🚙 Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. said that they aren’t in talks with Apple Inc. to develop an autonomous vehicle, responding to intense speculation about the potential new product by the iPhone maker and backing up reports that discussions paused weeks ago.
Apple paused discussions with Hyundai and Kia weeks ago about building an electric vehicle, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg late last week.
Apple has discussed similar plans with other auto manufacturers.
Shares of Hyundai fell as much as 8.4% in Seoul, while Kia slumped 15.3%.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-08/hyundai-kia-say-they-aren-t-in-ev-discussions-with-apple?srnd=technology-vp
Apple paused discussions with Hyundai and Kia weeks ago about building an electric vehicle, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg late last week.
Apple has discussed similar plans with other auto manufacturers.
Shares of Hyundai fell as much as 8.4% in Seoul, while Kia slumped 15.3%.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-08/hyundai-kia-say-they-aren-t-in-ev-discussions-with-apple?srnd=technology-vp
Bloomberg
Hyundai, Kia Say They Aren’t in Discussions to Develop Apple Car
Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. said that they aren’t in talks with Apple Inc. to develop an autonomous vehicle, responding to intense speculation about the potential new product by the iPhone maker and backing up reports that discussions…
📈 The price of bitcoin reached as high as $48,000 on Tuesday, building on gains following news that electric-car maker Tesla has invested $1.5 billion in the cryptocurrency and may accept it as future payment for products.
For the bitcoin faithful, it was a monumental move by a big company to invest in the digital currency and allow payments. But on the other side, some analysts questioned Tesla’s move, given the volatility of the cryptocurrency, as well as share prices of the electric-car maker.
Bitcoin’s year-to-date gain is up more than 60% in 2021.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bitcoin-blows-past-45-000-to-fresh-highs-above-47-000-driven-by-teslas-investment-11612861528
For the bitcoin faithful, it was a monumental move by a big company to invest in the digital currency and allow payments. But on the other side, some analysts questioned Tesla’s move, given the volatility of the cryptocurrency, as well as share prices of the electric-car maker.
Bitcoin’s year-to-date gain is up more than 60% in 2021.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bitcoin-blows-past-45-000-to-fresh-highs-above-47-000-driven-by-teslas-investment-11612861528
MarketWatch
Bitcoin blows past $45,000 and reaches as high as $48,000, driven by Tesla’s investment
Bitcoin surged to fresh highs on Tuesday, knocking out several big levels in a short space of time thanks to news of a $1.5 billion investment by Tesla.
🚙 Electric-vehicle startup Rivian, which is backed by Amazon Inc and Ford Motor Co, is looking to go public as soon as September at a valuation of about $50 billion or more.
The company’s deliveries of pickups would start in June, while those of SUVs would begin in August. Launch editions of the vehicles are priced at $75,000 and $77,500, respectively, with a 300-mile (480 km) driving range for both.
In 2019, Amazon ordered 100,000 electric vans from Rivian. The first Amazon vehicles go into production at Rivian’s factory in Normal, Illinois in late 2021, with all deliveries to be completed by 2024.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-rivian-ipo-idUSKBN2AA07S
The company’s deliveries of pickups would start in June, while those of SUVs would begin in August. Launch editions of the vehicles are priced at $75,000 and $77,500, respectively, with a 300-mile (480 km) driving range for both.
In 2019, Amazon ordered 100,000 electric vans from Rivian. The first Amazon vehicles go into production at Rivian’s factory in Normal, Illinois in late 2021, with all deliveries to be completed by 2024.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-rivian-ipo-idUSKBN2AA07S
U.S.
Tesla rival Rivian aims for IPO this year: Bloomberg News
Electric-vehicle startup Rivian, which is backed by Amazon.com Inc and Ford Motor Co, is looking to go public as soon as September at a valuation of about $50 billion or more, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday.
🎧 Facebook has a team working on a new project that aims to replicate the core functionality of the buzzy new social media app Clubhouse.
The Facebook project is intended to create audio-based chat rooms for users, but it's still in the early stages.
Clubhouse quickly leapt from obscurity to notoriety in recent weeks, as big names like Elon Musk and even Mark Zuckerberg himself joined the service and participated in live chats.
