Blind TL;DR Edition No. 11: Week Ended Jan. 21, 2022
Blind TL;DR helps you stay on top of what shaped the tech industry this week in about 3 minutes. Keep tabs on the latest with insights straight from the newsmakers—technologists like you.
Deep pockets in Seattle
You might be playing Call of Duty in the metaverse soon. Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard for a cool $68.7 billion in a deal that will make it the third-largest gaming company by revenue.
The acquisition comes as the maker of Diablo, Overwatch and World of Warcraft is under heat. The video-game company recently said it fired or disciplined more than 75 people to clean house after allegations of sexual harassment.
Don’t miss the debate about the acquisition on Blind.
Here’s how to make money in the metaverse
Meta has quietly filed and earned dozens of patents for its metaverse plans. Some patents describe a virtual store, eye and face-tracking technology, and even a wearable magnetic sensor to track body poses. Of course, there will also be hyper-targeted ads and sponsored content in the metaverse, according to the legal filings.
Check out why this professional on Blind thinks technologists are getting “suckered.”
Is there a Better CEO?
After taking a mandatory one-month vacation (how nice!), Vishal Garg is back at Better Mortgage. The once-disgraced CEO went viral last month after laying off more than 900 people in an unempathetic three-minute Zoom call. Read the reactions on Blind.
Stop the treadmill!
Peloton knows you’ve given up on your New Year’s resolutions already. According to a leak, the fitness company will stop making its exercise bikes and treadmills for the next one to two months because there is less interest in its expensive workout gear. Layoffs might also be on the way, as the company has also hired pricey consultants to help it find ways to cut costs.
Someone on Blind made the case that Apple should buy the company. Do you agree?
Have you moved yet?
It’s not your imagination: Almost everyone is moving to Austin. The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce announced the city has never had as many new jobs thanks to the companies that announced they would move or expand in the Texas capital last year. Companies like Amazon, Samsung and Tesla helped run up the score to almost 27,000 jobs.
Find out if it’s easy to make more than $200,000 a year in Austin on Blind.
The new hot benefit in tech
The stock market has taken a beating lately, and it’s been hitting tech companies especially hard. Robinhood, which had its IPO about six months ago, is down more than 80% from its all-time high of $85 per share. Now, the stock-trading app is giving some new hires more stock to make up for the loss in compensation.
We reveal how Robinhood’s new equity grant works—only on Blind.
Be a newsmaker
Make an impact with your work. The top companies in the headlines are using Blind to grow. Find out how you can get an offer from some of the most innovative and fast-growing companies.