When you Wish upon an IPO. ContextLogic, the parent company of e-commerce giant Wish, went public on Wednesday. Shares of the company opened at $22.75, a bit below the $24 they were sold for in the company’s $1.1 billion initial public offering. The shares closed at $20.05, placing the company’s valuation near $17 billion on a fully diluted basis. Wish reported revenue of $1.75 billion for the nine-month period prior to October, up 33 percent from last year. December has been a big month for IPOs in Silicon Valley; DoorDash and Airbnb both went public earlier this month. [Investors.com]
Who’s Zooxin’ who? Zoox, the self-driving car company that Amazon bought over the summer, unveiled its robotaxi last Monday following six years of shrouded secrecy. Amazon hopes the new vehicle will help it launch an autonomous ride-hailing service of the future. The carriage-style vehicle is an all-electric four-wheeler that seats up to four people. To further differentiate itself from other autonomous driving vehicles on the market, the Zoox robotaxi can drive forward, backward and side-to-side. The vehicle can also travel up to 75 mph, according to the company. [The Verge]
Google’s WFH goals. Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced in a company-wide email that the tech giant’s employees aren’t expected to return to the office until September 1. The company has dashed any ideas of a permanent work-from-home policy and instead will ask its employees to head in to the office at least three days a week following the change. The email detailed further expectations for returning to the office, including that the company expects employees to live within commuting distance of one of its locations. [CNBC]
Reddit acquires Dubsmash. Reddit, the message board giant and endless meme-source, acquired short-form video app Dubsmash in a deal last week. Deal terms were not disclosed although the move is part of a much larger trend. In recent months, other social media giants have been looking to compete with Gen Z favorite TikTok. Last month, Snapchat launched its competitor feature Spotlight and Facebook launched its own via Instagram Reels in August. Facebook and Snapchat were reportedly in talks to buy Dubsmash earlier this year. [Axios]
Yelp deposits $10M to Black-owned financial institutions. The company announced last week that it deposited $10 million of its cash reserves with Broadway Federal Bank, Carver Federal Savings Bank Citizens and Savings Bank and Trust Company. Each of the banks are certified Community Development Financial Institutions. The certification is given to organizations that provide financial services in low-income communities and to people who lack access to financing. [AfroTech]
The city tightens its belt. Due to a projected $653 million budget deficit, San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced last Wednesday that all city departments have to come up with up to 10 percent in cuts across the board. While the pandemic has largely been blamed, major shifts in funds and taxes are expected to have also occurred due to Bay Area techies and their employers opting to leave in large numbers. Previous deficit rollovers have also contributed; San Francisco schools, for example, are already $169 million in debt. [California Globe]
Skillz’ shares soar. The mobile e-sports company began trading on Thursday and its stock price climbed 29 percent to $22.73. A merger with Flying Eagle Acquisition Corp. allowed Skillz to go public, taking a path that’s become popular for companies looking to avoid the traditional hassles of an initial public offering. In the last nine months, the company’s revenue grew 91 percent to $162.4 million. [VentureBeat]
