TechCrunch Industry News

UK open to social media ban for kids as gov’t kicks off feasibility study Nov 21, 2024

The U.K. government is not ruling out further beefing up existing online safety rules by adding an Australian-style ban on social media for under 16s technology secretary, Peter Kyle, has said.

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Itching to write a book? AI publisher Spines wants to make a deal Nov 20, 2024

Generative AI has upended how we write things… or even if we write at all. Now a startup wants to be the main character in the next chapter of that story: AI that replaces the role of the publisher. Spines is a self-publishing platform that claims that — thanks to being powered by artificial intelligence

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Google Lens can now check prices and inventory when shopping in the real world Nov 20, 2024

After building out Google Lens to help users shop online more easily, Google is now updating the product to help people shop when they’re in a physical store by offering product insights, price comparisons, and local inventory availability.

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Roblox no longer allows users under 13 to message others outside of games Nov 19, 2024

Roblox will not let users under the age of 13 message others outside of games and experiences on the platform, the company said Friday. Roblox also announced a series of other built-in protections for young users, such as age-gating certain experiences, along with enhanced parental controls.

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What is Bluesky when it’s not the underdog? Nov 19, 2024

Bluesky is having a moment — a moment that’s already stretched on for nearly three months. Over the summer, the social media app saw a wave of new signups in Brazil after X (formerly Twitter) was temporarily banned there.

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JobGet, a ‘LinkedIn’ for hourly workers, acquires rival Snagajob Nov 18, 2024

If you’re an hourly worker, the number of go-to options you have for finding new jobs is shrinking a little. JobGet — a Boston startup that operates an hourly job-hunting site with social features built in, a la LinkedIn — is acquiring Snagajob, one of its rivals in the U.S. market.

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How social app Spill plans to capitalize on the exodus from X Nov 18, 2024

Social networking rivals continue to benefit from the user exodus from X. Spill, the social app founded by two former Twitter employees, released a statement claiming it has also seen a jump in users after the U.S. Presidential election, following similar news by Bluesky, which gained more than 2 million users during that time.

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Spotify will start paying video podcast hosts based on how well their videos perform Nov 15, 2024

Spotify announced on Wednesday that it will start paying podcast hosts who make popular videos on its streaming platform, as the company looks to take on YouTube’s dominance in the video podcast space.

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PayPal will once again let you pool money from family and friends to pay for things together Nov 15, 2024

PayPal is launching a few features that let users in groups pool money with friends or family, to collectively pay for trips, travels, gifts, and anything else. The company is launching this feature in the U.S., Germany, the U.K., Italy, and Spain

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Generative disinfo is real — you’re just not the target, warns deepfake tracking nonprofit Nov 14, 2024

Many feared that the 2024 election would be affected, and perhaps decided, by AI-generated disinformation. While there was some to be found, it was far less than anticipated. But don’t let that fool you: the disinfo threat is real — you’re just not the target.

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NASA awards ‘sustainable’ aircraft concepts $11.5M Nov 14, 2024

The future of aircraft may look very similar to today’s superficially — but under the hood (or sitting next to the tailfins) they will likely be quite different. That’s the future NASA is hoping to nurture with five research awards worth $11.5 million.

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Red Hat acquires AI optimization startup Neural Magic Nov 13, 2024

Red Hat, the IBM-owned open source software firm, is acquiring Neural Magic, a startup that optimizes AI algorithms to run on commodity processors. The transaction is subject to applicable regulatory reviews and other customary closing conditions.

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Amazon attempts to lure AI researchers with $110M in grants and credits Nov 13, 2024

There’s an AI chip battle brewing among the major cloud vendors. Google’s Trillium, a custom chip for training and running AI models, recently entered preview, and Microsoft’s Maia is expected to follow in short order. Not to be outdone, Amazon Web Services has AI chips, too: Trainium, Inferentia, and Graviton.

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Standing desks don’t do squat, X testing a free version of Grok, TSMC halted advanced chip shipments, and Encore is an AI-powered search engine for your thrifting needs Nov 12, 2024

Over the years, numerous startups have gained traction by designing, making and selling standing desks as part of a workspace innovation trend to promote better health, and a lot of executives swear by them, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, who once called sitting “the new cancer.”; Social network X has so far limited its AI chatbot Grok (built by Elon Musk’s other company xAI) to its premium, paying users. However, the platform is seemingly preparing to open up the chatbot to free users; After a chip manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company was found inside a Huawei processor, the US Department of Commerce has ordered the company to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, according to a report in Reuters; Former Apple engineer Alex Ruber and former Twitter and Asana engineer Parth Chopra first met on Y Combinator’s founder match platform, then met in person at a thrift store for shopping. They later went on a thrift store shopping trip where they talked about solving problems with finding the right product in the online space.

