Workers from Walmart, FedEx, Target, Instacart, Amazon, and Amazon's Whole Foods Market plan to go on strike to protest what they say are unsafe working conditions amid the coronavirus pandemic, The Intercept first reported Wednesday.

The members of an unprecedented coalition of employees and gig workers in at least half a dozen states plan to call in sick or walk off their jobs during their lunch breaks on Friday, International Workers' Day, according to The Intercept.

According to The Intercept, the workers are making a variety of demands, including back pay for unpaid time off they've used since the beginning of March, hazard pay or paid sick leave for the remainder of the pandemic, company-provided protective equipment and cleaning supplies at all times, and increased transparency from the companies about the number of COVID-19 cases in their facilities.

The organizers say their employers, all of which have been considered essential business and remained open during the pandemic, are seeing record profits at the expense of workers' health and safety.

"We are acting in conjunction with workers at Amazon, Target, Instacart and other companies for International Worker's Day to show solidarity with other essential workers in our struggle for better protections and benefits in the pandemic," Daniel Steinbrook, a Whole Foods employee and strike organizer, told The Intercept.

Christian Smalls, who was fired by Amazon after his participation in a protest over the company's refusal to close a New York warehouse when a worker there tested positive for COVID-19, tweeted a picture of flyer advertising the strike.

"It's time to join up! Protect all workers at all cost we are not expandable or replaceable enough is enough TAKE THE POWER BACK!" Smalls said in the tweet.

News of the protests comes as essential workers are increasingly speaking out about working conditions and lawmakers and labor regulators are paying closer attention to companies' responses.

Amazon workers have organized multiple strikes in New York, Chicago, Minnesota, and Italy, as well as virtually, as colleagues have tested positive for COVID-19, calling the company's coronavirus response inadequate and criticizing its refusal to provide information about the number of its warehouses that have seen outbreaks of the disease.

Amazon defended its warehouse conditions and safety procedures, telling Business Insider in a statement that "masks, temperature checks, hand sanitizer, increased time off, increased pay, and more are standard across our Amazon and Whole Food Market networks already."

The company also disputed workers' allegations about a lack of protective equipment, inadequate safety measures, and retaliation for employee activism.

"While we respect people's right to express themselves, we object to the irresponsible actions of labor groups in spreading misinformation and making false claims about Amazon... The statements made are not supported by facts or representative of the majority of the 500,000 Amazon operations employees in the U.S. who are showing up to work," it said.

The company is now also facing multiple inquiries from the National Labor Relations Board about whether it unlawfully retaliated against workers who spoke out, as well as an investigation brought by New York City's human-rights commissioner concerning the same issue. Earlier this week, New York's attorney general said Amazon may have violated the state's whistleblower law by firing Smalls after he went on strike.

In March, more than 10,000 Instacart grocery shoppers went on strike to demand hazard pay and safety equipment, with some eventually calling the company's response, which met some but not all of their demands, "insulting" and "a sick joke."

"Our team has been diligently working to offer new policies, guidelines, product features, resources, increased bonuses, and personal protective equipment to ensure the health and safety of shoppers during this critical time. We welcome all feedback from shoppers, and we will continue to enhance their experience and ensure this important community is supported," an Instacart spokeswoman told Business Insider.

Also in March, Whole Foods workers across the country called in sick and asked for better sick-pay policies and free coronavirus testing. They were joined by workers from Amazon and Instacart.

A Whole Foods spokesperson disputed that the protest resulted in any absenteeism among its workers.

"Statements made by this group misrepresent the full extent of Whole Foods Market's actions in response to this crisis and do not represent the collective voice of our more than 95,000 Team Members," the spokesperson told Business Insider, adding that Whole Foods has increased pay and benefits, enhanced cleaning measures, and provided protective gear for workers.

A Target spokesperson said the company has taken a number of steps directed at improving working conditions, including increased pay for hourly workers, bonuses for store managers, expanded sick-pay policies (such as 30 days of sick pay for elderly, at-risk, and pregnant employees), protective equipment, and social-distancing measures.

Walmart and FedEx did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Original author: Tyler Sonnemaker

Microsoft blamed supply chain constraints related to the coronavirus crisis for its Azure cloud's capacity issues, saying those constraints delayed the company from expanding its cloud infrastructure.

Microsoft admitted in a note to customers published last week that its Azure cloud business has struggled to keep up  as the demand for its services including its Teams communications app "crossed into unprecedented territory." In an earnings slide released with Microsoft third-quarter report, the company said it "delayed cloud infrastructure spend due to supply chain constraints."

Jonathan Neilson, Microsoft's finance director of investor relations, told Business Insider that the confluence of supply chain constraints and the surge in demand contributed to Microsoft's cloud capacity issues.

The pandemic has been a big test for Microsoft's cloud business as it tries to upend the market-leading Amazon Web Services, which has said it has experienced no outages during the crisis.

Microsoft released the information when it reported third-quarter earnings on Wednesday, beating analyst expectations as it reported $35 billion in revenue and $10.8 billion in net income.

Overall, Microsoft said the coronavirus crisis had "minimal net impact" on company revenue.

Cloud usage increased, especially for the Microsoft 365 bundle of cloud applications including Teams, Azure, Windows Virtual Desktop, advanced security solutions, and Power Platform. Meanwhile, Microsoft said there was a slowdown in transactional licensing — which Neilson said are on-time license purchases versus those purchased on a monthly basis via subscriptions to services like Office 365 – and a reduction in LinkedIn advertising spend during the quarter.

Are you a Microsoft employee or customer? Contact this reporter via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., message her on Twitter @ashannstew, or send her a secure message through Signal at 425-344-8242.

Original author: Ashley Stewart

Bill Gates. fotopress/Getty Images

Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Tuesday.

The UK has rejected Apple and Google's contact-tracing API, instead launching an app that will take a more centralized approach, according to the BBC. The move is likely to alarm privacy and security experts.Automation Anywhere said it is cutting jobs due to the impact of the coronavirus crisis. The cuts could affect more than 10% of the startup's 2,600 employees.Apple may delay mass production of the iPhone 12 by about a month, according to The Wall Street Journal. The report comes after analysts and other media reports have also suggested Apple could push back the iPhone's launch by a couple of weeks or a month because of the coronavirus pandemic.Microsoft billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates believes an upswing in nationalism left the world ill-positioned to cope with the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking to The Times, Gates was asked whether current politicians were up to the task of responding to the crisis.The UK will trial using drones to deliver urgent medical supplies and equipment as part of the fight against COVID-19. Under a trial that starts this week, an autonomous drone will carry personal protective equipment from three hospitals in Hampshire, a county in southern England, to a hospital on the Isle of Wight, an island off England's south coast, and back again.R5 Capital downgraded Amazon's stock from a "buy" to "sell" rating on Monday, citing concerns of slowing growth and smaller profit margins amid COVID-19. It's a rare "sell" recommendation for Amazon among Wall Street analysts, as most remain bullish over the company's stock.WhatsApp says viral message forwarding is down 70% after it took steps to combat COVID-19 misinformation. The private messaging service announced in early April that it was placing limits on the mass-forwarding of messages in an effort to stop misinformation about the coronavirus winging its way around the world.Bill Gates has said his charity was giving "total attention" to the coronavirus pandemic. To date, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has an endowment of $46.8 billion, has already pledged over $250 million toward coronavirus research and response.Airbnb will issue cleaning standards for rentals for the first time. The rentals company is launching an opt-in programme for hosts, which will involve leaving 24 hours between different guests and giving participating hosts a stamp of approval.Amazon may have violated safety standards for providing "inadequate" protections to warehouse workers in New York, according to the state attorney general's office. In a letter obtained by NPR, Letitia James' office says it is continuing to investigate whether Amazon's safety measures are sufficient.

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Original author: Shona Ghosh

After a decade spent reporting on startups, TechCrunch Editor-at-large Josh Constine is leaving the publication to invest in startups at SignalFire, a VC firm with a focus on data. The move deprives the Verizon-owned tech blog of one of its most recognizable names.Constine's leap isn't without precedent: a long line of VC partners including Sequoia Capital's Mike Moritz and General Catalyst's Katherine Boyle began investing after previous stints as writers. "I've written about thousands of startups but I've never funded one," Constine told Business Insider. "But because the fund isn't a huge bureaucratic firm — it's a tight knit team — there's really opportunities for me to learn from brilliant investors and operators who've been at this for years."Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

One of the longest-serving writers at tech blog TechCrunch is leaving the publication to become a venture capital investor, the latest to follow a now well-tread path from journalism into the lucrative world of startup investing.

