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It's a hard time to be building in public. Which means that it's a hard time to tell your story as an entrepreneur. Which means that for a new venture firm like VSC, which offers public relations support and storytelling advice in exchange for equity in startups, a volatile startup environm

As the U.S. and Europe bake in abnormal summer heat, the climate continues to climb up the world's agenda. With everyone now talking about energy, how commodities are traded is also becoming a talking point. Creating a “nutrition label” so that it would be possible to track the provenance o

When social audio app Clubhouse launched in May of 2020 (with a $100 million valuation), it took off like a rocket ship fueled, in large part, by pandemic restrictions that made it difficult for people to gather and talk in person. By April 2021, it raised a Series C funding round (led by Andreesse

According to BCG global assets under management are around $100 trillion, but only $715 billion, or less than 1%, goes on what you might term “impact” companies or projects to tackle the world's biggest environmental and social issues. Now, a Klarna founder plans to create what he c

Africa's tech startup scene has grown significantly over the last decade, with various reports showing a sizable increase in the number of deals, ticket sizes and funding. Last year, startups in the continent raised about $5 billion, double what was raised in 2021 and nine times the amount from

The U.K. government is rolling out a new scheme designed to create and promote cheaper broadband for lower-income households across the country. Several internet service providers (ISPs) in the U.K., including Virgin Media O2 and BT, already offer so-called “social tariffs,” which are c

Welcome to Startups Weekly, a fresh human-first take on this week's startup news and trends. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here. For longtime Startups Weekly readers, you'll remember that edtech used to be my primary beat. Like, day one beat. Most of my coverage was focused on edtech

Penfold, a digital pensions platform, has closed a £7 million ($8.49 million) Series A funding round led by Bridford Group, an investment group. Also participating in the round was Jeremy Coller, chief investment officer and chairman of Coller Capital. Penfold also raised additional funding via a

Spend any amount of time in New York, and you’ll feel it. Manhattan and Brooklyn are teeming with activity. It’s electrifying to be there after years spent relatively locked down. The question, and one asked this week by the San Francisco Chronicle, is why San Francisco isn’t boun

Perception is everything — especially when it comes to the value of software startups and total addressable markets (TAM). During 2020 and 2021, as COVID bit into the economy, tech products turned out to be more recession-resistant than expected. What's more, tech companies grew faster than p

Ransomware is an exponentially growing global threat. Here are just a few examples from 2022: Costa Rica declared a national emergency after a $20 million ransomware attack; ransomware caused one of the biggest U.S. health data breaches; and ransomware topped CSO's list of nine hot cybersecurit

Amazon has been fined again for breaching labor laws in Catalonia, Spain. The e-commerce giant has been under investigation by regional labor authorities over its subcontracting practices for a number of years. According to local press reports, the latest fine for Amazon — of €3.2 million &

Facebook has avoided the risk of being forced to shut down its service in Europe this summer as a result of the latest twist in a long-running data protection complaint saga that relates to a clash between EU privacy and U.S. surveillance law. The delay — in what’s still widely expected

The FCC has rejected the application of Starlink to provide broadband to rural America at a cost of $885 million over 10 years, nullifying a tentative approval back in 2020. The agency said SpaceX, and another company initially awarded $1.3 billion, had “failed to demonstrate that the provide