Business

Soon you may have a robot delivering your Pizza if you are living in Houston. Domino’s has partnered with Silicon Valley startup Nuro to launch this autonomous pizza delivery service to selected people. The company said that the autonomous delivery system will satisfy the continuous increase in online orders. Domino’s has registered a steep surge in online orders during the coronavirus pandemic and this trend seems to continue in the future as well. Customers, who will opt for it, will have their pies delivered in a fully autonomous vehicle. The small sized vehicle has been designed by the Nuro. The startup has already got US clearance for unmanned delivery services. Both the companies have taken several steps to make the launch of services smooth.

Nuro has been way ahead of its competitors in gaining approval. The robot car by Nuro was the first completely autonomous vehicle to get approval for an on-road delivery vehicle. The company recently secured USD 500 million including from Woven Capital. This raised the total valuation of the company to over USD 5 billion. The autonomous vehicle has been named R2. It is expected to start delivery in around seven days in Houston. The service will be expanded to other locations later.

Nuro head of partner relations Cosimo Leipold said that it is always a task for big companies to hire enough drivers. “This is where Nuro helps,” Leipold said. Nuro has already partnered with some big retailers like Walmart, Kroger, and CVS for providing autonomous delivery. The company said that during the first three months of the coronavirus pandemic, its weekly deliveries had almost tripled. Now Nuro will provide autonomous delivery in Houston which is the fourth largest city in the United States. The city has one of the highest fatality rates and therefore it will be a challenging task for the company. Nuro was founded in 2016 by two former engineers of Google.

After spending more than five years at Waymo, Chief Executive Officer John Krafcik has decided to step down from his post. Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet that is working on developing autonomous-drive technology, will now have co-CEOs. Tekedra Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov, two top executives of Waymo will now be the top bosses of the company. Telling about his decision to step down from the post in a blog post, Krafcik said that he would continue to remain with the company as an advisor. “Waymo One ride-hailing service is now open for all in the launch area of Metro Phoenix. Also, fifth generation of the Waymo Driver is under preparation for deployment in goods delivery and ride-hailing services. With all this, I think this is the appropriate time to pass the baton,” he said.

Tekedra Mawakana joined the company four years ago and he recently served the company as Chief Operating Officer. On the other hand, Dmitri Dolgov joined the company way back in 2009. It was the time when the company was created as known as the Google self-driving car project. Dolgov was recently working as Chief Technology Officer of the company. After being elevated to the post of co-CEOs, Mawakana and Dolgov sent a joint statement to Waymo employees. “We are committed to working for the development of better technology. We will work alongside to build and deploy the Waymo driver. We feel energized for the opportunities that are ahead of us.”

Waymo established itself as a leading player in the field of developing autonomous vehicle technology under the leadership of Krafcik. It has more than 20 billion miles driven in simulation and over 20 million miles on public roads. But just like the entire self-driving industry, Google’s subsidiary has struggled to meet deadlines. This is no more a hidden thing that developing self-driving cars is a very difficult task. Despite massive backing in terms of funding, Waymo raised USD3.25 billion externally. Meanwhile, there are debate weather roads should be retrofitted with sensors to support the launch of self-driving cars.

Electric car maker Tesla has announced a new option to pay for buying vehicles. Its owner Elon Musk has said that Tesla will accept payments in Bitcoin. This means anyone can pay in Bitcoins to Telsa to buy a new car. This is, however, limited for US customers. Tesla said that it will soon expand the option to pay with Bitcoin in other countries. Currently, the value of one Bitcoin is USD 56,000. Those willing to buy an electric car from Tesla will have to pay less than one Bitcoin to buy an entry-level vehicle. The Standard Range Plus of Model 3 is Tesla’s entry-level vehicle. It has a starting price of USD 37,990. The Long Range variant starts at USD 46,990 and the top-of-the-line Performance at USD 54,990.

Musk said that his company is using only internal and open-source software. It operates Bitcoin nodes directly. Notably, Tesla has invested USD 1.5 billion in the popular cryptocurrency. He said that payments received in Bitcoin will be retained in their original form. The company said that it will not convert Bitcoin to fiat currency. The new mode of payment also appears on Tesla’s US website. It is providing an option of scanning a QR code to the buyers to make payment. Besides, users can simply copy and paste the Bitcoin wallet address to make payment for their purchases. Tesla, however, said that it will continue pricing its cars the US dollars.

