DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ 16 VCs that are funding the future of entertainment by backing generative AI and other disruptive tech
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-12 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

AdvertisementAfter a period of "wild west" investing in AI, Blank believes activity will favor AI companies that respect artists' consent and compensation. It recently co-led a $1 million seed round in Conduiit, which centralizes entertainment companies' production finance operations. Endeavor Venture InvestmentsEndeavor Venture Investments is the venture arm of entertainment and sports behemoth Endeavor. SWaN & LegendThe Virginia-based VC firm has a broad consumer portfolio that includes a number of entertainment investments. With Hollywood in contraction, SWaN has largely hit pause on new entertainment investments to get its portfolio companies on a strong footing.

Persons: Michael Blank, Blank, Jon Miller, Miller, Slack, Garnet Heraman, BDMI, Urs Cete, Michael, TMRW, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Elysian Park Ventures Jay Adya, Grant Lamos, Tom Brady, Gotham Chopra, Michael Strahan, Jay Adya, Morgan, Kushaan Ahuja, Drew Glover, Glover, Alex Harris, they've, Noah Doyle, Payback India, Jed Katz, Rich Greenfield, Rich, Ilya Pozin, Jamie Seltzer, LightShed, Steve Cohen's, it's, Sri Chandrasekar, Tripp Shriner, Ishan Sinha, That's, Wondery, Ian Doody, Raine, Gordon Rubenstein, Joe Ravitch, Jeff Sine, ‐, Fred Schaufeld, SWaN, that's, Oscar, Jose, Schaufeld, Sam Wick, Alex J, Investcorp, Paul Yoo, Edgar Bronfman Jr, Daniel Leff, Waverley, Leff Organizations: Service, Creative Artists, Connect Ventures, Business, Hollywood, Veteran, TPG, Integrated Media Co, Advancit, CAA, Bertelsmann, Waverley, Octopus Ventures, Accel, Facebook, Venture, Aperture Venture, Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments, Fremantle, Connect, CAA Connect Ventures, New Enterprises Associates, TMRW Sports, Disney, Universal, Elysian Park Ventures, Elysian, Sports, Endeavor Venture, Endeavor Venture Investments, behemoth Endeavor, Dapper Labs, Fiat Ventures, Fiat Ventures Fiat Ventures, Fiat, Payback, Rent, LightShed, Rich Greenfield Influential, LightShed Ventures, Pluto, Apple, Octopus Ventures Octopus Ventures, Investments, Corp, Etsy, Re, Point72 Ventures New York Mets, Range Media Partners, Point72 Ventures, Sri, Powerhouse, Athletic, The New York Times Co, Evolution Media, Creative Artists Agency, Astro, Rave Digital Media, Accel Entertainment, Jose Andrés Media, Berliner, UTA Talent, UTA, UTA Ventures, Ventures, VR, Amazon, PFL Locations: blockchain, —, Conduiit, fintech, London, Australia, Papercup, Los Angeles, Virginia, UTA.VC

☆ China is producing vast undersea maps for submarine warfare, report says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewChina is mapping vast areas of the Indian Ocean under the guise of civilian research — and it could be to plan submarine warfare, a think tank said. The CSIS said that while much of the research was in the western Pacific and South China Sea, Chinese research vessels increasingly focused on the Indian Ocean. AdvertisementUsing data from Windward, a maritime AI-data company, the think tank said it found Chinese research boats had conducted "hundreds of thousands of hours of operations globally over the past four years." AdvertisementThe Indian Ocean is a vital area for China's "strategic and economic interests," Matthew Funaiole, a senior fellow at CSIS who worked on the report, told The Washington Post.