TechCrunch Editor-at-Large Josh Constine, who announced his move in a tweet on Monday, is joining SignalFire, a quant-based VC firm that has backed companies including Uber, scooter startup Lime and and online shopping app Grabr. Constine will join SignalFire as a principal investor and head of content.

Constine's departure means TechCrunch, which is owned by Verizon, will lose one of the most recognizable names on its masthead. His move comes at a particularly fraught time for digital media, as the coronavirus pandemic has cut into advertising revenue and forced many publications to layoff or furlough staff.

By moving to VC investing, Constine is following in the footsteps of several other TechCrunch writers, including founding editor Michael Arrington. But he's doing so at a time when funding for startups may dry up as VCs tighten their purse strings to get through the economic crisis. 

"I think we're going to see an incredible boom of entrepreneurs taking this crisis as a call to arms, building things that people really need," Constine said, adding that past economic disruptions often spurred the birth of "some of the biggest, most iconic companies" to have been built.

Constine will start by helping portfolio companies refine their pitches based off his years of experience at TechCrunch, and says will be learning the ropes of investing along the way. 

At TechCrunch, Constine said his focus was writing about startups pioneering new forms of social networking and visual communication. At SignalFire, he said he's hoping to continue betting on that industry, especially if startups can figure out a way to hold onto the throngs of users that have tested out new social apps during shelter-in-place.

"If those companies can retain those users...I think there's an opportunity for new types of communication, whether that's something like a Clubhouse, an audio chat room app or virtual offices that make you feel like you're working side by side with your coworkers in apps like Tandem and Pragli," Constine said. 

A boom in startup innovation is also going to boost the demand for developer infrastructure platforms like Alchemy, Constine added. 

As Constine alluded to in his tweet, the 'TC turned VC' path is certainly well-trodden. Beginning with TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington, who first launched the CrunchFund and later the blockchain-focused VC firm Arrington XRP Capital, at least 7 other ex-TechCrunch journalists have made the leap into startup investing (per TechCrunch's Jonathan Shieber). 

But the journalist-turned-VC pipeline goes beyond just TechCrunch: Sequoia Capital's Michael Moritz, the grandfather of the journalist-to-VC trend, entered the industry in 1986  after covering Apple at Time Magazine. He invested in Google, Yahoo, LinkedIn, and PayPal back in the day, and his current portfolio includes companies like Instacart and Stripe. 

And Katherine Boyle, recently promoted to partner at General Catalyst, is another journalist-turned-VC who doesn't hail from TechCrunch. Boyle wrote for the Washington Post in the period that she dubs the "Before Bezos" era on her LinkedIn profile. Since joining General Catalyst, she has helped push some of the firm's most controversial investments in defense-tech startups, including co-leading its Series B round in Anduril. 

Not all journalist-turned-VCs completely transition to writing checks for startups, a move exhibited by Ryan Lawler's year-long stint at 500 Startups. Lawler now runs marketing for Samsung's venture arm, Samsung NEXT, according to his LinkedIn. 

Constine says he solicited advice from the journalist-turned-VCs who have so far made the leap permanent, such as MG Siegler of Google Ventures, Kim Mai Cutler of Initialized Capital, and Constine's one-time editor Alexia Bonatsos, now the founder of the VC firm Dream Machine. 

"Their biggest advice was to take as much time as you can early to just be a sponge and absorb as much information as you can and learn the ropes before trying to walk on them," Constine said, adding that their advice was one of the big factors that pushed him toward joining SignalFire. 

"I've written about thousands of startups but I've never funded one," Constine acknowledged. "But because the fund isn't a huge bureaucratic firm — it's a tight knit team — there's really opportunities for me to learn from brilliant investors and operators who've been at this for years."

Original author: Bani Sapra

John Lilley, a cofounder of Pivot Packaging, filed a lawsuit against Zume, the troubled robotics startup backed by SoftBank, on April 16.The suit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, alleges that Zume committed fraud by misrepresenting its financials during the acquisition process and didn't pay Pivot Packaging founders according to the original deal.Zume acquired Pivot Packaging in February 2019 for roughly $20.5 million, and has since shuttered every other part of the business besides the compostable packaging division as Zume cofounder and CEO Alex Garden failed to land significant funding deals to keep the business alive.Multiple sources told Business Insider that Garden had lobbied to keep its packaging facility in Camarillo, California, open as an essential business as legislators began ordering statewide closures in March. It was not granted essential status, but two sources have said that Garden is trying to retrofit the plant to produce masks amid the nationwide shortage of personal protective equipment.Click here for more BI Prime stories.

The cofounder of a compostable packaging company is suing Zume, the troubled, SoftBank-backed food startup, alleging that Zume misrepresented its financial health when it acquired his company and that he never received millions in payments related to the deal.

The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court on April 16, is the latest predicament for Zume and represents a potentially significant setback to its turnaround plans following major layoffs earlier this year. Zume has laid off hundreds of workers and abandoned plans to develop pizza-making robots and high-tech delivery trucks, shifting its focus to producing compostable food packaging instead,

Zume's plan to focus on food packaging is based on its 2019 acquisition of Pivot Packaging, a Chino, California-based company that Zume paid $20.5 million to buy.

According to the lawsuit, filed by Pivot Packaging cofounder John Lilley, Zume overstated its financial resources, and was unable to deliver the promised assistance needed to meet the objectives for the business and for Lilley's performance-based payouts.

"Within weeks of Closing, it became clear that Zume did not have access to hundreds of millions [of dollars] in cash to readily deploy towards the Milestones, as represented by Alex Garden, which significantly delayed all capital projects for Pivot and the achievement of associated Milestones," the lawsuit alleges, referring to Zume CEO Alex Garden.

If successful, the lawsuit could also bar Zume from using the machinery that creates the compostable packaging that its business ambitions are not entirely tied to. According to the lawsuit, the patent for the machines used to produce the compostable packaging was among the payments that never materialized.

Zume did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Another Pivot gone wrong

According to the lawsuit, Garden began courting Lilley and the Pivot Packaging team in November 2018 over dinner at his home in Tiburon. The group began hashing out terms of the acquisition that evening, the suit alleges, and began negotiations shortly after. 

Ultimately, the team was absorbed into Zume on February 25, 2019. Two days later, Garden reprimanded Lilley in an email exchange for not implementing changes fast enough. 

"As the man says, s--- rolls down hill [sic]," Garden wrote in the email to Lilley, which was included in the lawsuit. "If we whiff on March, the board will have my ass and then ... I need your commitment that we will have no more dropped balls. The team of glass eating ninjas on our team... they are animals. they [sic] will help get this done but need you to hold up your end of the bargain. No more excuses, OK?"

The lawsuit alleges that Garden and the Zume team misrepresented the startup's financial position during the initial negotiations, claiming that Garden repeatedly assured the Pivot team that Zume's $2.2 billion valuation was enough to provide material assistance for the team's development, including installing machines necessary to completely production milestones outlined in the agreement.

Once Lilley became privy to the company's financials, it became clear that the business was in dire straits, the complaint alleges. The Zume's board of directors had not cleared Garden to spend more than $10 million to acquire Pivot Packaging, according to the lawsuit. Lilley alleges that Garden knew of the capital constraints ahead of time and misled the Pivot team of the capital commitments during negotiations.

It's not clear how the deal closed given the allegations that Garden — who sources say often acted with minimal oversight — contravened the conditions of Zume's board of directors.

Garden is not personally named in the lawsuit. Garden did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Pivot to PPE

Multiple sources told Business Insider that Garden is now personally overseeing the production facility in Camarillo, California, a small industrial center in Southern California. The sources said that Garden unsuccessfully lobbied the state of California to consider the manufacturing business essential and continue production while requiring office workers in Mountain View, Calif. and elsewhere to work remotely. The request was ultimately denied.

Garden is now exploring whether he can ramp up production of face masks using the machinery in the Camarillo facility, sources said. The pivot comes amid a nationwide shortage of personal protective equipment for healthcare workers as the coronavirus pandemic rages on.

But Lilley's lawsuit could derail Garden's attempt if it's successful. The lawsuit requests that the court nullify the acquisition and return ownership rights over the proprietary materials under consideration — namely, the machinery patents that Pivot owned prior to the acquisition — back to him. 

Rough markets ahead

All this comes as Zume employees were asked to sign non-disclosure agreements on Friday following layoffs that affected roughly 200 employees on April 15, the day before the suit was filed. Multiple sources told Business Insider that they were told they were required to sign the agreements in order to receive one month's severance and four months' worth of healthcare benefits. 