Musk in recent times has been tweeting on cryptocurrencies more frequently. The total market value of the world’s most popular cryptocurrency has surpassed the USD 1 trillion mark. Tesla’s investment in Bitcoin contributed to the value of Bitcoin. Tesla is believed to have made a profit of USD 1 billion from its investment in Bitcoin. Meanwhile, Square has revealed that it invested USD 170 million in Bitcoin. Square is backed by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. It is a credit and payments company. Square purchased about 3,318 Bitcoins. The value of Bitcoin is likely to see a further surge with the recent investments.

NASA’s long wait for a new administrator is set to end. The agency is finally getting a new head. President Joe Biden has nominated Bill Nelson for the role. Nelson will serve as the 14th administrator of the space agency. Nelson is a former Senator. He is also a one-time astronaut. He is seen as a moderate Democrat. His nomination has invited bipartisan praise. Nelson, 78, will take charge once the nomination is confirmed in the Senate. Nelson thanked Biden for showing trust in him. The former Senator said that he was honored to be nominated for the role. He promised to lead the agency and Americans into an exciting future. White House in a statement said that no one can think of anyone other than Nelson to head the agency.

White House added that every particular of space and the science-related law has Nelson’s imprint. He served as a Senator until 2019 since 2001 from Florida. In 1986, Nelson traveled into space. He was a Payload Specialist. He flew on a Columbia space shuttle. With this, he became the second sitting Congress member to travel into space. Former NASA chief Jim Bridenstine appointed Nelson to the agency’s Advisory Council in 2019. As the NASA administrator, he will succeed Bridenstine. Bridenstine resigned from the chair in January soon after Biden took over as the President. Bridenstine, a member of the Republican Party, was appointed to the post in April 2018 by then President Donald Trump.

The post of NASA administrator was lying vacant since Bridenstine’s exit. The delay in the appointment of a NASA chief had raised apprehensions over the goal of the Artemis program. Acting NASA administrator Steve Jurczyk welcomed Nelson’s nomination. He said that the agency is pleased to see that Nelson has been nominated as the 14th Administrator. Nelson is known for advancing the country’s position in the human exploration of space. Steve said that agency looks forward to working under Nelson’s leadership. NASA will carry out critical missions including the Moon missions under his guidance. Steve is confident that the Senate will approve Nelson’s nomination.

Weeks after losing a major labor battle in the Supreme Court, Uber has announced that it will treat drivers as workers in the United Kingdom. The ride-hailing app giant announced the change during a filing at Securities and Exchange Commission. The company said in the filing that 6.4 percent of the total mobility gross bookings it received during the fourth quarter of 2020 are from the UK. After these changes, Uber drivers will get some assured benefits like minimum wage, paid holiday, and pension contributions from the employer. This also means that Uber will pay its drivers, who are over the age of 25, in UK National Living Wage. The minimum wage to be paid in the UK is around £8.72 per hour.

The move will increase the company’s costs in the United Kingdom. However, Uber hopes adjusted EBITDA profitability by the end of the year. The company has also said that the changes will not mean an increase in fares for passengers. In an op-ed in a newspaper, Uber chief executive officer Dara Khosrowshahi said that could have continued the battle but the company decided to turn the page. “I know we will not get a pat on the back for this move, which comes after a long-fought legal battle. They have a point. But I think the path chosen by us shows our willingness to change.”

Earlier this year, the ride-hailing service provider lost a major legal battle over the issue. The top court upheld the ruling that stated that a group of drivers were not independent contractors but workers. While the ruling was applicable to a small group of Uber drivers, thousands of others have taken the matter against the company. Meanwhile, Uber and the gig economy are facing challenges from regulatory authorities from around the globe. The company has already spent millions on fighting those challenges in other regions. Uber has always maintained the position that it is a technology platform and charges a fee for connecting drivers with passengers.

Social media app Parler is trying to return to App Store but Apple has reportedly has refused re-entry. The re-entry to its App Store means that Apple users would be able to download the app on iPhones. The tech giant has reportedly told Parler that the changes made are not sufficient to comply with the guidelines of App Store Review. “After having reviewed the updates, we found that they are not sufficient. App Store cannot allow racist, hateful, discriminatory content. Developers must make considerable changes to filter such objectionable content. This is very important as protecting the health and safety of our users are our prime concern,” Apple said.

