With Labor Day upon us, summer is effectively over. And with news today thin on the ground, this seems an appropriate moment to review the highs and lows of the summer in tech business. So without further ado, here are The Briefing’s awards for the most distinctive tech business stories of the past three months:
Worst Boys-and-Their-Toys Moment: This is a tie between Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos for their rocket ship rides, days apart in July. The competition between the two was so intense that Branson’s ship was reportedly in danger during its flight but the pilots didn’t abort, possibly to avoiddispleasing the boss. As for Bezos, his comments afterwards thanking Amazon customers “because you paid for all this” came across as just a touch clueless.
Worst Planned IPO: Didi Global. No contest here. What Chinese company goes public after warnings by the Chinese government not to go ahead? Didi stock almost immediately lost nearly half its value.
