Ep 84: Visa’s $5.3 billion surprise acquisition of Plaid

What’s going on here? Visa is buying fintech Plaid for $5.3 billion and expects the deal to close in the next three to six months (Mar-Jun, 2020). Plaid offers technology that allows consumers to link their bank accounts to its 2,600 fintech clients (including Venmo) and 11,000 financial institutions – making it one of several players…

Ep 21: Salesforce Gains Force

What’s Going On Here? Silicon Valley software Salesforce announced a $16 billion acquisition of data analytics firm Tableau – its biggest purchase to date. What Does This Mean? Data is king Salesforce’s software is focused on customer relationship management; Tableau brings fresh analytics to the table – helping Salesforce customers (like Netflix & Southwest Airlines) to better understand the data. Shareholders side Salesforce…