There’s new leadership at troubled startup Magic Leap, Uber launches grocery delivery and Palantir files to go public. Here’s your Daily Crunch for July 7, 2020.
The big story: Magic Leap has a new CEO
Can Peggy Johnson, the former vice president of business development at Microsoft, turn things around for Magic Leap? The augmented/mixed reality company laid off most of its staff in April, and while it managed to raise another $375 million to keep going, that fundraise meant the departure of founder and CEO Rony Abovitz.
Johnson will officially take over on August 1. She’s been at Microsoft since 2014, where she was involved in the $26.2 billion acquisition of LinkedIn. Before that, she spent 24 years at Qualcomm.
“Magic Leap’s technological foundation is undeniable, and there is no question that has the potential to shape the future of XR and computing,” Johnson said in a statement.
The tech giants
Alphabet’s Loon launches its balloon-powered Kenyan internet service — Loon is creating high-altitude balloons that are supposed to provide cell service and internet access in areas where mountainous terrain makes it difficult to install ground infrastructure.
Uber grocery delivery launches in Latin America and Canada, US to follow later this month — Uber is starting grocery delivery in 19 cities, with plans to launch in Miami and Dallas later this month.
Amazon Prime Video finally launches user profiles to all customers worldwide — With user profiles, Prime Video viewers will be able to manage their own watchlists and track their own viewing progress, without getting it all mixed up with other viewers on the same account.
Startups, funding and venture capital
Secretive data startup Palantir has confidentially filed for an IPO — Aside from the fact that it has filed confidentially, Palantir (which is known for its work with the U.S. government and intelligence community) did not provide any information about its offering.
TikTok faces ban in the US; pulls out of Hong Kong — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News that the U.S. government is “certainly looking” at banning the popular video app.
Facebook-backed Unacademy acquires PrepLadder for $50 million — Unacademy is one of the leading edtech companies in India, while PrepLadder says it has more than 80,000 subscribers.
Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch
8 Black investors discuss the intersection of race, tech and funding — We surveyed eight Black VCs about their investment strategy and their approach to diversity.
Email is broken and Hey’s Jason Fried is here to fix it — An in-depth interview with the creator of the popular new email app.
(Reminder: Extra Crunch is our subscription membership program, designed to democratize information about startups. You can sign up here.)
Everything else
Kerry Washington is coming to Disrupt 2020 — The “Scandal” star has also invested in The Wing, Community and Byte. And she’s coming to Disrupt!
Dear Sophie: What does the new online classes rule mean for F-1 students? — International students have been allowed to remain in the U.S. while taking online courses during the COVID-19 pandemic, but ICE says that will end this fall. Immigration lawyer Sophie Alcorn discusses what this means for a startup whose co-founder is a student with an F-1 visa.
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