Daily Crunch - Uber CEO says CA shutdown may be necessary

Uber’s CEO pushes back against a potential reclassification of drivers, a former COO sues Pinterest and Microsoft reveals details about the Surface Duo. This is your Daily Crunch for August 12, 2020.

The big story: Uber CEO says CA shutdown could be necessary

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi appeared on MSNBC today and claimed that if a recent California court ruling reclassifying drivers as full-time employees is not overturned, the company might have to suspend services in that state for several months.

“It’s hard to believe we’ll be able to switch our model to full-time employment quickly,” Khosrowshahi said.

In a recent New York Times op-ed, the chief executive argued that making drivers full-time employees would make things worse for both drivers and riders. Instead, he advocated for other legislative solutions like requiring gig economy companies to create benefits funds for their workers.

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The tech giants

Former COO sues Pinterest, accusing it of gender discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination — Françoise Brougher, who says she was abruptly fired from the company in April, is suing the company to hold it “accountable for discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), and the Labor Code.”

Microsoft’s dual-screen Surface Duo arrives September 10 for $1,399 — Microsoft’s dual-screen mobile device took an important step closer to reality, with a release date and price.

Square’s Cash App tests new feature allowing users to borrow up to $200 — You’ll be expected to pay the loan back in four weeks, along with a flat fee of 5%.

Startups, funding and venture capital

Court dismisses Genius lawsuit over lyrics-scraping by Google — The lawsuit, filed in December, accused Google of violating Genius’s terms of use and unjustly enriching itself by scraping lyrics on the site to be displayed on searches for songs.

Gong raises another $200M on $2.2B valuation — Gong CEO Amit Bendov says his company is trying to create a category he described as “revenue intelligence.”

Personal training sessions come to ClassPass — These personal training sessions will be virtual and follow the same UX flow as ClassPass’s recently introduced virtual classes.

Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch

Does 👁👄👁 illustrate the power of meme culture in fundraising? — The cryptic effort was a statement on how FOMO and hype culture dominate venture capital conversation.

Dear Sophie: How can we sponsor H-1B transfers and extensions? — A startup asks about job applicants who need to get their H-1B visas renewed.

(Reminder: Extra Crunch is our subscription membership program, which aims to democratize information about startups. You can sign up here.)

Everything else

Sarah Cooper, known for her impressions of Donald Trump on TikTok, just landed a Netflix deal — Titled “Sarah Cooper: Everything’s Fine,” the production will be directed by Natasha Lyonne and executive produced by the Maya Rudolph.

Save with group discounts to TC Sessions: Mobility 2020 — If you’re tech-obsessed about the future of moving people, products and packages around the world, you do not want to miss TC Sessions: Mobility 2020 on October 6-7.

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