Twitter lays off 30% of its talent acquisition team

Welcome back to Equity, the podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. I’m back, I’m drinking an iced Americano maybe because I miss Alex, maybe because I just feel different today, and I’m ready to start our week together.

In a series of tweets, the Twitter Developer account said the firm will be ending support for both legacy v1.1 and the new v2 of its Twitter APIs. The company hasn’t provided any information about what it plans to charge for API usage. The move follows Twitter abruptly changed...

“For the last several months we’ve been testing a new way to Tweet together using CoTweets. We’re sad to say that the current experiment is coming to an end,” the company said on the support page for CoTweets. Twitter started testing CoTweets last July, saying it wanted...

Luckily for Terrell, his new social media app Spill has already raised a $2.75 million pre-seed round, the company announced today. Since revealing the project in mid-December, Spill has reached 60,000 handle reservations. Spill currently employs fewer than 10 people and has three strategic advisors, including former Twitter design chief...

The streaming giant has shared terms detailing how it plans to control the experience within a household. It has updated its FAQ pages for countries where it is already testing extra membership fees for account sharing — Chile, Costa Rica and Peru. These new terms ask people to define...

In its Q4 earnings call on Wednesday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg described the company’s near future priorities and plans, painting a picture of a tech giant that’s driving toward leaning down and speeding up. The company beat revenue expectations in the final quarter of 2022, bringing in $32.2...

In a statement to TechCrunch, Pinterest confirmed the job axing but didn’t share how many people were laid off and which departments were impacted. The company also didn’t provide any information about what kind of severance terms it is offering to departed employees. “We’re making organizational changes to...

About one-third of the purchase price is payable over a two-year period, subject to certain undisclosed conditions. And, if one undisclosed milestone in particular is met within the next 12 months, Marqeta said it will pay an additional $52 million for the startup, bringing the total acquisition price to $275 million.

Why, hello there, wonderful humans, wherever you are! Come to think of it, we bet there’s probably a bunch of AIs reading this newsletter too. So, hello, you kindhearted and beautiful AIs as well. We’re kicking off Black History Month in style by reading Oprah’s 31 Black History facts...

The investment in raw materials for batteries is the biggest to date, according to GM. And it’s no wonder. General Motors has a litany of all-electric sedans, SUVs, crossovers and trucks that are coming to market in the next two years, including the GMC Sierra EV, Cadillac Lyriq, Chevrolet Silverado EV, Chevrolet Blazer EV and Chevrolet Equinox. GM said in November it expects to generate more than $50 billion in revenue from sales of its 30 EV models in 2025, with profit margins in the low to mid-single digits.

Tesla had invested $1.5 billion in bitcoin during the first quarter of 2021, stating that it believed in the longevity of the cryptocurrency. At the time, the company said bitcoin was a great place to store cash and still access it immediately, all the while providing a better return on investment than more traditional central banks. In fact, after its initial purchase, Tesla promptly trimmed its position by 10%, making the automaker a quick $101 million.

Yes, the top leadership team still has to be good, but if the company is growing rapidly, getting new customers and delivering a good product, it’s kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy: If the team is able to grow the company, at least they aren’t completely helpless. But in the early stages of a company, things are a little different, and that’s where a good story around a company’s team is crucial.

The new round values the company at $1.2 billion post-money, marking a stunning rise for the two-and-a-half-year-old company, which closed a $25 million Series A in October 2021 and a $65 million Series A1 in March 2022. Founded by Mujeeb Ijaz — a veteran of Ford, A123 Systems and Apple’s...

Consider the following: NEA revealed that it closed its two newest funds adding up to $6.2 billion; Cowboy Ventures announced two funds totaling $260 million; and FJ Labs also disclosed two funds totaling $260 million. Then there’s Sapphire Sport (it closed a second fund of $181 million), Volition Capital (it announced $675 million for its fifth fund), Kearny Jackson ($14 million) and Dimension ($350 million). Even non-U.S. outfits got into the act, including Highland Europe, which announced a new €1 billion fund, and a Japanese chemical giant that revealed a $100 million fund.

The company said Monday that Igor Torgov, former executive VP of digital at the company, has been hired as its CEO. Prior to Arrival, Torgov held a number of CEO, COO and other leadership positions at Atol, Bitfury, Yota, Columbus IT and Microsoft. The cuts announced Monday would reduce its...

Gtm Mänôz, a security researcher from Nepal, realized that Meta did not set up a limit of attempts when a user entered the two-factor code used to log into their accounts on the new Meta Accounts Center, which helps users link all their Meta accounts, such as Facebook and Instagram.

Headquartered in Fremont, California, with offices in Singapore, India and Japan, Profit.co announced today it has raised $11 million led by Elevation Capital. The company says it has grown nine times in annual recurring revenue over the past two years. Profit.co’s SaaS platform is used by more than 1,100 customers in 25 countries, including Deckers Brand, Sandvik, Deriv, Singapore’s Open Government and Phoenix Rescue Mission.

As a growth marketer who has honed this craft for the past decade, I’ve been exposed to countless courses, and I can confidently attest that doing the work is the best way to learn the skills to excel in this profession. I am not saying you need to immediately...

Altman similarly believes that in a world where jobs may create less economic value, a land tax could make up for income tax and guarantee that all individuals’ assets rise as land — a fixed asset — grows in value. He’s putting his money where his mouth is, too, leading a seed round in a six-month-old startup that represents a step in that same direction.

Nissan has finally showed a physical version of one of those concepts — the Nissan Max-Out EV convertible — ahead of its Nissan Futures event that will begin February 4 in Yokohama, Japan. The event, which runs through March 4, is meant to showcase how Nissan is shaping the future of sustainable mobility and innovative design, according to the company.