Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Tuesday.
- Facebook is quietly laying the foundation for its own HQ2-style expansion by leasing enough office space in Seattle for 20,000 employees. Facebook has 5,000 employees in the Seattle area at the moment, but this move lays the groundwork for a massive expansion in the region.
- Uber reported its third-quarter earnings on Monday, which topped Wall Street's revenue estimates. However, the ride-hailing giant lost more money on a per-share basis than analysts expected, and shares sank by as much as 6% in after-hours trading following the report.
- Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the company is donating $2.5 billion towards alleviating the California housing crisis. Facebook and Google both announced similar donations of $1 billion earlier this year.
- TikTok's parent company has released a $400 smartphone in China that opens the video-sharing platform with just a swipe. ByteDance's Jianguo Pro 3 is only available for purchase in China, and starts at around $389 US.
- Palmer Luckey's defense tech startup Anduril says it would like to someday outfit American soldiers with augmented-reality headsets that can weave together critical bits of information on the battlefield. Business Insider spoke to Anduril CEO Brian Schimpf.
- Facebook changed its corporate logo, saying it wants to make clear that it owns companies like Instagram and WhatsApp. The new logo won't replace the existing logo for the social-media service named Facebook — it's for the corporate parent of Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook.
- Edward Snowden says big tech firms like Amazon, Google and Facebook have business models that are tantamount to "abuse." Snowden spoke via video-link at Mobile Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal.
- Insiders say that hot startup UiPath forced its CFO out because she tried to rein in its exorbitant spending, amid layoffs that are sending ripples through the automation industry. UiPath laid off about 400 people in October including its chief financial officer, just months after raising $568 million at a $7 billion valuation.
- Israeli entrepreneurs said experience in the IDF, a culture of confidence, and a growing ecosystem are among the reasons Israel produces so many outsized tech hits. The tiny country has produced major successes such as Waze, Gett, and Lemonade.
- Microsoft experimented with a four-day work week in its Japan offices, and says productivity increased 40%. The trial was part of Microsoft's "Work-Life Choice Challenge," a summer project that examined work-life balance and aimed to help boost creativity and productivity by giving employees more flexible working hours.
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