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From self-driving cars to AI that writes enterprise software: Cogna founder raises $15M Nov 12, 2024

A founder who was an early mover in the race to build autonomous vehicles has raised $15 million for his next act: a startup that claims its AI can write enterprise software on its own.

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Productivity hacks are overrated, says a16z VC who sold his own startup for $1.25B Nov 11, 2024

What’s the secret to success? It isn’t any of the trends that so many founders in Silicon Valley subscribe to.

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It’s the Senate’s last chance to pass the PRESS Act Nov 11, 2024

The PRESS Act would protect a journalist's sources, and gained unanimous bipartisan support when passed by the House in January.

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Anthropic teams up with Palantir and AWS to sell its AI to defense customers Nov 08, 2024

Anthropic today announced that it’s teaming up with Palantir, the data-mining company, and Amazon Web Services to provide U.S. intelligence and defense agencies access to Anthropic’s Claude 3 and 3.5 family of AI models. The news comes as a growing number of AI vendors, for strategic and revenue-related reasons, look to ink deals with U.S.

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The FTC comes after neobank Dave for misleading marketing, hidden fees Nov 08, 2024

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on Tuesday it will be taking action against the online cash app and neobank Dave, which it says used “misleading marketing to deceive consumers.” At issue is how Dave marketed $500 cash advances to consumers that it rarely offered.

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AI coding assistants can help startups develop products, seed VCs believe Nov 07, 2024

By now, there’s hardly a coder in the world who isn’t using an AI copilot in some way. But using GitHub Copilot or Cursor.AI to ask technical questions and get debugging help could be just the beginning.

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Lyft partners with May Mobility, Mobileye to bring autonomous vehicles to the app Nov 07, 2024

It seems Lyft is hoping to catch up to Uber’s string of autonomous vehicle partnerships. Lyft announced Wednesday three separate partnerships — with startup May Mobility, automated driving company Mobileye and smart dashcam firm Nexar — all aimed at establishing a foothold in the emerging autonomous vehicle market.

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AI safety advocates tell founders to slow down Nov 06, 2024

“Move cautiously and red-team things” is sadly not as catchy as “move fast and break things.” But three AI safety advocates made it clear to startup founders that going too fast can lead to ethical issues in the long run.

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Can Pictionary and Minecraft test AI models’ ingenuity? Nov 06, 2024

Most AI benchmarks don’t tell us much. They ask questions that can be solved with rote memorization, or cover topics that aren’t relevant to the majority of users. So some AI enthusiasts are turning to games as a way to test AIs’ problem-solving skills.

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X updates block feature, letting blocked users see your public posts, Threads now has 275M monthly active users, OpenAI has hired the co-founder of Pebble, and MIT debuted am LLM-inspired method for teaching robots new skills Nov 05, 2024

Go to TechCrunch.com for more tech stories.

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U.S. laws regulating AI prove elusive, but there may be hope Nov 05, 2024

Can the U.S. meaningfully regulate AI? It’s not at all clear yet. Policymakers have achieved progress in recent months, but they’ve also had setbacks, illustrating the challenging nature of laws imposing guardrails on the technology. In March, Tennessee became the first state to protect voice artists from unauthorized AI cloning.

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Google Maps is getting new AI features powered by Gemini Nov 04, 2024

Google Maps is getting new features powered by Gemini, Google’s generative AI model. On Thursday the company announced incoming updates that will allow Google Maps users in the U.S. to tap into AI to help them find new places to visit and answer questions about different locations

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Carl Pei says Nothing could build its own operating system Nov 04, 2024

Two mobile operating systems currently comprise nearly 100% of the global smartphone market. Building one is hard, and for most phone makers, there are better uses of resources, especially when Android is right there for the taking

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Space CEOs talk about the challenges and opportunities of selling defense tech Nov 01, 2024

Space executives took the stage at TechCrunch Disrupt on Monday to talk about the challenges and opportunities of building out dual-use technology, or tech that has both a defense and a commercial use case.

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Temu’s low cost marketplace faces formal probe in EU over raft of DSA compliance concerns Nov 01, 2024

The European Union has expanded its scrutiny of online marketplaces by opening a formal proceeding on Chinese low cost ecommerce platform, Temu, under the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Commission announced Thursday. Enforcers of the online governance framework will now dial up their oversight of Temu.

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ForceField helps detect deepfakes and digital deception by verifying source data Oct 31, 2024

A new startup setting out to combat the scourge of deepfakes and spoofed evidence in the age of AI is showing off its wares on the Startup Battlefield stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 this week.

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Archon emerges from stealth and Haptic’s touch-based navigation helps blind and sighted alike Oct 31, 2024

Meet Luna, a health and well-being app for teen girls that is designed to help them navigate teenhood. The app lets teens ask questions about their health and wellness and get responses from experts. It also lets them track their periods, moods, and skin.

