*By Conor White*
Anjali Sud, the CEO of Vimeo, seemed comfortable Wednesday with carrying the huge expectations placed on her by the video-sharing website's owner, the media conglomerate IAC.
"We've invested a lot in our product and technology, we've launched a lot of new features, we're seeing our growth accelerate," said Sud at the Collision Conference in New Orleans. "We plan to exceed $100 million in revenue this year, and so I say bring it on."
At 34, she is the youngest chief executive at any of IAC's companies. And her corporate bosses have declared that Vimeo is IAC's "big bet" for 2018. Despite all the hype surrounding Vimeo, Sud told Cheddar's Kristen Scholer the company won't be stretching beyond its core competency.
"We're not investing in original content. There's billions of dollars being invested in that content," said Sud. "We don't think that's a problem that isn't being solved elsewhere, and we're really focused on the other side of that coin, which is the creators who are creating that content."
Vimeo recently launched a Mac OS tool, making it easier for creators who use Final Cut Pro to publish their content.
For more information, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/vimeo-leaves-content-wars-behind).
Rene Ritchie, independent tech analyst and co-founder of the Nebula Podcast, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he breaks down what investors will be looking for from Mark Zuckerberg this week and how the tech giants stack up when it comes to augmented reality and virtual reality products going forward.
According to multiple reports, President Biden's upcoming executive order for the crypto marke would assign some government entities to study cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and NFT's with the goal of developing a workable regulatory framework. Douglas Borthwick, Chief Business Officer at INX, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he elaborates on what role the Biden administration would play under this order.
Nutritional supplement beverage company Athletic Greens has achieved unicorn status. The company announced a new $115 million funding round, bringing its valuation to $1.2 billion. The company's flagship product AG1 combines 75 different vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients into one daily serving. Athletic Greens says it is poised to reach the millions of consumers who are currently driving the health and wellness market's exponential growth. Athletic Greens founder and CEO Chris Ashenden joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Is Spotify a platform for content creators, or is it a media company? The streaming giant may have to find an answer sooner rather than later amid a controversy involving its most popular podcast host, Joe Rogan. Rogan has hosted guests who have made false claims about COVID-19 vaccines, and in turn, some musicians like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell have removed their discographies from Spotify in protest. Rogan says he welcomes content advisories, and will balance out his guests going forward, but is it enough? And is Spotify liable in any way? John Freeman, Vice President of CFRA Research, joins Closing Bell to discuss Rogan's response to the controversy, whether Spotify should be considered a media company with responsibility for its content, and more.
The gaming industry has seen multiple large scales deals this month alone, including Microsoft's megadeal for Activision Blizzard. And, seemingly in response, rival Sony, picked up Bungie for $3.6 billion, a studio once owned by both Microsoft and Activision. The sector is reportedly on track to spend $150 billion on mergers and acquisitions just this year alone, a record-breaking total, according to investment firm Drake Star Partners. Michael Metzger, a partner at the firm specializing in technology, media, and communications, joined Cheddar to discuss the flurry of deals in the gaming space and what might be behind the hot M&A activity.
Ari Redbord, head of legal and government affairs and TRM Labs, joins Cheddar News to discuss why Facebook is ditching its crypto project and what that means for the space.
A virtual gathering in the online space, Decentraland, of Elvis Presley impersonators is looking to grab the Guinness World Record for most Elvis impersonators in one place after the record-keeping org recently approved the use of avatars as stand-ins for people.
