2018 is welcoming one of its newest tech unicorns: Snowflake Computing. After raising $263.5 million, the cloud company is fetching a $1.5 billion valuation. Bob Muglia, CEO of Snowflake Computing, a data storage company selling database software that operates in Amazon's cloud, was with us to share why he thinks the unicorn valuation is justified.
Muglia said the valuation is justified, but the company still needs to grow into it. The new funding will put Snowflakes growth in line with Palantir and Slack. Muglia explained how the investment will help the company go up against Amazon, Microsoft, Oracle, and Google.
With $473 million in total funding, Snowflake is planning an IPO. The CEO said the company could go public in 2-3 years. Current customers include Capital One, Adobe, Nielsen and Rent the Runway.
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.
