Here are the top trending news from the world of technology. News that we feel every tech enthusiast should keep a tab on.
1)
Once skyrocketing app Clubhouse is laying off Employees
Clubhouse, which had become a sensation during the pandemic lockdown, has announced that it is cutting more than half of its workforce. Although it is still not clear how many employees will be affected by this decision, co-founder Paul Davison said in October last year that the company has nearly about 100 employees. The social media audio app company now joins host of companies that have resorted to mass layoff to tide over the ongoing economic recession. Clubhouse had become the go-to app during the pandemic era with high-profile investors falling for it and its valuation soaring as high as $4 Bn. However, Clubhouse could not keep up with the momentum in the post-pandemic era as its active userbase kept sliding and declining drastically.
2)
Snap Stock Crashes over Poor First Quarter Results
Snap shares tanked by as much as 20-25% on Thursday as investors became jittery over company’s less than impressive Q1 results. The video messaging company reported that its first quarter revenue declined 7% from $1.06 Bn exactly a year ago. Although the company did not provide official guidance for the second quarter, it said to the investors that its internal earnings and revenue will continue to remain in pressure during the second quarter. Snap is not the only one that is currently facing the brunt of the economic recession. Even its bigger counterpart Meta is feeling a strong pinch. But unlike Meta, Snap does not have enormous cash reserves nor the global presence to overcome the current challenges.
3)
Intel reports quarterly loss (and it is the biggest in company’s history)
To say that chip maker Intel announced a poor first quarter result on Thursday would be an understatement. Intel’s first quarter loss for the financial year 2023 is its largest quarterly loss in the company’s illustrious history. The semi-conductor giant announced that its revenue dropped 36% year-over-year to $11.7 and witnessed a whopping 133% annual reduction in earnings per share. Due to increasing competition from AMD and TSMC, Intel is fast losing its market share and domination in the chip market. What is making the investors even more panicky is the fact that Intel’s CEO Patrick Gelsinger is yet to announce a concrete and convincing turn-around plan for the company.
4)
Microsoft will no longer manufacture mice, keyboards and webcams
Microsoft has announced that it will stop manufacturing company branded mouse, keyboards and webcams. The tech giant will be phasing out these products in the favor of Surface-branded PC accessories. This decision marks a sort of end of an era for Microsoft branded PC hardware accessory business. The tech giant first entered the hardware business way back in the year 1983 when it launched its first-ever mouse in the market. However, this decision won’t have much impact on the company as the hardware business barely contributes to its topline.
5)
Starship’s failed launch caused fire in a Texas State Park
SpaceX’s much anticipated Starship launch ended in a failure few days back, causing much heartburn for space enthusiasts and general public alike. However, the failed launch also means that the federal agencies will now have to deal with the explosive fallout of the mission for quite some time. Federal agencies are claiming that the failed launch set nearly 3.5 acres land of the Boca Chica State Park on fire. The agencies noted that the fire did not cause loss of life of either animals or humans. SpaceX or Elon Musk have so far not commented on this issue.