The remaining 100 employees represent roughly 14% of the startup's total workforce at its peak in late 2019, and are all now working on developing the production arm of the business as Garden scrambles to get the Camarillo facility up and running for PPE production. However, many of the remaining employees were based in Mountain View, California, several hours away from the facility in Southern California. It is not clear whether the facility is fully retrofitted to meet the strict requirements for producing PPE, or whether Zume employees are working to implement those protections as of press time.

Before leaving on Friday, multiple laid-off employees told Business Insider that Zume executives had offered them the option of purchasing their computer equipment, with a new MacBook Pro going for a little over $400, according to documents reviewed by Business Insider. 

Do you work at Zume or another SoftBank-backed startup and want to share your story? Contact this reporter via encrypted messaging app Signal at +1 (331) 625-2555 using a nonwork phone, email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or Twitter DM at @megan_hernbroth.

Original author: Megan Hernbroth

The coronavirus pandemic has put most of the US on lockdown, but millions of "essential" workers — even outside the healthcare system — are still showing up for their jobs.Even as many of their colleagues are able to make a living from the relative safety of their homes, these workers are putting themselves at an increased risk of catching COVID-19.But many say their employers aren't doing enough to minimize those risks, from failing to provide protective gear and clean workplaces to refusing to offer them hazard and sick pay.Amazon warehouse workers, Tesla employees, Uber drivers, and Instacart shoppers are just some of the people who have spoken out against companies they say aren't looking out for them at a time when they need it most.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Around 95% of Americans have been ordered to stay at home to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. But those orders don't apply to "essential" businesses, which has inadvertently created a new category of workers who continue to show up to help the country keep its critical infrastructure functioning — and by doing so, increase their risk of becoming sick.

The definition of an essential business has varied across different locations, and some companies have interpreted states' orders loosely. But even among businesses widely considered to meet the threshold, like grocery stores and transportation companies, coronavirus lockdowns have revealed a stark divide between workers who are able to work remotely and those who aren't.

Those who often can work from home are often higher-paid, full-time employees who enjoy more robust paid sick leave and healthcare benefits, and therefore have a significant leg up in avoiding exposure to the virus and receiving care if they get infected.

But many of those whose jobs can't be done remotely, such as delivery workers, rideshare drivers, retail, and food service employees, are hourly, part-time, or contract workers who lack access to those benefits  — or simply can't afford not to work without pay — leaving them with no choice but to go into work.

Some companies have taken bold and proactive action to help employees weather this crisis. Starbucks, for example, said it would pay all US workers for 30 days even if they chose not to come into work. While others have made some efforts to step up cleaning procedures, provide employees with protective equipment, or enforce social distancing measures, many workers still say the steps their employers have taken aren't enough.

Here are some of the companies that have faced criticism from workers over their response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Are you still going to work and worried your employer isn't doing enough to look out for your health and safety? We're looking into working conditions at essential businesses staying open during the coronavirus pandemic and want to hear what concerns you have. Contact this reporter via phone or encrypted messaging app Signal (+1 503-319-3213), email (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), or Twitter (@TylerSonnemaker). We can keep sources anonymous. PR pitches by email only, please.

Original author: Tyler Sonnemaker

Less than a year ago, venture capitalists were jockeying to get in on hot-funding rounds. Now, they're saying that the balance of power has shifted, and startups are coming to them. 17 out of 18 VCs told Business Insider that venture capital investors now have the upper hand in the tough fundraising environment stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. Startup founders should prepare to deliver 'flawless' pitches that clearly explain their financial plans, and demonstrate how a funding round would extend their runway for the next 18-24 months, VCs said. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Less than a year ago, venture capitalists were vying to join funding rounds for hot startups. But the coronavirus pandemic has transformed the playing field: the market is still uncertain,  unemployment numbers have spiked, startups are struggling, and once-abundant capital is now scarce on the ground.

The up-ended funding market has now transferred all the leverage to investors still willing to back early-stage companies, according to VCs. 

We asked a panel of 18 VCs to describe how the balance of power has changed between startup investors and operators trying to raise new funding, as a result of the recent economic turbulence. Of the 18 people who responded, 17 people said that VCs had gained leverage over founders (9 of whom said VCs had gained "much more" leverage in the shift). Just one VC said that they had not observed any changes in the leverage that either party held. 

The power shift could be costly for startups desperate to fundraise and extend their runways through the economic downturn, VCs warned. Four suggested that startups hold off on raising any funding unless it was absolutely necessary. Startup founders should "be ready for some predatory terms," one VC told Business Insider.  

Investors may not be willing to risk their cash unless they can secure an outsized ownership stake in the startups they back. 

One VC said that startup founders about to pitch should "be prepared to be hammered," by prospective investors, and that they should come with a "flawless" pitch.  "The money is out there but it is harder to get and the equity take will be higher," they added. 

The responses of the VC panel members echo a trend that Business Insider has been tracking. While some startups have successfully raised funding and increased their valuations, the vast majority of startups are suffering drops in value. 

Analysts have previously estimated that startup valuations could sink by as much as 33%, a projection based on data about valuation losses during the Great Recession. 

Investors such as Sapphire Ventures President Jai Das, who was not a member of the survey panel, are also beginning to warn startups against fundraising now. 

Das told Business Insider that startups are rushing to accept deal terms that swing too far in favor of VCs. These terms include guaranteed, generous returns on their investments, which could be harmful to startups in the event of a sale or an IPO.

But many venture-backed startups, accustomed to burning their cash reserves as they continue to prioritize growth over profits, now feel they have little choice but to accept those terms. Business Insider has already reported on European startups that have accused investors of threatening to renege on funding deals unless the startup agreed to raise the money at a lower valuation than the company had attained in an earlier round. This is known as a "down round." 

In the event that startup founders absolutely need to raise money under the current straitened circumstances, VCs on the panel say they need to up their game substantially. Such startup teams must not only introduce great ideas, but also present stellar pitch decks when pitching to investors, the VCs told Business Insider 

Startups should be able to explain their financial plans clearly, and justify their claims that the proposed funding round would extend their runway for the next 18-24 months. And most importantly, they should be ready for their business operations to come under extra scrutiny, the VCs added. 

Original author: Bani Sapra

Photos taken over the weekend show crowds on California's Newport and Huntington Beaches amid a heatwave and a statewide stay-at-home order.Officials have said that those going to the beach are still putting distance amongst themselves, but residents in Southern California said the crowds were sizable this past weekend.California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that people dismissing the order restrictions could delay eventual reopening plans for the state.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Photos taken this past weekend showed some open beaches in Southern California full of people amid a heat wave — and during the statewide stay-at-home order directing residents to stay inside to contain the coronavirus.

As Business Insider's Hillary Hoffower reports, some of the state's beaches are closed during the order, such as those in Los Angeles County. But others in Orange County remain open, like Huntington and Newport Beaches. And photos taken over the past few days showing beachgoers flocking en masse to the shore quickly gained online traction.

In a Monday press conference, California Gov. Gavin Newsom scolded residents who had taken to beaches this past weekend.

"Those images are an example of what not to see, what not to do if we're going to make the meaningful progress we've made the past couple of weeks," the governor said, according to ABC7News.

He did note that the majority of people who flocked to the shore, such as those in San Diego and San Mateo counties, abided by the rules, as KTVU reports.

On April 14, Newsom outlined a reopening plan for the state of California, which is contingent upon multiple factors including widespread testing, contact tracing, and "individual accountability" on behalf of residents. He said it would be a matter of "toggling" between loosening restrictions and tightening them again as the state explored how best to exit the stay-at-home order.

The beachgoers pictured over the weekend, he said, could be threatening that eventual reopening. Newsom said state leaders are "weeks away" from making the modifications to the order, but if there is an uptick in confirmed COVID-19 cases, they would be delayed.

"Let's just get through this thing together so that we can get so much farther, so much quicker," Newsom said Monday.

There are at least 43,925 confirmed cases of the disease in California. 

Original author: Katie Canales

Automation Anywhere said it is cutting jobs due to the impact of the coronavirus crisis. The cuts could affect more than 10% of the startup's 2,600 employees, Axios previously reported.The Silicon Valley startup, which helps automate repetitive and common computer tasks, said the sudden pivot to remote work led to a spike in demand for cloud based services. The restructuring is geared to responding to that need, as demand flattens for its more traditional products, which are installed locally on a customer's own servers rather than in the cloud."We're allocating resources to new skill sets in key growth markets like cloud and hybrid cloud, areas our customers are asking for right now," Dayna Fried, the startup's senior communications director, told Business Insider.  Click here for more BI Prime stories.

