Surprise bid 👀
Edtech deals, Uber strike, and trump softens visa stand.
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Stock summary: 📊
US:
S&P 500 - down 0.2%
Nasdaq - up 0.19%
India:
Nifty 50 - down 0.07%
Sensex - down 0.15%
Ride hailers kicked out of their homes 🚕
The state of California is where ride hailing giants Uber and Lyft started their journeys a decade ago. But now the state seems to have had enough with their hiring practices and both companies are hinting at halting operations there completely starting August 20.
Backstory: basically, in a fresh ruling earlier this week, a California judge granted the state’s request for a preliminary injunction that blocks Uber and Lyft Inc from classifying their drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. Both companies hire drivers as “gig workers” but the state believes by doing so the company is trying to circumvent labor laws which mandate health insurance, minimum wage etc.
The companies contend that they offer “at will” employment. Experts believe that the state should have a new category of employees (not part time or full time) that deals specifically with the intricacies of being a gig worker.
Anyway, the bottomline is, both sides are not budging and Uber and Lyft have now threatened to shut down operations, claiming that they need time to set up operations like a “traditional taxi” company.
About 5 million regular passengers could be jeopardized, but most importantly, will this set a precedent for other states to push for driver rights? Read on.
Edtech marries Fintech 🤝
Eduvanz, a startup that provides loans to students for skill development, has raised $5 million in a Series-A led by Sequoia, along with buy-in from existing investor Unitus Capital.
Started barely 4 years ago, the company runs an alternative lending platform that leverages parameters like social media scores, education scores as well as taking guardians or parents as guarantors, to enhance its underwriting process and offers loans for upskilling or for school fees. Since its inception, the company has served 10,000+ borrowers, deploying more than ₹150 crores in loans.
The new funds now will be utilised to improve borrowing experience and make the platform scale beyond its current levels. Product introductions will include new credit products, AI-based risk management, and easier collections to streamline backend operations.
Eduvanz aims to disburse ₹400-500 crore in loans over the next two years. Post raise, Sequoia will own a 38.01% stake, adding another gem to its crown. Read more.
Of course, RIL had to be in... 🧐
TikTok’s story is getting crazier by the day. Reports indicate that TikTok owner ByteDance is working with Reliance Industries Ltd., for the latter to invest-in or buyout TikTok’s business in India. While the two companies have not reached a deal yet, if through, TikTok’s ban may not be permanent after all.
So far we have 3 active suitors wanting pieces of TikTok. While Microsoft has shown interest in scooping up pretty much all of TikTok worldwide, Twitter has shown interest only for US ops, and now RIL is gunning for India ops. RIL’s hope is that once TikTok is detached from its Chinese parent and data is migrated onto Indian servers, the government can be cajoled into taking a lenient stand. Also, Mukesh bhai *cough cough* Modiji *cough cough* friends and all.
As far as ability to cobble up a deal goes, Reliance has enough cash in its pockets and now has the backing of even richer players like Facebook and Google, who could easily put together a thick wad of notes. We estimate the deal to be a $2-$5 billion effort. Read more.
Trump softens H-1B stand 💪
Softening his aggression on H1Bs traveling to the US, Trump has now allowed people who are stranded abroad to come back to their jobs in the US as long as they are coming back to the same job they held before going out of the country.
The pandemic had just hit the US during summers, which is mostly when scores of internationals take time off from work to go visit their families. As the administration tried to curtail travel from foreign nations, all non-essential travel into US lands was halted, and professional workers got caught up in the crosshairs. In the most recent relaxation, wives and dependent children will be allowed to travel as well.
Experts believe that perhaps Trump losing popularity with white-collar immigrants, especially upon the nomination of Kamala Harris to the democratic VP ticket, may have been the reason behind his benevolence. Smh. Read on.
Tweet of the day -
What else are we snackin’ 🍿
🙌 Looking after friends - India will fund the implementation of a major connectivity project in Maldives through a $400 million line of credit and $100 million grant. The 6.7 km Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP) will be the largest civilian infrastructure project in Maldives, connecting Male with three neighbouring islands -- Villingili, Gulhifahu and Thilafushi.
👍 Paytm’s investing foray - Paytm Money has launched its investing platform, primarily targeting consumers who are new to the field, taking on established rivals like Zerodha, and startups such as Groww and Upstox.
🏏 IPL saved by an upstart - Ed-tech company Unacademy, which is already one of IPL’s sponsors, is eyeing the league's title sponsorship rights and is set to submit its bid to replace Chinese mobile phone company Vivo. Their bid will compete against Patanjali’s.
👏 FB’s purge shows staggering numbers - FB deleted over 2 billion fake accounts starting 2020. Also, hate speech went up exponentially—Facebook removed 22.5 million pieces of hateful content from its platform between April and June, much higher than the 9.6 million pieces removed in the first three months of the year.
🛒 AMZN doubled down - leveraging the pandemic driven slump in the real estate market, Amazon has leased about 2.8 million square feet of additional space in Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai to expand its offices and cater to booming demand.
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