Amazon may name NYC as part of its HQ2
Rumors swirl as Amazon finalizes the location of its second headquarters. The most recent one identifies NYC — specifically Long Island City — as one of the contenders. NPR notes that, according to sources close to the discussions, Amazon will be splitting its second headquarters between Crystal City, Virginia, and NYC. Splitting the second headquarters will help the company find top tech talent to fill its 50,000 open roles. [NPR]
Resy acquires competitor Reserve
Reservation management platform Resy announced that it acquired Reserve, one of its competitors in the hospitality space. Together, the NYC-based companies will be better suited to rival others in the industry. As part of the deal, most of the Reserve team — including CEO Greg Hong — will join Resy. Other terms of the deal were not disclosed. [Press release]
Inpher raises $10M in funding
Data security and analytics company Inpher raised $10 million in Series A funding led by J.P Morgan. Existing investors Crosslink Capital, Bowery Capital and Polytech Ecosystem Ventures also participated in the round. The company, which uses proprietary technology to protect data while it’s being processed, will use the funds to expand to new markets around the world. [Press release]
Namely welcomes new executive
HR platform Namely announced Lorna Hagen will join the company as chief people officer. Previously, Hagen held the same role at OnDeck, where she oversaw all of the company’s HR and talent management duties. She’ll call on her 20 years of relevant experience to move Namely forward and maintain its role as a thought leader in the HR space. [Press release]
TransferWise makes strategic partnership
Fintech startup TransferWise announced it is partnering with Bunq, a Dutch bank that helps users make international payments. The partnership allows the bank to include a TransferWise feature, giving people visibility into exchange rates at the time of the transfer. Currently, there are 15 supported currencies, with plans to add more in the coming weeks. [TechCrunch]
Vimeo launches hologram channel
Video platform Vimeo announced that it will now have a channel devoted solely to hologram content. In order to make this possible, the company partnered with Brooklyn-based Looking Glass Factory, a holographic display company for 3D creators. Currently, the holographic content that exists on Vimeo must be viewed with the Looking Glass Factory hardware for the full effect. [TechCrunch]
