Monday, August 7, 2017

Netflix acquires its own comics publisher. It's The Daily Crunch.

THE DAILY CRUNCH
MONDAY, AUGUST 7 2017 By Darrell Etherington

Netflix acquires a comics company, SoftBank makes big money moves and WeWork raises another huge sum. All that and more in The Daily Crunch for August 7, 2017.

1. Netflix's first acquisition is... a comic book publisher?

Netflix has made its "first ever" acquisition, and it's Millarworld, a comic book publishing company created by Mark and Lucy Millar, creators with impressive track records.

The move is focused on creative content, not tech, and looks deigned to give Netflix the underpinnings of its own comics-sourced cinematic universe, destined for original shows, movies and kids' programming. It also makes Netflix a comics publisher, which is an interesting place for it to be in terms of original content creation.

2. SoftBank is moving its Nevada stake into its Vision Fund

SoftBank is relocating its $5 billion stake in Nvidia to its Vision Fund, which is its investment vehicle. Sounds like this could help with strategic investments in new and leading tech initiatives.

3. SoftBank wants to take a stake in either Uber or Lyft

Speaking of SoftBank's investments, its CEO Masayoshi Son says he wants to invest in either Uber or Lyft, which means there's probably a heated competition going on behind the scenes to see who gets the nod – and the cash.

4. WeWork raises new $500 million for Southeast Asia and Korea expansion

$500 million in new funding for WeWork for Asia expansion – just two weeks after it raised $500 million for China growth. That's $1 billion in less than a month in announced funding. Crazy.

5. Kalanick tried to regain Uber board control

Former Uber CEO and founder Travis Kalanick has reportedly been trying to win back control of his former company's board. He's unlikely to give up the reins of his ride hailing venture that easily, so expect more of these reports in future.

6. iPhone 8 could get face-scanning tech even while it's on a desk

The iPhone 8 facial recognition unlock method has garnered a lot of attention based on rumors, but how it could be more convenient than Touch ID is a frequent question. Now, we have one possible answer: It could be so good as to be able to recognize a face and unlock when sitting on a table, without requiring a direct angle to your kisser.

7. Faraday Future signs production factory lease

Faraday Future is trying to make sure it doesn't go down alongside embattled investor LeEco. Its latest move to try to inspire confidence is a new manufacturing facility, which is actually an existing turn-key Pirelli factory in California. It's a more cost-effective solution to building its own, similar to the move Tesla made by taking over the Toyota plant that is its Hawthorne factory.

Get more stories at techcrunch.com 

Newest Jobs From CrunchBoard:

SEE MORE JOBS ON CRUNCHBOARD
Post your tech jobs and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $200 per month
Facebook   Twitter   Youtube   Instagram   Flipboard
View this email online in your browser
If you do not want to receive this email or you would like to update your preferences click here.
410 Townsend Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
© 2017 AOL Inc. All rights reserved.   Privacy Policy   Terms of Service
                                                           

No comments:

Post a Comment