Techmeme River
Techmeme River
Tuesday, September 18, 2018
5:00 PM
Amazon launches the Alexa Gadgets Toolkit, a set of software tools designed for third-party gadgets that connect with Amazon's Echo devices via Bluetooth
CNET
4:50 PM
Google is rolling out Chrome OS 69 with material design, Linux support, Night Light, dictation, and more
9to5Google
4:08 PM
HQ Trivia co-founder Colin Kroll becomes CEO, replacing Rus Yusupov, who will take a creative role, as the company previews a new Wheel of Fortune-like game
Digiday
4:05 PM
Microsoft unveils two mixed reality apps, Remote Assist and Layout, to let users connect live with colleagues via HoloLens, available on Oct 1 with Dynamics 365
Forbes
4:00 PM
HQ Trivia has a new CEO
Axios
3:55 PM
Google Maps is now available on Apple CarPlay with iOS 12, which previously just supported Apple Maps; Waze also plans to support CarPlay in a future update
9to5Mac
3:35 PM
Women startup founders own 39 cents for every dollar of equity a male founder owns, says study that used anonymized data from more than 6,000 US-based companies
Wall Street Journal
3:20 PM
Ampere launches its first ARM-based eMAG server processors to challenge Intel, with power efficiency, high performance, and high memory capacity
VentureBeat
3:10 PM
Illumix, a startup making tools for more dynamic phone-based AR games, raises $8.6M seed round co-led by Maveron and Lightspeed Venture Partners
TechCrunch
2:55 PM
NY AG report on cryptocurrency trading platforms finds many are vulnerable to market manipulation, refers some to regulator for potential legal violations
CoinDesk
2:40 PM
London-based Divido, a marketplace for lenders that offer B2C and B2B financing to customers at checkout, raises $15M Series A
TechCrunch
2:25 PM
Pinterest rolls out a new API to help brands find and keep track of influencers
VentureBeat
2:20 PM
Instagram to run ads in Stories and feed to point US users over 18 to mid-terms voting registration info, will let users add an “I Voted” sticker
TechCrunch
2:15 PM
YouTube extends its $4.99/mo Channel Memberships, previously available only to channels with 100K+ subscribers, to smaller channels with 50K+ subscribers
The Verge
1:50 PM
Agriculture tech startup Indigo raises $250M Series E and launches marketplace to help farmers sell grain online; source: funding values firm at $3.5B
TechCrunch
1:25 PM
Sources: as recently as last year, Facebook pressed banks for the ability to use customer financial data passing through Messenger for purposes like advertising
Wall Street Journal
1:20 PM
Google says it is moving the AMP project to an open governance model, forms steering committee with reps from other companies
Accelerated Mobile Pages Project
1:10 PM
Shopify adds support for AR Quick Look, an iOS 12 feature that lets users place models of products in real environments from within Safari
The Verge
12:39 PM
YouTube announces it will shut down its standalone Gaming app and launches a new YouTube Gaming destination at youtube.com/gaming, first coming to the US
TechCrunch
12:15 PM
Lyft passes 1 billion trips six years after its founding, amid some concerns about its future growth ahead of a potential IPO
The Verge
12:02 PM
Sources: Tesla under criminal investigation by DOJ over public statements made by Tesla and CEO Elon Musk, alongside a previously-reported civil inquiry by SEC
Bloomberg
11:40 AM
ACLU files complaint with EEOC against Facebook and 10 other employers, alleging job ads on site were targeted to exclude “female and other non-male” prospects
BuzzFeed News
10:10 AM
Zurich-based WayRay, which develops holographic AR hardware and display tech for cars, raises $80M Series C led by Porsche, source says at a $500M valuation
TechCrunch
9:55 AM
Google's Family Link, which allows parents to set screen time limits and more, expands to teens, adds support for Google Assistant, and rolls out worldwide
The Verge
9:45 AM
On-demand delivery startup Postmates raises $300M led by Tiger Global, source says at a ~$1.2B valuation, to accelerate its growth across the US
Fortune
9:30 AM
