Fri. 01/31 - Did Uber and DoorDash Almost Merge?

Amazon earnings, the new Apple Maps is rolling out in the US, Uber and DoorDash held merger talks at Softbank’s behest, who’s number two to TikTok in short form videos, and of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsor: Metalab.co Links: Amazon Revenue Jumps on Holiday Sales as Profit Rises (WSJ) Apple's redesigned Maps app is available across the US (TechCrunch) Uber and DoorDash held merger talks after SoftBank push (Financial Times) SoftBank Is Funding Every Side of a Bruising Startup Battle (WSJ) EU lawmakers snub Apple's pleas, overwhelmingly vote to push for charging cable standard (Apple Insider) How Dubsmash revived itself as #2 to TikTok (TechCrunch) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Every Company Will Be a Fintech Company (Angela Strange/A16Z) Don't Brush Off Mouth Tech As a Passing Fad (Wired) The iPad's original software designer and program lead look back on the device's first 10 years (InPut) Super Bowl 2020: The madness and magic behind the game’s first 4K HDR broadcast (Digital Trends) Researchers Are Racing to Make a Coronavirus Vaccine. Will It Help? (NYTimes) How Do Bats Live With So Many Viruses? (NYTimes) Facial Recognition- The controversial and nearly ever-present technology that could replace the fingerprint (California Sunday Magazine) CollegeHumor Helped Shape Online Comedy. What Went Wrong? (Wired)