THE NEWS WRAP: Apple chief slams workplace discrimination

Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook has slammed so-called “religious freedom” laws in the US that allow employers to discriminate against their employees on the basis of personal beliefs.

 

In an opinion piece for The Washington Post, Cook said that America’s business community recognised a long time ago that discrimination in all its forms is not just morally wrong but bad for business.

 

“Our message, to people around the country and around the world, is this: Apple is open,” he says.

 

“Open to everyone, regardless of where they come from, what they look like, how they worship or who they love. Regardless of what the law might allow in Indiana or Arkansas, we will never tolerate discrimination.”

Phhhoto now has more than 1 million users

Camera app Phhhoto has broken the 1 million user mark.

 

The startup launched an app last year that allows users to record GIFs and upload them to a public feed.

 

Co-founder Omar Elsayed told TechCrunch the next stage for the app is to improve the user experience.

 

“The product has gotten to a point where the Phhhoto media type is something that our users are enthusiastic about, so now it’s about how we can loop that into new ways of communicating, and perhaps even new content types,” he says.

 

To date the startup has raised $US225,000 ($A294m) in seed funding.

Drifty announces $US2.6 million capital injection

Software startup Drifty has raised $2.6 million in order to fund its product development, TechCrunch reports.

 

The round was led by Chicago-based firm Lightbank with participation from Founder Collective and previous investor Arthur Ventures.

 

Drifty is a graduate of the TechStars Cloud 2013 incubator. Last year the startup raised $1 million in seed funding.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 263.65 points, rising 1.49% to 17,976.31. The Aussie dollar is currently trading at around 76 US cents.

 

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