Clubhouse's key functionality is voice-based communication: Users join group voice-chat rooms. Though Twitter has a similar function named Spaces, it hasn't caught on like Clubhouse has.
https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-reportedly-working-on-clubhouse-competitor-2021-2
The Facebook project is intended to create audio-based chat rooms for users, but it's still in the early stages.
Clubhouse quickly leapt from obscurity to notoriety in recent weeks, as big names like Elon Musk and even Mark Zuckerberg himself joined the service and participated in live chats.
Clubhouse's key functionality is voice-based communication: Users join group voice-chat rooms. Though Twitter has a similar function named Spaces, it hasn't caught on like Clubhouse has.
https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-reportedly-working-on-clubhouse-competitor-2021-2
Business Insider
Facebook is reportedly working on a competitor to the buzzy new social media app Clubhouse
Facebook has begun work on a product that would rival the buzzy new social media app Clubhouse, the New York Times reported.
💛 Shares of Bumble, which operates a dating app under the same name, closed up 63.5% in their initial public offering Thursday on the Nasdaq.
The company closed trading with a market cap of about $7.7 billion.
On Bumble, founded in 2014 by CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd, women have to initiate the first conversation for heterosexual matches. At 31, Wolfe Herd is the youngest female founder to take a U.S. company public.
The company said it had 12.3 million monthly active users as of Sept.
The company’s main competitor is Match Group, which owns Hinge, Tinder and several other dating competitors, and has a market cap of $45.5 billion.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/11/bumble-ipo-bmbl-starts-trading-on-nasdaq.html
The company closed trading with a market cap of about $7.7 billion.
On Bumble, founded in 2014 by CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd, women have to initiate the first conversation for heterosexual matches. At 31, Wolfe Herd is the youngest female founder to take a U.S. company public.
The company said it had 12.3 million monthly active users as of Sept.
The company’s main competitor is Match Group, which owns Hinge, Tinder and several other dating competitors, and has a market cap of $45.5 billion.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/11/bumble-ipo-bmbl-starts-trading-on-nasdaq.html
CNBC
Bumble stock closes up 63% after soaring in market debut
Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd is the youngest female founder to take a U.S. company public.
⌚️ Facebook is pushing further into the hardware space by building a smartwatch that it plans to start selling to consumers sometime in 2022.
The company's foray into smartwatches will force it to take on companies like Apple, which leads the pack with around 55% of global smartwatch sales, Samsung, and Google, which acquired Fitbit.
Facebook has pushed further into hardware in recent years with its Oculus VR headsets and Portal video-streaming devices, hoping it can become less dependent on other dominant hardware makers, though it hasn't made much progress yet.
Still, Facebook hopes its smartwatch will make it less dependent on Apple and Google, whose operating systems power most of the world's mobile devices.
https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-building-smartwatch-start-selling-2022-apple-health-data-privacy-2021-2
The company's foray into smartwatches will force it to take on companies like Apple, which leads the pack with around 55% of global smartwatch sales, Samsung, and Google, which acquired Fitbit.
Facebook has pushed further into hardware in recent years with its Oculus VR headsets and Portal video-streaming devices, hoping it can become less dependent on other dominant hardware makers, though it hasn't made much progress yet.
Still, Facebook hopes its smartwatch will make it less dependent on Apple and Google, whose operating systems power most of the world's mobile devices.
https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-building-smartwatch-start-selling-2022-apple-health-data-privacy-2021-2
Business Insider
Facebook is reportedly building a smartwatch and wants to sell it to you starting next year in exchange for your health data
Facebook's push into hardware could make it less dependent on Apple and Google, but may also raise privacy concerns.
🚫 Facebook is being heavily criticized across Australia following its sudden decision to block news content there, amid a dispute over whether the social media company should be required to pay for stories.
Australians woke up Thursday to find they were unable to view or share news items on their Facebook feeds, while the pages of local and international news organizations were blank.
Australia and Facebook have been at loggerheads since the government introduced legislation last year that would force tech giants to pay local news outlets for featuring and linking to their stories.
The legislation cleared the lower house of Parliament Wednesday with cross-party support.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/outrage-facebook-blocks-access-news-content-australia-rcna297
Australians woke up Thursday to find they were unable to view or share news items on their Facebook feeds, while the pages of local and international news organizations were blank.
Australia and Facebook have been at loggerheads since the government introduced legislation last year that would force tech giants to pay local news outlets for featuring and linking to their stories.
