Techmeme River
Techmeme River
Monday, January 18, 2021
7:50 AM
Maps.me, an offline mobile map for travelers, raises $50M seed led by Alameda Research, aims to launch “yield earning” DeFi tools inside the app
CoinDesk
7:15 AM
Tencent-backed Hike, once India's answer to WhatsApp and valued at $1.4B in 2016, says it is shutting down its messaging app Sticker Chat
TechCrunch
7:00 AM
Samsung Electronics heir Jay Y. Lee was sentenced to 30 months in prison over bribery charges; Lee still faces a second prosecution related to succession
Bloomberg
5:35 AM
Social platforms are neither communication services nor publishers, and society will have to evolve new norms to regulate speech on them
Benedict Evans
4:00 AM
A Harvard medical student used OpenAI's GPT-2 to submit comments on Idaho's Medicaid draft proposal; volunteers couldn't tell them apart from those by humans
Wired
2:15 AM
The dominant business model of social media platforms, which emphasizes scale over everything else, makes them particularly vulnerable to disinformation
HBR.org
Sunday, January 17, 2021
11:25 PM
A look at the shady aspects of Tether, the stablecoin being probed by SDNY for over a year, widely used to buy BTC and other cryptocurrencies on many exchanges
Medium
10:30 PM
Frankfurt, Germany-based CLARK, which searches for the best insurance rates for its users, raises €69M Series C led by Tencent
FinSMEs
8:10 PM
Sources: in a flurry of parting actions against China, Trump's admin has notified Huawei suppliers including Intel that it's revoking licenses to sell to Huawei
Reuters
7:15 PM
Sources: Citrix is in advanced talks with Vista Equity Partners to buy Wrike for $2B+, after the PE firm acquired the work-management service for ~$800M in 2018
Bloomberg
6:55 PM
Surging demand for laptops and 5G chips, alongside a boom in car sales, is fueling chip shortages and pushing prices higher, with older chips affected the most
Wall Street Journal
3:45 PM
Due to Apple's security limitations and additional work required, few developers are bothering to port Chrome extensions to Safari, despite WebExtensions API
Six Colors
1:35 PM
GitHub apologizes to the employee it has fired for using the term “Nazis” on Jan. 6 and offers him his job back, says the company's head of HR has resigned
The Verge
1:10 PM
A look at the incentives, like guaranteed auction win percentages, that Facebook got from Google in the ad partnership that is now a focus of an antitrust suit
New York Times
10:55 AM
Trend Micro: 32% of 500 IT leaders believe AI will replace all cybersecurity roles by 2030; 19% say attackers using AI will be commonplace by 2025
ZDNet
8:40 AM
A critique of Canada's tech startup ecosystem, whose growth is being held back by the mindset of angel investors, the government's SR&ED tax credits, and more
Alex Danco
6:25 AM
CES 2021 demonstrated that the smart home industry is at a pause after moving a little too rapidly for several years without understanding what consumers want
Stacey on IoT
4:10 AM
Iran blames legal and illegal crypto mining for massive blackouts in the country, shuts down a large, licensed Chinese-Iranian mining operation
Washington Post
1:55 AM
Researchers working on Twitter's bluesky effort discuss how its open decentralized standard for social media could hinder efforts to stop online radicalization
TechCrunch
1:25 AM
Discord says over the past six months it took steps to make the service safer for kids, including more proactive policing and limiting what minors can access
Wall Street Journal
12:35 AM
DuckDuckGo surpassed 100M daily search queries for the first time on Jan. 11; since August 2020, the search engine began seeing over 2B search queries per month
ZDNet
Saturday, January 16, 2021
11:50 PM
Dating apps like Tinder and Bumble are banning users identified in photos from the Capitol riot, and some users are relaying incriminating evidence to the FBI
Washington Post
10:55 PM
The attack on the Capitol sparked a tense debate among online extremism researchers about crowdsourced efforts to identify the rioters and “ethical doxxing”
Protocol
7:50 PM