It had joined Google in removing the social media app from App Store following the Capitol Hill riots in January this year. The move excluded Parler from all smartphones of Apple. A similar decision was taken by Amazon as it removed the social media app from its web hosting services. Because of this, Parler went offline for quite a few days. It came back online only after finding another hosting service provider last month. Apple said that derogatory comments, as well as Nazi symbols, were still available on the platform. “For these reasons, we cannot allow your app to return to App Store for distribution. For this, you need to comply with all the guidelines.”

Reacting to it, Parler issued a statement where the company insisted that it had always worked on removing violent content and opposed content that can incite violence. According to Breitbart, Parler showed Apple they have incorporated several changes to remove content that has the potential of inciting violence. “We have used a combination of algorithmic filters and human review for this. We also explained our new feature that allows users to filter out persona attacks. We are hopeful that the tech giant will differentiate with other ‘Big Tech’ companies by accepting its customers’ choice,” Parler said in the statement.

Social media giant Facebook has announced to change a key policy related to the advertisement. The company has revoked the ban on political ads. It said that political and social issues ads will be allowed on the platform from March 4. These ads will, however, require verification. They will also need to display a disclaimer. It should tell users that messages in the ads are paid for by’ a specific group or person. Facebook banned political ads in November 2020. Such ads were barred from the platform to check the spread of misinformation during the Presidential election in the United States. Facebook said that it took the feedback of users into account before resuming political ads.

Facebook said that the public feedback helped the company to understand more about such ads. The company will keep a close watch on such ads. It will introduce changes if there are scope and merit. Notably, there is no mechanism available to fact-check political ads on Facebook. This is one of the reasons why the company often faces criticism for its policies regarding political ads. The ban on ads also came close on the heels of confusions that were created by then President Donald Trump who used social media platforms to publicly fight the results. Around a Senate runoff in Georgia in January, Facebook had allowed some political ads. But soon it re-imposed the ban.

According to Facebook, political ads on the platform make a very small part of its business model. The ban also helped in addressing concerns that candidates could influence or mislead the voters about the Presidential election to swing the outcomes. Facebook said that it will store the content of ads in its library. By doing this, the company said that it will become easy for researchers and others to view the ads. Earlier, search engine giant Google also announced to lift the ban on political ads. Both Facebook and Google dominate the digital advertising sector worldwide. Google too had suspended political ads to check the flow of misinformation involving the elections.

Luxury goods conglomerate LVMH has purchased a 50 percent stake in Armand de Brignac, a champagne brand owned by Shwan ‘Jay-Z’ Carter. The champagne brand is also famous as ‘Ace of Spades.’ The terms of the deal have not been made public and therefore it is not how much the French conglomerate has paid for the deal. The deal has been signed at a time when LUMH is working on diversifying its offering. According to reports, the value of half of the champagne brand was valued at around USD 250 million in 2018. The company has been criticized for the lack of diversity by many.

Reports suggest that the deal between the hip-hop mogul and the luxury brand happened ‘very naturally’ and the two brands are eager to work together. They will now work to find ways to promote the brand among other luxe champagnes like Veuve Clicquot, Dom Pérignon, and Krug. But the path is going to be tough as they deal comes a time when the champagne industry is going through one of its toughest times. This is because there has been a huge fall in demand for the drink because of the decline in events and celebrations. Most of the restaurants and event destinations have suffered a huge blow because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which directly affected the sales of the drinks.

Meanwhile, LVMH signed start tennis player Naomi Osaka as its new brand ambassador. Osaka was in limelight during the US Open as he extended support to the Black Lives Matter protests. The protest had started over the summer. The company has also signed skateboarder Lucien Clark for skate shoes and apparel. LVMH has been trying to associate with Black celebs for quite some time. Last year, it signed singer Rihanna on Fenty Fashion House. She was the first black woman to be associated with the luxury brand. However, Fenty Fashion House was discontinued recently. However, LVMH said that it will continue to support the other products of the Fenty empire. The focus will be now more on beauty and skincare items along with lingerie lines.

