Sidewalk delivery robot startup Serve Robotics goes public via blank-check merger

Today’s top story involves the reverse merger of the Uber- and Nvidia-backed delivery robot startup Serve Robotics. The merger will make it a public company. Read more.

Next, OpenAI announced that it’s expanding custom instructions to all users, even those using ChatGPT for free. Learn how it gives users more control over how ChatGPT responds.

Meanwhile, Instacart now accepts EBT SNAP payments in all 50 states. Read on.

Then, Moove gets a valuation boost after securing $76 million in equity and debt. Read more about this fintech mobility company.

And X CEO Linda Yaccarino did her first broadcast interview since taking the helm of the company formerly known as Twitter. Here’s what she had to say. Meanwhile, video calls are coming.

More top reads

M&A: Security company Check Point buys Perimeter 81 for $490 million to enhance its security tools for hybrid and remote workers. Get the scoop.

Teamwork: Now you can verify your Threads profile on Mastodon. Here’s how.

What’s the password?: Disney is taking a nod from Netflix in cracking down on the sharing of passwords. Learn more. Meanwhile, Disney+ makes another price hike and Hotstar loses nearly a fourth of its subscribers.

Making molds: SAEKI’s “microfactories” help large concrete mold manufacturing scale up. Read more.

Fearless indeed: Fearless Fund responds to racial discrimination lawsuit. Here’s what the firm’s founders had to say. Looking for more? Listen to Wednesday’s Equity podcast for more on the story.

A decade long: We learned that Belarus hackers have been targeting foreign diplomats with the help of local ISPs for the better part of 10 years. Find out what researchers say happened.

Oura’s got some competition: Looking for something new in fitness and nutrition? Check out this review of the Ultrahuman Ring Air. If you like it, then you can put a ring on it.

There’s been an incident: Websites go down all the time; however, Rootly, now flush with $12 million, wants to automate this to reduce outages. Get the scoop.

Stopping the leaks: Wint, which bills itself as a “water intelligence” startup, grabbed $35 million to help companies find and stop leaks. Start the word flow here.

Credit crown: Meet Marie-Elise Droga, Visa’s new head of fintech, who talks about partnerships, venture and creators as an addressable market. Read the Q&A.

Private eyes: With all of the data hacks out there, companies are paying a lot of money to keep their data safe. Enter Osano, a data privacy management platform that secured $25 million to be the go-to solution. Read more.

More for your Thursday:

Lyft takes a page from Uber’s playbook: Ads

VLGE opens SDK for its no-code virtual world builder aimed at fashion, beauty and art industries

Basys.ai grabs $2.4M for its prior authorization tech powered by Mayo Clinic’s data

The most valuable startups are getting closer to profitability, but at a cost (TC+)

Identity management platform Veza secures $15M from Capital One and ServiceNow

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Unveiling the winning formula: How B2C fintechs conquer customer acquisition

Customer acquisition costs are top of mind for every startup, but B2C (business-to-consumer) fintechs operate in an intensely competitive environment as they try to differentiate their offerings.

To find tactics that helped companies break through, Ian Sherman, director of growth and value creation at Sagard, surveyed fintechs between seed stage and Series D to track how they managed their marketing budgets over time.

“Amid the barrage of marketing channels available, the mantra for B2C fintechs is ‘less is more,” and our evidence-based research supports this approach,” he writes.

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