The Takeaway newsletter

1 day ago | theinformation.com | Evan Robinson-Johnson

Source: SemaforElon Musk’s Neuralink raised $600 million at a valuation of $9 billion, Semafor reported Tuesday, citing anonymous sources. The brain-computer interface company implanted its third chip last month into the brain of an Arizona man with ALS. The Food and Drug Administration cleared Neuralink for human clinical trials in early 2023 and in May of this year gave the company “breakthrough device designation,” which will speed its development.

1 day ago | theinformation.com | Theo Wayt

Source: The InformationPDD Holdings’ revenue growth slowed and profits plunged in the first quarter, the Chinese e-commerce giant reported Tuesday, as U.S.-China trade tensions battered the company’s overseas discount bargain site Temu. PDD shares were trading down 15% on Tuesday morning. PDD, which doesn’t break out Temu’s financials, said overall revenue grew 10% to $2.2 billion in the first quarter, the slowest growth in three years. Net income fell 47% year-over-year to $2.0 billion.

1 day ago | theinformation.com | Wayne Ma

Three years ago, Elon Musk approached Apple with an eleventh-hour offer. Musk had heard that Apple was about to announce a feature for the upcoming iPhone 14 in partnership with satellite firm Globalstar that would allow iPhones to send text messages to emergency services in areas without cellular reception. He wanted Apple to instead use satellite internet service from Starlink, a Globalstar rival operated by Musk’s rocket company, SpaceX.

3 days ago | theinformation.com | Michael Roddan

Global payroll startup Deel is bolstering its governance and ending some of its unusual practices as it fights accusations in a lawsuit that its CEO and board chair recruited and paid a corporate spy at its archrival, Rippling. Deel is moving its official corporate headquarters from its current location: a two-bedroom apartment in a San Francisco luxury high-rise.

4 days ago | theinformation.com | Sara Germano

Last Saturday, the WNBA’s Indiana Fever hosted the Chicago Sky for their 2025 season opener, a highly anticipated matchup between archrival stars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. It was a hard-fought game until the third quarter, when everything went off the rails. Clark, who is white, committed a flagrant foul on Reese, who is Black, leading to a near-scuffle between the teams.