Reads

Jack Dorsey’s Bitcoin venture TBD, unveiled an ambitious effort to build a decentralized Web platform dubbed "Web 5." Here is the link to the presentation that explores the different components of the proposed platform.

Web5 brings decentralized identity and data storage to your applications. It lets devs focus on creating delightful user experiences, while returning ownership of data and identity to individuals.

Introducing Network Effect #16: Hub-and-Spoke - James Currier

It’s the network effect that drove TikTok’s ascendance in 2016, Medium’s initial traction in 2013 until they blew it, and now that we can see the pattern, LiveJournal’s growth in 2000, and CraigsList’s growth in 1995.

ByteDance's bumpy year - Casey Newton

TikTok remains dominant, but some (tiny) cracks are beginning to show

A Billion-Dollar Crypto Gaming Startup Promised Riches and Delivered Disaster -Joshua Brustein

Axie Infinity’s vision of a “play-to-earn” video game has crumbled, and the company behind it now tells the players who bought into the hype it was never about the money, anyway.

Audios

Convoy | Transporting Innovation - Greymatter.

Convoy CEO and co-founder Dan Lewis discusses the current shipping landscape and how his company is upgrading the long-antiquated trucking industry. Convoy, which has developed a platform that puts drivers, shipping companies, and freight brokers on the grid has allowed all parties to operate more efficiently, resulting in saved costs and time as well as reducing pollution. Founded in 2015, Convoy now works with about 80,000 registered trucking companies (which collectively have some 400,000 trucks in their network), and in April raised $260 million in Series E funding.

Fundings

Deal size > $10m; includes platform companies only; non-exhaustive list

Company Profiles

• Multiverse | Series D - $220M | London, United Kingdom

Multiverse is a tech startup that matches talent who have not graduated from college with apprenticeship opportunities.

• Backbase | Private Equity - $129M | Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Backbase empowers financial institutions to accelerate their digital transformation and effectively compete in a digital-first world.

• Codat | Series C - $100M | London, United Kingdom

Codat is the universal API for small business data.

• Bud | Series B - $80M | London, United Kingdom

Bud develops an open banking platform that enables users to access data from any financial product.

• Coinhouse | $40M | Paris, France

Coinhouse is a digital platform for individuals and institutions wishing to acquire and secure their digital assets.

• Calaxy | Series A - $26M | Katy, United States

Calaxy is the open social marketplace designed & built by Creators for Creators.

• bttn. | Series A - $20M | Seatle, United States

bttn. offers subscription-based ordering on direct-from-manufacturer medical supplies.

For details visit Funding rounds at Platfirms

Acquisitions

Turo Acquires Car-Sharing Service OuiCar to Expand in Europe - Bloomberg

Turo and Ouicar are targeting millions of international tourists in France and aim to expand in the US, UK and Canada

View more Acquisitions at Platfirms

Events

June 16-18 | Berkeley-Padova-Paris 7th Organizational Economics Workshop

Keynote : Governance and Trust in Online Marketplaces - Steve Tadelis

For more platform events visit Events at Platfirms