Persons: —, Matthew Funaiole, Andrew Scobell Organizations: Service, Business, Center for Strategic, International Studies, China's People's Liberation Army, CSIS, Washington Post, United States Institute of Peace, Associated Press Locations: China, Pacific, South China, Windward, Beijing, India, New Delhi, Sri Lanka

☆ China, debt and Disney: Three economic themes that will dominate the Republican primaries
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

New York CNN —Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis sparred on a wide range of economic issues during the CNN GOP presidential debate on Wednesday evening. But as Haley and DeSantis duked it out to crown themselves the most fiscally prudent candidate, some clear economic themes began to emerge that will likely have a big influence on the upcoming Republican primaries and beyond: China, debt levels and the government’s role in business. ChinaBoth Haley and DeSantis sought to prove how tough they could be on China. But as my colleague Elisabeth Buchwald points out, the US and China are the first- and second-largest economies in the world. President Joe Biden has also made reducing economic dependence on China a platform in both his 2020 and 2024 campaigns.

Persons: Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis sparred, Nancy Pelosi’s, ”, “, Ron, you’re, Haley, Haley, DeSantis, Donald Trump, Elisabeth Buchwald, Joe Biden, DeSantis didn’t, Trump, wouldn’t, ” DeSantis, Gary Gensler, “ I’m, ” Sen, Sherrod Brown, Brown, Nick Smart, It’s Taylor, Taylor, Swift, Ramishah Maruf, “ Taylor Swift, Pollstar Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Republican, CNN, Social Security, Walt Disney Company, FBI, SEC, Securities, Exchange, SEC’s, ”, Banking Committee, Spotify, AMC, Bloomberg Locations: New York, China, Iowa, Beijing, United States, South Carolina, Florida, DeSantis

☆ One in 78 audio streams was a Taylor Swift song in 2023, data shows
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-10 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

New York CNN —Taylor Swift practically owned 2023. One in every 78 US audio streams was a Taylor Swift song in 2023, according to Luminate. The data company reported 1.2 trillion on-demand US audio streams in 2023, up 12.7% from the year prior. In 2023, Swift released two re-recorded albums: “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” and “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).” The deluxe “Midnights (The Til Dawn Edition)” album came out in 2023, following the album’s original release the year prior. “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” had the highest-grossing concert film domestically for an opening weekend, according to AMC.

Persons: New York CNN — Taylor Swift, Taylor, Swift, ”, “ Taylor Swift, Pollstar, – CNN’s Krystal Hur, Bryan Mena, Danielle Wiener, Bronner Organizations: New, New York CNN, Spotify, Bloomberg, AMC, Office Mojo Locations: New York, Luminate

☆ Will air fares remain high in 2024? Here's what experts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-08 | by ( Monica Pitrelli | Jonathan Delise | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"After recent rises in fares, we should expect a modest price correction in some markets in 2024, although underlying pricing should generally remain strong," it said. However, Amex GBT's "Air Monitor 2024" is expecting only international airfares to drop in 2024 — notably for flights between North America and Asia. BCD Travel Travel Market Report 2024 OutlookTravelers in the U.S. may see some savings. The travel company Hopper expects fares in the U.S. to drop — at least for the first six months, according to its "2024 Travel Outlook" report. However, IATA also stated that the industry faces considerable challenges, from customer competition and high operating costs to government regulations.

Persons: Amex, —, Hopper, John Grant, Who's, Willie Walsh Organizations: International Air Transport Association, Global, GBT Consulting, FCM, Travel, GBT's Air Locations: Asia, North America, U.S, Europe, Ukraine, Gaza, Pacific, India, China, America, Mexico Africa

☆ Jamie Dimon Urges Donors, Even Democrats, to ‘Help Nikki Haley’
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Maggie Astor | More About Maggie Astor | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

At the same time, Ms. Haley earned a new lift from the super PAC, called Independents Moving the Needle. It said it would initially focus on New Hampshire, where Republican voters are more moderate than in many other states — and, crucially, where voters who are not registered with a party can choose to participate in the Republican or Democratic primary race. After the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 23, the group will turn to South Carolina — Ms. Haley’s home state — and to “selected Super Tuesday states with open primaries,” according to a memo shared with The New York Times. “We all believe that Nikki Haley is an outstanding leader,” the memo says. “She has by far the best electability of any Republican presidential candidate in 2024.