Deliveroo says it has raised $180M in new funding from existing investors led by Durable Capital Partners and Fidelity Management at a $7B+ valuation
Financial Times
7:30 PM
Yidu Tech, which offers AI software to the health care industry, saw its shares jump 148% in its Hong Kong debut on Friday after raising ~$531M in its IPO
Bloomberg
5:25 PM
Analytics firm Zignal Labs: online misinformation about election fraud dropped 73% in the week after several social media sites suspended Trump and key allies
Washington Post
4:30 PM
Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson calls out tech leaders for bailing on SF and being rude about it as they leave, says he is staying and working to make the city better
San Francisco Chronicle
3:35 PM
Miami PD says it is using facial recognition tech from Clearview AI to identify Capitol rioters, raising concerns among civil liberty and privacy advocates
Bloomberg
2:30 PM
Facebook says it is temporarily banning ads for gun accessories and military gear through next week's inauguration “out of an abundance of caution”
BuzzFeed News
2:15 PM
More than 20 current and former CD Projekt staff say development of Cyberpunk 2077 was marred by unchecked ambition, poor planning, and technical shortcomings
Bloomberg
1:10 PM
Interviews with more than two dozen tech execs and workers who have left San Francisco for other parts of the US over the last year amid a rise in remote work
New York Times
12:10 PM
Sources: investors, including BlackRock, GIC, and Silver Lake, who invested $10.3B in Ant's 2018 pre-IPO round are left with illiquid stakes after canceled IPO
Financial Times
11:00 AM
Tencent Music acquires China-based Lazy Audio, which provides audiobooks, podcasts, and radio shows, for $417M
Reuters
10:25 AM
Galaxy Buds Pro review: good sound quality, voice detect feature is nice, but the touch controls are finicky and some features only work with Samsung devices
The Verge
9:40 AM
How a group of Dorsey's lieutenants overcame his reluctance to ban Trump's account when it became clear Trump was using his Twitter presence to incite violence
New York Times
8:15 AM
A survey estimates that Apple Pay users reached 507M worldwide in September 2020, about 50% of the total iPhone userbase, adding ~66M users from September 2019
Asymco
6:10 AM
Study: smartwatches like Apple Watch and Fitbit, which can measure heart rate variability, could help detect COVID-19 at least a week before symptoms appear
CBS News
4:05 AM
A look at the raging debate inside Wikipedia, where neutrality is prized above all, on what to call the attack on the Capitol
Fast Company
2:00 AM
On its 20th anniversary, Wikipedians recount how it began and how it grew to become the definitive digital encyclopedia and the default resource for everything
OneZero
12:20 AM
Parler is not down due to a single company but because the market chose not to do business with it because it's toxic, which is the nature of a free market
Techdirt
Friday, January 15, 2021
11:45 PM
Biden's COVID-19 relief bill earmarks $9B to beef up the CISA and $200M to hire technology and cyber experts to support the federal CISO and US Digital Service
Protocol
10:20 PM
A look at the rise and fall of Xiami, Alibaba's discontinued music streaming service, which only had 22.4M MAUs by Oct. vs. 450M+ for Tencent's three music apps
South China Morning Post
9:35 PM
Profile of New Zealand-based Letterboxd, a social network for reviewing movies, which has grown to 3M member accounts during the pandemic
New York Times
9:00 PM
A security researcher was able to purchase one of the Democratic Republic of Congo's top-level domains, potentially preventing malicious use by attackers
TechCrunch
8:00 PM
FAA approves the first fully automated commercial drone flights, letting Massachusetts-based American Robotics operate its drones in rural areas below 400 feet
Wall Street Journal
7:35 PM
Israel-based social casino game developer Playtika closes up 17.1% on its first day of trading, valuing the company at $14.5B, after raising $1.88B in its IPO
VentureBeat
7:25 PM
Microsoft is planning to fix a Windows 10 vulnerability that could corrupt a NTFS-formatted hard drive simply by viewing a folder with a malicious shortcut
