Forge acquires IRA Services to expand offering for private company shares

Forge, the marketplace for trading private company shares formerly known as Equidate, announced that it will be acquiring custodial trust company IRA Services for a purchase price of $55 million. IRA Services is a trust company that provides custodial services for retirement accounts managed by individuals and mid-to-large sized Institutions. Stripped of financial jargon, the […]

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Kazuo Hirai, the former CEO who led Sony’s turnaround, is retiring

Here’s a well-earned retirement. Kazuo Hirai, the former CEO who spearheaded Sony’s turnaround in recent years, is leaving the company following 35 years of service, according to an announcement made today. Hirai became Sony CEO in 2012, replacing Sir Howard Stringer with a mission of bringing the good times back to the then-bloated electronics giant through […]

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Social investment platform eToro acquires smart contract startup Firmo

Social investing and trading platform eToro announced that it has acquired Danish smart contract infrastructure provider Firmo for an undisclosed purchase price. Firmo’s platform enables exchanges to execute smart financial contracts across various assets, including crypto derivatives, and across all major blockchains. Firmo founder and CEO Dr. Omri Ross described the company’s mission as “…enabl[ing] our […]

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Scalyr launches PowerQueries for advanced log management

Log management service Scalyr today announced the beta launch of PowerQueries, its new tools for letting its users create advanced search operations as they manage their log files and troubleshoot potential issues. The new service allows users to perform complex actions to group, transform, filter and sort their large data sets, as well as to […]

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Flying taxi startup Blade is helping Silicon Valley CEOs bypass traffic

Blade, backed by Lerer Hippeau and Airbus, has begun chauffering the Bay Area’s elite.

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Equity Shot: Pinterest and Zoom file to go public

In the latest Equity Shot, Kate Clark and Alex Wilhelm take a closer look at Pinterest and Zoom’s IPO filings.

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Tesla’s customer referral program is back weeks after it was killed off

Tesla killed off its customer referral program way back on Feb. 1, 2019 because the popular program was getting too costly to maintain. But now, less than two months later, Tesla is bringing it back with new incentives aimed at rewarding its customers, and bringing in new ones. Tesla’s customer referral program had offered a […]

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Razer hooks up with Tencent to focus on mobile gaming

Razer is summoning a big gun as it bids to develop its mobile gaming strategy. The Hong Kong-listed company — which sells laptops, smartphones and gaming peripherals — said today it is working with Tencent on a raft of initiatives related to smartphone-based games. The collaboration will cover hardware, software and services. Some of the […]

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Nigerian fintech startup OneFi acquires payment company Amplify

Lagos based online lending startup OneFi is buying Nigerian payment solutions company Amplify for an undisclosed amount. OneFi will take over Amplify’s IP, team, and client network of over 1000 merchants to which Amplify provides payment processing services, OneFi CEO Chijioke Dozie told TechCrunch. The move comes as fintech has become one of Africa’s most […]

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Serena Williams joins Bumble’s investment fund as an investor

Serena Williams, the global sports and fashion icon and investor, is doubling down on her relationship with the dating app Bumble with today’s announcement that she will serve as an investor in its Bumble Fund.  Launched in 2018, the Bumble Fund backs early-stage businesses founded and led by women of color and underrepresented groups. The […]

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In big tech’s future expansion plans, public good should be the corporate incentive

Yung Wu Contributor Yung Wu is the CEO of MaRS Discovery District, a Toronto-based innovation hub. More posts by this contributor To actually change the world, Big Tech needs to grow up The cancellation of Amazon’s planned expansion in New York exposes the truth about its HQ2 promises. In the end, the company seemed mainly […]

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Singapore fintech startup Instarem closes $41M Series C for global growth

Singapore’s Instarem, a fintech startup that helps banks and consumers send money overseas at lower cost, has closed a $41 million Series C financing round to go after global expansion opportunities. The four-year-old company announced a first close of $20 million last November, and it has now doubled that tally (and a little extra) thanks […]

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