of media and sports
Here's Why Todd Spangler / Sportico : YouTube's Hiring of Disney Exec for Sports Role Prompts Lawsuit Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter : Disney Sues YouTube Over Poaching Exec ...
Sources: the US DOJ recently told Google it is examining whether Google structured an agreement with Character.AI to avoid formal government merger scrutiny
Antitrust enforcers have recently told Google they're examining whether it structured an agreement with the company known as Character.AI …
BeReal rolls out in-feed ads in the US, after Voodoo acquired it for €500M; BeReal says it has ~40M MAUs, including 5M in the US, and 85% of its users are Gen Z
Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch :
Source: Instagram is working on an iPad app, and Adam Mosseri told staff to be willing to assume more “risk” to take advantage of a TikTok US ban or disruption
Something that could have been easily spun up in a weekend a decade ago is only finally happening now because they see opportunity to steal market share [embedded post] X: Zac Hall...
BuildOps, which develops software for commercial services contractors, raised a $127M Series C led by Meritech Capital at a $1B post-money valuation
Commercial services tech hasn't historically been considered “sexy,” but the need for innovation in the space is enormous.
Sources: Apple TV+ is losing $1B+ annually even as its subscriptions grew to ~45M in 2024; source: Apple has spent $5B+ per year on content since its 2019 debut
Last year, Apple CEO Tim Cook had questions about several pricey movie deals executives of Apple TV+, the company's video-streaming service …
Block says it is expanding consumer lending through Cash App Borrow after obtaining FDIC approval to issue loans out of its subsidiary Square Financial Services
MacKenzie Sigalos / CNBC :
Asana announces CEO Dustin Moskovitz is retiring, and reports Q4 sales rose 10% YoY to $188.3M, in line with estimates; ASAN drops 25%+
>CEO and Co-founder Dustin Moskovitz to retire. $ASAN: -27% AH [image] Vijar Kohli / @vijarkohli : Dustin Moskovitz is finally retiring. I've used Asana for years. It's actually a ...
Email: Google eliminates its goal of hiring more employees from historically underrepresented groups and is reviewing some DEI programs after Donald Trump's EOs
Search giant is eliminating goals to hire more minority employees and reviewing DEI programs, part of a pullback across Silicon Valley
A look at six engineers with Elon Musk and Peter Thiel ties, between 19 and 24 years old, playing key DOGE roles, as Musk seizes control of US infrastructure
Engineers between 19 and 24, most linked to Musk's companies, are playing a key role as he seizes control of federal infrastructure.
Sources: SoftBank is in talks to invest $15B to $25B in OpenAI on top of its $15B+ commitment to Stargate; the deal would make SoftBank OpenAI's biggest backer
Deal would make Japanese group biggest financial backer in ChatGPT maker — SoftBank is in talks to invest as much as $25bn into OpenAI …
Character.AI is testing games on its desktop and mobile web apps to boost engagement, available to paid subscribers and a limited set of users on its free plan
Character AI, a startup that lets users chat with different AI-powered characters, is now testing games on its desktop …
Email: Sonos CPO Maxime Bouvat-Merlin is leaving; some employees say he shares a significant amount of blame for the brand damage due to the botched app revamp
A day after Sonos announced a CEO transition, the company is making more moves. Chief product officer Maxime Bouvat-Merlin will also be leaving his position.
Mark Zuckerberg lamented the rise of “culturally neutered” companies that have sought to distance themselves from “masculine energy”
- Rogan interview is latest in sign of shift toward Trump — CEO says Biden staffers would ‘scream’ and ‘curse’ about Covid
On Joe Rogan's podcast, Mark Zuckerberg said Biden administration officials would “scream” and “curse” at Meta employees to take down vaccine content, and more
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told Joe Rogan in a podcast published on Friday that his company was pressured …
OpenAI says it plans to build data centers in parts of the US Midwest and Southwest; sources: OpenAI is spending $5B+ a year and is “not close to breaking even”
ChatGPT-maker aims for big boost from new AI products, Apple partnership and infrastructure investment