Fake news, and the identification and eradication of it, has long been thought of as the purview of social media platforms, where a lot of that tends to be shared. Today, one of the more ambitious tech startups in the field of fighting fake news is getting acquired — not by a social media platform, but by a player in one of the other parties that stands to gain and lose a lot from misinformation, or at least bad press: PR.Factmata — founded by AI specialists with the aim of building an engine to detect when fake news and other false information is shared online, but which had more recently...…Fake news, and the identification and eradication of it, has long been thought of as the purview of social media platforms, where a lot of that tends to be shared. Today, one of the more ambitious tech startups in the field of fighting fake news is getting acquired — not by a social media platform, but by a player in one of the other parties that stands to gain and lose a lot from misinformation, or at least bad press: PR.Factmata — founded by AI specialists with the aim of building an engine to detect when fake news and other false information is shared online, but which had more recently...WW…

Today, some news of a huge acquisition out of Turkey that represents the first billion-dollar-plus exit for a startup out of the country. Social gaming company confirmed that it is Istanbul-based , the company behind popular Candy-Crush-style mobile gaming apps Toon Blast and Toy Blast, for $1.8 billion — $900 million in cash, and $900 million in Zynga shares.Interestingly, this is the second time that Zynga has made a Peak Games acquisition. In 2017, it the company’s mobile card games business for $100 million (more on that below).The news caps off a short period of speculation about an...…Today, some news of a huge acquisition out of Turkey that represents the first billion-dollar-plus exit for a startup out of the country. Social gaming company confirmed that it is Istanbul-based , the company behind popular Candy-Crush-style mobile gaming apps Toon Blast and Toy Blast, for $1.8 billion — $900 million in cash, and $900 million in Zynga shares.Interestingly, this is the second time that Zynga has made a Peak Games acquisition. In 2017, it the company’s mobile card games business for $100 million (more on that below).The news caps off a short period of speculation about an...WW…

So much for Walmart’s big and expensive effort to take on Amazon with a digitally-native brand. Amid the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the retail industry, today the retail giant quietly  that it would be discontinuing Jet.com, the online-only marketplace that it  (plus $300 million in earn-outs over time), as it struggles to bring its e-commerce operations into that black after  seeing a loss of $2 billion in the division in 2019 and shifting how to deliver its e-commerce strategy: by betting on giant stores, rather than online warehouses, as the hubs of its online...…So much for Walmart’s big and expensive effort to take on Amazon with a digitally-native brand. Amid the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the retail industry, today the retail giant quietly  that it would be discontinuing Jet.com, the online-only marketplace that it  (plus $300 million in earn-outs over time), as it struggles to bring its e-commerce operations into that black after  seeing a loss of $2 billion in the division in 2019 and shifting how to deliver its e-commerce strategy: by betting on giant stores, rather than online warehouses, as the hubs of its online...WW…

Competition continues to heat up in the food delivery wars. In the latest development, Uber today announced that it has in a $2.65 billion, all-stock deal. It plans to run the business alongside its own food delivery business, Uber Eats, keeping the Postmates app running while merging some of the tech and delivery operations at the back end — for example, by having drivers delivering orders for both businesses.The deal confirms reports that last week, and got re-reported last night , that Postmates and Uber were in negotiations. That deal itself sprung up in the wake of Uber failing to...…Competition continues to heat up in the food delivery wars. In the latest development, Uber today announced that it has in a $2.65 billion, all-stock deal. It plans to run the business alongside its own food delivery business, Uber Eats, keeping the Postmates app running while merging some of the tech and delivery operations at the back end — for example, by having drivers delivering orders for both businesses.The deal confirms reports that last week, and got re-reported last night , that Postmates and Uber were in negotiations. That deal itself sprung up in the wake of Uber failing to...WW…

It’s not quite business as usual in the world of business, but in tech, there is still a significant amount of money being raised and invested, both to help sustain the most promising startups, and to help find those emerging despite (or because of) the wider economic and social crises arising from the coronavirus pandemic. Today, one of the biggest names in VC, , announced that it has closed another $2 billion in funds –$1.2 billion that it plans to use for growth rounds (larger, later stage investments) and $800 million that it will put into emerging startups (smaller, earlier rounds,...…It’s not quite business as usual in the world of business, but in tech, there is still a significant amount of money being raised and invested, both to help sustain the most promising startups, and to help find those emerging despite (or because of) the wider economic and social crises arising from the coronavirus pandemic. Today, one of the biggest names in VC, , announced that it has closed another $2 billion in funds –$1.2 billion that it plans to use for growth rounds (larger, later stage investments) and $800 million that it will put into emerging startups (smaller, earlier rounds,...WW…