Bitcoin has been the talk of the town of late and now there is some more news related to it. Reports suggest that the USD 150 billion investment unit of Morgan Stanley is exploring options to bet on Bitcoin. Counterpoint Global, an investment arm of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, is accessing if it would a viable option for investors. However, regulatory approval will be required for any such investment. The cryptocurrency has been in the news recently because of the recent surge in prices. The surge is because of the renewed interest of investors in Bitcoin. The price of the volatile digital currency has surged around 1,200 per cent since mid March last year.

Morgan Stanley has not reacted to the development yet. A spokeswoman of the multinational bank refused to comment when contacted by a media house. If the investment by Counterpoint Global materialises, it would join the list of several high profile companies that have invested in it. But it must be noted that some analysts at Morgan Stanley have been bearish on Bitcoin. An analyst had earlier said that the real value of the cryptocurrency was zero. When he made this comment, Bitcoin was trading at about USD 14,400. Now, one of the Bitcoin backers has predicted that its price would climb to USD 100,000 by end of the year. However, some analysts have urged investors to stay away from it.

According to reports, Bank of New York Mellon is planning to offer Bitcoin transactions. The bank is the country’s oldest financial institution. Mastercard too has announced that it would allow merchants to accept certain cryptocurrencies. Such announcements by some of the biggest corporations in the United States can help Bitcoin enter the mainstream. This will also allow the cryptocurrency to be accepted as a form of payment. Tesla has also invested USD 1.5 billion into the cryptocurrency. This resulted in a 16 per cent rise in the price. Microblogging site Twitter too has said that it was mulling adding some Bitcoin to its balance sheet. These announcements have to lead to wide acceptance of the cryptocurrency. It is also evident by the fact that it has gained around 60 per cent so far in 2021.

Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) surged in 2020, globally, though there was a drop in total passenger vehicles (PVs) sales. However, EV sales was up 39% at a global scale, reaching almost 3.1 Million cars, while PV sales dropped nearly 14%. Moreover, electric cars segment accounted for around 5% of overall new vehicle sales last year. The Europe electric vehicle market accounted for highest sales in global market in 2020, contributing 11.5% of overall automobile sales in the region. This can be due to properly placed emission-related regulations, ban of internal combustion engine-based vehicles, penalties, incentives, proper EV charging infrastructure, availability of various EVs to choose from, initiatives taken to spread customer awareness, among others.

In 2020, total of 83% of EVs were sold globally, out of which, 42% were sold in Europe and rest 41% were in China.  New and stringent standards regarding emissions by fuel-run vehicles played an important role in EV sales in Europe. Automobile manufacturers had to make changes in already produced vehicles or sell them before 2020, as they knew that the new set of rules and regulations were being set for 2020 and further. Additionally, if these new standards are not meet, the penalty for manufacturers is hefty. Similarly, stringent regulations by authorities in China resulted in high sales in the country. Another reason for high EV sales is that the customers or EV buyers were mostly working population such as from IT industry, as their source of income was strong. Work from home transition, increased purchasing power, clubbed with steady income were factors that enabled pacification of one of the worst economic impact of global pandemic for buyers as wee as sellers.

Sales of electric vehicles in the US were as low as 2.4% of new car sales, which was up by 4% in 2019. This is due to minimal demand for EVs in the country, and lack of options, particularly in highly popular vehicle segments that are SUVs and pick-up trucks. This factor is putting the US customers off and pushing to switch, which is working as a restraint for US EV sales.  However, new series of electric vehicles are set to be launched this year and next year, which means customers will have a wide range of vehicles from numerous brands to choose from. This is projected to accelerate the sales of electric vehicles in the country in 2022 and years ahead. Moreover, stringent federal policies has compelled the automobile manufacturers to launch more electric vehicles and offered subsidies and incentives to customers to increase sales. The cost of making Lithium-Ion batteries for electric vehicles has reduced, however still expensive compared to fuel-based vehicles, and fuel economy standards are easier to achieve. On the other hand, fuel prices are still relatively lower and lack of incentive for buyers is hindering shift over to EVs. Automakers are now more committed towards electric vehicle production, which is expected to result in increasing pace of EV adoption in the US.

Production of electric vehicles rely majorly on electronics and semiconductor, and currently, the automotive industry is facing semiconductor shortages. Moreover, disruptions is supply of chips used in power electronics, processors due to Covid-19 pandemic could pose as a restraint for EV sales. Thus, resolving future supply chain issues, could help increase sales. Last year, demand for personal computers, laptops and smartphones skyrocketed due to pandemic and work from home trend, due to this, the chip manufacturers shifted the focus to produce chips for electronics industry, adversely impacting automobile production. Nevertheless, demand for EVs is expected to increase, and slow but steadily chip manufacturers will be supplying chips to automotive industry.

