10 things in tech you need to know today
(AP Images) Alibaba CEO Jack Ma.
Good morning! Here's what's happening:
1. Palantir just disclosed in an SEC form that it has closed a huge round of investment, issuing $500 million in stock, $450 million of which has already been sold. This confirms last month's report that it was raising up to $500 million at a $20 billion valuation.
2. Amazon's stock shot up more than 18% yesterday after it beat expectations on Q2 earnings. It brought in $23.18 billion in revenue versus analyst estimates of $22.39 billion.
3. Pandora's CEO said he isn't worried about Apple Music. The company beat revenue expectations for Q2, bringing in $285.6 million thanks to solid advertising growth.
4. Frontback, a once-hot selfie app that rejected a $40 million acquisition offer from Twitter, is shutting down. The startup had raised $4 million.
5. Alibaba is going after Amazon's $7 billion cloud computing business. It will establish data centers in countries such as India and Japan, parts of the Middle East, and Europe over the next 18 months.
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6. Airbnb is reportedly in talks to hire a new CFO from a big Wall Street firm. Blackstone's CFO Laurence Tosi may leave his current position to join the startup.
7. YouTube just launched a redesigned app that adds video editing tools and makes it easier to keep track of channels you subscribe to. More than half of the site's views and watch time now come from mobile.
8. London VC firm Notion Capital's third fund just raised $120 million at its first close. It will back European cloud computing startups offering their software through a subscription-based model.
9. An "Uber for private jets" startup just raised $20 million from investors that included Jay Z and the Saudi royal family. Jetsmart's app lets you book a flight on a private jet in a matter of seconds.
10. One of Apple's most devoted fans has savaged Apple Music. Veteran Apple blogger Jim Dalrymple says the service is a "nightmare."
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