Mozilla releases Firefox Reality, a web browser built to work with VR and AR headsets, available in the Viveport, Oculus, and Daydream app stores
ZDNet
9:20 AM
ACLU, others file lawsuit against Facebook alleging that its advertising platform is being used by prospective employers to discriminate against women
NBC News
9:05 AM
Withings launches Steel HR Sport smartwatch with GPS and fitness level analytics via a VO2 max indicator, available for $200 today
Engadget
8:20 AM
UiPath, which develops AI-based bots that automate mundane enterprise tasks, raises $225M Series C at a $3B valuation from CapitalG, Sequoia Capital, and Accel
VentureBeat
7:45 AM
Female ASMR video creators have been permanently banned from PayPal and had funds frozen after 8chan harassment campaign; PayPal says it has no anti-ASMR policy
Engadget
7:10 AM
iPhone XS and XS Max review: terrific display, great speakers, and long battery life, but expensive, very good camera but not great, portrait mode a hit or miss
The Verge
6:55 AM
How China is working to expand industrial robot usage tenfold to 1.8M units, 70% of which are to be made in China, up from 30% currently, by 2025
South China Morning Post
5:30 AM
Google partners with Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance to provide Android-powered infotainment systems, with integrated maps, assistant, more, starting in 2021
Wall Street Journal
3:35 AM
Indian ride-hailing service Ola has raised $50M from two Chinese investors at a valuation pegged between $3.7B and $4.3B
The Economic Times
12:30 AM
HBO and Netflix tie for the most Emmy wins, taking home 23 each; Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel won eight awards; Hulu won four
Hollywood Reporter
Monday, September 17, 2018
9:10 PM
Twitter update lets users revert to a chronological timeline, says it is working on a way for users to easily switch between algorithmic and chronological feeds
The Verge
8:45 PM
GovPayNow.com, used by ~2,300 US government agencies for online payments, has exposed 14M+ customer records dating back to 2012, says issue has now been fixed
Krebs on Security
7:45 PM
Amazon opens a checkout-free Amazon Go retail store in Chicago, its first such store outside Seattle
VentureBeat
7:10 PM
Trump placing 10% tariffs on an additional ~$200B in Chinese imports on Sept. 24, drops ~300 types of goods, including smartwatches, from list of those affected
New York Times
6:40 PM
Leaked email to Dubai ad agency shows Spotify plans to launch across the Middle East and North Africa in November with a new regional headquarters in Dubai
Music Business Worldwide
6:10 PM
Apple releases tvOS 12 for Apple TV and Apple TV 4K, with support for Dolby Atmos audio, NASA screensavers, zero sign-on for some cable apps, and more
CNET
6:00 PM
Apple launches watchOS 5, with Walkie-Talkie, Apple Podcasts, Siri Shortcuts, new watch faces, raise to speak, new workout types like yoga and hiking, and more
MacRumors
5:06 PM
Sources: Amazon plans to release at least eight new Alexa-powered devices, including a microwave, an amplifier, and subwoofer, by the end of the year
CNBC
4:20 PM
Microsoft Managed Desktop launches as a subscription service whereby Microsoft provisions, deploys and manages companies' Windows 10 devices
ZDNet
4:12 PM
List of some of the iOS apps supporting Siri Shortcuts, now available in the App Store, including Pandora, The Weather Channel, Google News, and Trello
TechCrunch
4:07 PM
Facebook debuts pilot program to expand its security tools and procedures, like 2FA and threat monitoring, for candidates and campaign staff ahead of midterms
NBC News
3:43 PM
Instagram Shopping launches personalized Explore channel, expands Stories tags after testing them since June, and lets brands add a shopping bag icon to Stories
TechCrunch
3:35 PM
TripAdvisor plans revamp later this year to include a “travel feed”, to let users follow other travelers or content creators, including major publishers
The Guardian
2:50 PM
Getty Images partners with Amazon to provide images from its catalog of 200M digital pics for searches on the Echo Show and Echo Spot
