M&A Episodes

Tech deals, news, and rumors, reported daily.
Feb. 8, 2022

Tue. 02/08 – Nvidia And Arm Are Off

It’s a day of retrenchment. Nvidia and Arm are off. Peter Thiel is leaving the Meta board. Peloton loses its CEO ahead of what is likely to be disastrous earnings. The IRS backs down from the whole facial recognition thing. And Tinder stops charging you more if you’re old.
Feb. 1, 2022

Tue. 02/01 – Destiny And Wordle Get Acquired

The year of gaming consolidation is upon us, with Sony snapping up Bungie. Not EXACTLY related, but the NYTimes has acquired Wordle. Did the CEO of Bolt’s tweets lose him the top job at the company he founded? You can no longer roll through stop signs in your Tesla. And the best use of augmented re…
Jan. 29, 2022

(TWTR SPC) Stonks & Startups With @nmasc_ @Katie_Roof and @ChristineMHall

The great Katie Roof, Natasha Mascarenhas and Christine Hall come on to talk more about the craziness in the stock market and what it might mean for tech startups. Then Chris and I debate The Great Debate surrounding Web3. Shoutout to @randras_ for giving us context, even in the podcast space! S…
Jan. 25, 2022

Tue. 01/25 – Is The Nvidia/Arm Deal Off?

That already fraught tie-up between Nvidia and Arm increasingly looks like it’s running out of time. Google kills its cookie-killer. Twitter is developing a close friends feature. Meta’s new Machine Learning supercomputer. And why the situation in Ukraine might be a black swan event that is nigh.
Jan. 18, 2022

Tue. 01/18 – Microsoft Buys Activision Blizzard In The Biggest Gaming Deal Of All Time

Microsoft is buying Activision Blizzard in the biggest gaming acquisition of all time. Partially this is a metaverse play, but meanwhile, Meta is quietly locking down all the metaverse patents. Crypto.com halts withdrawals on its platform but insists it hasn’t been hacked. And why are countries enc…
Jan. 10, 2022

Mon. 01/10 – Take-Two Acquires Zynga

Take-Two takes out Zynga for $12.7 billion dollars. The SEC wants private unicorn companies to report more financial details. The open source developer who borked a bunch of projects to protest working for the man, I guess. And the weekend Web3 debate between Moxie Marlinspike and Vitalic Buterin.
Dec. 3, 2021

Fri. 12/03 – Acquisition Deathwatch: Nvidia/Arm

Another tech deal goes on a deathwatch, but this time it’s Nvidia and Arm, and this time I think it’s for real. Google is probably working on its own smartwatch. Didi is the first Chinese stock to delist in the west. Instagram is ENCOURAGING you to create a Finsta. And, of course, the Weekend Longr…
Nov. 30, 2021

Tue. 11/30 – Meta Might Do The Giphy Deal Anyway

The UK quashes the Giphy acquisition, but is it actually dead? Maybe not. Was Cyber Monday a bit of a disappointment this year? Why your Pixel phone might reject your cheep charging cable. AWS’s new tools to help you build robots. And a profile of Twitter’s new CEO.
Oct. 21, 2021

Thu. 10/21 – PayPal To Buy Pinterest? Why?

PayPal wants to buy Pinterest and everybody is trying to figure out why. Devs, you can now begin testing Android apps on Windows 11. Gamers, you can now do some powerful gaming for the low, low price of $100 a month. Some, just, spectacularly monster raises in the crypto space. And I get talked out…
June 15, 2021

Tue. 06/15 – Automattic Acquires Day One

Automattic acquires the popular iOS and iPad OS journaling app, Day One. Everybody wants a piece of Stripe. Stripe wants to be the “Stripe for Identity” all by itself. With HBO vanquished, now Netflix wants to become Disney faster than Disney can become Netflix. And could I interest you in an NFT o…
April 12, 2021

Mon. 04/12 – Microsoft Acquires Nuance

Microsoft acquires the biggest name in speech tech. Apple is maybe developing some home gadgets I feel like they should have done years ago. Might we see new iPads by the end of the month? Google wants to stop you from walking and texting. And a review of the new Mercedes-Benz entrant into the EV w…
Jan. 13, 2021

Wed. 01/13 – The Visa/Plaid Merger Is Called Off

The Visa/Plaid merger is called off, and I’ll tell you why I think this is a sign of the current situation for tech. More tectonic shifts in the chip industry including Qualcomm acquiring a startup and Intel losing its CEO. More smoke around the fire story of an Apple Car. And Facebook has noticed …
Dec. 2, 2020

Wed. 12/2 – A Salesforce/Slack Deal Analysis

A full analysis of the huge Salesforce/Slack deal. What HPE leaving Silicon Valley means, even if only symbolically. Qualcomm’s new flagship Snapdragon chip. All the announcements from AWS re:Invent. A smartwatch with a 9 day...
Oct. 27, 2020

Tue. 10/27 – AMD Buys Xilinx for $35 Billion

AMD does indeed buy Xilinx for $35 billion dollars. The UK bans locked phones. Tinder rolls out video dating. Zoom finally rolls out encryption. A major breakthrough in OLED technology has major implications for VR and for po...
Aug. 31, 2020

Mon. 08/31 – TikTok Has A Buyer?

Has TikTok found its buyer? Lenovo launches its flagship laptop. Netflix is offering free access to some of its originals. Amazon can officially start drone delivery. But drug cartels are already using drones for assassinatio...