Good evening!
Week three of Fantasy Football starts tomorrow. How are y’all doing so far?
Here are the 7 things you missed today:
1. 🚕 Waymo’s Coming for Nashville, With Some Help From Lyft
Waymo and Lyft are partnering to launch robotaxi services in Nashville next year, marking another expansion for Waymo’s autonomous ride-services. Rides will initially be booked through Waymo’s app, with integration into Lyft’s platform coming later. Lyft will also invest in building out the infrastructure to maintain and charge the robotaxi fleet. (Tech Crunch)
2. 😩 Thera is Solving Global Payroll Headaches
Global payroll shouldn’t mean bloated software or overpriced contracts. Thera simplifies cross-border and local payments with lightning-fast onboarding, real-time support via Slack/WhatsApp, and better FX rates.
One customer moved 330 contractors off another platform and saved over 50% on fees.
With same-day payouts and no long-term contracts, you'll get all of Thera's services for less than half the price of others.
3. 💸 Google Ventures Is Putting Its Faith Into Startup Blacksmith
Blacksmith, a developer tools startup, raised an impressive $10 million Series A in 14 days, and just four months after its seed round. Google Ventures led the round and doubled its investment from May, showing strong confidence in Blacksmith’s growth. The company focuses on continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD), leveraging bare-metal infrastructure to speed up builds and cut infrastructure costs. (Tech Crunch)
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5. 🍴Cracker Barrel’s Stock Fell Amidst Logo Backlash
The Cracker Barrel controversy continues. The restaurant chain reported mixed fiscal Q4 earnings–while revenue beat expectations, and landed around $868 million, and restaurant its earnings per share was below expected ($0.74 vs. $0.80) and its stock dipped about 10% in after hours trading. Looking ahead to 2026, Cracker Barrel projects revenue between $3.35-$3.45 billion and expects a 4-7% drop in comparable store traffic. (CNBC)
6. 😢 Jerry Greenfield of Ben and Jerry’s Stepped Down
It’s always sad to see an iconic duo break up. Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, announced he’s stepping down, due to issues with its parent company Unilever. He stated that Unilever back tracked on promises made during the merger that were meant to protect Ben & Jerry’s ability to speak on political and social issues. (CNN)
7. 🎟️ StubHub’s IPO Raised $800M but Debuted with Mixed Performance
StubHub raised $800 million in its U.S. IPO, pricing shares at $23.50 each, valuing the company around $8.5-$9 billion. On its debut, shares opened higher but then fell 6.4%, closing below the IPO price, reflecting some investor hesitation. (Bloomberg)
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