Former Treasury Secretary Mnuchin is putting together an investor group to buy TikTok

Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is building an investor group to acquire ByteDance’s TikTok, as a bipartisan piece of legislation winding its way through Congress threatens its continued existence in the U.S. The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bipartisan bill that if signed into law would force ByteDance to either divest its flagship … Read more

Tesla settles racial discrimination lawsuit

Workers assemble cars on the line at Tesla’s factory in Fremont. David Butow (Photo by David Butow/Corbis via Getty Images) David Butow | Corbis News | Getty Images Electric vehicle maker Tesla has settled a racist discrimination lawsuit in which a federal jury previously awarded $3.2 million in damages to Owen Diaz, a Black man … Read more

India’s booming tech sector takes a major blow with Byju’s, Paytm crises

Workers inspect smart phone components at the visual inspection area of the surface mount technology workshop inside the Realme factory in Greater Noida, India: Anindito Mukerjee | Bloomberg | Getty Images Anindito Mukerjee | Bloomberg | Getty Images India’s booming tech sector has suffered a major blow as startup darlings Byju’s and Paytm plunge into … Read more

OpenAI shares Elon Musk emails urging startup to raise $1 billion, see Tesla as a cash cow

OpenAI on Tuesday publicly responded to a lawsuit brought by co-founder Elon Musk, highlighting apparent hypocrisy on the part of the now-billionaire and early backer of the company. In its response, OpenAI reproduced old emails from Musk in which the Tesla and SpaceX CEO encouraged the rising startup to raise at least $1 billion in … Read more

Affirm buy now pay later vendor discusses loans, delinquencies

A young man holds a credit card and uses a laptop for online shopping. Diy13 | Istock | Getty Images Americans shopping online after midnight often make riskier transactions and are more likely to default on their loans, according to Affirm Chief Financial Officer Michael Linford. The fintech firm uses the hour a consumer attempts … Read more

Crypto VC funding climbs for first time in 2 years after bitcoin rally

Jonathan Raa | Nurphoto | Getty Images Crypto had a big bounceback year in 2023. Now, venture investors are returning. Venture funding for crypto-related companies in the fourth quarter of 2023 totaled $1.9 billion, a 2.5% increase from the prior quarter, PitchBook said Thursday. It marks the first time that venture VC investments in crypto … Read more

SoftBank earnings Q3 FY 2023

Masayoshi Son, CEO of SoftBank, has been weighing up various options for chipmaker Arm after Nvidia walked away from buying the company. Alessandro Di Ciommo | Nurphoto | Getty Images SoftBank posted its biggest gain in nearly three years at the flagship tech investment arm, the Vision Fund, in the December quarter amid a recovery … Read more

Luxury Uber rival Wheely launches in Dubai to take on Careem

Luxury ride-hailer Wheely’s big bet on Dubai is that the region’s burgeoning demand from wealthy individuals and digital nomads will make the city a prime fit for the company. Wheely Wheely, a luxury-focused competitor to ride-hailing giant Uber, is launching in Dubai as the company looks to reembark on an international expansion effort that was … Read more

A Last-Ditch Plan to Save the Crypto Industry

The book traces the following thesis: At first, the internet was open, but limited. Private companies brought interactivity to the web and grew fat on the proceeds, but that made it difficult for users to leave their networks and for competitors to enter the market. The concentration of power in the hands of Big Tech … Read more

Founders of Wise and Skype raise $436 million to back Europe tech

The partners of European venture capital firm Plural, from left to right: Ian Hogarth, Taavet Hinrikus, Carina Namih, Sten Tamkivi and Khaled Helioui. Plural The founders of Wise, Skype and Songkick have raised 400 million euros ($436.4 million) for a new fund to back technology startups in Europe. It seeks to compete with established funds … Read more