Spotify files paperwork for “direct listing” IPO under cover of night
Spotify files confidentially for IPO via “direct listing.” May go public as soon as this quarter.
Disgraced ex-SoFi CEO is back with another startup 4 months after sexcapades
Mike Cagney plans to raise $25m for an unnamed fintech company with wife June Ou serving as COO.
2017 was the biggest year in history for mergers and acquisitions
Worldwide, more than 50k deals went down in 2017, worth in excess of $3.5T.
The creative history behind “earcons”
Earcons -- the little noises machines make to communicate with users -- seem simple, but they’re actually incredibly complex.
Otto gets “so close,” but shuts down operations before shipping first smart lock
The digital smart lock company revealed its $699 smartphone-connected lock only 4 months ago. Now, they’re donezo.
Vevo had a big 2017, and music vids are back babayyy
Vevo’s revenue jumped 30% in 2017 giving them a New Year’s resolution to become profitable in 2018.
Recreational weed is now legal in California. What exactly does that change?
Spoiler: your life probably won’t change much. At least not yet...
NOW, BACK TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED NEWS PROGRAMMING
New year, new, uh... news. Here’s what went down while you were out on the town:
A year in review: our top news stories of 2017
It’s been a wild 2017, friends. Since this time last year, The Hustle’s christened 2 new offices, hired 10 people, sent 260 emails, and welcomed over 500k of you aboard our pirate ship. Now we’re settling down for a long winter’s nap, and we won’t be coming out of hibernation until January 2nd, 2018. So, […]
Cryptocurrency had a wild ride this week
Used to be, coins were for parking meters and gumballs. Now, they’re minting millionaires: according to Live Coin Watch, as of 6pm PST last night, the digital coin market currently had a total market cap of around $653B. And this past week has been particularly exciting. Here are a few of our favorite “tales from […]
The wait is over just beginning: Magic Leap finally reveals its flagship product
7 years of hype and nearly $2B later, startup Magic Leap finally has a consumer product: the Magic Leap One “mixed-reality goggles.” The ML1 is a 3-part system: comprised of a headset, small external computer, and a wireless controller that lets you interact with realistic virtual 3D objects around you — sooo, pretty much VR? […]
#Vapenation: Vaping startup Juul is raising $150m
You vape bro? If you do, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve heard of the San Francisco-based vape powerhouse, Juul Labs. As of yesterday, an SEC filing showed they just raised a $112m round of funding, and that number could potentially steez its way up to a $150m convertible note offering. This is interesting for […]
Unmanned brick-and-mortars: the new corporate rat race
There’s a new gimmick in town, and it’s looking to bring back the floundering brick-and-mortar with the same companies who disrupted it in the first place. All by way of the “unmanned convenience store” — a retail space devoid of human employees. China’s leading the pack Amazon announced the concept of an unmanned convenience store […]
Bigger isn’t always better: startup Bima raises $97m to sell “microinsurance”
Swedish/British company Bima just raised $97m from insurance giant Allianz to bring “microinsurance” to developing countries with smaller economies. The deal puts Bima at a $290m valuation including debt, based on the idea that, if the coverage fits, more people will insure it. What’s microinsurance? Essentially, it’s the idea that coverage should be “the right […]
Is the Midwest the next Silicon Valley?
