Techmeme River
Techmeme River
Thursday, February 21, 2019
11:35 PM
Sources: Uber Eats is in the final stages of negotiations to sell its India business to rival Swiggy, which raised $1B in last December, in return for 10% stake
The Economic Times
10:30 PM
Facebook has removed its Onavo VPN app from the Google Play Store, will stop pulling in data from users for market research, and will eventually shut it down
TechCrunch
10:15 PM
Filing: Warburg Pincus sold 4.7M shares worth $230M+ of Seattle-based sales tax automation company Avalara; Warburg Pincus had invested $100M in Avalara in 2014
GeekWire
8:40 PM
Google launches .dev top-level domain with built-in security; preorders for available domains cost just over $1,000, but drop to $17.50/year on Sunday
The Register
8:10 PM
Source: Google plans to announce gaming hardware on March 19 in addition to details about its game streaming service
9to5Google
7:15 PM
Baidu beats with Q4 total revenue of $3.96B, up 22% YoY, profit down 50% YoY to $303M; iQiyi beats with Q4 revenue of $1B, reports 87.4M subscribers
Wall Street Journal
6:45 PM
Samsung says it will extend Bixby button remapping to all Galaxy phones on Android Pie in a future software update, after confirming the feature for the S10
The Verge
6:15 PM
Police across the US are increasingly using “reverse location search warrants” to force tech companies to hand over location data of anyone near a crime scene
Slate
5:10 PM
Portland, Ore.-based Lytics, whose platform helps enterprises provide personalized marketing experiences, raises $35M Series C, bringing total raised to $58M
GeekWire
4:45 PM
HPE reports Q1 revenue of $7.55B, down 2% YoY, Intelligent Edge revenue of $686M, up 5% YoY, and Hybrid IT revenue of $6B, down 3% YoY
ZDNet
4:35 PM
DoorDash says it has raised $400M in new VC funding at a $7.1B post-money valuation, up from a $4B valuation in August
Axios
4:32 PM
Roku reports Q4 revenue of $275.7M, up 46% YoY and vs. $262.11M est., says it has 27.1M active accounts, up 40% YoY; revenue for 2018 grew 45% to $742.5M
Variety
4:25 PM
Zillow says CEO Spencer Rascoff is stepping down, to be replaced by co-founder and former CEO Rich Barton, as the company announces Q4 earnings
CNBC
4:22 PM
Dropbox reports Q4 revenue of $375.9M, up 23% YoY, vs. $370M est., narrows its loss to $9.5M, and says it has 12.7M paid users, up from 11M a year ago
Reuters
4:02 PM
Sources: Pinterest has confidentially filed for an IPO, seeking a valuation of at least $12B
Wall Street Journal
3:55 PM
Developers and Intel officials expect Apple to move to ARM-based Macs as soon as next year; Bloomberg report suggests first ARM-based Mac arriving in 2020
Axios
3:51 PM
Armorblox, which uses natural language processing to protect against cyber attacks by analyzing sensitive info in emails and documents, raises $16.5M Series A
VentureBeat
3:41 PM
Google says it will no longer enforce mandatory arbitration for current and future employees starting March 21; change won't apply to many temporary staff
Axios
3:25 PM
Singapore Airlines and American Airlines confirm that some seat screens have embedded cameras but say they are disabled, after a photo of one goes viral
BuzzFeed News
2:55 PM
Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé is retiring, and will be replaced by the VP of Sales and Marketing Doug Bowser on April 15
The Verge
2:17 PM
AT&T says it is pulling all advertising from YouTube, after reports of pedophiles openly using the platform; Nestle and Epic Games have also pulled ads
CNBC
1:55 PM
WSJ: Apple partnered with Ant Financial's Alipay to offer its customers in China up to two years of interest-free financing to buy products in its online store
CNBC
1:20 PM
Data analytics company Qlik says it is acquiring software service provider Attunity for $560M
ZDNet
1:00 PM
Amazon says it will fund computer science classes in 1,000+ US high schools in all 50 states as part of its Future Engineer program
TechCrunch
12:45 PM
Google partners with US government departments and pharmacies to help fight the opioid crisis by showing drug disposal locations inside Google Maps