TechCrunch
2:15 PM
Cloudflare debuts IPFS Gateway, an easy way to access content from the P2P-driven InterPlanetary File System that does not require installing special software
CoinDesk
2:05 PM
Researchers disclose 0-day flaw allowing remote code execution on security cameras running Nuuo software, say hundreds of thousands of devices may be affected
ZDNet
1:35 PM
iOS 12 review: mostly incremental improvements to iOS 11 rather than breaking new ground, except for Siri Shortcuts, which is a productivity playground
MacStories
1:19 PM
Testing shows app launch times on the iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 Plus, and iPad Mini 2 improve between 7% and 27% after installing iOS 12
Ars Technica
1:07 PM
iOS 12 officially launches out of beta, with faster performance, Screen Time, smarter notifications, Memoji, Siri Shortcuts, improved privacy in Safari, more
MacRumors
12:25 PM
Facebook expands its bug bounty program to include third-party apps and services that involve improper exposure of Facebook user access tokens
Wired
12:25 PM
Stripe unveils Stripe Terminal, a new service for in-person payments with Warby Parker and Glossier as launch partners, will charge 2.7% plus 5¢ per transaction
Recode
12:10 PM
AR startup Blippar announces the close of a $37M financing round, bringing total raised to $137M; the company says it hopes to reach profitability in 12 months
TechCrunch
11:25 AM
Italian court sentences a man who sold hospitality businesses fake reviews on TripAdvisor to nine months in jail
Fortune
10:55 AM
Freightos, a marketplace for logistics providers that lets users book, manage and track shipments, raises $44.4M Series C led by Singapore Exchange
TechCrunch
10:25 AM
Sources: Flipkart has held early-stage talks with Indian video streaming service Hotstar about acquiring a stake in the company
Livemint
9:50 AM
Sisense, a startup that helps customers understand and visualize their data across multiple sources, raises $80M Series E led by Insight Venture Partners
TechCrunch
9:20 AM
Amazon adds a new section to its website called Amazon Storefronts, a retail hub exclusively for US SMBs, featuring 1M+ products from ~20K companies
The Verge
8:45 AM
Security researcher finds a new CSS-based attack that crashes and restarts iPhones after malicious HTML is rendered, like when a user visits a malicious link
ZDNet
7:00 AM
Current and former Apple execs including Eddy Cue, Tony Fadell, Greg Joswiak, and John Sculley recount anecdotes from their time at the Infinite Loop campus
Wired
5:55 AM
Q&A with Roku CEO Anthony Wood on working at Netflix while running Roku early on, partnering with Chinese TV makers, competing with tech giants, and ads on Roku
Recode
4:30 AM
Mobile social network Path, which Google reportedly tried to acquire for $100M and which was once raising money at a $500M valuation, is closing down on Oct. 18
TechCrunch
2:50 AM
A look at 6 of 36 members of Alibaba Partnership, an organization set up in 2010 to ensure the continuity of Alibaba's management after Jack Ma retires
South China Morning Post
1:05 AM
WeWork acquires Teem, an office space scheduling and workplace analytics platform, to add to Powered by We product suite; sources: WeWork paid $100M for Teem
Wired
Sunday, September 16, 2018
11:27 PM
UK-based Babylon Health says it will invest $100M in hiring more than 500 researchers, scientists, and engineers over the next year to improve its AI for health
Business Insider
10:55 PM
MusicWatch: paid music streaming subscribers surpass 50M in US, nearly doubling since end of 2016, with ~20M separate users sharing but not paying for access
Billboard
10:35 PM
Coinbase says it plans to expand its New York City office, which caters to institutional clients, to 150 employees next year, up from 20 currently
CoinDesk
9:07 PM
How extremists exploit tech's respect of “free speech” and media's bias to cover “both sides” to amplify fringe messages and get into mainstream conversation
Data & Society
8:25 PM
