Pulse 2.0

Via: $200 Million Funding, $2.25 Billion Valuation, Noam Ohana Joins Board

By Amit Chowdhry ● March 30, 2020

Shared ride-hailing services company Via Transportation announced it raised $200 million in Series E funding at a $2.25 billion valuation.

Johnson & Johnson Is Investing $1 Billion In The Development Of COVID-19 Vaccines

By Amit Chowdhry ● March 30, 2020

Johnson & Johnson is ramping up its capacity for producing 1 billion doses of an experimental lead vaccine candidate for SARS-CoV-2 -- known as coronavirus.

Online Learning Platform Preply Raises $10 Million

By Dan Anderson ● March 30, 2020

Online learning company Preply announced it has raised $10 million in funding. These are the details.

This Is Why Abbott’s Stock Suddenly Jumped

By Amit Chowdhry ● March 30, 2020

Abbott saw its stock price jump over 7% today due to a recent announcement about how it received emergency use authorization (EUA) for its rapid point-of-care COVID-19 test, known as ID NOW COVID-19.

UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti Reportedly Donates $1 Million For Combating COVID-19

By Noah Long ● March 30, 2020

UBS chief executive officer Sergio Ermotti has reportedly donated 1 million Swiss francs (about $1.05 million) for combating coronavirus.

Facebook Commits $100 Million To News Outlets

By Annie Baker ● March 30, 2020

Facebook is committing $100 million in grant money and promised ad spending for helping news outlets dealing with financial struggles due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Rumor: Fitbit Charge 4 May Have GPS, NFC, And Sleep Tracker

By Amit Chowdhry ● March 30, 2020

There are rumors that Google subsidiary Fitbit will be releasing the Fitbit Charge 4 later this year. These are the details.

Bright.md: $8 Million In Funding And Karen Page Joins Board

By Amit Chowdhry ● March 30, 2020

Leading healthcare automation company Bright.md announced it raised $8 million in funding and Karen Page is joining the board.

Microsoft Teams Has Seen A 775% Increase In Regions With Social Distancing Enforced (Updated)

By Amit Chowdhry ● March 30, 2020

Microsoft is seeing a major increase in its cloud services across regions that have enforced social distancing or shelter in place orders.

Gilead Is Expanding On Its Emergency Access To Coronavirus Drug

By Dan Anderson ● March 30, 2020

Gilead is expanding on its access to the experimental anti-coronavirus drug remdesivir in order to accelerate the emergency use for multiple severely ill patients.

Morgan Stanley: No Layoffs In 2020

By Dan Anderson ● March 28, 2020

Morgan Stanley’s employees do not have to worry about layoffs in 2020 due to the COVD-19 pandemic. These are the details.

Lockheed Martin Advances Over $50 Million To Suppliers

By Dan Anderson ● March 28, 2020

Defense company Lockheed Martin announced it was going to advance over $50 million to suppliers that were affected by the economic slowdown.

Driverless Car AI Software Company Helm.ai Raises $13 Million

By Noah Long ● March 28, 2020

Helm.ai recently announced it raised $13 million in seed funding. These are the details about Helm.ai's funding.

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Committing $25 Million For COVID-19 Relief

By Annie Baker ● March 28, 2020

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) announced it committed $25 million to a research fund focused on developing treatments for COVID-19.

Mark Cuban: People Should Only Listen To Epidemiologists About Going Back To Work

By Amit Chowdhry ● March 28, 2020

Mark Cuban said that people should listen to epidemiologists about when to return to work: "Ignore anything someone like me might say."

Bill Gates Responds To Questions About COVID-19

By Amit Chowdhry ● March 28, 2020

Microsoft co-founder and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Co-Chair Bill Gates recently answered questions on Reddit and CNN.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff Advocates Companies To Take A ‘No Layoff Pledge’

By Amit Chowdhry ● March 28, 2020

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff is asking CEOs to take a 90-day “no-layoff pledge” to help employees get through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Says Hardware Supply Chain Is Getting Back On Track

By Amit Chowdhry ● March 28, 2020

Earlier this week in an interview with CNBC, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella pointed out that the company’s hardware supply chain is getting back online.