Welcome, of us, to Week in Review (WiR), Ztoog’s common publication masking this week’s noteworthy happenings in tech.
TikTok’s destiny in the U.S. appears to be like unsure after President Joe Biden signed a invoice that included a deadline for ByteDance, TikTok’s dad or mum firm, to divest itself of TikTok inside 9 months or face a ban on distributing it in the U.S. Ivan writes about how the influence of TikTok bans in different international locations may sign what’s to return stateside.
Meanwhile, fallout from the Change Healthcare hack continues. Change, a subsidiary of medical insurance large UnitedHealth, confirmed this week that the ransomware assault concentrating on it earlier this 12 months resulted in a big theft of Americans’ personal well being data, presumably masking “a substantial proportion” of Americans.
And Tesla profits dropped 55% as the EV firm contends with elevated stress from hybrid carmakers. The automaker’s progress plan is centered round mysterious cheaper EVs scheduled to launch subsequent 12 months — in addition to maybe a robotaxi. But a recall on the Cybertruck for defective accelerator pedals definitely gained’t assist in the interim.
Lots else occurred. We recap all of it in this version of WiR — however first, a reminder to join to obtain the WiR publication in your inbox each Saturday.
News
Amazon grocery plan: Amazon launched a new limitless grocery supply subscription in the U.S. The plan, which prices $9.99 monthly for Amazon Prime customers, comes with free deliveries for grocery orders over $35 throughout Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market and different native grocery retailers.
California drones grounded: In extra Amazon information, the tech large confirmed that it’s ending Prime Air drone supply operations in Lockeford, California. The Central California city of three,500 was the firm’s second U.S. drone supply web site after College Station, Texas; Amazon didn’t supply any particulars round the setback.
Fisker plans layoffs: Fisker says it’s planning extra layoffs lower than two months after reducing 15% of its workforce, as the EV startup scrambles to lift money to remain alive. Fisker expects to hunt chapter safety inside the subsequent 30 days if it could possibly’t give you the cash.
Stripe growth: Among a slew of different bulletins at its Sessions convention in San Francisco, Stripe mentioned that it’ll be de-coupling funds from the remainder of its monetary companies stack. Given that Stripe beforehand required companies to be funds clients in order to make use of any of its different merchandise, that’s a huge change.
Analysis
Rabbit palms on: Brian writes about the R1, the first gizmo from AI startup R1. The $199 value level, touchscreen and funky aesthetic from storied design agency Teenage Engineering make the R1 much more accessible than Humane’s Ai Pin, he concludes.
Lab-grown diamonds: Pascal, an Andreessen Horowitz-backed startup, claims it could possibly make high-end jewellery accessible through the use of lab-grown diamonds chemically and bodily akin to pure diamonds however that value one-twentieth of the value.
AI poetry: An experiment known as the Poetry Camera — an precise, bodily digicam — combines open supply expertise with playful design and inventive imaginative and prescient. Instead of merely capturing photos, the Poetry Camera arranges thought-provoking, AI-generated stanzas primarily based on the visuals it encounters.
Rippling deep dive: Connie interviewed Parker Conrad, the CEO of workforce administration startup Rippling, on the firm’s new $200 million funding spherical, new San Francisco lease (the second greatest to be signed in the metropolis this 12 months) and extra.