VentureBeat
12:25 PM
Personal homepage startup About.me is acquired by Oakland-based Broadly, which lets customers talk to and review small businesses, for an undisclosed sum
TechCrunch
12:03 PM
Freight logistics startup Flexport raises a $1B round led by SoftBank's Vision Fund, source says at a valuation of $3.2B
Forbes
11:30 AM
Investigation finds Facebook still lets users target ads based around interest in neo-Nazis; Facebook says it will remove the seldom-used audience groupings
Los Angeles Times
11:15 AM
Samsung Galaxy S10 appears to be the first non-Pixel or Android One device to ship with Google's Digital Wellbeing; Nokia 6 and 8 got the feature in an update
9to5Google
11:05 AM
Lyft launches Shared Saver, a carpool option that it says is its “most affordable”, letting riders lock prices even during peak hours, in Denver and San Jose
VentureBeat
10:45 AM
The Galaxy Fold is Samsung's Google Glass: an exciting technical showcase that is hitting the market too soon and makes no sense as a consumer device yet
The Verge
10:40 AM
UK's Rapid Response Unit, which fights misinformation online, will continue on a permanent basis after a pilot phase begun in April 2018 is deemed successful
Press Gazette
10:15 AM
YouTube says it has terminated 400+ channels and deleted tens of millions of comments in response to concerns about its videos being used to exploit children
The Verge
9:55 AM
HTC announces the Vive Focus Plus standalone headset with Snapdragon 835 and two controllers that support six degrees of freedom tracking, available in Q2
The Verge
9:35 AM
How custom and adaptive video game controllers from Microsoft and others, as well as ways to remap controls in-game, support gamers with physical disabilities
New York Times
9:05 AM
Opensignal report: average US 4G download speeds are 18.1MBps, ranked 47th among 77 countries in a large-scale study on 94M+ devices across 2018
9to5Mac
8:20 AM
Microsoft previews Dynamics 365 AI and mixed reality services and applications on iOS, Android, and HoloLens for remote assistance, customized bots, and more
ZDNet
7:45 AM
Mark Zuckerberg is meeting with UK Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright in CA after refusing to appear before the UK committee investigating online disinformation
CNN
7:31 AM
Report: Apple and Goldman Sachs plan to start issuing a joint credit card in spring, which will be paired with special money management features in Wallet app
9to5Mac
5:35 AM
Driverless cars won't become widespread until automakers and police determine how to pull over autonomous cars, how to program the AI to recognize authorities
Bloomberg
2:20 AM
Kids googling themselves for the first time face shock, frustration, and sometimes excitement at content parents had been posting about them since their birth
The Atlantic
12:40 AM
Clutter, an on-demand physical storage company that manages the pickup, storage, and retrieval of your belongings, raises $200M Series D led by the Vision Fund
TechCrunch
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
10:40 PM
Source: Google is reorganizing its global lobbying operations, including adding resources to emerging markets, in response to global regulatory challenges
Axios
8:45 PM
Lalamove, a Hong Kong-based on-demand delivery startup, has closed a $300M funding round split into two tranches, says it has been valued over $1B for some time
TechCrunch
7:35 PM
Qualcomm's ultrasonic fingerprint scanner in the Galaxy S10, integrated in one of the layers of the display, uses sound waves to take a 3D fingerprint image
CNET
7:00 PM
Galaxy Watch Active hands-on: a refined attempt at a fitness smartwatch with upgraded fitness tracking features; no rotating bezel is a change for the better
Engadget
6:20 PM
Apple's Shazam removes all third-party SDKs, except for Microsoft's HockeyApp, in latest iOS update; uninstalled SDKs include DoubleClick, Facebook Ads, AdMob
Appfigures
5:50 PM
Sources: Lyft plans to list its IPO shares on Nasdaq around the end of March and is expected to make its IPO filing public as early as next week
