Technology

Energy demand has fallen globally. Oil prices are plummeting. Everywhere in the energy world things look fairly grim, but keeping the lights on and electrons moving remains critical to keeping even the hobbled economies of the world humming.

Thatwhy startups like Amperon, which use data analysis to provide predictive tools for energy retailers and grid operators, are still relevant — and still raising money.

The company raised $2 million in a round that closed in February before the pandemic hit U.S. shores. And the service, according to co-founder Abe Stanway, is still vital.

&We tell them how much electricity their customers are going to use on a short-term and long-term basis,& Stanway said of the companyservice. &When these exogenous shocks and black swan events occur we get much more valuable because you need this machine learning in order to understand how the grid is going to behave.&

The value proposition was clear to investors like Blackhorn Ventures, which led the round, and other backers, including Garuda Ventures, Intelis Capital, Powerhouse Ventures, SK Ventures and V1.VC.

&Amperon builds real-time operational grid intelligence tools via smart meters and AI for utilities, energy retailers, grid operators and institutional traders,& said Emily Kirsch, Powerhouse founder and chief executive. &Amperoniterative demand forecasting is able to account for never-before-seen grid volatility resulting from a global pandemic, climate disasters or an increasingly complex grid.&

Amperon is working with four major geographies, including Australiatwo major grid regions and the ERCOT regional transmission organization responsible for Texas, and PJM, which manages the mid-Atlanticelectricity grid.

Stanway said the new money would be used to expand the companyreach across more grid operators in the U.S.

While Amperontechnology is incredibly useful for utilities and grid operators during times of crisis, it can help save money in normal times too. Long-term utility planners typically over-budget their energy needs by 1% every year, which adds up to billions of dollars spent on unnecessary additional generation capacity, according to Amperon.

Lower spending means reduced electricity prices for consumers. Another issue that Amperon says it can help energy providers address is the increasing complexity of grid management. Renewable energy generation adds variability to the grid that utilities and grid operators have yet to effectively manage, the company said.

While it quickly became clear that the tech and developer conference held during the spring would need to be cancelled due to COVID-19, tech companies are beginning to pull the plug on events taking place later in 2020.

Today, Facebook announced that it would be shelving the in-person component of its virtual reality-focused Oculus Connect 7 conference due to COVID-19 concerns and would be focusing on a digital format. Facebook hadn&t announced dates for the event, the conference is typically held in late September or early October.

&In light of the evolving public health risks related to COVID-19, we&ve decided to shift Oculus Connect 7 to a digital format later this year,& a company blogpost read. &This was a tough decision to make, but we need to prioritize the health and safety of our developer partners, employees, and everyone involved in OC7.&

Earlier this week, California governor Gavin Newsom said it was &unlikely& that sporting events with fans in attendance would return this summer. While the major tech giants had already cancelled the in-person components of their spring and summer developer conferences, this cancellation calls into question how realistic timelines are for tech events that have been rescheduled from spring to the fall.

Conferences have long been critical to the indie games industry with small studios often using the gatherings to form relationships with publishers. With many of the virtual reality industrymajor events shuttering over the past couple years ashype has waned, Oculus Connect has remained perhaps the most important event of the year for VR developers.

As with the in-person cancelation of F8, Facebook says they are making a $500,000 donation that &will prioritize organizations serving local San Jose residents.&

On his personal Facebook account, Mark Zuckerberg offered an update on the companyroadmap for bringing employees back to work in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

In the post, he acknowledged that while it might be possible for a small portion of &critical employees& unable to do their work remotely to return sooner, the majority of Facebookworkforce will be required to continue working from home through &at least& the end of May. The selection of employees Facebook will prioritize for the swiftest return includes content reviewers who scan the platform for things like terrorism and self-harm as well as engineers who work with complex hardware. &…Overall, we don&t expect to have everyone back in our offices for some time,& Zuckerberg wrote.

On a call in the early days of the U.S. response to the virus, Zuckerberg noted that users could expect more false positives in platform moderation with Facebookarmy of at least 15,000 content reviewers sent home. Facebook said it was leaning more heavily on AI moderation to compensate for the lack of human oversight on the platform, a strategy that Twitter and YouTube turned to in the midst of the crisis as well.

Human moderators engage in some of the social networkmost sensitive work, flagging terrorist activity, suicidal posts, child exploitation and other forms of content with potential legal and psychological consequences.

In his post, Zuckerberg noted that even as additional teams return to the office, employees from populations vulnerable to the virus, those without childcare or anyone with other circumstances that might make their situation difficult can work remotely through the summer months. Facebook will also extend its ban on business travel through this June as the company evaluates the situation.

Zuckerberg also announced that his company would cancel any in-person events of 50 or more people through June of 2021 and planned to make some of them virtual instead, including the annual VR developer event Oculus Connect.

&… We&re slowing our plans to return to the office in order to prioritize helping the rest of our community and local economy to get back up and running first,& Zuckerberg said.

&We also know that when society does eventually start re-opening, it will have to open slowly in staggered waves to make sure that the people who are returning to work can do so safely and that we minimize the possibility of future outbreaks.&

Apple’s next-gen headphones could be coming before the end of the year and, if a new source is to be believed, will be one of the most customizable pairs of headphones the Cupertino company has ever made.

According to the source that spoke confidentially to Business Insider, the new Apple over-ear headphones that we’ve taken to calling the ‘AirPods

Online grocery delivery company Instacart is launching a prescription delivery service through a partnership with Costco as demand for online delivery continues to rise amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company said Thursday the delivery service is now available from nearly 200 Costco locations in Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, New York, Washington and Washington, D.C. The service, which was initially piloted at several locations in Southern California and Washington, will expand nationally in the coming months, the company said.

Customers who use the online prescription service will receive a text message from their Costco pharmacy when their prescription is ready. The text will include a link with the option to schedule their prescription for delivery. Once the customer clicks the link, they will be redirected to Costcosite. From there, customers can confirm their prescription and continue to add groceries and household goods to their Instacart Costco delivery order. The orders are delivered to customers in a sealed, tamper-proof bag to ensure customer safety and privacy.

Instacart is also offering contactless delivery for most medications. Instacart shoppers are able to scan a customerID for verification without a signature on qualifying prescription orders. Customers are also able to schedule delivery up to one week in advance under the new service.

The new service was driven by demand in the wake of COVID-19, said Instacart president Nilam Ganenthiran.

&For many people, we know that part of their grocery shopping experience goes beyond fresh produce, meat, seafood and pantry staples, and also includes getting much-needed medications,& said Ganenthiran.

Instacart has seen demand for its grocery service skyrocket as the COVID-19 pandemic spread. The companytotal order volume last week was 400% higher than the same week last year. Customers are spending more, as well. The average customer basket size — meaning the total amount a customer spends on their order on Instacart — is more than 25% month-over-month, according to the company.

The increase in demand has prompted Instacart to expand its reach by adding nearly 150 new stores to its marketplace since March 1. Italso adding workers to keep up with the increase in customers.

Instacartannounced April 10 that it doubled its &Care& team, from 1,200 agents to 3,000 agents. These employees answer questions about how Instacart works as well as respond to delivery issues and other mishaps with orders.

The hiring news followed a strike in March organized by Instacart shoppers whodemanded personal protective equipment, hazard pay, default tips and extended sick pay.

Microsoft has announced a new biodiversity initiative with the aim of collecting environmental data from around the world which will be made available through a Planetary Computer.

The new initiative was revealed by Microsoft President Brad Smith who said that the company will provide its AI for Earth community with access to environmental datasets