Groupon's Founder Is Now Disrupting the Audio Industry
Groupon’s founder and former CEO is trying to disrupt a new industry: audio production.
Andrew Mason’s Descript edits audio like a word processor. The app, which launched last week, allows users to transcribe audio files and add or delete words straight from the transcription.
“Something like Descript, where you can just show people words and allow them to use their editorial brain in order to craft content experience instead of doing it through engineering tools, makes it possible for a lot more of us to do this,” Mason told Cheddar.
Mason said that, while some people think of music first when they think audio, his company is targeting “talk-driven media” in both video and audio. The company says that changes made to transcripts will reflect in audio files.
The company says it has 8 staffers on, and recently secured $5 million in funding from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/groupon-co-founder-starts-new-venture).
Nestlé has dismissed its CEO Laurent Freixe after an investigation into an undisclosed relationship with a direct subordinate. The company announced on Monday that the dismissal was effective immediately. An investigation found that Freixe violated Nestlé’s code of conduct. He had been CEO for a year. Philipp Navratil, a longtime Nestlé executive, will replace him. Chairman Paul Bulcke stated that the decision was necessary to uphold the company’s values and governance. Navratil began his career with Nestlé in 2001 and has held various roles, including CEO of Nestlé's Nespresso division since 2024.
Kraft Heinz is splitting into two companies a decade after they joined in a massive merger that created one of the biggest food companies on the planet. One of the companies will include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese. The other will include brands like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables. When the company formed in 2015 it wanted to capitalize on its massive scale, but shifting tastes complicated those plans, with households seeking to introduce healthier options at the table. Kraft Heinz's net revenue has fallen every year since 2020.
About 780,000 pressure washers sold at retailers like Home Depot are being recalled across the U.S. and Canada, due to a projectile hazard that has resulted in fractures and other injuries among some consumers.
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
