Paypal may buy Pinterest; Facebook’s name change; Apple's Tech Talks; and a chat with Iron Pillar’s Anand Prasanna

PayPal, is looking to buy Pinterest—a platform that allows people to collect and share content about their interests—as the US payments giant moves to expand into online commerce. PayPal could pay about $70 dollars a share, valuing Pinterest at $39 billion, according to Bloomberg. Facebook is planning to change its name next week to reflect its focus on building the metaverse, and ambition to be seen as much more than a social media company. Facebook has already announced plans to hire 10,000 people in Europe to advance its plans to build a metaverse—a virtual world on the internet in which people could have digital avatars for work and play. CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to talk about the name change at the company’s annual Connect conference on October 28, but it could be announced sooner, according to The Verge. The change is seen as something similar to how Google restructured itself to become one of the companies under parent Alphabet. Facebook, could similarly be one of many products under a parent company overseeing units including Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus. Apple is conducting a series of more than 100 online live sessions for developers, called Tech Talks. It is also offering 1,500 office hours, over the next eight weeks to provide developers access to information, tips and tutorials on its latest technologies. Tech Talks will provide an opportunity for developers to directly connect with Apple experts to learn more about new technologies, ask questions, and receive one-on-one guidance. They will also serve as a new way for developers to share direct feedback with Apple team members about their experiences building and distributing apps on the App Store, Apple said in a press release. Sessions will be conducted online from Apple locations around the world in multiple time zones, including Bangalore, Cupertino, London, Mexico City, São Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Tel Aviv and Tokyo. According to a report by Razorpay, based on data from its customers, startup salaries in India have jumped over the last six months. The pandemic caused many startups to freeze performance appraisals and increments last year. But between April and September this year, the scenario has reversed. Edtech, fintech, and electronics are some of the sectors that witnessed a significant increase in salary spends, according to Razorpay. Total salary spends rose 43 percent, based on data of 25,000 employees from 360 startups in more than 15 sectors that use Razorpay’s products and platforms. Some of the other findings include a 52 percent increase in organisations that disbursed bonuses; a 30 percent increase in employee headcount; a 14 percent increase in employee headcount in entry-level roles; and a 50 percent rise in reimbursements in the last 6 months. (3:39) Interview: Anand Prasanna, managing partner at Iron Pillar on Indian startups going global  Anand Prasanna's investment career has led him to back companies in India, China and then back in India across multiple marquee investment firms. Over the last five years, Anand and his fellow partners at the VC firm Iron Pillar have been backing startups with an Indian heritage that have found customers worldwide. I spoke with Anand about Iron Pillar's strategy of finding companies at the Series B stage and beyond, helping them to tap multibillion-dollar market opportunities. He also has some advice for aspiring VC investors.