Mattel’s future relies increasingly on a strategy that looks like Disney’s playbook — in reverse.
Driving the news: The toymaker presented its new growth strategy today and it involves taking its brands like Barbie, Fisher-Price and American Girl and turning them into an "IP-driven" engine for the company.
DPR leader Denis Pushilin. Screenshot via Pushilin's Telegram
Metadata from the messaging app Telegram indicates that pro-Russian separatist leaders created videos ordering "emergency" evacuations from eastern Ukraine two days ago, but posted them on Friday, Bellingcat first reported and Axios can confirm.
Why it matters: U.S. officials have for days now accused Russia of preparing to fabricate a pretext to invade Ukraine. The two-day-old metadata from the leaders of the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics could undermine claims that they ordered the evacuations due to an imminent threat of a Ukrainian offensive.
A Ukrainian tech CEO says he flew more than 100 of his employees and their families from Kyiv to Montenegro two weeks ago in response to the threat of Russian invasion.
Driving the news: For Vlad Panchenko, of the digital assets company DMarket, the decision came down to trying to take control of an uncontrollable situation.
In a world filled with distrust and misinformation, the new boss of Wikipedia's parent organization holds the volunteer-run encyclopedia up as a model for how people can disagree while still embracing the same set of facts.
Why it matters: Debate over how content should be moderated has raged in recent years, with little consensus on the role that governments and businesses can and should play. Meanwhile, Wikipedia has somehow managed to tackle some of the thorniest issues without devolving into chaos.
Diving deeper into the VR broadcast of the Olympics beyond my first look, I found there was even more to discover and appreciate about its unique view into the Beijing games — but also a longer list of downsides.
Why it matters: Virtual reality has the potential to bring people both closer to the action and deeper behind the scenes. At the same time, it can be more isolating, tiring and blurry than watching a broadcast on a nice TV.
Mega-publisher Ubisoft boasted Thursday that players of late 2021's Far Cry 6 game spent more time in it than they did Far Cry 5.
Why it matters: The detail, one of many playing time stats promoted by Ubisoft in recent years, supports the company's concept that the more time its players spend in a game leads to more money spent in-game, t00.
Lawmakers trying to advance a bill to help domestic abuse survivors believe it’s been stymied by the wireless industry because of concerns it will cost them customers, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Victims of domestic abuse don't currently have a guaranteed way to leave family plans with their phone lines on a federal level. Strict contracts and fines may keep them trapped in plans where abusers can access phone records or control services.
Struggling fitness company Peloton is rolling out its new video game-style Lanebreak mode for users of the company’s exercise bikes.
Why it matters: Peloton, which found success during the pandemic and is now trying to retain users, is deploying the popular strategy of adding game-like experiences to its product.
Banking and corporate cards have become big business for startups and small businesses — with companies like Ramp, Brex, and Airbase all raising gobs of cash — but few (good) options exist for solopreneurs and businesses of one.
Driving the news: Found, a startup offering a "full-stack" financial services for self-employed workers, raised $60 million in Series B funding led by Founders Fund, the company tells Axios.
Google will help its Cloud users save energy and reduce emissions by providing new tools to let them manage energy use from their idle projects.
Driving the news: Google on Wednesday introduced the Carbon Sense suite. It's a collection of features that aims to help companies quantify and report their emissions, as well as reduce them.
Sequoia Capital last fall disclosed plans to blow up the traditional VC model, saying it would form a single fund to hold all of its U.S. and European investments (including publicly-traded shares).
Driving the news: Now it's laying out its next moves, including a $600 million fund focused on liquid crypto investments.
IBM will provide pro bono tech services and expertise to organizations serving communities vulnerable to climate change and other environmental hazards.
Driving the news: The tech giant's new IBM Sustainability Accelerator is live today with a public request for proposals from nonprofit and government organizations. The 2022 awards will focus on clean energy.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Thursday accused the Securities and Exchange Commission of undertaking a "harassment campaign" in an effort to "chill his exercise of First Amendment rights."
Driving the news: "[T]he SEC seems to be targeting Mr. Musk and Tesla for unrelenting investigation largely because Mr. Musk remains an outspoken critic of the government," a lawyer for Musk said in a court filing.
Progressive organizations are going big on anti-monopoly messaging as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce defends Big Tech.
Driving the news: As the Chamber launches attacks on antitrust moves against tech’s biggest firms, the group Fight Corporate Monopolies is launching a new “War Room” campaign Thursday, per an announcement shared exclusively with Axios.
A nightmare scenario: A cutting-edge, life-changing device embedded in your body fails and the company behind it is all but gone.
It happened to more than 350 people who are blind around the world who received artificial eyes only to be abandoned by the company that invented them, Second Sight Medical Products, the technology journal IEEE Spectrum writes.
Facebook parent Meta is reorganizing its communications and public affairs team to combat an onslaught of negative press and try to repair its reputation.
Why it matters: The new structure, according to internal memos obtained by Axios, gives communications and public affairs executives more power across the organization to respond to public relations crises.
When Nathan Chen made his medal-winning jumps in team figure skating, viewers around the world knew exactly how high he was flying. That was thanks to new technology from Omega, which uses AI to break down each element of the skater's performance.
Why it matters: New technology helps athletes, judges and fans better understand the fast-paced action of the Olympics.
Donald Trump's spamming of Republican donors could kneecap party efforts to build a steady funding stream for future elections and compete with Democratic fundraising, top GOP officials are privately warning.
Why it matters: The former president's decision to bombard donors with numerous daily emails and texts is sucking up record sums. Four top GOP digital strategists tell Axios it's also imperiling efforts to build a sustainable, grassroots base of financial support for anyone not named Trump.
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