Founder and CEO of US online social media and social networking service Facebook Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images/FILE)
Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have donated $25 million through their foundation to a philanthropic effort organized by Bill Gates to explore new coronavirus treatments.
The Gates Foundation donated $50 million last week to what it’s calling the “COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator.” The initiative brings together life sciences companies to collaborate on the development of new vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments for COVID-19.
“The Therapeutics Accelerator will enable researchers to quickly determine whether or not existing drugs have a potential benefit against COVID-19,” Chan and Zuckerberg said in a press release. “We hope these coordinated efforts will help stop the spread of COVID-19 as well as provide shared, reusable strategies to respond to future pandemics.”
The two donations are the largest from tech billionaires since the coronavirus outbreak. Wellcome and Mastercard are supporting the effort as well.
The goal of the initiative is to either develop a new drug or adapt an existing treatment that it could help distribute alongside partnering pharmaceutical companies.
The 15 companies participating in the project kicked off the effort by sharing their proprietary libraries of molecular compounds that have some history of being tested with COVID-19.
The lineup includes big names in biotech such as Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Pfizer, Sanofi, and Bristol-Myers Squibb.
New laws under consideration in Europe, Asia, and the U.S. could put some sharp limitations on Big Tech. Some of the limits would include how these companies can treat smaller competitors and even restrict their use of artificial intelligence, things like facial recognition. Co-founder and Executive Director at Accountable Tech, Nicole Gill, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
A new report out on Linkedin says that Crypto-related job postings in the US surged to 395% between 2020 and 2021. Job titles which included titles containing "Bitcoin", "Ethereum", "Blockchain", and cryptocurrency, all outpaced jobs in the wider tech industry which saw a 98% increase in listings during the same time period. LinkedIn also notes that the most common crypto job postings were blockchain developers and engineers. CEO of Radkl, Ryan Sheftel, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Garrett Nelson, Senior Analyst and VP of Equity Research at CFRA Research, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he breaks down where automakers like Ford, Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid currently stand at the start of 2022 and what we should expect to transpire in the upcoming year.
Fintech startup Milo has launched what it says to be the world's first crypto mortgage. As part of the offering, clients will be able to use Bitcoin as collateral to purchase property and qualify for a 30-year loan. Josip Rupena, CEO and Founder of Milo, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains how this offering is a winning solution for crypto investors who want to invest in real estate.
Software company BigPanda recently raised $190 million in Series D funding, led by Advent International and Insight Partners. The funding round gives the company unicorn status with a $1.2 billion valuation. BigPanda develops A.I. software that detects and analyzes problems in I.T. systems. The company says it aims to be the solution for other companies that do not have enough manpower to manage their data, as more and more industries continue to build a broader digital presence. BigPanda co-founder and CEO Assaf Resnick joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
AT&T and Verizon have agreed to delay activating their 5G services around airports due to safety concerns. This comes after major U.S. airlines voiced their concern over the rollout of 5G technology, warning of an impending "catastrophic" aviation crisis. Hugh Odom, founder and president of Vertical Consultants, telecom expert, and former AT&T attorney, joined Cheddar Movers to discuss.
Tech giants Meta, Amazon, Alphabet, and Apple are faced with a bipartisan antitrust legislation effort underway in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The companies stand accused of promoting their own goods and services over smaller competitors on their platforms, holding too much monopolistic power via their app stores and services. Adam Kovacevich, founder and CEO of Chamber of Progress, a technology industry trade group, joined Cheddar to argue that the bills that are being debated currently could end up hurting consumers, rather than helping.
A saving grace for offices during pandemic lockdowns, video communication platform Zoom announced its own plans for doors to reopen from its Work Transformation Summit 2022. Dubbed Workstyles, CFO Kelly Steckelberg joined Cheddar to discuss the self-reported, tiered levels for how employees will be reporting going forward, from the majority of workers going hybrid to personnel who will work fully from home or the office where it makes sense. Steckelberg also talked about the company's plans for the future, stating “what we can control is our own execution," as Zoom's stock hit a 52-week low.
Sebastien Lagree, creator and founder of Lagree Fitness, joins Cheddar News to talk about the growth of Lagree Fitness and industry trends to watch in 2022.
