^TagUber

unicorn on gold cube mountain . start up, illustration concept of leader on a market.3d rendering. 3d illustration.

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post

Author
News
Date
September 14, 2022

Categorized
Business and Finance, Economics

Tagged
Airbnb, DoorDash, Gary Smith, Jeffrey Lee Funk, Uber}

Warning: Unicorn Stocks May Be Nearing Bankruptcy, Fire Sales

_{Uber, Airbnb, and DoorDash seem so lifestyle-friendly … they even became part of our vocabulary} _{News

September 14, 2022

3

Business and Finance, Economics}

In an article today, Jeffrey Funk and Gary Smith puzzle over the way investors have “rained cash” on unprofitable companies like Uber, Airbnb, DoorDash, etc. Yes, they are icons of popular culture. No, unlike Apple and Google, they do not make money: Here are their stats from the table the authors offer: Company Founded Funds Raised Cumulative LossesUber Technologies 2009 $25.2 billion $31.7 billionAirbnb 2008 $6.0 billion $6.0 billionDoor Dash 2013 $2.5 billion $4.6 billion Only one of the 15 companies they list — including some other culture icons — has ever had a profitable quarter: Any hopeful arguments that profitability is just around the corner ring hollow when every company is at least nine years old and two are Read More ›

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post

Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
August 10, 2021

Categorized
Business and Finance

Tagged
Ant Group, China, Chinese Communist Party (CCP), data, Didi Global Inc., Jack Ma, Uber, Xi Jinping}

China’s Crackdown on Big Tech: Didi Global Inc.

_{In an authoritarian government, data is power} _{Heather Zeiger

August 10, 2021

7

Business and Finance}

The Chinese Communist Party is on a campaign to reign in the private sector and some analysts say it is just the beginning. According to Wall Street Journal: Investors, analysts and company executives believe the government is just getting started in its push to realign the relationship between private business and the state, with a goal of ensuring companies do more to serve the Communist Party’s economic, social and national-security concerns. Jing Yang, Keith Zhai, and Quentin Webb, “China’s Corporate Crackdown Is Just Getting Started. Signs Point to More Tumult Ahead” at Wall Street Journal. Last November, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) reined in Ant Group, Ltd. which was poised to open on the Shanghai and Hong Kong index with Read More ›

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post

Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
January 22, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Religion

Tagged
AI Church, Anthony Levandowski, Featured, Trade secrets, Uber, Way of the Future (church), Waymo}

The President Pardons the Founder of a Church That Worships AI

_{On his last day in office, departing President Trump pardoned Anthony Levandowski} _{Robert J. Marks

January 22, 2021

3

Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Religion}

Anthony Levandowski has an interesting history He transitioned from Silicon Valley wunderkind to inept theologian to convicted felon. Now he is free, due to a pardon given by Donald Trump in Trump’s last day in office. If you are an orthodox materialist, you believe our brains are computers made of meat. Artificial intelligence, brains made out of silicon, will therefore match and eventually exceed human capabilities and become godlike. So it might make sense to form a church that worships this future AI god. That’s what Anthony Levandowski did in 2019. His church was christened Way of the Future. Levandowski reasoned “What is going to be created [by AI] will effectively be a god … if there is something a Read More ›

Autonomous vehicles on highway with self driving cars sensing environment by radar and operating safely on speedway thanks to artificial intelligence and control systems, automated transport concept

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post

Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
November 18, 2020

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Economics

Tagged
Autonomous Vehicles, Featured, Level 4 self-driving, Level 5 self-driving, self-driving cars, Tesla, Uber}

What Real Advantage Do Self-Driving Cars Provide?

_{It’s time for a hard-headed look at the costs and benefits of the pursuit of fully self-driving cars} _{Jonathan Bartlett

November 18, 2020

4

Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Economics}

More and more people are realizing that autonomous (self-driving) vehicles are not a road to automotive prosperity. To recap, Level 5 self-driving is what most people think of when they hear the term “self-driving.” You type in an address and the car takes you where you want to go while you sleep in the back. That car is not going to hit the road anytime soon. Level 4 self-driving is similar but only works within well-defined areas or situations. In practice, Level 4 essentially relies on either intelligent infrastructure or a territory that is so predictable and well-mapped that it obviates the need for intelligent infrastructure. Huge amounts have been invested in self-driving vehicles. The Information estimated that $16 billion Read More ›

driver uber car in black car in the street of new york

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post

Author
Jeffrey Funk
Date
June 2, 2020

Categorized
Business and Finance, Global Technology

Tagged
Featured, Regulation, Silicon Valley, startups, Uber}

Why Are There No New Googles and Amazons?

_{The internet has matured, making many new internet-based companies comparatively low-tech} _{Jeffrey Funk

June 2, 2020

5

Business and Finance, Global Technology}

Today’s startups have targeted a much different set of technologies than did startups in past decades.

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post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
November 26, 2019

Categorized
Business and Finance, Work

Tagged
Airbnb, Lyft, Uber, Wag, WeWork}

Why the Millennial High-Tech Urban Lifestyle May Soon Cost More

_{In the wake of WeWork’s woes, analysts are questioning the business models we love} _{Denyse O'Leary

November 26, 2019

6

Business and Finance, Work}

The problem is, WeWork is not a technology company. Neither is Airbnb or Uber. They all use software via the internet to leverage surplus physical space, whether the space is in an office building, a private home, or a privately owned car.

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post

Author
News
Date
October 14, 2019

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance

Tagged
Airbnb, Hubert Horan, Innovation, Jeffrey Funk, Uber}

If Big Tech Were Spinning Its Wheels, Would We Know?

_{Not necessarily, says an economics prof who worries about the slowing pace of innovation but not of hype} _{News

October 14, 2019

5

Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance}

The slowing Funk refers to is in fundamental innovations like transistors and lasers. The apparent progress often turns out to be in patent applications for a bewildering array of comparatively insignificant mobile phone apps.

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post

Author
Brendan Dixon
Date
August 23, 2019

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Global Technology

Tagged
NHTSA, Road safety, Robbie Miller, self-driving cars, Uber}

Are self-driving cars really safer?

_{A former Uber executive says no. Before we throw away the Driver’s Handbook…} _{Brendan Dixon

August 23, 2019

6

Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Global Technology}

Current claims that self-driving cars are safer are hype, not measurement. Meanwhile, Congress is expected to push for legislation next month to pave the way for widespread use of self-driving vehicles without a consensus on safety standards. Read More ›

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post

Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
August 1, 2019

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Education, Work

Tagged
apple, Augmented Reality, Donald Trump, Google, Microsoft, Spelling, Tom Caudell, Uber}

Random Thoughts on the Passing Scene: How to Spell Gud

_{Also, Google and Apple ditching college degree requirements is not really that new} _{Robert J. Marks

August 1, 2019

4

Artificial Intelligence, Education, Work}

Twenty years or so ago, when I worked in Seattle, Microsoft was famous for the testing coding skills of their applicants and asking Mensa-like questions. Degrees were secondary.

^{Type
post

Author
Brendan Dixon
Date
July 24, 2019

Categorized
Business and Finance, Machine Learning

Tagged
self-driving cars, Uber, Waymo}

Even Uber didn’t believe in Uber’s self-driving taxis

_{We found that out after Google’s Waymo sued the company} _{Brendan Dixon

July 24, 2019

4

Business and Finance, Machine Learning}

Optimism is not driving the recent collaboration and corporate consolidation in the self-driving car industry. Rather, their retrenchment is protection against an uncertain future.