Amazon’s Prime Air is taking off in nearly 500 U.S. cities

Amazon is significantly expanding its Prime Air drone delivery service, with plans to reach nearly 500 U.S. cities by the end of 2026.

Apple overhauls its EU App Store fees, loosens rules for alternative app stores

Apple is simplifying its EU App Store fees, replacing its per-install fee with a 5% commission for apps distributed outside the App Store and making it easier for developers to operate alternative app marketplaces.

WordPress.com targets the next generation of web creators with a free student plan

WordPress.com Education lets teachers offer their students free domains, plugin support and professional website-building tools.

Uber adds Zipline drones to its Eats delivery network

Uber is also making investing in Zipline as part of the tie-up.

eBay continues to bet on live shopping after record quarter

eBay touted an increase in eBay Live’s gross merchandise volume as it plans to expand it to more international markets in the coming weeks and months.

Ex-Spotify employees raise $10M to bring the AI behind its recommendations to e-commerce

The startup’s platform predicts what product a shopper wants next, learn their general taste, and fine-tune continuously based on what they do in real time. 

Shopify says AI search is driving more traffic and sales, not replacing Google

Shopify says AI isn’t cannibalizing search traffic the way it has for publishers. Instead, AI-driven traffic and orders to Shopify stores tripled year over year in Q2.

eBay reaches $56M settlement with e-commerce newsletter writers it terrorized in 2019

Ina and David Steiner inspired the ire of high-level eBay executives after occasionally criticizing the company in their newsletter. In 2019, a plot was concocted to intimidate the couple into halting their negative coverage.

PayPal leaves the door open to a higher takeover offer following earnings beat

After reporting better-than-expected Q2 results, PayPal said it remains focused on its AI-driven turnaround, but would consider a deal that creates more value for shareholders.

Uber’s $14.8B Delivery Hero deal would nearly double its global footprint

Uber has agreed to acquire Delivery Hero in a $14.8 billion all-stock deal that would nearly double the company’s global footprint and create one of the world’s largest food-delivery platforms outside China.