Sunday, December 22

USA

Read the latest news on startup companies in USA, entrepreneurs, funding, investments, tech news and successful businessman stories on Pixr8.

Uber, Lyft & Doordash Threatened to Spend $90M on California ballot fight
USA

Uber, Lyft & Doordash Threatened to Spend $90M on California ballot fight

Uber, Lyft and DoorDash threatened to spend $90 million on a California ballot measure if they can't reach a deal with unions and lawmakers on legislation that would change the rights of their drivers and other so-called gig workers. "We remain focused on reaching a deal, and are confident about bringing this issue to the voters if necessary," Adrian Durbin, senior director of communications at Lyft, said in a statement. The companies' team-up comes as California lawmakers debate a bill that would make it harder to classify workers as independent contractors instead of employees. As employees, workers are entitled to more wage protections and benefits. But the ridesharing and on-demand delivery companies say labeling workers as such would upend their business model built around dr...
Caribu’s New Funding round Passes Neil Patel’s 1000X Formula
USA

Caribu’s New Funding round Passes Neil Patel’s 1000X Formula

MIAMI-- Caribu is on a mission to better connect young children with their parents and grandparents by allowing them to read and draw together in an interactive video-call, no matter how far apart they are. By opening up an equity crowdfunding campaign this summer on Wefunder, a leading investment platform that only accepts the top 1-2% of startups, Caribu has allowed customers and community members to join their mission. Neil Patel, one of today's most successful angel investors, developed a "1,000X Formula" for finding the most successful startup investments the ones with unicorn potential. Today, we announce that Caribu has been selected as one of a handful of companies to pass Neil Patel's 1000X formula. Angel investing used to be off-limits to the average American… but Shark ...
Huawei threat to national security, US not going to do business with them: Trump
USA

Huawei threat to national security, US not going to do business with them: Trump

Washington: US President Donald Trump on Saturday said America will not do any business with Chinese tech giant Huawei. The Trump administration believes that giving access to the state-controlled Huawei on 5G would risk America's national security. As such the US is not only denying Huawei access inside the country but also is asking other countries to follow suit. "We're not going to do business with Huawei. We're not doing business with them. And I really made the decision," Trump told reporters at the White House. "It's much simpler not to do any business with Huawei. So, we're not doing business with Huawei. That doesn't mean we won't agree to something if and when we make a trade deal, but we're not going to be doing business with Huawei," he added. US Senator Marco Rubio...
Walmart keep selling guns despite shooting incident at its stores
USA

Walmart keep selling guns despite shooting incident at its stores

Despite two deadly shootings at its stores in less than a week, American retail giant Walmart has no plans to stop selling guns and ammunition, a spokesman said Sunday. A man opened fire with an assault rifle at a Walmart in Texas on Saturday, killing 20 people, just four days after a disgruntled employee shot dead two coworkers and wounded a responding police officer at one of the massive chain's stores in Mississippi. "We are focused on supporting our associates, our customers, and the entire El Paso community," spokesman Randy Hargrove said. Following the El Paso shooting, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon posted a note on Instagram saying he "can't believe" it was the second such in a week. "My heart aches for the community in El Paso, especially the associates and customers at sto...
Pentagon stalls $10 bn cloud contract given to Amazon
USA

Pentagon stalls $10 bn cloud contract given to Amazon

The Pentagon has put off awarding a $10 billion cloud computing contract sought by Amazon, saying the process will be reviewed by the newly appointed defense secretary. Amazon was considered a strong contender to provide technology for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) program a contract that is also being pursued by Microsoft but critics argued that the bidding process favored the Seattle-based technology titan. The move to stall the contract process came a week after Mark Esper was confirmed as the new US secretary of defense. Esper was selected by US President Donald Trump, who has lashed out at Amazon and company founder Jeff Bezos, who owns The Washington Post. "Secretary Esper is looking at the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) program," defe...
Chinese billionaire booked in $1.8bn US tariff evasion scheme
USA

Chinese billionaire booked in $1.8bn US tariff evasion scheme

Chinese billionaire Liu Zhongtian, founder of metals giant Zhongwang has been indicted in the United States for his alleged role in an elaborate scheme to avoid paying USD 1.8 billion in tariffs on aluminum shipped to the US. The former chairman of China Zhongwang Holdings is accused of exporting huge amounts of aluminum disguised as pallets to avoid paying customs duties of up to 400 percent. Also named in the indictment, filed in Los Angeles federal court, is the company as well as several individuals and shell companies. "This indictment outlines the unscrupulous and anti-competitive practices of a corrupt businessman who defrauded the United States out of $1.8 billion in tariffs due on Chinese imports," said prosecutor Nick Hanna. "Moreover, the bogus sales of hundreds of m...
US Presidential Candidate Tulsi Gabbard sues Google for USD 50 million
USA

