Daily Crunch: Facebook cancels F8 over coronavirus concerns

Coronavirus fears prompt even more event cancellations, controversial facial recognition software is being used widely and DocuSign acquires Seal Software. Here’s your Daily Crunch for February 28, 2020.

1. Facebook cancels F8 conference, citing coronavirus concerns

Facebook has confirmed that it has canceled its annual F8 developers conference over growing concerns about the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. More specifically, the company says it’s canceling the “in-person component” — there may still be video presentations, along with live-streamed and local events, under the F8 umbrella.

At the same time, companies, including Microsoft, are pulling out of the Game Developers Conference over similar concerns. And the Geneva Motor Show was just canceled.

2. Clearview said its facial recognition app was only for law enforcement as it courted private companies

After claiming that it would only sell its controversial facial recognition software to law enforcement agencies, a new report in BuzzFeed News suggests that Clearview AI is less than discerning about its client base, and has in fact shopped its technology far and wide.

3. DocuSign acquires Seal Software for $188M to enhance its AI chops

Seal Software was founded in 2010, and, while it may not be a mainstream brand, its customers include the likes of PayPal, Dell, Nokia and DocuSign itself. (DocuSign previously invested in the company, too.) These businesses use Seal for its contract management tools, but also for its analytics, discovery and data extraction services.

4. Senate passes ‘rip and replace’ bill to remove old Huawei and ZTE equipment from networks

Written as a response to recent concerns around Chinese hardware manufacturers, the bill would ban purchase of telecom equipment from embattled Chinese manufactures like Huawei and ZTE. It also includes $1 billion in funding to help smaller rural telecoms “rip and replace” existing equipment from specific manufacturers.

5. The world Bob Iger made

The Disney executive has been openly thinking about retirement and searching for a successor — a search that culminated in this week’s announcement that he’d be stepping down from the CEO role immediately. But Iger’s succession planning hasn’t stopped him from solidifying Disney’s dominance of the entertainment business, a position designed to last long after his departure. (Extra Crunch membership required.)

6. ‘Robot’ was coined 100 years ago, in a play predicting human extinction by android hands

Published 100 years ago, R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) by Czech writer Karel Čapek is best remembered for bringing the word “robot” to sci-fi — and English, generally.

7. Catching up with Startup Battlefield

We’re trying out something new: As you (hopefully) know, TechCrunch hosts a number of Startup Battlefield events, and afterwards, those startups often go on to do interesting and newsworthy things. But there are so many Battlefield alumni at this point that we can’t cover every announcement. So occasionally, I’ll be rounding them up here.

This week, we’ve got news from Berlin 2019 competitor Nodle.io, which is crowdsourcing the connectivity of smart sensors by offloading the task to smartphones. And Nodle announced this week that it has acquired Internet-of-Things security company Brickchain.com.

The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here.

Geneva Motor Show canceled over coronavirus fears

The Geneva Motor Show is the latest trade show to cancel over fears of the coronavirus. The Swiss auto show is one of the largest car shows in the world and is usually the venue where high-end and exotic auto makers roll out new models and wild concepts. The show, like most auto shows, is more than a trade show as its doors are open to the public.

The Geneva Motor Show joins other major canceled events such as GSMA’s Mobile World Congress and Facebook’s F8 conference. So far, the associations behind the upcoming New York International Auto Show have yet to announce its closure. The NYIAS runs from April 10-19 in New York City.

These auto shows are more than just an open exhibit for the public. Auto makers dump millions into massive installations and announcements. Years of work go into crafting the right message for each show and without the shows, auto makers will need to shift strategies to announce their latest models and trends.

Up until now, the Geneva Motor Show was advising attendees to avoid sick people — which is nearly impossible in the packed halls as people push and shove to see the latest supercar concepts.

“We regret this situation, but the health of all participants is our and our exhibitors’ top priority. This is a case of force majeure and a tremendous loss for the manufacturers who have invested massively in their presence in Geneva. However, we are convinced that they will understand this decision,” said Maurice Turrettini, Chairman of the Foundation Board, in a released statement.