The Verge
6:45 PM
Oqton, which is developing a factory OS that combines several fabrication processes like CNC and polymer 3D printing, raises $40M Series A
VentureBeat
6:20 PM
Ahead of Biden's inauguration, Facebook blocks users from creating new events near the White House and Capitol, restricting features for some users
CNBC
6:05 PM
Rob Joyce will replace Anne Neuberger as the director of NSA's Cybersecurity Directorate; Neuberger will join the Biden admin as deputy adviser on the NSC
CyberScoop
5:40 PM
Leaked screenshots show GitHub employees using the term “Nazi” in its internal Slack to protest the unexplained firing of an employee that used the same word
The Verge
5:35 PM
A deep dive into the WhatsApp privacy policy change that prompted an exodus of users from the app and why Facebook struggled to communicate what was in it
Gizmodo
4:50 PM
Sources: Apple has begun preliminary work on an iPhone model with a foldable screen, while testing an in-screen fingerprint reader for 2021
Bloomberg
4:25 PM
Apple has started to block the sideloading of unsupported iOS and iPadOS apps using third party software on M1 Macs
9to5Mac
3:15 PM
Federal judge denies Apple's appeal of a $502.8M patent infringement verdict favoring VirnetX; Apple's total payout in two lawsuits could cross $1.1B
Reuters
2:55 PM
Google says it will remove the inadvertent ability for Chromium browsers to access Chrome bookmarks and other sync features when users are logged into Google
9to5Google
2:45 PM
GitLab is considering going public after an employee share sale valued it at $6B; GitLab revenue crossed $150M annually after growing 74% in the latest quarter
CNBC
2:36 PM
WhatsApp to delay new privacy policy by three months following widespread confusion over whether the policy would mandate data sharing with Facebook
The Verge
1:41 PM
Bumble files for an IPO, says it had 42M MAUs, 2.4M total paying users, and lost $117M on revenue of $417M in the first nine months of 2020
TechCrunch
1:35 PM
Sources: Apple to launch redesigned iMacs this year with a Pro Display XDR-like design, and is working on two new Mac Pros, one of which may use Intel CPUs
Bloomberg
12:45 PM
Sources: Apple is discussing launching a new subscription service that would charge people to listen to podcasts
The Information
12:15 PM
Sources: at an all-hands staff meeting, incoming CEO says Intel has to deliver better products for PCs than what a “lifestyle company in Cupertino” makes
Oregonian
11:55 AM
Twitter outlines its plans for Wednesday's Inauguration Day, including transitioning @POTUS and other handles to Biden and archiving several official accounts
CNBC
11:30 AM
Interview with Walmart's e-commerce chief Marc Lore, who is leaving the company at the end of the month to build “a city of the future”
Vox
10:50 AM
Services like Substack, Spotify, and Clubhouse are coming under scrutiny now that platforms like Facebook and YouTube have warmed to aggressive moderation
OneZero
10:20 AM
As Snapchat starts competing with TikTok via its Spotlight program, some creators begin earning small fortunes and look for ways to expand
New York Times
9:40 AM
Kuo: Apple is “aggressively” testing vapor chamber thermal systems to cool its upcoming iPhones
AppleInsider
8:55 AM
US commerce department finalizes powers for commerce secretary to issue licenses or block imports of foreign tech including drones and surveillance cameras
Financial Times
8:20 AM
Amazon launches Alexa Custom Assistant, which will let car makers build their own custom AI assistants with their own wake words, custom voices, and more
The Verge
7:15 AM
OneWeb, which to date launched 110 out of a planned constellation of 648 satellites to provide internet access, raises $1.4B with $400M from SoftBank and Hughes
TechCrunch
6:50 AM
New research outlines how insights into thriving public spaces in the physical world can help social media platforms in building healthy online communities
Platformer
4:10 AM
238M units of true wireless stereo hearables were shipped in 2020, up 83% YoY, with Apple devices comprising 29% market share, Xiaomi 13%, and Samsung 5%
