Techmeme River
Techmeme River
Wednesday, June 19, 2019
4:27 PM
Oracle reports Q4 revenue of $11.14B, rising 1% YoY and beating analyst estimates of $10.93B, as its Cloud Services division beats with revenue of $6.8B
CNBC
3:50 PM
AI and IoT are driving an industrial revolution on the factory floor by improving operational technology, lowering downtime via predictive maintenance, and more
Ars Technica
3:10 PM
Israeli facial recognition startup AnyVision adds $31M to its Series A, bringing the round's total to $74M, from Microsoft's M12 and others
Globes Online
3:00 PM
Anti-phishing startup Valimail, which develops a cloud-based platform for companies, raises $45M Series C from Insight Partners, bringing total raised to $84M
VentureBeat
2:42 PM
Sources: after complaints about privacy practices around children's videos on YouTube, FTC is in late stages of a probe, causing YouTube to rethink its strategy
Washington Post
2:15 PM
Bitrise, which helps companies build and operate mobile apps, raises $20M Series B led by Partech and says it is used by over 100,000 developers globally
Tech.eu
1:50 PM
Virginia-based Expel, which offers managed cybersecurity services for companies, raises $40M Series C led by Index Ventures, bringing total raised to ~$70M
VentureBeat
1:25 PM
London-based Kano, which makes hardware to teach younger people about computing and coding, partners with Microsoft and launches a £300 11.6" touchscreen laptop
TechCrunch
1:05 PM
Cloudflare announces Ethereum Gateway, which makes it easier to interact with Ethereum's network and add interactive smart contract-powered elements to sites
The Cloudflare Blog
12:30 PM
Google rolls out Private Join and Compute, a tool that lets organizations gain insights about other parties' confidential data, as an open source project
Wired
12:25 PM
Text IQ, a machine learning system that parses and understands sensitive corporate data, raises $12.6M Series A led by FirstMark Capital
TechCrunch
12:10 PM
Shopify announces a range of new updates, including a new Plus tier for enterprise, new tools for developers, and AI-powered fulfillment centers across the US
VentureBeat
12:00 PM
Arizona-based smart home automation company SmartRent, which focuses on multifamily property managers and renters, raises $32M Series B led by Bain Capital
Reuters
11:35 AM
Google's Private Join and Compute gives companies data insights while preserving privacy
VentureBeat
11:20 AM
Source: Xiaomi plans to spend $725M over three years to boost its Chinese market share, anticipating stronger competition from Huawei following US sanctions
Bloomberg
11:05 AM
One of Facebook's stated goals with Libra, to help those without a bank, is undermined by detailed research, which shows solutions are often local and personal
Financial Times
10:50 AM
Quibi says it has booked more than $100M in ad sales with launch partners, including Google, P&G, Pepsi, Walmart, and Anheuser-Busch, ahead of April 2020 debut
Variety
10:40 AM
Sources: YouTube is considering far-reaching changes to protect kids, including moving all children's content to the YouTube Kids app and turning off autoplay
Wall Street Journal
10:25 AM
Apple says its devices can now be repaired in 1,000+ Best Buy locations across the US, expanding on its current network of ~270 Apple stores
TechCrunch
10:20 AM
Tech companies like Apple, Facebook, and Google are increasingly hiring neuroscientists who study animals to help advance AI, self-driving cars, and more
Bloomberg
10:05 AM
Tally, which helps automate consumer financial services, raises $50M Series C led by Andreessen Horowitz, bringing its total raised to $92M
Fortune
9:30 AM
New Kindle Oasis adds color temperature adjustment for night reading, goes on sale on July 24 starting at $249.99, with preorders open today
The Verge
9:20 AM
Mattermost, which develops an open source messaging platform, raises $50M Series B led by Y Combinator's Continuity Fund, bringing its total raised to ~$70M
VentureBeat
9:15 AM
Inside federal prosecutors' legal fight with Backpage.com's founders, which could reshape Section 230 protections for online platforms
Wired
8:50 AM
Interviews with 12 former Facebook content moderators from Tampa, three on the record, where working conditions are appalling and many experience PTSD
The Verge
