• Both the original Nintendo Switch and the Switch Lite have been hard to find online as they continue to explode in popularity, but we've been keeping an eye on the best deals for Switch consoles, games, and accessories.
• We'll update this list regularly with the top Nintendo Switch deals as new discounts are announced.
• Right now, "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition" is on sale for $39.99, which is $20 off its regular price.
• Target is also offering a special buy two, get one free promotion on a large assortment of Switch games.

The Nintendo Switch has been the best-selling video game console on the planet since its release in March 2017, and it's become one of the hottest products of 2020 as people look for ways to entertain themselves during the coronavirus pandemic.

Nintendo Switch sales doubled in March 2020 compared to March 2019, and even surpassed the number of consoles sold during the Switch's first month in March 2017, according to data from the NPD Group. 

Nintendo's $300 hybrid console offers many of the most popular games on the market in a portable package, with the option to connect the Switch to a larger television or home entertainment system. The $200 Switch Lite is smaller and can't connect to your TV, but it's still a popular pick for parents who want an affordable alternative to the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, and gamers who want a second console.

Switch exclusive titles include iconic Nintendo franchises like "Super Mario," "Pokémon" and "The Legend of Zelda." The latest Nintendo exclusive, "Animal Crossing: New Horizons," was the best-selling game of March 2020 and is already the top selling game in the series.

Below, we've collected the best deals on Nintendo Switch consoles, exclusive games, and accessories. These discounts should all come in handy whether you're looking to buy a Switch for the first time, building your library of games, or trying to find the cheapest price on a Switch peripheral.

Here are the best Nintendo Switch deals for June 2020:

• "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition" $39.99 (originally 59.99) at Best Buy [You save $20]
• Buy two, get one free deal on select Nintendo Switch games at Target
• Geek Squad Refurbished Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, $62.99 ($69.99 new) at Best Buy [You save $7 buying refurbished]
• 256GB MicroSD Memory Card, $59.99 (originally $99.99) at Best Buy [You save $40]

Prices and links are current as of 06/17/2020. Added new Nintendo Switch purchase options, and new deals for Switch games, including Target's buy two, get one free promotion. Removed deals that are no longer active. Updated by Kevin Webb.

Best deals on Nintendo Switch and Switch Lite consoles

The Nintendo Switch can be connected to a TV for high-definition gameplay, or taken on-the-go as a portable console. Furthermore, the Switch's controls can be separated from the console and used as two separate controllers called Joy-Cons. Unfortunately, stock for the standard Switch remains low at many retailers. With that in mind, some of the below products might not currently be available for shipment. We'll update this section with more Switch purchase options and deals as stores start adding more inventory.

Meanwhile, the Nintendo Switch Lite is a handheld-only version of the console that lacks the original Switch's removable controllers and ability to connect to a larger television. The Switch Lite appeals to gamers who may already own a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One and want to play games with a similar level of quality while they're traveling. Parents may also be more willing to invest in a handheld console at a lower price point when introducing their children to gaming.

The Nintendo Switch Lite comes in four colors (coral, turquoise, grey and yellow). There haven't been many deals that drop the Switch Lite's price below its standard retail price of $199.99, but a refurbished model is currently available for a $5 discount at Best Buy.

• Nintendo Switch 32GB Grey/Neon Console, $299.99 at Best Buy
• Geek Squad Refurbished Nintendo Switch Lite (Turquoise), $194.99 ($199.99 new) at Best Buy [You save $5 buying refurbished]
• Nintendo Switch Lite (Turquoise), $199.99 at Best Buy
• Nintendo Switch Lite (Gray), $199.99 at Best Buy
• Nintendo Switch Lite (Turquoise), $199.99 at GameStop
• Nintendo Switch Lite (Gray), $199.99 at GameStop

Best deals on Nintendo Switch games

Though the Nintendo Switch has only been around for three years, there are already more than 2,300 games available for the console. Deals on Nintendo franchises, like "Super Mario," "Pokémon" and "The Legend of Zelda," are relatively rare, but "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" is actually on sale for about $5 off its regular price right now through Target.

Target is currently offering a special buy two, get one free promotion on select Nintendo Switch games as well. Qualifying games include "Dark Souls," "Overwatch," "Donkey Country: Tropical Freeze," and more.

You can also find plenty of other fun Switch games on sale at popular retailers or from the Nintendo eShop, the console's home for digital releases.

• Buy 2, get 1 free deal on select Nintendo Switch games at Target
• "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition" $39.99 (originally 59.99) at Best Buy [You save $20]
• "Mario Plus Rabbids Kingdom Battle" $19.99 (originally $59.99) at GameStop [You save $40]
• "Daemon x Machina" $39.99 (originally $59.99) at Best Buy [You save $20]
• "Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age" $29.99 (originally $39.99) at Best Buy [You save $10]
• "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" $54.99 (originally 59.99) at Target [You save $5]

Best deals on Nintendo Switch controllers

Though the Switch's Joy-Cons give players access to two controllers at all times, some gamers prefer the Nintendo Switch Pro controller, which more closely resembles a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One controller.

Nintendo also sells spare Joy-Cons with multiple color options for Switch owners who want to add some additional flair and an extra set of motion controllers for multiplayer games. However, Joy-Cons have been out of stock at most major retailers amid the coronavirus pandemic, with online stores charging prices well above their normal price of $79.99.

Though there are no current discounts available on brand-new Nintendo first-party controllers, Best Buy is selling refurbished Pro Controllers for $62.99. Joy-Cons are also in stock right now for their regular price at GameStop. 

• Geek Squad Refurbished Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, $62.99 ($69.99 new) at Best Buy [You save $7 buying refurbished]
• PowerA Wireless GameCube Style Controller (Purple), $36.99 (originally $49.99) at Amazon [You save $13]
• Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons (Neon Red/Blue), $79.99 at GameStop

Best deals on on Nintendo Switch accessories

As a portable console with replaceable controllers, the Switch has no shortage of accessories. The most important addition you can make is a MicroSD card, which can expand the Switch's initial 32GB of storage to more than 250GB for about the same price as a new game.

If you plan on taking your Switch on the go, it's probably a good idea to pick up a basic case with space for extra game cartridges too. The Switch is fairly durable so you don't need to spend a ton protecting it.

• 256GB MicroSD Memory Card, $59.99 (originally $99.99) at Best Buy [You save $40]
• Insignia Go Case for Nintendo Switch, $7.99 (originally $14.99) at Best Buy [You save $7]
• HORI Nintendo Switch Multiport USB Playstand, $33.03 (originally $39.99) at Amazon [You save $6.96]

• This is a preview of the Business Insider Intelligence Internet of Medical Things premium research report. Purchase this report here.
• Business Insider Intelligence offers even more technology coverage with our Connectivity & Tech Briefing. Subscribe today to receive industry-changing connectivity news and analysis to your inbox.

Healthcare providers have been turning to the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) to facilitate their digital transformation since before the coronavirus hit the US — but the pandemic has caused a sea change in providers' willingness to implement IoT solutions that augment efforts in preparing for, containing, and diagnosing the virus. 

As the backbone that powers the IoMT, connectivity and technology providers have a mounting opportunity to capture a larger slice of the market as it evolves alongside the coronavirus pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, healthcare providers were forecast to adopt IoT devices at one of the fastest rates of any industry segment, with the installed base of IoT endpoints expected to grow 29% year-over-year in 2020.

And pre-pandemic, healthcare was among the top three industries expected to see the fastest growth rates (15.4%) in IoT investment in terms of spending over the 2017-2022 forecast period. But the coronavirus is fundamentally changing how healthcare can be accessed and delivered in the US, and we expect to see even faster growth throughout 2020 — and that this upward momentum will outlast the pandemic.

In TheInternet of Medical Things, Business Insider Intelligence assesses the North American IoMT market and explores how the IoMT opportunity for connectivity providers is evolving alongside the coronavirus pandemic, and how these players are carving out their place in the growing segment. We first unpack the opportunities for connectivity and technology providers in the IoMT market and outline how the coronavirus pandemic will impact demand for various IoT solutions in healthcare. We then detail how emerging techonlogies are propelling the healthcare IoT space forward. Finally, we explore how connectivity and technology players can expand within the IoMT ecosystem.

The companies mentioned in this report include: AT&T, Augmedics, AVIA, Choice IoT, DarioHealth, Eko, GE Healthcare, Intel, Medtronic, Packet, Phillips, PlushCare, PTC, Smardii, Sprint, Telit, Vuzix, XENEX, Zebra. 

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report: 

• Healthcare providers are prioritizing IoT investment in solutions that enhance virtual care delivery, augment emergency services and triage, and automate or streamline tasks. 
• The IoMT opportunities for connectivity and technology providers will only be amplified as the IoT intersects with other emerging technologies. 
• We interviewed executive decision-makers in the connectivity and technology space to gather their insights on how they determine which IoMT opportunities to prioritize, the best go-to-market strategy for these new opportunities, and what goes into the decision process when selecting a partner to expand within the IoMT. 
• The report also highlights the opinions of executive decision-makers in the connectivity and technology space on topics that include: telemedicine, preventative care, administrative operations, 5G, edge computing, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality. 

In full, the report: 

• Sizes the North American IoMT market through 2022 and explains how it compares with pre-coronavirus estimates. 
• Identifies the three biggest IoMT opportunities for connectivity and technology providers based on conversations with companies entrenched in the IoMT ecosystem, and on our analysis of their impact, scalability, early evidence of value creation, and increased utility amid the coronavirus pandemic.
• Provides recommendations for connectivity and technology providers on how to carve out and expand their footprint in ways that unlock the most value. 

