Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.

It finally happened, ladies and gentleman and our non-binary friends. The Holiday News Slowdown has arrived. Late, I might add, but still here at last. But that did not stop Grace and Alex from making you your weekly kickoff show!

Welcome to the final Equity Monday of the year. Here’s what we got into:

  • The Indian PM’s Twitter account was hacked, and used to promote bitcoin. Not a great look for the crypto world.
  • The SenseTime IPO is on hold after the US government “added SenseTime Group Limited to the Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies List,” per the company. The AI listing’s delay is not a great look for Chinese tech market liquidity.
  • Fuse added $25 million to its Series B, helping bring insurance products to Southeast Asia.
  • Thirdweb raised $5 million to bring together no-code and Web3, which we think is pretty cool.

Don’t forget that Equity is back Friday for a final news roundup, and that we have two holiday eps coming during the last two weeks of the year! Talk soon!

Equity drops every Monday at 7:00 a.m. PST, Wednesday, and Friday at 6:00 a.m. PST, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts.