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Shopify finds conflict minerals in its third-party manufactured components (BETAKIT)
Conflict minerals were identified in Shopify’s chip and swipe reader, its retail kit, and its tap and chip reader, all of which are manufactured by third parties. Conflict minerals also showed up in Shopify’s collaborative mobile robot, Chuck, per SEC filing.
Wolt’s acquisition by DoorDash is complete — but have investors lost out? (SIFTED)
“The exit valuation at the time of this announcement represents an approximate 200x uplift compared to EQT Ventures’ initial investment in 2016, which we are pretty excited about,” EQT Ventures partner Lars Jörnow wrote on Medium at the time of the deal.
Lightspeed turns NuOrder acquisition into new B2B supplier network (BETAKIT)
In an interview with BetaKit, Lightspeed CEO JP Chauvet called Lightspeed B2B “game-changing for everybody in [Lightspeed’s] ecosystem,” adding that this launch represents “the last step” in the company’s plans to turn its bevy of acquisitions in recent years into new or revamped products.
How Grab, Asia’s Uber, stumbled before and after its $40 billion SPAC, with pandemic layoffs and a teary all-hands with its CEO (INSIDER)
According to an April 2021 SEC filing made by Altimeter Growth, the blank-check company that would later merge with Grab, the value of transactions for the startup’s ride-hailing services in 2020 fell 43% from the previous year. “Overnight, I saw ride numbers going off the cliff,” said the first former employee.
Acquisitions drive revenues at Emerge Commerce and Plurilock Security (BETAKIT)
Emerge, which manages a network of e-commerce sites, lived up to its name and emerged from the first quarter of 2022 well-positioned for expansion. The company announced record revenues of $15.8 million up from $7.1 million in the same period last year. The company also reported positive adjusted EBITDA of $1.1 million compared to $270,000 for the same quarter in 2021.
Amazon CEO of Worldwide Consumer Dave Clark resigns (CNBC)
“As much as I have loved the ride, it is time for me to say goodbye to start a new journey,” Clark said in an email to employees, which he shared on Twitter. “For some time, I have discussed my intent to transition out of Amazon and with my family and others close to me, but I wanted to ensure the teams were set up for success. I feel confident that time is now.”
Tim Hortons violated law in tracking people with app even when it was not in use, privacy watchdogs say (THE GLOBE AND MAIL)
The investigation, launched in 2020, found that the app’s permissions “misled many users” by suggesting that it would only gather their information while they were using it. Tim Hortons has said it scaled back on tracking users’ locations in 2020, but privacy officials found that the company’s contract with its third-party location-services supplier contained language that could have allowed the supplier to sell de-identified location data. Such de-identified data carries a risk that it can be reidentified and linked to individuals now.”
Why Canalyst’s Damir Hot thinks every entrepreneur should have a co-founder (BETAKIT)
“Every time I left the company, I joined the next one in an earlier and a more senior role, and less cash comp and more stock,” said Hot. “And then eventually there was nowhere to go but start from ground zero, and so I found an amazing co-founder and then off we went.”
Ultra-fast delivery startup Ninja lays off staff amid acquisition talk (THE LOGIC)
Ninja Delivery, which promised deliveries in less than 10 minutes in Toronto and Waterloo, laid off staff at its so-called dark stores in early May. The company told its workers it could be acquired, but has not yet announced a deal.
WeCook raises $40 million to fuel expansion of “ready-to-eat” meal service (BETAKIT)
The deal represents Claridge Food Group’s first investment. As part of this $40 million total, Investissement Québec has provided $13 million, while Desjardins Capital, which previously participated in two prior WeCook funding rounds in 2020 and 2021, has invested $3 million in WeCook and joined the Claridge Food Group investment vehicle.
Walmart to Add Four E-Commerce Warehouses to Speed Deliveries (BLOOMBERG)
In combination with traditional fulfillment centers, the new facilities will enable Walmart to reach 95% of the US population with next- or two-day shipping, according to a company statement Friday. That’s up from about 75% now, a company spokeswoman said.
SoftBank-backed ghost kitchen startup Reef Technology quietly ousts key exec responsible for signing deals with top chains like Wendy’s (INSIDER)
Michael Beacham, who regularly represented Reef at industry conferences, has been quietly replaced with Kenneth Rourke, who is now president of kitchens and retail at Reef. Rourke’s previous title was executive vice president and head of enterprise brands. Before joining Reef, he was president at the experiential restaurant group Barton G.
Led by former Shopify executive, on-demand delivery service Trexity raises $5 million for Canadian expansion (BETAKIT)
The capital will also enable Trexity to increase engagement in its current markets of Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, and Winnipeg, and to hire 10 to 15 employees over the next six months for its marketing, sales, and engineering teams.
Zillow’s $6 billion home flipping business was a disaster. Now, a cooling housing market could foil its comeback plan (FORTUNE)
Is there a better symbol of America’s real estate obsession than Zillow? As the U.S. home market rocketed into the stratosphere in the wake of the pandemic, buyers, sellers—and plenty of lookie-loos—have flocked to its site and app; Zillow is now averaging more than 200 million users a month, roughly double the number of people checking the latest scores on ESPN.com.
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