8:25 AM
GM's self-driving subsidiary Cruise open-sources Webviz, a tool for robotics data analysis
VentureBeat
7:55 AM
Postman, which aims to simplify development, tests, and management of APIs through its platform, raises $50M Series B led by CRV
TechCrunch
7:30 AM
Helsinki-based food delivery service Wolt raises $130M Series C led by Iconiq Capital; Wolt operates in 50 cities across 15 countries
Tech.eu
7:20 AM
Robotic process automation company Blue Prism acquires UK's Thoughtonomy, which has built an AI-based automation platform, for up to $100M
TechCrunch
6:50 AM
Cloudflare aims to make HTTPS certs safe from Border Gateway Protocol hijacking attacks with a new free service called “multipath domain control validation”
Ars Technica
4:35 AM
UK-based Duffel, which aims to provide an end-to-end travel booking experience, raises $21.5M Series A from Benchmark, Blossom Capital, and Index Ventures
TechCrunch
1:15 AM
Microsoft launches public preview of Azure Bastion, a service for remotely accessing virtual machines more securely
ZDNet
12:05 AM
The Facebook-backed Libra Association contains no major banks in its initially announced group of partners
The Block
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
11:50 PM
In watchOS 6, many built-in apps will have their own App Store listings, letting Apple Watch users delete and redownload some currently unremovable apps
TechCrunch
11:15 PM
Microsoft and Salesforce have joined the Hyperledger blockchain consortium, an umbrella project for various business blockchains run by the Linux Foundation
CoinDesk
9:40 PM
YouTube unveils AR Beauty Try-On, which lets viewers virtually try on makeup while watching beauty tutorials, currently in testing, coming in summer
TechCrunch
9:05 PM
GitHub acquires code review company Pull Panda, makes subscriptions free for Pull Reminders and two other services but will discontinue enterprise subscriptions
ZDNet
8:55 PM
While Facebook's Libra plays at decentralization, it is still entrenched in Facebook, and using it means trusting Facebook, which is a hard sell in 2019
The Verge
8:20 PM
Food ordering app EatStreet discloses breach; hacker Gnosticplayers, who has stolen 1B+ user records from 45 companies this year, claims 6M+ were from EatStreet
ZDNet
8:00 PM
Sources: Samsung will launch the Galaxy Note 10 on August 7 at an Unpacked event in New York City
CNET
7:40 PM
Inside Facebook's ambitious plan to make Libra accepted as a global currency, especially for those underserved by banks, despite Facebook's tarnished reputation
Wired
7:20 PM
Paris-based Meero says it has raised $230M for its AI-driven photography platform, giving it a $1B+ valuation; it raised $45M in July and has raised $300M total
VentureBeat
6:30 PM
Chair of the House Financial Services Committee says Facebook should halt development of Libra until Congress investigates, calls on Facebook execs to testify
The Verge
6:20 PM
Google's Safe Browsing service gets its own Chrome extension, which notifies users of deceptive URLs and lets users report suspicious sites
VentureBeat
5:35 PM
In response to claims Google lifted lyrics from Genius, Google has asked its lyrics partner to investigate, will soon include 3rd-party attribution on lyrics
CNET
5:05 PM
Mozilla patches a Firefox zero-day exploit that was discovered by Google's Project Zero and Coinbase's security teams, and it says was being abused in the wild
ZDNet
5:05 PM
Adobe beats with Q2 revenue of $2.74B, up 25% YoY, and Digital Media revenue, which includes Creative Cloud and Document Cloud, of $1.89B, up 22% YoY
CNBC
4:45 PM
Sources: Dish may make a $6B+ deal this week for T-Mobile and Sprint assets including spectrum and Sprint's Boost Mobile as the carriers try to get DOJ approval
Bloomberg
3:20 PM
GoTenna, a mobile mesh networking platform using long range, low bandwidth radio frequencies, raises $24M Series C led by Founders Fund
TechCrunch
2:20 PM
Hazelcast, which is developing a speedy in-memory computing platform, raises $21M Series C led by new investor C5 Capital
VentureBeat
2:15 PM
California has teamed up with startups Mindstrong and 7 Cups to help mentally ill patients before and during crises, putting $100M over 5 years toward the cause
New York Times
1:15 PM