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Why Crosscut Ventures is ‘following the founders’ into climate, space, and beyond Oct 30, 2024

The focus of the new $100 million fund, Crosscut’s sixth, will include energy and power, space and underwater exploration, advanced manufacturing, advanced materials, and security and defense.

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Popular calendar app Fantastical lands on Windows Oct 30, 2024

Buzzy calendar apps tend to make a big splash and disappear after a while. Sometimes they get acquired, sometimes the company pivots to something else. That’s not the case with Fantastical, a popular calendar app for macOS, iOS, and other Apple platforms.

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McDonald’s broken ice cream machines could get fixed faster thanks to new federal rule ... and more tech news Oct 29, 2024

McDonald’s ice cream machines have developed a lousy reputation for being broken when you visit the restaurant, largely due to strict copyright laws that only permit specially licensed technicians to legally repair them. The manufacturers have to license each technician, and they put locks on the McFlurry machines to prevent others from repairing them; A federal jury ruled Friday that Masimo smartwatches infringed Apple patents, but Apple isn’t getting a big payday. Bloomberg Law reports that the company was only seeking the statutory minimum of $250, and that’s all it was awarded; a few months after acquiring equity management company Easop, Remote, an HR platform for managing geographically distributed teams, is doubling down on its focus on managing equity compensation with a new product, Remote Equity. Remote already makes it easy for companies to work with talent all around the globe; Authorities have gained 'full access' to the servers used by the two notorious infostealers; The popularity of an Instagram video can affect its actual video quality: According to Adam Mosseri (the Meta executive who leads Instagram and Threads), videos that are more popular get shown in higher quality, while less popular videos get shown in lower quality.

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What are AI ‘world models,’ and why do they matter? Oct 29, 2024

World models, also known as world simulators, are being touted by some as the next big thing in AI. AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs has raised $230 million to build “large world models,” and DeepMind hired one of the creators of OpenAI’s video generator, Sora, to work on “world simulators.”

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Scout reveals its EV vision and it includes a model with a gas-powered generator Oct 28, 2024

Scout Motors, the Volkswagen Group spinoff, unveiled Thursday two EVs it hopes will hook American customers with modern-meets-rugged styling that downplays digital and embraces the mechanical. The catch? The company will also offer variants to its all-electric Scout Traveler SUV and Scout Terra Truck that will come equipped with a built-in gas-powered generator.

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Airdog’s founders are back with a precision-strike drone meant for modern warfare Oct 28, 2024

The war in Ukraine has shown that warfare changes by the day. It’s also clear that the tech used to make war today is costly: While larger countries can afford legions of tanks, helicopters, and precision-strike systems, smaller nations find themselves scrambling for cheaper ways to defend themselves.

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Cafeteria raises $3M so teens can tell Nike to get Adam Sandler as a brand ambassador Oct 26, 2024

Brands often rely on scraping the web and monitoring social media to understand what customers are saying about them and get insights for product development. Cafeteria is a startup that wants to connect brands to their most opinionated customers: teens.

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After selling Anchor to Spotify, co-founders reunite to build AI educational startup Oboe Oct 25, 2024

The co-founders who sold their last startup to Spotify are working on a new project: an AI-powered educational startup called Oboe backed by a $4 million seed investment. The new company, hailing from Nir Zicherman and Michael Mignano, aims to democratize access to learning the way that their prior startup, Anchor.

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Ex-SpaceX engineers land $14M to scale new method for 3D printing metal Oct 25, 2024

3D printing objects using metal is a well-established technique, but it tends to be too complex, expensive, or imprecise to match traditional methods at scale. Armed with $14 million from Nvidia and Boeing, Freeform aims to change that, building a new metal additive printing process that they say changes the game

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Anthropic’s new AI model can control your PC Oct 24, 2024

Anthropic has released an updated version of its Claude 3.5 Sonnet model with a new Computer Use feature that can interact with apps on a PC.

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Passionfroot is a marketplace for business-focused content creators looking for brand partnerships — and vice versa Oct 24, 2024

As the creator economy is growing rapidly, brand partnerships remain one of the prime ways creators can earn money. Other services like link-in-bio apps with affiliate links or Pateron-like subscriptions become secondary ways to increase creators’ income. For platforms and startup, the biggest challenge remains to match brands and creators for collaboration

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Tim Cook's safe choice, Meta's Ray Bans hot sellers, Meta suspends accounts tracking celebs, Zoom partners with Suki, and Highlight spins out of Medal Oct 23, 2024

This week’s cover of WSJ Magazine is extremely minimalistic. That’s not surprising given that the main story is an in-depth interview with Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple and the king of minimalistic design; Instagram and Threads accounts that track the private jets of celebrities – including Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Kim Kardashian, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Kylie Jenner – were suspended on Monday, according to the owner of many such accounts, Florida college student, Jack Sweeney. Links to Instagram/Threads accounts tracking the flights of the former President; Zoom is partnering with Suki, an AI medical note-taking app, to let doctors use an AI scribe that will take notes of their consultations with patients; Earlier this year, Medal, a startup known for its video game clipping features, launched a cross-platform AI assistant called Highlight. Now, the company is spinning off Highlight into a new entity, which has raised $10 million in a funding round. General Catalyst led the funding round with Valor, SV Angel, and Conviction Embed

