Nov 7, 2019 - Technology

Saudis pump $400 million into former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick's startup

Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

CloudKitchens, a startup founded by former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, has raised $400 million from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Why it matters: CloudKitchens was the Saudi fund's first known deal in Silicon Valley since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year and was completed in January. Several companies backed away from doing business with Saudi Arabia in the immediate aftermath of Khashoggi's death, but as Axios' Dan Primack notes, there has been no fundamental change. The sovereign wealth fund is Uber's fifth-largest outside shareholder.

Go deeper: The power of authoritarian hush money

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Jonathan Swan
Updated 7 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Trump's Tucker mind-meld

Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images and BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

If you want to understand the rhetorical roots of Trump's Independence Day speech at Mount Rushmore, go back and watch Tucker Carlson's monologues for the past six weeks.

Between the lines: Trump — or rather his speechwriter Stephen Miller — framed the president's opposition to the Black Lives Matter protest movement using the same imagery Carlson has been laying out night after night on Fox.

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Axios
Updated 9 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 6 p.m. ET: 11,366,145 — Total deaths: 532,644 — Total recoveries — 6,154,138 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 6 p.m. ET: 2,874,396 — Total deaths: 129,870 — Total recoveries: 906,763 — Total tested: 35,512,916 — Map.
  3. States: Photos of America's pandemic July 4 — ICU beds in Arizona hot spot near capacity — Houston mayor warns about hospitals
  4. Public health: U.S. coronavirus infections hit record highs for 3 straight days.
  5. Politics: Former Trump official Tom Bossert says face masks “are not enough”
  6. World: Mexican leaders call for tighter border control as infections rise in U.S.
  7. Sports: Sports return stalked by coronavirus
  8. 1 📽 thing: Drive-in movie theaters are making a comeback.
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Jonathan Swan
9 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Bolton's hidden aftershocks

Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The news media has largely moved on, but foreign government officials remain fixated on John Bolton's memoir, "The Room Where It Happened."

Why it matters: Bolton's detailed inside-the-Oval revelations have raised the blood pressure of allies who were already stressed about President Trump's unreliability.

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