For the latest in tech, plug into Tech Talk. We deliver industry highlights straight to your inbox, so you never feel out of the loop. From China hitting the “Block” button on Facebook to the 13 biggest Portland tech deals for 2018, this is what’s happening for July.
Trillion Dollar Baby
The fight is on among contenders Apple, Amazon and Google to become the first trillion-dollar company. Apple is the frontrunner with a value landing just under $940 billion. Amazon trails behind with a $902 billion valuation.
Underdog Google just earned its place in the ring after an astounding quarter, with the company’s ad business growing 24% and parent company Alphabet earning $32.66 billion—that is, before taking a hit from the record-breaking $5 billion fine imposed by European regulators.
Apple may be the fan favorite, but with Amazon and Google making big money moves, it very well could be anyone’s fight.
China Friends, Unfriends and (Once Again) Blocks Facebook
After a decade of courting China, Facebook seemed to have made headway after receiving governmental approval on a subsidiary in the city of Hangzhou.
The social media giant barely had time to relish in its victory before the Chinese government removed the corporate registration from its website and censored references to the new subsidiary.
China is notoriously difficult to navigate, especially for outside social media companies that pose a threat to the stability of the Communist Party. That’s not to say, however, that doing business with the country is impossible. After all, LinkedIn managed to make it work by voluntarily censoring its services.
Facebook has bigger hurdles to overcome though, especially in the aftermath of its user data abuse scandal. Mark Zuckerberg even claimed that his company has a long way to go before they can do business with China.
We need to figure out a solution that is in line with our principles and what we want to do, and in line with the laws there, or else it’s not going to happen. Right now, there isn’t an intersection.
13 Biggest Portland Tech Deals for 2018
The Silicon Forest is looking greener than ever. In one week of Q2, investors pumped $280 million into Oregon startups, and tech giants like Apple, Amazon, Google and eBay are still sitting pretty in the comfort of their Portland offices.
Companies big and small are flourishing in the Silicon Forest, as evidenced by the big deals that have gone down so far this year. One such deal was Jama Software scoring $200 million for a “growth equity investment” from Insight Venture Partners.
Another major Portland player Puppet landed a spot on the list for its $42 million deal—the biggest single investment round the company’s ever had and its first one in four years. To see which other companies made it on the list, check out the full article here.
