Uber looks to create travel ‘superapp’ by adding planes, trains and rental cars

            Uber is driving ahead with its plan to become a travel “superapp”. The San Francisco-headquartered firm announced Wednesday that it is adding trains, buses, planes and car rentals to its U.K. app this year. The move is part of a pilot that could be expanded to other countries at a later date if it goes well.
While Uber won’t provide these travel services itself, it will allow users to book them through its app following software integrations...

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Warehouses Transform N.Y.C. Neighborhoods as E-Commerce Booms

The region is home to the largest concentration of online shoppers in the country. The facilities, key to delivering packages on time, are reshaping neighborhoods.

An e-commerce boom turbocharged by the pandemic is turning the New York City region into a national warehouse capital.

In just two years, Amazon has acquired more than 50 warehouses across the city and its surrounding suburbs. UPS is building a logistics facility larger than Madison Square Garden on the New Jersey waterfront...

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Direct-to-consumer companies hit severely in US

Brands like Warby Parker, Stitch Fix, FIGS Inc, and Allbirds Inc. Launched a new type of retail by selling "direct to consumer" – on the internet — rather than through traditional retailers. These companies' values rose well into the billions, riding on the promise of little overhead, no intermediaries, and a limitless pool of clients. They appeared to be invincible. Today, however, they're tumbling hard and there's no sign of a bottom in sight. DTC companies are being hit hard by...

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Programmed to win: 10 cities where tech strength defies the pandemic

Timothy Tannert grew up in Akron, Ohio. Chris Anderson made his start in southern California. Now they’ve come together to lead Innotescus, a tech startup that is redefining video’s role in artificial intelligence. And you won’t find them in their old home towns anymore. Instead, they have set up shop in Pittsburgh. Never mind the Pennsylvania city’s long-ago legacy as a steel town. Today, Pittsburgh is rich with expertise in fields such as robotics,...

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DTC sees renewed investments after pre-covid skepticism

What cooled the DTC market? In short, low barriers to entry, high customer acquisition costs, and the need to generate venture-sized returns brought the entire D2C investment model into question. However, investors seem to be turning their attention back toward the D2C space as we slowly...

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Wall Street Won’t Intimidate Walmart This Time

The retailer’s fintech partnership — and poaching of Goldman Sachs leaders — signals it’s serious about encroaching on Wall Street’s turf. For two years before the 2008 financial crisis, Walmart Inc. was embroiled in controversy over a plan to open its own bank, eventually withdrawing amid pressure from regulators and Wall Street lobbies. Some 14 years later, the retail giant is gearing up for an even more serious fight.
Walmart announced in January that it formed a partnership with Ribbit...

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Salesforce announces permanent remote work for most employees

The largest private employer in San Francisco announced today that more than half of its workforce will continue working remotely or on a flexible schedule after the pandemic is over. Salesforce introduced its “Work From Anywhere” strategy, estimating that more than 65% of employees will adopt the new system, based on a company survey. For those that will be coming into an office, the current spaces will be redesigned to accommodate more of a “community hub” feel, focusing on collaboration and breakout...

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Robinhood Crisis Reveals Hidden Costs in Zero-Fee Trading Model

For all its benefits, the “democratization” of the stock market can quickly devolve into recklessness. Turns out, no-fee stock trades can exact a very high price after all. Not only for the retail traders sitting on deep losses speculating on meme stocks, or for Robinhood, which faces recriminations for “gamifying” the frenzy that spun out of control and was forced to scramble for billions in fresh cash, but also for the stock market itself, which must reckon with the wild...

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Microsoft, Oracle and Salesforce join forces to build a COVID-19 vaccination app

If you're one of the lucky 10.8 million who have received the COVID-19 vaccine (that's roughly one in every 30 Americans), then all you have to show for it right now is a piece of paper, but that may soon change. A coalition of tech companies and health organizations announced Thursday that they are working on the development of an app that will enable people to share their immunization status, reports the New York Times. The companies, including Salesforce, Oracle,...

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Chinese billionaire Jack Ma suspected missing

Ant Group founder Jack Ma has reportedly not been seen in public for months. 
Speculation has swirled around Chinese billionaire Jack Ma’s whereabouts after reports surfaced that the high-profile businessman has not made a public appearance in more than two months. The Alibaba founder also failed to appear as scheduled in the final episode of his own talent show, Africa’s Business Heroes, which gives budding African entrepreneurs...

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