As more companies find their workflows upended by remote work in the pandemic crisis, there are plenty of SaaS startups aiming to sell them a new path to streamlining processes. Tonkean is an SF startup selling a no-code automation platform to do just that, and it’s in the fortunate position of just having closed a… Continue reading No-code automation platform Tonkean raises $24M from Lightspeed

LinkedIn has no plans to make COVID-related layoffs until at least the end of June 2020, the professional network has confirmed to TechCrunch. This announcements comes after Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff’s pledge last month to have no significant layoffs for the next 90 days. Other business leaders such as Bank of America’s CEO Brian Moynihan… Continue reading LinkedIn has no plans to make COVID-19 related layoffs from now until end of fiscal year

Motherly CEO Jill Koziol admits that it was a tough pitch when she and her co-founder Liz Tenety first tried to get investors on-board in 2015. “We wanted to create a brand first and foremost,” Koziol told me. “We did not want to go and build a media company or a [direct-to-consumer] company or Facebook… Continue reading Mom-focused content startup Motherly raises $5.4M as it expands into commerce

Microsoft announced its latest Windows 10 preview build today and while that is a pretty routine affair these days, the company also used today’s announcement to also launch the beta version of a new news consumption experience that anybody on a Windows 10 device can try out today. The Microsoft News Bar aggregates news from… Continue reading Microsoft starts testing a new news reading experience in Windows 10

Public markets around the world have been tanking for the past few weeks, and many companies simply can’t operate during a lockdown. Sheltering in place has had some terrible economic consequences, with a record number of Americans getting laid off, including many startup employees. But what is happening in Europe? You might also be wondering… Continue reading How one European VC firm is reacting to the economic crisis

Airbnb is tweaking its landing page and introducing new features all aimed at longer-term stays, as the online rental marketplace looks to capitalize on a growing segment of its business. The changes are being rolled out just days after Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said the company had raised $1 billion and laid out plans to… Continue reading Airbnb rolls out new features aimed at its next big bet: longer term stays

Rocket Lab is in the process of developing a way to recover the rockets it launches, despite their originally being designed as fully expendable launch vehicles. The company had a surprise announcement on Wednesday: It’s actually already managed to successfully catch an Electron in mid-air, during a test meant to prove out the feasibility of… Continue reading Rocket Lab catches an Electron stage in mid-air, demonstrating a key part of its rocket recovery plan

Netflix is launching a new series on Instagram that will focus on taking care of yourself and your mental health during the COVID-19 global pandemic. The series, which will begin airing on Instagram Live tomorrow at 7 PM PT, features the stars of some of Netflix’s top Young Adult shows and movies, including “To All… Continue reading Netflix to launch weekly Instagram Live series about coping during the COVID-19 pandemic

Zoom has been served with another class action lawsuit — this time by one of its shareholders, who says he lost money after the company “overstated” its security measures, which led its share price to tank. The video conferencing giant has seen its daily usage rocket from 10 million users to 200 million since the… Continue reading Zoom sued by shareholder for ‘overstating’ security claims

Earlier this week, the Equity crew caught up with Work-Bench investor Jon Lehr to get his take on the current market, and how his firm goes about making investment decisions. The conversation was a treat, so we cut a piece of it off for everyone to listen to. The full audio and a loose transcript… Continue reading Talking venture, B2B and thesis-driven investment with Work-Bench’s Jon Lehr