Interested in getting the full report? Here's how to get access:

1. Business Insider Intelligence analyzes the tech industry and provides in-depth analyst reports, proprietary forecasts, customizable charts, and more. >> Check if your company has BII Enterprise membership access to the full report
2. Sign up for the  Connectivity & Tech Briefing, Business Insider Intelligence's expert email newsletter keeping you up-to-date on the people, technologies, trends, and companies shaping the future of healthcare, delivered to your inbox 6x a week. >>Get Started
3. Purchase & download the full report from our research store. >> Purchase & Download Now

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• The Xbox One X is still the most powerful video game console on the market, and Microsoft has confirmed that Xbox One games will be playable on its upcoming Xbox Series X as well.
• Low cost subscription services, like Xbox Live and Xbox Game Pass, also bring tons of value and affordable games to the Xbox One.
• Below, we've compiled the best deals on Xbox consoles, games, accessories, and subscriptions.
• Right now, "Gears 5" is on sale for just $9.99 — that's $50 off its regular price.
• Target is also offering a special buy two, get one free promotion on select Xbox One games.

Microsoft debuted its first Xbox console less than 20 years ago, but the brand has blossomed into one of the titans of the video game industry. It's current flagship console, the Xbox One, has shipped more than 50 million units worldwide and dedicated fans are eagerly awaiting the launch of the next Xbox console, the Xbox Series X, later this fall.

For now, the Xbox One X is the most powerful video game console on the market, out performing the PlayStation 4 Pro and Nintendo Switch. The Xbox One S is a strong console as well, boasting 4K resolution playback, HDR support, and a host of media center features that make it an ideal centerpiece for your home entertainment setup.

Microsoft has worked to create a robust ecosystem for Xbox fans, which will include letting them play Xbox One games on the upcoming Series X. Services, like Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass, also bring extra value to the console, offering thousands of games to players for a low price.

We've collected the best deals on Xbox One consoles, games, subscriptions, and accessories below. These should come in handy whether you're an Xbox veteran looking forward to the Series X, or looking to pick up your very first video game console.

Here are the best Xbox One deals for June 2020:

• "Gears 5," $9.99 (originally $59.99) at Best Buy [You save $50]
• Buy two, get one free deal on select Xbox One games at Target
• Pre-owned Xbox One Wireless Controller, $44.99 ($59.99 new) at GameStop [You save $15 buying pre-owned]
• Three Month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership, $24.99 (originally $$44.99) at Best Buy [You save $20]

Prices and links are current as of 06/17/2020. Added new Xbox One video game and subscription deals. Removed deals that are no longer active. Updated by Kevin Webb.

Best Xbox One console deals

Due to high demand, stock for all Xbox One consoles remains low at many retailers, especially for the Xbox One X. With that in mind, the below products might not currently be available for shipment. We'll update this section with more retailer options and discounts as stores add more inventory. 

• Refurbished Xbox One S, $229.99 ($279.99 new) at GameStop [You save $50 buying refurbished]
• Refurbished Xbox One (500GB original model), $179.99 at GameStop
• Xbox One S Bundle with free copy of "Gears 5" or "Forza Horizon 4," $299.00 from Microsoft
• Xbox One X Bundle with free copy of "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order," $299.00 (originally $399.00) from Microsoft [You save $100]

Best deals on Xbox One games

There are thousands of games available for Xbox One, so we've chosen to focus on just a few of the console's most popular titles. Digital games are available through the Microsoft Store, which offers sales on a regular basis.

Right now, Target is offering a special buy two, get one free promotion on select Xbox One games. Qualifying titles include "Grand Theft Auto V," "Minecraft," "Halo 5," and more.

• • Buy two, get one free deal on select Xbox One games at Target
  • "Gears 5," $9.99 (originally $59.99) at Best Buy [You save $50]
  • "Borderlands 3," $12.99 (originally $39.99) at Best Buy [You save $27]
  • "Forza Horizon 4 [Digital]" $24.99 (originally $59.99) from Best Buy [You save $35]
  • "Ori and the Will of the Wisps," $19.99 (originally $29.99) from Best Buy [You save $10]
  • "Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice," $9.99 (originally $29.99) from Best Buy [You save $20]

Best Xbox One controller deals

The Xbox One controller has become the standard for PC gaming thanks to its compatibility with Windows and countless indie games. Newer versions of the Xbox One controller make it easy to connect to your computer or phone with Bluetooth too. While most controllers use rechargeable batteries, the Xbox One controller still relies on AA batteries.

Microsoft also makes a premium Xbox One gamepad, the $180 Xbox Elite controller. The Elite series offers some notable improvements, like a rechargeable battery with 40 hours of playtime, four rear paddle bu tons for extra control, customizable thumbsticks, and a rubber grip.

There are no discounts currently available on brand-new Xbox controllers, but you can save $15 if you buy a pre-owned controller from GameStop.

• Xbox One Wireless Controller, $59.99 at Target
• Pre-owned Xbox One Wireless Controller, $44.99 ($59.99 new) at GameStop [You save $15 buying pre-owned]

Best Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass deals

Xbox Live Gold is a subscription service that's required for online play with nearly all Xbox One games. The subscription also offers free games each month that remain available as long as the Xbox Live Gold subscription is active.

If you're already an Xbox Live Gold subscriber, buying a discounted membership will add time to the length of your current subscription.

Meanwhile, Xbox Game Pass is a subscription gaming service that lets you download hundreds of games to your Xbox One or Windows PC. The service costs $5 a month on PC or $10 a month on Xbox One. New Game Pass subscribers will only pay $1 for their first month thanks to an ongoing promotion.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate includes an Xbox Live Gold subscription and will give you access to Game Pass on both PC and Xbox for a regular price of $15 per month. 

• Three Month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership, $24.99 (originally $$44.99) at Best Buy [You save $20]

• Apple's new 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air are both solid choices for Mac fans in need of a new laptop.
• But the MacBook Air is best for those who need a general purpose laptop: it's lighter and more affordable than the Pro, plus it runs on newer Intel processors at a noticeably cheaper price.
• The main reason to choose the MacBook Pro over the Air is if you need more processing power, memory, and storage than the average person.
• If you're a photo or video editor that needs more processing power and additional storage for high-resolution files, for example, the Pro might be a better fit.
• But, the quad-core configuration of the MacBook Air is more than enough for anyone in need of a laptop for writing papers, browsing the web, and handling other basic tasks.

If you're an Apple loyalist in the market for a new laptop, there's a good chance you're deciding between the new MacBook Air  and the refreshed 13-inch MacBook Pro.

And, there's good reason to do so: both laptops offer improved keyboards that are significantly more comfortable and quieter than their predecessors', more storage than before at the base level, and  faster processors.

Both are ideal options for those who prefer macOS over Windows and are in search of a machine that feels more manageable and portable than the 16-inch MacBook Pro. But, which laptop is best for you will largely depend on how you plan to use your computer.

MacBook Pro 13-inch 2020 vs. MacBook Air: Which is best?

If your primary use cases include browsing the web, managing email, watching Netflix, and doing some light productivity like word processing and spreadsheet management, then the MacBook Air is probably sufficient. But, if you're seeking a machine that can handle more complex tasks, like video editing and heavier multitasking, you'll want a powerful MacBook Pro configuration.

Both laptops also come with a caveat — you need to go beyond Apple's entry-level offerings to get the most out of either machine. The base MacBook Air starting at $999.00 comes with a dual-core Intel Core i3, which feels underpowered for the price. Meanwhile, the least expensive version of the 13-inch MacBook Pro runs on an older 8th generation processor from Intel — a puzzling choice considering 10th generation processors are generally considered to be the standard for 2020 laptops. 

The $1,099.00 configuration of the MacBook Air is probably the best choice for most people in need of a general purpose laptop. Compared to the MacBook Pro, it's lighter and more portable, runs on newer processors at the base level, and is much more affordable. The only reason to choose the Pro over the Air is if you feel that you need more processing power, memory, and storage than the average person. Here's a closer look at how the two compare.

Specifications

Design and feel

The most significant upgrade on both the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro is the addition of Apple's new Magic Keyboard, which the company introduced late last year on the 16-inch MacBook Pro. The Magic Keyboard replaces the Apple "Butterfly" keyboard after years of complaints over faulty keys from customers and critics alike.

Thankfully, Apple has finally axed its stiffer, flatter Butterfly keyboard in favor of the Magic Keyboard, which has deeper key travel for a more comfortable and satisfying typing experience. It's also much quieter than before, making it easier to work more discretely when in public places, like coffee shops.  

When it comes to design, the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air are both lightweight and compact. But, as its name implies, the Air wins when it comes to portability.

Weighing just 2.8 pounds, the MacBook Air is a bit lighter than the 3.1-pound 13-inch MacBook Pro, making it a more appealing option for those working on-the-go. The MacBook Air also features its familiar wedge-like profile, which is thickest near the hinge and thins out near the lip of the laptop's lid. The MacBook Pro, by comparison, has a uniform look that maintains the same thickness throughout. 

There's another physical feature that differentiates the MacBook Pro from the MacBook Air: the Touch Bar. Apple's Touch Bar is a thin touchscreen strip that sits above the keyboard, replacing the function key row.

In addition to housing basic keys for controlling the screen brightness, volume, and media playback, the Touch Bar also adapts depending on the application you're using. If you're browsing the web in Safari, for example, it'll display a preview of your currently open tabs, which you can flip between by scrubbing the Touch Bar.

The Touch Bar is a novel addition that makes certain tasks easier, but it shouldn't be a deal breaker when deciding which laptop to buy. I appreciate it when it's there, but don't find myself missing it when switching to the MacBook Air.