Automation Anywhere is cutting jobs as it reels from the COVID-19 crisis, which has forced the company to restructure to adjust to stronger demand for its newer lineup of cloud-based services.

Automation Anywhere did not disclose the scope of the reductions. Axios, which first reported the layoffs, said the cuts could be more than 10% of the company's 2,600 employees.

The layoffs, which were announced Monday, underscore the heightened demand for cloud-based services which became even more pronounced with the sudden pivot to a remote workforce. 

Automation Anywhere is a leading player in robotic process automation, or RPA, which helps businesses automate common repetitive computer tasks. The Silicon Valley startup offers cloud-based products, but many of its customers still have its software installed on their own servers, in their own offices. Many of those customers are now looking to shift to purely cloud-based products, said Dayna Fried, the startup's senior communications director. 

"We're allocating resources to new skill sets in key growth markets like cloud and hybrid cloud, areas our customers are asking for right now," she told Business Insider.  

"Many of them are leaning toward our cloud and hybrid cloud options to manage the variability in their business as well as to respond to future crises faster or even prevent them from occurring at all."

The layoffs are striking given Automation Anywhere's statements on the impact of the crisis on its business. CEO Mihir Shukla recently told Business Insider that "interest from customers has increased significantly overall" since the start of the pandemic.

"In certain industries, the interest is up many, many folds," he said. The pandemic "is making it very evident to businesses that how manual, and sometimes inefficient, our processes are and how vulnerable that makes all of us." 

The startup says it has played in role in fighting the pandemic, pointing to hospitals that are using Automation Anywhere tools to help manage the supply chain of critical equipment like ventilators. Financial institutions like KeyBank are employing RPA to help distribute federal small business loans. 

Automation Anywhere had been pushing to expand its cloud offerings, and recently rolled out a purely web-based platform in October. 

"The fact that our solutions are accessible from a web URL from every device is a big differentiator," Shukla said. "Because it is a cloud-native platform, it scales elastically." 

The company, which has raised $840 million from investors including Salesforce Ventures and is valued at roughly $7 billion, still expects to post double-digit revenue growth this year, she added.

Got a tip about Automation Anywhere or another tech company? Contact this reporter via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., message him on Twitter @benpimentel or send him a secure message through Signal at (510) 731-8429. You can also contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop.

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Original author: Benjamin Pimentel and Joe Williams

Instagram influencers have been leaning into the app's "Live" and "Stories" features in recent weeks as many of their followers spend more time on social media during the coronavirus pandemic. Daily views on Instagram Stories jumped 21% in the middle of March, according to a new survey of 1,021 Instagram creators by the influencer-marketing platform Klear. Between March 15 and April 14, use of the word "live" in Stories jumped 288% from the previous month, an increase that coincided with an 80% spike in Live views on the app during the month of March.Click here for more BI Prime stories.

As at-home consumers spend more time on social media, the number of Instagram users posting "Stories" and going live for their followers has spiked. 

Views on Instagram Stories — a feature of the app in which a user can post a photo or video update that disappears in 24 hours — jumped 21% week-over-week in the middle of March, according to a new report from the influencer-marketing platform Klear. This increase coincided with Instagram users posting more Stories to meet growing demand for content from their audiences.  

"I'm definitely using Stories a lot more," said Erica Chan Coffman, an Instagram influencer who runs the DIY website Honestly WTF. "There's been an exponentially higher amount of Story views and likes. People are tagging me in Stories, saying 'Look at the thing I created using the HonestlyWTF tutorial,' and I'll repost it."

Adoption of Instagram Live — the platform's livestreaming feature — also rose in March. A spokesperson for Instagram told BuzzFeed News that Live views in the US increased 80% during the month. In its report, Klear noted that the number of Instagram users who mentioned the word "live" in Stories jumped 288% between March 15 and April 14.

Instagram was not the only platform that saw a big jump in livestreaming last month.

The number of minutes that consumers spent watching live video on YouTube rose 19% between March 12 and 25, according to a report from the social-video analytics firm Tubular Labs. Views of livestreams on Facebook also spiked during the same two-week window in March, with the number of people watching a video in real time (or replaying a livestream after it ended) increasing by 37%. And watch time for livestreams on Twitch rose 16% during the same period. 

"A ton of people are going live right now," said Elena Taber, a lifestyle influencer with 108,000 Instagram followers. "Every time I open up Instagram, the Live feed is being used by four or five different influencers."

"We've seen live content really skyrocket, and specifically on Instagram," said Ellie Jenkins, an influencer-innovation manager at the marketing firm Mavrck. "There are far more Live bubbles at the top than ever before with everyone's desire and need to feel connected to their friends, their families, and their audiences."

As part of its study of influencer behavior on Instagram during the coronavirus outbreak, Klear's research team surveyed 1,021 Instagram creators who had an average of 51,400 followers. The company focused on changes that occurred after March 15, when many countries, states, counties, and cities began implementing shelter-in-place measures. 

Here are four key takeaways for influencers and marketers from Klear's report: 

Original author: Dan Whateley

The acceleration of online shopping will change consumers' shopping habits, but that doesn't mean brick-and-mortar retail will go away completely.When the economy reopens, consumers may not be eager to return to crowded places like malls."It's going to become a matter of survival to reinvent why they have physical retail," Max Levchin, the founder and CEO of Affirm, told Business Insider.Retailers will have to reimagine how they operate their stores as consumers increasingly expect the ability to shop from the comfort of their homes and pick up their purchases in stores, he said.That requires an investment in software that equips smaller retailers with the same tech and infrastructure of players like Apple and Amazon.Click here for more BI Prime stories.

Online shopping has accelerated amid the coronavirus pandemic, but that doesn't mean brick-and-mortar retail will go away completely.

Consumers are unlikely to rush back to crowded places like malls once stay-at-home orders start to lift.

"It's going to become a matter of survival to reinvent why they have physical retail," Max Levchin, the CEO of Affirm, told Business Insider. "If customers are uncomfortable mingling by way of rubbing shoulders, what do you do about that?"

Levchin thinks that as the economy reopens, stores won't operate the way they used to. With new concerns around health and safety, consumers will be looking for ways to shop that are in-line with social distancing.

Retailers will need to balance the convenience of in-person shopping with the safety of buying online, and that means they'll have to find new ways to use their real estate, he said.

Levchin has a long history in Silicon Valley. Before he founded Affirm in 2012, he was a cofounder and the chief technology officer of PayPal. He was also the chairman of Yelp until 2015. Affirm offers customers the ability to buy now and pay later through fixed-term no-fee loans. Affirm partners with big-box retailers like Walmart and Target, as well as niche merchants like Casper and Peloton.

While many are eagerly awaiting a return to normality, brick-and-mortar retail — which was already undergoing a so-called apocalypse — may never be the same.

Retail, reimagined

Well before the coronavirus pandemic, a reinvention of retail was already underway, Levchin said.

"In the world where showrooms are actually something people would like to avoid, at least the near future, I think it's going to flip where it's not the showroom, it's the warehouse," Levchin said.

Concepts like the Apple Store, for example, function more like showrooms than stores, with limited inventory and off-site warehouses. Consumers have been getting used to the idea of shopping in person and having items shipped to their homes.

"It will become a buy online, pick up in-store model, as opposed to explore offline and then order from home, which is an exact flip to where the industry was trending," Levchin said.

But many retailers aren't equipped to manage warehouses and shipping infrastructure like Apple or Amazon. All the while, consumers have come to expect the convenience of on-demand shopping, both online and in stores.

Everyday merchants like Walmart and Gap, which have large investments in their real estate, could start using their stores more like pickup locations than shopping destinations. And smaller retailers may have to invest in new tech to help them manage a more complicated version of shopping, combining online and in-store shopping.

A new wave of software adoption

It's not far-fetched to imagine a shopping experience where you buy online, then drive to a store location where your order is brought out to your car. Some state governments are already experimenting with this method as a way to open nonessential businesses.

But it's a tall order for smaller retailers that aren't already managing their businesses across both online and in-store channels.

Repurposing their shops to accommodate this new way of shopping will require an investment in infrastructure and software, Levchin said.

Without automated solutions, it will be challenging for stores to manage in-store and online sales and returns, then link that back to inventory and ordering.

"I think it accretes very powerfully to more modern API-driven digital commerce enablers," Levchin said, referring to automated programming interfaces.

