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Haje is still dazed from a week deep in the bowels of Las Vegas ahead of CES 2023, but is thankful to be back in the Daily Crunch saddle. Let’s see what’s happening in technology land! — Christine and Hey
The ukbusinessupdates.com Top 3
- More layoffs at Coinbase: Coinbase said it will cut another chunk of jobs, this time 20%, or 950 employees, and shut down several projects, Manic reports. This is the crypto exchange’s second round of layoffs in seven months after cutting about 1,100 jobs in June.
- Primed and ready: Amazon is going to expand its Buy with Prime service to the US on January 31 Sarah writes. Buy with Prime’s delivery service is similar to Prime, but also includes “seamless checkout and easier returns, allowing sellers to create their own direct relationships with customers.”
- Chat, but with a bot: Everyone is ChatGPTing. Do you know how we know? Dubious ChatGPT apps are flooding the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Ivan has more.
Startups and VC
Germany-based biotech company BioNTech — one of the major manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccines, among others — will acquire InstaDeep, a Tunis-born and UK-based AI startup, for up to £562 million (~$680 million) in his biggest deal yet, Tage reports. The German vaccine maker plans to use InstaDeep’s machine learning to “improve the drug discovery process, including developing personalized treatments tailored to a patient’s cancer.”
Supermom, a parenting platform with 20 million users in six Southeast Asian countries, offers parents price comparisons, communities and the chance to earn money by taking surveys, Catherine reports. It gives brands a way to conduct market research and gather first-hand data, which is important as marketers prepare for a post-cookie world.
And we have a few extra stories for you:
- Keep an eye out – cheap: Frederick reports that Wyze is launching its new $34 pan-and-tilt security camera.
- Like tea, but functional: A brand new “functional” tea brand, the Ryl Company, is cash-drenched with $6.7 million in new funding and debuts in Wegmans and Whole Foods, Christine reports.
- Reuse heat: Servers get hot, so why not use them for something useful? Qarnot creates green data centers by placing servers in central heating boilers, Roman reports. The company just raised $13 million to continue its mission.
- Like Etsy but Korean: Marketplace for handmade goods Backpackr is gearing up to expand into Southeast Asia, reports Kate.
- Chat better, with a number of ways to go: Claude from Anthropic improves ChatGPT, but still has limitations, Kyle reports.
A timeline for M&A startup processes: key steps and factors to consider
Image Credits: Siriporn Kaenseeya / EyeEm (Opens in a new window) /Getty Images
“Not all companies are in the best position to go it alone, and that’s okay,” writes Vishal Lugani, general partner and co-founder at Acrew Capital.
In its detailed guide to the M&A process, Lugani provides a week-by-week deal timeline that breaks down each step between the search for offers and the post-closing integration.
A lot can happen in the months it takes for a deal to close, so the article includes strategies for selecting an acquirer, maintaining product momentum, and managing your team (and investors!).
Three more from the TC+ team:
ukbusinessupdates.com+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams lead the way. You can sign up here. Use code “DC” for a 15% discount on an annual subscription!
Big Tech Inc.
Some sources told Manic that OpenAI’s startup fund is in talks to invest in silicon chip kingpins Sam Zeloof and Jim Keller, who started Atomic Semi to make chips. And get this: the proposed $15 million investment will value the company at $100 million. Not too shabby, um, should we say silicon-y.
And we have five more for you:
- Matchmaker, app style: Scams happen, especially when love is involved. Doesn’t look good for Tinder and other Match dating apps so they offer in-app tips to avoid romance scams, Lauren writes.
- Even more layoffs: Data software company Scale AI cuts 20% of its workforce, Kirsten reports. In a blog post, CEO Alexandr Wang pointed to aggressive hiring in good times, but “the macro environment has changed dramatically in recent quarters, something I could not have predicted.”
- In privacy news: Natasha L writes about Facebook’s data scrape that led to an enforcement lawsuit in Ireland, while Europe polls TikTok on a variety of topics, including data security, disinformation and compliance with the Digital Services Act.
- Windows 7 security is in the rearview mirror: Microsoft stops security updates for Windows 7, Bag reports.
- Screen time for teens: Instagram and Facebook look at their ads for young users and will introduce more restrictions on targeting ads to teens, Taylor reports.