Both the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air are nearly identical when it comes to display quality: the two laptops each have a 13.3-inch Retina display with a 2,560 x 1,600-pixel resolution and Apple's True Tone technology, which adjusts the display's color temperature depending on the nearby lighting.

The MacBook Pro's display is slightly brighter and supports the wider P3 color gamut unlike the Air, which instead offers full standard color. That means the Pro is capable of displaying a wider spectrum of colors than the Air, but that will only probably matter if you're a professional photo or video editor.

Performance and features

If you're choosing between the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, answering the two following questions should help you make your decision: How much are you willing to spend, and how much power do you need? 

Starting at $999.00, the MacBook Air is $300 cheaper than the MacBook Pro, which begins at $1,299.00. But, you also don't get as much flexibility or performance from the Air. The entry-level Air comes with a 1.1GHz dual-core 10th generation Intel Core i3 processor, but you'll want to spend at least an extra $100 for an upgrade to the model with a quad-core processor.

Unlike the MacBook Pro, the MacBook Air also runs on Intel's Y-series processors, which are designed to enable thin and light designs without any fan-based cooling, like the Air, rather than prioritizing powerful performance.

The MacBook Pro, on the other hand, has more to offer when it comes to power and configuration options, but comes at a noticeably higher price. The entry-level MacBook Pro comes with a quad-core processor with a higher clock speed compared to the Air. 

The processors that power the Pro are also from Intel's U-series, which offer more power for productivity compared to the Y-series, and they require fan cooling.

If you're willing to spend, the MacBook Pro line also offers more storage, ports, and memory than the Air, with configuration options that go up to 32GB of memory, 4TB of storage, and four USB-C ports. The maxed-out version of the MacBook Air, comparatively, comes with 16GB of memory, 2TB of storage, and two USB-C ports.

The catch, however, is that the the cheaper MacBook Pro models run on older 8th generation Intel processors unlike the Air, which comes with 10th generation processors even at the base level. If you want the latest Intel processors in the MacBook Pro, you'll have to spend at least $1,799.00. 

Now that many people have been working from home since March,  you may be paying attention to webcam quality more than usual. There's no difference between the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air in this regard, both laptops come with 720p FaceTime camera.

You will, however, get a little more oomph from the MacBook Pro's speakers compared to the Air since its sound system offers high dynamic range unlike the Air's. 

The MacBook Air should offer slightly longer battery life than the Pro, since Apple claims that the Air lasts for 11 hours while the Pro should last for 10 hours. In my experience, however, I found that both laptops fall slightly below Apple's claims, with the Air lasting for about seven hours and the Pro lasting for roughly eight. It's important to remember, however, that battery life will always vary depending on the programs and applications you're using and your computer's settings. 

The bottom line

Overall, the MacBook Air's newer processors, lower price, and easier portability make it the best choice for most people in need of a general purpose computer. If you're a student that just needs a solid laptop for writing papers, or if you really just want a machine for browsing the Internet and light productivity, the Air is the laptop to get. 

But, you should go with the MacBook Pro if you need more performance and flexibility than the Air offers. If you're willing to spend the money, the MacBook Pro offers more options when it comes to ports and storage space, in addition to performance gains. Video editors that need to store many large video files, for example, may benefit from the additional storage options that the Pro line offers. 

Those more interested in the MacBook Air for should probably go with the $1,099.00 version, which comes with a quad-core 10th generation Intel Core i5 processor with 8GB of RAM. 

If you opt for the MacBook Pro, your best bet is probably to go for the pricier version starting at $1,799.00 that runs on Intel's 10th generation processor, provided you have the budget. Yes, it's expensive. But if you're purchasing a new laptop, you probably want it to last for at least five years. Investing in processor technology that's already a couple of years old may not be the best way to make sure you're getting the most out of your laptop in the long haul.

All told, the above configuration of the MacBook Air is probably the best choice for most people that just need a general purpose laptop, while the Pro is better suited for shoppers looking for a more powerful work machine.

SEE ALSO: Apple's newest iPad Pro has all of the makings of a great computer, but it's still not ready to replace my laptop

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why Pikes Peak is the most dangerous racetrack in America

• Google has vowed to improve its racial equity and inclusion by outlining several concrete changes, including new training for employees.
• CEO Sundar Pichai also promised to improve representation of underrepresented groups in the company's leadership by 30% by 2025.
• To help do this, the company will increase investments in office locations outside of Mountain View.
• Do you work at Google? You can contact this reporter securely using encrypted messaging app Signal (+1 628-228-1836) or encrypted email (hslangley@protonmail.com).
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Google has outlined a set of promises to improve the company's racial equity and inclusion, which will include training on racial consciousness for all employees and boosting diversity among leadership.

In a note sent to employees and published online, CEO Sundar Pichai put forward several changes that Google would make, including a new "multi-series training" for Googlers which will "explore systemic racism and racial consciousness." Google said it is piloting the program and will roll it out in full next year. 

NBC recently reported that Google had scaled back its racial and diversity training programs in the past few years, including a well-liked program called Sojourn. Google had explained that the program was too difficult to scale globally. 

Google has also promised to improve representation of underrepresented groups in the company's leadership by 30% by 2025. Google's recent diversity report showed that just 2.6% of the company's leadership were Black, the same figure it reported a year before.

To boost that percentage, Google said it will increase its investments in places such as Atlanta, Washington DC, Chicago, and London, where Google has offices.

Google also said it would do more "to address representation challenges and focus on hiring, retentions, and promotion at all levels" of the company.

To do this, Google said it is forming a task force that will include senior members of Google's Black+ community to "develop concrete recommendations and proposals for accountability across all of the areas that affect the Black+ Googler experience."

Pichai said Google also will focus on making improvements across Google's products "that help Black users in the moments that matter most."

Business Insider previously reported that Google had formed a central "Equity Project Management Office" to review employee suggestions for improving inclusion.

As Google returns to its offices, Pichai said that Google would put an end to its system of having employees badge-checking one another – a system Pichai described as "susceptible to bias." Instead, Google has developed new procedures to maintain campus security, but didn't elaborate on the specifics.

Finally, Google is rolling out a $175 million commitment to support Black business owners, founders, and job seekers. This will include $100 million in funding participation in Black-led capital firms startups and organizations supporting Black entrepreneurs.

Google's improvements to diversity in its workplace have been very incremental. According to the company's latest diversity report, Black employees comprised 3.7% of Google's workforce last year.

These latest pledges arrive as Silicon Valley is coming to terms with its long-standing systemic racial problems.

SEE ALSO: Here are the top 10 US colleges that tech giants such as Google, Apple, and Facebook hire from, according to new LinkedIn data

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why electric planes haven't taken off yet

• Twitter launched a new feature Wednesday that allows users to tweet out voice notes in place of traditional text posts.
• Voice tweets, which be up to 140 seconds of audio, are intended to create "a more human experience" to tweeting, the company says.
• Twitter says the feature will roll out to all users "in the coming weeks." Here's how to listen to voice tweets in your feed and create your own audio recordings.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Twitter has debuted a new way for users to post their thoughts and ideas to the platform beyond the traditional 140 characters.

Everyone on the platform will soon be able to send voice tweets, the company announced Wednesday. Users will have to option to share audio recordings of up to 140 seconds directly to their feed to accompany the text, photos, videos, and GIFs they already can share with their followers.

The new feature is designed to "add a more human touch" to using Twitter, the company said in a blog post.

"There's a lot that can be left unsaid or uninterpreted using text, so we hope voice Tweeting will create a more human experience for listeners and storytellers alike," Twitter staffers wrote in the blog post. " Whether it's #storytime about your encounter with wild geese in your neighborhood, a journalist sharing breaking news, or a first-hand account from a protest, we hope voice Tweeting gives you the ability to share your perspectives quickly and easily with your voice."

However, some users have already brought up concerns about how the voice text feature could be misused. Vice's Jason Koebler raised questions about how Twitter will moderate audio recordings, given that the platform is criticized as is for its inability to adequately monitor text-only posts. Women, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ community have detailed experiences over the years of putting up with abusive language, targeted harassment campaigns, and death threats.

It's also worth noting that it doesn't appear that voice tweets yet include an accessibility feature to allow for deaf and hard-of-hearing users to read what audio posts say through closed captioning. For tweets containing images and videos, Twitter lets users compose descriptions of visual content to make their posts accessible to those who are blind or have low vision.

The ability to create voice tweets is only available to a "limited group" of iOS users to start, but Twitter says the feature should roll out to everyone using the Twitter for iOS app "in the coming weeks."

Here's how to listen to voice tweets in your feed and compose your own audio recordings:

SEE ALSO: Ebay's ex-PR boss reportedly told former CEO Devin Wenig 'we are going to crush' the woman targeted in the bizarre pig fetus and porn harassment allegations

To listen to a voice tweet that appears in your feed, simply click on the audio to play. You'll see what audio is playing in a bar across the bottom of your app.

To create a voice tweet, create a post in the same way you would for text.

Then, find the audio option — the icon looks like a bunch of sound waves. If you don't see the icon, that means the voice tweet feature isn't yet available to you. Click this icon to start your recording.

Then, press record. You can tweet out up to 140 seconds worth of audio. If you record more than that, don't worry: A Twitter thread will automatically be created with all your snippets of audio. Then, send tweet.

