10 things in tech you need to know today

Advertisement

evan spiegel snapchat

Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Vanity Fair

Snapchat CEO Even Spiegel.

Good morning! Here's the technology news you need to know today.

Advertisement

1. Snapchat is giving up on making original content, Deadline reports, and is shutting down its Snap Channel permanently. The company removed the channel from the Discover platform a few weeks ago with the promise that it would be relaunched.

2. French startup Doctolib just raised £13 million ($19.98 million) in a Series B round led by the London team of venture capital firm Accel Partners. The platform aims to make it easier for patients to make appointments with doctors.

Complimentary Tech Event
Transform talent with learning that works
Capability development is critical for businesses who want to push the envelope of innovation.Discover how business leaders are strategizing around building talent capabilities and empowering employee transformation.Know More

3. EMC CEO Joe Tucci could make about $30 million (£19.52 million) for selling his company. Dell officially bought EMC yesterday for $67 million (£43.59 million) in the biggest tech merger ever.

4. To do so, Dell is taking on $50 million (£76.85 million) in debt. But Wall Street is okay with that.

Advertisement

5. Microsoft PC partner Asus had no idea about the Surface Book before it was announced. Microsoft initially told Business Insider that it had been "transparent" with all its partners about its ambitions to create new Windows devices.

6. Facebook has big ambitions for Messenger, which it says is only really 1% finished. It doesn't even think of Messenger as an app, but as a platform on which entire businesses will be built.

7. Apple is launching an official retail presence in India. It's partnering with local electronics chain Croma to launch six store-within-a-store outlets in Mumbai and Bangalore.

8. Pepsi is officially launching a range of smartphones in China. The company says it is working with a licensing partner to do so, and has no intention of going into the mobile phone manufacturing business itself.

9. Fintech firm Lendinvest has turned a profit for the second time in its two-year history. But CEO Christian Faes believes the peer-to-peer lending sector is being overvalued.

Advertisement

10. Apple is reportedly seeing "disappointing" sales of the iPhone 6s. Pacific Crest expects Apple to sell 67 million units of its latest smartphone versus consensus expectations of 76 million shipments through Q4.