Persons: Haley, “, Nikki Haley, Donald Trump, —, ”, Frank Laukien, Jonathan Bush, George W . Bush, Bonnie Anderson, Robert Fisher, Tamra Laukien, Laukien, Haley “ Organizations: Republican, Democratic, New, South Carolina —, The New York Times Locations: New Hampshire, South Carolina, Ukraine, Israel

NEW YORK, Nov 27 (Reuters) - A record amount of price-pinched holiday shoppers are expected to use buy now, pay later services for Cyber Monday to relieve stress on their wallets, according to Adobe Analytics. [1/2]A worker sorts products during Cyber Monday at the Amazon's fulfillment center in Robbinsville, New Jersey, U.S., November 27, 2023. The buy now, pay later firm saw a 29% increase in orders placed by U.S. shoppers on Black Friday, with some of the most popular items being personal electronics, televisions and kitchen appliances. It's become really, really, really popular," said Dan Dolev, an analyst at Mizuho Securities. Average basket sizes for buy now, pay later orders on Black Friday declined 32% compared to last year, according to a report from Quantum Metric, a sign that shoppers aren't making as big of purchases this year.

Persons: Klarna, BNPL, Mike Segar, It's, Dan Dolev, Arriana McLymore, Deborah Sophia, Juveria Tabassum, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Adobe Analytics, Shoppers, REUTERS, Mizuho Securities, Black, Thomson Locations: Robbinsville , New Jersey, U.S, New York City, Bengaluru

☆ Chinese electric car maker BYD is about to steal Tesla's crown. Here's why it's winning the race.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Nathan Rennolds | George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

China is the world's electric vehicle leader, with 64% of total production and 59% of global EV sales in 2022, according to the World Economic Forum. One of its biggest EV producers, BYD , looks set to topple Tesla's position as the world's top seller of electric cars. AdvertisementCheaper EVsTesla sells just four cars – the Model S and Model 3 sedans, and the Model X and Model Y SUVs. Advertisement"2023 is set to be another banner year for China in terms of EV sales," the data company said. Seeing BYD overtake Tesla in the EV race may not bring any festive cheer for Elon Musk this holiday season.

Persons: Tesla, —, Tesla's, BYD, Elon, John Keeble, Seth Goldstein, that's, Goldstein, Teslas, Musk, Morgan Stanley, Lin Shanchuan, China's, Mazzocco, Morningstar's Goldstein, Stella Li Organizations: Service, Economic, EV, Elon Musk's, Yuan, Battery, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Getty, Tesla Beijing, Rho, Reuters, Bloomberg Locations: China, Shanghai, Washington ,, Fujian, Xinhua, Norway, America

☆ Italy Finance Minister evokes default risk to defend bank measures
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Giuseppe Fonte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Minister of Economic Development Giancarlo Giorgetti attends the first voting session at the lower house of parliament to elect the new speaker in Rome, Italy, October 13, 2022. "In two or three years' time, when I may not be around but there will be a default crisis, perhaps someone will say that our government was not so crazy," Giorgetti said, without giving further details of this scenario. The average default rate for Italian companies rose for the first time in nearly decade in 2022 to stand at 2.4% in December, compared with a record low of 1.6% in December 2021, credit data company CRIF said last month. The rate has edged up in the first half of 2023 to 2.5%, CRIF added, forecasting it could get to 3% by the end of 2023. ($1 = 0.9346 euros)Additional reporting by Valentina Za in Milan; Editing by Gareth Jones and Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Giancarlo Giorgetti, Guglielmo Mangiapane, Giorgetti, CRIF, Valentina Za, Gareth Jones, Alexander Smith Organizations: Economic, REUTERS, Italian Economy, Hamas, Thomson Locations: Rome, Italy, ROME, Italian, Europe, Israel, Ukraine, Milan

☆ Chinese fast fashion retailer Temu overtakes Shein to dominate Japan and South Korea apps
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Similarly, in South Korea, Temu ranked No. Among the top shopping apps in South Korea, Temu was the fastest to reach 2 million downloads at around 88 days. Shein took 382 days while AliExpress took 366 days to hit the same milestone. Shein sued Temu in December over intellectual-property infringement while Temu accused Shein in July of threatening and forcing manufacturers into exclusivity agreements. Temu made its foray into Asia through Japan and South Korea in July.

