Toward the end of 2022, a number of entrepreneurs — some citing Elon Musk — told me they planned to bring back in-person work culture in the following year to help promote productivity and, in some cases, loyalty. One founder even told me over drinks that they weren’t worried about losing talent — claiming that…
Five years ago, Google backed away from a Pentagon government contract because thousands of employees protested that its tech might be used for lethal drone targeting. Today, however, Silicon Valley has far fewer qualms about developing tech for the U.S. Department of Defense. So said four investors — Trae Stephens of Founders Fund, Bilal Zuberi…
Four months after closing its largest fund to date, Kapor Capital wants more. The firm is under new leadership after co-founders Freada and Mitch Kapor stepped back from the outfit, which focuses on funding social impact ventures and founders of color. Now, led by Uriridiakoghene “Ulili” Onovakpuri and Brian Dixon, Kapor Capital is hoping to…
Twitter’s new owner is making moves to build in more revenue streams for creators — or at least he’s tweeting about it. Elon Musk announced Friday that the company would soon begin sharing advertising revenue with creators on the platform for the first time. The catch? Eligible users must be signed up for Twitter Blue,…
Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. This week Natasha Mascarenhas and Becca Szkutak took to their mics to sing a duet about this week’s startup news. Just kidding! But we did highlight some fun companies raising capital and talked…
SunFi, the Nigerian clean tech startup that connects people and businesses who want solar energy access to payment plans that match their needs, has raised $2.325 million in seed funding. The self-described energy financial tech platform received backing from lead investors Nairobi-based Factor[e] and Sterling Bank’s SCM Capital Asset Management and participating investors such as…
Peer-to-peer car-sharing company Getaround is laying off 10% of staff starting Thursday. The layoffs are part of a restructure aimed to put Getaround on the path to “sustainable profitability and long-term growth,” the company said in a statement. Per LinkedIn, Getaround has 421 employees, so the staff cuts should affect around 42 employees. Getaround would…
The hackers who reportedly hit more than 130 organizations last year and stole the credentials of almost 10,000 employees are still targeting several tech and video game companies, according to a report obtained by TechCrunch. The report, prepared by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, calls the hackers “Scattered Spider.” In a previous publicly available report, the company…
“Do more with less” has emerged as something of a business mantra over the past year, as businesses across the industrial spectrum have faced growing economic headwinds. Companies have been looking for ways to cut spending without jeopardising their output, which is also having a significant knock-on effect. Indeed, most of the big tech companies…
‘Astroturfing’ and other non-transparent lobbying tactics used to target digital policymakers in the European Union in recent years — including during a blitz of spending aimed at influencing major new pan-EU rules like the Digital Services Act (DSA) — have inspired a group of MEPs and NGOs to fight back by launching a hotline for…
