Mr. Steal Your Deal

Comcast looks to snipe Fox from Disney as it prepares an all-cash deal

Remember how Disney bought 21st Century Fox back in December? Well, Comcast’s not giving up without a fight. Reuters reports that they’re drumming up $60B in new financing to offer Fox an all-cash deal -- and pull the rug out from under Disney.

AKA, it’s “cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs” out in multimedia corporate conglomerate land.

It’s getting ugly

Disney CEO Bob Iger locked in a $52B all-stock deal back in December to acquire Fox’s film, television, and international business.

Now Comcast wants to usurp them and buy the same assets that Disney is attempting to acquire, including Hulu, which all 3 companies currently own 30% of.

What are the chances of Fox saying ‘yes’?

It’s tough to tell. Fox previously turned down a Comcast stock offer in the $60B range before taking a smaller deal with Disney, reportedly due to Comcast’s prior regulatory troubles.

See, the FCC has thwarted Comcast’s acquisition attempts in the past (e.g., their attempt to acquire Time Warner) fore fear of further conglomerating the nation’s already largest home broadband network and giving a single corporation too much power.

But, Comcast is hoping an all-cash deal will sweeten the pot and help Fox’s shareholders look past its baggage.

And then, of course, there’s the AT&T/Time Warner deal

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts plans to proceed with the bid only if a federal judge allows AT&T’s planned $85B acquisition of Time Warner to proceed.

Earlier in the year, The DOJ opposed the deal over antitrust concerns -- if AT&T wins the court proceedings, the ruling would, according to Ars Technica, potentially improve Comcast’s chances of buying another entertainment company.

Moral: The corporate media empire power struggle is real.

Here’s what you missed at Google’s State of the Internet: From John Legend to JOMO

Yesterday, was the kickoff of Google I/O, the annual 3-day tech festival where Google unveils the new tech it will use to take over the world.

According to Google, here’s what you will hear, see, and feel with all of their new tech:

John Legend is here to talk you… but only if you ask politely

Google’s revamped assistant talks to you (and to other people over the phone) in 6 human-sounding voices -- soon to include John Legend’s.

Also, a “Pretty Please” feature prevents the assistant from responding to you unless you use the magic word.

You’re about to see the world in a whole new way

Visual tech features help you:

• Turn your walk to the ice cream store into a video game.
• Identify the building in the background of your selfie.
• Add some color to your grandpa’s prom pic.

Also, Google wants you to feel the JOMO

An upgraded “Time Spent” initiative helps you keep track of (and limit) how much time you spent using various apps, an effort to help you feel the “joy of missing out” -- you know, JOMO.

Other “digital well-being” features include “Shush” (to ignore people) and “Wind Down” (to sleep).

Despite sketchy science, biotech companies are lining up to get into your genes

According to a study in the journal Health Affairs, 10 new genetic testing kits arrive every day, flooding the market with 75k different testing options.

Genetic testing has been around for decades, but financially accessible tests became available only recently -- and doctors who don’t have the tools to evaluate their success aren’t sure how to keep up with them.

Thank the Supreme Court and Angelina Jolie for the hype

In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that Utah biotech company Myriad Genetics couldn’t patent human DNA that predicted breast and ovarian cancer -- saying that it would prevent academic researchers from developing new treatments.

That same year, Angelina Jolie published an op-ed describing her use of (newly deregulated) gene testing to prevent hereditary breast cancer -- and popular interest in gene testing soared.

This interest drove the price of gene sequencing down from about $3k in 2013 to less than $100 today -- spurring massive investment in the gene business and increasing the small handful of people opting for tests to 12m people.

Too many tests, too few answers

As businesses compete to carve out a niche in the business of clinical genomics (expected to hit $7.7B by 2020) only 14% of doctors are confident in interpreting the results of these tests.

But nevertheless, many of these new gene-testing kit startups have started selling their products to big companies -- and businesses like Salesforce, Instacart, Snap, Levi’s, and GE are all willing to take the test without studying.

Somewhere, a man-bun just died: Robot baristas are coming

Sorry human latté-artists, it’s time to make way for… robots.

From the team that brought you Beats by Dre comes… Cafe X.

It’s a new, $25k automated barista designed by the Ammunition Group that, according to CNBC, “slings” 120 cups of hot cawffee an hour.

In a world... run by barista robots...

Cafe X launched last year in San Francisco. There is generally a human “specialist” (of what? We don’t know) there to monitor and maintain the area while the java-bot makes between 300 and 400 orders a day.

Prices are reportedly kept low, with little overhead, and no tip obligation for customers, so ya’ know… a win win for both sides of the coin.

At this point, human baristas should start praying for an androgynous outlaw-tté named Thane with a handlebar mustache to reclaim Homo sapiens’ cappuccino throne from robots 300 years from now...

So is the guy who always misspells my name really a goner?

Well, the robo-overhaul may not be that dramatic. Starbucks and other big coffeeshops reportedly have no plans to phase out humans, but there is healthy demand for barista-bots as part of the growing “robo-boom” in the food and beverage industry.

Cuz ya know… pizza-bots and burger-bots.

That said, the coffee-bot unit is basically a Keurig with a metal arm that holds a cup steady while a machine pours. You’ve seen them in 7/11’s for years, but of course, those aren’t as sexy as…

Cafe X.

We’re giving away a magical trip to Harry Potter World for 2

And, just like a golden snitch, it’s yours for the grabbing.

We’re obsessed with Harry P here at The Hustle, and we couldn’t think of a better giveaway than a trip to the most enchanting place on earth: Harry Potter World.

So, our friends at Girlboss, Inverse, Bright Cellars, and Curiosity.com, pitched in to help make the magic happen.

This goblet of prizing includes:

2 Wizarding World VIP two-day tickets to Universal Studios Florida, a 2-night stay at Universal Studios Florida, and 2 round-trip flight credits up to $500 a piece (or just take your Nimbus 2000).

So what are you waiting for? Slytherin to this amazing opportunity here.

THE FINE PRINT: Gotta be 18 or older to enter. No minors, no exceptions, no fun. Muggles allowed.

"Cash is dandy, but credit is quicker. Okay, enough wisdom for today. I’ll get back to my day job: saving you cash money. This week, there’s a screamer of a deal on KetoFIRE, food delivered to ya door, and a mother’s best friend: flowers."

- Yarde Sail from Kent, Washington

• Up to 80% off at Barneys Warehouse
• Up to 65% Prana apparel at Backcountry
• 6 qt. Instant Pot Ultra at Sur La Table for $99.96 (was $300.00)
• Anker Soundcore Bluetooth speaker at Amazon for $23.98 (was $79.99)
• Parrot Swing quadcopter at DailySteals for $24.99 (was $139.99)

“Hey, it’s mom”

Just letting you know I love you and you forgot your lunch.

Oh, and your development team is falling behind.

Wait, that’s not your mom... it’s monday.com

monday.com is like a loving parent for your projects -- helping you manage workflows, deadlines, and tasks across multiple teams from a single dashboard.

It’s like a visual status report, on call at any time from any device -- with gentle reminders along the way. Kind of like a mom, right?

Use in-app collaboration tools to communicate quickly, celebrate victories, and get things done. Period.

Use tools to make your mom proud. Try monday.com for 14 days FREE. No charge, no strings, and no risk.