Wall Street Journal
5:30 PM
Twitter opens applications for twttr, its beta program focused on conversations with rounded, indented, and color-coded replies, hidden engagement icons, more
TechCrunch
5:10 PM
Investigation finds that YouTube is promoting anti-vaccine misinformation in search results and recommendations
BuzzFeed News
4:55 PM
Samsung says the Bixby button on the Galaxy S10 can be remapped to open a third-party app with either a single or double press of the button
The Verge
4:45 PM
Sources: Lyft expects to be valued at between $20B and $25B in its IPO and plans to launch its IPO roadshow during the week of March 18
Reuters
4:35 PM
Samsung says the Galaxy S10 will include Samsung Knox alongside secure hardware-based storage for housing private blockchain keys
CoinDesk
4:10 PM
Samsung says the Galaxy S10+ with 1TB of storage will cost $1,600, or about $53/month for 30 months
The Verge
4:00 PM
Samsung's head of mobile DJ Koh says its Galaxy Home smart speaker, originally unveiled in August 2018, will launch by April
CNET
3:55 PM
Samsung doubles Bixby's supported languages, adding British English, German, Italian, and Spanish, coming to the S10, S9, S8, Note 9, and Note 8
The Verge
3:20 PM
Sources: Disney joins Nestle, Epic Games, and others in pulling ad spending from YouTube following details about a “pedophile ring” in YouTube comments
Bloomberg
3:13 PM
Samsung's S10 will wirelessly charge other devices placed on its back and uses the new Infinity-O screen to house the front facing camera in a hole cutout
Washington Post
3:10 PM
Samsung debuts a basic Galaxy Fit band and Galaxy Watch Active, a simpler $200 version of its watch, shipping March 8 with blood pressure tracking coming later
VentureBeat
3:04 PM
Samsung unveils Galaxy S10 5G, arriving late in first half of 2019, initially just on Verizon in US, with 6.7" Infinity-O display, better 3D depth sensing, more
VentureBeat
3:02 PM
Samsung partners with Instagram to let users post to Stories directly from the camera app
TechCrunch
2:51 PM
Samsung announces $129.99 Galaxy Buds, which cost less than AirPods, and feature wireless charging and a small and curvy, pebble-like design
The Verge
2:51 PM
Hands-on with the Galaxy S10 and S10+: in-screen fingerprint readers works well and the materials feel classy, but it doesn't feel like a huge update
Engadget
2:42 PM
Samsung says it has sold 2B+ Galaxy devices over the past decade
TechCrunch
2:39 PM
Samsung announces Galaxy S10e with 5.8-inch display, two rear cameras, Snapdragon 855, 6GB or 8GB of RAM, and 3,100mAh, starting at $749.99
The Verge
2:33 PM
Samsung debuts 6.1" Galaxy S10 and 6.4" Galaxy S10+ with triple rear cameras, in-screen fingerprint sensors, priced from $899 and $999 respectively, out Mar. 8
VentureBeat
2:22 PM
Samsung's Galaxy Fold will come in both LTE and 5G versions with One UI Android skin and four colors available, starting at $1,980 on April 26
VentureBeat
2:07 PM
Samsung debuts Galaxy Fold, a foldable smartphone with 4.6" folded and 7.3" unfolded displays, 7nm processor, 12GB RAM, three-app multitasking, 6 cameras, more
The Verge
2:05 PM
Microsoft launches its new Office app, preinstalled on Windows 10 and replacing My Office, to better promote the free online versions of Office to consumers
The Verge
1:58 PM
Live stream of Samsung's Unpacked event
YouTube
1:58 PM
Live blog of Samsung's Unpacked event in San Francisco, where new Galaxy S10 devices, a foldable phone, and more have been announced
The Verge
1:30 PM
Pinterest says it's stopped returning vaccine-related search results as most spread anti-vax disinformation, part of its broader approach against “false cures”
Gizmodo
1:20 PM
WinRAR, a file compression app with ~500M users, has fixed a 14-year-old flaw that made it possible for attackers to run code when targets open a malicious file
Ars Technica
12:57 PM
Keith Rabois is leaving Khosla Ventures and joining Peter Thiel's Founders Fund to become its ninth partner
Axios
12:45 PM