Persons: Nikos Pekiaridis, Shein, Temu, Goldman Sachs, Mercari, Alibaba, AliExpress, Bernstein Organizations: Getty, Nurphoto, PDD Holdings, CNBC, iOS, Google, Nasdaq, Holdings, Citi, U.S, Committee Locations: Japan, South Korea, China, U.S, Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Boston , Massachusetts, Asia, Philippines, Malaysia

☆ LSEG chief Schwimmer: IPOs to return 'when the environment stabilises'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Vidya Ranganathan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) CEO David Schwimmer speaks during the Reuters NEXT Newsmaker event in New York City, New York, U.S., December 1, 2022. "IPOs will come back, when the environment stabilises and improves," Schwimmer told Reuters in an interview in Singapore. "The reforms that the FCA is putting through, they're moving relatively quickly, but the markets move quickly too. LSEG bought Refinitiv for $27 billion in early 2021, turning the exchange into a major market data company overnight to challenge rival Bloomberg. Schwimmer said the roll0out of the new partnership product in 2024 will make it easy for customers to use LSEG data in a cloud environment.

Persons: David Schwimmer, Brendan McDermid, Schwimmer, LSEG, Vidya Ranganathan, Lawrence White, Sharon Singleton, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: London Stock Exchange Group, Reuters, REUTERS, Rights, European Union, Amsterdam, London, EU, Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters, Reuters News, Investors, Microsoft, Thomson Locations: New York City , New York, U.S, Rights SINGAPORE, London, New York, Singapore, Ukraine, Gaza, LSEG

☆ WeWork has a massive footprint in London. Its bankruptcy could shake up the city's office market
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

TikTok's London office is based out of a WeWork building in Holborn called Aviation House. WeWorkWeWork , the U.S. office rental startup, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, threatening office closures across the U.S. where it has become a major destination for tech firms. The company's restructuring may also have implications for its London operations, where it is one of the biggest tenants. According to CoStar, the commercial real estate data company, the company has 36 offices in London, spanning more than 2.89 million square feet. "We've actually got an agreement with them for another seven months," Tailor, who is based in London, told CNBC.

Persons: WeWork WeWork, WeWork, Deepak Tailor, We've Organizations: Aviation, WeWork, CNBC, Lease Locations: London, Holborn, U.S, Canada, Waterloo, WeWork

☆ A Hulu exec details how elaborate partnerships 'surprise and delight' audiences and boost followings for big releases like Oprah-produced 'Black Cake'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Disney's Hulu has a lot riding on "Black Cake," its adaptation of Charmaine Wilkerson's New York Times bestseller that centers on a Black family and spans decades and geographies from Jamaica to Scotland to California. Several Caribbean bakeries across the US will give out samples of black cake, the rum-soaked treat that's at the heart of the story. Hulu's partnerships start with the audienceMatthews and her team put together about a dozen partnerships a year tied to big releases. For "Black Cake," the book's fan base and defining themes were front and center for Hulu. Customers must be members of Barnes & Noble's Premium Membership ($39.99 a year) to see the "Black Cake" sneak peek, which let the bookseller promote its rewards program.