CEO of parenting support app Cleo, which raised its $27.5M Series B in May, has resigned after it came to light that her resume contained falsehoods
Forbes
12:55 PM
Google says it will help build 20K homes in the Bay Area over the next ten years by putting $1B toward the goal, repurposing some of its land as residential
The Keyword
12:40 PM
Apple adds a feature in iOS 13 beta 2 that tells users about ongoing subscriptions for apps they are about to delete
The Verge
12:30 PM
An in-depth first look at Facebook's new Libra cryptocurrency, due to be rolled out in the next 18 months, and its impact on the broader crypto ecosystem
Binance Info
12:20 PM
MongoDB announces Atlas Data Lake, which lets users query data of any format, and gives its newly-acquired mobile database, Realm, Atlas cloud sync integration
TechCrunch
11:45 AM
French Finance Minister calls on the Group of Seven central bank governors to review Facebook's Libra, citing concerns it may become a “sovereign currency”
Bloomberg
11:35 AM
Amazon leases 15 more Boeing planes to expand its air cargo network by more than a quarter to 70 planes by 2021
VentureBeat
10:40 AM
Optimizely, which offers tools for A/B testing and personalization on the web and in mobile apps, raises $50M Series D led by Goldman Sachs Private Capital
TechCrunch
10:20 AM
Token, an open banking and digital money platform that enables lower cost instant payments, raises $16.5M from Opera Tech Ventures, Octopus Ventures, others
FinSMEs
9:45 AM
Amazon's Twitch has acquired social networking platform Bebo, source says for $25M, to bolster its esports business
TechCrunch
9:20 AM
NewtonX, which connects companies with subject matter experts, raises $12M Series A led by Two Sigma Ventures
TechCrunch
9:05 AM
Palm opens preorders for an unlocked version of its tiny $350 3.2-inch smartphone with Snapdragon 435, expected to ship in the next six to eight weeks
Engadget
8:50 AM
London-based Zego, which offers flexible insurance policies with pricing based on usage data from vehicles, raises $42M Series B led by Target Global
TechCrunch
8:25 AM
After a rush of openings, the unmanned convenience store boom across China has cooled since the start of 2018 due to falling sales after the novelty wore off
Nikkei Asian Review
7:50 AM
Apple adds support for Picture in Picture to tvOS 13 beta 2, letting Apple TV users watch two shows at once for content provided by Apple in the Apple TV app
TechCrunch
7:05 AM
Top500: China has 219 of the world's fastest supercomputers, with the US still lagging behind at 116; Lenovo edged out IBM and Cray as the top vendor
VentureBeat
5:25 AM
Facebook says user Libra transaction data will not be shared with Facebook and will not be used for ad targeting or ranking users' News Feed
TechCrunch
5:23 AM
Facebook's Calibra subsidiary will launch a digital wallet for Libra, as a standalone iOS and Android app and within WhatsApp and Messenger
The Verge
5:21 AM
Facebook announces an independent consortium, Libra Association, with 28 founding members including Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Uber, Lyft, Coinbase, and others
CoinDesk
5:20 AM
Facebook announces plans to launch Libra, a new cryptocurrency, and Calibra, a newly formed Facebook subsidiary to oversee financial services for Libra
Facebook
4:30 AM
India-based Razorpay, which helps businesses process and manage digital payments, raises $75M Series C at what sources say is a valuation of ~$450M
The Economic Times
2:15 AM
A look at the state of diversity and inclusion in the US tech industry, and why new startups and VCs with inclusive-minded CEOs are critical for change
TechCrunch
Monday, June 17, 2019
11:15 PM
Robocalls are overwhelming hospitals, where every lost second affects patient treatment; Tufts Medical Center has registered 4,500+ robocalls in a 2-hour period
Washington Post
10:35 PM
US-based cybersecurity company publicly discloses two zero-days in two of Facebook's official WordPress plugins, one with 200K users and one with 20K+ users
ZDNet
9:20 PM
Analysis: 50K+ US license plate numbers leaked in CBP subcontractor breach reported last week; CBP says the subcontractor was not authorized to keep the info
CNN
8:30 PM
Apple adds support for Picture in Picture to tvOS 13 beta 2, letting Apple TV users leave the currently playing video in a thumbnail while navigating the OS