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Meta tests facial recognition for spotting ‘celeb-bait’ ads scams and easier account recovery Oct 23, 2024

Meta is expanding tests of facial recognition as an anti-scam measure to combat celebrity scam ads and more broadly, the Facebook owner announced Monday. Monika Bickert, Meta’s VP of content policy, wrote in a blog post that some of the tests aim to bolster its existing anti-scam measures

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Perplexity looking to fundraise at an $8B valuation, Lyft is working on a ‘service animal opt-in feature’, DJI sues Department of Defense, and Can AI sandbag safety checks? Oct 22, 2024

AI search engine Perplexity is in fundraising talks and hopes to raise around $500 million at an $8 billion valuation, according to the Wall Street Journal. If a deal happens with those terms, it would more than double Perplexity’s valuation from its $3 billion valuation when it raised from SoftBank over the summer; Uber and Lyft need to do more to support disabled passengers, especially those who are blind or visually impaired, according to protesters who gathered outside the companies’ headquarters on October 15; Drone-maker DJI filed a lawsuit Friday against the US Department of Defense over its inclusion on a DoD list of “Chinese military companies.” A DJI spokesperson said the company filed the suit after “attempting to engage with the DoD for more than sixteen months” and deciding “it had no alternative other than to seek relief; AI companies claim to have robust safety checks in place that ensure that models don’t say or do weird, illegal, or unsafe stuff. But what if the models were capable of evading those checks and, for some reason, trying to sabotage or mislead users? Turns out they can do this, according to Anthropic researchers.

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Experts say OpenAI’s patent pledge amounts to little more than ‘virtue signaling’ Oct 21, 2024

OpenAI quietly published a statement on its website pledging not to use its patents offensively. Asserting its commitment to the principles of “broad access” and “collaboration,” OpenAI said that it would only use its patents in a way that supports innovation

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Sam Altman’s Worldcoin becomes World, and shows new iris-scanning ‘Orb’ to prove your humanity Oct 19, 2024

Worldcoin, the Sam Altman co-founded “proof of personhood” crypto startup that scans people’s eyeballs, announced on Thursday that it dropped the “coin” from its name and is now just “World.” The startup also unveiled its next generation of iris-scanning “Orb” and other tools at a live event in San Francisco

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Instagram rolls out new safety features to protect teens from sextortion Oct 18, 2024

Instagram is introducing a series of new safety features to protect users from sextortion scammers, the company announced on Thursday. Most notably, the company is no longer going to allow people to screenshot or screen record ephemeral images or videos sent in private messages.

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Can AI make us feel less alone? The founder of Manifest thinks so Oct 18, 2024

Amy Wu, founder of the AI-based mental health app Manifest, has a bold prediction for the next wave of tech. “Separately from the AI trend, I think so many people are seeing this loneliness epidemic that’s happening with Gen Z,” she said.

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Doctors complain of IT ‘in the stone age’, Waymo's honking apology, Mastodon toys, and more Oct 17, 2024

The United Kingdom’s NHS — the world’s largest public health service — is working on creaking IT infrastructure. In any sector, that’s a ticking time bomb. But when you consider that the NHS holds medical records for nearly 67 million people, a breach of that system could become a meltdown; Sophia Tung set up a livestream this past summer, showing self-driving Waymo cars honking from the San Francisco parking lot near her apartment at all hours of the night; Meta’s X rival Threads is rolling out a new “activity status” feature that will let you see when someone on the social network is online. Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced the feature on Tuesday in a Threads post, noting that it’s meant to act as “a way to help you find others to engage with; and if you like open-source, decentralized social networks that put the power in the hands of the people instead of billionaires, you can now support that cause…by buying toys. On Tuesday, Mastodon, a decentralized alternative to X, began selling its own merchandise in the form of cute, plushie mastodons – the proto-elephants with long tusks

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How Tesla’s plans for ‘unsupervised FSD’ and robotaxis could run into red tape Oct 17, 2024

During Tesla’s much-hyped robotaxi reveal event last week, CEO Elon Musk said he expects Tesla to release an “unsupervised” version of FSD, the automaker’s advanced driver assistance system, in Texas and California in 2025 on certain Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.

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Tesla Optimus bots were controlled by humans during the ‘We, Robot’ event Oct 16, 2024

During Tesla’s “We, Robot” event last week, which TechCrunch covered late into the night,, sources on the ground sent me a handful of videos of the automaker’s Optimus humanoid robots walking around the party, dancing, mixing drinks, and talking to guests.

