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10 things in tech you need to know today

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Amazon workers Alabama union

Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images

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Before we get into it, we have a request. We want to know how you've experienced (and dealt with) burnout during the pandemic, especially if you work for a startup. If you have a story you'd like to share, here's how you can contribute.

Now, let's get started.

1. Votes are being tallied in Amazon's historic union election. Now what? We outlined what will happen if the vote passes, and what will happen if it doesn't. We also spoke with workers who discussed why they voted against unionization. Here's what they told us.

2. Facebook and Google are funding two new undersea cables. The cables, called Bifrost and Echo, are expected to link America's West Coast to Indonesia and Singapore, with a stopover in Guam, the US island territory in the western Pacific.

3. Gen Z VCs are getting in on the NFT frenzy. Young venture capitalists have rallied behind non-fungible tokens in recent months. To understand what they're actually buying, we asked Gen Z investors to share their purchases. These are the four NFTs they've collected so far.

4. ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, may be worth more than Twitter and Coca-Cola. The Chinese company was trading at a valuation of $200 billion on the secondary market last month. With shares rising as it eyes an IPO, it may soon outvalue both the two major brands - if it hasn't already.

5. Elon Musk wants top engineers to move to Texas. The Tesla CEO - who recently moved to Texas himself - pleaded for engineers, technicians, and other experts to move to South Padre to work for his company, SpaceX. Read his tweets here.

6. More major moves in the tech world - from Facebook CRO's departure to GameStop nabbing another Amazon exec. David Fischer said he'll leave Facebook this fall, but didn't announce any new employment plans. Meanwhile, GameStop poached Amazon's Elliott Wilke, who will serve as the company's new chief growth officer. More on the company's executive shakeup.

7. Foxconn, Apple's biggest microchip supplier, is the latest company to be impacted by the global shortage. The computer chip shortage was caused by the pandemic, but exacerbated by the Texas freeze. Here's what that could mean for Foxconn's - and in turn, Apple's - exports.

8. H&M was wiped from the internet in China, sending a chilling warning to other retailers. After the major Swedish retailer made comments disparaging the country's forced labor, its online presence has all but disappeared. A look at China's power over international companies.

9. Nike is transforming from a marketing-first company into a tech brand. With a former eBay CEO steering it into the tech world, the company is seeing mass layoffs, executive departures, and team restructuring. We spoke with seven insiders who said the changes are creating turmoil.

10. Cameo nabbed a $1 billion unicorn valuation at its latest funding round. The video startup, which lets people buy personalized video messages from celebrities, saw a boom during the pandemic. In 2020, these 10 celebrities were Cameo's top earners - including a star of "The Office," who made more than $1 million from the video snippets.

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Compiled by Jordan Erb. Tips/comments? Email jerb@insider.com or tweet @JordanParkerErb.

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