9to5Mac
8:10 PM
Cloudflare announces The League of Entropy, a project that provides public random numbers using eight independent, globally distributed randomness beacons
The Cloudflare Blog
7:45 PM
In a case that may affect social media, SCOTUS says First Amendment rules against “state actors” controlling speech don't apply to public access TV operators
Pacific Standard
7:10 PM
YouTube Kids, intended as a haven from the dangers of the main YouTube site, is used by just 20M+ people a week, compared to the main site's 2B+ monthly users
Bloomberg
5:45 PM
Nvidia says it will collaborate with Arm to bring CUDA acceleration to Arm CPUs and will share its AI and high-performance computing software with Arm by 2020
VentureBeat
5:25 PM
Dish launches OnTech, a professional installation service for smart home devices from Nest, Ring, and others, in 11 cities initially, for a flat fee of $99
CNET
5:00 PM
Tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Netflix are reshaping LA's real estate market as they pour hundreds of millions into campuses for their entertainment units
Los Angeles Times
4:40 PM
Ripple to take a 8-10% stake in the money transfer service MoneyGram, which will use the digital currency XRP as part of its day-to-day operations
Fortune
4:40 PM
Atlassian says it has spent over $1B to acquire more than 20 companies, publishes its term sheet document used for acquisitions
CNBC
4:17 PM
After pulling Huawei notebooks from its online store last month, Microsoft now says it's “resuming the sale of existing inventory of Huawei devices”
The Verge
3:40 PM
Google says Android users in UK and France can, later this month, opt in to RCS Chat services provided directly by Google instead of waiting for carrier support
The Verge
3:35 PM
Bounce, which operates a scooter rental service in Bangalore, raises $72M Series C, bringing the total raised to $92M, source says at a valuation of $200M+
TechCrunch
3:10 PM
Europol, FBI, Bitdefender, and others release a free tool to decrypt GandCrab ransomware, thought to have infected 1.5M+ Windows PCs since January 2018
ZDNet
2:40 PM
Collective Health, a San Francisco-based maker of employer health benefits management software, raises $205M Series E led by SoftBank's Vision Fund
Axios
2:15 PM
Sources: FINRA has stalled for months in responding to roughly 40 applications from companies needing licenses for dealing in crypto assets in US
CoinDesk
1:50 PM
Ironscales, a phishing prevention, detection, and response platform that integrates with Office 365, Exchange, and G Suite, raises $15M Series B
VentureBeat
12:15 PM
Over the last year, time spent watching Snapchat Original shows every day has more than tripled with audiences of more than 14M for some shows
Hollywood Reporter
11:05 AM
Amazon's IMDb renames its ad-supported streaming service Freedive to IMDb TV, says it plans to launch in Europe later this year
Variety
10:51 AM
Instagram says it is testing new features that make it easier for users to regain access to hacked accounts, will rollout a username freezing feature to iOS
VICE
10:30 AM
Comcast adds eye control as an accessibility feature to its web-based remote control, says it supports all popular eye gaze hardware and software
The Verge
10:25 AM
Clockwise, which uses AI to free up blocks of time in the calendars of both individuals and organizations, raises $11M Series A co-led by Greylock and Accel
TechCrunch
10:20 AM
Survey of 1,000+ US adults: 46% never use voice assistants, 19% use them less than once a month, while 29% use them daily or weekly
Search Engine Land
9:43 AM
Kuo: Apple to launch three iPhones in 2020, high-end 5.4" and 6.7" models with 5G and a lower-end 6.1" model; Apple's 5G modem to be ready by 2022 or 2023
MacRumors
8:50 AM
With the infrastructure for ubiquitous surveillance being deployed at scale, we have lost “ambient privacy”: everyday interactions that should stay unremembered
Idle Words
6:45 AM
Akamai: there were 55B credential stuffing attacks between Nov. '17 and March '19; US was the top source and target, with 67% of attacks targeting US-based orgs
VentureBeat
1:15 AM
PayFit, a France-based payroll and HR SaaS startup for small and medium-sized businesses, raises $79M from Eurazeo and Bpifrance
TechCrunch
Sunday, June 16, 2019
