The team pays tribute to investing legend David Swenson while discussing Twitter's acquisition of Scroll and the closure of Nuzzel, raising questions about content monetization. Epic Games' purchase of ArtStation signals changes in digital marketplace dynamics. AI's role in revolutionizing IVF processes brings hope to many facing fertility struggles. On the corporate front, the explosive growth of OKR startups and innovative planning strategies reshape employee engagement. Lastly, Lita Health introduces a vital resource for sexual assault survivors.
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Twitter, Scroll, and Nuzzel
Twitter is acquiring Scroll to bolster its subscription offerings and improve the online reading experience.
However, the acquisition involves shutting down Nuzzel, a news aggregator that curated content based on Twitter followers' activity.
insights INSIGHT
Epic Games and ArtStation
Following its acquisition of ArtStation, Epic Games reduced the platform's commission rate from 30% to 12%.
This move aligns with the ongoing debate about fair marketplace fees, challenging Apple's 30% standard.
insights INSIGHT
Declining Marketplace Fees
The reduction in marketplace fees from 30% to 12% by companies like Epic Games and Microsoft signals a potential trend.
Increased competition in digital marketplaces may lead to a further decline in take rates, benefiting creators and consumers.
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Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines.
The whole team was aboard for this recording, with Grace and Chris behind the scenes, and Danny, Alex, and Natasha on the mics. We had to cut more than we included this week, which should give you a good idea of how busy the startup and VC worlds are of late.
Make sure that you are following the podcast on Twitter, where we post all sorts of memes and cuts and, perhaps, the occasional video here and there. That aside, here's the rundown:
Investing legend David Swenson passed away.
Twitter is buying Scroll (neat, very cool) as part of its subscription push, but also killing Nuzzel in the process (bad, very uncool). Natasha and Danny fill us in on why Nuzzel will be missed. Alex has thoughts on why Twitter-Scroll is good.
Epic bought ArtStation and cut its marketplace take rate. This is the future, says Danny, who throws his own estimates in, too.
Sony and Discord are tying up after the Microsoft-Discord deal fell apart.
Edtech is doing the edtech thing in which it raises money and consolidates, as shown by Kahoot's latest scoop.
A friend of the pod, Jomayra Herrera, is joining Reach Capital as its first ever outside-partner hire.
Uber is teaming up with Arrival for ride-hailing designed electric vehicles. We're pretty bullish on the idea. Also Alex likes to say "microfactories."
WorkBoard raised again. Alex once again made us talk about OKR-focused startups. He needs to get a life, and so does the rest of the Equity team which fought to do the transition into this segment.
To end, we spoke about Leda Health, a new startup focused on at-home rape kits for sexual assault survivors. It's a controversial company, and we discuss critiques and opportunities,
And that's our show! No private equity deal can slow the Equity team down, so we'll see you Monday!
Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.
Equity