February 7, 2025

These documents are influencing the DOGE-sphere’s agenda

Reports from the US Government Accountability Office on improper federal payments in recent years are circulating on X and elsewhere online, and they seem to be a big influence on Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency and its supporters as the group pursues cost-cutting measures across the federal government.  The payment reports have been…

Technology

Lyft takes a page from Uber’s playbook: Ads

August 10, 2023
Ride-hailing giant Lyft will start displaying ads in-app, as well as via in-car tablets, rooftops and bikeshare stations. “Lyft has a captive audience throughout their entire ride journey – waiting for their car, matching with their driver, and in ride – and brands can now reach riders in relevant and tailored ways across our suite […]

Data visualization startup Virtualitics lands $37M investment

August 10, 2023
Many companies grapple with data challenges. In a 2019 survey, Deloitte reports that 67% of executives aren’t comfortable accessing or using the data at their organizations. In a separate poll from NewVantage Partners, meanwhile, less than a third of firms identify themselves as being data-driven — despite significant investments in AI and business analytics tools. […]

Tracer nabs $18.1 to aggregate and normalize business data

August 10, 2023
Tracer, a platform that attempts to consolidate an organization’s data sources and enrich them with business insights, today announced that it raised $18.1 million in a Series A funding round co-led by NewRoad Capital Partners, Progress Ventures, and BDMI with participation from S4S Ventures and Arbour Way Investors. CEO Jeff Nicholson said that the new […]

YouTube is disabling links on Shorts to cut down on spam

August 10, 2023
YouTube Shorts is making a change to address the growing issues around spam on the short-form video platform. The company says that starting on August 31st, links that appear in the Shorts comments section, Shorts descriptions, and the vertical live feed will no longer be clickable. This new policy is meant to be a preventative […]

Ultrahuman Ring Air review

August 10, 2023
Indian fitness and nutrition tracking startup, Ultrahuman, has fast-followed its debut smart ring last year with a second generation of the device — which officially launched in June. The new smart ring whittles down what was a slightly chunky form factor, for its original sleep & fitness-tracker, into a more svelte matte black* band it’s […]

CEO claims X, formerly Twitter, is close to ‘break even’

August 10, 2023
X CEO Linda Yaccarino claims that the company formerly known as Twitter is almost breaking even. “I’ve been at the company eight weeks,” Yaccarino said in her first broadcast interview since taking on her new role. “The operational run rate right now… we’re pretty close to break even.” This is a surprising declaration, given the […]

Visa’s new head of fintech talks partnerships, venture and creators as an addressable market

August 10, 2023
The relationship between fintechs and incumbents has long been fraught with tension. But Marie-Elise Droga believes it doesn’t have to be this way. Droga joined payments giant Visa as SVP, head of global and NA fintech partnerships in December 2022 to lead the development, commercialization and implementation of all Visa products, new payment flow solutions […]