John Sculley, Former Apple CEO and Co-Founder of Zeta Global, joins Cheddar to discuss a new funding round done by Zeta Global. The company is now estimated to be worth $1.3 billion, after raising $140 billion in August.
Sculley talks about what Zeta Global is looking for when it comes to acquisitions. Since 2007, the firm has bought almost a dozen companies, and now potential targets are coming to the company directly. Sculley says Zeta's growth rate is almost 40% each year, and it's very profitable. He believes smaller companies want to be advised by the cloud marketing company.
Zeta Global serves about 70% of the Fortune 500 companies.
The company's goal is to get bigger at a fast pace and continue growing. Sculley talks about the marketing duopoly of Google and Facebook, and why the two tech companies have had such success in the marketing world.
With the rollout of 5G technology, mobile phone users are experiencing faster device performance. But as the tech becomes more widely available, 5G won't just make our phones operate faster. Digital productivity across the board is expected to rise. Hugh Odom, founder and president of Vertical Consultants, joined Cheddar's "Closing Bell" to talk about his company's predictions for 5G, including more streamlined virtual doctor visits and helping supply chains become more efficient. Odom also talked about the airline industry's request to the Biden administration to delay the wider rollout of 5G, as they said it will interfere with flying safety.
Jurors in the trial against Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes have entered day six of deliberations. Holmes is accused of lying to investors about the functionality of a newly developed blood-testing technology. Andrew George, partner at Baker Botts, joined Cheddar to break down key points in the case and what the jury might be considering during their deliberations. He also noted that the rest of Silicon Valley, including Holmes' business partner, Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, who is facing identical charges, is closely watching the outcome of deliberations — as it could set the tone for future regulations and Balwani's own trial.
While slumps within the crypto market have typically correlated with major developments, such as China's crypto crackdown or Tesla reversing course on accepting bitcoin, the current slide is coming at a time when the stock market is at or near record levels. Reporter Alex Vuocolo talks about the role of the crypto derivatives market in bitcoin's latest price drop, as well as the future of sustainability in the space.
According to a recent report from T-Mobile, spam call traffic doubled in 2021. The company says so far they have been able to block just 21 billion spam calls for their customers this year. Despite telecom giants blocking these calls, a number of customers continue to receive these spam calls, especially during the holiday season. Founder and President of Vertical Consultants Hugh Odom, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