Global electric-vehicle sales is projected to increase continuously throughout the next ten years, with EVs accounting for 48% of total new cars sold by 2030. This can be attributed to launch of new and technologically advanced electric vehicles and government policies across various countries to encourage electric vehicle production and sales. Eradicating the fact that there are less options to choose from by increasing number of EV production and enhancing charging infrastructure is of utmost importance currently to entice higher number of buyers.

Fast-rising audio chat app Clubhouse has been reportedly blocked in China. Users of this app in mainland China are complaining about their inability to access the app. The app was being used by people to discuss sensitive issues with people living in other countries, including Taiwan. Chinese authorities have now blocked the app. With this, Clubhouse has joined the long list of social media apps and websites which are blocked in the country ruled by the Communist party. The move comes at a time when the app was getting extremely popular in the country. However, the decision is not shocking as some of the most popular social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook are already banned in China.

According to a non-profit group in the United States, service to users in mainland China was interrupted at around 7 pm on Monday. The group monitors internet filtering and help people to avoid it. The Chinese government has never accepted the existence of its internet filters but researchers have found traced blockages within China Telecom Ltd. Internet traffic have to pass through it in order to function. The Chinese government said that it is promoting ‘internet sovereignty.’ The government says that it is the right of the political leaders to limit what the people of their country see online.

Clubhouse gained popularity, especially in China, in a very short span of time as it proved to be a platform where people can freely talk about politically sensitive issues. It is a totally different app as it uses oral conversation instead of text like other social media apps. This app also allowed people of mainland China to interact with people in Taiwan. In order to use this service of the app, users have to provide their name and phone number. However, there is no indication so far that anyone in China has been punished for the social media platform.

Amazon Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and founder Jeffrey Preston Bezos is all set to step down from his position by 2021 end, and switch to executive chair post, handing over the reins to Andrew. R. Jessy. Jeffery has been CEO at E-commerce giant, ‘Amazon’ since 1995 and has come a long way since the days when Amazon was just an online bookseller, and is currently a US$ 1.7 Trillion multi-national retail and logistics behemoth. Andrew Jessy on the other hand, has worked for Amazon Web Services (AWS) since 1997 and is currently serving as the CEO of Amazon’s cloud business, and AWS, which is one of the largest revenue contributors to Amazon.

Jeffery wrote a heartwarming email to his employees in which he mentioned details about his journey and stated, ‘This journey began around 27 years ago, when Amazon was just an idea and had no name’.  He also mentioned ‘When you’re the founder, people listen no matter the title. He also shared that he was frequently asked a question back then – ‘What is Internet?’ Today, the company employs approximately 1.3 Million dedicated, young and talented individuals, and serves millions of businesses and customers worldwide, which has made it as one of the leading global multinational technological company. This in anyone’s mind will certainly kindle ambition and open up possibilities and imagination that if a mere online bookstore can become a trillion-dollar brand, then what has been stopping them from also coming up with a 100-dallar idea, product, service, or plan that can eventually become a trillion-dollar conglomerate in a short span of three decades going by the way time flies these days.

Jeff also provided insights that inferred that when the going gets tough, the tough gets going in such situations. In his email, Jeff said that he is excited for job transition, which will help him to focus on working on outside projects. ‘As Amazon’s executive chair, I will focus on new products and bigger initiatives,’ he said. He further mentioned, ‘Being CEO of a company is a big responsibility, and it is time and energy consuming, and when you have a responsibility like that, it’s hard to focus on anything else’. Once he is Executive Chair, he will not only be engaged in more important Amazon initiatives, but also have much needed time and energy to focus on ‘the Bezos Earth Fund’, ‘Day 1 Fund’, ‘The Washington Post’, ‘Blue Origin’, and his other passions.

Jeff also added that ‘Jessy will be an outstanding leader, and he has my full confidence, he is an obvious choice for this post, especially after the retirement announcement made by Jeff Wilke, head of Amazon’s global consumer division and another Amazon leader in August 2020’. To this, Tim Hubbard, assistant professor at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business said ‘Andy Jassy’s is a natural fit as a CEO at Amazon’. In addition to this he said, ‘AWS is a powerhouse within Amazon, driving revenue growth significantly, and this transition indicate that the company is going to continue the path it is going’.