US Presidential Candidate Tulsi Gabbard sues Google for USD 50 million

Tulsi Gabbard, the Democratic presidential candidate of the US Congress, sued Google for at least USD 50 million for the tech giant's "discriminatory actions" against her 2020 election campaign and stifling her free speech rights. Gabbard, 38, an Iraq war veteran who has been serving as the US Representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district since 2013, said in a lawsuit filed on Thursday in a federal court in Los Angeles, that Google infringed on her free speech when it briefly suspended her campaign's advertising account after the first Democratic debate in June. Tulsi Now Inc, the campaign committee for Gabbard, said Google suspended the campaign's advertising account for six hours on June 27 and June 28, obstructing its ability to raise money and spread her message to poten...
Alibaba lets US small, medium businesses to sell on Platform
CHINA, USA

Alibaba lets US small, medium businesses to sell on Platform

Chinese eCommerce platform Alibaba will allow small and medium sized US businesses to sell on Alibaba.com. Until Tuesday, US business was only able to buy merchandise on the platform. Alibaba has 10 million active business buyers in more than 190 countries and looking to up its growth in the USA, which has been held in check by Amazon and threatened by trade tensions between the US and China. Alibaba said its one-third of the order volume is coming from US businesses. Sellers will have to pay an annual registration fee of about USD 2,000, but it won't charge a commission for each sale, unlike Amazon. In March, Alibaba.com and Office Depot announced a co-branded online store to expand the reach of both companies with small and medium sized businesses. It said at the time it ...
Huawei Planning Major Job cuts in USA over sanctions
USA

Huawei Planning Major Job cuts in USA over sanctions

After US sanctions over Chinese telecoms Huawei about its close relationship with the Chinese government, the company is planning to major job cuts in its US operations. The layoffs are expected at Huawei's US-based research and development arm, Futurewei Technologies, unnamed sources told to Pixr8 News. The unit currently employs 850 people at several labs in the United States, but hundreds of them could be laid off, the report said. Some of the company's Chinese employees were given the option of keeping their jobs and returning home to work. The administration of US President Donald Trump has put Huawei on its so-called entity list, which meant US companies needed a license to supply US technology to the Chinese firm. Huawei a leader in next-generation 5G wireless technology...
Federal Reserve to study Facebook virtual currency
USA

Federal Reserve to study Facebook virtual currency

The US Federal Reserve has created a "working group" that is coordinating with government agencies and other central banks to consider the implications of Facebook's planned virtual currency Libra. At a hearing at the US House Financial Services Committee, Powell told lawmakers that the cryptocurrency plan raises "serious" questions. "Let me start by saying that we do support responsible innovation in the financial services industry as long as the associated risks are appropriately identified and managed," he told the panel. "While the project's sponsors hold out the possibility of public benefits, Libra raises serious concerns regarding privacy." Powell said the Fed was "coordinating with our colleagues in the government in the United States" and "with central banks and governmen...
Facebook to make Jobs, Credit ads searchable for US users
USA

Facebook to make Jobs, Credit ads searchable for US users

Facebook says it will make advertisements for jobs, loans and credit card offers searchable for all US users following a legal settlement designed to eliminate discrimination on its platform. The plan disclosed in an internal report Sunday voluntarily expands on a commitment the social media giant made in March when it agreed to make its US housing ads searchable by location and advertiser. Ads were only delivered selectively to Facebook users based on such data as what they earn, their education level and where they shop. The searchable housing ads database will roll out by the end of 2019, Facebook says, and the employment and financial product offerings databases to be available within the next year. Targeted ads tailored to individuals are Facebook's bread and butter accoun...
Warner Media Appointed First Woman CEO for Warner Bros. in its 96 Year History
USA

Warner Media Appointed First Woman CEO for Warner Bros. in its 96 Year History

Warner Bros. appointed BBC executive Ann Sarnoff as a New CEO, making her the first woman to head the movie studio in its 96-year history. Her appointment follows the departure in March of Kevin Tsujihara, who stepped down after misconduct allegations. WarnerMedia chief executive John Stankey announced Sarnoff's hiring, concluding a three-month search for one of Hollywood's most prized posts. Many had expected WarnerMedia to turn to an experienced film executive like movie-division head Toby Emmerich, who was part of the interim committee running the studio after Tsujihara's departure, Disney veteran Anne Sweeney or former Fox chief Stacey Snider. But to the surprise of much of the industry, WarnerMedia turned to Sarnoff, who has worked primarily in television. Sarnoff, who takes ...