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☆ Softbank-backed adtech firm Permutive announces further layoffs, which could affect up to 40% of staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Permutive told staffers this week it's preparing a round of layoffs that may affect up to 40% of staff. It follows an earlier round of layoffs in August last year, which reduced its then-headcount by 12%. Permutive said it wants to focus on profitability amid a challenging economic environment and drop in venture funding. UK-based adtech company Permutive this week announced a layoff that is expected to affect just under 80 staffers, or about 40% of its headcount, Insider has learned. UK employment laws stipulate employers laying off more than 20 staff must consult with employee representatives over redundancy plans.

☆ One of the oldest restaurants at Downtown Disney in California is closing down
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Catal Restaurant and Uva Bar at Disneyland California's Downtown Disney are closing on 14 April. The restaurant has been in business since the Downtown Disney District opened in 2001. Catal Restaurant and its accompanying outdoor bar – Uva Bar – have been permanent fixtures since the opening of Downtown Disney in 2001. The theme park says that the restaurant and bar are closing "to make way for an exciting new addition to the Downtown Disney District." The change is part of a large redevelopment of the Downtown Disney District, which is home to a number of restaurants, shops, and entertainment options.

☆ Energy firms lose UK legal challenge over sale of collapsed rival Bulb
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A British Gas sign is seen outside its offices in Staines in southern England, July 31, 2014. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File PhotoLONDON, March 31 (Reuters) - Centrica's British Gas, Scottish Power and E.ON on Friday lost a court challenge over the British government’s handling of the sale of collapsed energy firm Bulb. The three other energy suppliers had argued the government had unlawfully committed billions of pounds of taxpayers' money to prop up Bulb, without considering the potential impact on the wider energy market. "It's clear that the case was a desperate attempt by those organisations to defend their waning market positions against a more efficient and customer-focused rival," Octopus Energy said in a statement. The addition of Bulb's customers catapulted Octopus to become the country's third largest domestic energy supplier behind British Gas and E.ON.

☆ Elon Musk said he eats a donut every morning and is 'still alive'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Aditi Bharade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk revealed on Tuesday that he eats a donut every morning for breakfast. "I eat a donut every morning. Musk replied: "I eat a donut every morning. Musk's daily donut diet revelation is unsurprising, considering his past comments about his eating habits. "I'd rather eat tasty food and live a shorter life," Musk told podcaster Joe Rogan in 2020.

☆ Ovo Energy plans takeover of Shell gas and electricity arm
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Ovo Energy is planning a takeover of Shell Plc 's UK gas and electricity business, a move that would allow the British retail energy supplier to reclaim the No. Ovo is expected to propose an indicative offer for Shell Energy Retail Ltd's UK operation, the report added, citing sources. Shell Energy Retail has about 1.4 million customers. Retail energy suppliers in Europe have struggled over the past year with soaring wholesale prices forcing governments to shield consumers from rising bills. This would put Ovo ahead of Octopus Energy, currently the UK's second-largest supplier, which has nearly 5 million household customers after its takeover of energy supplier Bulb.

☆ Watch: Hyundai revealed a one-armed robot that charges your electric car for you
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Hyundai developed an automatic charging robot that plugs in your electric car for you. The robot uses a camera and AI to find a car's charging port and plug it in. To make that vision a reality, the Korean automaker developed an "automatic charging robot" (ACR) that takes care of the nitty gritty parts of charging for you. Then, using a camera and artificial intelligence, the ACR guides the charging plug into the right spot and charging begins. Hyundai's automatic charging robot inserts a charging plug into the Ioniq 6 sedan.

☆ A Spanish firm wants to kill one million octopuses a year using 'ice slurry' baths at first-ever factory farm
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A proposed commercial octopus farm is sparking outrage among experts and animal rights campaigners. The farm would slaughter roughly one million octopuses each year by submerging them in icy water. In a report released Thursday, the activist group said that Nueva Pescanova intends to slaughter around one million octopuses each year by submerging them in a freezing "ice slurry." In particular, it said, the slaughter of the octopuses "involves proper handling that avoids any pain or suffering to the animal." "To kill them with ice would be a slow death," Dr. Peter Tse, who studies octopus cognition at Dartmouth, told the BBC.