Under Andy Jassy’s command, the cloud computing segment is projected to register highest growth in the coming years as the company aims to be more effective in the era of digital-first interactions. In 2020, Amazon’s shares sank as the market was closed; however, it has gained 1% growth in just two hours after the closing bell. The company’s stocks have since gained exponentially since then. Amazon published its quarterly net sales of around US$ 125.6 Billion, which is up 44% compared to same period in the prior year. This quarterly income includes Prime Day sales revenue held on October 13 and 14 in the last year, which was being postponed over summer 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Though coronavirus cases surged, revenue from Prime Day, and increasing demand for online shopping contributed 40% Y-o-Y (2019–2020) revenue growth of the company. Net sales in the North America market accounted for US$ 75 Billion, and international sales registered 57% growth to approximately US$ 37.5 Billion.

The chief executive officers of Exxon and Chevron reportedly held talks about the potential merger of the oils giants. The talks were held in 2020 after the coronavirus pandemic shook the entire world. People privy to the development said that the talks were to test the water before finalizing what could be one the largest mergers ever. The discussion between Exxon CEO Darren Woods and Chevron Chief Executive Mike Wirth came after the pandemic which resulted in a steep decline in demand for gas and oil. This put an enormous financial strain on both the oil firms. People said that the talks were just preliminary and are not going on. “However it could be resumed in the future.”

If the deal happens, it would bring back together with the two largest descendants of John D Rockefeller’s Standard Oil monopoly. The company was split in 1911 by US regulators and the reunion will definitely reshape the oil industry. The combined value of the company could above USD 350 billion. While the current market of Chevron is around USD 164 billion, Exxon is valued at USD 190 billion. Once reunited, they would become the world’s second-largest oil firm by production and market capitalization. They would combine produce about 7 million barrels of gas and oil per day. The first one in the world is Saudi Aramco.

But the merger could not be a cakewalk for these firms as the move could face antitrust scrutiny from the Department of Justice under the new administration. US President Joe Biden has already said that climate change is the biggest challenge for the country. Biden had said that he would push the country away from the oil industry. One of the persons familiar with the development said that the companies missed an opportunity to make a deal under the Trump administration. Donald Trump was seemed to be more friendly to the industry. Several such deals were seals last year, including a USD 5 billion takeovers of Noble Energy by Chevron.

Automakers were expecting some shortage as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic but it’s certain that not at this point in time. But carmakers are now facing a shortage of computer chips because of the massive demand worldwide. Following this, Ford has halted production at one of its German plants. The shortage of chips is making the recovery of automakers from the pandemic tougher. The US automaker said that its factory in Saarlouis, Germany will remain inactive till February 19 over weak demand as well as the shortage of chips. This German plant of Ford makes its most popular four-wheelers in Europe – the Focus – and around 5,000 workers are employed here.

“The situation is being closely monitored. We are adjusting production schedules to minimize the effect on customers, employees, suppliers, and dealers in Europe,” a spokesperson of the company said. The spokesperson said that Ford is not anticipating such a situation at other facilities in Europe. Last week, the carmaker was forced to shut an SUV plant in Louisville, Kentucky. The decision was taken because of the shortage of semiconductors. But the decision of shutting down a plant in Germany hints towards that bigger problem about the shortage of chips. The situation is expected to get worse and it could affect a large number of automakers around the world.

Automakers are still short of chips and the struggle is likely to continue for some time as supplies remain tight. Some of the leading semiconductor manufacturers got a revised list of requirements after sales of cars nosedived following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Experts believe that the shortage of chips comes at a very crucial time as they suffered a huge loss recently. Despite all this, automakers are under pressure to invest heavily in electric vehicles. Several carmakers have said that they will reduce the number of cars produced from their plant following the shortage of chips.

NBA star LeBron James has been synonymous with Coca-Cola for around 18 years but he has now decided to switch allegiances. James is now reportedly joining the PepsiCo brand and is set to sign a new endorsement deal. As per the new deal with Pepsi, James is expected to promote the upcoming drink ‘Rise Energy’ of Pepsi’ Mountain Dew brand. It is being said that the deal could be extended companywide. The development comes at a time when the company has already signed deals with several other NBA players. One of the prominent players who signed the deal is Zion Williamson.