And the startup ecosystem is crowded with players that offer API-driven (meaning plug-and-play tech) points of sale, inventory management, and other not-so-glamorous features that operate behind the scenes.

The $36 billion fintech Stripe, for example, offers both online and in-store points of sale through an API that retailers can connect to their inventory-management systems. And Toast, which is valued at $4.9 billion, offers sales and inventory technology for restaurants.

"There will be winners and losers in the world of more generic inventory management that doesn't just speak to the food industry, for example," Levchin said. "I think all of that is going to be this big software fight that most consumers aren't going to see."

And while companies like Stripe and Toast may be more expensive than legacy players such as First Data and FIS, their plug-and-play tech makes them compelling to retailers rushing to meet consumers where they're comfortable as the economy reopens.

"The general API-driven commerce, API-driven building of fulfillment and transaction systems is going to be a very important differentiator," Levchin said.

Original author: Shannen Balogh

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"Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" brings an end to a saga that began with the very first "Star Wars" film in 1977. Disney

"Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker," the conclusion to Disney's first "Star Wars" trilogy, will arrive on the Disney Plus streaming service on May 4. Fans will immediately recognize that date as "Star Wars Day," an annual celebration born from the iconic phrase "May the Force be with you."

Disney Plus is already home to more than a dozen "Star Wars" movies and TV shows, including "The Mandalorian," a Disney Plus exclusive that debuted in 2019 and went on to become one of the year's most popular new series.

"Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" is the final chapter of the The Skywalker Saga, which began with "A New Hope" in 1977 and spans nine episodic films. Daisy Ridley stars as Rey, the last Jedi to train under the legendary Luke Skywalker, while Academy Award nominee Adam Driver reprises his role as Kylo Ren, a Sith lord seeking to conquer the galaxy.

"The Rise of Skywalker" was released in theaters in December 2019 and went on to generate more than $1 billion in worldwide box office sales. The J.J. Abrams-produced film received Academy Award nominations for Best Original Score, Best Visual Effects, and Best Sound Editing. 

How do I watch 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' on Disney Plus?

"Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" will be available to all Disney Plus subscribers on May 4. The movie has been available for purchase on Blu-ray and as a digital download since March 31, but it's arrival on Disney Plus will make it more affordable and give subscribers access to even more of the "Star Wars" franchise.

Like prior "Star Wars" media on Disney Plus, "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" will be available in up to 4K resolution with HDR color quality using the HDR10 and Dolby Vision formats. The movie will also be available with Dolby Atmos audio on supported devices.

The Disney Plus app is available on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, iOS, and Android, as well as Amazon, Apple, Roku, and Chromecast streaming devices. Smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, and Vizio support Disney Plus as well. While streaming requires a constant internet connection, Disney Plus also gives subscribers the option to download movies and shows to a mobile device for viewing offline.

What is Disney Plus and how much does it cost?

Disney Plus is Disney's on-demand streaming service. An annual subscription costs $69.99 per year ($5.83/month) while a monthly subscription costs $6.99 per month ($83.88/year). You can also sign up for a bundle with ESPN+ and Hulu for $12.99/month.

All memberships include ad-free streaming and unlimited downloads for a growing library of movies and shows from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, and 20th Century Fox. 

Here is a full breakdown of all the Disney Plus pricing options and features.

How to watch 'Star Wars' in order

"Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" is the ninth and final episode of The Skywalker Saga, which includes almost  every "Star Wars" movie to date. Though the franchise began with "Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope" in 1977, that film is actually the fourth episode of the full Skywalker Saga.

If you want to see the story unfold in chronological order, you should start with 1999's "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace," which introduces a young Anakin Skywalker at the start of his journey to become a Jedi master. From there you should watch "Episode II — Attack of the Clones" and "Episode III — Revenge of the Sith." Together, the three films follow Anakin's adventures, culminating with the rise of Darth Vader and the evil galactic Empire.

"Episode IV — A New Hope" stars Mark Hamill as Anakin's son, Luke Skywalker, as he embarks on a quest to defeat Darth Vader, destroy the Empire, and bring balance to the Force. "Episode IV" is followed by "The Empire Strikes Back," and "Return of the Jedi," completing the original trilogy released between 1977 and 1983.

The Skywalker saga continued in 2015 with "Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens" which takes place 30 years after the events of "Return of the Jedi." A new heroine, Rey, discovers Luke Skywalker's lightsaber and is eventually pulled into a struggle to eliminate the last remaining forces of the Empire, an extremist group called The First Order.

Rey eventually falls under Luke's tutelage in "Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi" and begins training for a final confrontation with Kylo Ren, a commander in the First Order with the same abilities as a Jedi Knight. "The Rise of Skywalker" brings the saga to a close with a climatic battle between The First Order and the rebel army that represents the Republic and a final clash between Rey, Kylo Ren, and the sinister Emperor Palpatine.

"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" and "Solo: A Star Wars Story" are not technically part of the Skywalker Saga, but the events in these anthology films still have an impact on the overarching story. "Rogue One" tells the story of how the rebels were able to cripple the Empire's strongest weapon in "A New Hope," while "Solo" tells the origin story of one of the franchise's most beloved characters. The animated film "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" takes place between "Episode II" and "Episode III."

The full chronology of Star Wars films can be found below:

"Episode I – The Phantom Menace" (1999)"Episode II – Attack of the Clones" (2002)" The Clone Wars" (2008)"Episode III – Revenge of the Sith" (2005)"Solo: A Star Wars Story" (2018)"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" (2016)"Episode IV – A New Hope" (1977)"Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back" (1980)"Episode VI – Return of the Jedi" (1983)"Episode VII – The Force Awakens" (2015)"Episode VIII — The Last Jedi" (2017)"Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

The future of 'Star Wars' on Disney Plus

"The Mandalorian" will return later this year for a second season on Disney Plus. Disney Plus

Disney Plus has already confirmed that a second season of "The Mandalorian" will arrive later this year, and a new series following the adventures Obi-Wan Kenobi is already in production, with Ewan McGregor expected to continue his role from the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy.

The final season of the animated series "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" debuted on Disney Plus in February 2020, completing a run of seven seasons and 133 episodes. The series finale of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" will premiere on May 4, the same day "The Rise of Skywalker" arrives on Disney Plus. "Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian," a docuseries following the production of the hit show, will also premiere on "Star Wars Day," May 4.

Be sure to check out our full breakdown of the "Star Wars" movies and shows available on Disney Plus for more details on the franchise.

Original author: Kevin Webb

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LG

A quality TV is the centerpiece of any home entertainment system, but finding the right display for your needs and the right price for your wallet can be challenging. When shopping for a TV, there are many different aspects to consider, including size, panel type, resolution, HDR support, smart TV platform, and more. 

If you're looking for a display with genuine home theater performance in mind, then you'll likely want to opt for a 65-inch- or- larger premium 4K TV. The best 4K TVs typically use an OLED panel, or a high-end LED panel with quantum dots and local dimming. These display types will provide you with the best contrast, black levels, and brightness performance for dazzling high dynamic range (HDR) images.  

For buyers who simply want a reliable TV for casual viewing, however, a smaller screen and a more budget-friendly LED panel should get the job done just fine. Though picture quality won't be quite as impressive as more expensive display types, there are many affordable LED TVs out there with solid performance. And, while 4K resolution and built-in smart TV interfaces were once thought of as premium features, nowadays even entry-level TVs come with 4K panels and smart TV capabilities as default features. 

Once you've settled on the basics for what you're looking for in a new display, there are plenty of deals readily available from all of the major TV manufacturers, including Sony, Samsung, LG, Vizio, TCL, and Hisense. To help narrow things down, we've rounded up all of the best TV deals available right now. 

It should be noted, however, that many companies are currently in the process of rolling out their latest 2020 TV models to retailers. While these new displays rarely get discounts right away, manufacturers tend to use this time to provide big deals on their older stock. With that in mind, the TV deals highlighted below are primarily for 2019 models. If a 2020 model is included, we've noted that fact in the description for the deal.

Prices and links are current as of 04/27/2020. Added TCL 55R617. Removed deals that are no longer active. Updated by Steven Cohen.

Original author: Steven Cohen

Edelman was poised to become the world's first $1 billion PR agency this year, but the coronavirus pandemic has set back those plans.Edelman promised employees there would be no layoffs related to the pandemic, but since then, the agency lost a chunk of its Samsung account. Edelman is rethinking what an office should look like post-pandemic and investing in creative, digital, research, and experiential.Click here for more BI Prime stories.