• Apple's controversial policy of taking up to a 30% cut of App Store purchases is under scrutiny again.
• The developer of email app Hey accused the tech giant of strong-arming developers into using Apple's payment systems so it can take a 30% cut.
• Apple has been under scrutiny over concerns that its role as operator of the App Store and as a competitor with other apps gives it an unfair advantage.
• The episode has raised questions about Apple's guidelines, with some developers questioning why some apps are subject to this rule and others aren't.
• Are you an app developer with an insight on Apple's App Store policies to share? Contact Business Insider reporter Lisa Eadicicco via encrypted email (lisaeadicicco@protonmail.com), standard email (leadicicco@businessinsider.com), Signal (+1-551-333-9072) or Twitter DM (@lisaeadicicco). We can keep sources anonymous. Use a nonwork device to reach out.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Apple's longstanding policy of taking up to a 30% cut from App Store transactions is under fresh scrutiny, as an email app developer recently accused the tech giant of unfairly strong-arming it into using its in-app payments system. 

The conversation has prompted confusion among developers over the company's guidelines, with some on Twitter accusing Apple of not giving all apps the same treatment during the review process.

David Heinemeier Hansson, CTO and cofounder of Basecamp, recently called out Apple on Twitter after the second version of his company's paid email app, Hey, was rejected during the review process. Apple cited Section 3.1.1 of the App Store guidelines, which stipulate that app developers must use Apple's in-app payment system if they offer paid services. 

The notice caused confusion because Hey's creators thought it would be exempt from this rule. After all, the app is designed to access an existing service that its users already pay for, similar to the way apps like Netflix and Slack work, as Protocol reported. 

Apple's developer guidelines allow app creators to offer access to content and services they've previously paid for through iOS apps. So, those who have already signed up for an annual $99 subscription to Hey should be able to access the service through the app as expected.

But developers can't "directly or indirectly" discourage users from using Apple's in-app purchasing method, says Apple's guidelines. As such, Basecamp must also offer a way for new users to subscribe to Hey through the iOS app using Apple's in-app payment system.

The decision prompted a lot of confusion from developers and app creators in response to Heinemeier Hansson's tweets, with many wondering why some apps are required to offer in-app purchases and others aren't.

Apple says on its App Store principles and practices website that developers behind apps that fall into the "reader" category "receive all of the revenue they generate from bringing the customer to their app. Apple receives no commission from supporting, hosting, and distributing these apps."

These rules only apply to specific types of content, provided the developer doesn't try to steer users toward purchasing methods outside of the in-app purchasing system. The types of content covered by the "reader" app rule doesn't include email services, but it does apply to magazines, books, audio, music, video, professional databases, and approved services like classroom management apps.   

It's far from being the first time Apple's App Store policies and guidelines have caused unrest among developers. Spotify filed a complaint against Apple with the European Commission last year arguing that charging a fee on premium subscriptions while also offering its own music service made it more difficult for Spotify to compete with Apple Music. Rakuten has also filed a complaint against Apple on behalf of its e-reader business Kobo.

Apple has long maintained that it offers a level playing ground for all developers, despite the complaints. "And developers, from first-time engineers to larger companies, can rest assured that everyone is playing by the same set of rules," Apple wrote in its response to Spotify's complaint last year. Apple also said in an email to Business Insider that its policies on privacy, design, and business models apply to all app developers.

That hasn't stopped regulators from targeting Apple. The European Commission has launched two competition probes into Apple, one examining Apple Pay and another targeting Apple's App Store policies.

"It appears that Apple obtained a 'gatekeeper' role when it comes to the distribution of apps and content to users of Apple's popular devices," Margrethe Vestager, executive vice president of the European Commission, said in a statement announcing the investigation. "We need to ensure that Apple's rules do not distort competition in markets where Apple is competing with other app developers, for example with its music streaming service Apple Music or with Apple Books."

Are you an app developer with an insight on Apple's App Store policies to share? Contact Business Insider reporter Lisa Eadicicco via encrypted email (lisaeadicicco@protonmail.com), standard email (leadicicco@businessinsider.com), Signal (+15513339072) or Twitter DM (@lisaeadicicco). We can keep sources anonymous. Use a nonwork device to reach out.

SEE ALSO: 'Siri, I'm getting pulled over': A shortcut for iPhones can automatically record the police

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NOW WATCH: Tax Day is now July 15 — this is what it's like to do your own taxes for the very first time

• Kim Kardashian West and streaming service Spotify have struck a deal for a podcast that will feature the celebrity's work with the Innocence Project.
• The Innocence Project is a nonprofit legal organization that works to exonerate those who have been wrongly convicted.
• The deal is yet another move by Spotify to round out its offerings and venture into podcasting.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Celebrity and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian West and Spotify have struck a deal for a podcast featuring the celebrity's work with the Innocence Project, a legal nonprofit that seeks to exonerate those who have been wrongly convicted of crimes.

As first reported by The Wall Street Journal, Kardashian West will be a co-producer and co-host on the show, which will be available exclusively through the streaming service.

Spotify's deal with the reality TV star is one of its latest wins as the platform continues to round out its mostly music offerings with podcasts. Last month, comedian Joe Rogan signed a multi-year licensing deal with Spotify, giving the platform exclusive rights to host full episodes of his popular podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. And in February, Spotify acquired The Ringer, an outlet with nearly 40 podcast titles as Business Insider reported. Spotify has also shelled out $340 million to buy Gimlet Media and Anchor.

One of Kardashian West's first forays into criminal justice reform was with a trip to the White House in 2018, as Business Insider reported. She lobbied President Trump to grant clemency to Alice Johnson, a drug trafficker who was serving a life sentence in jail for nonviolent drug charges. Trump lessened the sentence as a result.

Shortly after, the model and businesswoman announced she would study law through an apprenticeship and become a lawyer.

The podcast deal comes amid widespread demonstrations in response to systemic racism and police brutality.

SEE ALSO: Spotify CEO Daniel Ek says Apple has a long way to go before it's an 'open and fair platform' as the two firms war over competition

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NOW WATCH: Here's what it's like to travel during the coronavirus outbreak

• This is a preview of the AI in Telecommunications research report from Business Insider Intelligence.
• Purchase this report.
• 14-Day Risk Free Trial: Get full access to this and all Connectivity & Tech research reports.

In the face of rising demand for data, increasingly saturated mobile markets, and stiff opposition from legacy players, tech entrants, and startups, global telecoms are locked in a battle for market share. These market pressures have led to vicious price wars for mobile services and, as a result, declining average revenue per user (ARPU).

Making matters worse, improvements in infrastructure and technology have made telecoms largely comparable in terms of coverage, connection speeds, and service pricing, meaning companies must transform their businesses if they hope to compete.

For many global telecoms, shoring up market share under today's pressures while also future-proofing operations means having to invest in AI. The telecom industry is expected to invest $36.7 billion annually in AI software, hardware, and services by 2025, according to Tractica.

Through its ability to parse large data sets in a contextual manner, provide requested information or analysis, and trigger actions, AI can help telecoms cut costs and streamline by digitizing their operations. In practice, this means leveraging the increasingly vast gold mine of data generated by customers that passes through wireless networks — the amount of data that moves through AT&T's wireless network has increased 470,000% since 2007, for example. 

In the AI in Telecommunicationsreport, Business Insider Intelligence will focus on the use of AI to enhance the customer experience, which can directly impact revenue. Each year, an estimated $62 billion is lost by US businesses after inferior customer experiences, according to NewVoiceMedia. We will discuss the forces driving firms to AI, pinpoint some of the top use cases of AI along the customer journey, and identify some of the leading companies in the space

The companies mentioned in this report are: AT&T, CenturyLink, China Mobile, IBM, Spectrum, Sprint, Swisscom, Telia, T-Mobile, and Vodafone.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• Telecoms have long struggled with their customer experience image: In 2018, telecommunications had the lowest average Net Promoter Score (NPS), a measure of how favorably a company is viewed by customers, of any industry.
• Companies that use advanced analytics, which can be accessed via AI, to improve this image and the overall customer experience are seeing revenue gains and cost reductions within a few years of adoption. 
• Most (57%) executives believe that AI will transform their companies within three years, per Deloitte's State of AI in Enterprise. 
• Overall, telecoms should focus on a hybrid organizational model to move beyond pilots to launch full-scale AI solutions that can have the biggest impact on their companies.

In full, the report:

• Outlines what factors are leading telecoms to turn to AI technology. 
• Describes the benefits of using AI in telecommunications. 
• Highlights players that have successfully implemented AI solutions.
• Discusses how telecoms should move forward with AI projects. 

Interested in getting the full report? Here are three ways to access it:

1. Purchase & download the full report from our research store. >> Purchase & Download Now
2. Subscribe to a Premium pass to Business Insider Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report and more than 250 other expertly researched reports. As an added bonus, you'll also gain access to all future reports and daily newsletters to ensure you stay ahead of the curve and benefit personally and professionally. >>Learn More Now
3. Current subscribers can read the report here.

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• Qualcomm released a new, $500 platform with artificial intelligence and 5G capabilities. 
• The San Diego chip-maker says the chipset and developer's toolkit represents a breakthrough because it contains state-of-the-art electronics yet serves a broad spectrum of robot makers. 
• Big companies including Panasonic, Sony, and LG use Qualcomm robotics now – LG says it will use the new kit in products next year. 
• The new kit comes at a key time for automation, as company rethink supply chains and personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Qualcomm, the giant computer chip-maker, released a new set of powerful computer chips and a hardware developer kit on Wednesday that the company says represents a breakthrough in robotics: 

The $495 Qualcomm Robotics RB5 Platform is the first product that could help anyone from a lone inventor to a multi-national corporation efficiently build robots with the latest 5G and artificial intelligence capabilities, the San Diego company says.

The software and hardware package is meant to provide a complete developer kit to an entrepreneur looking to prototype robots, but be powerful and affordable enough for big companies to use the chip set to build state-of-the-art robots at a large scale. 

