The Japanese messaging service Line will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange today. Earlier this week, Line raised $1.1 billion in its IPO, which values the company at $7 billion. It's the largest tech IPO of 2016, even though the company is struggling to add users.
[ Barbara Ortutay and Youkyung Lee | Associated Press]
Donald Trump is going to announce his VP pick on Friday, and the shortlist reportedly includes Newt Gingrich, a couple GOP senators and a few others. Once Trump gets through his latest scandal (a $10 million lawsuit against a former aide who allegedly leaked about a rumored affair between other Trump aides), he'll get to his GOP convention that includes speakers like Tim Tebow, Peter Thiel, UFC boss Dana White and a few other unconventional choices.
[Reid J. Epstein and Janet Hook | The Wall Street Journal]
One speaker at next week's convention will be of particular interest to the tech world: Peter Thiel, the billionaire investor, Facebook board member and Gawker Media arch enemy, is slated to appear on Thursday night.
[Dawn Chmielewski | Recode]
Even if Hillary Clinton beats Trump in November, Trump's legacy — the re-mainstreaming of white supremacist politics — will be felt for years to come. So argues Slate Group president and ex-Slate editor Jacob Weisberg, in an interview with Peter Kafka on the latest Recode Media podcast.
[Eric Johnson | Recode]
Niantic Labs is signing up advertisers for Pokémon Go, executing a business strategy that it pioneered with its previous game, Ingress. The idea is that companies like Starbucks or Duane Reade will pay Niantic for promoting their physical locations in addition to in-app purchases.
[Tim Bradshaw and Leo Lewis | The Financial Times]
Time Warner's Turner has invested in Refinery 29, the publisher focused on millennial women. Turner also invested in Mashable earlier this year; Hearst and Scripps have previously invested in Refinery 29.
[Peter Kafka | Recode]
Unity, a gaming startup that makes underlying technology that's used in many popular games (including Pokémon Go), raised $181 million at a $1.5 billion valuation in a new round of funding. Unity needs the money; deep-pocketed rivals in its space include Amazon and Tencent.
[Nick Wingfield | The New York Times]