☆ 3 things that will propel Uber's ad offering to become a $1 billion business, according to advertisers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The company is justifying its steep ad prices by pitching advertisers its first-party data that shows where people are and where they're going. Advertisers laid out why Uber's ads are so valuable, and how the company has been able to pull in their budgets. Uber's data-driven ad offering however isn't as compelling as what's offered by retail media competitors, like Walmart and Target. Uber has a new strategy to go after video ad budgetsUber also wants to corner a piece of the lucrative video advertising market. The tablet ad format is squarely aimed at video ad budgets.

FanDuel expected to handle more than 17 million Super Bowl bets. GeoComply , a company that verifies the locations where gamblers are betting, saw 100 million sports betting transactions this Super Bowl weekend, an increase of 25% over last year. It was a record-breaking Super Bowl for sportsbooks as gamblers ponied up across the United States. "This was BetMGM's most successful Super Bowl and most bet on single game sporting event ever," the company told CNBC. Already, sportsbooks are accepting wagers for next year's Super Bowl, which, for the first time, will take place in America's gambling capital – Las Vegas.

☆ Check out the 13-slide deck health startup OneLeaf used to raise $5.1 million to expand its personalized self-hypnosis programs across the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Its self-hypnosis program aims to help users with wellness challenges, such as weight management and sleep deprivation. That's what inspired him to found wellness startup OneLeaf, which just raised $5.1 million to grow its self-hypnosis program across the US. The Paris-based startup offers users a self-hypnosis tool for to help them face health challenges such as smoking, weight management, and anxiety. Focusing on self-hypnosis as a treatment option makes OneLeaf unique, Cohen-Skalli said, and also positions the startup to grow into other wellness industries. Check out the 13-slide pitch deck used to secure $5.1 million in seed funding.

☆ Laid-off tech workers could find a home at startups trying to solve the climate crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Big Tech layoffs have sweetened the talent pool for climate startups and venture-capital firms. Climate startups now have a growing talent pool to choose from, and hiring is picking up, according to recruiters, venture capitalists, and workers who already made the jump from Big Tech to climate tech. "Over the last year, people were already leaving mainstream tech to come into the climate space," Veery Maxwell, a partner at Galvanize Climate Solutions, a global investment firm focused on climate tech, told Insider. Cianfarini told Insider his salary is $185,000 a year plus a $40,000 stock option grant that vests over four years. This trend makes climate tech an attractive option, she said.

☆ Elo uses data from wearables to provide tailored nutrient and protein supplements. Check out the 28-slide deck used to raise $10 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

San Francisco-based Elo has raised $10 million in Series A funding from Octopus Ventures. The startup curates personalized protein powders for users based on nutrient data from wearables. A startup that offers personalized recommendations of protein powders and nutrition supplements has just raised a $10 million Series A from Octopus Ventures. San Francisco-based Elo, which launched in 2020, takes data from wearable devices and users' existing health data to give tailored suggestions. The Series A was led by London-based venture capital firm Octopus Ventures, which previously backed Depop, a second-hand clothing marketplace that was acquired by Etsy.

☆ Only 2 customers have abandoned Tesla since Elon Musk bought Twitter, says EV leasing firm CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Stephanie Stacey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk's Twitter troubles have had minimal impact on Tesla sales at Octopus EV, its CEO said. Just two of Octopus EV's Tesla customers — out of "well over 1,000" — switched to another make last year over Musk's decisions at Twitter, its CEO Fiona Howarth told the Financial Times. While small, she said the dip was still worth noting, given how loyal Tesla customers have usually been. Three longtime Tesla owners recently told Insider that they're ditching their cars over Musk's actions at Twitter. Octopus EV, Tesla, and Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider.