After a stagnant 2018, Edelman reported growth in every region last year, hitting $892 million in revenue. As an industry bellwether, it was a positive sign for public relations broadly and the agency itself as it seemed poised to become what would be the world's first $1 billion PR agency.

But the coronavirus outbreak has brought the global economy to a standstill, halting the PR industry's hopes for strong growth this year.

"It's a serious wind in our face. And yeah, it may have us go back a bit, but we'll get there," CEO Richard Edelman told Business Insider of the $1 billion milestone.

Following the 2009 recession, independent Edelman outpaced its ad holding company competitors such as WPP-owned Hill + Knowlton Strategies and Omnicom-owned Ketchum, charting double digit revenue growth.

But then growth slowed. Edelman grew just 1.7% in 2016 and 2.1% in 2017, and declined 1.1% in 2018. Last year, Edelman had 2.1% in like-for-like growth, but the impact of foreign currency dragged down its results.

Edelman has a $20 million hole to fill after losing a critical piece of its Samsung business 

Edelman made headlines last month when he declared there would be no layoffs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Since then, the agency lost Samsung's social and digital marketing business for its mobile division, a $20 million account, according to PRovoke. Edelman is still Samsung's key PR agency, the site reported.

An Edelman rep wouldn't say if that dollar figure was annual. Asked if he stood by his no-layoffs promise since the Samsung loss, the CEO said he's evaluating options.

The agency's paid media arm, Edelman Digital, comprises $200 million in revenue for Edelman.

Edelman is mulling how to reopen its offices

Marketers struggle with how to advertise during crises, but times like this are ripe for PR, Edelman said. He said that with people spending less, brands should focus on providing facts and solutions to consumers instead of selling to them.

"It's time for PR to take share from advertising," Edelman said. "We can actually be part of the news cycle with stories of companies and brands stepping up, of companies in some way changing their supply chains."

Like other agencies with lots of real estate, Edelman is evaluating options for reopening its offices after the coronavirus pandemic eases.

It's considering things like what's the right population density per floor, staggering the number of people allowed on the elevator, asking employees to wear masks and gloves, and taking their temperatures before they enter the office.

"I don't want to be the employer who has sick people getting other people sick," Edelman said.

Remote pitching to journalists may become common, but Edelman said there will still be in-person pitch and business development meetings.

"There is a lot of aspect of trust that's built over beer," he said.

Edelman plans to keep pushing into digital, creative, and analytics

Edelman grew after the recession partly by investing in emerging areas like digital, creative, and data analytics, and its CEO said that would continue.

In the past couple years, Edelman has made several big-name hires, including Judy John, who was chief creative officer for North America, as its first global chief creative officer; and John Flannery, executive creative director at DDB, as chief creative officer of its hometown office, Chicago.

"One in three Edelman employees is now either digital, research, experiential, or creative," Edelman said. "That's up from one in 25 five years ago."

It'll continue to try to win business from ad agencies with its earned-media approach to creative. It's won pitches as the lead creative agency for HP, Dove, the WNBCA, and others. One of its most prominent campaigns was Dove's Real Beauty Productions.

"We don't have to get our own brief and we don't have to come back with storyboards and we don't have to do some elegant video treatment," Edelman said. "It actually is idea-execution, out, one day. Because it's the news cycle. If you get it, great. If you don't, you blow it."

Original author: Sean Czarnecki

The best HomeKit devices for smart homes adhere to Apple's strict guidelines and in doing so work extremely well with iPhones, iPads, Apple TV, HomePod, and more Apple devices to upgrade houses with the latest smart technology.We've collected an exhaustive list of what we think are the best HomeKit devices across several product categories, including lights, smart plugs, locks, and more.

The Google Home and Alexa smart home ecosystems might have more supported devices overall, there's something to be said for an ecosystem of products that all work together perfectly. Apple's HomeKit is the ideal smart home ecosystem to base your smart home around if you prefer a more carefully curated selection of smart home products. All HomeKit compatible products are vetted by Apple and made to work seamlessly together with the same ease the Mac, iPhone, and Apple Watch all enjoy.

Of course, the HomeKit ecosystem has hundreds of products to sort through, and it's only getting bigger, so it can be tough to find the right HomeKit devices for your smart home. That's why we've put together this guide — to help you find the most ideal HomeKit devices for your needs.

There are a number of things to consider when buying something for your HomeKit setup. For starters, you'll want to check whether you can use the device with HomeKit alone or if you'll need to use the manufacturer's app for setup. For many people, using a third-party app initially won't matter, but others prefer to stick solely within the Apple Home app.

You'll also want to make sure that the devices work with your house's physical setup. Light switches, wall outlets, thermostats, and other similar devices all have to be wired into your home, and different homes might have slightly different wiring setups.

It's also important to keep in mind that, to use HomeKit devices outside of your home, you'll need to set up a HomeKit hub. A number of devices can work as a hub in a HomeKit setup, including an Apple TV, HomePod, and in some situations, an iPad. We've noted our favorite HomeKit hub below along with all the other gadgets you might want for your HomeKit smart home.

Original author: Tyler Hayes and Christian de Looper

Airbnb-backed apartment rental company Zeus Living has been asking landlords to renegotiate leases into revenue-share agreements or cancel their contracts, according to documents viewed by Business Insider. Zeus has also told landlords that they wouldn't be paid their April or May rent without signing the new revenue-share agreements, according to an email viewed by Business Insider.Last Monday, CEO Kulveer Taggar hosted a Zoom conference for landlords, where he said that the company had $2.5 million in cancellations in March. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Airbnb-backed corporate home rental company Zeus Living has been asking landlords who let their homes to the company to renegotiate or cancel their leases to protect the company's dwindling cash reserves.

According to documents viewed by Business Insider, up to 404 landlords have been asked to renegotiate their leases to a revenue-sharing model that doesn't guarantee payment unless the spaces are occupied. 

Additionally, the company told landlords that if they didn't sign the new contracts, they wouldn't be paid April and May rent, according to a separate email viewed by Business Insider.

A representative for Zeus confirmed that the company has asked for rent abatements and to swap leases for revenue-share agreements.

Zeus rents furnished properties for stays of longer than 30 days in six metro areas around the country, catering specifically to business travelers. Like many hospitality businesses, the company has been heavily impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The company laid off 30% of its staff at the end of March.

The company raised a $55 million Series B round at a $205 million valuation in December of last year from a range of backers, including Airbnb and Comcast.

$2.5 million worth of cancellations in March

Zeus CEO Kulveer Taggar hosted a Zoom conference with 130 landlords last Monday to explain the decision, according to a source who attended the meeting. 

He told landlords that those who have a resident in their home will be paid. He also said that the company had $2.5 million worth of cancellations in March, and was already looking to raise money this year. 

A representative for Zeus confirmed the details of the Zoom meeting, and noted that the company has experienced more cancellations since March.

"This has been a surreal time and everyone is hurting in this crisis," Taggar wrote to Business Insider in a statement. "Like so much of the country, we're experiencing liquidity challenges and have made difficult choices to adapt so our company and community can make it through."

Typically, Zeus signed leases with landlords that guaranteed payment every month, regardless of occupancy. The company brought in furniture to make the space move-in ready, and then charged their clients a premium over the rent that they were paying for the homes.  

The new revenue-sharing model splits revenues between the landlord and Zeus. The exact splits depend on the contract and the amount of money that Zeus is getting paid to rent the space out, but generally Zeus gets a larger share of the profit as the property brings in more money. 

Business Insider reviewed the terms of one new contract. If the property receives 0-50% in revenue of the previous rate Zeus was leasing the property at, Zeus receives 4% of revenue, at 50-100% of the lease rate, Zeus gets 10% of revenue, and above 100%, Zeus gets 55% of revenue. Zeus confirmed these rates to Business Insider. 

Business Insider also reviewed the force majeure clauses in a pre- and post-coronavirus contract. Before coronavirus, potential events that trigger force majeure (such as strikes and natural disasters) would allow the company to delay payment without penalty. After coronavirus, these same events would allow Zeus to cancel the lease agreement if events make it "commercially unreasonable" to pay rent. 

A Zeus spokesperson told Business Insider that "every company is adapting in real-time to a new and volatile business environment, and our industry is no different but we don't comment on contract terms."

Coronavirus continues to cripple the hospitality industry

This mirrors a change happening in the flex-office world, where companies looking to reduce their financial obligations have moved away from leasing space from a landlord to entering a revenue-sharing partnership. While this can mean the company takes in less profit when spaces are full, it also protects them if profits dip.