Mark Zuckerberg talks to Harvard professor Jonathan Zittrain about encryption, “information fiduciaries”, and more, as part of Zuckerberg's 2019 challenge
Harvard Law Today
12:15 PM
Analysis of data from social platforms: Democratic 2020 candidates are being targeted by a coordinated campaign of misinformation focused on sensitive issues
Politico
11:50 AM
Facebook introduces new location controls for Android, letting users limit location data collection, and will prompt iOS and Android users to check settings
Facebook
11:35 AM
Investigation: YouTube is monetizing sexualized videos of minors, many with comments from predators; Epic Games pauses all pre-roll ads following inquiry
WIRED UK
11:20 AM
A look at “Reply Guys”, a mostly harmless but annoying Twitter phenomenon where one or two men reply to every tweet from a woman
Mashable
11:00 AM
Citymapper announces a £30-£40/month subscription service for London transport with access to its Ride car-sharing service, TfL trains, and Santander bikes
WIRED UK
10:50 AM
SoundCloud adds a self-distribution feature to its Premier tier, currently in beta, that lets artists publish and monetize their songs on other platforms
The Verge
10:35 AM
eMarketer predicts that US digital ad spending will surpass traditional in 2019, growing 19% YoY to $129.34B, of which mobile will account for ~$87B
eMarketer
10:10 AM
ThousandEyes, which provides a network intelligence platform to monitor performance, raises $50M Series D led by GV
VentureBeat
9:55 AM
Arm unveils two new products for cloud and edge applications, the Neoverse N1, which focuses on compute speed, and the Neoverse E1, focusing on throughput
TechCrunch
9:40 AM
Binance launches Binance DEX, a decentralized trading platform built on its own blockchain network, for public testing
CoinDesk
9:05 AM
The DoD will investigate some of the complaints raised by Oracle in a lawsuit over the JEDI cloud computing contract, which is expected to be won by Amazon
Wall Street Journal
8:30 AM
Dutch startup Aidence, which works on early recognition of lung cancer using AI in medical imaging, raises €10M Series A led by INKEF Capital and Rabo Ventures
Tech.eu
8:05 AM
German insurance giant Allianz increases the size of its VC fund, Allianz X, from €430M when it launched in 2016, to €1B, making it one of the largest in Europe
TechCrunch
7:40 AM
Xiaomi debuts Mi 9 with three rear cameras, 6.39" AMOLED display, Snapdragon 855, 6GB RAM, and 20W wireless charging, for ~$446 in China, shipping on Feb. 26
Engadget
7:15 AM
Cisco Visual Networking Index: by 2022, 5G will power as much as 9% of mobile data connections in North America, versus 6.5% in Western Europe and 4% in Asia
Washington Post
6:45 AM
Fabless semiconductor company Peraso, which is developing wireless networking chips based on WiGig, has raised $42M Series D, bringing total raised to $79.3M
VentureBeat
6:15 AM
Sources: Apple plans to let developers port their iPad apps to Mac using a new SDK that will be released as early as June at WWDC
Bloomberg
6:00 AM
The rise of voice computing is transforming web search by shifting the objective from providing links to providing a single correct response to any query
Wired
4:00 AM
Microsoft says Russia-linked Fancy Bear targeted European research groups and think tanks that work on issues including election security and nuclear policy
New York Times
2:20 AM
Sphero is crowdfunding RVR, a new robot that can connect to accessories like Raspberry Pi through its universal expansion port, starting at $199 on Kickstarter
The Verge
12:55 AM
GN Group, which makes connected hearing aids that work with iOS and Android, is acquiring videoconferencing device and software provider Altia Systems for $125M
TechCrunch
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
11:50 PM
Google says the built-in microphone in Nest Secure devices, which it had never disclosed earlier in the tech specs, was “never intended to be a secret”
Business Insider
11:10 PM
IFTTT's Linden Tibbets resigns as CEO, will stay as chief design officer; Chris Kibarian, ex-CEO of Monster.com owner Randstad Digital Ventures, named IFTTT CEO
