Technology

Uber Technologies Inc and Lyft Inc Tuesday began suspending shared rides on their ride-hailing platforms in the United States and Canada to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Waymo, Cruise and Argo have suspended autonomous car testing that involves backup drivers, as the self-driving firms join corporate America to try and contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Fox Corp said on Tuesday it would acquire video streaming firm Tubi for about $440 million in cash and will fund the deal with the net proceeds from the sale of its stake in Roku Inc .

Amazon.com Inc will only receive vital supplies at its U.S. and UK and other European warehouses until April 5, its latest move to free up inventory space for medical and household goods in high demand as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

Apple Inc said on Tuesday it has closed retail stores across the world until further notice, except in Greater China, as companies try to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

The novel coronavirus outbreak is boosting grocery deliveries by web-based apps across Latin American countries, as schools suspend activities and more people work from home to contain a pandemic that has already infected more than 100,000 people around the world.

Waymo said on Tuesday it is temporarily suspending ride-hailing services in Phoenix that require a backup driver due to the coronavirus outbreak, but said fully automated robotaxi services would continue.

U.S. technology companies, including Microsoft Corp, Facebook, Alphabet's Google, and Twitter, are working together to quell misinformation about the coronavirus on their platforms, the companies said in a joint statement on Monday.

Amazon.com Inc will only receive vital supplies at its U.S. and UK warehouses until April 5, its latest move to free up inventory space for medical and household goods in high demand as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

Apple Inc said on Tuesday it is closing all its retail stores in the United States until further notice.

Facebook Inc said Tuesday it plans to award $100 million in cash grants and ad credits for up to 30,000 small businesses in over 30 countries to address the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc will be allowed to continue operating its Fremont factory as the San Francisco Bay Area on Tuesday begins a three-week lockdown to rein in the spread of coronavirus, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Amazon.com Inc on Monday said it would hire 100,000 warehouse and delivery workers in the United States to deal with a surge in online orders, as many consumers have turned to the web to meet their needs during the coronavirus outbreak.

Amazon.com Inc is suspending sellers from sending non-essential products to its U.S. and U.K. warehouses until April 5 in the latest move to free up inventory space for much-needed supplies that are in shortage as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

Volkswagen will raise the amount of nickel used in it electric car battery cells to 80% in the next year from 65% at present, Frank Blome, head of battery cells at the carmaker said on Tuesday.

Uber Technologies Inc on Tuesday began suspending shared rides on its ride-hailing platform in the United States and Canada to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Facebook Inc said Tuesday it plans to award $100 million in cash grants and ad credits for up to 30,000 small businesses in over 30 countries to address the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

British mobile operator O2, owned by Spain's Telefonica, said it had received reports of some customers struggling with its voice network as Britons started working from home to avoid coronavirus.

Axis Security, whose technology provides organizations secure control of private application access, said on Tuesday it raised $17 million in early stage funding.

A Dutch appeals court on Tuesday ruled the country's two largest telecommunications providers, KPN NV and VodafoneZiggo, do not have to open their fixed-line networks to competition.