Target makes another acquisition, social platforms struggle with a “Plandemic” conspiracy video and Boston Dynamics’ robot Spot encourages social distancing.
Here’s your Daily Crunch for May 8, 2020.
1. Target to acquire same-day delivery tech from Deliv
Target, which already owns on-demand delivery service Shipt, is in the process of acquiring technology assets from same-day delivery service Deliv . The retailer is characterizing the deal as more of an R&D type of acquisition, not one that will have an immediate consumer-facing impact.
Deliv had raised more than $80 million in venture capital funding. The acquisition price is said to be immaterial to Target, which isn’t issuing a press release or an 8-K filing to note.
2. Platforms scramble as ‘Plandemic’ conspiracy video spreads misinformation like wildfire
A coronavirus conspiracy video featuring a well-known vaccine conspiracist is spreading like wildfire on social media this week, even as platforms talk tough about misinformation in the midst of the pandemic. The video took off mid-week after first being posted to Vimeo and YouTube on May 4. From those sites, it traveled to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, where it circulated much more widely and racked up millions of views.
3. Boston Dynamics’ Spot is patrolling a Singapore park to encourage social distancing
In a new pilot program, a remote operator will control Spot as it patrols around two miles of Singapore’s Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park. A recorded message encourage social distancing will be broadcast from the robot.
4. Microsoft and AWS exchange poisoned pen blog posts in latest Pentagon JEDI contract spat
As you may recall, the DoD selected Microsoft last fall as the winning vendor in the JEDI winner-take-all cloud infrastructure sweepstakes. Amazon took exception to the decision and went to court to fight it. Since then, the two companies have been battling in PR pronouncements and blog posts trying to get the upper hand in the war for public opinion.
5. SaaS stocks defy gravity amid pandemic, record job losses
This week, shares of SaaS and cloud companies reached new record highs following an earnings cycle that came in better than some expected. (Extra Crunch membership required.)
6. A Chinese city to pump life into local business with WeChat live streaming
Messaging giant WeChat, which commands 1.16 monthly active users, announced this week it’s partnering with the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou to host a live stream shopping festival in June. The initiative, in which a municipal government aims to pump up the local economy through live streaming e-commerce, is first of its kind in China.
7. Student Discount: Join Extra Crunch for $50 per year
Speaking of Extra Crunch: Graduation season is here, and to celebrate we are offering annual Extra Crunch memberships to students for half price. That’s a full year of Extra Crunch for only $50 (plus tax). You just need a .edu or university email address.
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