The organizations behind the Geneva Motor Show state that they are now working on dismantling the show and determining the financial consequences for all those involved. It also notes that “tickets already purchased for the event will be refunded.”

The Dow Jones drops nearly 1200 points as coronavirus fears batter stock markets

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped nearly 1200 points today to close at 25,766.64, marking the single worst week for the index since 2011. The Nasdaq stock market fell over 400 points.

Behind the collapse was a growing realization that COVID-19, the coronavirus strain sweeping across the globe, has indeed landed on U.S. shores and will likely have a much stronger effect on the economy than analysts and investors initially predicted.

Morning trading showed that economists and investors were not assuaged by the reassurances from President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, who repeatedly indicated that the U.S. was well-prepared to meet the threat posed by the spreading virus.

It was only minutes after the press conference concluded that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a statement that the U.S. had identified its first case of community infection — when a person who was not known to have traveled outside of the U.S. or had been in contact with anyone who had been infected with the virus was diagnosed with the disease.

Most technology companies weren’t able to avoid the crumbling faith investors displayed toward the short term prospects of the U.S. economy if it’s forced to endure a prolonged slowdown thanks to the illness. (Though there were a few exceptions.)

Facebook shares were down nearly 4%, or $7.35, to close at $189.75, while Amazon dropped $95.29 — or 4.81 percent — to close at $1,884.30. Apple and Microsoft were the hardest hit, with their shares off 6.5% and 7%, respectively. Microsoft closed down $11.99 at $158.13 and Apple closed at $273.52.

SaaS stocks wound up down 2.7%, while the Nasdaq itself closed off 4.6%.

To better illustrate what is going on, here is a set of figures. Just a few days ago, in mid-February, the Nasdaq was testing the 10,000 point threshold, a result that would have been not only an all-time record, but a key psychological barrier as well. Instead, after reaching fresh highs on the 19th, the Nasdaq is worth just a bit over 8,500 on the 27th. That’s a big rejection of optimism.

More in the morning when the markets open again, and react to the night’s news.

Vice President Pence bulks up Coronavirus Task Force with medical and economic experts

The point person for the government (who will be reporting to Vice President Pence) is Deborah Birx, a longtime leader in the U.S. government’s efforts to contain the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

From her position within the State Department as the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Special Representative for Global Health Policy, Birx coordinated the Army, Navy and Air Force in their HIV/AIDS efforts and led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Global HIV/AIDS program.

In addition to Birx, the vice president also appointed to the task force Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Director of the National Economic Council Larry Kudlow and Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams.

The appointments emphasize the importance the White House is placing on controlling the economic impact of the crisis.

Stock markets have declined significantly over the past week as economists and investors weigh the prospects of much slower growth in 2020 as a result of the global spread of coronavirus.

Tech companies like Microsoft have already issued warnings over the effect coronavirus will have on earnings, and large technology events, including (most recently) Facebook’s developer conference and the Mobile World Congress (which was slated to begin this week) have been cancelled.

 

 

Facebook cancels F8 conference, citing coronavirus concerns

Facebook confirmed that it has canceled its annual F8 developers conference, over growing concerns over the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The company writes on its official website,

In light of the growing concerns around COVID-19, we’ve made the difficult decision to cancel the in-person component of F8 this year, in order to prioritize the health and safety of our developer partners, employees and everyone who helps put F8 on. We plan to replace the in-person F8 event with locally hosted events, videos and live-streamed content.

The move follows the recent cancelation of the Mobile World Congress event, which was scheduled to happen this week in Barcelona. Facebook adds that, while it has officially pulled the plug on the in-person component of the event, it will still be offering other opportunities, “In place of the in-person F8 event,” organizers write on the site, “we’re planning other ways for our community to get together through a combo of locally hosted events, videos and live streamed content.”

We’ve reached out to Facebook for additional information about its plans, moving forward.

Developing…

The coronavirus begins to impact US tech earnings

Hello and welcome back to our regular morning look at private companies, public markets and the gray space in between.

Today we’re starting on a somber topic, so I’ll hold off on our usual jokes and attempts at puns. The impact of the coronavirus known as COVID-19 is starting to show up in U.S.-based technology earnings, and it’s something we need to discuss. We’ll get back to SaaS multiples, the IPO market, and riffing on startups later today, but first, some bad news from the public markets.

