Tech startups have run into a wall of troubling economic forces, the New York Times reports. At least 55 tech companies have announced layoffs or shut down since Jan. 1, more than double this time last year, and IPOs have plummeted 80 percent from a year ago.
Google's two-hour-long I/O keynote Wednesday was packed with news, The Verge reports. The company showcased its new mid-tier phone, the Pixel 6A; said its Pixel Watch is coming later this year; teased the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro; unveiled the Pixel Buds Pro, its version of Apple’s AirPods Pro; and announced that it plans to release an Android-powered tablet next year.
Last October marked 20 years of the iPod, a remarkable run in the cutthroat, fast-changing world of consumer electronics, TechCrunch says. The seventh-generation iPod Touch stubbornly clung to life, three years after its debut ... until this week, when Apple announced it had reached the end of the road. The iPod Touch will be available only until supplies run out.
The value of Bitcoin has plunged below $31,000, less than half of its peak last November, the BBC reports. Bitcoin, which accounts for about a third of the cryptocurrency market with a total value of close to $570 billion, has seen its price drop more than 20 percent in the last week.
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Remote hiring startup Deel has raised new venture capital funding at a $12 billion valuation, after having been valued at $5.5 billion last fall, Axios has learned from multiple sources. This increase stands in stark contrast to plummeting tech valuations in the public markets. CEO Alex Bouaziz recently disclosed that Deel's annual recurring revenue rate is $100 million.
Google rocked the boat for marketers in April when it said Google Analytics 3 (Universal Analytics) will sunset for free customers in July 2023 and for paid customers in October 2023. Users who rely on year-over-year metrics will need to implement GA4 by July 2022, one year before UA expires, MarTech reports.
Google says its new Immersive View for Google Maps will make it "feel like you’re right there before you ever set foot inside." The demo video for this feature is wild, Ars Technica reports: "It basically turns Google Maps into a 3D version of SimCity with AAA video game graphics. There are simulated cars that drive through the roads, and birds fly through the sky."
Facial recognition startup Clearview AI has agreed to restrict the use of its massive collection of face images to settle allegations that it collected people’s photos without their consent, AP reports. The company agreed to permanently stop selling access to its face database to private businesses or individuals in the U.S.
Companies of all sizes are embracing no-design tools—twin to the no-code movement—that let non-designers participate in the design process. Renee Fleck writes on Dribbble that with no-design tools, collaboration between non-designers and designers becomes exponentially more productive and powerful.
Researchers have developed an artificial intelligence algorithm capable of writing reviews for wine and beer that are largely indistinguishable from those penned by a human critic, Scientific American reports. But relax, wine critics: the algorithm can’t accurately predict the flavor profile of a beverage that has not been sampled by human taste buds and described by human writers. “The model cannot taste wine or beer,” says one of the study’s authors.