Counterpoint Research
1:00 AM
Kuo: 14" and 16" MacBook Pros coming in Q3 2021 with Apple Silicon, MagSafe charging, no Touch Bar, new design with squared-off sides and more built-in IO ports
9to5Mac
12:05 AM
Nayya, which uses AI to help guide employees in selecting a health plan offered by their employers, raises $11M Series A led by Felicis Ventures
VentureBeat
Thursday, January 14, 2021
11:15 PM
X1 Card, which offers a credit card with limits based on current and future income instead of credit score, raises $12M funding round led by Spark Capital
TechCrunch
10:55 PM
Computational diagnostics startup Paige raises $100M Series C led by Casdin Capital and Johnson & Johnson Innovation
FinSMEs
10:35 PM
Hagens Berman files suit against Amazon alleging collusion with Big Five big publishers to fix eBook prices; they successfully sued Apple in 2011 for the same
The Hill
10:00 PM
After Facebook and Twitter suspended Trump's account, activists and human rights groups have urged the companies to apply their policies evenly around the world
New York Times
9:50 PM
Intel updates its NUC desktop line with 11th-gen processors, adds a gaming-focused model called NUC 11 Enthusiast, and a NUC Pro line that can drive 8K displays
The Verge
8:40 PM
Samsung debuts the Galaxy Book Flex2 5G, its first 5G laptop, featuring a 2-in-1 design, 11th-gen Intel CPUs, S Pen stylus, for preorder in the UK from £1,649
Digital Trends
7:35 PM
Source: Sequoia Capital recently bought shares of online automation firm Zapier from its founders on the secondary market, with the sale valuing Zapier at $4B+
The Information
7:25 PM
Facebook says it has filed a suit against the makers of four malicious Chrome extensions used for scraping user data and other info from Facebook's website
BleepingComputer
6:25 PM
IBM says it will acquire Taos, an IT firm that helps companies migrate from in-house servers to cloud infrastructure; terms of the deal were not disclosed
Wall Street Journal
5:50 PM
Apple has removed a controversial feature in macOS 11.2 beta 2 that allowed its own apps to bypass third-party firewalls, security tools, and VPNs
ZDNet
5:40 PM
The Trump admin adds Xiaomi, along with 8 other Chinese firms, to a blacklist of alleged Chinese military companies, forcing US investors to divest by Nov. 11
Reuters
5:20 PM
Accolade, a health care service for employees to manage benefits, is buying telemedicine startup 2nd.MD for up to $460M, in a split cash and stock deal
CNBC
4:30 PM
Netflix diversity report: women make up 47.1% of its global workforce; 8% of US staff are Black, more than 2x the share in 2017; 8.1% of employees are Hispanic
Bloomberg
3:50 PM
Samsung confirms Galaxy S21 series and future devices will not support MST for Samsung Pay, which enabled it to be used with legacy magnetic strip terminals
Android Police
3:45 PM
Researchers: Telegram, which had 11.9M downloads the week of the Capitol riot, began shutting down public white supremacist groups for the first time Wednesday
Financial Times
3:05 PM
Medium is acquiring Glose, a digital platform for buying, reading, and discussing books; Glose's 20 employees, most of whom are based in Paris, will join Medium
CNN
2:55 PM
TSMC says it will raise capital expenditures to between $25B and $28B in 2021, an increase of at least 47% YoY
Wall Street Journal
2:45 PM
Israeli startup Carbyne, which is developing a cloud-based service to improve emergency response times, raises $25M Series B1
TechCrunch
2:05 PM
Cisco says it has struck a new deal to buy Acacia Communications for around $4.5B, boosting the original purchase price by 64%
Wall Street Journal
2:00 PM
The far-right is flocking to MeWe, a privacy-focused Facebook alternative that has Tim Berners-Lee on its board, with membership growing to 15M in recent months
OneZero
1:40 PM
DOJ antitrust chief Makan Delrahim to resign effective Jan 19, a day before the Biden administration takes over
Reuters
1:25 PM
Silicon Valley's leading lobby, the Internet Association, is struggling to manage the competing interests of member companies like Facebook, Google, and Amazon