We’ve all heard the trope: Silicon Valley is the only place to be if you want to launch a tech startup — the only place where you can secure funding. Well, the Midwest has something to say about that. There’s a huge tech boom underway in middle America… So big, that some predict the region […]
YouTube ends record label standoff, now has licensing deals with the “Big 3”
After years of arduous negotiations, YouTube has finally landed licensing deals with the 3 biggest record labels in the biz: Universal, Sony, and Warner. Warner signed with them back in May, and yesterday the godfather of streaming closed the loop and signed “multi-year agreements” with Sony and Universal. The holy trinity Notorious for paying lower […]
Chuck E. Cheese has a very odd way of protecting its intellectual property
After a Chuck E. Cheese location closed in a small Illinois town a few weeks back, a strange video made the rounds on the internet. In the foreground, all appears normal, as employees wheel old machines and decorations out to a moving truck. But in the background, a horror story unfolds: 2 women hover over […]
VC money funding hits an all-time high, but fewer companies are getting a piece of the pie
Market research firm Pitchbook recently found that global venture capital investment is at an all-time high of $142B. But there’s a catch: fewer and fewer startups are getting funded — and the successful ones are raking in way more early-stage $$$ than they used to. Since 2012, the median seed round deal has doubled from […]
“Struggling” hospitals are making a killing on debt collection
Due to slim profit margins on patient care, some of the country’s largest hospital owners have decided to get into the business of debt collection. High healthcare prices have decimated patients and hospitals alike, leaving many unable to pay their bills and forcing the one institution whose sole purpose is to take care of us […]
Hershey wants to buy the company behind SkinnyPop for $1.6B
Hershey Company is close to acquiring SkinnyPop maker, Amplify Snack Brands, for $1.6B. If the deal goes through, Amplify will be one of the first big deals new Hershey CEO Michele Buck has spearheaded since he assumed the position in early 2017. Striking while the iron is hot US snack sales rose to $89B last […]
Virgin Hyperloop One raises $50m, puts Branson in the driver’s seat
Yesterday, Axios broke the news that the newly-rebranded Virgin Hyperloop One will raise another $50m in private capital, and that Richard Branson will step in as chairman following former chair Shervin Pishevar’s sex scandal. The cash infusion comes just 2 months after Virgin’s contribution and will be Virgin Hyperloop One’s third major investment in 6 […]
Another VC bites the dust: will sex scandals make Silicon Valley the next Hollywood?
Last week, in the wake of multiple sexual assault accusations, high-profile Silicon Valley investor Shervin Pishevar announced that he would “end his association” with Sherpa Capital, the venture firm he founded. While Pishevar continues to deny the claims, some speculate that his departure could mark the beginning of a new wave of sexual harassment scandals […]
Facial recognition: coming to an organic chicken near you
Ever catch yourself pondering the intimate details of your food’s life back before it was on your plate? Things like: where did it grow up, or what did it do for fun? Well, turns out people in China do. And, thanks to a facial recognition technology being developed by Chinese insurance tech company, ZhongAn Online, […]
An unlikely partnership: BP buys stake in a solar company
The infamously leaky Big Oil poster child British Petroleum announced it’s investing $200m into one of Europe’s premier solar companies, Lightsource. The investment will allow BP to gain a 43% stake in Lightsource over the next three years, rename the company Lightsource BP, and take 2 seats on their board. Finally seeing the writing on […]
Should meat get a sin tax like tobacco?
Last week, the ag firm Farm Animal Investment Risk and Return (FAIRR) put out a report suggesting states institute a “sin tax” on meat to combat the worsening environmental impact of livestock. What’s a sin tax, again? In short, they’re state-sponsored taxes that are levied on goods or services that are deemed to be “sinful” […]
The FCC repealed net neutrality yesterday — but the fight’s not over yet
Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 to undo the net neutrality regulations put in place by the Obama Administration in 2015. The regulations defined the internet as a public utility and prevented internet service providers from charging more money, blocking access to sites at their discretion, and picking and choosing the content people can […]
Monster merger: Disney to acquire Fox
Superheros. Jedis. Inanimate objects talking — these are everyone’s favorite things. And now Disney owns all of them. Yesterday, the media juggernaut announced their plan to buy 21st Century Fox for over $66B, the second-largest merger this year. The deal will include Fox’s movie studios, networks Nat Geo and FX, and a 60% stake in […]
Pet “influencers” confirm what we always knew: we trust dogs more than ourselves
The ad industry has a new vertical: “animal influencers,” reserved for celebrity pets with millions of Instagram followers. The market first came to prominence with the promotion of pet startups like Barkbox, and now companies from Google to Ralph Lauren are using pets to sell human brands — because as it turns out, animal influencers […]
Subway is bringing back the $5 footlong and franchisees are NOT into it
To get butts in the seats, Subway has decided to bring back their long-time promotional mainstay: the $5 footlong. For nearly a decade, the deal featured one 12-inch sub each day at a discounted $5 price until, like all great fan-favorite promotions, it met its demise in 2016. And now it’s back because Subway is […]
India has a condom problem
In India, social stigma is getting in the way of effective condom marketing -- and it’s hitting the industry hard.
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