☆ Health tech and biotech startups landed $88 billion in funding in 2022. See 16 of the hottest pitch decks founders used to raise millions from investors.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Here are 16 of the pitch decks used by health and biotech founders to attract investor funds. Check out the 24-slide pitch deck Ria Health used to raise $18 million. Check out the 18-slide pitch deck Healthie used to raise $16 million. Check out the 15-slide pitch deck Patchwork Health used to raise the funds. Check out the 16-slide pitch deck Dalan Animal Health used to raise $3.5 million.

☆ Bulb bailout exposes UK’s pseudo power market
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( George Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Bulb is the biggest of dozens of flaky British power suppliers which opted not to hedge their future costs when energy prices were cheap. The Office for Budget Responsibility expects the saga to cost taxpayers 6.5 billion pounds. Octopus itself thinks the loan could be more like 2.4 billion pounds, as wholesale prices have recently fallen. If that’s correct, regular payments by Bulb customers will cover the cost. With retail power prices fixed and the government on the hook for higher wholesale costs, Britain’s privatised power industry is operating in anything but a free market.

Dec 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice's bankruptcy watchdog on Thursday appointed a committee to represent FTX accountholders and other junior creditors in the collapsed crypto exchange's bankruptcy case. The nine-member committee includes three individual creditors, Genesis affiliate GGC International Ltd, crypto trader Wintermute Asia PTE, Coincident Capital International, Pulsar Global Ltd, Octopus Information Ltd and Wincent Investment Fund. Crypto firms that went bankrupt earlier this year, including Voyager Digital and Celsius Network, have classified most of their customers, particularly those with interest-bearing accounts, as unsecured creditors. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey, who is overseeing FTX's Chapter 11 case, said during a Wednesday court hearing that he expects the creditors' committee to weigh in on issues related to customer privacy at a hearing scheduled in early January. FTX has argued that customer names should be kept secret to protect them from scams and to preserve the business value of FTX's customer list for potential buyers.

☆ I draw sign art for Trader Joe's for $19 an hour. Here's how I got the job after applying to bag groceries.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Victoria Goldiee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Valentina Sleek is a 28-year-old Trader Joe's artist in Charlotte, North Carolina. I applied for an opening I came across at Trader Joe's as a crew member who bags groceries. I have to remind myself that the store art is only temporary. As a rough estimate, I'd say that I've done more than 400 pieces of art for Trader Joe's since working with them. Trader Joe's has taken care of me, and the fact that they keep investing in original store art is what makes them popular.

[1/7] Herbs and micro-greens grown at the underground farm in a disused World War Two bunker using hydroponic technology and LED lighting, powered by renewable energy, are pictured in London, Britain November 24, 2022. REUTERS/Maja SmiejkowskaLONDON, Nov 28 (Reuters) - In an underground World War Two air raid shelter where London tube trains can be heard rattling overhead, aromatic coriander leaves tilt towards the pink glow of LED bulbs - a vision of how farms could look in the future. Zero Carbon Farms grows herbs and salads in Clapham, south London, a densely populated area with no room for conventional agriculture. But 30 metres below ground there is a kilometre of tunnels, and technology has made farming here a reality. "What makes this industry so exciting and challenging is that no one's quite cracked it," said Zero Carbon Farm's business development director Olivia O'Brien.

For more than 70 days this summer, a marine heatwave cooked the waters of the western Mediterranean. "We've been witnessing marine heatwaves during the last 20 years," said Garrabou, who's also coordinator of the T-MEDNet marine monitoring network. A 2016 marine heatwave along Chile's southern coast caused huge algae blooms that wiped out fish farms and cost the aquaculture industry some $800 million, said scientist Kathryn Smith with the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. As the world warms, marine heatwaves are expected to become more frequent, according to the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Though economists have yet to account fully for the impacts of marine heatwaves, recent experience has many concerned.

