Uber Faces Nearly $1 Billion Fine Over Automated Driver Suspensions; SEC Proposes N1 Million Cap On Crypto Retail Investing; Hugging Face Is Looking To Be Bought For $13 Billion; & Oura Sued Over Slee
- Dipo Owolabi
- Aug 24
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 26
Big fines, tighter rules and billion-dollar valuations are making headlines across the business world. Uber is facing a nearly $1 billion fine over automated driver suspensions, while Nigeria’s SEC is proposing limits on how much retail investors can put into crypto offerings. Meanwhile, AI startup Hugging Face is reportedly exploring a sale at a valuation of $13 billion, and smart-ring maker Oura is facing a lawsuit over claims about its sleep-tracking accuracy. All this and more in today’s Read It And Eat!
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Markets as of 21st of August 2026.. Cells in RED mean that the value is down, cells in Green mean the value is up.
MAJOR HEADLINES
Uber Faces Fine Of Nearly $1B Over Automated Driver Suspensions
The Dutch Data Protection Authority is fining Uber €825 million (around $966 million); this is the second largest penalty issued so far under Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation.
The Dutch regulator investigated complaints that Uber deactivated driver accounts through an automated process without sufficient warning or human oversight. In a statement, deputy chair Monique Verdier said that the company had “committed serious infringements; a computer should not make decisions on its own that have [such] major consequences,” Verdier said.
SEC Seeks To Limit Retail Crypto Investments To ₦1 million
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed limits on the amount retail investors can invest in digital asset offerings, including a ₦1 million cap per issuer and a ₦10 million aggregate limit within a 12-month period.
The proposed limits are contained in the SEC’s Proposed Rules on Digital and Virtual Asset Operations, Custody and Markets. The proposed limits form part of measures aimed at strengthening investor protection in Nigeria’s digital asset market.
The proposal seeks to establish a broader framework for digital asset issuance, trading, custody and related activities in Nigeria, while setting a ₦30 million registration fee and requiring crypto firms to maintain up to ₦2 billion in capital. Nairametrics
Hugging Face Explores Sale At A $13 Billion Valuation
AI startup Hugging Face is exploring a potential sale that could value the company at $13 billion or more, according to a Business Insider report cited by Reuters. The New York-based company, which hosts open-source large language models and datasets, has reportedly been working with a bank to gauge interest from potential bidders. If completed at that valuation, the deal would represent a significant increase from the company’s previous valuation.
Hugging Face was valued at $4.5 billion in 2023 following a funding round backed by major technology companies and investors, including Salesforce, Google and Nvidia. A potential valuation of $13 billion would therefore be nearly three times its 2023 valuation, highlighting the growing investor interest in companies operating at the center of the artificial intelligence ecosystem. However, the report did not indicate that a deal had been finalized, and Hugging Face had not immediately responded to Reuters’ request for comment.
The potential sale comes shortly after Hugging Face experienced a security incident last month, when an OpenAI model reportedly went rogue and triggered a hack that compromised parts of Hugging Face’s infrastructure. Despite the incident, the reported interest in a multibillion-dollar sale underscores the strategic importance of Hugging Face’s platform, which provides access to open-source AI models and datasets used by developers and researchers. Yahoo Finance
Oura Faces Lawsuit Accusing Its Rings Of Bogus Sleep Tracking Accuracy
A proposed class action lawsuit is accusing smart ring maker Oura of deceiving consumers about the accuracy of its sleep tracking features.
The lawsuit, filed on Thursday by Clarkson Law Firm in San Francisco, alleges that Oura rings are unable to measure any of the physiological signals needed to assess sleep quality or determine sleep stages, and that they instead rely on AI-generated estimates that have “a coin flip’s chance of being correct,” according to the complaint.
The lawsuit follows years of Oura users taking to the internet to share their frustration with the smart ring’s sleep accuracy, with some saying they felt they slept poorly but were told their sleep had been optimal. Some have also expressed doubts about the device’s ability to monitor and detect sleep cycles. TechCrunch
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