Zoom shares drop despite lockdown revenue surge November 30, 2020 Zoom saw its shares slip in after-hours trading this evening despite beating expectations for the third quarter. The video conferencing app has enjoyed unrivalled growth this year as the outbreak of Covid-19 forced millions of people to work and socialise from home. This continued in the third quarter, with Zoom posting revenue of $777.2m (£583), [...]
Biden urged to take on Big Tech amid lobbying fears November 30, 2020 US president-elect Joe Biden has been urged to confront Big Tech amid concerns about the number of tech executives linked to the incoming administration. Thirty-two advocacy groups today penned a letter to Biden urging him to hold companies such as Google, Facebook and Amazon to account, arguing that their business practices harmed American consumers and [...]
Facebook snaps up chatbot startup Kustomer for ecommerce push November 30, 2020 Facebook has agreed terms to buy customer service startup Kustomer as the social media platform prepares to expand further into ecommerce. Financial details were not disclosed but the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the deal, said the terms valued Kustomer at $1bn (£750m). Kustomer, which was founded in 2015, allows businesses to combine customer [...]
Door Dash eyes $27bn valuation as it rides tech IPO wave November 30, 2020 US food delivery startup Door Dash is aiming to raise as much as $2.8bn (£2bn) in an initial public offering that could value it at $27bn. The Softbank-backed app plans to sell 33m shares priced between $75 and $85 each, according to a regulatory filing today. The bumper listing will come amid a flurry of [...]
High-profile tech founders back $111m London startup fund November 30, 2020 A string of big-name tech founders including former Google boss Eric Schmidt are backing a new fund to invest in startups in the US and across Europe. London-based Firstminute Capital today unveiled a $111m (£83m) venture capital fund after securing support from some of the world’s top tech executives. More than 70 founders of billion-dollar [...]
The rush for Tech Nation visas is misguided — why limit recruitment by geography? November 30, 2020 Earlier this month, it was reported that applications for the Tech Nation visa into the UK spiked almost 50 per cent this year. Pandemic or no pandemic, Britain’s tech sector continues to attract talent from around the world. In the last two years alone, almost 2,000 people have applied for the visa, which grants tech [...]
Suspected North Korean hackers ‘target’ Covid-19 vaccine maker Astrazeneca November 27, 2020 Suspected North Korean hackers are said to have made multiple attempts to hack into the computer systems of British Covid-19 vaccine maker Astrazeneca. Hackers posed as recruiters on Linkedin and Whatsapp and approached Astrazeneca staff with fake job offers, Reuters reported, citing sources. They then sent documents purporting to be job descriptions that were teeming [...]
Excel glitch “propelled England to a different stage of the pandemic,” researchers say November 27, 2020 A Microsoft Excel error which caused positive Covid-19 results to go missing has been linked to 1,500 excess deaths, researchers have suggested. Thiemo Fetzer and Thomas Graeber of Warwick and Harvard universities, respectively, examined the impact of the glitch, which affected positive cases in late September and October. The lost cases meant that 16,000 contacts [...]
Alibaba and Tencent circle ‘Netflix of China’ as tech regulation looms November 27, 2020 Alibaba and Tencent are both said to have held talks over a potential takeover of the streaming service dubbed the ‘Netflix of China’. The two tech titans have been in discussions with search giant Baidu over a deal to acquire a controlling stake in iQiyi, Reuters reported. However, talks are said to have stalled after [...]
Black Friday: Union calls for inquiry into Amazon over ‘dehumanising’ conditions November 27, 2020 Union members have called for a parliamentary inquiry into Amazon over “dehumanising” conditions at the ecommerce giant’s warehouses. Disgruntled unionists have projected a banner reading ‘Make Amazon Pay’ outside the tech firm’s London headquarters as part of protests coinciding with Black Friday. “Amazon is well known for unsafe, dehumanising work practices which see our members [...]