Amazon Web Services told the government it intends to fight the Defense Department's decision last month to award a gigantic cloud computing contract to Microsoft, a spokesperson said Thursday.
Why it matters: The politics surrounding the decision made it almost certain Amazon would challenge it, opening up the latest front in the long-running fight over the massive JEDI contract, worth up to $10 billion.
Imagine Watergate — or even the Clinton impeachment — in a country this divided.
The big picture: Americans no longer agree on just about anything, down to the level of who can be trusted to arbitrate truth from fiction or how to differentiate common sense from nonsense, according to a new AP-NORC poll.
The multi-state antitrust probe into Google will expand beyond the advertising business to search and Android, CNBC reports.
Why it matters: Google is already facing investigations into potentially monopolistic behavior on many fronts, and the expansion of the states' probe will further widen the scrutiny.
The Apple Card is facing accusations of sexism based on anecdotal evidence from David and Jamie Heinemeier Hansson, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, and countless other individuals on Twitter.
Where it stands: They allege that that wives were given lower credit limits than their husbands, even when they had the same income and even when the wife had a higher credit score.
As tech companies expand their power and impact on society, even outfits whose work lies mostly behind the technical scenes are finding themselves in an unfamiliar spotlight.
Background: Microsoft's GitHub unit, a key asset for software developers but hardly a household name, was in the news for all manner of things — from protests over its work with U.S. immigration authorities, to new product releases, to an effort to ensure that humanity's greatest code achievements can outlast humanity.
New York City police until recently illegally kept a database of fingerprints from juveniles who'd been taken into custody, AP reports.
What we know: The Legal Aid Society says the repository contained tens of thousands of youths' fingerprints. Bulletins have also been issued to the Department's 36,000 officers notifying them of the procedural change.
As tech giants throw billions at Silicon Valley's housing crisis, Seattle leaders and businesses are taking a targeted approach to creating more affordable housing.
Driving the news: Senior Director of Microsoft Philanthropies Jane Broom told Axios in an interview this week that "the probability is high" that the software giant will invest more in housing in its backyard, following an initial $500 million pledge announced in January.
In an interview last week with "Axios on HBO," Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said its business has to "radically shift how it grows" to avoid wearing out its welcome in cities.
Why it matters: That means investing in fleet electrification and convincing people to take alternative modes of transportation like Uber buses, electric bikes and scooters are key goals for the company — which doesn't have a history of playing nice with cities.
Tuesday's episode looked at gender discrimination allegations against the Apple Card, issued by Goldman Sachs. On Wednesday we further unpack the controversy with Carey Halio, CEO of Goldman Sachs Bank USA.
Convoy, a marketplace for truck drivers and shippers, raised $400 million in new funding led by Generation Investment Management and T. Rowe Price at a $2.75 billion valuation.
The bottom line: "It’s not like I’m going to convince people to become truck drivers — they already are," co-founder and CEO Dan Lewis tells Axios, explaining that his company's contribution is in helping truckers get more work.
Regulators on both sides of the Atlantic are beginning to probe whether the biggest tech companies' handling of consumer data represents an unfair form of competition.
Why it matters: Consumer data is the fuel of the digital economy and the key to tech giants' market leverage. It is also challenging antitrust regulators’ ability to investigate competition issues, because today’s antitrust laws don’t specifically address data dynamics.
The Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Health and Human Services told the Wall Street Journal Tuesday it is investigating the data-sharing relationship between Google and not-for-profit hospital system Ascension.
Why it matters: Per Axios health care business reporter Bob Herman, exchanging patients’ health information is legal under federal privacy law, and this data sharing is common, even when patients aren’t aware. The government is making sure Google is contracted as a "'business associate" with Ascension.