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Google signed a deal to power data centers with nuclear micro-reactors from Kairos — but the 2030 timeline is very optimistic Oct 16, 2024

With the deal, Google joins Microsoft and Amazon in turning to nuclear power to satiate its thirst for electricity.

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Constellation Technologies & Operations wants to work with telecom operators to deliver 5G internet from space Oct 15, 2024

The telecom industry is undergoing its greatest period of disruption since the telegraph, as companies work to open up space as the next frontier for communications. French startup Constellation hopes to take part by repurposing 5G tech to provide a Starlink-like satellite broadband that uses telecoms’ existing assets.

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Casio confirms customer data compromised in ransomware attack Oct 15, 2024

A ransomware and extortion racket called Underground has claimed responsibility for the breach on its dark web leak site, which TechCrunch has seen.

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SpaceX alums are working to raise a hefty $550M first deep tech fund Oct 14, 2024

Interlagos, the venture capital firm started by former senior SpaceX leaders, is looking to raise $550 million for its first venture fund, according to regulatory filings and a confidential deck sent to prospective LPs and viewed by TechCrunch.

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Bluesky joins Threads to court users frustrated by Meta’s moderation issues Oct 14, 2024

Social networking startup Bluesky is seizing the moment. Amid ongoing moderation issues affecting X rival Instagram Threads, the decentralized X competitor Bluesky has created an account on Meta’s newest platform.

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A reporter used AI to apply to 2,843 jobs, Internet Archive slammed by DDoS attack, Scope3 starts tracking the carbon footprint of AI, and Opera’s new feature lets you group, pin and close tabs through natural language commands Oct 11, 2024

AI is spamming up job applications. 404 Media’s Jason Koebler writes about how he used a free tool, AI Hawk, to apply for 17 jobs in an hour while working a restaurant shift — only stopping when he’d reached 2,843; The Internet Archive, the nonprofit organization that digitizes and archives materials like web pages, came under attack Wednesday; The startup, which already monitors the climate impact of digital advertising, is expanding to include artificial intelligence; Opera browser has a new AI-powered feature that lets you take action on tabs through natural language queries. Things you can do include grouping, pinning, bookmarking and closing tabs with these commands.

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Antitrust challenge to Facebook’s ‘superprofiling’ finally wraps in Germany — with Meta agreeing to data limits Oct 11, 2024

A multi-year competition challenge to Facebook (aka Meta), which saw Germany’s antitrust authority become a pioneering champion for privacy rights in 2019 after it sought to block the social media giant’s ‘superprofiling’ of users on the grounds that consentless cross-site tracking of users is an “exploitative abuse” of Facebook’s monopoly position, finally concluded Thursday.

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North American robotics sales declined in first half of 2024 Oct 10, 2024

Even a category as hot as robotics is not immune from macroeconomic trends. According to figures from automation advocacy group, A3, the North American robotics market declined in the first half of 2024, both in terms of sales and revenue. The number of industrial robotics ordered in H1 declined 7.5% year-over-year to 15,705.

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Billionaire Robinhood co-founder launches Aetherflux, a space-based solar power startup Oct 10, 2024

It’s been the stuff of science fiction for decades: to provide gigawatts of cheap, clean power anywhere on Earth, day or night, using satellites that collect and transmit solar energy directly on orbit

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Adobe proposes a way to protect artists from AI ripoffs Oct 09, 2024

As the engine powering the world’s digital artists, Adobe has a big responsibility to mitigate the rise of AI-driven deepfakes, misinformation, and content theft. In the first quarter of 2025, Adobe is launching its Content Authenticity web app in beta, allowing creators to apply content credentials to their work, certifying it as their own.

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Emma Watson invests in reproductive health company Hertility Oct 09, 2024

Actress Emma Watson has made a previously undisclosed investment into the women’s health company Hertility, bringing its total funding to more than $14 million, the company told TechCrunch in an interview on Monday. Watson is known for her interest in the environment and supporting women-led initiatives.

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Sonair takes a cue from dolphins to build autonomous 3D vision sans LIDAR Oct 08, 2024

Ultrasound is perhaps best known as the technology that enables non-invasive body scans, underwater communication, and to help us park our cars. A young startup called Sonair out of Norway wants to employ it for something else: 3D computer vision used in autonomous hardware applications.

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What’s in the rug? How TikTok got swept into a real-time true crime story Oct 08, 2024

A woman in Ohio is being haunted by ghosts. Or, maybe she’s not. There’s a dead body buried underneath her house, rolled up inside a rug. Or, there’s actually no body at all, despite signals from cadaver dogs. This week’s biggest drama on TikTok tells the story of a woman from Ohio

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Rivian deliveries fall, Waymo’s next robotaxi will be the Hyundai IONIQ 5, and YouTube takes on TikTok Oct 07, 2024

Rivian says it will build fewer vehicles this year than it did in 2023, the result of a supply chain problem that popped up in the third quarter that has “become more acute in recent weeks.” The company did not specify what specific component is impacted; Waymo has struck a deal with Hyundai to bring the IONIQ 5 EV to its robotaxi network, adding another autonomous vehicle option as it scales up its business. The autonomous vehicle company announced Friday that it expects to start on-road testing a Waymo-equipped IONIQ 5 by late 2025, with the AV becoming available to riders; YouTube on Thursday announced a series of updates for its short-form video product, YouTube Shorts. These include the ability for creators to upload videos up to three minutes in length.

