On Wall Street’s leniency toward unprofitable tech companies and outsized exits.
View More Unicorns aren’t profitable, and Wall Street doesn’t careCategory: Snap
Tencent Q4 profit disappoints, but cloud and payments gain ground
China’s Tencent reported disappointing profits in the fourth quarter on the back of surging costs but saw emerging businesses pick up steam as it plots to diversify amid slackening gaming revenues. Net profit for the quarter slid 32 percent to 14.2 billion yuan ($2.1 billion), behind analysts’ forecast of 18.3 billion yuan. The decrease was […]
View More Tencent Q4 profit disappoints, but cloud and payments gain groundCamera maker Insta360 raises $30M as it eyes 2020 IPO
Insta360, one of the pioneers in making 360-degree cameras, just raised $30 million in a Series C+ funding round from Chinese investors including Everest Venture Capital, MG Holdings and Huajin Capital. The Shenzhen-based camera maker declines to disclose its latest valuation. It plans to use the fresh proceeds in research and development, marketing and after-sales services […]
View More Camera maker Insta360 raises $30M as it eyes 2020 IPOSnap is under NDA with UK Home Office discussing how to centralize age checks online
Snap is under NDA with the UK’s Home Office as part of a working group tasked with coming up with more robust age verification technology that’s able to robustly identify children online. The detail emerged during a parliamentary committee hearing as MPs in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) questioned Stephen Collins, […]
View More Snap is under NDA with UK Home Office discussing how to centralize age checks onlineNo, Tencent isn’t about to burn Reddit down
Ahoy, it’s doom and gloom for Reddit after the company welcomed investment from Chinese censorship overlord Tencent. Well, not quite. The reality is, in fact, it’s quite the opposite. In recruiting the company behind one of the internet’s largest and vibrant social networks — chat app WeChat — and countless blockbuster games, Reddit has pulled off […]
View More No, Tencent isn’t about to burn Reddit downSnap’s exec team continues to shrink as more reports of internal drama surface
Days after Snap announced the departure of its CFO, reports have emerged that the company’s HR chief was asked to leave following an internal investigation late last year that had led to the firing of its global security head. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Snap fired global security head Francis Racioppi late last […]
View More Snap’s exec team continues to shrink as more reports of internal drama surfaceSnap CFO Tim Stone is resigning
Snap CFO Tim Stone is leaving the company, according to documents Snap filed with the SEC today. “Tim has made a big impact in his short time on our team and we are very grateful for all of his hard work,” Snap CEO Evan Spiegel wrote in a memo, obtained by TechCrunch, to employees. “I […]
View More Snap CFO Tim Stone is resigningTikTok is giving China a video chat alternative to WeChat
ByteDance, the world’s most-valued startup, just launched a new social media product under its Douyin brand in what many people see as a serious attempt to challenge WeChat. Tencent has long dominated China’s social networking space with WeChat and QQ. WeChat claims to have one billion monthly active users worldwide, most of whom are in China. […]
View More TikTok is giving China a video chat alternative to WeChatChina’s WeChat is the latest to get Snap-like ‘Stories’
WeChat, the Chinese messaging giant with more than 1 billion monthly active users around the world, just added a Snap-like ephemeral video feature as part of its biggest overhaul since 2014. The revamp comes as Tencent, which owns stakes in Snap, sees increasing rivalry from up-and-comers like video app TikTok and news app Jinri Toutiao. WeChat […]
View More China’s WeChat is the latest to get Snap-like ‘Stories’Still a year away from launch, Meg Whitman and Jeffrey Katzenberg’s Quibi keeps adding talent
Video won’t start rolling on Meg Whitman and Jeffrey Katzenberg’s new bite-sized streaming service with the billion dollar backing until the end of 2019, but talent keeps signing up to come along for their ride into the future of serialization. The latest marquee director to sign on the dotted line with Quibi is Catherine Hardwicke, […]
View More Still a year away from launch, Meg Whitman and Jeffrey Katzenberg’s Quibi keeps adding talentSnapchat’s rumored Spectacles 3 has us worried about the company’s priorities
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
This seems to be the guiding principle for Snap Inc.’s relentless pursuit to make its Spectacles camera glasses A Thing. Despite two versions of Spectacles, each of which got a lukewarm response, the com…
Snap is being probed over its IPO because some investors are salty about losing money
Here’s something I didn’t expect to read today. The U.S. Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission has subpoenaed Snap for details on its IPO apparently in connection with a lawsuit from disgruntled shareholders who claim the company played down its rivalry with Instagram. Reuters first reported on the subpoenas which Snap has confirmed. Precise details […]
View More Snap is being probed over its IPO because some investors are salty about losing money