TechCrunch
10:45 PM
Huawei sends invitations for its next flagship P30 series launch event in Paris on March 26
Engadget
10:20 PM
Industry sources: Google will reveal details about its Project Stream game streaming service during its keynote at the Game Developers Conference on March 19
Fortune
9:55 PM
Report: Amazon's China unit in merger talks with NetEase's Kaola, one of the biggest Chinese shopping sites for imported goods
Reuters
9:00 PM
Alan, which makes a SaaS platform for the private health insurance market in France, raises $45M Series B after raising a $28M Series A in April 2018
TechCrunch
8:05 PM
Regulators globally increasingly view “loot boxes”, which provide random in-game items for real money, as a form of gambling, and are considering regulations
The Verge
6:40 PM
Researchers: India's state gas company allowed a sensitive part of its website to be indexed by Google, exposing 5M+ customer records, including Aadhaar numbers
TechCrunch
5:40 PM
CrowdStrike: Russian state-sponsored hackers take less than 20 minutes to start moving laterally in a targeted organization's network after an initial breach
SecurityWeek
4:45 PM
London-based Entrepreneur First, a “talent investor” backing people pre-team and pre-idea so they can found startups, raises $115M fund to keep scaling globally
TechCrunch
3:35 PM
GitHub expands its bug bounty program by upping reward amounts, removing a maximum reward limit, adding Legal Safe Harbor terms; GitHub paid out $250K+ in 2018
VentureBeat
3:18 PM
Uber and GM's Cruise open source their self-driving car visualization software, a rare move in the hyper-competitive autonomous world
The Verge
2:20 PM
Strategy Analytics: in Q4 2018, shipments of smart speakers grew 95% from 22.6M units in Q3 to 38.5M units, with Amazon shipping 13.7M units and Google 11.5M
VentureBeat
1:50 PM
For YouTube, curbing misinformation on its platform may mean punishing some of its stars, a step it's not shown it can broadly take, despite recent policy shift
New York Times
1:40 PM
House Committee on Energy and Commerce asks in open letter whether Facebook users were misled about what personal data could be leaked by joining closed groups
The Verge
1:00 PM
Hands-on with Varjo VR-1 headset, out now for $6K with $995/year service fee, which uses 3,000 pixel/inch resolution and dual screens to fix “screen door” issue
Ars Technica
12:11 PM
YouTube updates community guidelines with a new system for rule-breaking channels, which now get a consequence-free, one-time warning for their first violation
The Verge
11:55 AM
Google announces plans to acquire cloud migration startup Alooma, which has raised around $15M to date
CNBC
11:30 AM
Loom, which equips enterprises with instant video messaging tools, raises $11M Series A led by Kleiner Perkins, says it's signed up 1.1M users from 18,000 firms
TechCrunch
11:20 AM
Samsung's One UI is thoughtfully designed and the best software Samsung's ever put on a smartphone, but getting major software updates quickly is still doubtful
The Verge
10:30 AM
Walmart reports US e-commerce sales rose 43% YoY in Q4, thanks to its growing online grocery business, including the expansion of grocery pickups and deliveries
TechCrunch
9:50 AM
SendBird, which helps developers integrate chat and messaging features in their apps, raises $52M Series B led by Iconiq Capital
VentureBeat
9:35 AM
Palo Alto Networks is buying Demisto, an Israeli firm that provides an automated incident response platform, for ~$560M; Demisto had raised $69M to date
The Times of Israel
9:20 AM
Twitter expands its policy for political ad transparency to the EU, India, and Australia, will show billing information, ad spend, impressions per tweet, more
Twitter
9:05 AM
Redis Labs, which offers commercial services around the Redis in-memory data store, raises $60M Series E led by private equity firm Francisco Partners
TechCrunch
8:50 AM
Sources: Bitmain posts a net loss of ~$500M in the third quarter of 2018; the company had disclosed profits of $1B in the first half of 2018
CoinDesk
