Uber's IPO this week came with predictable headlines about the rich getting richer — after all, when a company goes public at a valuation of more than $80 billion, that's what usually happens. This particular offering, however, created a whole lot of losers.
By the numbers: From 2016 onwards, per PitchBook, Uber raised $15.35 billion at $48.77 per share; it then raised another $8.6 billion in its IPO on Thursday at the slightly lower price of $45 per share. Those numbers dwarf the $5.6 billion that Uber raised before 2016. As of the close of trade on Friday, the market has now spoken: Uber shares are actually worth $41.57.
While Amazon provides UPS, FedEx and USPS with huge business, it is silently collecting mountains of data on the logistics industry through the movement of its own packages.
Why it matters: Amazon already has its own fleet of trucks and planes for some deliveries. With its data stash, it could soon get smart enough to eat the big shippers' lunch.
Amazon is re-training employees after many of them suspended product ads that contained religious language, citing a "new policy update" that Amazon says does not exist, CNBC reports.
What's happening: One seller reported being told in February that Amazon was “working to stop all advertising of religious items.” Amazon told CNBC that its policies surrounding religious content have not changed, despite multiple Amazon employees informing sellers otherwise in recent months.
Uber's IPO stalled out yesterday, stunning both Silicon Valley and Wall Street.
Details: The ride-hail giant priced shares near the bottom of their range on Thursday night. They opened even lower on Friday morning before falling again by market close. In all, Uber lost nearly $6 billion in market cap in its first five hours as a public company.
Thirty years after his death, Salvador Dalí wants to take a photo with you.
What’s happening: In a Florida museum dedicated to the surrealist’s life, a new installation reanimates him in an interactive AI-altered video, or deepfake, The Verge’s Dami Lee reports.
