R|T: The Retail Times – TouchBistro secures big funding amid looming recession

TouchBistro terminal
Plus: AirBnB records record revenue.

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TouchBistro secures $150 million to move upmarket and pursue strategic M&A as it braces for more economic uncertainty (BETAKIT)

As people stopped eating out amid lockdowns and heightened concerns about the coronavirus, many restaurants were forced to either close temporarily or shut their doors for good. In turn, the tech companies that cater to them, like TouchBistro, Lightspeed, and Toast, had to contend with a drop in sales and adjust their plans.


Apple is now valued more than Alphabet, Amazon and Meta combined (INSIDER)

Apple is now worth more than fellow tech giants Alphabet, Amazon and Meta combined, after it ended trading Wednesday with a market value of $2.307 trillion.


Market watch: Lightspeed, Nuvei increase revenues but reports lead shares to fluctuate (BETAKIT)

Lightspeed and Nuvei’s revenue increases when played against the backdrop of losses appeared to underwhelm investors who, during the current tech downturn, are eager for good news of any kind but are swift to react when it doesn’t meet their expectations.


Amazon sell-off pushes market cap below $1 trillion for first time since April 2020 (CNBC)

Shares of the e-retailer plunged 5.9% on Tuesday, falling for a fifth straight day and closing at their lowest since April 2020. The sell-off has erased almost all of the stock’s pandemic surge.


How Canada can get a big slice of the trillion-dollar global semiconductor market (BETAKIT)

A mix of record-low venture investment for software companies and the economic opportunity of hardware has put renewed importance on building things (literally). And it’s an opportunity Canada can’t afford to miss.


Airbnb Books Record Revenue as Travel Demand Remains Strong (THE WALL STREET JOURNAL)

Airbnb Inc. posted its most profitable quarter to date, with record revenue bolstering the case that travel demand remains strong despite continuing challenges from rampant inflation.

The home-sharing company said its results were driven by higher bookings in cities, stronger cross-border travel and longer stays. Airbnb said booked third-quarter nights and experiences, or activities reserved through the platform, were its highest ever, with a 25% increase.


DoorDash stock surges after sales beat expectations (CNBC)

DoorDash said the total number of orders it delivered in the third quarter rose 27% to 439 million, which topped Wall Street’s expectations of 433 million orders, according to StreetAccount.

However, its net loss widened to $295 million, or a loss of 77 cents per share. It reported a net loss of $101 million, or a loss of 30 cents per share, in the year-ago period.


Shopify acquires Remix to bolster its headless commerce framework (BETAKIT)

Shopify president Harley Finkelstein revealed the deal on Twitter, saying that Shopify plans to bring Remix “under the hood” of Hydrogen, its framework tool for building storefronts.


Check out these Q3 Canadian tech venture funding reports:

Investor sentiment goes from FOMO to fussy as deal volume falls to three-year low.
2022 has still already surpassed the previous three years in Alberta venture funding.
Early-stage deals were nowhere to be found. So what comes next?
Amid uncertain climate, investors favour tending existing crops over sowing new seeds.
A flurry of headwinds pummeled Québec’s tech sector into its lowest investment quarter in three years.

Opendoor lays off about 550 employees, or 18% of its workforce (TECHCRUNCH)

The real estate technology company is one of many property technology (proptech) companies that have had to lay off workers in 2022. Online mortgage lender Better.com has had multiple rounds of layoffs and in June, Redfin and Compass shed a combined 900+ workers.


Wayfair Aims to Cut Costs by $500M After Drops in Customers and Orders (PYMNTS)

After a quarter in which its revenue, active customers and orders dropped, home goods platform Wayfair is working to reduce costs by a half-billion dollars while also aiming to grow. It is doing this by working to “control the controllables,” Wayfair CEO, Co-founder and Co-Chairman Niraj Shah said in a Thursday (Nov. 3) press release.


How startup CFOs can prepare for their rapidly changing role expectations (BETAKIT)

With global turbulence as a driver, the role of the CFO in a growing, tech-enabled business has now fundamentally changed. In a webinar hosted by Sage Intacct, Daniel Oh, VP of Medium Segment, Sage Canada, and Pamela Steer, President and CEO, CPA Canada, discussed the evolving role of the CFO and the challenges that come along with change.


Udaan prepares to lay off over 10% of employees, a week after $120 million financing (MONEY CONTROL)

Udaan has around 3,000 employees on the rolls while 10,000-12,000 people work for the company via outsourcing firms. “The off-payroll workers impacted include roles like those involved in loading and unloading packages and delivery workers as the number of warehouses are being reduced,” said a source.


RenoRun lays off 43 percent of staff to extend runway as inflation rises and consumer confidence falls (BETAKIT)

The latest cuts impact 43 percent of RenoRun’s 484-person team. These layoffs, which were first reported by The Globe and Mail and confirmed by BetaKit, impacted employees across the organization and RenoRun’s geographic footprint, as well as several company executives.


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Michael Edgar

Michael Edgar

Michael is a multimedia journalist working out of the U.K. and a staff writer for BetaKit.

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