I agree with the overall point about the patent troll, but the author does his credibility no favors with lines like "the company that brought us all WeWork: SoftBank".
SoftBank first invested in WeWork in March 2017. Prior to SoftBank's investment, WeWork had been in business for about 7 years. WeWork had already raised (pre-SoftBank) a total of about $1.7 billion, with the last round at a $16 billion valuation. Those prior investors in WeWork included well-known firms such as Benchmark, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, and T. Rowe Price.
SoftBank didn't change WeWork's business model, and it wasn't an early investor. It was just one of the last investors in on a business concept with severe problems.
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WeWork
I agree with the overall point about the patent troll, but the author does his credibility no favors with lines like "the company that brought us all WeWork: SoftBank".
SoftBank first invested in WeWork in March 2017. Prior to SoftBank's investment, WeWork had been in business for about 7 years. WeWork had already raised (pre-SoftBank) a total of about $1.7 billion, with the last round at a $16 billion valuation. Those prior investors in WeWork included well-known firms such as Benchmark, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, and T. Rowe Price.
SoftBank didn't change WeWork's business model, and it wasn't an early investor. It was just one of the last investors in on a business concept with severe problems.