Putting VCs’ friendships under scrutiny

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Hello readers,

Who else has ever Googled this? “Is it better to have too few/too many friends?” Well, you’re not alone — VCs wonder a lot about that too, but for a whole other reason: exit performances and investment opportunities.

We spoke to several founders and VCs to find out whether having more or fewer friends is better. You can read about it in this article or scroll down for a quick summary.

But first, your quick bytes for today:

1️⃣ TikTok CEO says, “So long, farewell”

Kevin Mayer left Disney to take up the chief position at the short-video platform, but after only three months, he has decided to leave the company due to rising political tension and the US president’s threats to ban TikTok.

2️⃣ Ex-Honestbee staffers want their money back

Last November, some former Honestbee employees were made to resign from the startup and sign new contracts with Fundeology Pte. Ltd., a separate entity owned by former Honestbee chief executive Lay Ann Ong. These Fundeology contracts state that employees “will not be entitled to any liquidation proceeds of Honestbee.” Former staffers now want their money back.

3️⃣ TikTok US to sell soon?

The short-video app is said to be nearing a deal to sell its US operations for a valuation between $20 billion to $30 billion in the coming days. Current bidders include Oracle and a joint bid from Walmart and Microsoft.

4️⃣ Didi’s new service gets suspended

The Chinese ride-hailing giant launched its new standalone app, which targets young customers and offers rides that are cheaper compared to those on its main app. But it has recently been suspended by local city regulators, citing the new platform’s lack of operating licenses as a reason.

5️⃣ Tesla rival to raise $1.5b

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