Here are the top trending news from the world of technology…
1
Grubhub rejects Uber; merges with European company Just Eat Takeway
Despite months of long drawn negotiations, Grubhub has decided to spurn Uber’s acquisition offer. Instead Grubhub has settled to merge with European online food delivery major Just Eat Takeway. According to reports, Just Eat Takeway has acquired Grubhub for an enterprise value of $7.3 Bn. This merger will give the European company almost 70 Mn active customers globally. As for Uber, the failure to gobble Grubhub is a huge setback for its quest to propel its food delivery business.
2
Tesla becomes the world’s most valuable auto company
This was waiting to happen and it finally happened on Wednesday. Tesla’s shares hit the all-important $1000 mark for the first time. This simply means that Elon Musk’s company has overtaken Toyota to become the most valuable auto maker in the world. This news obviously comes on the back of Space X’s recent historic triumph in sending astronauts to earth’s orbit.
3
U.S. police can’t use Amazon’s facial recognition technology for next one year
Amazon on Wednesday said that it will put one year pause on allowing American law enforcement agencies to use its facial recognition tool. Although the e-commerce giant did not cite any elaborate reasons, the decision seems to be direct fallout of the ongoing nationwide protest against racism. Barely 24 hours back, technology giant IBM had said that it is exiting from the facial technology business.
4
Zoom admits closing account of a US based Chinese activist for political reasons
In a controversial move, Zoom has reportedly admitted that it had temporarily closed the account of a US based Chinese activist. The company was forced to take this controversial decision, after the activist was found to be commemorating 31st anniversary of Tiananmen Square through Zoom’s video conferencing call. Zoom justified the move under the pretext that it was merely complying with the US law.
5
Facebook partially revokes ad ban on non-medical face mask
Social media giant Facebook said on Wednesday that it is partially lifting the ad ban on face masks. This means that now Facebook will allow third party companies to advertise cloth masks and other non-medical face masks. As for the ad ban on medical and respiratory masks, that ban remains intact.