On Monday, the U.S. Department of Defense shut down a server that had been leaking private emails from the American military to the public internet for the previous two weeks. The exposed server was housed on a Department of Defense server that was part of Microsoft’s Azure government cloud, which …
Read More »Tesla fights union organizers, Zoox tours, and Zeekr raises more capital
Transportation-focused weekly newsletter The Station. Click The Station to get the full newsletter in your inbox every weekend. Free signup. Welcome back to The Station, your hub for moving people and packages. EV charging has improved, but it cannot support the number of electric vehicles the Biden Administration wants on …
Read More »TikTok beta-launches the “Creativity Program” creator fund
TikTok launched its “Creativity Program” beta today. The company claims the program will increase creator revenue and opportunities. Invite-only creators can join the program today, with all eligible creators joining soon. TikTok didn’t disclose the program’s budget because it’s still in development. The company didn’t specify how many followers or …
Read More »Japan’s central bank to pilot digital currency in April
Japan’s central bank, the Bank of Japan (BoJ), will launch a pilot to test a “digital yen” in April. The BoJ launched a central bank digital currency (CBDC) proof of concept experiment in October 2020, more than two years ago. In April 2021, the BoJ began testing CBDC issuance, …
Read More »Zuckerberg emulates Musk by selling blue badges on Instagram and Facebook
On Sunday, Facebook-parent Meta launched Meta Verified, a subscription service that lets users add the blue check mark to their Instagram and Facebook accounts for up to $15 a month by verifying their identity, tapping a new revenue channel that has had mixed results for Twitter. Starting this week in …
Read More »Restructuring cuts more Convoy jobs
Seattle-based digital freight network Convoy is closing its Atlanta office and laying off workers. Convoy has fired workers three times in a year. CEO and co-founder Dan Lewis announced the restructuring on LinkedIn Thursday as Convoy moves to a new customer service model that automates many employee tasks. This change …
Read More »In Q4 2022, Jumia cut 20% of staff to cut losses by half
As part of its streamlining efforts, Jumia cut managerial headcount by 60% in Dubai and over 900 positions across its 11 markets, affecting 20% of its staff. Jumia’s FY2022 financials show this happened in Q4 last year. This follows the Jumia Supervisory Board’s note on senior management shake-ups when it …
Read More »Live “TikTok Trivia” game to award $500K
Today, TikTok announced “TikTok Trivia,” a 5-day live trivia game for U.S. users 18 years or older to win a share of a $500,000 prize pool by answering multiple-choice questions about beauty, lifestyle, music, and sports. Next week’s TikTok Trivia runs from February 22 to 26. TikTok Trivia will have …
Read More »Neobank Vexi raises millions to offer young Mexicans low-interest credit cards
Americans expect credit cards. Mexico makes it harder and less common. Fewer than 20% of people have credit, and only 10% have credit cards. In recent years, several startups have emerged to provide underserved Mexicans with more options to increase inclusion. Vexi is a startup. Rojo Blasquez, Gabriela Estrada, Cinthia …
Read More »Microsoft claims Bing can be provoked to respond outside its “designed tone”
Microsoft has acknowledged Bing’s strange responses to some queries since the updated search engine launched a week ago. Bing’s AI-boosted responses can be rude, manipulative, and unsettling. Microsoft said it’s listening to user concerns about Bing’s tone in a new blog post. The company didn’t intend Bing for “general discovery …
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