Techmeme
April 28, 2020, 6:55 PM

Top News

Alphabet:
Alphabet reports revenue of $41.2B, up 13% YoY, net income of $6.8B, up from $6.7B YoY, Other Bets operating loss grew to $1.1B; headcount grew to 123K, up ~20K  —  MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - April 28, 2020 - Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG, GOOGL) today announced financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.
Matt Stroud / OneZero:
The CEO of Banjo, a SoftBank-backed surveillance firm that's raised nearly $223M, was once a neo-Nazi and was involved in the drive-by shooting of a synagogue  —  magazine profiles and on conference stages, Damien Patton, the 47-year-old co-founder and CEO of the surveillance startup Banjo, often recounts a colorful autobiography.
Amir Efrati / The Information:
Source: Uber executives discuss cutting ~20% of its 27,000 headcount in the coming weeks; company veteran CTO Thuan Pham has resigned  —  Executives at Uber are discussing plans to cut around 20% of the company's employees, as it copes with a sharp decline in its ride-hailing business due …
Casey Newton / The Verge:
YouTube adds fact-check info boxes to some searches, above the search results, in the US, after launching in Brazil and India last year  —  The program launched in Brazil and India last year  —  YouTube will begin adding informational panels containing information from its network …
David Gelles / New York Times:
A look at efforts by the tech industry to procure PPE for frontline workers, including one led by Salesforce's Marc Benioff to secure 50M pieces of PPE for $25M  —  A call from a university chancellor set in motion a private sector effort to procure 50 million masks, gowns and swabs for American medical facilities.
Taylor Lorenz / New York Times:
Instagram has been overrun with cash giveaways, which are often framed as charity, but are part of growth schemes run by social media marketing firms  —  As the coronavirus continues to disrupt lives and livelihoods, influencers are offering free money to followers — and gaining a lot more in return.
Jennifer Elias / CNBC:
In an email to staff, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the company will allow employees to return to offices no earlier than June 1 and take a “staggered” approach  —  - Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the company will allow employees to return to offices no earlier than June 1 …
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Shopify launches Shop, a consumer shopping app that allows users to browse recommended and local products and buy using the one-click Shop Pay checkout process  —  While Shopify is best-known for powering the online stores of more than 1 million businesses, the company is launching …
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Zuckerberg more actively in charge of Facebook after five departures from board of directors since 2019, as he attempts to consolidate decision-making  —  The 35-year-old tycoon has recast the company's board of directors and sought a high-profile role for the social-media giant in the Covid-19 pandemic
Tweets: @ron_miller
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Instagram launches a way for users to fundraise for nonprofits while livestreaming, showing streamers a breakdown of donors, so they can give them a shout-out  —  Instagram is today launching a new way for users to fundraise for nonprofits via Instagram Live, amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Ryan Browne / CNBC:
British payments firm Checkout.com joins the Libra Association, the first payments processor to do so since Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe pulled out in October  —  - Checkout.com is the first payments firm to join the Libra Association after Visa, Mastercard and Stripe pulled out over regulatory concerns.
Natalie Gagliordi / ZDNet:
Oracle announces Zoom has picked it as the meeting service's core cloud infrastructure provider and is already moving seven petabytes through its cloud daily  —  The deal is a major win for Oracle's cloud computing business, especially considering Zoom's newfound ubiquity.
Gizmodo:
Parolees say technical issues with Guardian, an app that uses GPS and biometric data for tracking, are causing problems including losing jobs, reincarceration  —  On the day Layla got out of prison and back to her home in Georgia, she was told she would need to purchase a smartphone …
Bloomberg:
Sources: TripAdvisor will cut ~300 global and ~600 US positions, shutting San Francisco and downtown Boston offices; most remaining employees to take 20% cut  —  TripAdvisor Inc. is cutting about a quarter of its workforce in a bid to shrink costs as the global coronavirus pandemic decimates travel.
Matt Day / Bloomberg:
As Amazon's no-questions-asked paid leave policy ends on May 1, warehouses are safer but interviews show many workers are not turning up and remain scared  —  In the breakroom at an Amazon.com Inc. warehouse in Hazle Township, Pennsylvania, a PowerPoint presentation playing on repeat shows people …
James Cook / Telegraph:
Deliveroo, which employs over 2,500 people, is laying off 367 and furloughing 50 employees as it struggles amid low demand  —  50 employees have also been furloughed as the business prepares for an economic downturn  —  Deliveroo is letting go of 367 of its employees as it struggles with demand amid coronavirus lockdown.
Marne Levine / About Facebook:
Facebook says it will stream a virtual graduation ceremony on May 15, with a commencement speech from Oprah Winfrey; highlights will be shared on Instagram  —  This is a bittersweet time for the Class of 2020.  As students head toward graduation, it's not the day they might have imagined …
Mary Ann Azevedo / Crunchbase News:
Cheetah, which offers contactless pickup and delivery of food and supplies, raises $36M Series B led by Eclipse Ventures, bringing its total funding to $66M+  —  Cheetah, which offers contactless pickup and delivery of food and supplies, has closed $36 million in a Series B funding round, the company exclusively told Crunchbase News.
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