🏎 Bitcoin, NFTs & Lamborghinis
Netflix launches a shop, Bezos goes to space, and creator burnout hits
So, what happened this week in the Tech & Startup world? 🌍 Klarna raises $639m, Apple releases a bunch of new stuff and Deliveroo drivers find a new role…
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The Grapevine Newsflash 🔥
13 tech & startup stories in 166 super-duper short seconds.
💰 Tech Taxes & Fines It wasn’t the best week for big tech’s bank accounts. Countries that make up the G7 agreed to enacting a minimum corporate tax rate of 15%, Google were fined $268m by the French competition watchdog, and Amazon faces a possible $425m fine for violating GDPR.
🐯 Tiger Cubs Tiger Global is one of the world’s most active venture funds. But, this is a relatively new iteration of the hedge fund. Its history is long and its ‘cubs’ alumni unparalleled. Take a look at how founder Julian Robertson built the giant here.
💊 Alzheimer Breakthrough The U.S. regulator has approved the first Alzheimer’s drug in nearly 20 years. ‘Aduhelm’ has been found likely to slow the memory-robbing element of the disease. It’s another win for the medical industry in 2021.
🪙 Bitcoin 2021 At least 12,000 people attended the largest Bitcoin conference in the world last week in Miami. There were a tonne of new projects announced, the Winklevoss twins spoke, and the President of El Salvador announced a bill to make Bitcoin legal tender in the country. Read more about the crazy week here.
🚲 Double O-Deliveroo The European food delivery service is partnering with Neighbourhood Watch to train their couriers to spot signs of harassment, abuse, modern slavery & drug dealing. This comes a year after they trained 7,000 riders alongside the NSPCC to sport and report signs of child abuse.
🛍 Stream & Shop Netflix is opening a store which’ll allow you to purchase toys, games and clothing seen in their shows. This a similar approach to the one Disney has taken over the last few decades.
😫 Creator Burnout Over the last 12-18 months we’ve heard a lot about the ‘Creator Economy’ - whether from TikTok, Only Fans, Cameo or other places. More than 50 million people consider themselves creator but many are now experiencing burnout and other mental health challenges. Read more about it here.
🤑 Hot IPO Summer Chinese ride-hailing company Didi (who was at one point Uber China’s main competitor before the latter retreated from the market) is set to go public this year at a valuation between $70-100bn. Investors set to profit include Softbank, Uber & Tencent. In its public filing, it acknowledged a $1.6bn net loss for 2020 - can anyone get this business model right?
💰 Klarna Raises $639m. The ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ giant has raised new funding from Softbank at an enormous $45.6bn valuation, making it Europe's most valuable startup. What’s the big deal about Klarna? Hear their vision from its CEO in this short video here.
🚀 Bezos Goes To Space. The ex-Amazon boss has announced he’ll be heading to space with his Brother on the 20th of July. How? Bezos started and owns Blue Origin, a SpaceX competitor. Read more here.
🍎 Apple’s New Stuff. Earlier this week, Apple made a number of exciting announcements at its annual Worldwide Developer Conference. The highlights? Apple Wallet can now unlock compatible home, office, or hotel doors. ‘Focus Mode’ to help you better concentrate while at work. New 3D Apple Maps and ‘Universal Control’ to let you use one mouse/keyboard to control multiple Macs and iPads. Get the full scoop here.
🔒 How do you set up a VPN? There is a pretty good guide from The Verge here. Still confused about what a VPN is and why you should use it? Watch this short explainer video here.
💃 Biden Backs TikTok. The US president has signed an executive order that erases Trumps stance on TikTok, WeChat and other Chinese apps over in the US. Ultimately, this reduces risk for these companies to operate in the US and unblocks these companies from doing business with other US companies. Read more here.
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