10 Things in Tech You Need to Know Today, Monday, Feb. 8

Hello, readers. Amazon is more than doubling its maximum base salary, and a new autonomous delivery robot can climb stairs. 

Let’s get started. 

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1. Amazon is increasing its maximum base salary. According to a leaked memo viewed by Insider, the company is more than doubling its base pay cap for US employees, from $160,000 to $350,000.

• The bump in base salary comes as employee angst over pay recently reached a boiling point. Earlier this year, insiders told us that frustration with pay is leading to more employees and executives leaving Amazon. 

• Even with the pay hike, some employees are skeptical. According to conversations with more than a dozen employees, many feel the increase could be more of a marketing ploy than a commitment to addressing the long-simmering issue.

• “Talk is cheap,” said one mid-level employee in Amazon’s retail organization. “I will believe it when I see the company walk the talk.”

Here’s what else employees told us about the change.

Plus: Last year, Insider created a searchable salary database with data from more than 250 companies from Amazon to Google. You can explore the database here. 

In other news:

2. Peter Thiel is stepping down from Meta’s board. Thiel, a venture capitalist and one of the board’s longest-serving members, plans to step down to focus on supporting conservative politicians in the midterm elections. What we know about his resignation.

3. Gopuff regularly stocks its warehouses with items purchased from Instacart. In one busy East Coast region, Gopuff employees regularly spend $12,000 a month or more ordering on Instacart, former managers told Insider. How Gopuff got addicted to Instacart.

4. In Spotify news… A conservative-leaning YouTube rival offered Joe Rogan $100 million to leave the company, and an investor has demanded a report on the platform’s content-policing rules. Meanwhile, Spotify’s CEO said he won’t “silence” Rogan, and that the platform would invest $100 million into content from marginalized groups.

5. Shopify was just granted a patent for body-measuring tech. The technology is intended to make it easier to take body measurements and determine the correct sizes for clothing — but Shopify faces competition from Amazon and others in digital sizing. What we learned from the patent.

6. SoftBank’s sale of UK chip manufacturer Arm to US tech giant Nvidia has collapsed. The deal, which was announced back in September 2020, has been scrapped due to a host of regulatory hurdles, the Financial Times reported. Read more about the failed acquisition here.

7. Meta says it could have to shut down Facebook and Instagram in Europe. In its annual report, the company warned that it’d consider shutting down the platforms if it can’t continue transferring user data back to the US. A closer look at what that means.

8. Nike buying Peloton could have major perks — but analysts say it’s still the wrong move. Peloton is exploring the idea of a sale, and Amazon and Nike are reportedly interested. But Wall Street analysts warn that Peloton’s financial losses and reputational damage make an acquisition a bad idea.

9. Elon Musk’s Boring Company has finished digging a tunnel in Vegas. The tunnel, which runs from the Las Vegas Convention Center to Resorts World hotel, will form part of a 29-mile tunnel network called the Vegas Loop. See footage of the final stage of the dig.

10. A new autonomous robot could be the next big innovation in delivery. The new robots can hit a maximum speed of 12.4 mph, and can climb stairs. Check out the autonomous delivery robots.

What we’re watching today:

Curated by Jordan Parker Erb in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email jerb@insider.com or tweet @jordanparkererb.) Edited by Michael Cogley in London.