Axios
1:00 PM
Norway's consumer protection agency details how Amazon riddles the process of canceling Prime with “dark patterns,” calls on regulators to investigate
Bloomberg
12:45 PM
A coalition of health and tech companies, including Microsoft, Salesforce, and Oracle, says it is developing a digital COVID-19 vaccination “passport”
CNBC
12:20 PM
Sources: TPG invested $47M in HR software startup Greenhouse and spent around $450M buying shares from existing investors including Benchmark and Thrive Capital
Forbes
12:05 PM
Poshmark closed up more than 141% on its first day of trading, valuing the company at more than $3B, after raising $277M in its IPO
CNBC
12:00 PM
Customer service software provider LiveVox to go public through a merger with a SPAC in a transaction valued at $840M
Bloomberg
11:50 AM
A leak of a near-final version of Windows 10X shows a strong similarity to Chrome OS, with the Start button centered on the taskbar, lack of Live Tiles, more
The Verge
11:40 AM
LendingPoint, which provides lending software tools for e-commerce, merchants, lending institutions, and other customers, raises $125M from Warburg Pincus
FinLedger
11:25 AM
BMW announces Digital Key Plus, a keyless access system that uses the UWB chip in iPhones to let users unlock select BMW cars without taking out their phones
The Verge
11:20 AM
Ring says it has fixed a security flaw in its Neighbors app that was exposing the precise locations and home addresses of users who had posted to the app
TechCrunch
11:10 AM
Axios says it will launch AxiosHQ, which lets companies write internal memos styled like Axios newsletters, next month, starting at $10K a year
Wall Street Journal
10:50 AM
Samsung's entire lineup of Galaxy S21 phones will not include a power adapter in the box; Samsung to reduce the price of its 25W adapter to $20, down from $35
Engadget
10:45 AM
Harness, a continuous app delivery and integration platform for engineering and DevOps teams, raises $85M Series C led by Alkeon at a $1.7B valuation
TechCrunch
10:40 AM
Samsung's Galaxy S21 Ultra has a 6.8" 120Hz AMOLED screen, a quad-rear camera with dual telephoto lenses for 100x zoom, and supports S Pen stylus
Engadget
10:35 AM
Samsung announces Galaxy Buds Pro with a new design, active noise cancelation, an Ambient mode, and 360 Audio, available now to order for $200
CNET
10:20 AM
Samsung announces Galaxy SmartTag, a $29.99 Tile competitor that works only with Samsung Galaxy devices, available on January 29
The Verge
10:17 AM
Samsung announces Galaxy Buds Pro with a new design, active noise cancelation, an Ambient mode, and 360 Audio, available now for $200
CNET
10:08 AM
Samsung unveils the $799 Galaxy S21, $999 Galaxy S21+, and $1,199 Galaxy S21 Ultra, available now to preorder and launching on January 29
The Verge
9:55 AM
Samsung Galaxy Unpacked January 2021 live stream, where it's expected to unveil the Galaxy S21, S21 Plus, S21 Ultra, and more
YouTube
9:45 AM
Review of public posts of dozens of Facebook users sharing extreme right-wing views shows how Facebook rewards their lies and helped incubate the insurrection
New York Times
9:30 AM
Chinese driverless car startup WeRide raises $310M led by commercial vehicle manufacturer Yutong Group
CNBC
9:20 AM
PayPal has become the first foreign operator with 100% control of a payment platform in China, after buying the remaining 30% stake in GoPay on December 31
Reuters
9:08 AM
Google completes Fitbit acquisition, vows to protect users' privacy, says “deal has always been about devices, not data”
The Keyword
8:50 AM
Sana Labs, which uses AI to personalize training courses for professionals, raises $18M Series A led by EQT Ventures
VentureBeat
8:25 AM
DecisionLink, which develops software for cost-benefit analyses of business services, raises an $18.5M round led by Accel Partners
TechCrunch
8:05 AM
After denouncing Trump's social media bans, Poland says it plans to make it illegal for tech companies to take similar actions in the country
The Guardian
7:55 AM
Lumiata, which provides AI-powered predictive analytics for managing health care costs, raises $14M Series B led by Defy.vc, bringing its total raised to $45M+
