Start-up
Klarna CEO defends business despite massive losses and layoffs
Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski has defended his company’s business model and the controversial “buy now, pay later” industry. Klarna lets consumers buy things that they might not necessarily be able to afford at that moment in time. Its 150 million customers pay a relatively small amount up front and pay back the rest later. In […]
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HSBC shutters Hong Kong-based trade start-up Serai
An HSBC Holdings bank branch in Hong Kong on May 24, 2022. A Hong Kong-based trade platform launched by HSBC Holdings three years ago with much fanfare has shut down after failing to build a commercially viable business. Bertha Wang | Bloomberg | Getty Images A Hong Kong-based trade platform launched by HSBC Holdings three […]
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$40 billion payments giant Checkout.com starts accepting stablecoins in major crypto push
The logo for payments start-up Checkout.com. Checkout.com AMSTERDAM — Online payments company Checkout.com says it will settle payments for its merchants round-the-clock using stablecoins, making it the last major financial services firm taking the plunge into crypto. The start-up, which competes with the likes of PayPal and Stripe, said Tuesday it is launching a feature […]
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Chipotle and Kraft use this start-up to track and prove how green they are
Consumers are now demanding environmental accountability in everything — from the buildings they live in to the products they purchase. Food is a big one. While more and more food companies are claiming that their products are “sustainable,” a Brooklyn, New York-based startup is asking how good that claim really is. The company is called […]
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The energy in nuclear waste could power the U.S. for 100 years, but the technology was never commercialized
EBR-II at the US Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory. Photo courtesy Idaho National Laboratory There is enough energy in the nuclear waste in the United States to power the entire country for 100 years, and doing so could help solve the thorny and politically fraught problem of managing spent nuclear waste. That’s according to […]
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European VCs urge tech start-ups to slash costs and extend the runway
skaman306 | Moment | Getty Images European venture capitalists are advising start-ups in their portfolios to cut costs and freeze hiring as economists warn that another recession is inevitable. Their counterparts in Silicon Valley are doing the same. Following a bumper 2021 that was full of IPOs and mega funding rounds, some of the most […]
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Sequoia coaches start-ups to cut costs or face a ‘death spiral’ amid stock market slump, bleak economic backdrop
One of Silicon Valley’s most successful venture capital firms doesn’t see the economy bouncing back anytime soon and is warning portfolio companies to tighten their belts in the meantime. In a 52-page presentation seen by CNBC, the Sequoia lays out a litany of risks making it harder for founders to raise money and operate. The […]
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Early Tesla investor DBL Partners leads $70 million investment in logistics firm Airspace
Matt Mawson | Corbis Documentary | Getty Images Time-critical logistics start-up Airspace, which originally broke into the market handling shipments for emergency situations including organ transplants and life-saving medications, has nearly doubled its funding in a new round of venture capital led by DBL Partners, an impact investing firm that was an early investor in […]
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Andreessen Horowitz raises $4.5 billion crypto fund to take advantage of bargains in down market
Chris Dixon, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, discusses cryptocurrency during the TechCrunch Disrupt forum in San Francisco, October 2, 2019. Kate Munsch | Reuters Andreessen Horowitz plans to plow billions of dollars into crypto start-ups while digital asset markets are in a rut. The Silicon Valley firm announced a new $4.5 billion fund for backing […]
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How this millennial turned $700 into a multimillion-dollar fishery start-up
When she was young, Utari Octavianty often felt like the underdog because of where she came from. Her hometown is Kampung Bahru, a remote fishing village in North Sumatra, Indonesia, where many don’t have access to education. There was even a common saying: “If you come from a fishing village, you cannot win.” That’s why […]
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