AI language learning startup Speak, which focuses on speaking, not gamification, raised $78M led by Accel at a $1B valuation, taking its total funding to $162M
Speak's app uses an artificial intelligence “conversational partner” to help people become fluent in English.
English soccer team Watford is offering 10% digital equity in the club to investors and fans via Republic's investment platform Seedrs, aiming to raise £17.5M
Jamie Crawley / CoinDesk :
Despite nine years of music industry growth thanks to streaming, companies like Spotify and UMG are tightening payouts or laying off employees
Market Cap Tops $53 Billion Stuart Dredge / Music Ally : UMG confirms that it will be laying off some staff in 2024 X: Lucas Shaw / @lucas_shaw : Media & technology companies have cut more than 70,000...
The English Premier League strikes a four-year deal with blockchain fantasy sports startup Sorare; sources say Sorare will pay tens of millions per year
League agrees multimillion-pound licensing deal with start-up that offers trading in digital player cards
[Thread] A look at the English Premier League soccer clubs' crypto sponsorships and fan tokens, most of which have tanked in value, exposing fans to big losses
Joey D'Urso / @josephmdurso :
A look at Alibaba's plans to expand into South Asia as its Chinese operations sputter, including through its Daraz unit in Pakistan, acquired for $194M in 2018
Financial Times : Tweets: @rencapman , @dreyerchina , and @b_parkyn Tweets: Charlie Robertson / @rencapman : South Asia smartphone penetration forecast to boom - Bangladesh from 41% to 62% 2020-25, P...
Indian e-commerce startup Snapdeal files for an IPO seeking to raise $165M; Snapdeal focuses on India's non-English speaking, non-affluent, and non-urban people
Saritha Rai / Bloomberg :
Analysis: English Premier League soccer fans have spent £262M+ on crypto-based fan tokens, often offered by Socios, as critics worry about fans being exploited
Football clubs have potentially made hundreds of millions of pounds selling controversial crypto “fan tokens”.
Novakid, an app that offers online English language classes to kids aged 4-12, raises $35M Series B led by Owl Ventures and Goodwater Capital
Natasha Mascarenhas / TechCrunch : Tweets: @nmasc_ Tweets: Natasha / @nmasc_ : funding for language learning startups continues! last week it was a pre-seed for boldvoice, this week it's a series b f...
Bangalore-based Koo, a microblogging service that allows users to post in English and Indian languages, raises $30M at over $100M valuation led by Tiger Global
Investors are backing Koo, an Indian alternative to Twitter, with large size checks at a time when tension is brewing between the American social network and New Delhi.