Microsoft is announcing today that it won't stand in the way of company employee efforts to unionize, putting it in stark contrast to other tech companies.
Why it matters: The announcement comes amid a growing movement to unionize parts of the tech workforce, and as Microsoft seeks to close a deal to purchase Activision Blizzard, some units of which have pursued unionization.
Facebook parent Meta announced a broad reorganization of its AI efforts Thursday, a move that will embed more work within product teams and will also see a top AI executive leave the company.
Why it matters: Like rivals Google and Microsoft, Meta is looking to make sure that machine learning and AI are used broadly throughout the company, not locked away in research units.
After more than two decades as a ruler of Silicon Valley, Sheryl Sandberg told me it's getting harder to predict where tech is headed. The trends, she said, will hit "deeper and more quickly than we think ... I don't know those future trends."
Why it matters: Sandberg and Mark Zuckerberg built a behemoth of a business out of Facebook. Her planned departure this fall as Meta COO, announced yesterday, comes amid a global reckoning around how technology is used.
Sheryl Sandberg grew Meta's revenue from $272 million in 2008 to nearly $118 billion in 2021. That's over 43,000% higher.
Why it matters: Depending on who you ask, the corporate growth story she's responsible for is one of the most impressive in history — or one of the most reckless.
A coalition of child advocacy groups want the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Electronic Arts, warning the agency in a complaint Thursday that its popular FIFA video game exploits children and teens.
What's happening: 15 groups, including Fairplay and the Center for Digital Democracy, told the FTC that the game's use of loot boxes (boxes containing randomized virtual content, which can be bought with real money) exploits children by promising a competitive advantage and obscures the real cost with virtual currency.
Autonomy startup SafeAI is partnering with German industrial titan Siemens to create electric, autonomous heavy trucks for Japanese construction giant Obayashi, Axios is first to report.
Why it matters: Construction and mining companies are under pressure to reduce their carbon footprint, improve safety and lower costs.
By electrifying and automating their fleets, they're leading an off-road transportation revolution that's just as important as the transformation of passenger cars.
Activision Blizzard’s big mobile gaming bet, Diablo Immortal, went live in the U.S. today, one day earlier than planned, replete with the kinds of in-game purchasing offers abundant in mobile games.
Why it matters: Diablo is the first of Blizzard’s revered, long-running PC franchises to be converted to mobile, and it's the first to be festooned with the kind of monetization systems that tend to be lucrative for publishers but controversial with many players.
The games industry’s annual June promotional circus will be a little quieter this year, as publishers telegraph difficulties filling out 2022’s release calendar.
Driving the news: There’s no Electronic Entertainment Expo this year, no giant trade show packing the Los Angeles Convention Center in the second week of June. But some smaller events, starting this week, will make that void feel less empty.
Meta's longtime chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg is leaving the company she helped build after 14 years, she announced in a Facebook post Wednesday. Sources say the decision was Sandberg's.
Why it matters: Under Sandberg's leadership, Facebook parent company Meta grew to be one of the most powerful technology companies in the world. But in recent years, Sandberg became one of the public faces of many of Facebook's biggest controversies, including Russia's efforts to meddle in the 2016 election, the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal and most recently the leaked document trove known as the Facebook Files.
The FBI arrested a former OpenSea employee on Wednesday for insider trading of NFTs, according to a Justice Department announcement.
Why it matters: The case signals that laws around profiting on non-public information apply just as much on the blockchain as they do in more traditional markets.
In certain parts of the world, getting paid in crypto can save employees real money, and that's why an international payroll platform is getting more and more into crypto.
Driving the news:Deel specializes in solving the challenge of international workers. It has legal entities all over the world, so its clients' global workers are technically employed by Deel. It's now opening its services to crypto-native businesses known as DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations).
There appears to be one route to public markets that will slow down crypto: merging with SPACs or special purpose acquisition companies.
Why it matters: The extra time being seen in regulatory reviews for crypto SPAC deals coincides with heightened regulatory scrutiny for those go-public vehicles, as well as for the crypto sector at large.
FBI director Christopher Wray said Wednesday that hackers "sponsored by the Iranian government" were behind a thwarted cyberattack against Boston Children's Hospital last year.
State of play: Wray said the FBI managed to block the alleged attack last summer, which he called "one of the most despicable cyberattacks I've seen."
Ultima Genomics,a Newark Calif.-based gene sequencing startup, exited stealth with around $600 million in venture capital funding.
Why it matters: Ultima claims it can sequence an entire genome for just $100, which is an affordability advancement that could significantly accelerate genomic research. It's also seeking to challenge Illumina, an incumbent valued at more than $37 billion.
From one perspectivecrypto startups operate on a new and innovative business model. From another, it just re-invented stocks. Time will tell which one is right.
Why it matters: Crypto'smelding of innovative decentralized principles with longstanding characteristics of equity securities is certain to occupy regulators for years to come. In the meantime, how startups operate is continuing to evolve.
If last weekend was any indication, we're in for a turbulent summer for air travel, with staff shortages and severe weather interrupting our long-delayed getaways.
Why it matters:The summer of revenge travel is pushing up against the limits of airlines' capability to recover from the two-year pandemic. Passengers should be prepared for fewer choices, higher prices and more delays.
Conservatives' long campaign against social media platforms keeps hitting a wall.
Why it matters: Republicans in Washington haven't been able to change the laws that govern the way platforms moderate users' content. Conservatives' alternative platforms have largely failed to gain traction. And the latest blow came from the Supreme Court.
