Microsoft is selling part of its business to Uber in a deal which will see the multinational software company stop collecting its own mapping data, according to Re/code.
Uber will take on 100 Microsoft employees as part of the agreement, and Microsoft will continue to operate Bing Maps but through data licenced from its partners.
“Over the past year, we have taken many actions to focus the company’s efforts around our core business strategy,” Microsoft told Re/code.
“In keeping with these efforts, we will no longer collect mapping imagery ourselves, and instead will continue to partner with premium content and imagery providers for underlying data while concentrating our resources on the core user experience. With this decision, we will transfer many of our imagery acquisition operations to Uber.”
Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella announced a major organisational shakeup earlier this month, with most of the company’s senior executives departing.
Uber executives arrested in France
Uber’s French executives have been arrested for running an illegal taxi company, according to TechCrunch.
The arrests follow violent protests in the country led by cab drivers who are angry about Uber snapping up their customers and continuing to operate without the same accreditation.
“Talks are in progress,” an Uber spokesperson in France told TechCrunch.
“In the meantime, we keep working in order to make sure that both our customers and drivers are safe following last week’s turmoils.”
Facebook will open a new office in Johannesburg, the company’s first African office.
The office will serve as a sales hub in order to generate more ad revenue, according to Re/code.
The move is seen as a strategic one as Facebook has been working on lightweight versions of its mobile apps for some time.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 350.33 points, falling 1.95% overnight to 17,596.35. The Aussie dollar is currently trading at around 76.79 US cents.
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