Self-driving technology companies are striking while the iron is hot.
Driving the news: Waymo Via, the self-driving truck unit under Google parent company Alphabet, announced a new deal Wednesday with one of the biggest logistics companies in the world — C.H. Robinson.
The U.S. intelligence community warned Wednesday that Russia-sponsored hackers have repeatedly attempted to infiltrate computer networks belonging to Department of Defense contractors to steal information on weapons technologies.
Why it matters: It said that state-sponsored cyber actors have made several intrusion attempts between January 2020 and February 2022 and have acquired emails, sensitive, unclassified information and "export-controlled technology" owned by the contractors.
Twitter's new CEO Parag Agrawal will soon take "a few weeks" of paternity leave, in a sign of Silicon Valley's evolving norms around parental leave, a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement.
Why it matters: While Agrawal's time away will be significantly shorter than the 20 weeks of parental leave that Twitter allots to employees, many workplace cultures have not yet normalized paternity leave.
Nearly 1 billion devices in Comcast internet customer households connected to WiFi in 2021, according to a new report Wednesday from the company.
Why it matters: The data load WiFi networks carry is only expected to increase as the use of connected devices for health monitoring, streaming and smart-home tech grows.
Trading.TV, a platform for live-streaming and stock trading, raised $8 million in Series A funding with Lightspeed Ventures leading the round and taking a board seat.
Why it matters: The company is tapping into the pandemic's surge of retail trading and social media engagement by combining the two into one platform.
Google announced Wednesday it will phase out cross-app ad trackers on Android smartphones, a move aimed at increasing data privacy for consumers using its operating system.
Why it matters: It's a major upheaval to how advertising and data collection will work on Android devices and comes after Apple last year placed new restrictions on apps that track behavior to tailor ads to users.
The organization behind "Sesame Street" has hired veteran media researcher Alison Bryant as its chief research, data and impact officer.
Why it matters: Research has been a part of the show since its inception 50 years ago, but Sesame Workshop is looking to revamp its efforts for the era of big data.
New legislation Wednesday from a bipartisan Senate duo would require platforms like Instagram and TikTok to disable "addictive" features for children, allow kids to opt out of algorithmic recommendations and take other actions to ensure social media companies are prioritizing the interests of children.
The big picture: The bill from Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) arose out of a series of hearings with leaders of tech companies about their services' negative effects on children.
A growing number of companies are using chat bots and AI-led video interviews to assess job candidates before a human recruiter even meets them.
Why it matters: Automated interviews vastly expand the job candidate pool and are designed to ensure consistent hiring practices by rooting out ways that bias seeps into interviews, recruiters say. But job applicants complain they're dehumanizing and stressful.
Nine families who lost loved ones in the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School said yesterday that they’d settled for $73 million with Remington Arms, the company that made the AR-15-style weapon the shooter used. The question now is what impact if any this settlement will have on gunmakers and future efforts to hold them accountable for mass shootings.
Plus, the Ukraine crisis plays out on TikTok.
And, how fast our seas are rising.
Guests: Professor of law at UCLA and specialist in gun policy Adam Winkler, Axios' Sara Fischer and Andrew Freedman.
Credits: Axios Today is produced in partnership with Pushkin Industries. The team includes Niala Boodhoo, Sara Kehaulani Goo, Julia Redpath, Alexandra Botti, Nuria Marquez Martinez, Alex Sugiura, Sabeena Singhani, and Lydia McMullen-Laird. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893.
Recent moves by Google and Microsoft show both companies aim to expand their respective reach by beginning to loosen the traditionally tight link between a computer and the operating system it runs.
Why it matters: Most people like using whatever app they want wherever they want it more than they care about operating systems.
The new leader of a little-known agency within the Commerce Department starts the job tasked with connecting every American to the internet, but also has ambitions to tackle Big Tech issues on the horizon.
Why it matters: Alan Davidson, the newly confirmed head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), will manage tens of billions of federal spending on broadband — but he's also talking about helping set administration policy around app stores and privacy.
The Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a rule Tuesday to allow adaptive driving beam headlights, or smart headlights, in the U.S.
Why it matters: The technology, which relies on sensors and LED light, will help prevent crashes by allowing better illumination of pedestrians, animals and objects without impairing the visibility of drivers in other vehicles, NHTSA said.
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