When news broke that former U.S. President Donald Trump had conceived of a media and technology company and intended to take it public via a blank-check company, you would have been forgiven if you immediately began to wonder how quickly you could short the stock. Pick a reason: Right-leaning social networks have largely flopped; the…
With the Climate Crisis looming, lots of companies want to do their part. But asking customers to “offset the CO2 emission of this delivery” is usually a hammer to crack a nut. There is very little transparency around carbon offsets. Plus, smaller companies want to access high-quality carbon credits, but calculate their impact at a…
Google has held discussions to invest over $50 million in Indian social commerce startup Meesho, which recently secured $570 million in a financing round, according to a source familiar with the matter. The Android-maker, which has backed over half a dozen startups in India, has yet to make the investment in Meesho, according to another…
Derek Zaba is a partner at Sidley Austin’s Palo Alto office and co-chairs the firm’s Shareholder Activism practice. He counsels companies on a variety of matters, including activism defense/proxy contests, activism preparedness, takeover defenses, shareholder engagement and corporate governance. Sharon R. Flanagan Contributor Sharon R. Flanagan is the managing partner of Sidley Austin’s office in…
Facebook Messenger is rolling out new augmented reality (AR) experiences to video calls and Messenger Rooms, the platform’s videoconferencing feature. The company notes that the new “group effects” feature will be coming to Instagram soon. Groups effects work for everyone on the video call, as Facebook says it’s aiming to make AR effects a shared experience.…
Indian hyperlocal social media platform Lokal has raised $12 million in a new round of financing led by Chinese internet conglomerate Tencent, according to a source familiar with the matter. Existing investors 3one4 Capital, Y Combinator, and India Quotient have also participated in the Bangalore-based startup’s Series A, the source said, requesting anonymity as the…
The edtech boom has focused primarily on students, but teachers are learners, too. Doyobi, a Singapore-based professional development platform, wants to give educators new, more engaging ways of teaching STEM subjects. The startup announced today it has raised $2.8 million in pre-Series A funding led by Monk’s Hill Ventures. The round included Tresmonos Capital, Novus…
Following moves by major tech platforms to better protect minors using their platforms, Snapchat is preparing to introduce its own set of “family engagement” tools in the coming months. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel teased the planned offering during an interview at the WSJ Tech Live conference this week, where he explained that the new product…
But the cloud infra company touts the power of the written word Sure, Facebook is apparently rebranding as a metaverse company — because that will fix its trust deficit — but this morning we’re jumping right back into the IPO game instead of making rude jokes at the social giant’s expense. This time our target is…
Resistant AI, which uses artificial intelligence to help financial services companies combat fraud and financial crime — selling tools to protect credit risk scoring models, payment systems, customer onboarding and more — has closed $16.6 million in Series A funding. GV (formerly Google Ventures) led the round, with participation from existing investors Index Ventures (led…
