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Roku lays off 200 employees after weak Q4 Results

In the perfect example of what appears to be daily job cuts in Big Tech, Roku declared its plans presently to lay off about 200 employees, which represents nearly 7 per cent of its workforce. In an SEC filing, the streaming company stated that it intends to cut jobs in the United States due to economic conditions.

Roku
Image Source: news.yahoo.com

The company estimates that the reductions will cost between 28 and 31 million USD in severance pay, notice pay where relevant, employee benefits contributions, as well as other costs.

“Due to the current economic conditions in our industry, we have made the difficult decision to reduce Roku’s headcount expenses by a projected 5%, to slow down our [Operating Expenses] growth rate. This will affect approximately 200 employee positions in the U.S. Taking these actions now will allow us to focus our investments on key strategic priorities to drive future growth and enhance our leadership position,” Roku said in an official statement.

Source: techcrunch.com

As per Roku, a large percentage of the layoffs will occur in Q4, with the remainder predicted to be “substantially complete” by the end of Q1 2023.

In a statement, Roku said, “Taking these actions now will allow us to focus our investments on key strategic priorities to drive future growth and enhance our leadership position.”

Source: engadget.com

These layoffs arrive after Roku warned during its most recent quarterly results that it expects a year-over-year profits decline in Q4. In pre-market trading today, the company’s stock fell nearly three per cent.

Read More: Coinbase to lay off more employees amid FTX saga

Job cuts in Big Tech have emerged as an unfortunate trend in recent days. Roku’s layoffs arise on the heels of downsizing at Meta, which laid off 11,000 of its employees last week; Twitter, which laid off nearly 3,800 staff members earlier this month; and Amazon and Microsoft.

Even though Apple has thus far been an exception, it has decided to impose a hiring freeze that is expected to last until late 2023. Similarly, Disney is reportedly freezing hiring and planning layoffs, while Netflix laid off about 300 workers in June. Streaming companies, including Roku, have encountered the dual difficulties of an uncertain economy and revenue downturn following a surge during the coronavirus pandemic.

ai supercomputer

Nvidia and Microsoft Collaborate To Build AI Supercomputers

Nvidia and Microsoft are working together over a “multi-year collaboration” to build “one of the most powerful AI supercomputer in the world,” which will be capable of handling the large processing workloads needed to teach and scale AI.

ai supercomputer
Image Source: ciobulletin.com

According to the reports, the AI supercomputer will be driven by Microsoft Azure’s cutting-edge supercomputing technology along with Nvidia GPUs, networking, and a comprehensive stack of AI software to support businesses in training, deploying, and scaling AI, including big, cutting-edge models. 

NVIDIA’s A100 and H100 GPUs will be part of the array, coupled with their Quantum-2 400Gb/s Infiniband networking technology. In particular, this would be the first public cloud to feature NVIDIA’s cutting-edge AI tech stack, allowing businesses to train and use AI on a large scale.

Manuvir Das, VP of enterprise computing at Nvidia, noted, “AI technology advances as well as industry adoption are accelerating. The breakthrough of foundation models has triggered a tidal wave of research, fostered new startups and enabled new enterprise applications. Our collaboration with Microsoft will provide researchers and companies with state-of-the-art AI infrastructure and software to capitalise on the transformative power of AI.”

NVIDIA will work with Azure to research and accelerate advancements in generative AI, a rapidly developing field of artificial intelligence where foundational models like the Megatron Turing NLG 530B serve as the basis for unmonitored, self-learning algorithms to generate new text, digital images, codes, audio, or video.

Additionally, the companies will work together to improve Microsoft’s DeepSpeed deep learning optimization tool. Azure enterprise clients will have access to NVIDIA’s full suite of AI processes and software development tools that have been tailored for Azure. In order to speed up transformer-based models used for huge language models, generative AI, and generating code, among other uses, Microsoft DeepSpeed will make use of the NVIDIA H100 Transformer Engine.

With twice the capacity of 16-bit operations, this technology uses DeepSpeed’s 8-bit floating point accuracy capabilities to significantly speed up AI calculations for transformers.

Verge reports that due to the recent quick expansion of these AI models, there has been a major increase in the demand for robust computer infrastructure.

The partnership is intriguing for several reasons, but notably, because it makes one of the largest computing clusters accessible to companies. Due to optimizations made in the newest ‘Hopper’ generation of NVIDIA GPUs, this will not only enable companies to train and implement AI at a level that was previously impractically pricey to do but also allow them to do it at a significant level of efficiency.

Although NVIDIA has a supercomputer of its own, the collaboration demonstrates that they are aware of the enormous computational demands placed on them by contemporary algorithms. This development represents a collaboration between two of the largest organizations in the AI industry.

