Reddit leans harder on AMAs: Reddit has launched five new tools that aim to make its Ask Me Anything program easier to use for celebs, public figures, and your everyday redditor. There’s now a dedicated AMA tab on the post composer, as well as new features like the ability to add guest collaborators, a scheduling function and more. Read More
Threads starts running fact-checks: Meta’s Threads is starting its own fact-checking program after piggybacking on Instagram and Facebook’s networks since its launch. Threads fact-checkers can rate and mark false content on the platform, IG head Adam Mosseri said, but he didn’t share many other details. It’s just in time for the 2024 presidential election, so put on your skeptic glasses whenever you read anything on social media anyway. Read More
Go Digit, Go! Indian insurance startup Go Digit has raised $141 million as part of its IPO, with Fidelity, Goldman Sachs, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and more serving as anchor investors. The startup, which sells auto, health, travel and accidental insurance, hopes to raise about $313 million from its IPO at a valuation of $3 billion. India’s looking set to get a slew of hot IPOs this year, so Go Digit’s debut will be worth watching. Read More
Accio(n) financial inclusion! It’s hard to get loans and the like from big banks when you’re a low-income farmer in the middle of nowhere. Nonprofit group Accion wants to change that, and it has raised a $152.5 million Digital Transformation Fund to help financial providers across Asia, Latin America and Africa design responsible digital solutions and better serve the underserved. Read More
Watching what you eat is also good for the planet: Or at least that’s what PeakBridge seems to believe. The firm has closed a new $187 million fund which it will invest in agriculture and food tech startups doing cool things with food to slow down climate change. The firm is investing in companies like animal-free dairy startup Standing Ovation, and Win-Win, which makes lab-grown cacao. Read More
Lydia wants to be a bank, too, guys: French payments app Lydia grew fast in its early days because it was easy to use: You could send money to other people — like Venmo — and that was that. But then it added everything from stock and crypto trading to small loans and savings accounts, and grew bloated. Now, it wants to simplify what it offers, and is therefore splitting into two apps – Lydia for users who want to only send and receive money, and Sumeria for people looking for a mobile-first bank account. That’s one way to solve that problem. Read More
From Mars, with love: Intuitive Machines wants to reshape the Mars Sample Return mission architecture with its own tech that’s been developed for lunar material returns. And NASA apparently needs the help. The space agency said its own architecture for the $11 billion, 15-year mission has become too expensive and complex. Read More