Google remotely enabled Battery Saver mode for users running Android 9 Pie, during an “internal experiment”, has since apologized and reset settings to default
The Verge
7:40 PM
Linux creator and project lead Linus Torvalds apologizes for years of rude behavior, says he is temporarily stepping away from Linux maintenance to get better
LKML Archive on lore.kernel.org
6:51 PM
Salesforce founder Marc Benioff and his wife, Lynne Benioff, to buy Time Magazine for $190M from Meredith Corp., expecting to close within 30 days
Wall Street Journal
6:05 PM
Interview with Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, on his philanthropic priorities in SF, and why he invests in schools to help solve the “digital refugee” crisis
San Francisco Chronicle
4:40 PM
Research: healthcare AI startups have raised $4.3B across 576 deals since 2013, topping all other industries in AI deal activity
CB Insights Research
3:30 PM
How citizen journalists and scholars are using the internet to find Uighur internment and “reeducation” camps and expose the persecution of minorities in China
The Atlantic
2:15 PM
Facebook seeks to hire a Director of Human Rights Policy to steer investigations into human rights abusers on its platforms
Engadget
1:10 PM
California law, mandating cannabis-delivery drivers to be classified as employees, shows the real-world effects of changes in gig-economy worker classification
The Atlantic
11:35 AM
Amazon confirms it is investigating claims that its employees in US and China accepted bribes for internal data and other confidential info on Amazon merchants
Wall Street Journal
10:15 AM
Durable iPhones can result in lower replacement rates, but they expand Apple's client base via resales, which can then be monetized via accessories and services
Asymco
6:05 AM
New York's top banking regulator sues US government, claiming it usurped state powers by awarding national bank charters to online lenders and payment companies
Reuters
2:00 AM
Tech companies like Salesforce, now the biggest private employer in San Francisco, are reacting to the city's limits by expanding and hiring faster elsewhere
San Francisco Chronicle
1:25 AM
Apple responds to viral customer complaint about deleting movies from his iTunes library, says it does not delete movies that users have already downloaded
CNET
1:10 AM
Twitter now puts live broadcasts started by accounts users follow, including breaking news, personalities, and sports, at the top of their timelines in its app
TechCrunch
12:55 AM
SurveyMonkey sets IPO range to $9 to $11/share, plans to raise $135M at the midpoint of the range and additional $40M via private placement at $1.3B valuation
NASDAQ.com
Saturday, September 15, 2018
10:20 PM
After receiving “increased level of interest”, DOJ has invited a bipartisan group of 24 state AGs to upcoming meeting on alleged speech stifling by tech firms
Wall Street Journal
7:45 PM
Inside the paid courses where deactivated NYC Uber drivers try to learn how to get back in, while critics say tutors are squeezing yet another fee from drivers
The Outline
5:10 PM
Esports companies like Blizzard are growing by replicating traditional sports leagues like NBA that are structured around local franchises and fanfare
New York Times
2:50 PM
Let's Encrypt has issued 380M+ free TLS certificates on 129M unique domains in three years since launch, making it the largest certificate issuer in the world
TechCrunch
11:00 AM
After running Tezos blockchain network in beta since June, Tezos Foundation will officially launch its protocol on Monday
CoinDesk
7:10 AM
An in-depth review of Android 9 Pie, which comes with a lot of useful user-facing changes and, maybe, improved battery life, but the gestures remain a mess
Ars Technica
2:05 AM
Profile of Procore, a cloud-based platform for the $1T US construction industry that has raised $200M+ and is thinking about IPO after barely surviving in 2008
Forbes
Friday, September 14, 2018
11:25 PM
HYP3R, a location-based marketing platform, has raised $17M Series A; HYP3R says it has geofenced ~300K hotels worldwide for extremely accurate location data
