amazon

‘This is where the future is going:’ Amazon Executive on $2 billion Climate Pledge Fund

By Tommy Flemm 2 years ago

Amazon (AMZN) launched a $2 billion venture capital fund Tuesday to invest in technologies and services aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Speaking to Yahoo Finance, Amazon’s Head of Worldwide Sustainability Kara Hurst said the move was yet another step to use the e-commerce giant’s “scale for good” as it sets aggressive targets to become carbon neutral by 2040.  

“This is where the future is going, this is where our products and services are needed, and the fund is another signal on the investment that we’re willing to make,” said Hurst, on Yahoo Finance’s Ticker. 

The Climate Pledge Fund will invest in companies across multiple sectors, though its initial focus will be on transportation and logistics; energy generation, storage, and utilization; manufacturing and materials; circular economy; and food and agriculture, Amazon said.

The fund is the latest step by the Seattle-based company to reduce its carbon footprint amid explosive growth

… Read More

Microsoft and Amazon call on Congress to regulate facial recognition tech

By Tommy Flemm 2 years ago

Some of the biggest companies in the world are pulling their facial recognition technologies from law enforcement agencies across the country. Amazon (AMZN), IBM (IBM), and Microsoft (MSFT) have said that they will either put a moratorium on the use of their technology by police — or are completely exiting the field citing human rights concerns.

The technology, which can be used to identify suspects in things like surveillance footage, has faced widespread criticism after studies found it can be biased against women and people of color.  And according to at least one expert, there needs to be some form of regulation put in place if these technologies are going to be used by law enforcement agencies.

“If these technologies were to be deployed, I think you cannot do it in the absence of legislation,” explained Siddharth Garg, assistant professor of computer science and engineering at NYU Tandon School

… Read More

Verishop aims to take on Amazon and become the ‘largest online shopping mall in the Western world’: CEO

By Tommy Flemm 2 years ago

Online retailer Verishop is just under a year old, but its CEO and co-founder already has his sights set on building a platform that will eventually rival some of the biggest existing e-commerce players.

“Our mission is to build the largest online shopping mall in the Western world,” Imran Khan, CEO and co-founder of Verishop, told Yahoo Finance Breakouts. “If you look at why do you go to shopping mall, you go to shopping mall for entertainment. You go to shopping mall for discovery. And you go to shopping mall for convenience. And I’m really focused on bringing those three value propositions to customers.”

The Santa Monica, California–based company was launched on June 18, 2019, by Khan and his wife, Cate Khan, who previously worked as head of retail at Amazon’s now-shuttered Quidsi business. Before co-founding Verishop, Imran Khan spent about four years as Snap’s (SNAP) chief strategy officer, during

… Read More

Amazon customers are less happy with the service despite a massive boost from coronavirus lockdowns

By Tommy Flemm 2 years ago

The coronavirus pandemic has spawned a massive acceleration in the shift toward online shopping. And while state economies are beginning to reopen across the country, it’s unlikely that shoppers will completely abandon their newfound online shopping routines to return to brick-and-mortar stores.

And none other than Amazon (AMZN), saw significant gains as a result of coronavirus-related lockdowns. According to Mark Mahaney at RBC Capital Markets, Amazon’s performance during the novel coronavirus quarantines has made it the “best global play off of online retail.”

But while users have clearly been spending more time shopping on the e-commerce giant’s site, the sudden surge of new customers brought on by the virus has put a hurting on one of the company’s key metrics: customer satisfaction. And if left unaddressed, that could seriously hurt the company’s growth moving forward, Mahahey said. 

Users are shopping online more than ever

According to RBC’s 8th annual U.S.

… Read More

we are like Amazon and could be worth a $100 billion someday

By Tommy Flemm 2 years ago

The market likes what it sees in electric and hydrogen powered automaker Nikola, at least in day one of being publicly traded.

Shares of Nikola debuted on the Nasdaq Thursday under the ticker symbol ‘NKLA’. The stock popped about 7% in early trading action. Nikola didn’t undergo a traditional IPO process. Rather it merged with a special purpose vehicle called VectoIQ Acquisition Corp.

Prior to its debut on the Nasdaq, the company — founded by serial entrepreneur Trevor Milton — was valued around $3.3 billion after several funding rounds by prominent names such as ValueAct, Bosch and Wabco.

Milton isn’t shy on the potential for his company to change a trucking industry still reliant on fossil fuels. And if he could pull it off over the next decade, early big-name investors like Jeff Ubben at ValueAct have suggested Nikola may be worth at least $100 billion.

“How you get there

… Read More