 Image: Oscar Wong/Getty Images Amazon has agreed to add Grubhub to its list of Prime services. The e-commerce giant also has the option to take a 2% stake in the U.S.-based food delivery company. Grubhub’s parent company Just Eat Takeaway.com said it is still exploring a full or partial sale of its Grubhub business. The partnership with Amazon will renew annually until either party terminates it. More: - Amazon’s Prime program has over 200 million members globally and already has some food-related benefits from its Whole Foods grocery discounts.
- With the Grubhub agreement, Prime members will be exempt from delivery fees on some Grubhub orders and also get access to other Grubhub loyalty program benefits.
- Last September, Amazon announced a similar partnership with U.K.-based food delivery company Deliveroo.
- Prime members in the U.K. and Ireland get free delivery on orders over £25 (~$30) for a year.
- Amazon owns a 12% stake in Deliveroo.
- Following news of Amazon and Grubhub’s partnership, shares of Uber fell over 4%, while shares of DoorDash dropped over 7%.
- Uber closed at $21.50, and DoorDash closed at $69.36.
NOTE: Inside.com founder and CEO Jason Calacanis is an investor in Uber.
| |
 Image: Ben & Jerry's Ben & Jerry’s is suing its parent company Unilever to block the sale of its Israeli business to a licensee. The move is the latest in a disagreement over the ice cream maker’s decision to end sales in Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, which are Palestinian territories. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Tuesday. More: - Ben & Jerry’s said Unilever’s decision to sell the business in Israel was made without the approval of its independent board of directors.
- Ben & Jerry’s was acquired by Unilever in 2000 but has retained an independent board that allows it a degree of autonomy to make decisions concerning its business.
- Last year, Ben & Jerry’s announced it would stop sales of its ice cream in the West Bank and East Jerusalem territories that Israel has occupied since the Six-Day War in 1967.
- At the time, Ben & Jerry’s said the sales were inconsistent with the company’s values.
- Last week, Unilever sold its Israeli Ben & Jerry’s business to local licensee Avi Zinger. He owns American Quality Products, which already licenses Ben & Jerry’s ice cream for sale in Israel.
- On Friday, Ben & Jerry’s board voted 5-2 to file a lawsuit against Unilever over the sale.
| |
 A message from CAPACITY Chatbots are changing (for the better) Customers have a lot of questions, and they expect instant and accurate responses. To give them the support they expect, businesses are flocking to AI chatbots that are on call 24/7/365. - 3 out of 4 of consumers cite chatbots as their preferred method of communication with a business.
- On average, chatbots cut customer service costs by 30% or more.
- Almost 65% of consumers cite 24/7 availability as their top reason for preferring chatbots.
See Capacity in action
| |
 Image: Spirit Airlines Spirit Airlines has been awarded the rights to operate flights at Newark-Liberty International Airport. The U.S. Department of Transportation said that giving Spirit the rights ensures there would be low-cost flight options at Newark and improve competition. The spots became available after Southwest Airlines left the Newark airport in 2019, leading to various airlines vying for the 16 available spots. More: - The FAA had initially ruled out plans to fill Southwest's available spots due to Newark being one of the country's most congested airports.
- Spirit challenged the FAA's decision in court; last year, an appeals court ruled that the FAA has to reconsider the decision.
- Rivals like United Airlines, which has its hub at Newark, argue that the airport is already over capacity, and allowing another airline to fly during the airport's busy afternoon and evening hours would cause more delays and disruptions to flight times.
- Other airlines competing for the Newark spot included JetBlue Airways and Alaska Air Group.
| |
 Image: EDF France plans to take complete control of power company Électricité de France (EDF). The government currently holds an 84% stake in the nuclear energy company and has been trying to restructure the company, struggling with lots of debt, production outages, and conflicting demands from the state. On the news of a government takeover, shares of EDF rose over 14%. More: - Minority shareholders of EDF hold about €5B ($5.1B) of the company.
- EDF currently operates 56 nuclear reactors in France, which have been plagued by corrosion problems estimated to make an €18.5B ($19B) dent in the company’s core profit this year.
- French President Emmanuel Macron has tasked the company to build six new nuclear reactors in the coming years at an estimated cost of about €52B ($53B).
- EDF shares were down nearly 90% from their peak in 2007; shares are down over 25% YTD.
| |
 Image: Tannen Maury/EPA GameStop announced a 4-for-1 stock split on Wednesday, sending shares of the videogame retailer up over 8% in after-market trading. Starting July 18, shareholders will receive an additional three shares for each share of GameStop Class A common stock they hold. Trading on the stock-split-adjusted basis will begin on July 22. More: - Last year, GameStop was at the center of a social media-fueled meme-stock trading frenzy, which saw its shares jump more than 1,600%.
- The company overhauled its executive team and board of directors to revamp the company.
- It hired two Amazon veterans as its CEO and CFO and named activist investor Ryan Cohen as its chairman.
- In June, GameStop reported $1.38B in net sales for the quarter ended April 30, up ~8% YoY.
- The company has been investing in efforts to improve and boost its e-commerce business.
- GameStop recently launched a digital wallet that would allow transactions on its marketplace to buy, sell, and trade NFTs.
| |
 Image: REUTERS/John Sibley/File Photo British Airways has cut 10,300 flights over the next four months from its schedule due to staffing shortages. The decision comes a day after the airline said it would cut 1,500 flights and weeks after it cut 10,000 flights. British Airways has cut about 13% of its original summer schedule or about 30,000 flights. More: - The global airline industry has struggled to hire back staff and meet high travel demand after nearly coming to a halt during the pandemic.
- Last week, more than 1,200 Delta pilots and staff held demonstrations across seven airports calling for higher pay, among other things.
- In June, 1,300 Southwest Airlines pilots protested the lack of progress on their new contract, blaming the airline’s management for flight delays and cancellations.
- About 1,000 pilots at Scandinavia’s largest airline, SAS AB, began striking on Monday, affecting 50% of the airline’s scheduled flights.
- SAS AB has filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S.
| |
Quick Hits - End your expense reporting nightmares; get $100 to see how dreamy it can be.*
- EV maker Rivian said it is on track to build 25,000 vehicles this year. The company delivered 4,467 electric trucks and SUVs to customers in Q2. Rivian shares closed at $29.66, up ~10.4% for the day.
- The President of the mineral-rich Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, warned that a war with Rwanda could break out unless the country stops backing rebel groups fighting in Congo. Tshisekedi accused Rwanda of provocation.
- The FDA suspended its ban on Juul Labs products while the e-cigarette company appeals the agency’s decision. Last month, the FDA ordered retailers to pull all Juul products, saying the company failed to submit sufficient evidence that they were safe.
- Apple announced a new feature for iPhones called Lockdown Mode, which makes the devices less vulnerable to spyware. The feature is intended for high-profile users such as politicians and activists who state-sponsored hackers might target.
*This is a sponsored post.
| |
Upcoming Events - August 15 - August 21 - LA Tech Week is coming August 15 - 21, 2022. (Register Here)
- October 25 - Meet Our Fund 4 - A Virtual Summit (Register Here)
- November 16 - The Chirp Developer Conference is a celebration of the innovation developers have brought to Twitter, the opportunities that await, plus a few surprises. (Register Here)
Check out https://inside.com/events to learn more!
| |
 |  | Vanessa Omeokachie is a Researcher at Inside. Her interests include finance, tech, and startups. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending music festivals, and traveling. Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or through email at vanessa@inside.com |  | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
Capacity is a secure, AI automation platform that helps orgs scale and automate support. | |