10:25 PM
Citymapper says it's shutting down Ride, its hybrid taxi and bus service in London, on July 14, due to onerous regulations and a desire to focus on other ideas
The Verge
8:55 PM
Huawei CEO says Huawei has seen a ~40% drop in smartphone shipments abroad, expects US sanctions to affect its revenue by ~$30B over the next two years
Bloomberg
8:35 PM
Prenda Law's Paul Hansmeier sentenced to 14 years for a fraud scheme that involved uploading porn videos and then threatening to sue people who downloaded them
Ars Technica
7:40 PM
Broadcom forecasts that US-China trade tensions and the Huawei ban would reduce its sales by $2B this year, sending a shockwave through the chipmaking industry
Reuters
7:25 PM
How non-profit Thorn uses Amazon Rekognition's DetectText, which extracts text from images, and IndexFaces, which detects faces, to fight child sex trafficking
Quartz
6:35 PM
Germany's ProSieben says Joyn, its free streaming service with Discovery, will launch on June 18 with ~50 channels, with a premium version coming this winter
Reuters
6:10 PM
Q&A with Qualcomm SVP Dean Brenner on dynamic spectrum sharing that will let 5G/4G share bands, upcoming 2nd-gen 5G chips, and problems with 5G “race” metaphor
VentureBeat
5:35 PM
German mobile banking startup N26 says it now has 3.5M users across 24 European markets, handles €2B worth of transactions per month, and has 1,300 employees
TechCrunch
4:55 PM
US is the only country making high-band spectrum the core of 5G rollout, which may leave it behind in mid-band tech needed to cover less populated areas in 5G
Wired
4:20 PM
IRL, a teen-focused social calendar that provides event recommendations and allows users to follow curators, headliners, and venues, raises $8M Series A
TechCrunch
3:45 PM
A spate of breakups and makeups in self-driving industry in 2019 may be a sign of industry consolidation, as many expect the enabling tech to become a commodity
Wired
3:05 PM
Lifen, a France-based messaging platform for hospitals and healthcare practitioners, which also allows users to send letters via post, raises $22.7M Series B
TechCrunch
2:20 PM
China on Thursday officially launched Shanghai's STAR Market, a Nasdaq-style tech board which is China's first exchange allowing listings of pre-profit startups
Reuters
1:40 PM
Archive of Our Own, a database for fanfiction containing nearly 5M contributions, has 350 volunteer “tag wranglers” who sort tags better than any AI is able to
Wired
1:05 PM
Amazon CTO says AI tools like Lex are the next big thing after AWS, and it's not Amazon's responsibility to ensure Rekognition is used accurately or ethically
BBC
12:20 PM
Walmart is now offering a new grocery delivery subscription option called Delivery Unlimited for $12.95 per month or $98 per year
TechCrunch
11:40 AM
The “Amazon's Choice” label seems to imply curation, but it's awarded to listings by an algorithm, and some of the products have defects and manipulated reviews
BuzzFeed News
10:30 AM
Genius claims it has irrefutable proof of Google lifting song lyrics, displayed in search results, from Genius.com; Google says it licenses lyrics from others
Wall Street Journal
8:15 AM
Survey of 34K+ LGBTQ+ youth across the US: 76% prefer to seek mental help by text or chat; 81% say having a safe social networking space online is very valuable
Wired
5:10 AM
Square competitor SpotOn, which offers merchant services such as payment processing and customer engagement tools, raises $40M to help its market expansion
Built In Chicago
2:05 AM
Developers say they have mixed feelings about the “Sign In With Apple” button and Apple's decision to make it mandatory for apps with other sign-in systems
Wired
1:40 AM
SoftBank is leading a $300M investment in Gympass, a fitness app giving employees at 2,000+ companies access to ~47K partner gyms worldwide, at a $1B+ valuation
Bloomberg
1:25 AM
ADDI, a Colombia-based point-of-sale lending startup, reveals it had raised $12.5M Series A from a16z in April, following $3.8M in seed rounds since Sept. 2018
TechCrunch
1:10 AM
Edge Case Research, which is developing AI-based safety assessment tech for autonomous vehicles, raises $7M seed round led by Aurora CEO Chris Urmson and ANSYS
EE Times
12:45 AM
