Connected newsletter: Web Summit chief steps down as tech job losses mount
Connected at the Business Post is your source for the news that matters in technology and innovation, all told from an Irish perspective
Is the abrupt departure of Katherine Maher as Web Summit chief executive a surprise? Yes and No. Could it lead to the return of Paddy Cosgrave to the hot seat? You’d be mad to rule it out. Read our analysis on yet another instalment in Web Summit’s journey.
Separately, there is no getting away from the fact that it has been a grim month for redundancies in the tech sector with a spate of new announcements this week. Ebay, Microsoft and Riot Games are among the companies joining Amazon and Google in slashing headcount with Layoffs.fyi. a site that tracks redundancies, estimating that some 72 companies have cut over 130,000 jobs globally this month.
TikTok also announced a small number of job cuts with Irish employees affected. However, the video-sharing platform does still have over 150 roles open in Dublin currently.
As if it weren’t depressing enough reporting such news, it was with a heavy heart that we revealed that WarDucks, the highly-respected gaming company led by Nikki Lannen, has folded. On the bright side though we can’t wait to see what Nikki does next.
While job cuts were to the fore this week, it is also worth noting that some companies are still hiring. Belfast is to benefit from US fintech DailyPay’s decision to ramp up headcount with a further 200 jobs being created in the city. The company established an office in NI last year and already employs 100 people locally.
Continuing with the the positive news, and some 20 start-ups have been founded as a result of Ireland’s first tech talent accelerator, with eight of these having already secured €100,000 apiece in funding.
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It was a good week for Netflix, which surprised Wall Street in terms of the number of new subscribers it gained late last year. It was an even better one for Microsoft, which hit a $3 trillion market valuation on the back of its leading position in AI.
The rise of AI meanwhile is now being classed as a severe risk to Ireland’s economy by the Department of Finance, the Business Post exclusively revealed earlier this week.
Elsewhere, Klarna, the buy-now-pay-later firm, which was one of the first European firms to admit to difficulties arising form the turn against tech two years ago, is weighing a public listing in the US.
The ongoing ding-dong between Eir and ComReg took another turn this week when the regulator said the telco can offer discounted prices for wholesale fibre broadband services after all.
With ecommerce continuing to thrive, I enjoyed sitting down for a good long chat with John Tuohy, founder of OOHPod and prior to that, Nightline and Parcel Motel, recently. This interview will be in the print edition of the Business Post on Sunday, but is available to online subscribers now.
Connected magazine also returns this weekend in print with plenty of top tech features to keep you occupied. Among the topics we’re looking at in the latest issue are closing the gender gap in tech, e-waste, and we have a look at how 5G has failed to take off. Online subscribers can read Connected as of now but it looks gorgeous so be sure to pick it up in print as well!
Lastly, you may have thought that Temu was only for the youngsters but it turns out its boomers and GenXers who are embracing it the most.
All the best,
Charlie
It's expensive to replace humans with AI, MIT says (Quartz)
A pastor accused of pocketing $1.3m in cryptocurrency scam says the Lord encouraged him to use funds for a home remodel (Business Insider)