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Even the ‘godmother of AI’ has no idea what AGI is Oct 07, 2024

Are you confused about artificial general intelligence, or AGI? It’s that thing OpenAI is obsessed with ultimately creating in a way that “benefits all of humanity.” You may want to take them seriously since they just raised $6.6 billion to get closer to that goal

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As data center usage heats up, Submer raises $55.5M to cool things down Oct 04, 2024

The race is on for better chips and data center capacity to handle AI workloads, but all that activity comes with a catch. Heavy processing power means heat — a lot of it — and that has massive implications, both for how well servers operate and the environment

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OpenAI raises $6.6B and is now valued at $157B Oct 04, 2024

ChatGPT maker OpenAI has closed the largest VC round of all time. The startup today announced that it raised $6.6 billion in a funding round that values OpenAI at $157 billion pre-money. Led by previous investor Thrive Capital, the new cash brings OpenAI’s total raised to $17.8 billion or so, per Crunchbase.

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Hedosophia leads $7M seed round into retail supply chain AI startup Ameba Oct 03, 2024

Ameba takes the unstructured data in a retailer’s supply chain systems, sprinkles in some generative AI, and makes the whole thing more efficient.

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Femtech startup Perelel is acquiring Founders Fund-backed sexual health startup LOOM Oct 03, 2024

The past few years have seen the topic of women’s health thrown into the sociopolitical spotlight.

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UK unmasks LockBit ransomware affiliate as high-ranking hacker in Russia state-backed cybercrime gang Oct 02, 2024

Evil Corp maintains a "privileged" relationship with the Kremlin, and was often tasked with launching cyberattacks on behalf of Russia.

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Microsoft Copilot can now read your screen, think deeply, and speak aloud to you Oct 02, 2024

Microsoft has given its Copilot assistant on Windows a makeover — and a voice. Copilot can now read your screen, speak aloud, and more.

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Gov. Newsom vetoes California’s controversial AI bill, SB 1047 Oct 01, 2024

California Governor Gavin Newsom has vetoed SB 1047, a high-profile bill that would have was regulated the development of AI. The bill was authored by State Senator Scott Wiener and would have made companies that develop the largest AI models liable for implementing safety protocols to prevent “critical harms.”

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Canoo hit with two supplier lawsuits as last remaining co-founder leaves Sep 30, 2024

EV startup Canoo has been hit with two new lawsuits from suppliers linked to the drivetrains that power its electric vehicles, just weeks after the company kicked off a major reorganization that included the departure of its chief technology officer

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Meta offers a glimpse through its supposed iPhone killer: Orion Sep 30, 2024

For years, Silicon Valley and Wall Street have questioned Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to invest tens of billions of dollars into Reality Labs. This week, Meta’s wearables division unveiled a prototype of its Orion smart glasses, a form factor the company believes one day could replace the iPhone.

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As war rages in Ukraine, investment in European defense and dual-use tech skyrockets Sep 27, 2024

A new Dealroom report shows that VC investment in defense-related tech is outpacing any other type of investment across NATO member states and allies.

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After is a new dating app that tries to tackle ghosting Sep 27, 2024

A new female-founded dating app called After is launching in Austin, Texas on Thursday with the mission of tackling ghosting and holding people accountable.

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Tomasz Tunguz’s Theory Ventures bets $12M on Initia, the ‘iOS for web3’ Sep 26, 2024

The promise of blockchain to change the world hasn’t materialized. For the most part, the technology has instead enabled people to speculate on a new asset class. A big hurdle to realizing blockchain’s full potential, web3 proponents argue, is that decentralized services are incredibly hard to build.

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Legal ping-pong in the WordPress world continues as Automattic sends WP Engine a cease-and-desist letter alleging trademark infringement Sep 26, 2024

The brouhaha in the WordPress community looks likely to escalate into a legal battle around trademarks.

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Rivian reveals first $10M in grants for long-promised Rivian Foundation Sep 25, 2024

Rivian has revealed the first $10 million worth of grants from the Rivian Foundation, just three years after promising to make the “natural world” a “stakeholder in our success.” The company launched a website for the foundation on Monday that details 41 grantees who will collectively receive just north of $10 million in funding.

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How Big Tech embraced nuclear power Sep 25, 2024

Companies are eyeing nuclear power as a way to reconcile their breakneck data center growth with their commitments to hit net zero carbon emissions.

