DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Meta employees say internal posts on Palestine have been 'censored,' according to open letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A group of Meta employees is calling out what they claim is internal and external censorship by the company of any show of support for Palestine amid Israel's ongoing war with Hamas. The letter demanded a general improvement in corporate inclusion efforts at Meta and asked the company to stop deleting internal posts from employees regarding Palestine. Business Insider confirmed that the letter was authored by a group of current Meta employees, some of whom have linked to the letter in personal online profiles. While some improvements were made to the products, they "were achieved only by appealing to isolated product teams, with minimal senior leadership support or resources." Are you a Meta employee or someone with a tip or insight to share?

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Feedback, dismissiveness, Kali Hays Organizations: Palestine, Business, UN, Meta, BI, Hamas, Google Locations: Palestine, Gaza, Meta, Israel, Russia, Ukraine, Meta's Dublin, Ukrainian, khays@businessinsider.com

☆ Meta employees say internal posts on support for Palestinians have been 'censored,' in an open letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A group of Meta employees is calling out what they claim is internal and external censorship by the company of any show of support for Palestinians amid Israel's war with Hamas. Business Insider confirmed that the letter was authored by a group of current Meta employees, some of whom have linked to the letter on their personal online profiles. While some improvements were made to the products, they "were achieved only by appealing to isolated product teams, with minimal senior leadership support or resources," it added. Microsoft's internal communication app also saw debates among employees about the war and even inflammatory language, BI previously reported. Are you a Meta employee or someone with a tip or insight to share?

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Feedback, dismissiveness, Kali Hays Organizations: Business, UN, Meta, BI, Hamas, Google Locations: Palestine, Gaza, Israel, Russia, Ukraine, Meta's Dublin, Ukrainian, khays@businessinsider.com

Big tech companies have pulled back on PERM applications, often the first step to a green card. AdvertisementBig tech companies have backed off green card applications in a big way because the process has become tougher and there's less competition for talent. "If some of these people say 'yes, I'm interested,' then you're out of luck with the green card application." So this makes the green card process potentially easier outside of places like the Bay Area and NYC, she explained. Are you a foreign tech worker struggling with a green card application?

Persons: Ava Benach, —, Googlers, Benach, It's, Hugh Langley, Kali Hays, Eugene Kim Organizations: Big, Google, Service, Department of Labor, Washington DC, Amazon, Business, Meta, Companies, Citizenship, Immigration Services, Supply, Bay, Labor, Area, Big Tech, US, Department, Labor Department, Software Engineer, Research Locations: PERM, Silicon Valley, New York City, Washington, khays@businessinsider.com

☆ Meta's Threads now has more daily users in the US than Elon Musk's X
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Now, Threads has more daily users in the US than X, a trend that's been ongoing since December, when Threads became Apple's most downloaded app. "Threads DAUs in the US passed X in December 2023 and it has not looked back," Thomas Grant, Apptopia's VP of research, said. That's a roughly 55% increase in DAUs from December when Threads averaged an estimated 18 million users each day. According to Sensor Tower estimates, daily users of the X app worldwide are down 19% compared to October 2022, the month that Musk took over Twitter. An estimate of daily users from Apptopia for the week also shows no gain in Threads users.

Persons: Elon Musk, Thomas Grant, Apptopia's, It's, Musk, X, Mark Zuckerberg's, Taylor Swift, Swift, MAUs, Zuckerberg, X MAUs, Kali Hays Organizations: Service, Elon, Business, Apple, Google, Twitter, US Locations: That's, DAUs, khays@businessinsider.com

☆ Mark Zuckerberg did not see the GenAI wave coming. He prepared anyway.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Meta acquired a horde of GPUs in order to change its algorithm, not to build generative AI tools. However, Mark Zuckerberg decided to buy twice as many GPUs as Meta needed just in case"Our normal principle is there's going to be something on the horizon that we can't see yet." NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementWhen Mark Zuckerberg started amassing a large amount of GPUs in 2022, it was not for anything related to generative AI.

Persons: Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, —, Zuckerberg, TikTok, Dwarkesh Patel, they're, we're, Kali Hays Organizations: Meta, Service, Nvidia, Facebook Locations: khays@businessinsider.com

☆ OpenAI speeds up growth with plans to open NYC office, more hiring and new products
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The generative artificial intelligence company, best-known as the creator of ChatGPT, is looking to open next year an office in New York City, according to two people familiar with the plans. Early last year, OpenAI had only about 400 employees all working out of one San Francisco office. It's now looking for a second office in San Francisco, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle. OpenAI has taken a selective approach to hiring, the person added, relative to how much interest the company receives for its job postings. The other is a search product likely to incorporate Microsoft's Bing search engine, according to a report from The Information.

Persons: OpenAI, Bing, Sam Altman, It's, it's, Kali Hays Organizations: Service, Business, Meta, Google, Microsoft, San Francisco Chronicle, LinkedIn Locations: New York City, San Francisco, Tokyo, London, Dublin, New York, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Big Tech, OpenAI, Francisco, khays@businessinsider.com

☆ Elon Musk's xAI is luring more investors through special purpose vehicles charging high fees
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk is raising funds for xAI at a $15 billion pre-money valuation. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementElon Musk's new AI startup is luring more investors through special purpose vehicles that charge hefty fees, according to an email sent this week. Related storiesThe email lays out the terms if investors want to take part in the xAI financing round through special purpose vehicles. AdvertisementFor prospective xAI investors, these commitments come at a cost.

Persons: Elon Musk, —, Elon, Musk, Kali Hays Organizations: xAI, Twitter, Service, Business Locations: khays@businessinsider.com

☆ Meta considered paying users for data, lawsuit reveals. An economist said users should each get $5 a month for it.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

AdvertisementMeta took issue with several parts of Economides' testimony, which remains under seal and had many specific references redacted from Meta's filing. In his testimony, Economides valued individual Facebook user data at least $5 a month per user, according to Meta's summation of it. In the present day, that would mean Meta paying out tens of billions each month for user data, as Zuckerberg said in fourth-quarter earnings that over 3.1 billion people use at least one Meta app each day. Meta disagreed and told the court that Economides' testimony was effectively "junk science" with "no real-world support" and should be thrown out. "No firm like Meta, in any market, has paid all its users as a competitive response—ever," lawyers for Meta wrote.

Persons: Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, Javier Olivan, Guy Rosen, Nicholas Economides, Economides, Zuckerberg, Kali Hays Organizations: Service, Facebook, Meta, Business, New York University, Google Locations: khays@businessinsider.com

☆ BeReal weighs an uncertain Series C or acquisition as growth stalls and funding is set to run out later this year, insiders say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Kali Hays | Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The company is considering raising a Series C before what's left of its $90 million in funding runs out. BeReal closed a $60 million Series B funding round at an around $600 million valuation in late 2022, following a $30 million Series A earlier the same year. Sooner than later, BeReal leadership will be forced to choose between raising another round and maintaining its independence or selling itself outright, running the risk of disappearing. Company leadership holds an all-hands every quarter after they meet with the company's board, which includes investors. As for the possibility of an acquisition, BeReal leadership has told employees there are "offers" that have been made, without giving any specifics.

Persons: Alexis Barreyat, what's, BeReal, Yuri Milner's, Andreessen Horowitz, Barreyat, Romain Salzman, Kali Hays, Callum Burroughs cburroughs@businessinsider.com Organizations: Business, Gas, Yuri Milner's DST, Accel Locations: Paris, Japan, Asia, Pacific, khays@businessinsider.com

Search resuls for: "khays@businessinsider.com"

9 mentions found