Yassir pulls in $150M for its super app, led by Mary Meeker’s BOND • TechCrunch

Yassir pulls in $150M for its super app, led by Mary Meeker’s BOND • ProWellTech

Yassir, an African super app platform that offers on-demand services such as ride-hailing, food and grocery delivery, and payments, has raised $150 million in Series B funding, five times what it raised in its previous priced round last November. The investment was led by BOND, the growth-stage firm that Mary Meeker spun out of Kleiner…

Ouster and Velodyne agree to merger, signaling consolidation in lidar industry • TechCrunch

Ouster and Velodyne agree to merger, signaling consolidation in lidar industry • ProWellTech

Ouster and Velodyne, two lidar companies, have agreed to a merger in an all-stock transaction, the companies said Monday. Both Ouster and Velodyne will maintain a 50% stake in the new company, according to the agreement that was signed on November 4. The merger comes as many in the industry, including autonomous vehicle technology company…

Trouble brews at Arrival, TuSimple ousts its CEO and Cruise expands in San Francisco • TechCrunch

Trouble brews at Arrival, TuSimple ousts its CEO and Cruise expands in San Francisco • ProWellTech

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Devialet Mania Paris Opera Edition portable speaker.

Devialet’s $790 small portable speaker packs two subwoofers

French audio company, Devialet, has always attempted to create speakers that blend high style with high performance. Its latest creation, the $790 Devialet Mania, adds a new twist to that formula: portability. It comes in black, grey, and an available $990 Paris Opéra edition, which uses 24-carat “moongold” embellishments. All three are available to order…

Devialet launches a high-end portable speaker • TechCrunch

Devialet launches a high-end portable speaker • ProWellTech

When you say portable speakers, most people think about cheap Bluetooth speakers that you can easily put in your backpack when you’re going to the park. But Devialet has something different in mind with the Devialet Mania. The French high-end speaker maker wants to make the most luxurious and best sounding portable speaker around. The…

Musk: Some impersonation Twitter accounts face permanent ban

New Twitter owner Elon Musk said on Sunday that anyone on the platform that operates an account impersonating someone else, without stating “parody” in the profile, will be permanently suspended from the service. In a follow-up tweet, Musk said that, while the company used to give a warning to an imitator to give them a…

35 years later, 'Predator' is smarter than you remember

35 years later, ‘Predator’ is smarter than you remember

A year before John McTiernan directed Die Hardhe made Predator. One thing that unites both movies is that, while they’re justifiably thought of as great action movies, they’re both funnier than they need to be. Die Hard‘s comedy comes largely from John McClane himself, who is furious about the position he’s found himself in. The humor…

How ButcherBox bootstrapped to $600M in revenue • TechCrunch

How ButcherBox bootstrapped to $600M in revenue • ProWellTech

Some of the best companies only come about because they found a problem worth solving. For Mike Salguero, CEO and co-founder at ButcherBox, the problem and opportunity in the extraordinarily broken space of meat production and distribution simply could not be ignored. Armed with an idea for how to do things differently, the company ran…