*By Alisha Haridasani*
Regulating how tech companies use consumers' personal data could help them grow and innovate, said the billionaire tech investor Steve Ballmer.
“You actually do need regulators across the world to provide some framework,” said Ballmer, the former CEO of Microsoft, in an interview Tuesday with Cheddar's CEOJon Steinberg. “When you’re in a time of uncertainty, and you don’t know what the rules are, that’s when it’s toughest to innovate.”
Silicon Valley has been grappling with privacy concerns for years, said Ballmer. “It takes, sometimes, a crisis to get things to move,” he said, and Facebook may have provided that impetus.
Even before the social media company's CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in Congress last month about the Cambridge Analytica data privacy breach, analysts and lawmakers had been discussing possible regulation. Since Zuckerberg's two-day grilling on Capitol Hill, Facebook and its competitors have had to consider new rules governing data privacy ー voluntary or imposed.
“They’re going to have to work hard to manage, whether it’s partly their own initiative or some regulation,” said Ballmer. “I trust they’ll get through it, I have a lot of belief in the people who run that company.”
Ballmer succeeded Bill Gates as the chief executive of Microsoft in 2000 and served as CEO until 2014. During his tenure, Microsoft faced immense competition from Apple. Ballmer oversaw Microsoft's entry into cloud computing services with Azure, the Windows software redesign, and the launch of the XBox game console.
But, by the time Ballmer resigned, smartphones and tablets were eating into the personal computer business, and the company needed a radical turn around. He was succeeded by current CEO Satya Nadella, who has implemented [a cultural shift](https://cheddar.com/videos/microsoft-cmo-says-rivalry-with-apple-is-a-thing-of-the-past) at the company that is driving growth.
Ballmer, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of the NBA, also runs USAFacts, a company he founded to try to make government data more accessible.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/from-microsoft-to-basketball-steve-ballmer-on-creating-a-winning-team-with-la-clippers).
As Meta and Microsoft ramp up their AR and VR tech futures, analysts have been waiting on word from Apple, but the consumer tech giant is reportedly delaying such an announcement. Doug Astrop, a managing partner at Exponential Investment Partners, joined Cheddar to dive into the rumors about the possibilities of a foray into the metaverse by Tim Cook's megacorp sometime in 2022 or 2023. "We can't really predict with a great deal of certainty how it's going to play out, but I'm confident Apple's going to be a big player and do very well in any scenario that unfolds," said Astrop.
Makena Kelly, politics reporter at The Verge, joins Cheddar News to discuss what's next for net neutrality as Biden's other nominee for the FCC, Gigi Sohn, awaits votes from the committee and Senate.
Specializing in AI, robotics, and automation for the global supply chain, Symbotic announced last month it will be tapping the public markets in a SPAC deal with investment giant SoftBank. Symbotic CFO Tom Ernst and Vikas Parekh, a managing partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers spoke with Cheddar about going public and the future of modernizing logistics amid the constrained supply networks. "The supply chain is fundamentally broken," said Ernst. "By employing the best in modern technology for autonomous vehicles and artificial intelligence, we're able to fundamentally rethink the way in which you receive and store and sort goods, making for a dramatically more efficient supply chain."
Michael Hershfield, Founder & CEO of Accrue Savings, joined Wake Up With Cheddar to discuss the company's new round of funding, and its core mission of rewarding consumers for saving rather than taking on more debt with buy now, pay later options.
Markets opened higher on the first trading day of the new year as investors continue to watch inflation and the rapid spread of the omicron variant in the U.S. Frances Newton Stacy, Optimal Capital Dir. of Strategy/Market Analyst joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Markets opened higher as investors react to positive data on the labor front, with weekly jobless claims falling to 198,000 for the week ending December 25. Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the market open.
Sky Harbour, a company developing private aviation infrastructure, is gearing up to land on Wall Street. The company announced plans to go public through a SPAC deal with Yellowstone Acquisition Company, valuing the combined venture at $777 million. The company will trade on the New York Stock Exchange as $SKYH.
Dish Network is reportedly in discussions to merge with DirecTV. According to the NY Post, the two sides are currently 'trying to iron out the details.' The competitors have had talks in the past -- over the course of the past 20 years, but those talks been halted by the DOJ over antitrust concerns. Lydia Moynihan, Business Reporter, NY Post joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
