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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Axios
Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Politics: Chris Christie: Wear a mask "or you may regret it — as I did" — Senate Democrats block vote on McConnell's targeted relief bill.
  2. Business: New state unemployment filings fall.
  3. Economy: Why the stimulus delay isn't a crisis (yet).
  4. Health: FDA approves Gilead's remdesivir as a coronavirus treatment — How the pandemic might end — Many U.S. deaths were avoidable.
  5. Education: Boston and Chicago send students back home for online learning.
  6. World: Spain and France exceed 1 million cases.
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Fadel Allassan
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Early voting eclipses 2016 total with 12 days until election

People stand in line to vote early in Fairfax, Virginia in September. Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Americans have cast more than 47.1 million ballots in the 2020 presidential election, surpassing the total early-vote count for 2016 with 12 days left until Election Day, according to a Washington Post analysis of voting data.

Why it matters: The election is already underway, as many states have expanded early and mail-in voting options because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Jonathan Swan, Alexi McCammond
3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

What to expect from the final debate of the 2020 election

Trump and Biden at the first debate. Morry Gash-Pool/Getty Image

Watch for President Trump to address Joe Biden as “the big guy” or “the chairman” at tonight's debate as a way of dramatizing the Hunter Biden emails. Hunter's former business partner Tony Bobulinski is expected to be a Trump debate guest.

The big picture: Trump's advisers universally view the first debate as a catastrophe — evidenced by a sharp plunge in Trump’s public and (more convincingly for them) private polling immediately following the debate.

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