"We have thrown kind of a kitchen sink at this platform," says Dev Singh, Qualcomm's head of Robotics. "It's a Swiss Army Knife." 

Qualcomm's previous robotic chips are being used in NASA's Mars 2020 mission to take a rover to the red planet next month. On the other end of the spectrum, a simpler robot chip set and developer kit released last year is used in $200 autonomous vacuums.  

Release of the Qualcomm Robotics RB5 Platform comes at a key time for robot development. As the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the shortcomings of the global supply chain and prompted the US and other countries to shift production out of China, companies may be more likely to look to robots and automation to keep factories efficient.

"The biggest implication [of the coronavirus outbreak] is going to be more rapid adoption of automation," Duncan Davidson, a general partner with venture firm Bullpen Capital, told Business Insider in a recent interview.

The chip set and developer kit provide "technology and pieces of building blocks to address any kind of robot," Singh says. In the past, a robot-builder that wanted to add vision systems would have to piece together different software and cameras, hoping they were compatible. "We've already taken care of that," Singh says.  

Entrepreneurs might build a prototype of a new delivery system using all parts of the developer kit to quickly take a product to market. A big company might just use the platform to give robotic arms on an assembly line a 5G connection. (5G capabilities are useful for robots and drones because it is faster and more reliable than 4G: There's less risk of heavy equipment or drones being thrown off by a weak signal or outage.) 

The kit comes in two parts: a chip set, and the developers kit. 

The chip set

The chip set includes a processor customized for robotics applications that can run complex and data-heavy AI functions, such as continually learning a complex topography with many cameras hosted in one database to help an autonomous swarm of drones fly through a city.

The software also contains a powerful image processor that helps a robot cleaner discern between a sock on a floor or a soda spill. The internet-connected chips can work with Bluetooth, WiFi, 4G, and 5G connectivity, so the robots will not become outdated upon widespread adoption of 5G, the mobile technology bringing better connectivity and change to the mobile industry.  

The developer's tool kit

The developer's kit includes hardware about the size of an open-faced sandwich. The platform offers support for an operating system, drivers for cameras and sensors, and software connections for motors. A $700 version of the chip set and tool kit includes cameras and sensors. 

The chip set and kit can support 18 cameras, seven running concurrently, so that a drone would have no blind-spots. The gear functions in temperature extremes from -29 Fahrenheit to 221. And it includes encryption and cybersecurity controls, among its many features.  

Early adopters of the robot platform include LG, the $56 billion Korean electronics manufacturer, which plans to use it in new products next year, Qualcomm says.  

Other companies that use Qualcomm robotics include Alibaba, Panasonic, Siemens, and Sony. The company's robots are used in industries including agriculture, cleaning, drones, retail, and many others. The 37,000-employee company based in San Diego had 2019 revenue of $37 billion. The company says it has around 100 engineers dedicated to robotics, but many other parts of the company contribute to projects from that department, which draws from its $5 billion annual research and development revenue. 

SEE ALSO: Read the pitch deck that Los Angeles-based cybersecurity startup Open Raven used to raise a $15 million Series A funding round from Kleiner Perkins

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NOW WATCH: What makes 'Parasite' so shocking is the twist that happens in a 10-minute sequence

• Coronavirus lockdowns have emptied out typically busy city streets around the world.
• Many people — and the environment— are celebrating the change of pace, but others may be missing their daily commutes.
• This mesmerizing website offers one fix by letting people take a virtual cruise through cities like Paris, Tokyo, Rio, Istanbul, and NYC while jamming out to local radio stations.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Coronavirus lockdowns have forced millions of people around the world to stay home, emptying out typically busy city streets in the process.

Some experts have even predicted that the pandemic could end rush hour traffic for good as home working becomes the norm.

Many people are celebrating the change of pace and enjoying the extra time in their day, perks of working from home, and the environmental benefits resulting from fewer cars on the road — while some are using the open roads as an opportunity to speed).

But others, after months stuck at home, may be missing their morning and evening drives, if for no other reason than it got them out of the house.

For those folks, a mesmerizing new website, Drive and Listen, offers a brief escape by letting them take a virtual cruise through any of nearly 50 cities while tuning into local radio.

Erkam Şeker, the website's creator, told Business Insider the original idea came to him because he missed his hometown of Istanbul, Turkey, and found himself watching videos of people driving around the city.

"It was so nice and beautiful to see my favorite parts as if I'm driving around. It helped me a lot to fight with this feeling of missing," he said.

So Şeker rounded up high-resolution dashcam footage from YouTube users around the world so others could see their own cities as well.

"I was sure that there must be a lot of people who somehow stayed far away from their hometown and want to go back to their old life, you know, drive in their city, drive to work," he said. "So there was a chance for me to help those people out there around the world to cope with this strange feeling."

But Şeker said he eventually realized he wanted to bring the experience closer to reality, so he added a dashboard with local radio stations and ambient "street noise" (audio from the original videos). That helped the website appeal not just to those seeking nostalgia for their homes, but also those who simply missed seeing the world.

"At first, it got popular because people missed driving in their cities, but nowadays, I guess it's more like because people missed traveling in other cities," Şeker said.

Until international travel picks up again, it may be the closest we come to actually visiting these places, but at least it's free.

Currently, the list of cities includes: Amsterdam, Antalya, Barcelona, Beijing, Berlin, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Curitiba, Delhi, Dublin, Guadalajara, Hawaii, Havana, Istanbul, Izmir, Kyiv, Lauterbrunnen, Lisbon, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Melbourne, Miami, Mumbai, Munich, Moscow, New York City, Nice, Oslo, Paris, Prague, Rio De Janeiro, Rome, Saloniki, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Seattle, Seoul, St. Petersburg, Singapore, Stockholm, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, Toronto, Warsaw, Wuhan, Yekaterinburg, and Zurich.

SEE ALSO: GoFundMe froze $350,000 in contributions after Black Lives Matter supporters mistakenly donated to an unaffiliated group with the same name

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NOW WATCH: How waste is dealt with on the world's largest cruise ship

• Antonio Neri, CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, has tested positive for COVID-19.
• Neri disclosed his condition in a tweet on Wednesday, saying, "I recently learned of some unfortunate personal news. Yesterday I tested positive for COVID-19."
• Neri said he will "proceed with business as usual while I quarantine from home."
• An HPE spokesperson said Neri plans to take part in a major virtual company event next week.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories

Antonio Neri, CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, has tested positive for COVID-19.

Neri disclosed his condition in a tweet late Wednesday, saying: "I recently learned of some unfortunate personal news."

"Yesterday I tested positive for COVID-19," he continued. "The good news is, I feel much better already and plan to proceed with business as usual while I quarantine from home."

An HPE spokesperson said he plans to continue working and will take part in a virtual company event next week.

Neri became CEO in 2018, succeeding Meg Whitman, who led the enterprise tech company, which came into being after the 2014 split of Hewlett-Packard.

The 53-year-old Neri joined HP in 1995 as a customer service engineer before taking on bigger responsibilities in the tech giant's consumer and enterprise businesses.

Got a tip about HPE or another tech company? Contact this reporter via email at bpimentel@businessinsider.com, message him on Twitter @benpimentelor send him a secure message through Signal at (510) 731-8429. You can also contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop.

Claim your 20% discount on an annual subscription to BI Prime by clicking here.

SEE ALSO: Here's why $12.4 billion cloud startup Snowflake's reported IPO plans could make it 'the blockbuster enterprise listing for 2020'

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NOW WATCH: Pathologists debunk 13 coronavirus myths

• To be part of the in-crowd in Silicon Valley, you have to know about and use the latest hot new apps.
• Years ago, that was Gmail; this week it's Hey, a new email service.
• Below is a list of six of the hottest apps in the Valley.
• Unfortunately, most of them are invitation-only, so there's good chance you won't be able to join the hip crowd.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Silicon Valley can be a cliquey place.

Every so often, a new app or service launches that only the in-crowd knows about or can even access.

Fifteen years ago, it was Gmail, Google's now super-popular email site that started as an invitation-only service. This week, it was Hey, a brand-new email service that promises to fulfill Gmail's promise of helping users better manage their inboxes, or Imboxes, in Hey parlance, as long as they have an invitation to use it.

But Hey's not the only hot new app to set the Valley a buzzing. Here are some of the latest ones the technorati are talking about:

SEE ALSO: The coronavirus crisis is force-feeding 2 big changes into the stodgy enterprise software market. Here's why some startups are already benefiting.

Hey

What is it? An email app and service
What's different about it? It promises to make email easier to manage by automatically grouping together receipts and transaction-related messages; newsletters and promotional email; and personal messages. So, it's sort of like Gmail, only it's supposed to be better. It also promises to give users more control over the inflow of messages, allowing them to ignore messages sent to a group of people, merge separate conversations together in one thread, and block trackers that detect when and where a message was opened.
Who developed it? Basecamp, the makers of a project management app of the same name.
When did it launch? Tuesday
How much does it cost? $99 a year
Can I use it? Not yet, unless you have an invitation. Basecamp plans to open it up to the public at large in July.

Clubhouse

What is it? A group voice chat app.
What's different about it? Clubhouse has gotten notable people talking — literally. The app allows users to join different virtual rooms and strike up conversations with the group of people who happen to be in there. So far, that's been a limited and exclusive crowd, reportedly including people such as venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, actor Jared Leto, and hip-hop artist MC Hammer.
Who developed it? Paul Davison, who previously founded Highlight, a location-based service that was acquired by Pinterest.
When did it launch? This spring as a private beta.
How much does it cost? $0
Can I use it? Not yet, unless you have an invitation. You can request one through its website.

