China’s Didi reportedly lost a staggering $1.6 billion in 2018

Posted on February 14, 2019 by Rita Liao

China’s largest car-hailing company is facing relentless pressure from all fronts. Beijing-based Didi Chuxing reportedly lost a staggering 10.9 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) in 2018, according to financial data that Chinese news site 36Kr obtained. For some context, Uber posted a net loss of $939 million on a pro forma basis and an EBITA loss at $527 million during Read more about China’s Didi reportedly lost a staggering $1.6 billion in 2018[…]

The ‘Stuff You Should Know’ podcast has been downloaded 1 billion times

Posted on January 18, 2019 by Anthony Ha

Stuff You Should Know, the explainer podcast hosted Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant (pictured on the left above), has now surpassed one billion total downloads. The podcast is published by How Stuff Works/Stuff Media, which was acquired by iHeartMedia last fall. The company says this is the first podcast to cross the billion-download threshold. (Publishers Read more about The ‘Stuff You Should Know’ podcast has been downloaded 1 billion times[…]

How Juul made vaping viral to become worth a dirty $38 billion

Posted on December 23, 2018 by Josh Constine

A Juul is not a cigarette. It’s much easier than that. Through devilishly slick product design I’ll discuss here, the startup has massively lowered the barrier to getting hooked on nicotine. Juul has dismantled every deterrent to taking a puff. The result is both a new $38 billion valuation thanks to a $12.8 billion investment Read more about How Juul made vaping viral to become worth a dirty $38 billion[…]

Juul Labs gets $12.8 billion investment from Marlboro maker Altria Group

Posted on December 20, 2018 by Jordan Crook

After a long year fighting underage use of its products, Juul Labs has today struck a deal with Altria Group, the owners of Philip Morris USA and makers of Marlboro cigarettes. The deal values Juul at $38 billion, according to Bloomberg, and injects the company with a fresh $12.8 billion in exchange for a 35 Read more about Juul Labs gets $12.8 billion investment from Marlboro maker Altria Group[…]

Looker snags $103 million investment on $1.6 billion valuation

Posted on December 6, 2018 by Ron Miller

Looker has been helping customers visualize and understand their data for seven years now and today it got a big reward, a $103 million Series E investment on a $1.6 billion valuation. The round was led by Premji Invest with new investment from Cross Creek Advisors and participation from the company’s existing investors. With today’s Read more about Looker snags $103 million investment on $1.6 billion valuation[…]

BlackBerry is buying Cylance for $1.4 billion to continue its push into cybersecurity

Posted on November 16, 2018 by Jon Russell

BlackBerry was best known for keyboard-totting smartphones, but their demise in recent years has seen the Canadia firm pivot towards enterprise services and in particular cybersecurity. That strategy takes a big step further forward today after BlackBerry announced the acquisition of AI-based cybersecurity company Cylance for a cool $1.4 billion. Business Insider reported that a Read more about BlackBerry is buying Cylance for $1.4 billion to continue its push into cybersecurity[…]