Welcome back, readers. Privately held startups are watching their valuations plunge, and a $59 million Miami mansion is now accepting payment in Bitcoin.
Now, let's get started.
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1. Shares of privately held startups have plunged. Leaked secondary-market data seen by Insider shows that the share values of many later-stage pre-IPO companies — including those of Bolt, Cameo, Thrasio, and Udacity — are significantly down, with some dropping as much as 50%.
- $329.5 billion in funding poured into startups last year, with some nabbing valuations that even their founders said were too high — leaving a wide swath of carnage as VC money tightens, inflation rises, and the economy contracts.
- According to one expert, many companies that raised rounds in 2021 are now experiencing a 40 to 60% discount. Software-as-a-service startups have been among the hardest hit, with many valuations chopped in half.
- Tech's industry-wide tailspin comes as Wall Street enters into a summer from hell: a period of extreme volatility and uncertainty that will serve as a pivotal shift for markets.
Leaked data shows how some startups are faring.
In other news:
2. Apple could do away with iPhones' lightning ports. According to Bloomberg, the company is testing iPhones that would instead use USB-C ports, a move that comes amid the European Union's call for a universal port. What the change could mean for iPhone users.
3. How Uber One fell apart. The subscription service was CEO Dara Khosrowshahi's big plan to get the ride-hailing company to profitability. But insiders say infighting and weak leadership dashed his dreams before they even began, and are beginning to wonder: Can he innovate his way to success?
4. What happened inside Apple after Steve Jobs died? In his new book, Wall Street Journal reporter Tripp Mickle follows the paths of the two men who shaped the company's post-Jobs period: Tim Cook and Jony Ive. Read a review of "After Steve: How Apple Became a Trillion-Dollar Company and Lost Its Soul."
5. Elon Musk's Twitter deal is looking shakier than ever. Musk's takeover relies on a $12.5 billion loan secured against his Tesla shares. But plummeting tech stocks have imperiled this crucial part of the deal — and if Tesla shares continue to drop, he might not have enough money to buy Twitter. Here are all the ways the leveraged buyout could crumble.
6. The Buffalo mass shooting gunman live-streamed the attack on Twitch. The platform confirmed the live-stream, adding that it was removed within two minutes of the start of the violence. What we know so far.
7. Meet the Meta AI mafia. These 12 artificial intelligence researchers and engineers quit Meta to join or start new ventures, spanning machine learning technology, blockchain infrastructure, and career mentorship. See where the employees-turned-entrepreneurs are now.
8. Netflix employees can quit if they don't want to work on content they disagree with. In a move that was praised by Elon Musk, new company guidelines say Netflix "may not be the best place" for employees who are unwilling to work on content they don't support. It comes amid reports that Netflix is also considering live-streaming shows. Here's the latest.
Odds and ends:
9. A $59 million mansion near Miami is now accepting payment in Bitcoin. The mansion, located on "Billionaire Bunker," could be the most expensive real estate purchase ever made in cryptocurrency, according to Forbes. Get a look at the "tropical modern playhouse."
10. Mark Zuckerberg gave a sneak peek of Meta's upcoming VR headset — kinda. In a video posted to Facebook, Zuckerberg is seen playing with the company's "Project Cambria," but the actual headset is pixelated out. Here's what we could gather from the video.
What we're watching today:
- Uber is hosting its annual product event, Go/Get 2022.
- Buzzfeed, Take-Two Interactive Software, and others are reporting earnings today. Keep up with earnings here.
- The ceremony for the Webby Awards — known as the "Oscars of the Internet" — will be held tonight.
- The BIG 5G Event starts today in Austin.
Keep updated with the latest tech news throughout your day by checking out The Refresh from Insider, a dynamic audio news brief from the Insider newsroom. Listen here.
Curated by Jordan Parker Erb in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email [email protected] or tweet @jordanparkererb.) Edited by Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.