Paris-based video game developer Novaquark, which had raised $11.4M on Kickstarter in 2018 for its Dual Universe MMO game, has raised $11.2M in VC funding
VentureBeat
12:20 AM
Waterdrop, a Tencent-backed Chinese online health care platform, raises a Series C of over $145M led by private equity firm Boyu Capital
South China Morning Post
Saturday, June 15, 2019
11:45 PM
Lemonade, the digital insurance company that has raised $480M, is expanding into Europe, with its first launch in Germany
TechCrunch
11:10 PM
Scoutbee, which develops and sells access to an AI-driven supplier discovery platform, raises $12M Series A, says its marketplace has more than 9.5M suppliers
VentureBeat
10:15 PM
Alibaba partners with Audi, Renault, and Honda to offer a range of in-car voice services like finding restaurants using its AI platform Tmall Genie Auto
South China Morning Post
9:15 PM
Farming-as-a-service startup Infarm raises $100M Series B for its remotely operated modular farms placed in grocery stores, restaurants, other urban locations
TechCrunch
8:15 PM
The holding company that owns the dating apps Bumble, Lumen, and Chappy has been renamed as Magic Lab, says it will spend $100M on an array of new dating apps
Wall Street Journal
5:25 PM
Jack Dorsey on plans to hire a team of five engineers and one designer, reporting directly to him at Square, to work on contributions to the Bitcoin ecosystem
The Next Web
4:25 PM
NIST study: a widespread GPS outage would have an estimated $1B/day impact on the US economy; 90% of GPS' financial impact has come since 2010
Ars Technica
2:40 PM
20 years since children's online protection law COPPA was passed, it has been weakened by court rulings, uneven enforcement, and relentless technological change
Washington Post
12:55 PM
Sources: US Cyber Command is deploying offensive malware in Russia's power grid, using powers granted in 2018 by Congress and a secret presidential directive
New York Times
9:50 AM
Wyoming's laws exempting some digital tokens from state securities rules, and cryptocurrency from state property taxes, spawned dozens of crypto LLCs there
Wired
8:05 AM
An in-depth report on stalkerware apps: a technical assessment of their invasive surveillance capabilities, marketing for abusive spouses, security risks, more
The Citizen Lab
5:00 AM
WeChat's data centralization has inextricably linked it to all aspects of daily life in China and made it a cornerstone of the government's social-credit system
Nautilus
1:55 AM
Researchers find some sleep apps and trackers provide inaccurate data and can cause an increased fixation on sleep, which can worsen anxiety and insomnia
New York Times
12:30 AM
Testim, which makes AI-based tools for automated software testing, raises $10M Series B led by SignalFire, with participation from Lightspeed and others
VentureBeat
Friday, June 14, 2019
10:40 PM
Amazon shuts down Spark, its Instagram rival launched in 2017; URL directs to #FoundItOnAmazon, its product discovery site similar to its Interesting Finds tool
TechCrunch
9:20 PM
Sources: as Stellar and others refused to partner and MobileCoin refused to sell, Facebook hired several dozen blockchain experts for several million/year each
CoinDesk
8:10 PM
Huawei says lock screen ads appeared inadvertently for some users following testing of ads in its Magazine service
Digital Trends
8:00 PM
Black Hat removes Rep. Will Hurd as the 2019 Black Hat USA keynote speaker amid questions about his voting record on women's rights
TechCrunch
7:40 PM
Researchers say a LinkedIn profile, now gone, of a woman connected to US policy experts and insiders, exhibited activity typical of state-run espionage
Associated Press
7:05 PM
Google's Chrome 76, now in beta, will block Flash by default; a Google employee claims Chrome 76 will prevent sites from detecting users in Incognito Mode
9to5Google
6:30 PM
Amazon Game Studios confirms reorganization after report that dozens of game developers were laid off; source: devs given 60 days to find new jobs at Amazon
Kotaku
5:50 PM
Twitter says its official app will return to the Mac by using its existing iOS codebase through Project Catalyst, with full feature parity with other platforms
Twitter
5:30 PM
Mexico blocks Walmart's acquisition of grocery delivery app Cornershop for $225M citing Walmart's size and Cornershop's access to Walmart's competitor data
Reuters