Here are the top trending stories from the world of technology. News that we feel every tech enthusiast should keep a tab on.
1)
Apple starts laying off employees amid stern warning by Google
According to Bloomberg, Apple has sacked nearly 100 contract based recruiters. Although the current lay off is restricted to only contractual employees, the tech giant may soon turn heat on the full-time employees as well. Interestingly, news of Apple’s sacking came just hours after Google gave a stern warning that there will be ‘blood on the street,’ strongly hinting that it won’t be left with any option but to lay off employees if the results don’t improve in the coming quarters. With recession casting a deep shadow on the global economy, there has been a palpable fear of massive layoffs across all the big tech companies.
2)
Ola plans to launch an electric car in 2024
After rolling out its electric two wheelers last year, the Softbank backed Ola Electric has announced an ambitious plan of rolling out its first ever electric four wheeler by 2024. Ola’s co-founder & CEO Bhavish Aggarwal said that its electric car will cover nearly 500 Kms with a single charge and that this car will be manufactured in the company’s Tamil Nadu plant. Agarwal had released the teaser of Ola’s electric car a few months back and, mind you, the pictures look pretty impressive. However, so far Ola has had a very bumpy ride in the electric vehicle space. Its electric two wheelers were recently involved in spate of fire accidents that made headlines across the country.
3)
Virat Kohli backed Digit Insurance files for an IPO
General insurance startup Digit Insurance, which is backed by former Indian cricket team Capitan Virat Kohli, has filed for an IPO with market regulatory SEBI. The Pune based company plans to raise nearly Rs 1000 crores through this public issue. The company sells insurance products in popular categories like vehicle, medical and travel insurance. Digital insurance is backed by several big investors including Fairfax, Sequoia Capital and General Atlantic. If Digital insurance’s IPO proposal is accepted by SEBI then it will join the scores of internet startups that have recently got listed on Dalal street. This includes Zomato, Paytm, PolicyBazaar, Nazara Technologies & CarTrade.
4)
Elon tweets he is buying Manchester United Football Club
Tesla boss Elon Musk tweeted on Wednesday that “I’m buying Manchester United.” Musk said nothing further and there has been no word from the English football club either. Although the Tesla boss has the reputation of making controversial tweets that later turn out to be farce, his tweet immediately went viral – attracting thousands of likes and retweets. If Musk does end up acquiring Manchester United then he will have the responsibility of helping the club in reclaiming its past glory. Since 2012, Man United has not won a single EPL title and is currently languishing at the bottom of the table.
5)
Now you can easily cross post your Reels from Instagram to Facebook
Meta has just launched several updates for its short video and TikTok like feature Reels. One of the important updates being that now Instagram users can cross post or share their reels on Facebook with just a single tap. Additionally, Facebook users can now automatically create Reels using Stories that they have already shared. Meta has brought all these updates despite Instagram recently facing lot of criticisms for blindly imitating TikTok. Notwithstanding these criticisms, Facebook and Instagram’s parent company has said that it will continue to sharpen its focus on the short video feature Reel.