The legislation cleared the lower house of Parliament Wednesday with cross-party support.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/outrage-facebook-blocks-access-news-content-australia-rcna297
NBC News
'Reckless, arrogant and dangerous': Outrage as Facebook blocks access to news content in Australia
SYDNEY – Facebook is being heavily criticized across Australia following its sudden decision to block news content there.
📈 Bitcoin’s overall market value rose to over $1 trillion on Friday, as a combination of institutional buying and speculative hype has repeatedly vaulted the digital asset to new highs this year.
Each Bitcoin was worth $55,400 around 2 p.m. ET. It’s up 86% on the year.
https://www.barrons.com/articles/bitcoin-market-value-1-trillion-alt-coins-51613766413
Each Bitcoin was worth $55,400 around 2 p.m. ET. It’s up 86% on the year.
https://www.barrons.com/articles/bitcoin-market-value-1-trillion-alt-coins-51613766413
Barrons
Bitcoin's Market Value Bursts Past $1 Trillion
Bitcoin’s overall market value rose to over $1 trillion on Friday, as a combination of institutional buying and speculative hype has repeatedly vaulted the digital asset to new highs this year.
💸 Tesla's $1.5 billion bitcoin investment didn't just make headlines, it has also made the company more profit than its car sales last year.
On Friday, the cryptocurrency smashed through the $55,000 level, bringing its market cap above $1 trillion.
This means if Tesla owns the same amount of Bitcoin as it did on January 31, it made a paper profit of about $930 million since January.
That's almost 30% more than its $721 million revenue from electric vehicles, per the report.
https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/tesla-bitcoin-gains-bigger-than-car-sale-revenue-report-2021-2-1030103815
On Friday, the cryptocurrency smashed through the $55,000 level, bringing its market cap above $1 trillion.
This means if Tesla owns the same amount of Bitcoin as it did on January 31, it made a paper profit of about $930 million since January.
That's almost 30% more than its $721 million revenue from electric vehicles, per the report.
https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/tesla-bitcoin-gains-bigger-than-car-sale-revenue-report-2021-2-1030103815
Business Insider
Tesla's bitcoin investment reportedly made more profit this year than car sales in the whole of 2020
EV-company Tesla's infamous $1.5 billion bitcoin purchase will have made more returns than the company's car sales revenue in 2020, The Times of London reported.
🚙 Lucid Motors is going to become a publicly-traded company on the New York Stock Exchange in a deal that will leave the electric vehicle startup with $4.4 billion in cash.
The California startup, which is majority-owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, plans to start shipping its first luxury electric vehicle — the 500-mile range Air sedan — later this year. An electric SUV is slated to follow in 2023.
The deal values Lucid Motors at $24 billion. It’s expected to close in the second quarter of this year, and Lucid Motors’ shares will trade on the NYSE under the ticker “LCID.”
Lucid Motors was founded way back in 2007 as Atieva. It was initially focused on battery technology, but ultimately pivoted into becoming an electric vehicle startup a few years ago. It has since grown to more than 2,000 employees and begun construction on a $700 million factory in Arizona where the Air will be built.
https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/22/22268085/lucid-motors-spac-merger-public-nyse-cciv-deal-air-sedan
The California startup, which is majority-owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, plans to start shipping its first luxury electric vehicle — the 500-mile range Air sedan — later this year. An electric SUV is slated to follow in 2023.
The deal values Lucid Motors at $24 billion. It’s expected to close in the second quarter of this year, and Lucid Motors’ shares will trade on the NYSE under the ticker “LCID.”
Lucid Motors was founded way back in 2007 as Atieva. It was initially focused on battery technology, but ultimately pivoted into becoming an electric vehicle startup a few years ago. It has since grown to more than 2,000 employees and begun construction on a $700 million factory in Arizona where the Air will be built.
https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/22/22268085/lucid-motors-spac-merger-public-nyse-cciv-deal-air-sedan
The Verge
Lucid Motors is going public in a major SPAC merger
The startup will be valued at $24 billion
🤝 Facebook has reached an agreement with the Australian government and will restore news pages in the country days after restricting them.