Persons: Charmaine Wilkerson's, Marissa Jo Cerar, Oprah Winfrey, Aaron Kaplan, Hulu, Noble, Adia Matthews, Matthews, screeners, —, Danny Trejo —, Postmates, Selena Gomez's, Cynthia Di Meo, Mabel Mora, Influencers, Barnes Organizations: Hulu, Charmaine Wilkerson's New York Times, Harpo Films, Entertainment, Barnes, Spelman College, Howard University, Hollywood, Con, Samba, Walt Disney Co, Disney Locations: Jamaica, Scotland, California, Caribbean, it's, Southern California, Los Angeles, LA, American, Hollywood

☆ America’s favorite Halloween candy is chocolate
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Christopher Hickey | Will Mullery | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Americans can’t get enough of Halloween candy. Halloween candy sales grew 14% between 2021 and 2022 and this year is on track to be the same. And in the world of chocolate, milk chocolate is king: more people bought milk chocolate last Halloween season than all other non-chocolate candy combined. But while per unit sales of chocolate candy have remained largely stable compared with five years ago, non-chocolate candy is the growth market. Americans bought roughly 7.8% more packages of non-chocolate candy last Halloween season compared to 2018, while package sales of chocolate shrank by 2.5%.

Persons: “ It’s, Beth Kimmerle, “, ”, ” Kimmerle, Susan Benjamin, it’s, Albanese, Kimmerle, Candy, Benjamin, don’t Organizations: Bear Cubs Locations: West Virginia

☆ Databricks, the $43 billion analytics firm, acquires data startup Arcion for $100 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Databricks has agreed to acquire Arcion, an enterprise data company, for about $100 million, including incentives, CEO Ali Ghodsi told CNBC ahead of an official Monday announcement. The acquisition comes after Databricks announced a $500 million funding round in September at a valuation of $43 billion. Arcion is Databricks' first acquisition since acquiring MosaicML, an AI infrastructure startup specializing in training large language models, for $1.3 billion. It's part of Databricks' AI push, and partly inspired by the tech sector's growing interest in generative AI, which can require a lot of training data. "We think we can make a lot of revenue on this particular acquisition," Ghodsi said.

Persons: Ali Ghodsi, Databricks, Ghodsi, we're, Rajkumar Sen, Miryana Organizations: Databricks Inc, Bloomberg Technology, CNBC, Oracle, Arcion's Locations: San Francisco

☆ Exclusive: Tech billionaire Peter Thiel was an FBI informant
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Another source close to Thiel told Insider that while they could not confirm that Thiel was a CHS, Thiel did speak to Buma occasionally. "[They] will be either an 'FBI source' or a 'former FBI source' and, in turn, his or her conduct or misconduct will reflect upon the FBI." Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesAs a CHS, Thiel was assigned a code name and an internal serial number to track his reporting. Thiel, Johnson said, was directed by the FBI not to report on his interactions with Donald Trump or other US political figures. Johnson told Insider that he brokered an introduction between Thiel and the FBI special agent who would become his handler.

Persons: Peter Thiel, Trump, Thiel, Johnathan Buma, Charles Johnson, Johnson, MAGA, Donald Trump, Drew Angerer, Scott Horton, Buma, Sen, J.D, Vance of, Blake Masters, —, Vance, Joe Biden's, Vance of Ohio, Anna Moneymaker, Masters, Mithril's, Matt Gaetz, Gaetz's, Ginger Gaetz, Bill Barr, Rudy Giuliani, Alex Wong, Jeffrey Epstein, Enrique Tarrio, Tarrio, Mattathias Schwartz Organizations: FBI, Buma, CHS, Trump, Trump Tower, Republican National Convention, Joe Biden's Department, Getty Masters, Mar, Masters, Pentagon, CIA, National Security Agency, US Army, NSO Group, Forbes, Mithril, Clearview's, Committee, Capitol, Founders Fund, Boys Locations: Los Angeles, Germany, United States, New Zealand, Malta, Silicon, Vance of Ohio, Arizona, Palantir, American, Russian, Atlantic City, schwartz79@protonmail.com