8:25 AM
NsKnox, which provides real-time payment fraud detection services, raises $15M Series A co-led by Viola Ventures and Microsoft's M12
VentureBeat
8:10 AM
Coinbase buys Neutrino, which helps monitor, analyze, and track cryptocurrency flows, for an undisclosed sum
TechCrunch
7:45 AM
Qualcomm announces the Snapdragon X55, its second generation 5G modem, with a maximum download speed of 7 Gbps, up 40% from the X50's 5 Gbps
The Verge
7:15 AM
Q&A with Chris Lattner, developer of Swift, on its origins and evolution, the original team, Craig Federighi, and community feedback
Ole Begemann
6:20 AM
Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei says there is “no way the US can crush us” and that “our company will never undertake any spying activities”
BBC
6:05 AM
Q&A with Amazon Studios Chief Jennifer Salke on her content acquisition strategy, potentially broadcasting a ceremony such as the Oscars one day, and more
Hollywood Reporter
4:10 AM
As emoji become a critical part of communication, unprepared courts are increasingly having to interpret their myriad meanings in criminal cases
The Verge
2:15 AM
A deep dive on the widespread and ongoing DNS hijacking attacks, which the DHS issued an emergency directive about last month
Krebs on Security
1:20 AM
The Pentagon needs Silicon Valley's brightest minds to work on AI but struggles to attract them because of job instability, poor compensation, and more
Wired
Monday, February 18, 2019
11:55 PM
Sources: Saudi Arabia's PIF and UAE's Mubadala, the biggest outside investors in the Vision Fund, have complained about high valuations paid for tech companies
Wall Street Journal
10:50 PM
Google publishes 30-page paper on how it combats disinformation across YouTube, Search, News, Ads: product improvements, experience with spam, context for users
9to5Google
7:50 PM
Berlin-based Mambu raises €30M Series C for its SaaS banking platform used by banking and financial services startups, such as N26 and OakNorth, in 50 countries
EU-Startups
6:55 PM
Code and imagery found in Instagram's Android app reveal Fundraiser stickers for Instagram Stories; Facebook says they are coming later this year
TechCrunch
6:25 PM
Behind the scenes at Mithril Capital, Peter Thiel's other fund, primarily run by Ajay Royan, which sources describe as an investment firm in disarray
Recode
6:05 PM
Report: 2.7M patient calls to Sweden's healthcare hotline were found exposed on an unprotected server, along with other sensitive personal information
The Next Web
5:05 PM
Voicebot: the number of Google Assistant Actions in the US reached 4,253 in January 2019, up 2.5X YoY, trailing Amazon, which has touted 56,750 US Alexa skills
TechCrunch
4:35 PM
Profile of Recruit Holdings, once a scandal-plagued Japanese internet pioneer that now has a ~$46B valuation and 350 apps that span many categories
Bloomberg
4:00 PM
Days after Greenpeace dings Amazon's “dirty cloud” in report the company disputes, Amazon debuts initiative to make half of its shipments carbon neutral by 2030
TechCrunch
1:55 PM
Sources: the Chinese Communist Party propaganda app Xuexi Qiangguo, which became the most popular app in Apple's App Store in China, was developed by Alibaba
Reuters
12:50 PM
London-based GoCardless, which processes recurring direct debit payments, raises $75M Series E co-led by GV and PE firm Adams Street Partners
CNBC
11:50 AM
Report details Huawei's efforts to steal Apple's IP, including pressing suppliers for Apple Watch details, copying a MacBook Pro component, debriefing new hires
MacRumors
11:10 AM
Sources: recent leadership changes at Apple have rattled rank-and-file employees and led several projects to be put on hold as new managers reassess priorities
Wall Street Journal
9:40 AM
Australia's PM says the country's parliament and three largest political parties have been hacked by a “sophisticated state actor” ahead of a federal election
Sydney Morning Herald
8:50 AM
Study: in 2017, ~17M US content creators, up 16.6% YoY, earned ~$6.8B, up 17% YoY, on nine leading platforms including Instagram, Twitch, Tumblr, and YouTube
