Another One Bites the Dust
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick will take a leave of absence to clear his mind in the midst of the company’s sexual harassment scandals. Essentially this is an adult timeout. It’s been a tough month for Kalanick as his mother died in a tragic boating accident. At the recommendation of former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who led the investigation on the sexual harassment claims against Uber, Kalanick will return to the company in a diminished role. Uber’s leadership team currently will run the company during this interim period, but it’s hard to say how they will reform company culture without a CEO. Buckle-up, Uber, you’re in for a bumpy ride. (Source: TechCrunch)
What’s Cookin’?
Dubbing his project ‘the mother of all AI projects,’ Apple CEO Tim Cook recently confirmed that Apple is pursuing self-driving technology. The company’s project focuses on autonomous systems but not necessarily on developing a car itself… yet. After obtaining an autonomous vehicle test permit in April, Apple began testing their technology on the streets of San Francisco. We just hope this works out better than the Apple Maps idea. (Source: Bloomberg Tech & TechCrunch)
You Snooze You Lose
The Hello Inc. Sense sleep tracker (the company’s one and only product) is being put to rest and shutting down its operations after failing to develop the robust device it was hyped up to be. The campaign originally raised $2.4 million from Kickstarter, $10.5 million in Silicon Valley funding and $40 million from subsequent funding. Pocket money, right? Sense was developed solely as a sleep tracking gadget, but with the onset of wearable technology, smart beds from Sleep Number, and products such as Alexa and Google Home providing consumers with similar features and data, Sense couldn’t get a good night’s’ rest. James Proud, founder and former Theil Fellow, stated that Sense could possibly still make it, but we all know that’s unlikely. Well, we guess this is goodnight. (Source: The Verge)