It must be noted that James signed a deal with Coca Cola way back in 2003. At that time, he had not even started his NBA career and remained with Cola ever since. In 2014, the beverage conglomerate launched ‘Sprite 6 Mix by LeBron James’. It was his signature drink and also featured its own campaign. But the NBA player’s pact with Coca Cola came to an end in September 2020. Sources privy to the development said that the contract of LeBron came for renewal at a time when both the NBA star and the beverage company were actively reviewing all options.

“The company wanted to make sure that its investment goes for a long term and benefit the company,” Coca-Cola said. The company said that the decision was mutually agreed upon. “After many rounds of discussion with the player and his team, it was mutually agreed that we should part ways.” Interestingly, Coca Cola was replaced by Pepsi as the official food and beverage partner of the WNBA and NBA in 2015. This had ended 30 years of partnership with Coca Cola. On the other hand, PepsiCo continued to grow its dominance and grabbed an even larger share of the market space by acquiring Rockstar in March 2020 for a huge USD 3.85 billion.

Almost two months after the Department of Justice (DOJ) raised antitrust concerns, Visa has scrapped USD 5.3 billion acquisition deal with Plaid. The antitrust lawsuit was filed by the DOJ on the grounds that the deal would reduce competition in the payments industry. But the company had denied it saying it in no way was trying to eliminate the competition. However, Visa has announced that the deal is being scrapped on mutual understanding. The move is being considered as a setback to Visa as it has been trying to add the fintech services to its payments business. Plaid is known for providing software solutions to companies like Venmo and Mint. The services help payments groups and financial planning companies to connect with their bank accounts.

The deal between the two companies was in January last year. Al Kelly, chief executive officer of Visa, had then said that the deal would have brought the combined company at the epicenter of the fintech firms. However, the DOJ moved the antitrust lawsuit in November 2020 alleging that Visa decided to acquire Plaid as it was developing its own platform. This would have challenged the dominance of Visa in the sector. The lawsuit had cited an internal Visa document wherein an executive of the company allegedly referred to Plaid as a ‘volcano.’ The executive had said that the ‘current capabilities of Plaid are just the tip which is visible above the water.’

According to the lawsuit, senior management of Visa had warned directors of the company about the potential downside risk of around USD 400 million if any rival company manage to buy Plaid. These claims were outrightly rejected by Visa and Plaid echoed it. However, the DOJ has now claimed that the termination of the deal between the two companies is a victory for consumers as well as small businesses. Plaid has now said that it will work with Visa as a partner and an investor going forward.

Google, Apple, and Amazon have suspended social media platform Parler over posts inciting violence in the United States Capitol riot. Parler has been in the news for the past few months and gained popularity. The social network says that the platform promotes ‘free speech’ and pitches itself as an alternative to Facebook and Twitter. Millions of US President Donald Trump supporter has been increasingly using Parler as other social media platforms cracked down on post inciting violence and spreading misinformation. The rising popularity of the platform can be gauged by the fact that it was listed as the No. 1 free app by Apple for its iPhones till Saturday morning. But, by night same day, it was struggling to be alive in the Apple store.

Similarly, search engine giant Google too removed the app from the play store saying Parler is not screening posts of users properly which is resulting in encouraging violence and crime. Amazon too follows the two big companies and told the platform that it would be booted over repeated violation of the company’s rules. The move comes as a big setback for Parler as the decision means that the entire platform would go offline, unless and until it managed to find a new hosting service soon. Amazon, in a letter to Parler, sent some of the posts that apparently encouraged violence. Amazon said many of these posts are still active.

The company said it clearly found that Parler had no efficient to identify content that encourages violence against others. “We are providing services across the political spectrum but we cannot allow such posts.” Reacting to the development, Parler CEO John Matze said that big tech companies are doing everything to kill competition. “They really don’t want any competition. But I have a lot of work to do in order to ensure that the data of everyone using our platform is not permanently deleted from the internet,” Matze said.

