What's Popular on Techmeme
Grab says that food and financial services, which have better margins than ride-hailing, now generate more than 50% of its gross merchandise volume
New Orleans declares state of emergency, shuts down its network after a ransomware attack on Friday, says it had found no signs that data was lost in the attack
Music streaming subscription prices have remained flat for a decade, amid competition from tech giants like Apple that can operate their music arms at a loss
Researchers claim they used 3D masks and photos to deceive facial recognition systems used by Alipay, WeChat Pay, Schiphol Airport, and train stations in China
In China, investors and bankers say SoftBank's involvement, once a sign of promising prospects, is now viewed as a red flag that a company was likely overvalued
China's AI unicorns like Megvii, which thrived on government contracts for facial recognition, are now facing challenges amid US sanctions and cheaper tech
Fintech startups in Asia are proving to be formidable competitors to traditional banks, offering a slew of financial services, but many are bleeding cash
A graduate of Slack's Next Chapter initiative, which helps former prison inmates land tech jobs, recounts how he managed to land a full-time job at the company
Morgan Stanley estimates Amazon is delivering half of its US packages, will soon pass UPS and FedEx in total volume, at a current rate of 2.5B packages a year
cnbc.com · 19 hours ago
How the concept of free shipping forces small e-commerce businesses to eat the cost of shipping, as large sellers like Amazon do so at scale
Reliance Industries has acquired an 85% stake in NowFloats, an Indian startup that helps small businesses and individuals build an online presence, for ~$20M
Ping An's financial technology arm OneConnect closes flat on its first day of trading after raising $312M in its US IPO, which valued the company at $3.66B
Congressional panel chair asks Apple and Google if app devs are required to disclose any non-US ties, amid concerns of Chinese investment in apps like TikTok
Zippin raises $12M Series A led by Evolv Ventures, Kraft Heinz's VC arm, for Zippin Cube, a modular, prefabricated cashierless "store-in-a-box"
Social media management startup Sprout Social closes down 2.4% on its first day of trading after raising $150M in its IPO, which valued the company at $814M
India shuts down internet in two states that are home to 32M people, after protests over a citizenship bill, as Kashmir shutdown continues into its fourth month
Apple Podcasts and Spotify podcasts are available through Amazon Alexa-enabled devices like Echo speakers in the US, starting today
theverge.com · 1 day ago
WeWork sells SEO startup Conductor, which it bought for $113.6M, back to its management team, shuts down Spacious, which it acquired for $42.5M four months ago
Liu Jingyao, the college student who accused JD.com founder Richard Lui of rape, describes what it's like to be slut-shamed by the Chinese internet
German food delivery company Delivery Hero to buy its South Korean rival Woowa Brothers for $4B
Sources: YouTube's premium services have 800K+ subscribers in India and are growing faster than rival paid services including Spotify, Gaana, and JioSaavn
Bonobos founder Andy Dunn to leave Walmart in early 2020, two years after selling his menswear brand to Walmart for $310M
Facebook has filed more lawsuits against scammers this year than in all previous years combined, a legal strategy that could help it stave off regulation
A look at the rise of Roku, which is valued at $17B and whose stock is up 300% this year, amid escalating competition from Amazon, Google, and others
bloomberg.com · 1 day ago