Technology
Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki dies at 56
Tragedy has struck again for a famous Silicon Valley family. Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki has just died, based on social media posts from her husband, Dennis Troper, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. She was 56.
Troper wrote on Facebook on Friday evening: “It is with deep sadness that I share the news Susan Wojcicki My beloved wife of 26 years and mother of our five children passed away today after 2 years of living with non-small cell lung cancer.”
“Susan was not only my best friend and partner in life, but also a brilliant mind, a loving mother and a dear friend to many. Her impact on our family and the world was immeasurable. We are heartbroken but grateful for the time we had with her. Please keep our family in your thoughts as we navigate this difficult time.”
Pichai also sent a memo to Google employees on Friday evening.
“By now, you may have heard the news that Susan Wojcicki has died after two years of living with lung cancer. Even as I write this, it seems impossible that it is true. Susan was one of the most active and vibrant people I have ever met,” the note reads.
Non-small cell lung cancer is one among the 2 predominant kinds of lung cancer and probably the most common type, based on the Yale School of Medicine. Because its symptoms are sometimes confused with common diseases, 80 percent of individuals diagnosed with the disease have already progressed to advanced stages, based on a fact sheet affiliated with the university.
Wojcicki’s passing comes on the heels of one other devastating loss for Wojcicki and her husband in February of this yr. Their 19-year-old son, Marco Troper, died of an accidental overdose in his dorm room at UC Berkeley, where he was a freshman.
Wojcicki rose to fame as YouTube’s CEO, a task she held for nine years before stepping down in early 2023. At the time, she wrote in a blog post that she had “decided to start a new chapter focused on my family, health, and personal projects that I’m passionate about.”
Wojcicki was among the many first 20 employees at Google, which acquired YouTube in 2006 for $1.65 billion—a staggering sum at the time. She famously got involved with the corporate after renting a garage within the Menlo Park, Calif., home of friends Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who were then graduate students at Stanford University. (Google was restructured in 2015, at which point Alphabet became its parent company.)
According to reports in recent times, after witnessing YouTube’s early popularity, Wojcicki herself — then a marketing manager at Google — proposed to Page and Brin that Google buy the video-streaming platform.
Under her leadership, YouTube became a multibillion-dollar money generator for Google. In 2023, YouTube reported $8.1 billion in ad revenue—nearly 10% of Alphabet’s total revenue.
The Wojcicki family has deep ties to Silicon Valley and the broader Bay Area. One of her sisters is 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki. Another sister, Janet, is a professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco. Their mother, Esther Wojcicki, is a renowned educator who has written extensively on the best way to raise successful children.
Here is the complete text of the memo Pichai sent to Google employees:
Googlers,
By now, you might have heard the news that Susan Wojcicki has died after two years with lung cancer. Even as I write this, it seems not possible that it’s true. Susan was one of the lively and vibrant people I even have ever met. Her loss is devastating for all of us who knew and loved her, for the 1000’s of Googlers she led through the years, and for the tens of millions of individuals around the globe who admired her, benefited from her advocacy and leadership, and were impacted by the incredible things she created at Google, on YouTube, and beyond.
Susan’s journey, from renting out her garage to Larry and Sergey… to leading teams in consumer products and constructing our promoting business… to becoming CEO of YouTube, one of the vital platforms on the earth, is inspiring in every way. But she didn’t stop there. As one among the primary employees at Google—and the primary to take maternity leave—Susan used her position to construct a greater workplace for everybody. And within the years since, her advocacy for parental leave has set a brand new standard for corporations around the globe. Susan also had a deep passion for education. She recognized early on that YouTube might be a platform for education for the world and championed “edutubers”—especially those that were expanding the reach of STEM education to underserved communities.
For the past two years, despite facing great personal hardships, Susan has dedicated herself to improving the world through her philanthropic work, including supporting research into the disease that ultimately took her life. I do know this was very meaningful to her, and I’m so glad she took the time to achieve this.
Susan at all times put others first, each in her values and in her each day life. I’ll always remember her kindness to me as a possible “Noogler” 20 years ago. During my interview at Google, she took me out for ice cream and a walk around campus. I used to be sold – by Google and Susan.
I feel so fortunate to have spent so a few years working closely with Susan, as I’m sure lots of you do – she was absolutely loved by her teams here. Her time on earth was far too short, but she made every minute count.
We are in close contact with Susan’s family, including her husband and Google colleague Dennis. We will share more details soon about how we’ll honor her incredible life. In the meantime, let’s honor Susan’s memory by continuing to construct a Google she can be happy with.
Technology
Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal is leaving PhonePe’s board
Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal has stepped down three-quarters from PhonePe’s board after making an identical move on the e-commerce giant.