Let’s examine the latest from Microsoft, Nutanix, and Booking Holdings (parent company of Bookings.com), OpenTable, and Kayak. Afterwards, we’ll talk about what types of companies might be impacted, given what we’ve learned. And finally, we’ll link this all back to startups, younger technology shops sensitive to changes in market sentiment and repricing due to public market gyrations.

Vice President Mike Pence will lead the US response to the COVID-19 outbreak

In an early-evening press conference, President Donald Trump tapped Vice President Mike Pence to lead the U.S. response to the COVID-19 outbreak that has spread through Europe, Asia and Latin America.

The new coronavirus strain, which has infected about 81,000 people around the world and killed 3,000, has already wrought havoc on the global economy. The Centers for Disease Control warned yesterday that the U.S. will likely not be able to escape the spread of the virus.

“It’s not a question of if this will happen but when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illnesses,” said Dr. Nancy Messonier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, in a press conference given by the Centers for Disease Control on Tuesday. “Disruption to everyday life might be severe.”

Speaking alongside Pence; Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases head Dr. Anthony Fauci; and principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control Dr. Anne Schuchat, the President stressed that the U.S. government was “very, very ready” to respond to the disease.

Vice President Pence said that the White House would continue to work closely with state and local officials, add additional personnel and work with Congress to ensure that the necessary resources are available. “The threat to the American public remains low,” Pence said.

The White House is asking Congress for $2.5 billion to support efforts to stop the spread of the virus in the U.S. while Senate Democrats led by Chuck Schumer have put an $8.5 billion price tag on the coronavirus fight.

Secretary Azar outlined five areas where the government would look to spend money including: monitor the spread of the virus, cooperate with local governments, develop therapeutics, develop vaccines, and manufacture and purchase personal protective equipment.

Diagnosing the illness has been a particular problem for the U.S. According to multiple reports, the CDC isn’t prepared to test for a potentially rapidly expanding number of cases in the U.S.

Only 12 of the 100 public health labs in the U.S. are able to diagnose the coronavirus because of problems with a test developed by the CDC, according to a Politico report.

Better diagnostics tools are going to be one of the critical areas where startups could play a role in combating the spread of the virus.

“Where startups are going to make contributions is in detection, monitoring, epidemiological predictions, sequencing, supply chain [and] distribution logistics,” wrote James Birch, an entrepreneur and former researcher with the American College of Surgeons.

Scott Gottlieb, the former Food and Drug Administration chief and an investor with New Enterprise Associates, has advocated for the expansion of Emergency Use Authorizations from the organization he used to lead as a way to respond to the need for more, better diagnostic tests.

The lack of effective tests available to public health facilities calls into question exactly how prepared the government is for the potential health crisis. In fact, the White House got rid of the pandemic response group in the Administration in a cost-cutting measure in 2018.

Also troubling to some healthcare observers is Pence’s own track record when it comes to healthcare crises.

As governor of Indiana, Pence’s inaction led to an outbreak of HIV in one of the state’s more rural counties, according to a report in HuffPost. As drug use soared in the state during the opioid crisis, addicts in the county were also becoming infected with the virus because they were sharing needles. Pence opposed a needle-sharing program, which could have limited the spread of the virus.

Fears about how the new coronavirus would impact the economy rattled stock markets earlier this week as news of the disease’s spread to Europe were confirmed. The market’s slide and the political response in Washington played a role in the president’s decision to hold a press conference today, judging by the president’s own Twitter account.

Coronavirus fears hit markets, bringing US shares down as tech and SaaS slip

Fears over the potential impact of the coronavirus spreading in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East have sent stocks plummeting in Monday’s open — with tech stocks among the hardest hit.

The reason for the declines is clear: The global response to the coronavirus (also known as Covid-19). Over the weekend, cases outside of China swiftly rose in Europe and other parts of Asia, indicating that hopes of containing the virus’ spread appear to be dashed.

This widening contagion has rattled markets as investors weight the potential for a global epidemic and grapple with its effects on the economy.

Economists expect China to release key indicators about the strength of its economy later this week and the news does not look good.

