Technology
Silicon Valley tends to tolerate a certain amount of founder exaggeration when pitching investors, often dismissing it as part of selling a vision. But some choices cross the line and can lead to jail time for founders and scandal for their investors. A case in point is Joseph Sanberg, whose once high-flying fintech startup Aspiration…
Cohere, the Canada-based enterprise AI unicorn, announced Friday that it would merge with the German-based enterprise AI company Aleph Alpha. The deal, which has yet to close, will value the newly formed company at $20 billion, the FT reported. Schwarz Group, one of Aleph Alpha’s top backers, will also invest $600 million in Cohere’s Series E round,…
Nuclear startup X-energy raised $1 billion in its initial public offering yesterday, selling 44.3 million shares for $23 each, a hefty premium above the $16 to $19 per share it was seeking. Initially, the company had hoped to raise around $800 million. The stock is expected to begin trading on Friday on the Nasdaq Exchange…
Bob Iger is returning to Thrive Capital as an advisor, just one month after stepping down as CEO of Disney, a role he held for nearly two decades. Iger previously served a two-month stint as a venture partner at the firm in late 2022, but left when the Disney board asked him to retake the…
Porsche will start selling an all-electric Cayenne coupe in late summer, the latest signal from the German automaker that it still sees market demand for EVs. The Cayenne coupe EV — which has four doors, unlike a traditional coupe — will join several other all-electric variants of the SUV when it comes to market later…
A special forces soldier involved in the operation that captured Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro has been indicted by the U.S. Justice Department. His alleged crime? Making numerous bets on the prediction market Polymarket that Maduro would be removed from power, for which he is said to have made upwards of $400,000. Authorities claim Gannon Ken…
Meta is planning to cut 10% of its workforce, amounting to 8,000 employees, according to a report from Bloomberg. Meta also will not hire for 6,000 roles that are currently open. According to an internal memo sent to employees Thursday and viewed by Bloomberg, Meta told staff that the cuts will begin on May 20….
Security researchers have uncovered two separate spying campaigns that are abusing well-known weaknesses in the global telecoms infrastructure to track people’s locations. The researchers say these two campaigns are likely a small snapshot of what they believe to be widespread exploitation of surveillance vendors seeking access to global phone networks. On Thursday, the Citizen Lab,…
India’s mobile app market is generating record revenue, with in-app purchases crossing $300 million in the first quarter, up 33% year-over-year, according to Sensor Tower — but much of that spending is flowing to global platforms. Non-gaming apps were the main driver of growth in Q1, generating over $200 million in in-app purchase revenue —…
Tesla CEO Elon Musk kicked off the company’s first-quarter earnings call with a monetary heads-up — or depending on the mindset of the investor, a warning. Tesla’s capital expenditures will skyrocket to $25 billion in 2026, far outpacing its previous annual spend as it races to stay ahead of the competition and transitions to an…
