Techstars is an investment company that provides access to capital, resources, mentorship and technical support for technology driven entrepreneurs and startups. Founded in 2006, the company has supported over 2,900 startups through its accelerator programs. Techstars programs span across Africa, North America, Europe, and the Middle East. According to Techstars, 12 companies have been selected…
Italy: Airbnb $621 million Back Tax Bill
Airbnb, the online platform where individuals and families can list their homes for short or long term rental, has agreed to pay $621 million USD (575 million EUROS) to the Italian Revenue Agency. This amount is the short-term rental tax that the business owes the Italian government on behalf of the hosts that made use…
Etsy to Layoff 11%
Etsy, Inc. is an American e-commerce company focused on handmade vintage items and craft supplies. The company was founded in June 2005 and is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. The items sold on the platform include jewelry, bags, clothing, home decor, furniture, toys, art, and tools. Sellers are given a personal E-store front to list…
Tesla Recalls 2,031,220 Vehicles
Tesla has issued a recall of over 2 million vehicles in the United States due to safety concerns that affect the self driving software. According to a notice from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), certain models of the electric vehicle (EV) experience a problem with the Autosteer feature. The models affected include: TESLA…
TikTok: $10 Billion Global Consumer Spend
TikTok, the shortform video and text messaging mobile application that has been under scrutiny for privacy concerns, has now been identified as the first non-gaming application to generate $10 billion USD in worldwide consumer expenditure. The report mentions that users spend over $11 million USD daily buying in-app coins for tipping or gifting their preferred…
SmileDirectClub Closes Shop
SmileDirectClub was a tele-dentistry (the use of technology for dental care) company founded in 2014 with its headquarters in Tennessee, USA. The public traded company specialized in 3D-printed dental braces used for teeth re-alignment and boasted of being relatively affordable than most traditional options. According to recent reports, SmileDirectClub filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in…
Meta: New Privacy Update
WhatsApp has announced a new feature that allows users send voice messages with the option that it disappears once listened to. View Once voice messages are a good way to share sensitive or personal information with contacts and this type of messages will be marked with a ‘one-time’ tag. This feature was initially introduced in…
TikTok Shop: $1.5 Billion Tokopedia Deal
Tokopedia is the largest e-commerce company in Indonesia, with its headquarters in Jakarta. In May 2021, following a merger with an on-demand multi-service and digital payment platform, Gojek, the company became a subsidiary of a new holding company called GoTo. The company boasts of approximately 100 million active monthly users. According to reports, TikTok plans…
Nissan & Mitsubishi: $800 Million Ampere Investment
Nissan and Mitsubishi have agreed to invest approximately $800 million in Renault’s EV division, Ampere. This investment deal was first reported by Incognito Blog in July, with Nissan planning to invest up to $663 million in Ampere. The deal is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2023, with Mitsubishi investing an additional…
Google: Bard AI Gets an Upgrade
In an effort to establish dominance in conversational artificial intelligence (AI), Google’s Bard will now be powered by its latest AI model, Gemini, which will enhance its reasoning, planning, understanding, summarizing, and writing capabilities. According to Google, Gemini will be released in three tiers: Ultra, Pro, and Nano, and can be used on various devices…