Google fires a major researcher, Stripe launches a new banking service, and WarnerMedia shakes up the theatrical business model. This is your Daily Crunch for December 3rd, 2020.
The big story: Google fires co-lead of its Ethical AI teamTimnit Gebru, a leading researcher in ethics and artificial intelligence, tweeted last night that Google fired her in response to a message she sent to an internal mailing list.
Casey Newton got the email in question, in which Gebru expressed frustration at his treatment at Google and disappointment at his diversity and inclusion efforts: "We just had a black search all hands with such an exciting show of exasperation. Do you know what has happened since then? Silence in the most fundamental way possible. "
Google declined to comment, except to point to an email from Jeff Dean, the head of Google search, in which he said Gebru had threatened to resign unless certain conditions were met. ("I hadn't resigned - I asked for simple conditions first and said I would respond when I get back from vacation," Gebru said.)
The tech giantsYouTube introduces a new feature to deal with toxic comments: The feature appears when users are about to post something offensive in the comment section of a video and warns them to "Keep comments respectful".
Developers Can Now Enroll in Apple's "Small Business Program" to Reduce App Store Fees - Just a few weeks ago, we learned that Apple would launch a program to cut its fees from 30% to 15% for developers who they earn less than $ 1 million per year from the App Store.
Android's Winter Update adds new features to Gboard, Maps, Books, Nearby Sharing, and more - one of the funniest aspects of the Winter Update will be a stunning expansion of Emoji Kitchen.
Startups, financing and venture capitalStripe Announces Stripe Treasury Integrated Business Banking Service - The company is partnering with banks to offer a banking-as-a-service API.
Everlywell Raises $ 175 Million to Expand Virtual Care Options and Scale Its Home Health Tests - Earlier this year, Everlywell launched a COVID-19 Home Test Collection Kit, the first ever test of the its kind to receive emergency clearance from the FDA.
VSCO Acquires Trash Mobile App To Expand Into AI-Based Video Editing - The deal will see Trash technology integrated into the VSCO app.
Extra Crunch Tips and AnalysisVCs who want better results should use data to reduce founding team risk - using an objective, data-backed process to evaluate teams will help VCs make better investment decisions.
This is a good time to start a proptech company - At least, it's a good time according to Colton Pace of Fika Ventures.
Increase ROI with intent data and personalized multichannel marketing campaigns - more mass emails won't guarantee you the connections with potential customers you want.
(Extra Crunch is our membership program, which aims to democratize information about startups. You can sign up here.)
All the restAll Warner Bros. theatrical films will be released simultaneously on HBO Max next year - This includes films like "Godzilla vs. Kong", "Mortal Kombat", "In the Heights", "Space Jam: A New Legacy" " The Suicide Squad "," Dune, "The Prequel" The Sopranos "" The Many Saints of Newark "and" Matrix 4. "
NASA selects four companies to collect lunar material as it seeks to set a precedent for private sector outer space mining - The four companies have all rides booked for future commercial lunar lander missions.
Bill Gates has just released a plan for US leadership on climate change, including $ 35 billion in funding - Gates wrote that "we must revolutionize the physical economy of the world."
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