Sources: Sequoia COO Sumaiya Balbale resigned after the firm refused to discipline partner Shaun Maguire over his comments calling Zohran Mamdani “an Islamist”
Sumaiya Balbale left the venture firm after it decided not to discipline outspoken investor for posts about New York mayoral candidate
OpenAI says it paused Sora's ability to generate videos resembling MLK Jr. at the request of his estate, after some users created “disrespectful depictions”
OpenAI responded, but is it enough? Mary Cunningham / CBS News : OpenAI blocks Sora 2 users from using MLK Jr.'s likeness after “disrespectful depictions” Katrina Morgan / WUSA : O...
Inside the discussions between OpenAI and talent agencies about the video app Sora; some agents say studios have been too reluctant to challenge tech giants
OpenAI's CEO brazenly regurgitated major studios' characters to allow video app Sora 2 to spit out clips tailor-made for users.
OpenAI says it paused Sora's ability to generate videos resembling MLK Jr. at the request of his estate, after some users created “disrespectful depictions”
OpenAI announced Thursday it paused the ability for users to generate videos resembling the late civil rights activist …
OpenAI's massive deals show that Sam Altman is selling a vision of a world-changing product and using world-changing financial engineering to try to raise $1T+
Also crypto liquidations, inverse levered ETFs, stock buybacks and trade secrets. — OpenAI — The essence of finance is time travel.
SoftBank's outlay for AI investments has more than doubled to $8.9B in the 12 months since Masayoshi Son said the firm was ready to go on the “counteroffensive”
Japanese group says it will ‘step up’ artificial intelligence outlays without stretching finances
SoftBank's outlay for AI investments has more than doubled to $8.9B in the 12 months since Masayoshi Son said the firm was ready to go on the “counteroffensive”
Japanese group says it will ‘step up’ artificial intelligence outlays without stretching finances X: @jamesplloyd X: James Lloyd / @jamesplloyd : “From now on, we want to step up i...
The Block sells an 80% stake to Singaporean VC Foresight Ventures, valuing the crypto outlet at $70M and freeing the business from its financial ties to FTX
Sources: top shareholder SoftBank demanded compensation from Revolut after UK regulators told the startup to simplify its ownership to obtain a banking license
Minister to meet payment group's bosses amid fears UK's biggest tech group will leave the country
Despite the UK's chancellor lauding its “world-beating fintech sector”, London has been waning as a fintech hub, as startups call for reforms amid SVB UK's bust
Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan / Financial Times :
A profile of blockchain gaming pioneer Yat Siu, who founded Animoca Brands, valued at $5.9B in September 2022, as he copes with the crypto winter and regulators
Financial Times :
US bank Silvergate, which caters to crypto, reports liquidating debt to cover $8.1B withdrawals as FTX collapsed and laying off 40% of its staff; SI falls 40%+
Bank sold assets at a loss to cover withdrawals and cut 40% of its staff but remains committed to crypto
India's government-backed nonprofit Open Network for Digital Commerce is holding trials in over 85 cities, including Bengaluru, after raising $22M
Benjamin Parkin / Financial Times : Tweets: @tomvalletti , @johnthornhillft , @jamesplloyd , and @prasannavishy Tweets: Tommaso Valletti / @tomvalletti : Current trials in India. ...
Source: UK mobile banking startup Starling told staff it ended a four-year process to get an Irish banking license, signalling a shift in its expansion strategy
Mark Kleinman / Sky News :
Meta plans to shut down Novi, its digital wallet pilot, on September 1, 2022; users will no longer be able to add money to their accounts starting on July 21
The first half of the year was all about inflation … Duncan Riley / SiliconANGLE : Meta to shut Novi cryptocurrency wallet in September Rhiannon Bevan / TheGamer : Meta Ends Its Cr...
Source: a British Virgin Islands court ordered the liquidation of Singapore-based Three Arrows Capital on June 27; Teneo will handle the insolvency process
A court in the British Virgin Islands has ordered the liquidation of Singapore-based Three Arrows Capital, underlining the crisis gripping …
Sources: Arm plans to transfer shares from its China joint venture, which it has struggled to control and audit, to SoftBank to speed up a New York listing
Shifting stake in chip designer's joint venture to a SoftBank special purpose vehicle would ease New York flotation
Tencent plans to issue nearly all of its shares in JD.com worth $16.37B to shareholders as a dividend, reducing its stake from 17% to about 2.3%
Chinese gaming and social media company Tencent (0700.HK) will hand a $16.4 billion JD.com (9618.HK) stake as a dividend to its shareholders … Source: JD.Com, Inc. .
Bangalore-based Razorpay, which helps SMBs manage digital payments, raises $160M Series E led by GIC and Sequoia Capital India at a valuation of $3B
Manish Singh / TechCrunch :
Grab is going public on NASDAQ via SPAC, raising $4B+ at a ~$39.6B valuation; deal would make it the first Southeast Asian tech unicorn to go public via SPAC
- SoftBank-backed Grab strikes pact with Gerstner's Altimeter — Southeast Asia ride-hailing giant set to trade on Nasdaq