Zoom is treading carefully into an ad-supported model, announcing on Monday that it would start showing ads to people who use its free, “basic” tier in certain countries.
Why it matters: Zoom wants to monetize the large numbers of people who got hooked on the platform during the pandemic.
Zillow will lay off 25% of its workforce, it announced Tuesday, as a result of shutting down Zillow Offers, the arm of the company that calculated a fair value for houses and then offered to buy them immediately.
Why it matters: The news shows the limitations of extrapolating price trends from huge amounts of consumer data. While Zillow had unrivaled access to the browsing and buying habits of American homebuyers, its algorithm proved to be overoptimistic, even in the middle of a housing boom.
The wealth gap between Latinos and white non-Hispanics is being driven not only by income, but by a lack of savings, per a report from the financial firm Morningstar.
Why it matters: Having less in savings can leave Latinos in a pinch when they retire, since many already have lower wages and less access to services like health care and caregiving.
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Tuesday to prevent Penguin Random House's more than $2 billion acquisition of Simon & Schuster, alleging that the merger would violate antitrust law.
Why it matters: The DOJ said Penguin Random House, America's largest book publisher, would have "outsized influence" over which books are published in the U.S. and how much authors are paid if it's allowed to absorb Simon & Schuster.
D.C.-based media companies that have enjoyed a robust advocacy and corporate social responsibility ad market in the wake of the pandemic are seeing valuations rise.
Driving the news: Axios on Monday told staffers in an internal note that the company raised a series D funding round from Cox Enterprises, Inc., valuing the company at $430 million. Axios will bring in roughly $85 million in revenue in 2021.
Spotify is building a suite of interactive podcast features that will help users develop stronger personal relationships with niche creators.
Driving the news: In an interview with Axios,Spotify head of podcasts, live and video Michael Mignano said the company is working to have its user experience be "less passive" by adding things like video, polls, live audio conversations and Q&A features to its podcasts and subscription offering.
When Hertz announced last week that it had ordered 100,000 electric vehicles from Tesla, both companies saw their share prices soar. Tesla even topped $1 trillion in market value.
Fast forward: The companies are now bickering over whether or not they signed a deal, sending shares lower.
Pfizer forecasts revenue from the COVID-19 vaccine it developed with BioNTech will now reach $36 billion this year, up 7.5% from its previous estimate of $33.5 billion.
Why it matters: This vaccine has quickly become the highest-selling drug in the world, but public health experts and global leaders remain concerned about the vaccine's uneven distribution which has left poorer countries with far fewer doses to administer.
There are now over 850 unicorn companies, according to research firm CB Insights. Some will become dragons. Some will go public or be acquired for massive sums. But some will be resigned to remembering these as the glory days.
Driving the news: MBM Capital has launched as a buyout firm focused exclusively on faded unicorns whose venture capitalists have thrown in the towel.
Yahoo it ended its services in China Tuesday because of "the increasingly challenging business and legal environment" in the country, a spokesperson said in a statement.
Why it matters: Yahoo is the latest U.S.-based tech company to stop offering its services in China, where the government's strict control over the internet forces businesses to censor certain information that Beijing has deemed subversive.
The Atlantic on Tuesday will roll out its new newsletter program with nine contracted writers, including Charlie Warzel, Molly Jong-Fast and Nicole Chung.
Why it matters: The company is hoping that new writers will attract more subscribers, which are key to The Atlantic's goal of becoming profitable next year, CEO Nick Thompson told Axios.
Bolder action to cut greenhouse gas emissions, to mobilize development financing and to potentially design a carbon trading deal are on the agenda for COP26 underway in Glasgow, Scotland.
The big picture: What global leaders actually commit to could signal investors as to the upcoming pace of change and the regions where it'll happen.
The companies standing behind over $100 billion in stablecoins — cryptocurrencies linked to the dollar — are effectively banks and should be regulated as such, according to an important new report released Monday by the Treasury Department.
Why it matters: Such regulation — "urgently needed," per Treasury — can't happen absent new legislation from Congress. If and when that happens, stablecoins — and crypto in general — would have a hugely important vote of confidence from the USA itself.
Staggering stat: 23% of women with kids under the age of 10 are considering leaving the workforce, compared with 13% of men, according to a McKinsey survey.
Social media giants are sprinting towards the live shopping market that's long been dominated by traditional television networks like QVC and HSN.
Why it matters: Tech firms have spent years building algorithms to get people to click on ads, but now they're finding that the real purchasing power on social media lies in live product reviews from people users trust.
Electric air taxis might someday leap from rooftop to rooftop, delivering cargo or ferrying passengers above congested roadways — but not until they can solve a host of technical and regulatory hurdles.
A less complex e-plane under development could bring many of the same benefits by hopping among underused airports.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will step down from his role as chief financial officer of parent company ByteDance to "dedicate his time solely" on the short video platform, Reuters first reported.
Why it matters: The move is part of a major overhaul that will also see the creation of six business units, ByteDance CEO and co-founder Rubo Liang said Tuesday in a memo to staff, the details of which were also obtained by Axios.
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