Chinese president Xi Jinping said over the weekend that the coronavirus had “a relatively big impact on the economy and society,” according to a report in The Guardian. Xi said that the government was already taking steps to minimize the damage to businesses around the country.

Meanwhile, in Europe, International Monetary Fund chief Kirstalina Georgieva said that the global lender was ready to step in to lessen the blow emerging market economies may face from the virus. “Global cooperation is essential to the containment of the Covid-19 and its economic impact, particularly if the outbreak turns out to be more persistent and widespread,” Georgieva was quoted as saying in the Guardian.

Those warnings rattled U.S. stock markets which as of the Dow’s opening had fallen significantly.

Here’s your Monday morning list of major index punishment, at the open:

  • Dow Jones Industrial Index: -2.92% or 846.17 points
  • S&P 500: -2.73% or -91.18 points
  • Nasdaq: -3.57% or -336.69 points

Narrowing in a bit into the tech world, our favorite SaaS and cloud index is off 2.98%. (SaaS stocks are among the most highly-valued public shares in the market today; as such they tend to trade at extremes to other equities, swinging higher and lower compared to other market movements. Notably, however, today they are changing less in value, which could be a bullish sign for the category.)

If it’s a stock, it’s probably down today. And that’s bad news for companies looking to either go public this year — Asana, Airbnb, others — or report earnings this week — Square, HP, Box, Salesforce. No company likes to debut when the markets are falling, as it creates a harder milieu in which to price, and can generate negative pressure on valuations that the newly-public find unpalatable. For companies reporting earnings, markets in the throes of pessimism and fear don’t make for receptive audiences.

It’s more than just markets — manufacturers which depend on China to deliver components are going to see shortages that could impact their ability to sell their goods and services in the short term. Factories in China were closed due to mass quarantines and those closures will ripple through the global economy.

And that’s the start to the week. More if things change, but we’re off to one heck of a bad start to the week.

Equity Monday: Stocks fall, Square earnings, and Capiche raises $1.1M

Good morning friends, and welcome back to TechCrunch’s Equity Monday, a short-form audio hit to kickstart your week. Regular Equity episodes still drop Friday morning, so if you’ve listened to the show over the years don’t worry — we’re not changing the main show. (Here’s last week’s episode with Danny Crichton if you want to listen; I also just got the pun in the headline.)

Starting off this week the news is not very good.

I start to prep for Equity Monday on Fridays, keeping tabs of themes and news cycles. By the time it’s Sunday night I have a good idea of what the show is going to focus on. And I’m a little tired it being bad news about the coronavirus. Here’s to hoping that we, as a species, make material progress to stopping the damn thing.

In more mundane terms, the disease continued to shutter cities and countries, slowing the global economy. I’d rather focus on the human side of the story, but I’m a financial and technology journalist, so here we are.

Markets around the world are down sharply. Stocks in the United States are set to fall. Tech companies are pipped by pre-market trading to fall even further. Growth and SaaS public shops look set to take the sharpest hit.

Turning to funding rounds this week, just one. Instead of covering a number of funding events in the early-stage market, we’re discussing a single round raised by Capiche — a $1.1 million investment sourced from a number of small angel groups and venture firms. The company — here, on the Internet — is working to connect SaaS customers and power users so that they can share tips, pricing information, and negotiation tactics. As literally everyone knows, the SaaS market is too opaque. Also major tracking entities are thought by some to be too favored towards vendors. Capiche wants to tilt the balance of power towards users, instead.

If that will prove a lucrative model isn’t yet clear, but Capiche is a young company with its first real check. It has time to prove itself. According to CEO Austin Smith, his company has nearly two years (seven quarters) of runway in the bank without generating revenue. The startup intends to turn on income far before its money runs out, of course.

I think we’ll cover more individual rounds on Equity Monday over time as it’s more fun than running through a short, partially-themed list.

Finally, I riffed for you on the Credit Karma-Intuit deal that is supposed to be coming very, very soon, in a formal sense. $7 billion is a lot of money to start the week.

Happy Monday!

Equity drops every Friday at 6:00 am PT, so subscribe to us on Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotify and all the casts.