VentureBeat
7:45 AM
Xentral, which develops enterprise resource planning software for online SMBs, raises $20M Series A led by Sequoia Capital
TechCrunch
7:35 AM
Swedish startup Minna, developer of a subscription management app, raises €15.5M Series B round led by Element Ventures, bringing its total funding to €23M+
Tech.eu
7:25 AM
Berlin-based Sennder, which connects commercial businesses with freight carriers, raises $160M Series D at a $1B+ valuation
Sifted
7:00 AM
New research details iOS and Android issues that may allow third parties and law enforcement to access user data and suggests mitigation techniques
Wired
4:10 AM
Internal docs: in hours ahead of Capitol riot, user reports of violent content on Facebook jumped 10x, and false news surged to ~40K reports/hour, 4x daily peak
Wall Street Journal
2:30 AM
Microsoft Cloud for Retail opens for preview, combining services and features from Microsoft Advertising, Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Power Platform
ZDNet
1:55 AM
Sandberg deflected blame for Capitol riot, but fliers and hashtags promoting the pro-Trump rally circulated on Facebook and Instagram weeks beforehand
Washington Post
1:10 AM
Asus announces Chromebook Flip CX9 for enterprises, with Titan C security, and CX5 for students, both equipped with Intel 11th-gen Core i7 and Iris Xe graphics
Android Authority
12:05 AM
Ontario-based Prodigy Education, which offers an e-learning platform and math-focused games for elementary and middle school students, raises $159M CAD Series B
BetaKit
Wednesday, January 13, 2021
11:20 PM
Report: VC funding in the US reached a record high of $130B in 2020, up 14% YoY, but the total number of deals fell to 6,022, down for the second year in a row
Bloomberg
10:57 PM
Grab raises $300M led by Hanwha Asset Management for its financial services business, which spun out of Grab in 2018 and is now valued at $3B
Financial Times
10:35 PM
Audio and chat logs of walkie-talkie app Zello reveal some Capitol rioters communicated via the app; Zello says it has now deleted 2K+ militia-related channels
The Guardian
9:20 PM
Telehealth startup NeuroFlow, which uses applied AI to treat patients with behavioral health conditions, raises $20M Series B led by Magellan Health
VentureBeat
9:05 PM
Jack Dorsey says Trump ban was the right decision for Twitter but reflects a “failure” to promote healthy conversation and sets a dangerous precedent
Washington Post
8:40 PM
Japan-based SODA, which operates sneaker reselling marketplace SNKRDUNK, raises $22M Series B led by SoftBank Ventures Asia
TechCrunch
7:40 PM
Facebook says it's removing posts of fliers promoting events leading up to Biden's inauguration, echoing warnings from law enforcement about another attack
Bloomberg
7:15 PM
Snapchat says it will permanently ban Trump's account on January 20 in the interest of public safety and based on repeated violations of Snapchat's guidelines
Axios
7:10 PM
Google says it will pause political ads, and those referencing “impeachment, inauguration or protests at the US Capitol” on all its platforms starting Jan. 14
CNBC
6:55 PM
In an interview, Parler CEO John Matze says he is not sure whether the social network will ever return after being cut off by service providers
Reuters
6:20 PM
Sources: Poshmark is pricing its IPO at $42 per share, raising $277M, up from its $35-$39 price initially noted in an earlier filing
Bloomberg
5:35 PM
UK-based Weezy, whose grocery delivery app claims delivery in 15 minutes, raises $20M Series A led by Left Lane Capital
TechCrunch
3:50 PM
Global VC report 2020: overall funding rose 4% YoY to ~$300B, despite a slow Q1, with ~$13.6B seed, $88.4B early-stage, and $198.4B late-stage and growth
Crunchbase News
3:00 PM
Some moderators say Nextdoor's policies don't adequately address QAnon and aren't well communicated to users; Nextdoor says it classifies QAnon as a hate group
The Verge
2:50 PM
Crypto startup Anchorage says it has received a federal bank charter, making it easier for big banks to use Anchorage to offer cryptocurrencies to customers
Fortune
2:20 PM
