Marketplace Tech

Pending some surprise moves by the House of Representatives, net neutrality will officially be repealed today. Those regulations prevented internet providers from blocking or interfering with or discriminating against the content they distribute. Now critics say cable and wireless broadband providers can block access to any site they want, charge more for services that compete with what they might offer — like Netflix or Hulu — and create paid fast lanes or even high-priced bundles that include some sites and exclude others. So what's likely to happen and when? Rob Frieden is a professor of telecommunications and law at Pennsylvania State University. He spoke with Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood about what internet providers wanted to do that they couldn't under the old rules. (06/11/2018)

The $150 billion Indian tech industry was created in part by U.S. companies outsourcing information technology work and software development. Now a combination of automation, oversupply and U.S. immigration policies have led to layoffs and concerns about the future for India’s IT giants. One of those is Bangalore-based Infosys, which is credited with essentially creating the city’s middle class. Rollo Romig wrote about Infosys and the Indian IT economy for the The California Sunday Magazine. Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood spoke with him about the headwinds facing IT in India now.  

Melinda Gates is most well known as the co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. But the longtime philanthropist is also the founder of a for-profit organization called Pivotal Ventures. Through her for-profit enterprise, Gates is trying to increase the number of women and minorities in tech by funding venture capitalists who invest in more diverse entrepreneurs. Such funders are known as limited partners (LPs), but the name is misleading because LPs hold the purse strings and can set a VC’s agenda if they want to. Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood spoke with Melinda Gates about how being at the top of the VC food chain can have an impact on the whole system. (06/07/2018)

Steph Curry’s buzzer-beating three-pointer from Game 2 of the NBA Finals has been relived millions of times on Instagram. But not on the Golden State Warriors official account. Or ESPN’s. Or TNT’s for that matter. Instead, the clip blew up on the account called House of Highlights, which has some 9.3 million followers. House of Highlights is doing something that social media managers at major sports networks may be kicking themselves for not doing first. It’s posting highlights from sports, both professional and amateur, all day, every day. Omar Raja started House of Highlights as a way to keep up with his favorite basketball star, LeBron James. He talked about it with Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood. (06/06/2018)

Apple CEO Tim Cook hasn’t been shy in recent weeks about taking shots at Facebook over user privacy. So it was reasonable to think that privacy and social responsibility might be selling points at its Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) in San Jose this week. But the issue was barely mentioned by Cook or anyone else for that matter. Ina Fried, the chief technology correspondent at Axios, spoke with Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood about whether Apple missed an opportunity. (06/05/2018)

Sometimes it seems like there's nothing that tech companies won't try to disrupt. The new novel "Mother of Invention" by Caeli Wolfson Widger takes that idea all the way to the womb. The book tells the story of a biotech startup that shortens pregnancy to just nine weeks ... and questions whether that's actually a good idea. Wolfson Widger talks with Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood about how observations from her tech recruiting firm inspired the book. (06/04/2018)

Venmo has been a major player in the peer-to-peer payment scene the past few years. If you’re not familiar with the PayPal-owned app, one popular feature is its public news feed. That’s where people post their payments, often with emoji to describe them. But as it gets more popular, some are wondering if it’s secure or private enough. In fact, PayPal recently settled a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission over Venmo about privacy and security. Alison Griswold has covered Venmo at Slate and now at Quartz. She spoke with Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood about the app. (06/01/2018)

Bitcoin’s wildly fluctuating price may not be the result of free market forces. The Department of Justice has reportedly opened an investigation into whether traders are manipulating the price of bitcoin and other digital currencies. Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood spoke with Peter Tchir, a market strategist at the investment bank Academy Securities about digital currency price manipulation his article on the topic for Forbes. (05/31/2018)

Intel Capital is the venture capital arm of the chip giant Intel. It's invested over $12 billion since it was started in 1991. Lately, it's focused on big data, artificial intelligence, robotics and diversity. In 2015, it announced the $125 million Intel Capital Diversity Fund, which is to be invested in female and minority startup founders. Two and a half years later, after they'd invested all that money, the Diversity Fund became the Diversity Initiative with a broader definition of diversity. Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood spoke with Christine Herron, one of the leaders of the fund, about its evolution. (05/30/2018)

There’s a lot of focus right now on the tech industry and its big personalities, as well as what they’re doing to help (or possibly hurt) society. However, one tech founder is trying to be a smaller personality while still leaving a big footprint on issues like education, support for military families, equality in tech and journalism. Craig Newmark founded Craigslist, Inc. in 1995 and the site basically looks the same now as it did then. Though it still bears his name, Newmark isn’t involved in the day-to-day at Craigslist. Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood spoke with Newmark about why he’s chosen philanthropy over being an entrepreneur in an effort to effect change. (05/29/2018)