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Electric outboard startup Pure Watercraft is selling itself for parts Sep 24, 2024

A tough market seems to have put an end to Pure's ambitions.

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Ibotta’s CEO explains why startups shouldn’t try to time the IPO market Sep 24, 2024

The IPO market has not roared back in 2024 as many investors hoped it would — not yet, at least. Elevated interest rates (this week’s 50 bps rate cut notwithstanding) and uncertainty related to the U.S. election have prompted many companies to stay private and wait for better market conditions.

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Elon Musk’s reposts of Kamala Harris deepfakes may not fly under new California law Sep 23, 2024

California’s newest law could land social media users who post, or repost, AI deepfakes that deceive voters about upcoming elections in legal trouble. Governor Gavin Newsom suggests that AB 2839, which went into effect immediately after he signed it on Tuesday, could be used to reel in Elon Musk’s retweets, among others who spread deceptive messages.

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MIT's 3D printed glass blocks for construction, a robotic knee, a lucrative side hustle, and Varma abandons human musicians Sep 23, 2024

The team points to glass’ optical properties and its “infinite recyclability” as reasons for turning to the material; Also, test subjects were required to move a 30-pound kettlebell up and down a flight of stairs; a New York Times article Thursday highlighted a lucrative side hustle that is emblematic of the times we live in: gaming algorithms to earn money. In this case, folks figured out they could maximize the payout from Lyft’s Citibike “bike angels” program by taking advantage of a company algorithm used to meet its supply-and-demand needs; Indian filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma is ditching human musicians for artificial intelligence, saying he’ll use only AI-generated tunes in future projects, a move that underscores AI’s growing reach in creative industries; Cruise is returning to the streets of Sunnyvale and Mountain View for the first time since it paused operations in the Bay Area after a robotaxi struck a pedestrian in October 2023. The company said Thursday that it will put “several” vehicles driven by humans in the two cities that will initially perform mapping.

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Amazon releases a video generator — but only for ads Sep 20, 2024

Like its rival, Google, Amazon has launched an AI-powered video generator — but it’s only for advertisers at the moment, and somewhat limited in what it can do. Today at its Accelerate conference, Amazon unveiled Video generator, which turns a single product image into a few-seconds-long video clip after a few minutes of processing.

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Upchieve, an online tutor app for low-income students, launches a free tool for teachers Sep 20, 2024

Upchieve, the free, 24/7 online tutoring and college counseling app for low-income students, announced Thursday it’s giving teachers in Title 1 middle schools and high schools a new tool to ensure their students get the academic support they need. The new offering, called “Upchieve for Teachers,” allows teachers to offer 1:1 support to their students.

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California’s 5 new AI laws crack down on election deepfakes and actor clones Sep 19, 2024

On Tuesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed some of America’s toughest laws yet regulating the artificial intelligence sector. Three of these laws crack down on AI deepfakes that could influence elections, while two others prohibit Hollywood studios from creating an AI clone of an actor’s body or voice without their consent.

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23andMe sees independent board directors quit en masse, BlackRock & Microsoft planning megafund, and more news Sep 19, 2024

23andMe, the personal genomics company, went public in early 2021 via a merger with a blank check company that valued it at $3.5 billion. Then its fortunes began to sink. Fading interest in DNA kits – 23andMe’s main product – was one driver.; Investment powerhouse BlackRock is set to launch a massive AI-focused investment fund, exceeding $30 billion, in collaboration with Microsoft and the Abu Dhabi-backed investment outfit MGX, the FT reported today. According to the outlet, the fund — among Wall Street’s largest — will focus on creating data centers and funding energy infrastructure to support AI; Discord will now offer audio and video calls that even the company won't be able to listen in on; NASA wants to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon, but right now, astronauts have to be in direct line of sight with Earth to phone home. The space agency is looking to change that with its developing Near Space Network; Every month, 400,000 free members upgrade to paid memberships, the company says. According to Patreon, Autopilot improved the rate of free-to-paid membership upgrades by an average of 19% in testing.

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Slack is turning into an AI agent hub. Should it? Sep 18, 2024

The head of Slack, Denise Dresser, tells TechCrunch she is shifting the business chat platform into a “work operating system,” specifically by making Slack a hub for AI applications from Salesforce, Adobe, and Anthropic

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Instagram tightens restrictions on teen use, putting parents in control Sep 18, 2024

Instagram is introducing Teen Accounts to automatically enroll young users into an app experience with built-in protections. The company announced that starting on Tuesday, it will start placing all current and future accounts held by a teenager into a Teen Account.

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IBM makes developing for quantum computers easier with the Qiskit Functions Catalog Sep 17, 2024

IBM today launched the Qiskit Functions Catalog, a new set of services that aims to make programming quantum computers easier by abstracting away many of the complexities of working with these machines.