Profile of Russian online retail giant Wildberries, owned by Russia's richest woman, which grew by catering to low-income shoppers via offline collection points
Rest of World
1:55 PM
Asus unveils 14- and 15-inch ZenBook Duo dual-screen laptops with a second display built into the keyboard; the 14-inch version ships this month from $1,000
The Verge
1:40 PM
Ledger offers a 10 bitcoin bounty for details on the hacker who stole info on 272K crypto wallet device owners and says 20K more user records have been exposed
CoinDesk
1:30 PM
Actions taken by Big Tech after violence at the Capitol may have sowed the seeds for Internet 3.0, which will be defined by open protocols and decentralization
Stratechery
1:10 PM
Internal report: DoD halts deployment on classified networks of its $2B+ cybersecurity system for detecting intrusions and stopping attacks, citing poor results
Bloomberg
1:01 PM
E-commerce optimization startup Tradeswell raises $15.5M Series A led by SignalFire
TechCrunch
12:40 PM
Affirm began trading at $90.90 and closed at $97.24, up 98% after pricing shares at $49; the company raised $1.2B after pricing shares above its $41-$44 range
CNBC
12:30 PM
Israeli startup Vdoo, which helps detect and fix vulnerabilities in IoT devices, extends its Series B by $25M to $57M
TechCrunch
12:15 PM
Airbnb says it is canceling and blocking reservations made for the week of Biden's inauguration in the Washington, DC metro area
CNBC
12:05 PM
Polish parcel locker company InPost, widely used by sellers on Allegro, says it is planning an Amsterdam IPO as early as February
Reuters
11:45 AM
Ring says it is adding opt-in end-to-end encryption for eight cameras in technical preview for US users
The Verge
11:30 AM
Molecula, which is developing a cloud-based feature store for AI and machine learning workloads, raises $17.6M Series A led by Drive Capital
VentureBeat
11:21 AM
MX, which develops analytics tools for financial institutions, raises $300M Series C led by TPG Growth at a $1.9B valuation, taking total raised to $475M
Crunchbase News
11:10 AM
NYC-based Rho, a startup bank aimed at high-growth businesses, raises $15M Series A led by M13 Ventures
TechCrunch
11:05 AM
Online therapy service Talkspace agrees to merge with a SPAC in a deal worth $1.4B that provides Talkspace with $250M in funding
Bloomberg
10:55 AM
Vietnam's biggest e-wallet company MoMo raises $100M+ from Warburg Pincus and five others
Reuters
10:30 AM
Stacklet, which is commercializing the Cloud Custodian open-source cloud governance project, raises $18M Series A, bringing its total raised to $22M
TechCrunch
10:10 AM
Blend, which provides tech to banks for facilitating loans, raises $300M Series G at a $3.3B valuation led by Coatue and Tiger Global Management
FinLedger
10:05 AM
Scoop: Google pausing all political ads following Capitol siege
Axios
9:55 AM
German online car trading service Auto1 plans to raise $1.2B in an IPO on Frankfurt Stock Exchange, aiming to go public in Q1
CNBC
9:45 AM
Webflow, which helps businesses build no-code websites, raises $140M Series B led by Accel and Silversmith at a $2.1B+ valuation
TechCrunch
9:35 AM
Dropbox says it will cut about 11% of its global workforce, affecting about 315 employees, and COO Olivia Nottebohm will leave on February 5
CNBC
9:25 AM
EU's top court says a GDPR complaint against Facebook can be handled in any EU member state, which could lead to a flood of complaints against tech giants
RTÉ
9:06 AM
Intel CEO Bob Swan will step down on February 15 and VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger will replace him; Intel's stock is up 6%+, VMware's stock is down 6%+
CNBC
9:00 AM
Google says it has issued a fix for Android's Exposure Notifications System for COVID-19; users worldwide reported apps had slowed down significantly
The Verge
8:40 AM
Qualcomm acquires chip startup Nuvia for $1.4B, with plans to put the company's tech into its smartphone, laptop, and automotive processors
Reuters
8:25 AM
App Annie: mobile app downloads grew 7% YoY to 218B in 2020, while consumer spending grew ~20% to $143B; app usage in US surged ahead of time spent on live TV
TechCrunch