Microsoft has experience in this area, as seen by its relationship with OpenAI and dedication to the development of ethical and safe AI. Contrarily, NVIDIA has been a pillar of AI development and research for the past ten years thanks to its potent GPUs and supporting tech stack, which includes CUDA and Tensor cores.

whatsapp

WhatsApp Rolls Out New Feature for Group Chats

WhatsApp has been striving to improve the user- experience of group users. The Facebook-owned messaging application a while back increased the maximum number of members in a group. It also unveiled a brand-new Communities feature, which enables WhatsApp users to manage numerous groups under a single roof.

whatsapp
Image Source: indiatoday.in

The corporation has officially started to introduce new group functionalities for desktop users. According to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is launching a new feature that will enable some beta testers on Desktop beta to view profile photos inside of group chats.

For quite some time, the new WhatsApp feature, which permits PC users to view profile photos within group chats, has been in the works, and statements about the feature have indeed been sighted in previous beta versions.

According to the report’s screenshot, the feature will also allow you to view an image of the member in the group chat screen just beside their name. As of now, the app only displays the names of the members.

Read More: Zuckerberg Announces 32-Person Video Calling Feature for Whatsapp

To determine whether you have gotten the latest feature, you just have to open a group chat. As previously stated, the feature is currently only available to beta users. However, the company is expected to roll out the feature in a public upcoming update.

WhatsApp officially unveiled a companion mode for smartphone users having Android in the form of a beta update. According to a report by WABetaInfo, a few fortunate beta testers on the Android system are now able to use the WhatsApp companion mode which was highly awaited.

The feature was previously available to just a few Android-based tablet users last month, and it is now accessible to mobile phone users as well. You could use a single WhatsApp account on some other smartphone with the help of the new companion mode.

However, my updates and bugs are still going on. Users will experience a series a changes.

WhatsApp is yet to fix two bugs disclosed by WABetaInfo. A tweet quoted, “Some users are experiencing crashes when downloading videos after installing the latest version of WhatsApp beta for Android. In addition, WhatsApp may continuously play a conversation tone when sending a message.”

Source: thehindubusinessline.com
elon musk

Elon Musk says in court he doesn’t want to be CEO of any company, tries to walk back SEC insults

Elon Musk stated in court on Wednesday that he doesn’t desire to lead any company as a CEO.Musk made the casual remark while responding to queries from attorneys for Tesla. He stated, “ I frankly don’t want to be the CEO of any company”.

elon musk
Image Source: businessinsider.in

Judge Kathaleen St. J. McCormick of the Delaware Chancery Court is hearing testimony in a case to decide whether Musk, the richest man in the world, should be required to surrender stock options granted as part of his compensation package to Tesla.

The trial, which began on Monday, will examine whether Tesla’s board acted properly when it authorized Musk’s compensation package, which, at the current share price, is currently estimated to be worth $52 billion. It will also examine if Elon had any undue influence on the decision.

Richard J. Tornetta, a shareholder, has filed a lawsuit against Musk and Tesla, claiming that the CEO’s salary was exorbitant and that the Tesla board’s approval of it constituted a violation of its fiduciary obligations. According to Tornetta, the board gave a part-time boss the biggest remuneration package in the world.

Read More: Elon Musk publicly fires Twitter engineers who call him out online

Attorneys for the plaintiffs questioned Musk about previous taunts he directed at the Securities and Exchange Commission and whether it was a good idea for him to have a hostile demeanor with regulators. “SEC, three letter acronym, middle word is Elon’s” Musk wrote in a tweet on July 2, 2020, when Tesla share price was experiencing a sharp rise.

Many people perceived the message to be filthy in nature and to be a serious insult to the regulating agency. Attorneys questioned Musk about his tweet in the Delaware court, and Musk said that it had been widely misinterpreted. Although the tweet was “interpreted differently,” Tesla CEO claimed in court that he intended the initials to signify “Save Elon’s Company.”

Elon Musk stated in court, “In general, I think the mission of the SEC is good but the question is whether that mission is being executed well. In some cases I think it is not. The SEC fails to investigate things that they should and places far too much attention on things that are not relevant.

The recent FTX thing I think is an example of that. Why was there no attention given to FTX? Investors lost billions. Yet the SEC continues to hound me despite shareholders being greatly rewarded. This makes no sense.”

When Musk claimed in tweets in 2018, that he was considering taking Tesla private at $420 per share and had “funding secured,” the SEC filed charges against Tesla and Elon Musk for making “false and misleading” assertions to shareholders. Following Musk’s tweets, the value of Tesla shares increased by more than 6%, and trading was suspended the same day.

For several weeks following the incident, Tesla’s share prices were volatile. In a settlement deal, Tesla and Musk stipulated that Musk would forfeit his position as chairman of Tesla for three years, pay a $20 million penalty, and refrain from denying the SEC’s claims or claiming innocence.

Musk and Tesla also agreed to have the CEO’s tweets reviewed by a securities attorney before publication if they contained important information about the company that would affect the value of Tesla’s stock.

The attorneys for Tornetta questioned Musk on whether he had a securities attorney evaluate all of his tweets regarding Tesla and why he had maintained maintaining his innocence, even in press appearances.

