Tech Boys

NASA has chosen three finalists in its competition to design a structure that could house humans on the moon or Mars. The structures need to be able to be 3D-printed using materials that are already on the planet. The designs will go head-to-head on May 1, with $800,000 up for grabs. Here is what NASA's favorite designs for 3D printed homes on Mars look like: Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. NASA has spent four years looking at designs for habitats that could be 3D-printed on the moon or Mars, and has selected its favorite three designs. NASA's 3D-Printed Habitat Competition launched in 2015, looking for structures that could be built autonomously using materials that are already on the planets. The top three teams will go head to head on Wednesday, printing 3D scale models of their designs in competition for $800,000 in prize money. The winner will then be announced on May 4. NASA said it's trying to find the technology that is "neede...

Facebook raked in over $420 million in sales in Australia last year, but paid just $8.3 million in taxes — roughly 2% — to Australia's tax authority. According to the Facebook's tax returns, seen by the Sydney Morning Herald , the company paid $AU455 million ($320 million) to overseas subsidiaries for "the purchase of advertising inventory," though the report did not provide additional details Concerns have been raised in the past about multinational companies shifting around their fiances in order to avoid company taxes, leading to the passage of legislation in Australia last year to narrow the opportunity for tax avoidance by multinational enterprises. Facebook has been in hot water with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) in the past, and last year the company was ordered to pay $AU42 million ($29.5 million) in taxes as a result of a settlement with the office following an audit.  Facebook raked in over $420 million in sales in Australia last year, but pai...

This is a preview of a research report from BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about BI Intelligence,  click here . The smartphone is getting smarter as tech and internet companies inject increasingly sophisticated computer vision and object recognition functions into their hardware and software. The ability to  “understand” what the user is pointing their mobile camera at and “read” the image has opened the door for visual search. Foreseeing the potential for mobile visual search to create new revenue opportunities, brands are attempting to harness the smartphone camera’s increasing sophistication to engage with consumers and drive sales. In this report, Business Insider Intelligence analyzes the developing technologies behind mobile visual  search and its value to businesses and brands. The report also assesses risks and  opportunities inherent in developing a visual search strategy, provides a list of  companies th...

Sales of the Google-made Pixel smartphone are falling, company executives said in its first quarter earnings call on Monday — further pointing to the tech giant's struggle to build a meaningful hardware business.  Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that Pixel's dropping sales were caused by "year-on-year headwinds" across the smartphone industry. CFO Ruth Porat said that the Pixel struggles are part of why growth is slowing in Google's "other revenues" unit — which include businesses, like cloud and hardware, that are outside its core ads business.  Growth in Google's "other revenues" slowed from an increase of 35% year-over-year in 2018 to 25% in 2019. Alphabet's stock is down over 7% in after-hours trading on Monday.  Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Sales of the Google-made Pixel smartphone are falling, company executives said in its first quarter earnings call on Monday, further pointing to the tech gia...

SoftBank's Vision Fund is known for infusing massive amounts of cash into startups like Uber and WeWork to help excellerate growth. But the investment fund has growth plans of its own, according to one executive's remarks during the Milken Institue Global Conference on Monday. Rajeev Misra, the CEO behind the SoftBank Vision Fund, said the investment unit plans to double in size from 400 people to 800 people in the next 18 months. Read more stories like this on the Business Insider homepage. BEVERLY HILLS— SoftBank's Vision Fund is known for injecting millions (or billions ) of dollars in capital into startups to help them supercharge growth. It turns out, the fund has plans for some mega-growth of its own. On stage at the Milken Institute Global Conference on Monday, the CEO of SoftBank Investment Advisors Rajeev Misra said he has plans to double the size of the investment arm from 400 employees to 800 employees over the next 18 months — dramatically increasing ...