On the call last Monday, Taggar explained that the company has applied for a PPP loan to deal with the short-term cash crunch, which the firm has confirmed it had been approved for. 

On the call, Taggar said that the company had plans to fundraise in the second quarter of this year. A spokesperson for Zeus confirmed that the company is still fundraising. Taggar also said on the call that 52 of the 390 landlords that work with the company have agreed to sign the revenue-share agreement. A spokesperson for the company said that the company has 404 single-family owners, and that nearly two-thirds of owners have decided to continue working with Zeus so far. 

"The pandemic was a hard blow to our business and meant we had to adapt quickly," Taggar said in a statement to Business Insider.

"But Zeus has always been nimble and I'm proud of how quickly the team shifted gears to attract new types of residents such as displaced students, healthcare professionals, government employees, grounded tech workers, and early responders. Since March there has been positive traction across marketing campaigns, we're booking more six and twelve-month leases, many residents are extending their stays, and we are beginning to see bookings pick up significantly."

While the pandemic accelerated the adoption of revenue share contracts, the move was in the works before the pandemic. The company signed its first revenue-share agreement in Washington, DC earlier this year.

Short-term apartment rental companies have been hit hard by coronavirus, as many of them continue to carry lease obligations while business and leisure travel has slowed to a halt, stifling almost all demand for their inventory.

Lyric, another hospitality company that has raised money from Airbnb, cut 20% of its staff in March, according to a report from The Real Deal. Sonder, a venture-backed hospitality and rental company, laid off or furloughed more than 400 people or one third of their staff in March as well, The Information reported. Even Airbnb, on the eve of its likely IPO this year, has had to raise a $1 billion in cash to keep its operation running.

Original author: Alex Nicoll

Amazon is challenging the Pentagon's decision to award a $10 billion cloud computing contract, based on alleged political interference from President Donald Trump.The Pentagon inspector dealt a blow to that claim by clearing the decision, despite saying it couldn't fully investigate Trump's role because the White House barred key witnesses from cooperating.The inspector general also found Pentagon officials made ethical violations during the process, including one official who participated while negotiating a job with Amazon, and another who failed to disclose ownership of as much as $50,000 in Microsoft stock."I can't think of another procurement ever where the nonstop litany of inappropriate ethical behavior and conflicts of interest produced such a steady drumbeat," George Washington University professor and procurement law expert Steven Schooner told Business Insider.Despite all of this, experts say the case likely rests on an error the Department of Defense made during the bidding process that was unearthed in the dispute — and whether there are others like it. Click here to read more BI Prime stories.

The months-long dispute between Amazon, Microsoft, and the Department of Defense over a $10 billion cloud computing contract is at a standstill, as the Pentagon reconsiders aspects of its decision to award the deal to Microsoft.

The Department of Defense last year chose Microsoft for its Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) deal, a massive cloud project that will store and manage sensitive military and defense data — considered by many as an upset for Amazon's market-leading cloud business Amazon Web Services.

Amazon, a regular target of President Donald Trump, challenged the decision in federal court on the basis that its technology is so superior to Microsoft's that the process had to have been affected by political interference. Trump reportedly wanted to "scuttle" the bidding process for JEDI for fear that Amazon Web Services might win.

Microsoft disagrees with Amazon's allegations, saying that its rival is seeking a "do-over" after losing the deal fair and square. Meanwhile, the lawsuit is on hold while the Pentagon reevaluates its decision and is scheduled to resume later this summer.

The Pentagon's inspector general dealt a blow to Amazon's claims when it recently cleared the JEDI decision, despite saying it couldn't fully investigate Trump's role because the White House barred key witnesses from cooperating. The report cited ethical violations on behalf of Pentagon officials.

While the Pentagon found those violations did not impact the contract decision, Steven Schooner — a George Washington University professor who is considered a top expert in government procurement law — told Business Insider that, to his mind, the JEDI deal process holds a rather dubious distinction.

"I can't think of another procurement ever where the nonstop litany of inappropriate ethical behavior and conflicts of interest produced such a steady drumbeat," Schooner told Business Insider.

Now that the Pentagon has cleared the decision, experts say if Amazon has any shot at the contract, it lies with whether a seemingly small error by the Department of Defense is indicative of a flawed procurement process – and how eager the Pentagon is to get to work on the contract.

'Nonstop litany of inappropriate ethical behavior and conflicts of interest'

In its challenge to the Pentagon's decision, Amazon blamed President Donald Trump's "repeated public and behind-the-scenes attacks" and alleged Trump influenced the Pentagon's decision in order to serve "his own personal and political ends" and harm Bezos, "his perceived political enemy."

In one allegation, a former Defense Secretary James Mattis staff member wrote a book in which he said Trump ordered Mattis to "screw Amazon" out of the contract in the summer of 2018.

Asked whether Trump told him he didn't want Amazon to get the contract, Mattis told the Pentagon inspector general: "I don't recall that. It could have happened but I just don't recall those words. Again, I knew his dissatisfaction with Amazon. I mean I knew that loud and clear."

The Pentagon inspector general investigated, and released the results in a recent report, clearing the Defense Department's decision to give the award to Microsoft. 

Amazon, which declined an interview for this story, blasted the conclusion, calling it "yet another blatant attempt to avoid a meaningful and transparent review of the JEDI contract award," in a recent statement to Business Insider.

The inspector general did, however, find Pentagon officials made ethical violations, but in the end the office decided they did not influence the outcome of the contract.

The investigation concluded Pentagon official Deap Ubhi was negotiating a job with Amazon while working on the JEDI contract. He failed to disclose the employment negotiations to department officials, according to the report, and "lied three times to Amazon and DoD officials about his negotiations with Amazon for employment." The inspector general concluded Ubhi's involvement was early and brief and did not impact the outcome of the process.

The report also finds that another Pentagon official, Stacy Cummings, failed to disclose she owned as much as $50,000 worth of Microsoft stock when she participated in meetings and made recommendations related to the contract, but the Pentagon inspector general concluded the conflict did not impact the award decision.

'The wildcard'

While the Pentagon inspector general's findings dealt a blow to Amazon's claims of political interference, Amazon likely took some comfort in the fact that a federal judge ruled that its lawyers will likely be able to prove the Department of Defense made an error in evaluating an aspect of Microsoft's proposal — and that the error affected the outcome.

When the Department of Defense solicited bidders for JEDI, a requirement for one aspect of the proposal was for online storage to be "highly accessible." Amazon alleges Microsoft's proposal did not meet that requirement.

That might seem like a small thing, but Amazon alleges it should have been enough to eliminate Microsoft from the competition. The judge said Amazon is likely to be able to prove the DoD improperly evaluated Microsoft's proposal, and that Amazon's "chance of securing the award was not insubstantial absent the error."

The error is what drove the Pentagon to request a remand of the case, which a federal judge this month granted, pausing the dispute for 120 days until August. Amazon opposed the remand, arguing the Pentagon intends only to give Microsoft a do-over.

Microsoft, which declined an interview for this story, has said the judge focused on one small aspect of the JEDI contract, and said Microsoft the Department of Defense carefully evaluated the proposal based on many factors and selected Microsoft's as "significantly superior."

Schooner, the government procurement expert, said those kinds of errors are relatively common and unlikely related to any allegations of political interference. Amazon's case in some respects now lies whether this apparent error is just one example of flaws in the procurement process.

"The biggest wildcard in all of this is we don't know," he said. "Amazon's fear is that it's just the one thing, because if it's the one thing, the DoD could be capable of getting around that."

The clock is ticking

Putting pressure on all of this is the judge's decision to delay the start of the contract until the legal dispute is resolved. Dan Ives, a Wedbush Securities analyst and close watcher of the JEDI dispute, said that could force the Pentagon's hand.

The Pentagon has spent years on the procurement process to find a cloud vendor, and the contract is for 10 years. 

"It's a quagmire for the DoD because it's such an important initiative," Ives told Business Insider. "Ultimately, the DoD potentially could be forced in terms of just wanting to get this thing rolling or just continuing to battle Amazon in the courts."

Are you an Amazon Web Services or Microsoft employee? Contact this reporter via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., message her on Twitter @ashannstew, or send her a secure message through Signal at 425-344-8242.

