The startups that hack your devices, WeWon't, and Goldman Sachs ruffles feathers

Hello!

The Israeli cybersecurity firm NSO Group has been accused of selling sophisticated digital surveillance technology to Saudi Arabia and other countries that are suspected of using it to attack dissidents and journalists.

It's also very profitable.

Becky Peterson this week lifted the lid on the secretive startup, revealing NSO Group's profits and customer breakdown for the first time, and shining a light on a web of more than a dozen similar startups in Israel, many of which operate in secret, that sell attacks against routers, computers, smart speakers, and other digital devices.

As she reports:

These companies often describe their wares as "lawful interception" or "intelligence" tools, though this hardly tells the full story. They all sell tools that take devices and turn them against their users to secretly spy without leaving a trace.

Whatever you call this technology, business is booming. Governments and law-enforcement agencies around the world are paying millions of dollars. And startups both inside of Israel and out are ready to sell.

You can also read about how Becky got inside the NSO Group and the offensive cyber world in this Q&A.

In other news, WeWork's IPO appears to be on rocky ground, and the company could cut its valuation by as much as half. Here's our latest:

• WeWork says it has a $3 trillion market opportunity and has signed up only 0.2% of its potential customers. Troy Wolverton spoke to real-estate experts who said those numbers don't add up.
• WeWork's valuation is confusing to everyone, even seasoned asset managers. Mutual funds offered by Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, and Hartford Funds all recently changed up the valuations they are putting on its shares. Those mutual funds do agree on one thing though: WeWork is classified as a real-estate company in all their filings.
• Graham Rapier talked to Santosh Rao, head of research at Manhattan Venture Partners, who explained why he thought WeWork's original valuation was way too high.
• Alex Nicoll talked to Convene CEO Ryan Simonetti, who said he was concerned that the "negative press cycle" around WeWork could throw the thesis behind the broader coworking and flex-space industry into question.
• And Becky and Dakin Campbell profiled Alice Takhtajan at JPMorgan and Kim-Thu Posnett at Goldman Sachs who are doing some of the heavy lifting in WeWork's IPO.

What would you like to read more of? Let me know!

-- Matt

Watch

In Business Insider's latest webinar, Headset CEO Cy Scott walks through how he put together the pitch deck that helped him raise a $12 million Series A. Scott was joined by Poseidon Asset Management partners Emily and Morgan Paxhia, who led the round.

You can watch the full webinar right here.

Finance and Investing

Goldman Sachs' push into private equity is ruffling feathers at Blackstone - and it might be a sign of big client skirmishes to come

Goldman Sachs' latest strategy pivot is already raising hackles with one of its largest clients.

In related news, Marty Chavez, Goldman Sachs' trading chief, this week announced his plans to retire from the Wall Street firm at the end of the year. Dakin talked to him about the bank's tech transformation, why now is the right time for him to step down, and what he's planning next.

Barclays insiders say a hiring freeze is afoot as roles stay unfilled, bonuses get slashed, and senior staff flee

Barclays has raised the bar for hiring outsiders and is leaving vacant roles unfilled - resulting in what some insiders say amounts to an informal hiring freeze for investment banking, FICC trading, and certain back-office roles - according to five sources familiar with the situation.

Since the US yield curve inverted and startled the market, there's been a debate about whether the recession warning sign was for real.

Tech, Media, Telecoms

Here's the pitch deck $1.95 billion ThoughtSpot used to raise $248 million for an AI-powered analytics tool that's challenging Salesforce's Tableau

Founded in 2012, ThoughtSpot offers businesses a way to visually analyze their data in order to make critical decisions faster.

Amazon is rolling out a tool that shows just how much Google and Facebook ads drive people to do their shopping on the e-commerce site

Amazon is trying to grow its nascent ad business by proving it can show advertisers how digital ads drive people to shop on Amazon.

Comcast Ventures has a plan to jumpstart direct-to-consumers companies like Away and Hippo and it's already slashing their customer acquisition costs

With massive growth in venture capital, VC firms are scrambling for the chance to invest in the next unicorn by retooling their business models and looking for ways to differentiate.

Healthcare, Retail, Transportation

Furious Peloton members are skewering the company's delivery partner over broken $2,000 bikes and scratched hardwood floors - and the company is starting to take note

Todd Mitchell loves his Peloton. He didn't love the gummy grape candy that he said ended up stuck to his $4,295 treadmill during the delivery process.

Meet the 11 alt-meat startups vying for a bite of a $200 billion industry

The market for a burger without beef is beginning to sizzle.

NOW WATCH: WATCH: The founder of buzzy cannabis-tech startup Headset walked us through the pitch deck that helped him raise $12 million and ink deals with Nielsen and Deloitte