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THE HEADLINES
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GETTIN SWIGGY WITH IT
Food delivery services in India are hotter than the curry. Swiggy will join the 3 keema club with its $210M funding round.
The $1.3B valuation and $465M total raised from investors makes Swiggy (P) the most well-capitalized food delivery startup in India. Zomato isn’t far behind with $440M.
Swiggy’s service caters to 35k restaurants with a delivery fleet 40k strong. The latest round of funding should help the Uber Eats of Asia expand to even more locations in India and build out its logistic’s network.
Water Cooler Talking Point: “Do you think they have “American Food” in India? A Swiggy driver shows up with deep-fried Oreos and casserole while an Indian family settles in for a 6-day cricket match.”
AIN’T TAX SOME SH*T
The Supreme Court overturned a ruling allowing the state of South Dakota to charge internet sellers state sales tax.
The Supreme Court voted 5-4 in favor of allowing states to charge sales tax to its respective residents on internet sales. The decision cited an estimated $34B in taxes that could be collected by state governments.
The home of Mount Rushmore did add one caveat protecting mom & pop shops: retailers must do over $100k in sales or 200 transactions per year.
Big retailers like Walmart have already been charging customers sales tax because they meet the “physical presence,” requirement of the law.
Meanwhile, companies like Wayfair have been considered exempt from the tax. Fear not, Amazon.com already collects tax in the 44 states where sales tax is collected, so don’t expect your Prime membership to go up (again).
Water Cooler Talking Point: “Screw taxes, I’m going to fight this til the end! *Buys tax law book from Amazon, pays sales tax*”
WHAT CAN’T THESE GUYS DO?
AT&T is jumping into the streaming ring with its own monthly subscription service that would bring traditional programming to those pesky millennials who’ve cut the cord. The service, called WatchTV (real original, man) will provide a “skinny bundle” of channels to users for just $15 per month.
Subscribers on unlimited data plans through AT&T will receive the service for free, while nonsubscribers will need to open up their wallets. Initial channel listings will include 31 networks from Discovery Communications and AMC, while Viacom will be coming on board post-launch.
The announcement comes just days after AT&T closed a massive deal to acquire Time Warner.
Water Cooler Talking Point: “What’s the deal with calling it a skinny bundle, AT&T? Don’t channel shame us.”
IN OTHER NEWS
- Bossa Nova Robotics, who make devices that scan grocery stores at Walmart to identify sales patterns, received $29M in fresh funding. Hopefully, they use the money to install samples on the robots.
- Burger King apologized for Russian ads telling women to get impregnated by Soccer stars. Ummm, duh.
- Intel CEO John Krzanich stepped down after violating company policy (read: having a relationship with an employee). Investigations confirmed it was a “past consensual relationship.”
- Panera owner, JAB Holdings, is closing in on a $5.8B funding round. Yes, people, bread bowls ARE that delicious.
- Stamps.com shares dove after the White House announced a plan to revamp the USPS.
- US indices were down yesterday:
- DOW: -0.80%
- S&P 500: -0.68%
- NASDAQ: –0.88%