The decision follows negotiations between the tech giant and the Australian government, which is set to pass a new media law that will require digital platforms to pay for news.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government introduced last-minute changes to the proposed news media bargaining code that is in parliament and is expected to be voted into law soon.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/23/facebook-to-restore-news-pages-for-australian-users-in-coming-days.html
The decision follows negotiations between the tech giant and the Australian government, which is set to pass a new media law that will require digital platforms to pay for news.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government introduced last-minute changes to the proposed news media bargaining code that is in parliament and is expected to be voted into law soon.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/23/facebook-to-restore-news-pages-for-australian-users-in-coming-days.html
CNBC
Facebook cuts deal with Australia, will restore news pages in the coming days
The decision follows negotiations between Facebook and Australia which is set to pass a new media law that will require digital platforms to pay for news.
💵 At a virtual event for investors Thursday, Twitter announced that it’s planning to debut a pay-for-posts feature, called Super Follows, in which users will be able to pay the people they follow for their best tweets.
With Super Follows, Twitter will allow users to make money from content that they make exclusive to particular followers.
Basically, the premise seems to be that this pay-for-post feature will help build more specific communities around specific topics.
Thursday’s announcement is a sign that Twitter wants to be more than an incredibly public online discussion space and that the company is leaning into the smaller “micro-communities” that organically form on its platform.
https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/2/25/22301741/twitter-super-follows-subscription-communities-fleets
With Super Follows, Twitter will allow users to make money from content that they make exclusive to particular followers.
Basically, the premise seems to be that this pay-for-post feature will help build more specific communities around specific topics.
Thursday’s announcement is a sign that Twitter wants to be more than an incredibly public online discussion space and that the company is leaning into the smaller “micro-communities” that organically form on its platform.
https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/2/25/22301741/twitter-super-follows-subscription-communities-fleets
Vox
Coming soon to Twitter: Tweets you have to pay for
Twitter, a notoriously public platform, is building a walled garden.
✍️ Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase on Thursday filed to become a public company and revealed that its revenue more than doubled last year.
According to the filing, Coinbase had net revenue of $1.14 billion in 2020, up from $483 million the previous year.
The company said it has 43 million verified users as of the end of 2020, with 2.8 million making monthly transactions. Trading in bitcoin and ethereum made up 56% of users’ trading volume, Coinbase said.
The company will use a direct listing to offer its shares instead of a traditional initial public offering. A direct listing is an alternative to an IPO, and it involves investors and employees converting their ownership stakes into stock that’s listed on an exchange.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/25/coinbase-files-for-direct-listing-after-revenue-more-than-doubles-in-2020.html
According to the filing, Coinbase had net revenue of $1.14 billion in 2020, up from $483 million the previous year.
The company said it has 43 million verified users as of the end of 2020, with 2.8 million making monthly transactions. Trading in bitcoin and ethereum made up 56% of users’ trading volume, Coinbase said.
The company will use a direct listing to offer its shares instead of a traditional initial public offering. A direct listing is an alternative to an IPO, and it involves investors and employees converting their ownership stakes into stock that’s listed on an exchange.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/25/coinbase-files-for-direct-listing-after-revenue-more-than-doubles-in-2020.html
CNBC
Coinbase files for direct listing after revenue more than doubles in 2020
Coinbase's filing showed that it made more than $1.1 billion in net revenue last year.
🇦🇺 Australia’s parliament passed a law on Thursday to make Google and Facebook pay media companies for content on their platforms in reforms that countries such as Britain and Canada are looking to replicate.
After robust negotiations in which Facebook blocked all news content in the 13th-largest economy, the vote makes Australia the first nation where a government arbitrator can set the price tech giants pay domestic media if private talks fail.
Facebook’s news ban, which also blacked out many nonprofit and government pages, would be lifted the following day, eight days after the measure took effect.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-media-idUSKBN2AO2ZL
After robust negotiations in which Facebook blocked all news content in the 13th-largest economy, the vote makes Australia the first nation where a government arbitrator can set the price tech giants pay domestic media if private talks fail.
Facebook’s news ban, which also blacked out many nonprofit and government pages, would be lifted the following day, eight days after the measure took effect.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-media-idUSKBN2AO2ZL
U.S.
Australian parliament passes media reforms after last-ditch changes
Australia's parliament passed a law on Thursday to make Alphabet Inc's Google and Facebook Inc pay media companies for content on their platforms in reforms that countries such as Britain and Canada are looking to replicate.