Recode Daily: Uber goes to war with itself; trolls go to war with Google

Benchmark Capital, one of Uber’s earliest and biggest investors, is suing co-founder and ousted CEO Travis Kalanick. Benchmark claims that Kalanick has not honored the terms of his resignation and has been trying to pack the company’s board with loyal allies; the main goal of its lawsuit: Get him off Uber’s board. Meanwhile, Uber’s first employee, Ryan Graves, is stepping down as SVP of global operations but will stay on as board director. And Benchmark’s blockbuster lawsuit may have given Alphabet some legal ammo in its own lawsuit against Uber. [Kara Swisher / Recode]

Google CEO Sundar Pichai canceled a scheduled all-hands meeting about the company’s ongoing crisis over gender inclusion, due to some employees’ concerns about online harassment. Names and bios of several employees have already been published on a variety of largely alt-right sites. Kara Swisher talked with Google execs about Pichai’s decision to fire the author of the radioactive memo. And some U.S. lawmakers are pressing Google to improve hiring and management in response to the situation. [Kara Swisher / Recode]

Two scientists who have studied gender and STEM for 25 years say that the controversial Google memo isn’t backed up by real science. “There is no evidence that women’s biology makes them incapable of performing at the highest levels in any STEM fields.” [Rosalind C. Barnett and Caryl Rivers / Recode]

Snap delivered its second straight disappointing quarter yesterday, reporting that it added few users and brought in less revenue than Wall Street expected. Follow along with these live notes from the earnings call. So is Snap simply having its post-IPO “Facebook moment” or are its troubles here to stay? [Kurt Wagner and Rani Molla]

Troubled music-streaming service SoundCloud will replace its CEO, Alex Ljung, as part of a new round of investment. Former Vimeo CEO Kerry Trainor will step in to run the company; Ljung will stay on as board chair. SoundCloud is aiming to raise around $170 million; last year, it talked to rival Spotify about a sale. [Peter Kafka / Recode]

Two more thinkers for your weekend: Why we despise cable providers, and have smartphones destroyed a generation?

Top stories from Recode

Didi is chasing Uber around the world.

The Chinese ride-hail giant is now competing with Uber in at least five regions through investments in local players.

Blue Apron and Snap stocks are both down over 40 percent since going public.

The companies are reporting earnings today.

Can an engineered “meat” replace hamburgers?

Impossible Foods CEO Pat Brown argues the merits of plant-based burgers on Too Embarrassed to Ask.

This is cool

Hey, look at this ice cream cone!

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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