Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. The crew was back at full-speed, and maybe even full excitemen
There’s no shortage of fintechs claiming to build a more inclusive, mission-driven fintech platform for lower-income individuals. However, hurdles like required credit history or predatory interest
South Korean internet conglomerate Naver Group continues to ride the hottest internet trends targeting young users. It has been the name behind messaging giant Line and popular selfie app Snow. And no
As a SaaS company with a community-led growth model, our journey to breaking into Japan might be different to companies with other models, but the core tenets remain the same. Here's what we learned.
Line is a regular staple at CES, showing off its high-end milled-aluminium docking stations. This year, the company is back in Las Vegas with an accessory aimed squarely at the gamers among us. Line F
Japan-based messaging app Line Corporation, which is wholly owned by Z Holdings, will launch an NFT service next year via its new organization LineNext to provide the marketplace for companies and ind
If you can’t say it with words, say it with an emoji. Facebook is announcing a few minor updates today to its Messenger platform, which make it easier than ever to find the exact emoji you’
A new voice-based social app that cites Clubhouse as its biggest inspiration offers a playful new way to stay in touch with close friends and family. Zebra leaves video out of the equation altogether
Google has selected 30 startups to receive a share of its $2 million Black Founders Fund in Europe, providing these companies with a spot of cash, some valuable cloud services and a bit of good old-fa
Line Corporation, best known for its messaging app, will launch a digital banking platform in Indonesia this month. This means Japan-based Line Corp. will offer banking services in three of its bigges
Uber is introducing two new types of services, the company announced this week, including Uber Direct and Uber Connect. Direct is a delivery platform for retail items, while Connect is a peer-to-peer
SoftBank Corp. announced today that it has reached an agreement to merge with Z Holdings (the SoftBank subsidiary formerly known as Yahoo Japan) and Line Corp., in a move they hope will better positio
According to Nikkei, messaging app Line and Yahoo Japan are about to merge and form a single tech company. Despite the name, Yahoo Japan is currently 100% owned by Z Holdings, a company that is contro
Uber is launching a new shopping app with commerce partner Cargo, a startup with which it signed an exclusive global partnership last year. The app will feature items curated by Uber, including produc
Nintendo held off on building smartphone games for years, but now they just can’t stop. They started with a little stumble with the short-lived Miitomo, but then found an audience with Super Mar
Messaging app firm Line has given up majority control of its Line Games business after it raised outside financing to expand its collection of titles and go after global opportunities. The Line Games
Line is a pretty busy company. Beyond a messaging app that claims more than 160 million users, the company operates services like music streaming, manga, food delivery, games and it is also venturing
Line, the company best-known for its popular Asian messaging app, is doubling down on games after it acquired a controlling stake in Korean studio NextFloor for an undisclosed amount. NextFloor, which
Messaging app firm Line has confirmed it will launch a cryptocurrency exchange called BitBox next month. The company said back in January that it planned to enter the crypto space with an exchange, bu
The developer-centric communications platform Twilio today announced that it has added support for LINE to Twilio Channels. With this, Twilio developers now have the ability to reach users on this ser
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