Roadtrip

What is it? A music listening app.
What's different about it? Roadtrip is kind of like Clubhouse for music. Users can join others in virtual rooms where someone is serving as a kind of DJ, queuing up songs in a live playlist. They can chat with each other via text, suggest songs and, if invited by the DJ, talk out loud to the DJ and others in the room. 
Who developed it? Matt Mazzeo, a former managing director at Lowercase Capital, and Brian Wagner, formerly a lead developer at Embrace, which provides app debugging services.
When did it launch? This month in private beta.
How much does it cost? $0
Can I use it? Like Clubhouse, only if you have an invitation. You can request one through its Product Hunt page.

Superhuman

What is it? An email app.
What's different about it? Superhuman promises a streamline, superfast email experience. Its app and site are distinctly minimalist and intentionally so; the company wants pages and messages to load within 100 milliseconds. Users can schedule messages and undo already sent ones. The service offers a collection of keyboard shortcuts that allow users to quickly scan through their inbox or send messages. And it automatically sorts messages into different areas, including one for newsletters and another for calendar invitations.
Who developed it? Rahul Vohra, who founded Rapportive, which pioneered extensions for Gmail; Conrad Irwin, who was Rapportive's first engineer; and Vivek Sodera, who cofounded RapLeaf, a database marketing company.
When did it launch? 2017, in private beta testing.
How much does it cost? $30 per month
Can I use it? Only if you have an invitation. You can request access through Superhuman's homepage.

Notion

What is it? An all-in-one productivity app.
What's different about it? Notion is designed to be ultra-flexible. Users can take notes in it, create to-do lists, collaborate with colleagues, create shared information pages, and manage projects.
Who developed it? Ivan Zhao, who previously worked at mobile learning company Inkling, and Simon Last.
When did it launch? 2016.
How much does it cost? Free to $10 a month, depending on features.
Can I use it? Yes.

Collab

What is it? A video and music collaboration app.
What's different about it? Collab allows people to make music together, virtually. Users upload videos of themselves playing music and combine their videos with two others. Users can combine their own videos, work with friends, or make mashups using videos uploaded by other people. 
Who developed it? Facebook's NPE (new product experimentation) group.
When did it launch? May.
How much does it cost? Free.
Can I use it? If you get an invitation. You can sign up for the waitlist on the app's homepage.

Got a tip about the next hot new app or another tech story? Contact Troy Wolverton via email at twolverton@businessinsider.com, message him on Twitter @troywolv, or send him a secure message through Signal at 415.515.5594. You can also contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop.

• Read more:
• Apple is facing rage and insurrection from developers over the commission it charges apps on the App Store
• Clubhouse, the invite-only audio chat app being hailed as the next Snap or Twitter, just raised a big round of funding after a bidding war. Here's what 9 VCs with access say it's like.
• For the past month I've been using Superhuman, the email app VCs are obsessed with that costs $30 a month — and I'm never going back to Gmail
• 5 low-cost apps that entrepreneurs and freelancers can use to juggle projects and boost productivity

• Apple is locked in an escalating standoff with app developers who are upset that Apple takes a commission of up to 30% from all in-app purchases.
• This week, the creators of a new email app called Hey publicly slammed Apple as "gangsters" after Apple rejected Hey from the App Store. Hey creators said Apple was forcing it to recategorize its $99 annual subscription fee as an in-app purchase in order to take a cut of the profits.
• Apple doubled down in an email to Hey creators Thursday, saying the app would remain banned from the App Store until Hey reclassifies its $99 subscription fee as an in-app purchase. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Despite a public backlash from app developers, Apple isn't backing down on its controversial policy of siphoning up to 30% of revenue from apps that appear in Apple's App Store.

The tech giant was the target of heated criticism this week from Basecamp, an app maker that just released a new email app called Hey. Users of Hey must pay a $99 subscription fee, but the app initially guided users to make that payment outside the app to avoid Apple taking a commission. Apple banned Hey from its App Store as a result.

On Thursday, Apple doubled down on its policy. The company said in an email to Hey's creators that it would have to retool the app to let people buy subscriptions in-app before Apple would let it back into the App Store. The email was first reported by NBC News.

"We understand that Basecamp has developed a number of apps and many subsequent versions for the App Store for many years, and that the App Store has distributed millions of these apps to iOS users," the email reads.

Basecamp CTO David Heinemeier Hansson criticized Apple's decision in a tweet Thursday, calling the email "just more edicts from the monopoly king."

An Apple spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Apple's App Store has drawn scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers, who have criticized it as a monopoly where Apple can punish competitors without retribution. Rep. David Cicilline, chairman of the House Antitrust Subcommittee, told The Verge Thursday that Apple's commission amounts to "highway robbery." Apple is the defendant in a lawsuit filed by two app developers over its App Store policy enforcement.

SEE ALSO: The Justice Department wants to weaken protections for internet companies like Facebook and Twitter, which have drawn Trump's ire

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: What makes 'Parasite' so shocking is the twist that happens in a 10-minute sequence

• WeWork's New York employees are heading back to headquarters in waves starting on Monday in a seven-week return to office plan. 
• About a quarter of the staff will return to various offices initially, with a plan for the rest to follow in the coming month. 
• New York enters Phase 2 of its re-opening plan on Monday, which allows real-estate employees to return to offices. 
• Some WeWork competitors are keeping their headquarters employees entirely remote for now. 
• For more WeWork stories, click here.

Employees at WeWork's global headquarters will return to the office in waves over the next month as New York City starts to reopen.

Headquarters employees — which are separate from staffers like community team members who have been supporting customers renting WeWork space — will start coming in on Monday under a three-phase plan, a person familiar with the plans told Business Insider.

In the first phase, a quarter of the employees will come back to any WeWork office one week at a time. After their week in the office, they can decide if they'd like to stay in the office or go back home as their colleagues come in for the subsequent weeks. Those who don't wish to return to the office will need to make a case with human resources, an employee said. 

In the second phase, 50% of employees will go to their designated offices for a week at a time, the person familiar with WeWork's plans said.

In the final phase, the full New York staff will return. 

In a new policy, WeWork will allow employees to work from home one day per week, and they're encouraged to schedule meetings between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to allow for flexible commuting times, per a memo reviewed by Business Insider.

On Thursday, New York City staff attended a virtual all-hands meeting with WeWork's chief people officer, its head of design, and its head of security, about changes to office spaces that were made in preparation for the return. Those modifications include improving HVAC systems for better air circulation, enhanced sanitation measures, and touch-free conference rooms.

One source who attended the meeting said it was unclear in which buildings those changes have been made. 

On a follow-up call to Thursday's meeting, staff raised questions about the return-to-work plan including building infrastructure. Staff cited concerns about not having private car options, one person who attended the meeting said. The chief people officer said during the earlier meeting that he's opting to drive to work in order to avoid public transportation, this person said. 

To help staff stay off public transportation, WeWork will pay for annual memberships to Citibike, New York's bike share system, the source with knowledge of the company's plans said.

A spokesman for WeWork declined to comment on the memo or the discussions of the meeting.

New York is entering Phase 2 of reopening on Monday, which allows real-estate firms, among other companies, to return to the office. The city started to open under Phase 1 on June 8, 11 weeks after it first implemented a mandatory shutdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the coronavirus disease.

There have been more than 21,000 coronavirus-related deaths and over 215,000 cases reported in the city since the start of the pandemic. While the number of new cases has dramatically decreased, there are still more than 300 new cases reported in the city each day.

See more:WeWork's other founder, Miguel McKelvey, is leaving the embattled office company — and his job as chief culture officer won't be replaced 

While New York is allowing real-estate employees to return, many of WeWork's competitors said they're staying remote for now. 

Employees at Industrious, CBRE Hana, and Knotel are not required to go into New York headquarters, spokespeople for those companies said. Knotel employees in other markets where lockdown was lifted earlier and the virus was less severe, such as Amsterdam, Dublin, and Berlin, have been going into the office, following public health guidelines. 

'Hub and spoke' model

As companies across industries try to space out their employees, many are increasingly looking to a "hub and spoke" model, like the one WeWork has long used, with corporate employees spread out amongst locations and a central headquarters. 

"What we're trying to do is figure out how to get the right troops who tend to work together, and we found that a lot of them actually live in similar neighborhoods," Mathrani said on CNBC's Squawk Box this week. 

WeWork, which kept most of its US offices open during the pandemic, has sought to mitigate members' fears about returning to the office with changes including disposable cups and cutlery, signs for where to sit and stand for social distancing, and increased sanitation. 

Some companies are slowly returning staff to the office, particularly those who do best with in-person access to colleagues and equipment. JPMorgan is bringing more traders back to its New York office in waves starting next week, Bloomberg reported.

Many tech companies, including Facebook and Twitter, have said they won't require employees to come back to the office for months – or ever again. 

See more:The coronavirus is a 'nuclear bomb' for companies like WeWork. 10 real-estate insiders lay out the future of flex-office, and how employers are preparing now.

The coronavirus pandemic has emptied offices, including those managed by WeWork and its peers, globally.

As cities begin to reopen, companies are rethinking their real estate footprint as some shrink headcount and seek to de-densify crowded offices. The changes could be a boon for flexible-office providers like WeWork, but the companies could also see declining membership from clients that close down or go fully remote. 

SEE ALSO: Leaked WeWork document reveals a huge reorg under way for people who manage its buildings. Here's how the new structure works — and the complex process for staff to save their jobs.

DON'T MISS: Leaked Knotel financials reveal that the WeWork rival had huge pre-pandemic losses and now has more unpaid bills than cash. It's a grim sign for the flex-office space.