Search engine giant Google is testing to add a new feature to show videos to users from Instagram and TikTok. The latest decision aims at retaining users on its platform. According to Google, the new tool will show videos from the two platforms in the dedicated carousel in the Google app. Reports say that the company has been indexing videos for the past few years. It remains unclear whether Google has entered into any agreement with Instagram and TikTok. Google said that the feature is being tested on mobile devices on a pilot basis. Google has made available the feature in a limited way for mobile devices and also on the mobile web.

Google said that the new dedicated carousel will be expanded for testing soon. It is exclusively for video content on Instagram and TikTok. While in the testing phase, the company has introduced a carousel of short videos. It is made available within Google Discover. Google Discover was previously called Google Feed. It is a personalized content feed. It focuses on aggregating videos from platforms like YouTube, Tangi, Trell, and others. The short videos are different from the Google Discover page’s Web Stories feature. It functions quite similarly to Instagram Stories and Snapchat. Google said that the stories carousel will enable users to look for the best content available online.

Google has not rolled out the feature for everyone. It is only testing it with limited users. When users click on the Instagram and TikTok videos in the short videos carousel, it directs them to the web version. This happens even when the app is installed on the device. It means that users will need not to switch apps to watch videos. In other words, Google wants users to come back to its page every time they wish to watch videos. Google’s announcement to test the feature is an indication that it has also some expansion plans in place. The company is likely to expand Web Stories to more countries. Besides, the new feature could also soon debut on more Google products.

America’s popular hotel chain company Airbnb has announced a major change in its online booking policy. The company has restricted bookings of home rental services in multiple countries. The decision was taken in order to check unauthorized parties on the occasion of the New Year. The development comes in the backdrop of a spurt in Covid cases. People across the globe plan New Year Eve parties and make bookings. The company doesn’t want to invite a bad light in the midst of the pandemic. Airbnb said that the change in the booking policy has been introduced to deter unauthorized house parties and large gatherings.

The restriction is applicable in seven countries. These countries are the United States, Canada, Mexico, Britain, France, Australia, and Spain. Airbnb said that guests without a history of positive reviews will not be allowed to make one-night bookings reservations in entire home listings. The company said it will bring in place technology to restrict some local and last-minute bookings. It will block reservations by people without a history of positive reviews. Those having a history of positive reviews will not be covered under this restriction. The company said that already planned one-night bookings will be allowed. Its data showed that one-night New Year’s Eve reservations rarely lead to unauthorized parties.

The San Francisco- headquartered vacation rental firm had in October announced a similar measure. It blocked bookings for the Halloween festival. The company said that the restriction was aimed at helping to protect communities from the virus. Airbnb suffered as coronavirus wreaked havoc on the travel industry worldwide. Its revenue was hit hard by the pandemic. The company reported a 39 percent loss in its gross booking revenue till September. It filed for an initial public offering in November. The company has maintained silence on the number of shares it will offer and the price range. Its IPO will be released after the Securities and Exchange Commission completes its review process. The SEC is currently reviewing Airbnb’s market and other conditions.

Google’s cloud gaming service Stadia is expanding its footprint. The search engine giant has announced that Stadia will be extended to iPhone and iPad soon. Google said that Stadia will be available through an upcoming web app. The company said that it has made significant growth in building Stadia’s web app version. It will run in the mobile version of Safari. Safari is a web browser developed by the iPhone maker. Stadia was launched in November 2019 with access being limited to Pixel smartphones and Chromecast TV dongle. Google could not launch Stadia on iOS devices because of Apple’s restrictions. The company in the last year has added over 80 games and taken multiple measures to meet the competition.

Earlier in August, Apple said that cloud gaming services were permitted on the App Store. The Cupertino-based tech giant said that each game must face a review by the App Store team. Google said that its team will soon begin in-house testing of Stadia’s web app version and then go for public testing to iron out the issues. It is believed that the web app will be similar to Microsoft turning to the mobile web to launch its xCloud service on iOS. xCloud could become a reality on iOS sometime next year. Launching a web app version will help companies to circumvent the App Store’s restrictions.

Google is competing with Microsoft and other players in launching its services on iOS. Another American multinational company Nvidia has also announced to stream GeForce NOW Cloud gaming on the iOS. The company has brought a web app version of its cloud gaming service. It has already launched the beta version and is working on the stable version. Nvidia said that it will soon begin to offer Fortnite. The popular game was shunted out from the App Store following a dispute with Apple. In another related development, Amazon said that it is also developing a web app version of Amazon Luna to launch its services on iOS devices.