Musk appeared to admit that he doesn’t have a lawyer first review all of his tweets on Tesla. He stated, “The consent decree was made under duress. An agreement made under duress is not valid, as a foundation of law.”

elon musk

Elon Musk publicly fires Twitter engineers who call him out online

Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter Inc., has resorted to terminating company engineers who openly disagree with him on the social media platform.

elon musk
Image Source: fortune.com

The argument started when Elon Musk apologized for the Twitter Android app being “super slow in many countries.” He asserted that was the result of the app’s poor writing. He tweeted, “Btw, I’d like to apologize for Twitter being super slow in many countries. App is doing >1000 poorly batched RPCs just to render a home timeline!”

After that, Eric Frohnhoefer, a Twitter engineer, who worked on the Twitter Android app asserted that Mr. Musk’s statement was inaccurate in a quote tweet. Given that he has been working on Twitter’s Android app for about six years, Eric Fraunhoefer asserted that he “can say this is wrong.”

Although Mr. Frohnhoefer acknowledged that Android has “plenty of room for performance improvements,” he disagreed with Mr. Musk’s explanation for the origin of the speed issues.

Read More: Elon Musk fires thousands of contract workers without notice

He claimed that the features that few users utilize, the bloated nature of the app over time as a result of attempts to make additional upgrades, and the poor network communication were the real causes of the issues. Frohnhoefer recommended Twitter to prioritize streamlining the app by getting rid of unnecessary features and limiting the number of new ones.

The two then carried on arguing about Twitter in general, including talking about its lunches at headquarters, as well as the Android app particularly.

Frohnhoefer attempted to express his thoughts in a series of tweets, but one person questioned him as to why he hadn’t privately given his new boss his opinion. Frohnhoefer who has been an engineer at Twitter for over eight years, retorted, “Maybe he should ask questions privately. Maybe use Slack or email.”

Numerous others pointed out that Frohnhoefer was probably placing himself in danger by publicly correcting Twitter’s new owner, particularly given the fact that he has already laid off about half the company’s staff.  These warnings came true on Monday. Mr. Musk announced the engineer’s firing via Twitter.

While this was going on, one of the users tagged Musk and asked if he wanted “this kind of attitude” on his team. Musk spoke bluntly and responded, ” He’s Fired”. Frohnhoefer replied by tweeting a salute emoji.

Mr. Frohnhoefer had said he had a variety of opportunities if he was to leave Twitter. He stated that his LinkedIn has “never been more popular,” and a Reddit developer publicly messaged him to recommend that he apply there instead.

Ben Leib, another engineer, lost his job after criticizing Musk. He retweeted the same post from Musk and wrote, “As the former tech lead for timelines infrastructure at Twitter, I can confidently say that this man has no idea wtf he’s talking about.” Leib, who spent ten years working for Twitter, acknowledged his termination to Bloomberg on Sunday.

There has been a frenzy of changes ever since Twitter was acquired by entrepreneur Elon Musk. Musk has made several significant changes to Twitter, including the announcement of Twitter Blue, an $8 monthly membership service, and the firing of close to 50% of the staff.

Many employees are still angry with Musk’s decision to fire half of the company’s 7,000+ employees, including most of the senior management, just one week after his $44 billion acquisition. Additionally, the tycoon rapidly altered the organization’s workplace culture.

Although it was not common practice for Twitter employees to publicly criticize the company’s leadership in the past, before Musk arrived, many employees voiced their concerns or criticisms via email and internal Slack channels.

shopping features

YouTube expands shopping features to combat digital ad slowdown

According to the Financial Times on November 15, Tuesday, YouTube is adding shopping features to its short-form video service which is like TikTok, as it seeks to broaden its revenue stream, which has been decreased by falling ad spending.

shopping features
Image Source: geo.tv

“Viewers in the U.S., India, Brazil, Canada, and Australia can see the tags and interact with them and we’ll continue to bring tagging to more creators and geographies,” a Google spokesperson said.

Source: usnews.com

Ad sales on Alphabet-owned YouTube fell to US$7.07 billion in the third quarter, down from US$7.2 billion the previous year, as advertisers cut back on ad spending in the name of an economic downturn.

Read More: Youtube to introduce new feature to zoom in and out while watching videos

According to the newspaper, the streaming platform is also trying out new commission strategies for influencers who sell stuff via links in videos.

Reuters’ request for comment was not immediately responded to by YouTube.

The report information came only months after YouTube introduced a brand-new way for creators to make a living on short-form videos, launching advertising on its video feature Shorts and offering video makers 45 per cent of the profits.

The internet’s most popular video site has had difficulty keeping up with TikTok, the app that began by organising lip-sync and dance video content and has since grown to 1 billion monthly users.

YouTube sincerely hope that the new shopping features will boost its earnings from digital advertising. The site is introducing new features that will allow users to purchase products directly from videos and learn more about the products they are watching.

This is in addition to the existing features, which allow users to add items to their shopping carts and keep them for later use. In addition, when users are watching videos on YouTube, a new “shopping shelf” will show up on the right side of their screen. This shelf will display similar products that users can purchase as well as product information.