16 minutes News

16 Minutes on the News #16: Direct Listings NYSE SEC; Vaping Apps & Apple, CBD & FDA

Scott Kupor, Vijay Pande, and Sonal Chokshi

Posted December 15, 2019

This is the 16th episode of 16 Minutes, our news show where we cover the top headlines, the a16z Podcast way: what’s real / what’s hype; why they matter from our vantage point in tech.

This week, we cover the following news (in conversation with Sonal Chokshi):

  1. NYSE & SEC back and forth over direct listings — The NYSE recently proposed allowing companies to raise capital during direct listings (currently, they’re different than IPOs in that there is no offering); the SEC rejected it; and they just filed a new proposal… but beyond this news and these artifacts, what’s the bigger picture when it comes to other structural factors involved here? — with Scott Kupor.
  2. vaping apps & Apple; FDA & CBD — two recent moves: Apple banning 181 vaping apps from its app store, FDA issuing warning letters against 15 companies with products that have CBD in them; what’s our quick take on the blurring lines between these two seemingly different bits of news? — with Vijay Pande.

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