Uber's China Rival Gets a Boost, and Spotify Takes a Step Toward Public Markets
Didi Chuxing secures a $4 billion investment from SoftBank and Mubadala, bringing its valuation to $56 billion. The latest funding round comes amid reports SoftBank is looking to invest in rival Uber at a significant discount to its last $68 billion valuation.
And Spotify will reportedly get approval to list its shares directly on the New York Stock Exchange, a step towards avoiding a traditional IPO. The company could be valued as high as $20 billion.
Plus, speaking of going public, Pinterest will reportedly delay its planned IPO until 2019, as the company expects to fall short of revenue forecasts for the year. The photo-sharing app will bring in sales of $490 million this year, according to The Information. That compares to early estimates above $500 million.
Snapchat has announced new measures and policies like features including restrictions on friend suggestions and a new system to remove age-inappropriate content.
YouTube comedian and writer Lilly Singh is partnering with Aavrani to work on a new hair care collection. Singh spoke with Hena Doba and provided Cheddar News with a glimpse of her new project. "I'm going to say that choices are what makes the beauty industry so amazing," Singh said.
Google will soon require that political ads using artificial intelligence be accompanied by a prominent disclosure if imagery or sounds have been synthetically altered.
Online gig work is growing globally, particularly in the developing world, creating an important source of employment for women and young people in poorer countries where jobs are scarce, according to a World Bank report released Thursday.