Original author: Ashley Stewart

Cloud software companies like Salesforce or Okta, rely on a subscription business model, one that typically bills per user/per month, an approach that's become the envy of the tech industry because it creates a steady flow of revenue.Cloud software companies have even been considered to be all but immune to economic downturns because their customers rely on software to run their businesses.But the COVID-19 pandemic is different. Customers in hammered industries simply can't pay their bills. Others have been forced to reduce their IT budgets and want to pay less for their cloud software, analysts say.Customers are going to their cloud software vendors asking for new payment terms.This could forever alter the once ultra-stable subscription business model, predicts Gavin Baker, founder of the hedge fund Atreides Management.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

"Spoke to the CEO of a large private software company. The CFO of one of the largest airlines called him to ask for extended payment terms on a $250k bill. 250k," tweeted Gavin Baker, founder of the hedge fund Atreides Management, who is also well-known for his time managing Fidelity's OTC fund.

Baker explained to Business Insider that the situation shocked him because that airline has a multi-billion dollar IT budget. If the CFO was renegotiating this relatively small $250,000 bill, many other software vendors must be fielding similar calls from their customers big and small, thanks to the economic crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I would suspect that every software vendor in the world who services anyone in the travel industry or the leisure industry is getting calls like that," he said.

The pandemic has hammered industries including travel, hospitality, restaurants, sports and other events, gambling, as well as the suppliers that support them, including oil companies. All of those companies spend a lot on cloud software from vendors like Salesforce, Okta, ServiceNow, Workday, Zendesk and startups, powering their customer management systems, loyalty programs, and accounting.

The problem is that amid the uncertainty caused by the pandemic, many of those companies can't — or simply won't — pay those cloud bills. Until the economy is back up to speed and their revenue returns, they're looking for ways to cut expenses and stretch their cash. Some of those companies won't make it, and will close their doors for good. 

"One thing we can all agree on is, if a business goes away, it's not going to pay its software bills," Baker said. 

But it's not just the companies in danger of going under that are rethinking their software bills — it's every company, he contends, and it's the top issue on the software industry's collective mind. 

The situation inspired Baker to pen an essay which argued that for the first time since the beginning of the cloud revolution, many cloud software companies, also known as software-as-a-service (SaaS) vendors, may not be getting paid by a lot of customers, whether or not they're under a contract. 

"Software payment terms will change significantly as a result of this recession. I suspect that fewer customers will pay cash up front and that we will see payment terms lengthen significantly," he argued in his essay. 

IT departments are desperately trying to trim costs because many of them are dealing with shrinking budgets and mandates to conserve cash. Some surveys estimate that IT budgets will decline by 5% this year, SiliconAngle reports. And with purse strings suddenly tighter, customers need ways to cut expenses. For the first time, they are looking at software vendors for that help.

That's why Baker received an outpouring of response from his tweet and article, he told Business Insider, including the story of how one IT pro, after reading, called his vendors and told Baker that an hour's worth of phone calls helped him reduce his bills by 30%. 

A first for most cloud software vendors

Historically, SaaS vendors were typically the first to get paid, even in a slowdown, because a company can't run its business without its software tools. That's why cloud software companies are traditionally considered to be all but immune to economic downturns.

This has allowed SaaS vendors to have a different and far less flexible business model than infrastructure cloud platforms like Amazon Web Services or Google Cloud.

Gavin Baker, CIO and founder Atreides Management Gavin Baker Infrastructure cloud companies tend to bill like a utility company — customers receive a monthly bill for how much they actually used their cloud services.

By contrast, software-as-a-service companies tend to bill on a subscription basis, typically charging per user, per month. Smaller organizations often have the flexibility to pay month-to-month, while larger companies sign annual or multi-year contracts with their cloud software vendors.

This subscription billing model makes SaaS a fixed monthly cost, which doesn't expand or contract with usage. And that's "less customer-friendly from a cashflow perspective" compared to the Amazon clouds of the world, Baker says.

Baker argues that this economic crisis will be the tipping point, forcing vendors to modify their contracts if they want to keep any customers at all. "Software contracts will be adjusted to reflect lower utilization rates and fewer seats," he says.

From bravado to warnings

Baker isn't the only one noticing that SaaS vendors are not being paid in full by all their clients anymore.

Wall Street equity analysts have also been warning their clients that change is coming to the cloud software world.

"Our survey work, channel conversations and macro data all point to a very difficult software spending period over the next several months," Morgan Stanley analyst Keith Weiss wrote in an April research note on the software industry entitled "Looking through the Valley of Darkness."

Weiss writes that the talk consuming the software industry these days is "companies asking for pricing concessions, aggressively cutting user bases or not paying for subscriptions outright." He says the "durability" of the subscription model is being tested.

Pat Walravens at JMP Securities, another long-time software equities analyst, has a similar warning in his research note of April 20th.

While he's more upbeat that many SaaS companies are in a position of strength, he writes, "depressed billings are likely to persist for 4-5 quarters. We base this on what happened in the last recession, where it took 4-5 quarters for billings growth of the SaaS companies of that era."

He adds: "IT budgets, once reduced, are not likely to snap right back as enterprises may want to make sure they are in a better spot before loosening the pursestrings."

In fact, the top story on CIO Magazine last week was "6 tips for renegotiating service contracts" which was chock full of advice for tech executives who are facing cash shortages thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The vendors react

We are already seeing even the most stable SaaS vendors getting their wake-up calls from this changing dynamic. 

At first, the SaaS industry felt safe because of their recurring revenue model. The king of that world, Salesforce founder and CEO Marc Benioff, said in late February after reporting a solid earnings that coronavirus wouldn't likely have a major impact on Salesforce's business. He said then that "93% of our revenue is deferred, so that just gives us tremendous visibility into the future."

But just few days later as the economy began to shut down, its formal quarterly report to the SEC was littered with warnings about how its business could be impacted, including if its customers slashed their IT budgets.

Such examples are all over the SaaS industry. For instance, at its April investor conference, Okta's CFO, Bill Losch, said a similar thing: "Our highly recurring business model enables a high degree of predictability and allows us to maintain confidence in our revenue outlook for the first quarter and fiscal year 2021, which we are reaffirming. We do, however, expect some near-term billings headwinds as customers adjust to the current business environment. "

As Baker concludes, "At the end of the day, there is no such thing as truly recurring revenue."

Are you a software sales professional at Salesforce or another SaaS company with insight to share? Contact Julie Bort via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or on encrypted chat app Signal at (970) 430-6112 (no PR inquiries, please). Open DMs on Twitter @Julie188.  

Original author: Julie Bort

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Original author: Antonio Villas-Boas

The shelter-in-place order in the San Francisco Bay Area is being extended through May.The regionwide order, which was the first in the US, had already been extended once, from April 7 to May 3.Residents have been isolating inside their homes for weeks to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.But until factors including widespread testing and contact tracing are considered, reopening is unlikely.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The shelter-in-place order for the San Francisco Bay Area is being extended through May, past its previous deadline of May 3.

A joint press release issued on Monday by public-health officials across the Bay Area said the modifications to the order — to be officially made later this week — would include "limited easing of specific restrictions for a small number of lower-risk activities."

An expiration date wasn't announced, but the order will be enforced through May, the officials said.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed had said in a Friday news conference that an extension was likely.

"What that means is another few weeks or even a month of asking you all to comply and to remain at home and to continue to follow the social-distancing orders that we put forth," she said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The region, as well as the rest of the US, continues to fight the spread of the coronavirus, which causes a disease known as COVID-19. The regionwide order was the first in the country to be enforced, on March 17.

The order had already been extended once, to May 3 from April 7. Residents are directed to remain inside their homes as much as possible but can leave for essential activities like grocery shopping or going for a walk.

San Francisco now requires people to wear masks while in public, specifically when they're at essential businesses such as grocery stores or restaurants.

Another Bay Area county, Solano County, north of San Francisco, had already extended its shelter-in-place order through May 17.

For the most part, Bay Area counties have been following the same recommendations from public-health officials on how to modify the shelter-in-place orders for their locales.

As of Monday, there were 7,720 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Bay Area. In San Francisco County, there were 1,424 confirmed cases, with many coming from nursing homes and homeless shelters, including MSC South, San Francisco's largest shelter. The shelter experienced an outbreak in early April when 70 people tested positive for the disease.

A reopening plan detailed by Gov. Gavin Newsom said multiple factors — including widespread testing and contact tracing — would need to be considered before restrictions could be relaxed. Newsom issued a statewide stay-at-home order on March 19.

San Francisco's public-health director, Dr. Grant Colfax, said on Friday that while the "curve is flat" in the city, that doesn't mean life can return to normal just yet.

That reality is especially stark for people who have been grappling with the economic fallout of the pandemic. The mayor said on Friday that her office expected the city's unemployment tally to soon reach 100,000, or about one in every nine residents, Curbed SF reported.

Original author: Katie Canales