The Battle of The Billions (Pt. 2): GM's Gain and Binance's Loss
Silicon Valley Startup’s Robo-Baby: Welcome to the Future of Fertility
In a breakthrough moment for science and technology, the first babies conceived with a sperm-injecting robot have been born. Startup Overture Life created the robotic marvel, designed to automate a fraction of the in vitro fertilisation (IVF) process, which has already achieved the unprecedented feat of successfully fertilising human eggs. While it currently only performs one of the 12 required procedures, Overture Life's robotic brainchild has the potential to revolutionize the costly IVF treatment process, which can cost as much as $20,000 per attempt in the US. The project is one of a number of start-ups attempting to fully automate the IVF process, with backers and investors including Khosla Ventures and former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki.
GM Drops Billions Proving It's Not Jealous of Tesla
General Motors (GM) and Samsung SDI are set to invest over $3 billion to build a joint venture electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant in the US, with an annual production capacity of 30 GWh, aiming to diversify its battery supply chain and secure capacity of components to support its electrification goals as it attempts to catch up with Tesla. We assume GM is feeling a bit insecure about its EV game. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is in Washington to meet President Joe Biden on what is the first state visit to the US by a South Korean leader in 12 years, accompanied by more than 100 executives from South Korea's biggest companies.
RapidAPI Right-Sizes by Slaughtering Half of Its Workforce
RapidAPI, the billion-dollar startup, has made the tough decision to "right-size" their company by cutting 50% of their workforce. Apparently, they were trying to compete on too many fronts, and their product development and customer satisfaction suffered as a result. It's believed that 115 people across three continents were affected, including those in sales, engineering, talent acquisition, product, and marketing. Meanwhile, the company raised $150m in a Series D round led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 in March 2022.
Wagr: For the Sports-Loving Frat Bros
Yahoo, (yes, Yahoo is still around), has acquired Wagr, a social sports betting startup based in Nashville, for an undisclosed sum. Wagr allows sports fans to bet alongside peers with challenges, leaderboards, and tools for smack talk - basically every fanatic’s dream. The app has raised $16 million from investors including Greycroft and Seven Seven Six and Yahoo aims to expand into new group formats that enhance engagement and friendly competition around the sports users love.
Voyager Digital Keeps $10M Deposit as Binance.US Cancels $1.3B Deal, But Who's Counting?
Binance.US puts an end to a $1.3 billion deal to acquire Voyager Digital's assets, blaming the "unpredictable operating environment" created by US regulators… and definitely not created by the collapse of multiple cryptocurrency exchange platforms. Voyager's lawyers claim they are keeping a $10 million good-faith deposit made by Binance.US and a reverse-termination fee, adding more fuel to the dumpster fire that is Voyager's attempt to raise funds after declaring bankruptcy in 2022.