Payments company Stripe has raised $600m in its latest round of investment, the Financial Times (FT) reports. In total, investors valued the company at $95 billion, $15 billion more than Facebook's valuation prior to its IPO in 2012 and a record for a private Silicon Valley company. Stripe has become the third highest valued company in the world, the FT specifies. In first place is China's...

German carmaker Volkswagen has developed a scheme that will help it cut costs significantly. According to Handelsblatt, the company intends to start transitioning its employees in Germany to part-time employment with early retirement. This measure will first be applied to the plants of the title brand and then to other brands. In total, the concern expects to cut up to 5,000 jobs in this way....

The US company Roblox, developer of a platform on which users can create their own video games, went public on Wednesday, 10 March. Its shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker RBLX. Its stock rose 55% to $69.5 per share in early trading, bringing the company's total value to $45 billion. The stock later declined slightly, but Roblox was still worth $42 billion,...

US corporation General Electric (GE) announced the sale of its aircraft leasing division GE Capital Aviation Service (Gecas) to its Irish competitor AerCap Holdings. The transaction amounted to $30 billion, with AerCap paying $24 billion in cash and the rest in shares of the combined company. Thus, after the completion of the deal GE will continue to hold a 46% stake in the combined company. The...

The French association France Digitale, which defends the interests of local technology start-ups and venture capitalists, has claimed that the US corporation Apple is violating EU legislation on the protection of user data. In a statement that was made available to Reuters, it said that while the latest version of iOS 14 asks users whether they are willing to allow apps installed on their mobile...

British-Dutch company Unilever has announced that it will no longer use the word "normal" to describe specific physical characteristics on cosmetic product packaging. According to the company’s statement, research has shown that "using the word 'normal' to describe hair or skin colour makes most people feel as though they are not taken into account. The same study found that most people felt...

Volvo Cars has unveiled its new business strategy for the next decade. The Swedish carmaker intends to switch to producing exclusively electric cars by 2030. In the coming years, the company intends to produce a new family of electric cars. They will be sold only online. Volvo will offer its customers electric cars in a certain configuration, which will then be delivered directly to the customer....

According to US TV channel NBC, US drugmaker Merck & Co will help Johnson & Johnson produce its COVID-19 vaccine. The "historic collaboration" between the two competitors in the interests of national security was announced by US President Joseph Biden. Sources within the presidential administration told the news channel that the partnership agreement between the pharmaceutical companies...

California-based autonomous drone maker Skydio has become a "unicorn" after investors have valued it at $1bn. The company produces $999-worth aircraft, which are eagerly purchased by police and the US Army. Developer and manufacturer of small autonomous drones Skydio has become a "unicorn", reported US Forbes. The startup raised $170m in a Series D funding round led by venture capital fund...