ClickZ
8:20 PM
Study: Facebook engagement for sites identified as publishing fake news dropped by 50%+ between 2016 election and July 2018, while shares on Twitter kept rising
Slate
7:30 PM
Tencent-backed content aggregator Qutoutiao closes up 128% after raising $84M in its IPO, the biggest first-day increase of a significant US IPO in 2018
Bloomberg
6:45 PM
European website finds that a free app is exposing the exact locations of Grindr's 3.6M+ active users via unauthorized access to Grindr's private API
BuzzFeed News
6:30 PM
Anaplan, which makes cloud-based business planning software, has filed for IPO, one week after its CFO joined the company from Tesla, where he was for one month
CNBC
6:05 PM
Investigation: North Korean operatives are evading US sanctions and earning millions by using fake identities on services like Github, Slack, and Paypal
Wall Street Journal
5:05 PM
Sources: prototypes of Google's Dragonfly search engine for China link the search app on users' Android devices to their phone numbers
The Intercept
4:10 PM
Mercedes-Benz to integrate SoundHound's AI voice assistant in A-Class cars soon; the AI assistant is also coming to Kia and Hyundai cars in 2019
TechCrunch
3:15 PM
Licensing and approval loopholes make games like GTA, banned in China, available for download in the country via Apple's App Store and Steam store
Abacus
2:35 PM
Airware, a drone startup that has raised $118M from Andreessen Horowitz, Google's GV, Kleiner Perkins, and others, is shutting down
TechCrunch
1:45 PM
Google says it will shut down Fabric, the mobile app development tool it acquired in 2017 from Twitter, in mid-2019 after it migrates Fabric's users to Firebase
VentureBeat
12:50 PM
Nasdaq to buy Cinnober, a Sweden-based exchange and real-time clearing technology provider, for ~$190M
Financial Times
12:05 PM
Apple is happy to use women and people of color as art, not authority
Engadget
11:30 AM
Tencent-backed Qutoutiao, a China-based content aggregator, prices its downsized IPO at $7 per share, raising $84M and valuing the company at $2.1B
China Money Network
10:28 AM
Mary Meeker and three partners are leaving Kleiner Perkins to form a new firm; sources describe clashes between early and late stage groups at Kleiner Perkins
Recode
9:55 AM
Google adds support for fingerprint sensors on Android phones and Touch ID on Macs to Chrome 70 beta, allowing developers to use biometrics for authentication
Chromium Blog
9:05 AM
EFF and Cyberlaw Clinic at Harvard Law School help eliminate “seven dirty words” restriction policy from .US domain name registrations, reinstating fucknazis.us
Electronic Frontier Foundation
7:40 AM
Twitch hires its first head of diversity and inclusion from Vimeo, also a new human resources chief and CFO; it now has four women in its seven-person C-suite
Fortune
4:35 AM
How The Weather Channel and The Future Group used the Unreal Engine to create a stunning depiction of Hurricane Florence's storm surge
Wired
1:30 AM
Sources: a list of seven employees who quit Google over Dragonfly, including some engineers with up to 11 years tenure, is circulating inside Google
BuzzFeed News
Thursday, September 13, 2018
10:00 PM
A look at Standard Cognition's tech, which uses cameras and AI to track shoppers and what they buy, as it opens San Francisco's first cashierless store
New York Times
8:40 PM
Nvidia says it has launched Project Maglev, an initiative to use its Drive AI platform to enable product development in industries like robotics and health care
VentureBeat
7:35 PM
The FDA cleared the Apple Watch Series 4's heart monitoring abilities based on Apple-backed studies but mandated Apple label the risks of inaccurate readings
Quartz
6:50 PM
The bubble around self-driving cars has turned into a trough of disillusionment; firms are now factoring for autonomous driving tech to be viable much later
Wall Street Journal
5:40 PM
Salesforce announces the Step Up Declaration, signed by an alliance of 21 companies including Uber, HP, and Lyft, pledging to use tech to fight climate change
Fortune