Best Nasdaq H1 since 1983, DWAC insider trading, Apple becomes first to close above $3T
The Nasdaq closed out H1 2023 up 32%, its best first half since 1983; Nvidia led the way, up ~195% behind an AI-induced surge - Link
Apple became the first publicly traded company to close with a market cap above $3T; Apple shares are up 55% YTD; the company previously hit a $3T market cap intraday in January 2022 - Link
Bloomberg sources: Spotify is in talks with partners to test full-length music videos on its mobile app as it expands further into video - Link
A recently revealed court document shows Microsoft's Azure business reported $34B in revenue for the 12 months ending June 2022 - Link
iConnections is a platform to connect and meet with elite capital allocators through their online platform and bespoke events. The first 25 VC funds to sign up for iConnections Miami 2024 event in January of next year will receive a 20% discount! Head to iConnections.io/twist to sign up today!
News show! Jason breaks down a report that Shein has confidentially registered for a US IPO (1:24) amidst unethical labor allegations, what it means to vote with your dollar (11:22), DWAC's insider trading debacle (47:25), and more! - Link
Levit, an e-commerce startup that operates the shopping app Alwayz, raised a $46M Series B led by DST Global for its model combining social, gaming, and cost-efficiency in online shopping - Link
Venn Software, a cybersecurity startup that provides secure enclaves for business data on remote laptops, raised a $29M Series A - Link
Gleamer, a Paris-based startup building AI-powered software that helps radiologists detect and diagnose bone trauma, raised a ~$29.5M Series B; the company has 6.5K users across 650 institutions in 24 countries - Link
US prosecutors charged three men in Florida with insider trading involving the Digital World Acquisition Corp SPAC, alleging $22M+ in illicit profits tied to a proposed merger with Donald Trump's TMTG - Link
This Week in Startups
E1771: Shein registers for US IPO, Trump SPAC insider trading & more
E1770: Creating the future of search and competing vs Google with Perplexity AI’s Aravind Srinivas
E1769: Zapier Co-Founder Mike Knoop on category creation, API evolution & AI architecture
E1768: IRL to shut down after faking 19M users, ZIRP fraud, Databricks acquires MosaicML for $1.3B
E1767: Titan tragedy, Meta removes news in Canada + Elizabeth Yin at Angel Summit
Crowdbotics - Get a free scoping session for your next big app idea
Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2
OpenPhone - Get 20% off your first six months