Bolt
Bolt founder Ryan Breslow wants to settle an investor lawsuit by returning $37 million worth of shares
The investor lawsuit is related to Bolt securing a $30 million personal loan to Ryan Breslow, which was later defaulted on.
Maju Kuruvilla is out as CEO of one-click checkout company Bolt
Maju Kuruvilla is no longer CEO of one-click checkout company Bolt. He is replaced by Justin Grooms, Bolt’s global head of sales, who is now interim CEO, according to Grooms’…
VC Arjun Sethi talks a big game about selling his company-picking strategies to other investors; he says they’re buying it
Arjun Sethi speaks with the confidence of someone who knows more than other people, or at least knows that sounding highly confident can shape perception. Either way, when he tells…
One-click checkout company Bolt confirms another round of layoffs
This latest round of layoffs, which the spokesperson said happened last week, follow a handful of other layoffs made by the company since 2022.
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Here’s how fintech Rainforest, a budding Stripe rival, aims to win over software companies
Rainforest raises $8.5M and PayPal gets hit with a lawsuit. We take a look at this and other hot fintech news from the previous week.
The investigation was a challenging period to manage client expectations, and CEO Maju Kuruvilla said he even got on sales calls himself.
The SEC is reportedly investigating whether federal securities laws were violated in connection with statements made when Bolt was raising money in 2021.
Europe’s Bolt expands to Nepal with ride-hailing service
European startup Bolt is expanding to Nepal and launching its ride-hailing service in the country. The company’s previous market expansion was its launch in Thailand in 2020. On Wednesday, Bolt…
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Uber, Bolt drivers hope for increased earnings foiled as Tanzania reinstates 25% commission
Barely a year after Tanzania capped the commissions that e-hailing firms like Uber and Bolt charge their partners at 15%, the authority in charge has backtracked on the order, taking…
Bolt launches virtual Shopper Assistant for easier access to personalized experiences
The Shopper Assistant integrates natively into a retailer’s site, and customers can create an account to receive a discount on their first order without leaving the site.
Uber wants court to nullify Kenya’s new ride-hailing law that caps service fee at 18%
Uber has appealed to Kenya’s apex court to annul the new digital taxi-hailing regulations claiming that some aspects are unconstitutional, discriminatory, discouraging to foreign investments and infringing on its rights…
Ryan Breslow has had a tumultuous 2022. It’s not slowing him down. Few outside of Breslow’s world even knew his name a year ago. Then Bolt, a “one-click” checkout tech…
Amazon buys Roomba’s maker, Bolt vanishes, and YC slims down
Hello again! Welcome back to Week in Review, the newsletter where we quickly recap the top stories to cross TechCrunch dot-com over the past seven days. Want it in your…
Chevy Bolt owners must choose between rebates and battery defect lawsuits
Chevy offered rebates to Bolt EV owners who bought their cars just before a 2023 model price drop, but that discount comes with a large catch.
Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. It doesn’t feel…
Fyto combines automation, robotics so aquatic ‘superplants’ can grow almost anywhere
The company’s pilot program showed that farms are able to generate 10 to 20 times more protein per acre and use five to 10 times less water than other crops,…
Forever21’s parent company sues Bolt but settles for becoming a shareholder
A lawsuit that was filed against one-click checkout startup Bolt by one of its biggest customers will be dismissed as the two parties have agreed on a settlement, the companies…
Endurance events marketplace Let’s Do This raises $60M Series B led by Craft and Headline
The appropriately named endurance (so: running, triathlon, cycling, etc.) events marketplace Let’s Do This (a YC alumni) appeared a couple of years ago listing all kinds of endurance activities globally…
The question for Bolt is what sort of multiple it has to obtain to reach market-pricing parity.
With ride-hail and delivery launch, Fenix wants to be the Bolt of the Middle East
Abu Dhabi-based mobility startup Fenix has added ride-hail and courier services to its portfolio of mobility products. The company launched “Fenix Taxi” in Manama, Bahrain, on Monday and says it’s…
Tech layoffs top 15K in a brutal May
It’s been a rough month in the tech sector. We’ve rounded up week after week of layoffs, and according to aggregator layoffs.fyi, more than 15,000 tech workers have lost their…
Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. Happily we were…
Fintech Bolt just laid off over 100 employees across engineering, sales and marketing
One-click checkout startup Bolt has laid off at least 100 employees and counting across go-to-market, sales and recruiting roles, sources say. CEO Maju Kuruvilla confirmed the workforce reduction in a…
Uber today announced a significant milestone — it has completed 1 billion rides across all its markets in Africa. This feat translates to over 10 billion kilometres in terms…
Tiger Global, hit by $17B in hedge fund losses, has nearly depleted its latest VC fund
Tiger Global is having a year. According to a new report from Financial Times, the low-flying-yet-seemingly-ubiquitous 21-year-old outfit has seen losses of about $17 billion during this year’s tech stock…
Bolt CEO addresses startup’s performance in wake of lawsuit, says merchant numbers are up 192% YoY
After a week of making headlines, one-click checkout startup Bolt has issued a public response to questions about how it’s faring in the competitive space. CEO Maju Kuruvilla issued a…
Bolt’s future in Tanzania uncertain after 15% service fee order
The future of Bolt, the Estonia-based ride-hailing company, in Tanzania is hanging in the balance following a new 15% service fee order that went into effect Friday last week. Bolt,…
New VC firm Baukunst spools up to invest in ‘creative technologists’
Aptly, Baukunst — named after the German word for “the art of building” — is looking to invest its freshly raised fund into founders who are “elevating the art of…
Didi Chixung, the Chinese ride-hailing giant, has today shut down its operations in South Africa (SA), a year after it launched in the country, marking its entry into the continent.…