Bengaluru-based PhonePe said it has appointed Manish Sabharwal, executive director at recruitment and human resources firm Teamlease, as an independent director and chairman of the audit committee.
Bansal played a key role in Flipkart’s acquisition of PhonePe in 2016 and has since served on the fintech’s board. The Walmart-backed startup, which operates India’s hottest mobile payment app, spun off from Flipkart in 2022 and was valued at $12 billion in funding rounds that raised about $850 million last 12 months.
Bansal still holds about 1% of PhonePe. Neither party explained why they were leaving the board.
“I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Binny Bansal for being one of the first and staunchest supporters of PhonePe,” Sameer Nigam, co-founder and CEO of PhonePe, said in a press release. His lively involvement, strategic advice and private mentoring have profoundly enriched our discussions. We will miss Binny!”
Technology
The company is currently developing washing machines for humans
Forget about cold baths. Washing machines for people may soon be a brand new solution.
According to at least one Japanese the oldest newspapersOsaka-based shower head maker Science has developed a cockpit-shaped device that fills with water when a bather sits on a seat in the center and measures an individual’s heart rate and other biological data using sensors to make sure the temperature is good. “It also projects images onto the inside of the transparent cover to make the person feel refreshed,” the power says.
The device, dubbed “Mirai Ningen Sentakuki” (the human washing machine of the longer term), may never go on sale. Indeed, for now the company’s plans are limited to the Osaka trade fair in April, where as much as eight people will have the option to experience a 15-minute “wash and dry” every day after first booking.
Apparently a version for home use is within the works.
Technology
Zepto raises another $350 million amid retail upheaval in India
Zepto has secured $350 million in latest financing, its third round of financing in six months, because the Indian high-speed trading startup strengthens its position against competitors ahead of a planned public offering next yr.
Indian family offices, high-net-worth individuals and asset manager Motilal Oswal invested in the round, maintaining Zepto’s $5 billion valuation. Motilal co-founder Raamdeo Agrawal, family offices Mankind Pharma, RP-Sanjiv Goenka, Cello, Haldiram’s, Sekhsaria and Kalyan, in addition to stars Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin Tendulkar are amongst those backing the brand new enterprise, which is India’s largest fully national primary round.
The funding push comes as Zepto rushes so as to add Indian investors to its capitalization table, with foreign ownership now exceeding two-thirds. TechCrunch first reported on the brand new round’s deliberations last month. The Mumbai-based startup has raised over $1.35 billion since June.
Fast commerce sales – delivering groceries and other items to customers’ doors in 10 minutes – will exceed $6 billion this yr in India. Morgan Stanley predicts that this market shall be value $42 billion by 2030, accounting for 18.4% of total e-commerce and a pair of.5% of retail sales. These strong growth prospects have forced established players including Flipkart, Myntra and Nykaa to cut back delivery times as they lose touch with specialized delivery apps.
While high-speed commerce has not taken off in many of the world, the model seems to work particularly well in India, where unorganized retail stores are ever-present.
High-speed trading platforms are creating “parallel trading for consumers seeking convenience” in India, Morgan Stanley wrote in a note this month.
Zepto and its rivals – Zomato-owned Blinkit, Swiggy-owned Instamart and Tata-owned BigBasket – currently operate on lower margins than traditional retail, and Morgan Stanley expects market leaders to realize contribution margins of 7-8% and adjusted EBITDA margins to greater than 5% by 2030. (Zepto currently spends about 35 million dollars monthly).
An investor presentation reviewed by TechCrunch shows that Zepto, which handles greater than 7 million total orders every day in greater than 17 cities, is heading in the right direction to realize annual sales of $2 billion. It anticipates 150% growth over the following 12 months, CEO Aadit Palicha told investors in August. The startup plans to go public in India next yr.
However, the rapid growth of high-speed trading has had a devastating impact on the mom-and-pop stores that dot hundreds of Indian cities, towns and villages.
According to the All India Federation of Consumer Products Distributors, about 200,000 local stores closed last yr, with 90,000 in major cities where high-speed trading is more prevalent.
The federation has warned that without regulatory intervention, more local shops shall be vulnerable to closure as fast trading platforms prioritize growth over sustainable practices.
Zepto said it has created job opportunities for tons of of hundreds of gig employees. “From day one, our vision has been to play a small role in nation building, create millions of jobs and offer better services to Indian consumers,” Palicha said in an announcement.
Regulatory challenges arise. Unless an e-commerce company is a majority shareholder of an Indian company or person, current regulations prevent it from operating on a listing model. Fast trading corporations don’t currently follow these rules.
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