[1/3] The word "justice" is seen engraved at the headquarters of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 10, 2021. "Agri Stats operates its information exchanges to promote total industry profits at the expense of competition," said the DOJ's complaint. Attorney Justin Bernick of law firm Hogan Lovells, which is representing Agri Stats in the DOJ case, said the company denies the allegations. "Agri Stats provides vital benchmarking services that help keep production costs and prices low for consumers," Bernick said in an email. Tyson did not respond to questions about whether the company uses Agri Stats reports or provide comment on the lawsuit.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Justin Bernick, Hogan Lovells, Bernick, Tyson, Leah Douglas, Barbara Lewis, Leslie Adler Organizations: United States Department of Justice, Washington , D.C, REUTERS, U.S . Department of Justice, Agri, Smithfield Foods, Tyson Foods, DOJ, Thomson Locations: Washington ,, U.S

The preliminary reading of the UK S&P Global Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the services sector sank to its lowest since the pandemic lockdown of January 2021 and below all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists. PMIs for the euro zone picked up a little but still suggested a recession was approaching. Official data showed retail sales rose in August, partially recovering from a rain-induced plunge in July, and a measure of consumer confidence climbed to its highest since January 2022. However, data company S&P Global said its survey was consistent with a drop in quarterly economic output of 0.4%. "The disappointing PMI survey results for September mean a recession is looking increasingly likely in the UK," said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global.

Persons: Molly Darlington, BoE, Sterling, Martin Beck, Beck, Chris Williamson, Samuel Tombs, Andy Bruce, Toby Chopra Organizations: REUTERS, P, CBI, Bank of England, P Global, U.S, Confederation of British Industry, PMI, Pantheon, Thomson Locations: Altrincham, Britain

☆ The Man Who Trapped Us in Databases
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Mckenzie Funk | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Matrix, as Asher’s new counterterrorism system soon came to be known, arguably marked the beginning of our era of analytics. But Asher, enamored with the power of his magical machines, kept talking about the five names they got right. Many critiques of our increasingly algorithmic world focus on where algorithms fail. A third boils down to checks and balances: Algorithms are often proprietary black boxes, closed to outside scrutiny. He was burning through millions more buying up vast data sets that contained ever more granular information on Americans’ lives.

Persons: Isaac, —, Asher, Hank Asher, you’re, ’ Organizations: Facebook Locations: It’s

☆ Michael Bloomberg Dials Up a War on Plastics
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( David Gelles | More About David Gelles | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Michael Bloomberg is many things: former New York City mayor, founder of a financial data company, failed presidential candidate and the 11th richest man in the world. Since leaving public office 10 years ago, Mr. Bloomberg, 81, has also emerged as perhaps the world’s single largest funder of climate activism, making himself an expensive thorn in the side of the fossil fuel industry. The former mayor says that so far he has spent $500 million in an effort to shut down coal and gas plants. This month he said he planned to spend another $500 million on the effort. Now he is going after a more challenging target: new petrochemical plants that make fertilizer, plastics and packaging.

Persons: Michael Bloomberg Organizations: New York City, Bloomberg, Sierra Club Locations: New York

But a person who worked closely with Ramaswamy said, "He thinks people are put on this earth to serve him." Roivant attracted investors including Masayoshi Son's SoftBank Vision Fund, Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, and the hedge fund Viking Global Investors. Former Roivant employees said Ramaswamy worked hard and expected the same of others. McLaughlin called the employee's recollection "inaccurate," adding that Ramaswamy "has never once raised his voice or used bad language with employees." At Roivant, Ramaswamy kept his politics largely to himself, former employees said.

Persons: Vivek Ramaswamy, Ramaswamy, He's, Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Trump, George Soros, didn't, Taco Bell, he's, —, Vivek, Tricia McLaughlin, he'd, McLaughlin, takeout, Forbes, Vivek doesn't, they've, Roivant, Masayoshi, Peter Thiel's, Thiel, JD Vance, Bill Ackman, who'd, . Ramaswamy, Erik Gordon, Vance, John Phillips, Joyce Rosely, Phillips, Anson Frericks, they'd, Rosely, Frericks, They're, they're, Eric Balchunas, Todd Rosenbluth, Rosenbluth, Christopher Lenzo, Brandon Bell, Vivek Ramaswamy's, Katherine Long, Jack Newsham, Meghan Morris Organizations: pharma, Army Rangers, Biotech, Republican, nab, GOP, of Education, FBI, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Federal Reserve, Florida, Roivant Sciences, General Electric, Yale Law School, Army, Rangers, Harvard, Yale, Fund, Viking Global, Leerink Partners, GlaxoSmithKline, Forbes, Big Pharma, Japan's Sumitomo Pharma Co, ., University of Michigan, FDA, US, Yale Law, ESG, The, Texas, Indiana, BlackRock, Vanguard, Bloomberg Intelligence, Fair, SEC Locations: Mexico, FiveThirtyEight, Roivant, Patagonia, Iowa, New York, Ohio, The Lever

