The out-of-court settlement is intended to spare management an embarrassing appearance. Also, Microsoft and Bytedance are collaborating on AI despite US-China tensions.
Good morning! Even during the weekend, work in the digital scene continued in many places.
The top topics:
The long-standing legal dispute over Cambridge-Analytica-Data scandal nearing resolution: Meta Platforms seeks an out-of-court settlement with the class members. An agreement should also save the management an embarrassing appearance: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his former top manager Sheryl Sandberg should have been questioned by the plaintiffs’ lawyers for several hours in a few weeks. Financial terms of the agreement have not yet been disclosed, but the class action lawsuit is said to be staying for 60 days to allow attorneys for both parties to reach a written settlement.
The Cambridge Analytica scandal had caused major image damage to Facebook. The social platform is accused of illegally sharing user data with the British consultancy. The company, which no longer exists, evaluated the data of around 87 million Facebook users and used it in the election campaign of former US President Donald Trump and in the Brexit campaign, among other things. [Mehr bei Handelsblatt, Spiegel, Reuters und Bloomberg]
on Start-up scene: hydrogen will not be the drive technology of the future. This is considered a foregone conclusion in the automotive industry. But our columnist Don Dahlmann has found reasons why car manufacturers should rely on hydrogen after all. And some manufacturers are actually rethinking. [Mehr bei Gründerszene]
And here are the other headlines of the night and the past few days:
Microsoft and Bytedance are collaborating on a major artificial intelligence (AI) project despite intensifying US-China rivalry on the subject. Engineers from both companies discussed the joint Kuberay project at the Ray Summit, an industry event in San Francisco. They are working on software that is intended to help companies operate AI apps more efficiently. The Chinese Tiktok mother has also participated in open source projects. [Mehr bei CNBC]
Ali Baba, Baidu, Tencent and Co. can breathe easy at first. China and the US have reached a tentative agreement to prevent around 200 Chinese companies from being delisted from US stock exchanges. The US Financial Reporting Enforcement Service will have access to audit records. Previously, there had been arguments about the lack of transparency of the companies for years. [Mehr bei Handelsblatt]
Facebooks Metaverse loses a key figure: the head of the virtual reality platform Horizon leaves the company. Vivek Sharma was responsible for the development of the virtual environment in the Metaverse. Facebook is investing billions of dollars in building the digital world – the departure of Sharma was seen in the US media as a setback for the project. [Mehr bei Reuters]
Meituan on Friday reported revenue of approximately $7.42 billion for the quarter ended June. The Chinese food delivery service thus beat analyst estimates. Revenue was an increase of 16.4 percent over the previous year. Although growth also exceeded analysts’ expectations, it was the slowest in two years. Because China sent several cities into lockdown in March and April after a surge in Covid 19 cases. Supply chains and productions have been disrupted. [Mehr bei Reuters]
Panasonic is in talks to build another battery factory for electric vehicles in the United States. The Japanese company supplies, among other things, to the US electric car manufacturer Tesla. The factory, which would be worth around $4 billion, could be built in Oklahoma. [Mehr bei Wall Street Journal]
Our reading tip on Gründerszene: The delivery service Considerable argues with employees about a works council. Before an electoral board could be appointed, the company has now won a stage victory in court. [Mehr bei Gründerszene]
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Have a good start into the week!
Your Gründerszene editors
Source: https://www.businessinsider.de/gruenderszene/business/cambridge-analytica-skandal-facebook-einigung/
