Beijing has quietly pulled the proposed curbs on the video game industry from the official website, weeks after the draft guidelines wiped tens of billions of dollars off the market value of local titans.
The link to the draft rules was no longer accessible as of this morning, as first reported by Reuters.
The move follows Beijing also removing a key official – the head of the publication bureau of Communist Party’s Propaganda Department – over the handling of the release of the draft rules, which caught investors and gaming giants by surprise.
Local media reported in recent weeks — after the wipeout — that authorities may be open to walking back on some of the proposed rules.
Last month, China’s video game regulator proposed new measures to curb excessive time and money spent on computer and smartphone games.
In 2020, I wrote about Briq’s $10 million Series A and its mission to bring fintech to the construction industry.
Last week, I covered its $8 million Series B extension at a $150 million valuation, as well as its AI-related growth plans.
Last week, I covered its $40 million Series B financing and the fact that it grew revenue by 200% in 2023.
Other high-interest headlinesStripe, Flexport, TikTok, and other startups were investing in startups.
Stripe acquired Nigeria-based Paystack in 2020 — extending its reach in Africa — after participating in the payment startup’s Series A in 2018.” That level of investing has slowed dramatically, according to CB Insights data.
Reddit is preparing to launch its initial public offering (IPO) in March, according to a new report from Reuters.
Reddit is planning to make its public filing in late February and complete the IPO by the end of March.
The company is looking to sell around 10% of its shares in the IPO, and will decide on what IPO valuation to pursue closer to the time of the listing.
However, Reuters sources cautioned that Reddit’s IPO plans could potentially be pushed back, which has happened in the past.
Its IPO plans have also been delayed due to uncertainty around the IPO market over the last two years, Reuters notes.
In this edition, I’m going to look at some hits and misses in the real estate fintech space, Carta’s missteps (again), and more!
A prominent customer accused Carta of misusing sensitive information that startups entrust to the company in pursuit of its own goals.
Meanwhile, Alex and Anna argued that Carta’s growth story is being overshadowed by its stock trading snafu.
Analysis of the weekThe real estate fintech space continues to have its ups and downs.
I also reported this week on Downpayments’ mission to help investors purchase new properties with interest-free down payments.
Treasure Financial has laid off 14 employees, the fintech startup confirmed to TechCrunch today.
Sam Strasser, founder and CEO of Treasure Financial, told TechCrunch that “a need to streamline our operations and align our workforce with our current strategic goals and financial realities” drove the decision.
“Market conditions and organizational challenges aside, financial stewardship necessitated this unfortunate but necessary action,” he added.
San Francisco-based Treasure Financial offers cash management software for businesses and is a registered investment advisor (RIA).
Just last July, the startup raised $7.5 million in a funding round led by Ventura Capital, a previous investor in the firm.
Here, a fractional short-term vacation rental marketplace, has shut down after just over two years of operation.
In a statement on its website, the company said its goal was to sell all of the properties that it holds within the next six months.
According to the publication ShortTermRentalz, the marketplace gave investors a way to acquire partial ownership of vacation rentals.
Just last week, TechCrunch broke the news that Frontdesk, a short-term rental provider, had laid off its entire staff and was on the verge of shutting down.
Last November, we reported on Zeus Living reportedly shutting down after raising $150 million in debt and equity.
New fundsWe started the year with news of a couple new venture funds that will be writing checks into fintech startups.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Ruth at TechCrunch Disrupt 2022 and was impressed with her knowledge and insights around venture capital.
Back in October, I reported on this after speaking with Synapse, which operates a platform enabling banks and fintech companies to easily develop financial services, and Evolve.
— Mary AnnMeanwhile, Mary Ann looked back at the biggest fintech hits and misses of 2023.
Among the fintech companies were Braid, Daylight and ZestMoney.
TikTok is looking to grow the size of its TikTok Shop U.S. business tenfold to as much as $17.5 billion this year, according to a new report from Bloomberg.
As Bloomberg previously reported, TikTok was on track to amass around $20 billion in global gross merchandise value last year.
In addition, the report says the company is planning to launch TikTok Shop in Latin America in the coming months.
The report indicates that during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday season in November, more than 5 million new U.S. customers purchased something via TikTok Shop.
TikTok Shop has also started to reduce some subsidies for merchants.
As 2023 comes to a close, we’re here to look back at the biggest fintech stories of the year.
In April, Apple shared that Apple Card customers in the U.S. could open a savings account and earn interest through an Apple savings account, as reported by Romain Dillet.
Another one of our most read stories of the year also involved a financial services giant rather than a startup.
X1, which offers an income-based credit card with rewards, had raised a total of $62 million in venture-backed funding.
Why X1 in particular over the many other credit card startups out there?
What a yearThis is the last edition of The Interchange for 2023 — it’s hard to believe that the year is almost over.
In May 2022, Mary Ann reported at least 185 employees, or one-third of its workforce, were let go.
Mary Ann reported on a couple of high-profile executive departures this week.
Mustard’s decision to step down marks the third known high-profile executive departure at Credit Karma in 2023.
Then she wrote about how Opendoor co-founder Eric Wu is leaving the real estate fintech company after 9 years to get back to his startup roots.
