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Here’s what’s happening:
- Meta starts testing end-to-end encryption on Messenger
- Rivian loss widens in the second quarter
- Robinhood faces class action lawsuit
- Muse meditation headband maker secures funds
- Wazirx Exchange Accused of Aiding Money Laundering
Meta Starts Testing 🔍 Default End-To-End Encryption 🔒 on Messenger
Meta is looking to expand end-to-end encryption on its Messenger platform. The company is now testing the privacy feature as the default setting for certain chats.
Let’s recap
- Facebook has offered end-to-end encrypted chats for Messenger since 2016.
- However, users had to enable the service for each individual chat session, making it a bit of a pain for users to keep conversations secure.
- While the platform wasn’t ready to have encryption on by default late last year, things have now changed as it will now test having end-to-end encrypted chats on by default.
What else is Meta working on?
In addition to the end-to-end encryption feature, Meta it’s also testing a “secure storage feature” for backing up encrypted messages and allowing those message histories to be transferred between devices.
What did Meta say?
“People want to trust that their online conversations with friends and family are private and secure. We’re working hard to protect your personal messages and calls with end-to-end encryption by default on Messenger and Instagram, the company said in its press release.
Uh-oh! Rivian Loss Grows in The Second Quarter đź”˝
Electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive is holding on tight to maintain its full-year guidance for deliveries, but it now anticipates burning an extra $700 million to get there.
Rivian tucked the revised guidance within its second-quarter earnings report, telling investors that it expects to lose a whopping $5.45 billion in 2022, up from the $4.75 billion estimate it shared three months earlier.
Key numbers from Rivian’s Q2 report
- Revenue: $364 million versus $337.5 million expected.
- Adjusted loss per share: $1.62 versus an expected adjusted loss of $1.63 per share.
- Net loss for the quarter: $1.7 billion.
- In Q2, the automaker delivered 4,467 vehicles, which include its SUV and truck, as well as the delivery vans it builds for Amazon.
Has Rivian taken any steps to reduce its loss?
Last month, Rivian announced it was laying off about 6% of its 14,000 employees, citing a need to cut costs to speed up the development of new models of electric trucks and SUVs.
Robinhood Faces Class Action Lawsuit, What Did They Do Now? 🤔
This cryptocurrency and inventory buying and selling platform will allegedly face allegations of market manipulation as a part of a class-action lawsuit introduced by investors in “meme shares.”
Key Background:
- Robinhood blocked the purchase of several securities that soared in price, backed by a rally from Reddit’s WallStreetBets community on January 28, 2021.
- Robinhood cited market volatility for blocking the purchase; however, it allowed customers to sell their positions in the affected stocks.
- The firm’s decision to partially halt trading met intense bipartisan backlash, leading to several class-action lawsuits.
What does this mean?
Following the meme stock controversy, Robinhood will now face a class-action lawsuit for market manipulation from nine companies during the January 2021 rally.
Did Robinhood accept the allegations?
Cheryl Crumpton, Robinhood’s associate general counsel of litigation and regulatory enforcement, said in the statement, “We continue to stand by our actions during this period, which we believe were appropriate and necessary to protect and support our customers.”
Muse Meditation Headband Maker Secures Funds đź’°
Muse mediation headband maker Interaxon Inc. has raised $9.5 million in its Series C funding round.
Here are the investors:
The funding was led by BDC Capital, Alabaster (the family office of Sunny Vu, founder of Misfit), and Export Development Canada.
The round also saw participation from new institutional investors, including Phyto Partners, Iter Investments, Intretech(HK) Co, and The Clavis Foundation.
Interestingly, Interaxon co-founder Ariel Garten also contributed to the financing.
How will this funding help Insteraxon?
With the fresh capital, Interaxon aims to enrich its leading brain health platform by launching an integrated wellness membership model paired with further research and validation of tracking longitudinal changes in the brain.
That’s it? The funding will also support expanding the company’s offerings for third-party developers, researchers, clinicians, and other strategic partnerships.
About Interaxon:
Founded in 2007, Interaxon is a late-stage venture company in the neurotechnology space that develops brain-sensing technology to provide consumers with deeper insight into their brain health and overall well-being. The first edition of its sensor-powered headband, named Muse, was first launched in 2012 and allowed smartphone users to play games and perform other tasks by using only their thoughts.
Wazirx Exchange Accused of Aiding Money Laundering 🚨
India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED), the agency responsible for financial crimes, has accused the WazirX exchange of aiding in laundering $130 million.
The ED froze WazirX bank accounts containing about $8.1 million last week, alleging that the exchange had assisted about 16 fintech companies under investigation for money laundering.
That’s a wrap for today, ladies & gents. See ya next week!
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