SEE ALSO: Facebook is eyeing offices in cities like Dallas, Atlanta, and Denver to act as 'hubs' to support 50% of its workers staying remote — and it's a move that could upend Silicon Valley and NYC real estate

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• Delphix employees organized an Inclusive Language Hackathon that will take place this Friday — Juneteenth — to replace racist or ableist terms in the company's codebase with more inclusive words.
• Some examples include replacing "whitelist" and "blacklist" with "allowlist" and "denylist" and replacing "he" and "him" pronouns with gender-neutral ones like "they" and "one."
• Organizers say language in software is important because it not only impacts the code itself, but the way employees talk about the product with their teams and customers.
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Employees at unicorn data application startup Delphix are holding a hackathon during the Juneteenth holiday on Friday to make the terminology in the company's codebase more inclusive by eliminating racially charged or ableist language. 

The idea follows the company's previous work to remove gender specific pronouns from its documentation starting in 2017. Its documentation, which explains how to run and set up code, had often previously refer to the person running the code with he/him pronouns, excluding female or nonbinary people. 

Delphix, which has raised $130.91 million at a $1 billion valuation according to PitchBook, will focus Friday on removing technical terminology like "master," "slave," "blacklist," and "whitelist," says Sebastien Roy, director of systems platform development, following the lead of other companies and projects that have moved towards more inclusive language. 

"These terms in software are not there because somebody meant to hurt others or create a non-inclusive environment," Roy said. Still, they can hurt, which is why companies like Delphix believe they've outlived their use. 

Instead of knocking out some of these terms here and there, the Delphix team decided to organize a day where "make a big dent" in the problem, Roy said, which employees are deeming the Inclusive Language Hackathon.

"In the general sense, it's providing a more inclusive environment for our employees helps Delphix by retaining employees and to recruit a diverse workforce," Roy said. "This hackathon is just a small part of our overall goal of providing a more inclusive workplace."

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day that people in Galveston, Texas received the news that slaves were being freed, over two years after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. 

How the Juneteenth hackathon will work

On Juneteenth, hackathon participants will look through all of Delphix's internal code to weed out racially charged, ableist, or gendered language that remains, to be replaced with more inclusive terminology. 

They'll use a spreadsheet to coordinate which parts of the code each person will focus on work on and, at the end of the day, participants will hold a summary meeting to learn what everyone has accomplished and understand the impact of those changes. 

One common example are the terms "master" and "slave." "Master" frequently refers to the main version of the code that controls the "slaves," but inclusivity advocates have proposed replacements like "primary and "secondary," "leader" and "follower," and "active" and "standby."

Likewise, "whitelist" and "blacklist" are ways of filtering specific types of data, where the desired data goes on the "whitelist" and the unwanted data goes on the "blacklist." Delphix and others have started using "allowlist" and "denylist" instead, which is also more descriptive. 

The pronouns "he" and "him" can be replaced with gender neutral ones like "they" or "one."

Documentation also often refers to terms like "sanity check," which refers to a run-through of the code to make sure it's working properly, but advocates say that that can be offensive to people with mental illness or disabilities. Instead, those terms can be replaced with terms like "expected," "unexpected," "coherent," "incoherent," "reasonable," and "unreasonable."

"These are terms that imply bias or charge with context that could make people feel a certain way," Roy said, "And we want to make people feel like they're on the same level playing field as others and make them feel like they could be their best selves."

Plus, language in the code doesn't just stay in the code. The way engineers talk about their processes could make its way into daily conversation, said Matt Yeh, senior director of product marketing at Delphix. He says that allowing these terms in code have "a subtle effect in shaping the language outside of the actual product."

"It potentially reverberates into how we talk about our software and how we talk with our customers," Yeh told Business Insider. "The language embedded in the actual code, there's always potential for it to get reflected in other things."

In addition, these terms are often vague, while new terminology can more accurately reflect what the code actually does.

"From a practical standpoint, this can improve the ability of people who are new to the technical space to learn about it and be able to contribute to it and not learn from this jargon that's not clear," Roy said.

In regards to Delphix's own efforts on diversity and inclusion, the company said that it's working to improve its hiring practices to reduce bias in its interviews and job descriptions. The leadership team is also working to review promotion decisions, ensure equitable pay, and promote diversity across the entire organization. It also regularly sponsors and attends conferences that support workplace inclusion and STEM education for under resourced high school youth.

Got a tip? Contact this reporter via email at rmchan@businessinsider.com, Signal at 646.376.6106, Telegram at @rosaliechan, or Twitter DM at @rosaliechan17. (PR pitches by email only, please.) Other types of secure messaging available upon request. 

SEE ALSO: A Microsoft engineer is organizing a conference in honor of Juneteenth to build community among Black people in tech

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• According to Pillar VC partner Russ Wilcox, early-stage investors are still making deals during the coronavirus-led economic slowdown even as later-stage investors start to pull back.
• But interested investors are struggling to build relationships with entrepreneurs remotely prior to providing funding, and include lowered valuations or unsavory terms to help offset the risk of investing in someone they've never met.
• Although valuation is the headline-grabbing figure for most funding rounds, Wilcox thinks founders should focus more on the terms of the deal with a particular focus on who owns what percent of the company.
• Giving investors outsized pro-rata rights, or the right to reinvest a particular portion of a following funding round, essentially guarantees the investor will negotiate less founder-friendly terms the second time around since they have that leverage, Wilcox said.
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Term sheets are still up for negotiation as long as founders are willing to forgo the headline-grabbing valuations of the last few years.

According to Russ Wilcox, partner at Boston-based Pillar VC, the power imbalance brought on by the economic slowdown has unearthed some "unsavory" venture practices. Founders are desperate for funding to keep their companies afloat, and some investors are more than willing to take advantage of the leverage after years of giving founders the moon and then some. Together, it's a recipe for disaster if founders aren't savvy enough to nip it in the bud, says Wilcox.

"Character shows in a crisis, and I have observed some investors who start to make outrageous asks in the term sheet given the situation," Wilcox told Business Insider. "That's a moment when people are opportunistic and will show their colors."

Being an opportunistic investor has traditionally been a selling point for VC firms, signalling that a firm was willing to back a promising startup even if it didn't fit neatly into its investment thesis. But in the current economic climate, Wilcox says, an "opportunistic" VC could have a more cynical connotation, indicating a mindset among some investors to press their advantage on term sheets.

To be sure, says Wilcox, it's a tricky time to invest in new startups, from both sides of the table. 

Many VC investors are just starting to raise their heads again after the turmoil of the coronavirus. As they hunt for new deals, VCs grappling with a new challenge: how does an industry built on networking and personal skills translate to a remote world?

"The question is, can you invest in a founder you've never met in person?" Wilcox said. "Investors are trying to figure out how to do business, which is more difficult at the early stage because at the later stage, you are just looking at the financials. At the earlier stage, it's just a handshake."

"Your job is to get the cash you need to execute your plan"

The uncertainty and inherent risk associated with investing in what amounts to a total stranger is partially what's driving the opportunistic investors and cratering valuations, Wilcox said. The two conditions that are still negotiable, the valuations and the terms of the deal itself, have to balance out in order for founders to get a fair shake in the long run. 

"I do not believe founders should worry about valuation, and that's from a guy that's been through many venture rounds as a founder and investor," Wilcox said. "You will raise money a couple of times throughout the life of the company so it will sort itself out. Your job is to get the cash you need to execute your plan because not having cash will make or break your company."

For the last several years, VCs in Silicon Valley and beyond have catered to founders with special terms to deals that rewarded them with outsized control of the company regardless of how many investors were on the cap table. It was a winning arrangement that let founders run the show and investors cash in. Now, investors are rethinking whether those terms are useful in a world that is infinitely riskier than it was just a few months ago.

In order to sign on to a high valuation in June 2020, investors will add terms to the deal that lets them dictate how the company is run to better protect their investment, Wilcox said. That can include diluting the founders' ownership of the company or including significant pro rata rights, also known as an agreement to allow the investor to reinvest a specific percentage of a later round. Both of these tactics help cement a person or firm as the singular decision-maker for the company's future.

"In the current environment the bar is higher because it's harder to raise cash right now," Wilcox said. "Before, you might end up with two term sheets and you could pick the best, but now you might just have one, so you have a difficult decision to make. I'd advise founders to be willing to bend on the price and be unwilling to bend the terms."

At a lower valuation, investors may be more willing to let the founder exert larger control over the company because the stakes are lower, Wilcox said. That's the easiest way to get around these terms, which Wilcox repeatedly called "toxic."

"At the end of the day if you build a great business, it will be financeable, so if you want to get funded, build a good business," Wilcox said.

SEE ALSO: Ditch the office lease and scrap the billboard: Here's the financial checklist Brex and Rippling just published for other startups reopening after a shutdown

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• Tom Siebel disclosed his startup C3.ai brought in $160 million last year in an interview Thursday with Business Insider. 
• Siebel also said C3.ai, a leader in the uncertain AI startup industry, does not plan on going public this year, but will wait until the economy recovers. 
• He also said that the company is currently unprofitable, but that's a matter of choice: 'I can throw this into profitability at the turn of a lever.'
• Siebel, a longtime Silicon Valley executive and founder, was famously once trampled by an elephant while on vacation in Tanzania.
• "Nobody cares about high-tech companies, with all due respect," Siebel said, when small businesses across America are going under. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

When you've been trampled by an elephant, you're not afraid to speak your mind. 

At least, that seems to be the case for Tom Siebel, the founder of powerhouse AI startup C3.ai, which he disclosed made $160 million in revenue last year in a candid interview with Business Insider on Thursday.

