10 things in tech you need to know today
Good morning. Prosecutors in Elizabeth Holmes' fraud trial have set a tentative sentencing date, and Elon Musk says Tesla is still working through "a lot of challenges" with the Indian government.
Let's get started.
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1. Prosecutors in the Elizabeth Holmes fraud trial have set a tentative sentencing date. The government has proposed the hearing for the Theranos founder take place on September 12 and that Holmes would remain free on a $500,000 bond secured by property until then.
- Holmes was found guilty on three counts of wire fraud as well as a further count of conspiracy to defraud investors in federal court last week.
- The former Theranos CEO was acquitted of a further four counts of wire fraud and conspiracy, and the jury couldn't reach a verdict on the remaining three charges against her.
- Another court filing proposed starting jury selection for the trial of former Theranos president Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, who is facing nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Here's everything you need to know about the next steps in the Theranos trials.
In other news:
2. Elon Musk says Tesla is working through "a lot of challenges" with the Indian government. The Indian market represents a sizeable new market for Tesla where just 5,000 of the 2.4 million cars sold there last year were electric, according to Reuters. Here's the latest on Musk's bid to push into India.
3. A former Google engineer has gone public with allegations of a heavy drinking culture and sexual harassment during his time there. Donald King worked as a software engineer at the tech giant for seven years. Read more about his claims here.
4. Melinda French Gates has reportedly played a "pivotal role" in helping MacKenzie Scott set up her philanthropic efforts. Puck reported that a member of Scott's team previously worked with Gates' VC firm, Pivotal Ventures. Here's how Gates helped Scott's operations to give away more than $8.5 billion.
5. A total of 43 startups across the US raised Series A rounds that were worth $100 million or more in 2021. Last year broke records in venture capital with $643 billion invested globally, nearly double that of 2020. We rounded up 2021's early-stage megadeal winners.
6. Jeff Bezos turned 58 this week. The one-time New York hedge funder set off to create Amazon in Seattle, a business that once struggled to make a profit but now has a market cap of $1.7 trillion. Here's how Bezos created the marketplace behemoth and became one of the world's wealthiest people.
7. Google Cloud has changed the way it compensates salespeople for working with partners. Sales staff were compensated equally for selling Google's own products or those from partners but now they're capped at 30% for selling partner products. The move walks back a key part of Google's sales compensation structure.
8. Coinbase is giving employees four "recharge" weeks off this year. The move will see nearly the entire company shut down to avoid work piling up. The crypto exchange hopes the move will balance out its "intense work culture" and long hours.
9. Investors are shelling out millions of dollars to buy virtual land in the metaverse. CNBC reported that lands in virtual realms that were once selling for $15,000 last year are now reaching $300,000.
10. Google's Pixel 6 is the perfect phone for someone who wants a big screen, premium cameras, and rapid performance. The latest Pixel is one of the best premium phones out there on a budget. Read our review here.
What we're watching today:
- Earnings are expected from Delta Air Lines. Keep up with earnings here.
- SpaceX Falcon 9 Transporter-3 SmallSat Rideshare Program mission launch takes place today.
- The Cato Institute is hosting a discussion on crypto regulatory framework.
Curated by Michael Cogley in London.