Uber Freight acquires Transpace for $2.25B
Uber Freight, the logistics business spun out of Uber in 2018, has acquired Transplace for about $2.25 billion from private equity group TPG Capital, according to regulatory filings. The deal announced Thursday will involve $750 million in Uber stock.....»»
Uber’s first head of data science just launched a new venture fund to back nascent AI startups
Kevin Novak joined Uber as its 21st employee its seventh engineer in 2011, and by 2014, he was the company’s head of data science. He transitioned out of the company in late 2017, after Travis Kalanick had been replaced as CEO by Dara Khosrowsh.....»»
Pietra raises $15M from Founders Fund to help creators launch their own product lines
In the white-hot creator economy space, startups are increasingly looking to build paint-by-numbers platforms to help budding creators more easily execute on what were once seemingly insurmountable business challenges. The ex-Uber team at Pietra is c.....»»
ServiceTitan acquires Aspire to move into landscaping, raises $200M at a $9.5B valuation
With a lot of us spending more time at home these days, home improvement has continued to be a booming market. Now, one of the big players in that space — ServiceTitan, which builds software that today is used by over 100,000 contractors to man.....»»
German identity verifier IDnow acquires France’s ARIADNEXT for $59 million, hits M&A road
IDnow, a German-based identity verification startup is acquiring ARIADNEXT, a French equivalent, specializing in remote identity verification and digital identity creation. A price was not released by either party but TechCrunch understands from sour.....»»
Uber Will Ask Employees To Return To Work 50% of the Time
Uber on Tuesday told employees it will roll out a hybrid return-to-work model this fall, allowing for a more flexible approach to location and time spent in the office. CNBC reports: The company is asking employees to be in the office 50% of the time.....»»
Uber is the latest tech company to rethink its return-to-office plans
Less than three months after announcing that its employees would be required to come back to the office at least three days a week, Uber is backtracking......»»
DevOps platform JFrog acquires AI-based IoT and connected device security specialist Vdoo for $300M
JFrog, the company best known for a platform that helps developers continuously manage software delivery and updates, is making a deal to help it expand its presence and expertise in an area that has become increasingly connected to DevOps: security......»»
Sony acquires Returnal developer Housemarque, teases another purchase
Sony acquired Housemarque, the studio behind Returnal. The two had been working closely with one another for years......»»
Discord acquires augmented reality startup Ubiquity6
After raising tens of millions from investors and executing a pretty substantial pivot earlier this year, augmented reality startup Ubiquity6 and its team have been acquired by gaming chat app giant Discord. The ambitious AR startup had raised $37.5.....»»
Etsy acquires Elo7, known as the ‘Etsy of Brazil’, for $217M
On the heels of Etsy’s huge deal to acquire Depop to open the door to more social selling, targeting younger users, and deeply expand in Europe, the crafty marketplace has announced another significant deal to build out its reach, this time in.....»»
Jiji acquires Cars45 as it looks to build a future outside classifieds
Once heralded as disruptive marketplaces, classifieds are giving way to transactional marketplaces. Yet, some classifieds in the West like eBay have evolved with time, acquiring competition operating both models. In Africa, this occurrence is happeni.....»»
Why is Didi worth so much less than Uber?
The Chinese ride-hailing giant appears set to be valued at a discount to its U.S. counterpart. By several tens of billions of dollars, it turns out. And we can’t quite figure out why. Years ago, U.S. ride-hailing giant Uber and its Chines.....»»
Uber Eats Adds Pricing Disclaimer Requested by Attorneys General
Uber added a disclosure to its food delivery app saying menu item prices may be higher than those charged by restaurants, bowing to pressure from attorneys general. From a report: The disclaimer will only be shown to customers in Pennsylvania and Was.....»»
Hyundai Acquires Boston Dynamics, Company Most Famous For Robot Police Dogs
Boston Dynamics has been purchased by Hyundai in a deal valued at $1.1 billion. According to Motherboard, the deal "sees Hyundai assume an 80 percent controlling stake in the robot company. Softbank will retain a 20 percent stake." From the report: I.....»»
Blade, the Uber for Helicopters and Chartered Jets, Had a Fake Spokesperson for Three Years
For three years until his departure this January, Simon McLaren served as the director of communications for Blade, the urban aviation startup that went public earlier this year at a valuation of more than $800 million. His work in that time was larg.....»»
Another hiccup for Uber: Some drivers were being charged for giving rides
When a Chicago-area Uber driver checked his account balance after dropping off a customer at the airport on a Sunday morning in late May, he discovered something he'd never seen before: He was charged $2.20 for giving a 13.5 mile ride......»»
Lyft has yet to disclose sexual assault incidents as cases grow
More than three years after ridehail companies Uber and Lyft first pledged to release safety reports disclosing incidents of sexual assault and abuse on their platforms, Lyft has yet to do so. Meanwhile, hundreds of passengers are now lining up for p.....»»
SoftBank, Uber, Tencent set to reap rewards from Didi IPO
After years of speculation, Didi Chuxing, China’s ride-sharing behemoth, finally unveiled its IPO filing in the U.S., giving a glimpse into its money-losing history. Didi didn’t disclose the size of its raise. Reuters reported the company.....»»
Nvidia acquires hi-def mapping startup DeepMap to bolster AV technology
Chipmaker Nvidia is acquiring DeepMap, the high-definition mapping startup announced. The company said its mapping IP will help Nvidia’s autonomous vehicle technology sector, Nvidia Drive. “The acquisition is an endorsement of DeepMap’s uni.....»»
Course Hero acquires LitCharts, founded by the creators of SparkNotes
I’ll admit it: I was the student that tipped the teacher off that half of our English class, including me, was using SparkNotes to “read” “Twelfth Night” by Shakespeare, instead of actually reading the text itself. The site, which o.....»»