Dear Studio Fam,
As summer comes to a close, we bring you news of a number of ups and downs in the tech industry. It’s another banner week for the Federal government’s antitrust enforcers who are now pursuing action against a major player in the proptech sector. But things are looking up for the robotaxi industry, and we’ve got news of a major new partnership to bring driverless taxis to the masses. In ecommerce, it remains to be seen if news of Bolt’s new funding announcement will end positively or negative (par for the course for founder Ryan Breslow). And in healthtech, things are looking bleak for Peloton who announced a slate of new fees.
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DOJ Sues RealPage For Inflating Rents
Yet another tech company has been sued by the Federal government for violating antitrust law. This time the accused is RealPage, a real estate technology company that helps landlords figure out how much rent they can charge. According to the lawsuit, RealPage illegally leveraged pricing data from competing landlords to make pricing recommendations that artificially inflated rents. RealPage is owned by private equity firm Thoma Bravo, which previously faced antitrust action for illegally consolidating software businesses in the natural gas industry.
Uber Partnering With Cruise for Robotaxi Relaunch
Uber announced a robotaxi partnership with GM-owned Cruise this week, years after shutting down its own self-driving car initiative. The deal follows Uber’s original model of not owning the cars in its network by simply offering booking and payment facilities for Cruise-owned robotaxis. Cruise has faced its own operational and regulatory challenges after being forced by California regulators to shut down last year after a Cruise vehicle hit and dragged a pedestrian in San Francisco. The partnership is set to launch next year.
Ryan Breslow Is Back at Bolt, Maybe
One-click-checkout startup Bolt announced a new funding round this week, along with the possibility of its controversial founder Ryan Breslow returning to helm the company. Breslow left the company after a series of controversies involving inflated growth metrics, a lawsuit by one of its biggest customers, and revelations that Breslow had pocketed a significant amount of the company’s funding. Unsurprisingly, the funding announcement was immediately followed by similar controversies as the investment bank named in the funding documents disclaimed any involvement in the deal. It’s now unclear where exactly the $450 million round is coming from, or whether it’s actually a fundraise or offering of in-kind marketing services.
Peloton Is Just A Scammy Gym Now
Peloton announced new fees for purchasers of used equipment this week, signaling that the beleaguered company is desperate for new sources of revenue. Used Peloton bikes are available second hand for a fraction of the retail price. Starting next month, used Peloton buyers will have to pay $95 to activate a Peloton account in addition to the $44 monthly membership fee. Considering Peloton stock is down almost 20% this year (and 80% off its IPO price), it wouldn’t be a surprise if the company adopts even more scammy practices from the commercial gym industry like cancellation fees.