Wattpad ditches ‘Paid Stories’ for a freemium model

October 3, 2023
After launching its “Paid Stories” program in 2019, the social storytelling platform Wattpad is now replacing it with a new freemium model called “Wattpad Originals” that gives authors the best of both worlds– monetization and growing their audience of non-paying readers. With the new model, authors can hide certain chapters behind a paywall while also […]

The Download: Big Tech’s big AI bet, and crypto’s day in court

October 3, 2023
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Why Big Tech’s bet on AI assistants is so risky Since the beginning of the generative AI boom, tech companies have been feverishly trying to come up with the killer app for the…

Science lab automation and robotics startup Automata raises $40M

October 3, 2023
Automata, a company that combines software and hardware to automate science labs around the globe, has raised $40 million in an equity-based round of funding, as the U.K.-based startup looks to double down on recent growth across Europe and the U.S. Founded out of London in 2015, Automata in its original guise targeted myriad industries […]

Ten Key Labs wants to simplify managing equity for startups

October 3, 2023
Amar Varma, a three-time entrepreneur and VC, experienced firsthand the challenge of dealing with administering equity stakes within a startup. It’s his belief that many existing solutions — e.g. spreadsheets and even software-as-a-service tools — require founders to handle an outsize amount of the management and accounting work manually, and often end up complicating rather […]