The on-demand food delivery wars continue to heat up in the U.S. announced today that it has filed confidentially to go public. The company noted that its Form S-1, a draft registration statement, was filed with the SEC and is now being reviewed. It did not say how many shares it would potentially sell, the share price range for the IPO or what the timing of its next steps would be.A public listing would be another way for the company to pick up a significant injection of capital at a key time in the on-demand delivery industry, where competition is fierce and we’re seeing a lot of...…The on-demand food delivery wars continue to heat up in the U.S. announced today that it has filed confidentially to go public. The company noted that its Form S-1, a draft registration statement, was filed with the SEC and is now being reviewed. It did not say how many shares it would potentially sell, the share price range for the IPO or what the timing of its next steps would be.A public listing would be another way for the company to pick up a significant injection of capital at a key time in the on-demand delivery industry, where competition is fierce and we’re seeing a lot of...WW…

Consolidation in the world of on-demand food ordering and delivery continues apace. Today, — the European company that only just got its own $7.8 billion merger approved by regulators in  — officially that it has reached an agreement to acquire in the U.S. in an all-share deal for an enterprise value of $7.3 billion. The acquisition is not just a big piece of M&A in the food delivery space. It also represents a major competitive swipe, as Uber Eats had also been trying to acquire the U.S. company.This is an all-share deal, where Grubhub shareholders will get 0.6710 Just Eat...…Consolidation in the world of on-demand food ordering and delivery continues apace. Today, — the European company that only just got its own $7.8 billion merger approved by regulators in  — officially that it has reached an agreement to acquire in the U.S. in an all-share deal for an enterprise value of $7.3 billion. The acquisition is not just a big piece of M&A in the food delivery space. It also represents a major competitive swipe, as Uber Eats had also been trying to acquire the U.S. company.This is an all-share deal, where Grubhub shareholders will get 0.6710 Just Eat...WW…

The wheels of the regulatory machine continue to turn, and today Apple, along with two of its wholesale partners, was dealt a major blow in France over antitrust violations. It received the largest fine ever leveled against a business over anti-competitive practices and “sterilizing the market” for Apple products, specifically as they are sold across a range of Apple Stores, large “big box” retailers and smaller, independent resellers.Apple, along with its wholesale distribution partners Ingram Micro and Tech Data, have been accused and fined by the French competition authority (Autorité de...…The wheels of the regulatory machine continue to turn, and today Apple, along with two of its wholesale partners, was dealt a major blow in France over antitrust violations. It received the largest fine ever leveled against a business over anti-competitive practices and “sterilizing the market” for Apple products, specifically as they are sold across a range of Apple Stores, large “big box” retailers and smaller, independent resellers.Apple, along with its wholesale distribution partners Ingram Micro and Tech Data, have been accused and fined by the French competition authority (Autorité de...WW…

The buy now, pay later model, popularized by companies like Klarn and Affirm has been one of the big e-commerce winners in the last year, giving consumers who might be stretched financially another option to pay for things when they buy them online. While that has prompted the UK financial authority to , an enterprise taking a slightly different approach is announcing some funding as it prepares to expand to the US., a London startup that has built an “over the top” buy now, pay later (BNPL) business out of cutting deals directly with consumers — bypassing the need for integrating anything...…The buy now, pay later model, popularized by companies like Klarn and Affirm has been one of the big e-commerce winners in the last year, giving consumers who might be stretched financially another option to pay for things when they buy them online. While that has prompted the UK financial authority to , an enterprise taking a slightly different approach is announcing some funding as it prepares to expand to the US., a London startup that has built an “over the top” buy now, pay later (BNPL) business out of cutting deals directly with consumers — bypassing the need for integrating anything...WW…

Rapyd, the fintech-as-a-service startup that provides APIs to enable payments, card issuing, digital wallet and other financial services to companies like Uber and Ikea, is taking a significant step forward in its growth with a big acquisition: It is paying $610 million to acquire a giant piece of PayU — the payments group of internet giant Prosus that focuses on emerging markets.While full financial terms of the deal are not being disclosed, Arik Shtilman, Rapyd’s CEO and co-founder, told TechCrunch that his company is “in [the] final stages of closing a new financing round of $700...…Rapyd, the fintech-as-a-service startup that provides APIs to enable payments, card issuing, digital wallet and other financial services to companies like Uber and Ikea, is taking a significant step forward in its growth with a big acquisition: It is paying $610 million to acquire a giant piece of PayU — the payments group of internet giant Prosus that focuses on emerging markets.While full financial terms of the deal are not being disclosed, Arik Shtilman, Rapyd’s CEO and co-founder, told TechCrunch that his company is “in [the] final stages of closing a new financing round of $700...WW…