Nov 14, 2019

Docker sells enterprise business to VC-backed Mirantis

Dan Primack

Docker, a San Francisco-based software container platform, sold its enterprise business to VC-backed Mirantis, and also raised $35 million in new funding from return backers Benchmark and Insight Partners.

Why it matters: Docker was a high-flying unicorn not too long ago, even viewed as a promising IPO candidate, but has since had its wings clipped and stall moved over with the middling mares.

  • Shakeup: Docker also named its third CEO of 2019, promoting chief product officer Scott Johnston to succeed Rob Bearden.

The bottom line: "Docker's fortunes changed quite a bit over the years, from leading the container revolution to becoming somewhat of an afterthought after Google open-sourced Kubernetes and the rest of the industry coalesced around it." — Frederic Lardinois, TechCrunch

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Dan Primack

Domain debate after private equity buys .ORG overseer

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Ethos Capital agreed to buy Public Interest Registry, manager and operator of the .ORG domain, from The Internet Society. No financial terms were disclosed, although annual PIR revenue is believed to exceed $100 million.

Why it matters: This comes several months after The Internet Society agreed to a new contract with PIR, which controversially removed price caps for .ORG domains. Not only might this become precedent for future domain contract negotiations, such as with Verisign over .COM addresses, but there are more immediate concerns that prices could be increased on nonprofits that dominate .ORG domain use.

Go deeperArrowNov 15, 2019
Kim Hart

Ohio's venture capital boom lures startup founders

Data: PitchBook; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

Venture capital investments in Ohio more than doubled in five years, and the increased availability of funding is helping attract a new crop of startup founders.

Zooming in: Columbus in particular is experiencing a mini-renaissance as technology is disrupting legacy industries such as manufacturing, insurance, financial services, retail and health care.

Go deeperArrowDec 5, 2019
Kia Kokalitcheva

Scooter company Spin's San Francisco workers unionize

Photo: Interim Archives/Getty Images

San Francisco-based maintenance workers for Spin, a scooter rental company owned by Ford, have voted to unionize and joined a local Teamsters chapter, making them the first in the scooter industry to do so.

Why it matters: Scooter companies ruffled a lot of feathers when they showed up in San Francisco (and other cities), which has long been skeptical of tech companies using independent contractors to skirt some labor costs.

Go deeperArrowDec 12, 2019