What's Popular on Techmeme
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian is leaving Initialized, the VC firm he co-founded in 2012; Ohanian has become more interested in pre-seed investing
The creator of the Satori botnet, Kenneth Schuchman, is sentenced to 13 months in prison; experts says Satori gained control of 500K+ IoT devices
Amazon partners with 1000+ retail shops in India to launch Smart Stores, where shoppers can scan a QR code to browse store inventories and buy using Amazon Pay
techcrunch.com · 5 days ago
Leaked Microsoft document hints at a cheaper and less powerful Xbox console, designed to provide key improvements in Xbox Series X at a lower price point
Microsoft says it will permanently close all Microsoft Store retail locations and focus on its online store instead
Amazon has signed an agreement to acquire self-driving car startup Zoox, reportedly for $1.2B+; Zoox was valued at over $3B in 2018
cnbc.com · 5 days ago
Tencent is launching Trovo, a Twitch-like streaming service, in the US, and plans to entice creators with a $30M partnership program starting in July
bloomberg.com · 5 days ago
Oscar raises another $225M for its direct-to-consumer health insurance service, says it now has a $2B revenue base
A look at Netflix's long-term content strategy, which is enabling the company to launch 59 new original shows in July, despite the global pandemic
Israel-based SQream, which offers GPU-based SQL database analytics, raises $39.4M Series B+ led by Mangrove Capital and Schusterman Family Investments
Unilever says it will halt US advertising on Facebook and Twitter for at least the remainder of 2020, citing hate speech and divisive content on the platforms
Apple says iOS 14 and macOS 11 will support the DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS-over-TLS protocols
Capital Markets Gateway, which provides workflow and real-time data analytics tools that digitize capital raising for deals such as IPOs, raises $25M
DHS sends letters to Facebook, Alphabet, Apple, Twitter, and others urging action against posts that call for people to break curfews, topple statues, and more
Facebook to ban ads that claim people from a specific race, ethnicity, nationality, caste, gender, sexual orientation or immigration origin are a threat
Zuckerberg says Facebook will now label content that is not taken down because it is deemed newsworthy and of public interest
Sources: Amazon to pay $1B+ to buy self-driving car developer Zoox; source says most investors will get their money back and some will make a positive return
theinformation.com · 6 days ago
Apple's new visual language in macOS 11 highlights a trend towards neumorphism, an iteration of skeuomorphic design that focuses on light moving within 3D space
Security software vendor Tanium partners with Salesforce, which led a new round of funding, bringing total raised to $900M at a $9B valuation
Google launches group calling support for Assistant-powered smart displays, like Next Hub Max, in Google Meet for up to 100 users and in Duo for up to 32 people
Sources: facing growing ad boycott, Facebook told advertisers it will "not make policy changes tied to revenue pressure" but will invest more in tackling hate
The UK has pledged to invest ~£500M in OneWeb equity deal after the company failed to secure ~$2B in new funding from investors; UK could end up with +20% stake
In email to staff, Uber CEO says it will "deprioritize" its finance-related projects, including Uber Money, as the head of its financial products quits
Senators unveil bipartisan PACT Act, to make social media moderation more transparent and require posts be removed within a day of courts deeming them illegal
YouTube is testing a new TikTok-like feature on mobile that will allow users to record 15-second, multi-segment videos
Twitch has begun issuing permanent bans after numerous sexual abuse allegations, but streamers who've complained doubt Twitch is ready to take them seriously
Verizon joins the boycott of Facebook ads, pulling them until Facebook has "an acceptable solution that makes us comfortable"
cnbc.com · 6 days ago
HEY opens its email service to everyone and says Apple has approved its update with proposed changes to meet App Store guidelines
SevenRooms, which provides guest management software to restaurants, hotels, and other public venues, raises $50M Series B from Providence Strategic Growth
Hopin, a London-based startup developing virtual events technology, raises $40M Series A led by IVP with Salesforce Ventures and others participating
Google Photos gets a big redesign with a new Places view, Recent Highlights feature in Memories, a Things feature with photos related to users' interests, more
Valence, a LinkedIn-type social network, launches to connect Black founders with VCs, including Accel, Sequoia, GGV, USV, Greylock, and CapitalG
Facebook says it is globally rolling out a notification screen warning users if they try to share content that's more than 90 days old
Apple confirms it is not planning to support Boot Camp on ARM-based Macs, and says "purely virtualization is the route"
Sources: White House has discussed various strategies to build competition against Huawei in 5G, like tax breaks and export-bank financing for Ericsson, Nokia
PitchBook: the median valuation for Series C and later stage funding increased to a new high of $120M in the first half of 2020, from $80M for 2019
Telegram to pay $18.5M and notify SEC if it plans to issue digital currency in the next three years as part of an SEC settlement over its failed TON project
Apple will provide an extension converter tool to make it easier for developers to port Firefox or Google Chrome extensions to Safari
France, UK, Italy, and Spain offer to limit the scope of a proposed global digital tax, in a letter to US Treasury Secretary, following US threat of tariffs
Insurance startup Lemonade sets a price range of $23 to $26 for its IPO, valuing it ~$1.3B, about 25% less than its $2B valuation in its last funding round
Apple to bring Face ID and Touch ID logins to the web in Safari 14 on mobile and desktop
Stories from tech workers who are women, people of color, and LGBTQ-identifying, describe discrimination, microaggressions, feelings of isolation, and more
Inside DayLife Army, a social media cult, spun off from a Facebook group, that seduces young people with empty promises of a better world
Pipe, which helps SaaS companies turn their monthly or quarterly subscriptions into upfront cash flow, announces $60M seed extension led by Fin VC
Tencent will buy Iflix, a Southeast Asian streaming company that operates in 13 countries; sources say Iflix's brand will still be used for at least 6-12 months
Sony launches a bug bounty program for the PS4, the PlayStation Network, and other Sony properties, paying from $100 to $50K+ for critical PS4 vulnerabilities
The DOJ says it's charging Julian Assange in a superseding indictment with recruiting and conspiring with hackers affiliated with LulzSec and Anonymous
Amazon forms Counterfeit Crimes Unit, made up of former federal prosecutors, investigators, and data analysts, to fight counterfeiters on its site
geekwire.com · 1 week ago