Here are the top trending news from the world of technology. News that we feel that every tech enthusiast should keep a tab on.
1)
Tesla loses top executive amid lay offs
Since last week EV manufacturer Tesla has been busy cutting jobs across several locations in the U.S. But amid this layoff, Elon Musk’s company has also lost a top executive from its AI and auto-pilot team. News has just arrived that Tesla’s AI and Autopilot leader Andrej Karpathy has resigned from his post. Karpathy was one of the key engineers working for Tesla’s much anticipated self-driving cars. Musk aims to launch self-driving cars in the U.S. market in 2023, i.e. next year. However, following the resignation of its top resignation, Musk’s grand plan may have received a setback.
2)
Uber faces barrage of lawsuits over sexual assaults by drivers
Ride-hailing major Uber has been sued by more than 550 women passengers in the U.S. These women passengers have levelled serious sexual assault charges against Uber drivers. In the lawsuit, these women have accused that they were raped, staked, falsely imprisoned and harassed by Uber drivers. The ride-hailing major has so far not commented on this issue. By the way, this has not been a good week for Uber, which has already been rocked by the whistleblower scandal. This whistleblower scandal has accused the company of several serious charges including bribing top politicians in several countries.
3)
After Xiaomi and Vivo, Oppo slapped with Tax notice of over Rs, 4000 crores
Oppo has become the latest Chinese smartphone manufacturer to be gagged by India’s tax authorities. Oppo has been imposed with the hefty penalty of over Rs 4000 crores over the charges of import duty evasion. Oppo has now become the third Chinese smartphone manufacturer that has come under the scanner of India’s tax authorities. Last week Vivo’s several Indian offices were raided while Xiaomi’s offices were also raided a few weeks back in connection with a money-laundering case. Meanwhile, China has expressed its displeasure over what it calls the Indian government’s witch-hunt against Chinese companies. China has said recent actions against Chinese companies may adversely impact India and China’s economic relation.
4)
Apple part ways with its legendary designer Jony Ive
Tech giant Apple has decided to end all commercial ties with its legendry designer Johny Ive. Ive enjoyed a cult status in Apple since he played a critical role in designing all its popular products including the first-ever iPhone that was launched in 2007. He was also an important member of Steve Job’s core team, which – as we all know – helped in turning around the fortunes of Apple. Ive had actually quit Apple in 2019 itself to start his own design consulting company. However, his new found company continued the commercial relation with Apple. But this commercial relation has now officially come to an end.
5)
Netflix teams up with Microsoft for its ad supported plan
Few months back, Netflix had announced that it will soon launch a cheaper ad supported plan as it struggles with declining subscriber numbers and revenue growth. Now the streaming giant has taken a big step on this front after announcing that it has signed an agreement with tech giant Microsoft. As per this agreement, all the ads that will be soon served on Netflix will be exclusively using Microsoft technology. However, the streaming giant has still not given any exact timeline as to when it plans to launch its ad supported plan. As is well known, Netflix has never ever served ads on its platform. And this will be the first time in its history that it will be serving ads on its platform.