🖥️ the new youtube

TikTok's shocking revelation, Musk's gift to the world, Klarna makes headlines and some more updates.

the mesha tribe

Jun 11, 2021

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Read Time: 970 words, 4:50 minutes.

There’s so much to cover today so let’s get started.

First up,

Market Snapshot 📈

Sensex: 52,474.76 (+0.33%) ↑

Nifty 50: 15,799.35 (+0.39%) ↑

Dow Jones: 34,466.24 (+0.055%) ↑

Nasdaq 100: 13,814.94 (+0.030%) ↑

Bitcoin: $37,457.31

Top Stories 📰

1. Want to advertise on TikTok?

Well, it's only going to cost you $2 million.

The social-media video app is marketing the world's most expensive and valuable real estate by asking people to cough up $2 million to take over its home page in the US.

For that amount, advertisers get to place their ads on TikTok's top view - the first thing users see when they open the app. This space will cost $1.5 million on national holidays in Q3 and will increase to over $2 million in the fourth quarter.

Why the surge? It's mainly due to the app's brilliant performance in the States. TikTok has over 100 million monthly active users as of August 2020, compared to 11 million in 2018. Additionally, the company estimates advertisers who rent their space to generate around 109 million impressions.

While TikTok is still in its early stages of formulating its long-term advertising strategy, its parent company, ByteDance, is leading in revenues among rivals. The company raked in nearly $20 billion in sales in China in 2020 and is projected to make $40 billion in global sales this year.

What about the competition? Facebook reported a 48% growth in sales in Q1, while Alphabet's YouTube grew 49% during the same period. What's more, the entire advertising market in the US is expected to grow over 15% this year, making it a more lucrative prospect for TikTok. In fact, it's going through the same user growth cycle as big players such as YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

Why it matters? TikTok is leveraging on its bigger-than-ever user base to drive its advertising revenue. Since most people don't allocate resources towards advertising on the platform, this could be a turning point for the company to rake in more $$$. For now, only time will tell.

2. The world's fastest (and safest) car is here...

And who else do we have to thank for it other than our beloved, somewhat controversial dogefather, Elon Musk.

At Tesla's Fremont factory, Musk gave a first preview of the Model S Plaid — an all-electric supercar that goes 0 to 60 mph in 2 seconds and has a range of about 400 miles/charge with a top speed of 200 miles/hour. That's not all: the car's entertainment system, Musk said, is similar to PlayStation 5. And its sound system almost has a home-theatre feel to it.

The cost? $131,100.

Musk elaborated on his decision to make this car, saying that it's "quite important" for sustainability's future." We’ve gotta show that an electric car is the best car, hands down,” he added.

Model S Plaid, a name which is a reference to the 1987 comedy film 'Spaceballs,' was first delivered in 2012 at an exclusive, invitation-only event. The company is currently manufacturing four vehicles: the Model 3, Y, X, and S.

And "One more thing..." Well, unfortunately, this event didn't have that. Musk didn't reveal any surprise updates about Semi, Roadster, and Cybertruck — which BTW Tesla hasn't delivered yet. He also didn't talk about his decision to kill the 'Plaid+' version of Model S.

Why it matters? Tesla usually hosts one or two events every year to keep customers excited about its new offerings. However, Musk's habit of overpromising has left many to question the timely delivery of Model S Plaid, along with the company's other offerings.

3. Today’s big deals 🎉

Talent management startup raises $220 million
Eightfold AI, a California-based AI and deep learning startup that helps firms in their talent acquisition needs, has raised a $220 million Series E funding round at a $2.1 billion valuation. The round was led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with Capital One Ventures, IVP, Foundation Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and General Catalyst participating in the fundraising. The five-year-old startup provides clients with a recruitment platform that sifts through thousands of resumes and helps select the right candidate for the job in real-time. The company has over 100 companies as its clients and offers its platform in more than 12 languages. Eightfold plans to use the fresh capital infusion to double down its expansion efforts and hire more engineers and data scientists.
SoftBank boosts Klarna's valuation to $45.6 billion
Swedish buy-now-pay-later startup Klarna has raised $639 million in its latest funding round, once again, led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2, making it the highest-valued private fintech in Europe. The latest round comes just three months after the company raised $1 billion from SilverLake, Sequoia Capital, and Dragoneer, among others. The 16-year-old startup has recently seen massive momentum in the US, where it has over 18 million users. The company has over 90 global active users, has partnered with 250,000 retailers, is live in 20 markets, and has processed a staggering 2 million transactions per day on its platforms. Klarna plans to use the capital to divert its focus towards global expansion efforts and disrupt the $1 trillion-plus credit card industry.