Roundup of news and ideas from the world of startups – Week ending 8th Dec 2019.
News you can use
Is Intel Considering Another AI Acquisition? Rumors abound that Habana Labs may be in discussions with the computing giant — which already owns Nervana. Rumors are rife that Intel is in talks to acquire Israeli AI accelerator startup Habana Labs. Intel is reportedly considering a purchase price of ranging anywhere from $1 billion to $2 billion, according to the Israeli publication Calcalist, who broke the story earlier this week.
Does Your Startup Offer Remote Work? It Should. Workplace flexibility is on the rise, and smart employers are building a plan for growth. Recently our company had a mandatory work from home (WFH) week due to an office upgrade. What I found so interesting was the stark difference of opinions concerning working away from the office, or what is commonly referred to as remote work. I realized that people either loved it or hated it. Those that hated it had no experience with working remotely before and felt lost being unconnected and out of their routine. The majority of employees, especially the more senior, loved the time they saved by eliminating their dreaded commutes, and the comforts of working in their custom environment.
Startup Merger and Acquisitions
Binance Acquires Beijing-Based Blockchain Data Startup DappReview – The acquisition of Beijing-based DappReview will help the world’s leading exchange by volume to further develop its existing dapps and create new blockchain use cases, said Viktor Radchenko, founder at Binance’s Trust Wallet. “In the near future, Trust Wallet will integrate DappReview APIs to provide easy access to explore new dapps and crypto games, as well as more insight into DeFi [decentralized finance] services, analytics and usage,” Radchenko said in an interview.
Home services giant Frontdoor acquires Portland augmented reality startup Streem – Publicly-traded home services giant Frontdoor has acquired Streem, a Portland, Ore.-based startup that develops augmented reality technology for home improvement technicians.Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Frontdoor bought Streem with a combination of cash and equity, including incentive-based equity. Streem’s CEO and co-founder, Ryan Fink, and the rest of the team, will remain in Portland.
Startups failures
Wisconsin Music Marketplace Startup, Murfie Shuts Down – Murfie, a Madison, Wisconsin based startup whose website allowed users to buy, sell and trade music, has shut down. The company announced this on its website. Members and subscribers are wondering what the shutdown means for them. Murfie’s policy states, “Every CD and vinyl record you store at Murfie HQ is your property. We take that very seriously. In the event Murfie goes out of business, you will get back every CD and vinyl record you own in your current collection.”
Carlyle’s Acosta Files Bankruptcy as Marketing Budgets Wane – Acosta Inc., the marketing firm owned by Carlyle Group LP, has gone bankrupt after big consumer-product firms decided to do more of the work themselves to keep up with changing consumer tastes. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Wilmington, Delaware, with support from creditors on a plan that would hand them ownership of a reorganized company and slash $3 billion of long-term debt. Creditors including Elliott Management Corp., Oaktree Capital Management, Davidson Kempner Capital Management and Nexus Capital Management agreed to the deal, interim Chief Financial Officer Matthew Laurie said in a court declaration. Company previously disclosed plan to seek Chapter 11 status Big clients are handling more of their marketing themselves
Den Automation – Another proprietary cloud based company goes into liquidation – The once-promising UK smart home startup that raised nearly £4.5m via equity crowdfunding and boasted former Amstrad chief Bob Watkins as CEO, has agreed to go into liquidation, The Register reported.