Here are today’s top trending stories from the world of technology. News that we feel every business and tech enthusiasts should keep a tab on.
1)
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is all set to become America’s most valuable startup
SpaceX is poised to become the most valuable startup in the U.S. According to reports, Elon Musk’s company has been valued over $125Bn in the ongoing share sale in the secondary market. However, it is not known which investors are participating in the ongoing secondary sale. But rumors are strong that Musk may also sell some stake in the company. If there is any truth to this report then SpaceX will overtake fintech startup Stripe in the valuation game, which is currently valued at nearly $115 Bn.
2)
Netflix is laying off employees in the U.S.
Netflix is laying of 150 employees and dozens of contractual workers in the U.S. This harsh decision is a direct fall out of the company’s ongoing struggle to increase its revenue and subscription numbers. There are remote chances that Netflix may lay off more employees in the coming months in order to improve its profitability. It is worth noting that the streaming giant has already taken many revolutionary steps for improving its revenue. This includes the unprecedented move of launching ad supported plans into its platform.
3)
RBI dents Sachin Bansal’s Banking dreams
In a major setback for Sachin Bansal, Reserve Bank of India has refused to issue a banking license to his fintech company Navi Technologies. RBI said in its statement that Navi technologies did not meet certain important criteria. However, reports claim that RBI was concerned about several legal litigations against Bansal. Following this decision, Navi Technologies may have to postpone its IPO. Bansal had founded the fintech startup six months after quitting Flipkart in 2014. His fintech startup, which owns an NBFC license, offers home and personal loans up to Rs 20 Lakhs.
4)
Elon Musk Mocks Twitter’s Boss over fake accounts claim
Elon Musk’s deal to buy Twitter is getting bizarre by every passing day. In the latest event, Musk has tweeted to falsify Twitter’s CEO Parag Agarwal’s claim about fake accounts constituting only 5%. The tech billionaire claimed in his latest tweet that fake accounts constitute nearly 20%, which is 4 times more than what Agarwal had claimed. The Tesla boss even indicated in his tweet that he even quit from the deal due to the fake account controversy. Meanwhile, Musk’s blunt response to Agarwal’s tweets has been described as downright ‘ugly’ by most analysts.
5)
Amid controversies, Sequoia postpones its $2.8Bn funding corpus
Venture capital giant Sequoia has been forced to delay its $2.8Bn funding corpus due to spate of controversies. In recent months Sequoia’s portfolio companies like BharatPe, Trell and Zilingo have been under spotlight for financial irregularities and corporate governance issues. In fact, the BharatPe fiasco, which led to the ouster of BharatPe CEO Ashneer Grover, almost became a national controversy. Sequoia was planning to raise $2.8Bn to invest mainly in Indian and South East Asian startups.