Anti-China alliance between Silicon Valley and Capitol Hill takes on Tiktok

The Chinese video platform could be banned in the US over security concerns. Also: Big bank is supposed to buy Signature Bank and Donald Trump is back on YouTube.

Good morning! Even during the weekend, work in the digital scene continued in many places.

The top topics:

Tiktok-CEO Shou Zi Chew is due to be heard before the US Congress this week. It is about a possible ban on the video platform in the USA. Earlier, a high-profile group of Silicon Valley investors reportedly formed a working group with a bipartisan group of US lawmakers. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, the latter aims to combat China’s influence on the US technology industry.

The consortium is to be named the Hill & Valley Forum, a nod to the group’s origins in the eastern and western United States. Former global policy adviser to Google, Jacob Helberg, who heads the alliance, told the medium that Tiktok “represents the most powerful espionage operation China has ever conducted against the US.” Prominent investors Peter Thiel and Vinod Khosla are also scheduled to speak at a dinner that the group is planning before the congress next week. [Mehr bei Wall Street Journal]

On Founder scene: Did car owners want theirs Mobile phones with the operating system in the vehicle couple, they usually used the same apps – either an Android or Apple system. Now the vehicle manufacturers want to build better interfaces so that more tools can be used on the screens. This has many advantages, especially for startups, writes our torque columnist Don Dahlmann. [Mehr bei Gründerszene]

And here are the other headlines of the night and the past few days:

The crypto-friendly Signature Bankwho like that Silicon Valley Bank collapsed, according to a tweet by US investor Bill Ackman on Monday from the major US bank Bank of America be taken over. However, the investor did not name a source for this information and the banks mentioned in the post did not comment either. [Mehr bei Reuters und Handelsblatt]

Youtube has unblocked ex-US President Donald Trump’s account after a two-year ban. In January also had Facebook Trump reinstated. Last Friday, the controversial politician posted the words: “I’m back.” In a video clip that appears to come from a previous campaign speech, he also apologized for keeping his supporters waiting. “Difficult business,” was his comment. Trump, who has 34 million followers on Facebook, probably wants to use the channels for the new 2024 election campaign. [Mehr bei Wall Street Journal und Handelsblatt]

Investment: Rippling has raised $500 million in a near-term Series E funding round. In doing so, the human resources platform wanted to ensure that customers using the firm’s payroll software retained employees after the collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank be able to pay on time. The existing investor Greenoaks led the round that valued the San Francisco firm at $11.25 billion. Rippling used Silicon Valley Bank as its primary banking partner. [Mehr bei Techcrunch und Bloomberg]

the former TheranosCEO Elizabeth Holmes should have paid back more than $25 million to her former company’s creditors, according to a lawsuit. The once celebrated entrepreneur, who is now serving an eleven-year prison sentence for fraud, is said to have failed to do the latter. The lawsuit was filed in December 2022 but only came to light on Friday when Holmes appeared in court. The co-founder of the bankrupt blood testing company is trying to stay out of jail during the appeals process. [Mehr bei CNBC]

Microsoft is making concessions for the deal, according to the European Union Activision Blizzard. The antitrust authorities had previously reviewed the $69 billion takeover. In order to get the promise, Microsoft President Brad Smith offered competitors licenses for the Activision bestseller “Call of Duty”. Some contracts with video game platforms are said to have already been signed. On the other hand, Smith had rejected a breakup of the video game maker Activision or the sale of “Call of Duty”. [Mehr bei Reuters und Handelsblatt]

Our reading tip on Gründerszene: The Berlin “bubble start-up scene” can learn a few things from the TV show “Die Höhle der Löwen”, says Janna Ensthaler in the interview. The series founder and investor will take on a jury role from April. We wanted to know what she thinks about the show and how she got there. [Mehr bei Gründerszene]

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Have a good start into the week!

Your Gründerszene editors