Despite news that Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) closed its London crypto-focused office, the VC giant has dozens of scouts across Europe looking for early-stage startups, reports Sifted. Some scouts are said to work at companies like Poolside and 11x, the latter of which just raised a $50 million Series B led by the firm. Though many […]
a16z has venture scouts scattered across Europe Read More »
In this episode of the StrictlyVC Download, Connie and Alex are joined by Blake Scholl, CEO of Boom Supersonic, to discuss the company’s ambitious mission to revolutionize commercial aviation. From developing the Overture, a supersonic airliner, to embracing sustainable aviation fuels, Blake shares how Boom plans to make faster, greener air travel a reality. He
Tata Electronics has acquired a controlling stake of 60% in Pegatron’s unit in India, less than a year after acquiring Wistron’s local business as the salt-to-software conglomerate expands its iPhone manufacturing capacity in the South Asian market. Pegatron is a key assembly partner for Apple. The Taiwanese firm operates an iPhone production plant near Chennai
Tata acquires 60% stake in Apple-partner Pegatron’s India unit Read More »
The tech layoff wave continued through 2024. Following significant workforce reductions in 2022 and 2023, 2024 saw more than 150,000 job cuts across 542 companies, according to independent layoffs tracker Layoffs.fyi. Large companies like Tesla, Amazon, Google, TikTok, Snap, and Microsoft conducted sizable layoffs in 2024, while smaller-sized startups also experienced cuts, and in some
A comprehensive list of 2024 and 2025 tech layoffs Read More »
VC investment into Quantum computing declined by 50% last year according to the ‘State of Quantum 2024’ report, dropping from $2.2bn in 2022 to $1.2bn, with funds switching in favour of Generative AI. However, government spending on quantum was predicted to hit $40 billion over the next decade. Now a new VC European fund hopes
Quantum VC QDNL hits €25M first-close on new fund Read More »
Chris Young, Microsoft’s head of business development and its venture unit, resigned from his role on Wednesday, the company said. Young led Microsoft’s M12 venture fund, and was what’s known as a named officer. Microsoft’s other named officers include CFO Amy Hood, top lawyer and vice chair Brad Smith, head of sales Judson Althoff, and
Microsoft’s head of venture has resigned Read More »
Hindustan Unilever has agreed to acquire beauty startup Minimalist for about $342 million, marking its latest push to expand in India’s fast-growing premium skincare market. The consumer goods giant will initially acquire a 90.5% stake in the four-year-old direct-to-consumer brand through secondary buyouts and primary investment, with the remaining 9.5% to be purchased from founders
Hindustan Unilever acquires Peak XV-backed Minimalist for over $340M Read More »
French AI lab, Mistral, is working toward an initial public offering, co-founder and CEO Arthur Mensch said Tuesday in an interview with Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Mistral is “not for sale,” Mensch said, adding that the company plans to open an office in Singapore to focus on the Asia-Pacific region and
Mistral AI plans IPO | TechCrunch Read More »
At a recent investor meeting, early-stage African investor Oui Capital informed limited partners that it had returned its $4 million debut fund following the sale of some shares in the business banking platform Moniepoint. The African fintech unicorn has so far proven to be a standout investment for five-year-old Oui Capital. When it launched its
How African VC firm Oui Capital returned its first fund with Moniepoint’s unicorn exit Read More »
In 2023, defense tech recruiter Peterson Conway VIII pulled up to the offices of nuclear fusion startup Fuse in a black Suburban, donning his signature cowboy hat. He picked up a recent Fuse hire and proceeded to regale her with stories of his old recruiting days. One story involved prostitutes attending a recruiting event (“not
