Here are the top trending news from the world of technology. News that we feel every tech enthusiast should keep a tab on.
1)
Twitter fumes as Elon Musk Cancels $44Bn deal
The month-long saga between Elon Musk and Twitter management over a $44Bn deal has probably come to an end. This after Musk officially announced last week that he is canceling the high-profile deal. In a email, the tech billionaire has cited Twitter management’s inability to come clean on the issue of fake accounts as the main reason for canceling the deal. But the microblogging company is certainly not impressed with this reason. Twitter’s lawyer has reportedly sent a letter to Musk’s lawyer, arguing that Musk’s decision to terminate the deal as illegal and invalid. Tesla’s CEO may now face a legal nightmare for cancelling this deal.
2)
Gautam Adani enters 5G race, will now challenge Reliance Jio and Airtel
Business tycoon and billionaire Gautam Adani’s conglomerate Adani Group has decided to bid for the upcoming 5G spectrum. However, mind you, Adani is not entering the telecom space yet. The Adani Group has said that it will use the 5G network for supporting its other flagship businesses like airport operations and port operations. However, Adani’s participation is likely to inflate the bidding price of 5G spectrum and this means that now Mukesh Ambani’s Jio and Airtel will now have to shell more money to acquire the 5G spectrum. Certainly, Adani’s entry into the 5G bidding race won’t spell good news for both Jio and Airtel.
3)
Unacademy’s founders to take pay cuts as edtech space shrinks
Despite sacking dozens of employees early this year, Unacademy is continuing with its cost-cutting measure. In the latest move, Unacademy co-founders including CEO Gaurav Munjal have decided to opt for salary cut. Not only this, the company has also decided to cut down on leisure expenses like complimentary meals. Furthermore, the Bengaluru based startup has also reportedly closed down many business centers. Recently several popular edtech companies including Byju’s and Vedantu have carried out cost-cutting measures aggressively, clearly hinting that India’s edtech market is shrinking.
4)
Uber abused laws to gain market monopoly in several countries
Ride hailing major Uber has been accused of indulging in several serious malpractices for gaining dominant positions in key markets. This has been revealed by a report published by the International Consortium of investigative journalism or ICIJ. According to this report, Uber officials lobbied with several top politicians and brazenly abused legal laws in several key markets including in India. In fact, Uber breaking Indian laws and lobbying with top Indian politicians has been mentioned several times throughout this report. By the way, this report has been prepared with the help of a whistleblower Mark MacGann, who worked as a lobbyist in 2014 and 2016.
5)
Ola lays off 500 employees amid funding crunch
India’s home-grown ride-hailing major Ola has sacked nearly 500 employees across several verticals. The news of massive layoff has come at a time when several media reports are claiming that Ola is struggling to raise investors funds from investors. There have also been reports that Ola is currently carrying cost-cutting measures like shutting down several non-core businesses and even delaying salary hikes. By the way, in recent years the Softbank backed ride-hailing major has witnessed the exit of several top executives. Many analysts argue that the exit of several top executives is a clear indication that everything is not alright in Ola.