The new round, led by T. Rowe Price, could mark the last round of private funding as the data company gears up for the public market. Chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA.O), another beneficiary of the AI boom, and credit card firm Capital One Financial (COF.N), also participated in the latest funding round. AI, the latest buzzword in the technology space, has captivated the interest of investors from Silicon Valley to Wall Street. Its latest valuation is over 13% more than the $38 billion the San Francisco-based company was worth after its last fundraise in 2021. The company has raised $4 billion since inception.

Persons: Rowe Price, Ali Ghodsi, Ghodsi, Andreessen Horowitz, Baillie Gifford, Morgan, Weeks, Databricks, Niket, Krystal Hu, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: Nvidia, Reuters, Fidelity Management & Research, Tiger Global, Thomson Locations: Silicon Valley, Wall, Francisco, Bengaluru, Hong Kong

☆ Europe's economy threatened by extreme heat, fires and floods
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Olesya Dmitracova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —Mounting climate risks, illustrated by the extreme heat, wildfires and floods that ravaged parts of Europe this summer, could hurt the region’s economy as soon as this year, the European Commission warned Monday. In its latest economic forecast, the European Union’s executive arm downgraded its predictions for growth in the region in 2023 and 2024. But it added that there was “formidable uncertainty” over its latest forecast, with extreme weather among the “downside” risks. Construction and manufacturing are among other economic sectors vulnerable to extreme heat, said Owen at Saltmarsh Economics. Similarly to the European Commission, on Sunday the International Monetary Fund pointed to “grave risks to economic well-being” from climate change.

Persons: ” David Owen, Kyle Holland, Owen, Kristalina Georgieva Organizations: London CNN, European, European Travel Commission, CNN, Saltmarsh, Bank of Italy, Sunday, International Monetary, Group Locations: Europe, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Ireland, Denmark, Italy, Greece, Spain, India

☆ D.A. Davidson says this cloud data provider is set to benefit in a big way from AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Snowflake is an up-and-coming player in the artificial intelligence world that's here to win, according to D.A. The cloud data provider has gained nearly 11.4% year to date, but it's down 9.2% this quarter. "Even after cloud optimization efforts that plagued software companies this year, we view Snowflake in an advantageous position," Luria wrote in the Thursday note. "They maintain best-in-class growth rates and are positioned well as a cloud data company to benefit from increasing demand for artificial intelligence." Snowflake announced in late June that it is partnering with Nvidia to provide businesses with a path to create customized generative AI applications using their own proprietary data, using the Snowflake Data Cloud platform.

Persons: Davidson, Gil Luria, Luria, D.A, Snowflake, — Michael Bloom Organizations: Nvidia

☆ Most first-time homebuyers don't put down 20%, expert says. Here's how much you may need
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

But you probably don't need as much money as you think. In the following decades, many government-backed mortgages mandated a 20% down payment. The typical house in the U.S. has a median price of around $400,000. Applying the 20% rule would mean you'd need $80,000. Some states, cities and other groups have programs that award grants to homebuyers that bolster their down payment or help cover closing costs.

Persons: SurveyMonkey, Jessica Lautz, Lautz, Freddie Mac, Daniel Brennan Organizations: Istock, CNBC, National Association of Realtors, U.S . Department of Agriculture, Federal Housing Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, Bank Locations: U.S, Arizona, Maine

Search resuls for: "Data Company"

25 mentions found