Futurum Research senior analyst, Steven Dickens provides his take on the potential $45 billion acquisition by PayPal of social media platform Pinterest. With social media platforms under the microscope of U.S. and EU regulators and their traditional business models under threat from privacy concerns, they are increasingly turning to the world of finance. The tie up of PayPal and Pinterest would streamline the online shopping journey for 454 million global users and would set the combined company up to be a leader in the nascent world of the metaverse.
Google and Nokia Strike a Five-Year Cloud Deal
Google Cloud and Nokia strike a five-year cloud deal where Nokia plans to fully migrate its on-premise IT infrastructure to Google Cloud. This is a significant telecom win for Google and reaffirms the trend of the major cloud players’ focusing on industry verticals.
Following PayPal Lead, Visa, Mastercard, Stripe and Others Bail on Facebook Libra
Mastercard, Visa, Stripe, eBay, and Mercado Pago all bail out of Facebook-led Libra cryptocurrency project, likely due to fears of increased regulatory scrutiny to their own businesses as a result of their participation. Can’t say I blame them.