#1 | Salesforce to buy Tableau in $15.3 billion deal

Salesforce is buying data visualization company Tableau Software for $15.7 billion in an all-stock deal that was approved by the two boards. This will enable Salesforce to diversify beyond CRM software and provide customers with tools that help them make sense of data they use. Tableau has more than 85,000 customers including Netflix, Southwest, and Verizon and will continue to operate independently led by CEO Adam Selipsky from headquarters in Seattle, Washington. Salesforce has been reportedly interested in Tableau for years although the acquisition is also influenced by Google’s move to buy data analytics startup Looker.
Read more here: https://tcrn.ch/31tjBNX https://cnb.cx/2Regi8J

#2 | Bird buys Scoot, consolidating the scooter-rental market

In a deal that could mark the move toward a broader consolidation in the industry, Bird is buying fellow scooter startup Scoot for an undisclosed amount. Travis VanderZanden, founder and CEO of Bird, says that the deal will help the company to scale operations and focus on micro-mobility options. Scoot will continue to operate under its original branding although San Francisco’s transport agency said that the startup would need a separate approval to operate in the city under Bird. Founded in 2011, Scoot has raised a total of $47 million in funding and was last valued at $71 million. It’s much smaller business than Bird that has raised more than $400 million and was last valued at $2 billion.
Read more here:   http://bit.ly/2IFPjPF https://lat.ms/2IfDyQH

#3 | Uber’s COO and CMO are stepping down

Uber’s chief operating officer Barney Harford and chief marketing officer Rebecca Messina are leaving the company. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi won’t look for the replacements though as he plans to absorb their roles and have a bigger role in various operations. The end goal of this move is to enable the ride-hailing giant to communicate a consistent narrative to riders, partners, media, and authorities. The management shakeup happens in a turbulent period as Uber faces driver complaints, massive loses, and challenging regulatory environment. Read more here:    http://bit.ly/2Kf2zOc https://tcrn.ch/2ZjXsQi

#4 |Amazon shuts down its food-delivery service in the US

Amazon is shutting down its food-delivery service Amazon Restaurants, four years after launching it in Seattle and expanding to two dozen US cities and London. The company, however, doesn’t plan on giving up on this market just yet as it recently led a $575 million funding round in Deliveroo, a London-based food-delivery startup. On-demand meals are big business with multiple companies such as Postmates, DoorDash, and Uber Eats competing for the market share. But profit margins are thin and firms have to deal with complex logistics and labor practices that forced many startups out of business.
Read more here: http://bit.ly/31tGWz8 https://engt.co/2WE1sJG

#5 | Uber to start delivering food via drones in San Diego

Uber will start delivering food by drones in San Diego this summer in a pilot project overseen by its aerial research arm Uber Elevate. Under the scheme, a restaurant will load a meal onto a drone that’ll fly off to a designated location for hand-off to an Uber Eats courier that will then reach the customer. Alternatively, a drone can also land on the roofs of Uber Eats cars marked with QR codes. The company hopes that the project will lead to new insights into how drones can navigate dense urban environments. Also, Uber claims that its quadcopters take 7 minutes while ground transportation takes 21 minutes to fulfill deliveries 1.5 miles away. Read more here:  http://bit.ly/31wESqa http://bit.ly/2IeJMQR