In today’s Bulldog wrapup of the latest technology news:

  • Snap, maker of the teen social app Snapchat, files for IPO
  • Amazon increasingly wants to be its own deliveryman
  • Uber CEO quits Trump business council amid boycott calls
  • Peter Thiel became New Zealand citizen in California in 2011 

The details:

  • Snap, maker of the teen social app Snapchat, files for IPO

The company behind Snapchat, a teen-oriented social network famous for its quickly disappearing messages, has filed for what could be one of the largest tech IPOs in years.

Snap Inc. said Thursday that it’s seeking up to $3 billion in an initial public offering, a figure that could shift based on investor demand. That demand will help determine the price per share sought by Snap in the upcoming weeks.

Snapchat has millions of users, and Snap has built a thriving ad business on it. But the company has also made a lot of money — nearly $900 million — disappear in the past two years.

  • Amazon increasingly wants to be its own deliveryman

Amazon isn’t content just being the “everything store.” Increasingly, it looks like it wants to be its own deliveryman, too.

Its Monday announcement of a new air cargo hub in Kentucky is merely Amazon’s latest foray into building out its own shipping and logistics unit. If successful, the move could ultimately mean lower costs for Amazon — and possibly faster delivery and low prices for consumers. But it could also pit Amazon against package deliverers like FedEx and UPS.

Amazon has long plowed its profits back into its business investments. In order to speed up its delivery, it has invested in opening new distribution centers and leasing fleets of trucks. In May, Amazon leased 40 Boeing jets from Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings and Air Transport Services Group Inc., a fleet it dubbed “Prime Air.”

The moves comes e-commerce continues to outpace retail sales. Amazon said Thursday the number of items it sold in the fourth quarter rose 24 percent compared with a year ago. Its revenue rose 22 percent to $43.74 billion, slightly missing analyst expectations.

Meanwhile, profit rose 36 percent to $749 million, or $1.54 per share, ahead of expectations.

  • Uber CEO quits Trump business council amid boycott calls

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has quit President Donald Trump’s council of business leaders, according to an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press.

Kalanick wrote to his employees that he’d spoken with Trump on Thursday to “let him know that I would not be able to participate on his economic council. Joining the group was not meant to be an endorsement of the president or his agenda but unfortunately it has been misinterpreted to be exactly that.”

  • Peter Thiel became New Zealand citizen in California in 2011

Silicon Valley billionaire and President Donald Trump adviser Peter Thiel was able to gain New Zealand citizenship in 2011 despite never having lived in the country, because a top lawmaker decided his entrepreneurial skills and philanthropy were valuable to the nation, documents reveal.

Thiel didn’t even have to leave California to become a new member of the South Pacific nation. He was granted citizenship during a private ceremony held at the New Zealand Consulate in Santa Monica.

The New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs on Wednesday released 145 pages of partially redacted documents detailing how Thiel became a citizen.

His status was first reported by The New Zealand Herald newspaper last month and raised questions because Thiel didn’t fulfil the usual criteria requiring people to live in the country.

In his application, Thiel wrote that he owned a home in New Zealand but if he was granted citizenship, he would need to continue residing in the U.S. to manage his California-based companies.

He said he realized his circumstances wouldn’t usually qualify him for citizenship, but that he believed he was an exception.

“In the course of pursing my international business opportunities, my travel, personal philosophical commitments and benefaction, I am happy to say categorically that I have found no other country that aligns more with my view of the future than New Zealand,” he wrote.