Tag: M&A
Why did Apple buy NextVR?
After plenty of talk about AR as the next computing platform, Apple may have more interest in virtual reality than they’ve previously forecasted. Following an April report from 9to5mac, today Apple confirmed to Bloomberg the acquisition of VR broadcasting startup NextVR. A note on NextVR’s website now highlights that the…
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Kustomer acquires Reply.ai to enhance chatbots on its CRM platform
Last December, when CRM startup Kustomer was announcing its latest round of funding — a $60 million round led by Coatue — its co-founder and CEO Brad Birnbaum said it would use some of the money to build more RPA-style automations into its platform to expand KustomerIQ, its AI-based product that…
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A Grubhub-Uber tie-up would remake the food delivery landscape
Earlier today news broke that Uber is pursuing an acquisition of Grubhub. The global ride-hailing giant is worth a multiple of the American food delivery service, making the tie-up financially feasible, provided that a palatable price can be found for both parties. The Wall Street Journal broke the news; you…
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Zoom consultant Alex Stamos weighs in on Keybase acquisition
When Zoom started having security issues in March, they turned to former Facebook and Yahoo! Security executive Alex Stamos, who signed on as a consultant to work directly with CEO Eric Yuan. The goal was to build a more cohesive security strategy for the fast-growing company. One of the recommendations…
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Longtime VC Todd Chaffee of IVP says late-stage scene is now ‘M&A world’
Todd Chaffee has long been one of the most senior members of the late-stage venture firm Institutional Venture Partners. Chaffee joined IVP in 2000 after logging six years at Visa, and went on to lead rounds in numerous prominent later-stage companies, many (but not all) of which have gone public,…
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Zoom acquires Keybase to get end-to-end encryption expertise
Zoom announced this morning that it has acquired Keybase, a startup with encryption expertise. It did not reveal the purchase price. Keybase, which has been building encryption products for several years including secure file sharing and collaboration tools, should give Zoom some security credibility as it goes through pandemic demand…
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