No, Peter Thiel is not harvesting the blood of the youngPeter Thiel has some wild ideas, but transfusing teen blood into his own body might not be his bag. Uber’s Top Ranks Thin Out as CEO Travis Kalanick Steps AwayOver the past four months, Uber Technologies Inc. faced a new scandal or controversy nearly every week: allegations of harassment and discrimination, a corporate theft lawsuit, allegedly deceiving authorities, a video of the ride-hailing giant’s co-founder arguing with a driver and a director making a sexist comment at a staff meeting to address issues of sexism. [ Bloomberg ] Airbnb Fights House by House With Local Rivals in ChinaDuring 14 months of painstaking renovation, a traditional siheyuan, or courtyard house, in Beijing was infused with hotel comforts and modern styling. Renamed the BBK35, it opened its red lacquered doors for bookings last July on Airbnb, luring hundreds of guests from around the world. [ Bloomberg ] HARDWARE CLUB RAISES $28MHardware Club, the community-based venture firm launched by co-founders Alexis Houssou and Barbara Belvisi along with General Partner Jerry Yang, today announced a $28M raise for the first closing of its inaugural fund, Hardware Club Fund I (Fund 1.) The debut fund will be invested back into new and existing exclusive Hardware Club members for manufacturing and retail partnerships, seeding and go-to-marketing funding and more. The firm has also conducted more than 10 investments in startups like Prynt, Reach Robotics, Keecker and ISKN. [ Venture Pulse ] Venture-Backed CEO: Lessons Learned Inside and Outside of Silicon ValleyElement AI raises $102 million to help companies use machine learningElement AI, a Montreal-based studio that tackles problems using machine learning systems, announced a whopping $102 million in funding today. Data Collective led the round, which is one of the largest series A rounds for an AI company to date. The big check offers a massive war chest to Element, which connects businesses with machine learning experts who work to solve any problems they may have. [ Venture Beat ] Office Hours with Ali RowghaniHow Kim Kardashian West Bounced Back To $45.5 Million--And A New Cosmetics CompanyIt's been quite a year for Kim Kardashian West. From gracing the cover of FORBES to surviving an armed robbery, the reality TV star turned tech entrepreneur has weathered a career low to surge back with a new business: makeup. [ Forbes ] The 24 tech companies losing top talent at an astonishing rateThere are a ton of opportunities in the world of tech. But not all tech companies are created equal when it comes to retaining top talent. Job site Paysa recently released a reportbreaking down which tech companies were able to recruit and retain the best employees from April 2016 to April 2017 — and which struggled to keep the best employees on board. [ Business Insider ] Growing Up with Bowery Farming in a Post-Organic WorldWalking into a Bowery Farm feels closer to stepping into an Intel chip factory or a Kiva Systems-powered Amazon warehouse than the open fields you’d expect to see from a plane or highway. Bowery is the leader in an important movement to change the way food is cultivated and delivered to people in cities, and NYC is its epicenter. [ Medium ] How this country manager launched a Series C startup in Hong Kong in 1 yearAmazon Is in Talks to Buy Indian Online Grocer BigBasketSheryl Sandberg Leads Facebook's Global Courtship Of Small BusinessesU.S. regulators might block the merger of FanDuel and DraftKingsHow chat fiction app Hooked got 20M teens reading on their phoneThis Email From Elon Musk to Tesla Employees Is a Master Class in Emotional IntelligenceVentureast cuts 6th fund target to $100 millionJapan Government Fund Backs 500 StartupsWhere Top European Banks Are Investing In Fintech In One GraphicSunnova secures $140 mln debt funding, racking up almost $1 bln in totalUber faces a fresh probe from U.S. regulators over its privacy practicesDonald Trump, Uber and the Viet Cong have something in common — they are all asymmetric warriorsYes, Uber board member David Bonderman said women talk too much at an all-hands meeting about sexism at Uber |