☆ Octopus Energy to buy failed British energy supplier Bulb
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Britain said on Saturday it had approved a deal for Octopus Energy to buy smaller firm Bulb, which was one of the largest energy suppliers to collapse last year due to soaring wholesale gas and electricity prices. About 1.5 million Bulb customers will be transferred to Octopus as part of a deal reached late on Friday with the special administrators of London-based Bulb, the British government's business department said in a statement. Bulb collapsed last November after failing to secure funding as regulator Ofgem's energy price cap prevented it and other suppliers from passing on rising costs to customers. It was placed under the government-funded Special Administrator Regime to ensure customers' supplies would face no disruption and their credit balances would be protected. The government will also provide funding to ensure Bulb's special administration is wound up in a way that protects customers' supplies, it said.

☆ Harry Styles as a mer-creature in his new music video is something you'll never unsee
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Dan Heching | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Harry Styles has always been one to color outside the lines as an artist, and his latest music video is only the latest example. In the video for “Music For a Sushi Restaurant,” which premiered on Thursday, the former One Direction star appears as a mer-creature – half man, half squid (or is it an octopus?) – who finds himself in the kitchen of a sushi restaurant as cooks all around him chop up and fry various aquatic animal for gourmet dishes. Standout moments include Styles’ mer-creature acting like a bit of a diva backstage at the divey establishment, getting a manicure and having everyone wait on him hand and, well, tentacle. “Music For a Sushi Restaurant” is the third single off Styles’ third studio album “Harry’s House,” released in May.

☆ Octopus Energy creates JV with Italian solar and wind farm developer Nexta
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Britain's Octopus Energy Group said on Wednesday it was creating a joint venture (JV) with Italian solar and wind farm developer Nexta Capital Partners to produce 1.1 gigawatts (GW) of new onshore wind and solar farms in Italy by 2025. The move will help Italy, which depends on Russia for around 25% of its imported gas, in its plans to expand in renewables energy and reduce such reliance. Octopus Energy said the investment will be through its recently launched 220 million euro arm, Octopus Energy Development Partnership (OEDP), which invests in early stages of green power builds and is managed by Octopus Energy Generation. "This (1.1 GW) could power 1.2 million homes, avoiding a potential 950,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. Octopus Energy Generation manages 3 gigawatts of renewable energy assets across Europe worth 4.4 billion euros ($4.3 billion).

☆ Amazon’s $999 dog-like robot is getting smarter
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

And Astro will now work with a real-time subscription service from Amazon’s smart-doorbell company, Ring, to provide security monitoring to small and medium-sized businesses. Smarter TVsAmazon unveiled a new series of Fire TV Omni QLED models – the first Fire TV to ship with Dolby Vision IQ. Kindle ScribeFifteen years after launching the Kindle, Amazon is introducing a higher-end version that also serves as a writing device. Its Echo Auto device ($54.99) is now smaller, sleeker and can be more easily mounted in a vehicle. A smarter Echo Show 15Amazon also announced a number of software updates coming to its existing Echo Show 15, a device the company said is especially popular in the kitchen.

☆ I went from doctor to venture capitalist in less than 3 years — here's how I broke into the industry without studying finance
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-22 | by ( Ellen Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Here's her advice for making a career change into venture capital, as told to Ellen Nguyen. I started my career as a doctor at the NHS, then moved into consulting at McKinsey, and now I'm an early-stage investor at Octopus Ventures. I know many people think you have to have a financial background to get into venture capital, but it's not true. Here's my best advice for anyone wanting to break into venture capital. She also shares open opportunities in venture capital, and she's very transparent, which I find very helpful.

☆ See Europe's less-crowded destinations as Americans flood the hot spots
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-18 | by ( Terry Ward | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

North Jutland, DenmarkSouthern Europe swells with crowds during summer, and it can also get hot to the point of extremely uncomfortable in July and August. Temperatures in Seville and other spots in southern Spain recently exceeded the 110˚ Fahrenheit mark (43.3 Celsius). MontenegroLeave Croatia’s jam-packed Dubrovnik to the hordes of “Game of Thrones” hangers-on and make for less-trampled spots in neighboring Montenegro instead. It’s just 40 minutes from the popular beaches of Taormina, which are flooded with “White Lotus” fans this summer. There are beaches all around the peninsula, but if you only hit two, Mylopotamos and Fakistra on the Aegean side are the can’t-miss spots.

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