"We did about $160 million in revenue last year, and we're growing at about an 80% compound annual growth rate, so pretty rapidly," Siebel said. The company is "structurally a profitable business, so I can throw this into profitability at the turn of a lever. Right now there's no point in being profitable, because we're not public."

That revenue figure would likely be enough to attract Wall Street's interest in the event of a public offering, but Siebel said that won't happen this year. 

"When the economy comes out of this, which I would hope would be, you know, '21 or '22, I think this is going to be a really powerful company. That's when I would like to take this company public," Siebel said. "I'm not, you know, 21 years old and didn't graduate from college yesterday. I'm not looking for my 15 minutes. We want to build, you know, a really high-quality company."  

Siebel said C3.ai is doing transactions in up to $50-million-dollar increments, with an average deal size of $9 million. "We are, I think, by far the world's leading provider of commercial industrial AI applications." The company, founded in 2009, provides AI programs in areas such as supply chain optimization, AI-based predictive maintenance, fraud detection and other "very high-value applications," Siebel said.   

The athletic and outspoken Siebel was famously trampled by an elephant while on vacation in Tanzania in 2009. Before C3.ai he was the founder and chief executive officer of Siebel Systems, an early customer relationship management company that reported annual revenue in excess of $2 billion. Oracle — Siebel's one-time employer — bought Siebel Systems in January 2006 in a deal valued at almost $6 billion.

C3.ai has raked in $360 million in venture capital, most recently in a $50 million September round led by BlackRock. It creates predictive analytics systems to help the Air Force, Shell, and other large organizations apprised of upcoming repair needs – among other many AI services for multi-national companies.

So what the plain-spoken Siebel says about taking his company public sets the tone for an AI startups industry, and what he says about the economy reflects decades as an executive and founder in Silicon Valley. 

Strengthening its position

Siebel said C3.ai has had the opportunity to buy a half-dozen struggling AI companies the past few weeks, but "we have no interest in buying a company."

Siebel also said that C3.ai is "using this as an opportunity to, you know, just kind of consolidate our position, strengthen our position, hire really talented people."

Last winter C3.ai posted billboards on Highway 101, the well-traveled commuter highway that runs through Silicon Valley saying "We're hiring." The billboards are still there, but with a different message, Siebel says, after 55,000 people applied to the 450-person company. 

On bringing employees back into the workplace now

In an early move in tech, Siebel said C3.ai is bringing its employees back into offices at its Silicon Valley headquarters and around the world, except for New York City, after several months of sheltering in place from the COVID-19 pandemic. Returning to the office is purely voluntary, he said, during this first phase of a three-phase return. He said the company is returning to the office to better serve customers who rely on C3.ai for "pretty serious stuff."

"We provide support for critical infrastructure all over the world, like utility operators in Europe" and the United States, he said. "If our system were to go down in some of these locations, the implications would be disastrous." 

A believer in "the collective IQ" of people working together in the same location, Siebel formerly had a policy that all employees needed to work in the office, which is unusual for tech. He described the firm's Redwood City offices overlooking the Baylands waterway at the south end of San Francisco Bay as a "happy place." 

'This is going to look like past recessions'

"This is going to look like past recessions," Siebel said, but potentially with deeper financial losses over a longer period. "I don't think anybody's ever seen anything like this."

The government is bailing out big companies and their wealthy investors – including tech companies – at the expense of small businesses, Siebel said. "Nobody cares about high-tech companies, with all due respect," Siebel said. "And by the way, nobody cares about Boeing or American Airlines either."

Middle America is really feeling the pain of the current downturn, he said. "Small and medium businesses are getting wiped out, and small businesses in the United States are 40% of our GDP."

When those businesses collapse "it disproportionately affects under-represented minorities," he said. The closing of a neighborhood restaurant, Siebel said, would devastate "all the people who work there – in the kitchen, the dishwasher, the waiters. How are they going to recover?"

Siebel said "I'm not certain how this recovers easily. I'm a little concerned."

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Apple is deepening its financial services play as a means of invigorating revenue, and its expertise could make it a legitimate threat to legacy players. Google's platform-agnostic approach, wide international penetration, and top talent position it as a hub with unrivaled global reach beyond just consumer payments. And Amazon — which has eaten up market share in every industry it's touched, and now has its sights on financial services — could swiftly undercut legacy players.

In The Tech Companies In Financial Services report, Business Insider Intelligence will examine the moves that Apple, Google, and Amazon are making to gain a larger foothold in the global financial services industry. We will then detail each tech company's threat to incumbents and outline potential next steps based on their existing moves in the financial services sphere.

The companies mentioned in the report include: Apple, Amazon, Google, Goldman Sachs, Mastercard, Barclaycard, Citi, Chase, Capital One, Paytm, and PhonePe.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

• Apple's expertise in consumer-facing tech products makes it a legitimate threat to legacy players. Its next move could be a debit card or PFM app, both of which would be cohesive with its existing offerings.
• Google's money movement and commerce services form a payments hub with unrivaled global reach. Google could pursue global expansion by modifying its offerings in other markets like it did in India, pursuing Europe, and even delving into digital remittances.
• Amazon is an expert disruptor — and it has its sights set on the financial services industry next. Amazon could develop checking and savings accounts, bring Amazon Pay in-store, and white-label its Amazon Go store technology to deepen its financial services footprint.

In full, the report:

• Outlines the threat posed by Apple, Amazon, and Google to legacy financial players.
• Identifies each tech giant's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats moving further into financial services.
• Discusses each company's moves in financial services and their anticipated next steps in the space.

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• Facebook has been reaching out to ad agencies this week after a group of civil rights organizations urged media buyers and brands to stop advertising on the platform in July 2020.
• The platform has been facing mounting pressure over its content moderation policies and its handling of President Donald Trump's posts after George Floyd's death.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Facebook is reaching out to ad agencies as it faces mounting pressure over its content moderation policies and its handling of President Donald Trump's posts in the aftermath of George Floyd's death.

Civil rights organizations including the Anti-Defamation League, Color of Change, Common Sense Media, Free Press, the NAACP and Sleeping Giants, urged media buyers and brands to stop advertising on the platform in July.

Three separate ad agency sources confirmed that they received a memo from Facebook to Business Insider, with two saying that they received it from Facebook's VP of global marketing solutions Carolyn Everson directly, and another saying that it was forwarded by their Facebook rep. A Facebook spokeswoman confirmed the authenticity of Everson's memo but did not provide additional comment.

In the memo, Everson acknowledged that organizations were calling for businesses to pause advertising on Facebook and said the company was open to meeting with them and welcomed their feedback.

"There are competing pressures every day when managing a platform," Everson wrote, adding that Facebook's focus was to act on "what is most important: removing hate speech and content that harms communities, while using our platform for efforts like providing authoritative voting information and registering people to vote."

She pointed to efforts Facebook had made, including a voter registration effort CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in a USA Today op-ed this week, a move to let people see fewer political ads on Facebook and Instagram, and improved detection capabilities for hate speech.

While the company has faced criticism on its handling of user data and the spread of misinformation on before, such calls have rarely translated to wider collective action against Facebook or dented its advertising business. The company generates 98% of its revenue through ads and took in $17.4 billion from advertising in its most recent quarter, despite marketers across the board pausing advertising in the face of the pandemic.

But advertisers say it's different this time. IPG Mediabrands' Elijah Harris said in an interview last week that Facebook was an issue of "brand safety, not political activism." Two agency sources that shared Everson's memo told Business Insider that they were advising their clients to consider participating in the boycott.

"We've taken a hardline stance, and I think we will see a number of brands over the next day or two that come out and say they are not spending on Facebook in the month of July," one of the sources told Business Insider.

Read Everson's memo below:

As you're probably all aware, we were made aware last night that a group of organizations are calling for businesses to pause advertising and posting on Facebook during the month of July 2020. We remain open to meeting with any of these organizations and we welcome feedback on the issues they have raised, just as we continue to solicit feedback from our civil rights auditors. 

This new call to action to end voter suppression comes at the exact moment we're launching the largest voting information campaign in American history. There are competing pressures every day when managing a platform. Our focus is to act on what is most important: removing hate speech and content that harms communities, while using our platform for efforts like providing authoritative voting information and registering people to vote.

In this spirit, I wanted share a few points:

1. Voting: Last night, USA Today ran an Op-Ed by Mark Zuckerberg outlining our civic responsibilities and sharing our plans for a major effort around Voting. This will be the largest voter registration effort ever in the United States, designed to give citizens the resources and information they need to register and make their voices heard at the ballot box. These efforts will include a new Voting Information Center at the top of the Facebook News Feed and on Instagram, and will give millions of people accurate information about voting. We are also reviewing our policies around voter suppression.
2. Political Content: In addition to voice, we are giving people choice. Starting in the US, people will be able to choose to see fewer political ads on Facebook and Instagram, if they choose.
3. Hate Speech: We know hate speech is a weapon often wielded by those in a privileged majority. We recognize that we have to work harder than ever to ensure those whose voices are the most historically marginalized have the opportunity to make their voices heard. For us this means having the strongest policies against hate and the most advanced technologies in the world to remove it. As you know, we don't tolerate hate speech and remove it whenever we find it.  We have been working on improving our detection capabilities and in our last report we removed 89% of content for violating our hate speech policies before anyone reported it to us.  We are of course not stopping here, and will look to continue to build on the strides we have made in the last few years—up from 23% in 2017. 

As always, we will meet with anyone to hear feedback as we have a major effort across the company being led by Mark on how the platform can be used to combat systemic racism.  

I am of course available for a call to discuss this or any additional feedback you have at any time.  For now, we will continue to push as fast as we can to make progress on the specific areas of product, policy, talent and community as I shared in my note to you last week.

Thank you for your ongoing partnership and feedback….

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