Techdirt
7:55 AM
How abrupt, disruptive policy changes due to rising nationalism and pressure from local business are making India increasingly hostile to foreign tech companies
VentureBeat
7:20 AM
How AR could enable the “mirrorworld,” a virtual parallel of the real world where all things and places are machine-readable and have a full-sized digital twin
Wired
6:40 AM
In the rivalry between Uber and Ola in India, Ola is relying on global expansion and acquisitions while Uber is using innovation to solve local problems
Quartz
4:15 AM
On the uncanny similarities between Xerox's failure to commercialize PC GUI and Google's Waymo, as new self-driving startups with minimum viable products emerge
Ars Technica
1:10 AM
Alibaba acquires 8% stake in Nasdaq-listed Chinese anime streaming site Bilibili; Tencent paid $320M for its 12.3% stake in Bilibili in October
TechCrunch
Sunday, February 17, 2019
10:30 PM
Newzoo study: total revenue for the global e-sports market will reach $1.1B in 2019, up 26.7% YoY from $897.2M in 2018; $456.7M will come from sponsorships
Fortune
9:50 PM
Kuo: MacBook Pro with 16"-to-16.5" screen and new design, 31.6" “6k3k” monitor, upgradeable Mac Pro, iPhones with bilateral charging, new iPad mini out in 2019
9to5Mac
8:45 PM
Japan's second-largest mobile carrier KDDI says it is investing about $800M for a 49% stake in online securities company Kabu.com
Nikkei
7:10 PM
UK parliament's report on fake news and disinformation says “digital gangster” Facebook deliberately broke laws, calls for antitrust, data abuse investigations
TechCrunch
6:00 PM
EU negotiators agree on regulations to curb unfair trade practices, requiring more transparency on how internet platforms list and rank products
Reuters
4:25 PM
Research: machine learning techniques today are designed to find patterns and always make a prediction, making a lot of ML-based scientific research unreliable
Financial Times
3:10 PM
Gaming hardware maker Razer says it will close its digital game store on February 28, less than a year after it opened
PC Gamer
1:55 PM
Etsy accidentally charged a number of seller accounts for hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars on Friday, leaving users without money for the long weekend
Boing Boing
1:40 PM
Sources: the UK government has concluded that it can mitigate the risk from using Huawei equipment in 5G networks, a setback for the US-led anti-Huawei campaign
Financial Times
12:15 PM
Report by a UK parliamentary committee into fake news and disinformation, due Monday, is expected to be very critical of Facebook and its “duplicitous” CEO
The Guardian
10:40 AM
A look at how the Enron Corpus, a public database of 600K+ emails that helped bring down Enron, has enabled AI researchers to train natural language models
Quartz
9:05 AM
Virginia-based real estate data and analytics company Remine has closed $30M Series A led by Stripes Group, bringing its total raised to $48M
Washington Business Journal
7:30 AM
Xuexi Qiangguo, a propaganda app with Snapchat-like messaging features developed by China's Communist Party, becomes top free app on Apple's App Store in China
South China Morning Post
5:55 AM
DJI unveils a new 3D geofencing system that will prevent the company's drones from flying too close to major airports in the UK and 32 European countries
The Verge
4:20 AM
Dynamic Map Platform, a Japanese map platform developer for self-driving cars, to buy Detroit-based Ushr, which provides 3D mapping data to GM, for up to $200M
Reuters
1:55 AM
A look at the debate surrounding the economics of popular open source software like OpenSSL, as an ever-increasing workload on maintainers risks causing burnout
Motherboard
1:35 AM
Elroy Air, a maker of delivery drones that can carry up to 500 lbs, raises $9.2M in seed funding from new and existing investors Catapult, Precursor, and others
VentureBeat
1:10 AM
Vicarious Surgical, which is building minimally invasive surgical tech that combines VR with miniature robots, has closed $10M round led by Gates Frontiers Fund
TechCrunch