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U.S. government expands sanctions against spyware maker Intellexa Sep 17, 2024

This latest round of government sanctions land months after Intellexa's founder Tal Dilian was sanctioned for selling the Predator spyware.

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Shopsense AI lets music fans buy dupes inspired by red-carpet looks at the VMAs Sep 16, 2024

At the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) on Wednesday night, new technology allowed fans to shop their favorite artist’s styles as they appeared on the screen.

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Waymo robotaxis in Austin & Atlanta soon, Spotify and parent-managed accounts for kids, Meta making AI info less visible, and Alternative app stores allowed on Apple iPad soon Sep 16, 2024

Uber riders in Austin and Atlanta will be able to hail a Waymo robotaxi through the app in early 2025 as part of an expanded partnership between the two companies. Waymo’s autonomous vehicles have been available on the Uber app in Phoenix since October 2023; Following the moves of other tech giants, Spotify announced on Friday it’s introducing in-app parental controls in the form of “managed accounts” for listeners under the age of 13. The new feature will initially be offered as a pilot program for parents or guardians on a Family plan in select markets, including Denmark, New Zealand and others; making the AI info label harder to find, it might be easier for users to be deceived by content that was edited with AI, especially as editing tools become more and more advanced; It was a matter of time, but Apple is going to allow third-party app stores on the iPad starting next week, on September 16. This change will occur with the next major release of iPadOS, the operating system specifically designed for the iPad.

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iFixit marks iPhone 16 arrival with battery-powered soldering iron launch Sep 13, 2024

iFixit, everyone’s favorite gadget repair gadfly, is launching a portable soldering iron. The gadget is designed to make component repair more accessible for home users. The timing of the announcement isn’t lost on anyone, dropping the same week as Apple’s “It’s Glowtime” event.

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Apple AirPods Pro granted FDA approval to serve as hearing aids ... and more tech news Sep 13, 2024

The FDA on Thursday announced that it has granted what it calls “the first over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid software device, Hearing Aid Feature.”; DeepMind employed a new learning platform, ALOHA Unleashed, paired with its simulation program, DemoStart, to teach robots by watching humans; Google Wallet will test a feature that turns your US passport into a digital ID; The White House has announced that several major AI vendors, including OpenAI and Microsoft, have committed to taking steps to combat nonconsensual deepfakes and child sexual abuse material. Adobe, Cohere, Microsoft, OpenAI and data provider Common Crawl said that they’ll “responsibly” source and safeguard the datasets they create and use to train AI from image-based

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SpaceX calls out “superfluous” regulatory delays holding up Starship flights Sep 12, 2024

SpaceX has put on its most public and aggressive offensive against regulators to date, with a blog post published Tuesday urging more expeditious launch licensing — lest the country lose its place as the leader in the global space race. Orbital launch is a tightly regulated industry governed chiefly by the Federal Aviation Administration, though

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Senate leaders ask FTC to investigate AI content summaries as anti-competitive Sep 12, 2024

A group of Democratic senators is urging the FTC and Justice Department to investigate whether AI tools that summarize and regurgitate online content like news and recipes may amount to anti-competitive practices

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The real power of Apple Intelligence will show up in third-party apps Sep 11, 2024

Apple Intelligence, the iPhone maker’s new set of AI capabilities arriving in iOS 18, is laying the groundwork for a new way to use apps. Today, the dated App Store model is under constant regulatory attack. Meanwhile, users can accomplish a lot of tasks with fairly simple questions to an AI assistant like ChatGPT.

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Bumble to leverage AI to help users with profile creation and conversations Sep 11, 2024

Bumble is increasing its investments in AI and branching out with new features to stay relevant amid a generational shift in dating behavior among younger users. During Goldman Sachs’ annual technology conference on Monday, Bumble CEO Lidiane Jones unveiled more details about the app’s upcoming AI capabilities, including a photo selection tool as well as features to help with conversations and profile creation.

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Apple Intelligence delays could impede iPhone 16 ‘supercycle’, Bluesky grows to 9M+ users, and more Sep 10, 2024

When Apple unveiled its AI plans at WWDC in June, analysts suggested the feature could put the iPhone 16 on track for another “supercycle.” Like the addition of 5G before it, industry watchers believed that Apple Intelligence’s arrival might convince holdouts to bite the bullet and upgrade their device. Also, Bluesky keeps growing: The company announced that as of Friday morning, it had added 3 million new users, bringing its total user count to more than 9 million. In other words, the social platform’s user base has grown by around 50 percent in the week or so since a Brazilian court banned X (formerly Twitter). And the car rental giant says personal information, credit card information, and driver's license numbers were stolen in the August cyberattack.

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The Try Guys say their subscription strategy is starting to work and Bending Spoons laying off workers Sep 10, 2024

After a rough couple years, YouTube creators The Try Guys said they’re on-track to reach profitability, with subscriptions to their three-month-old, ad-free service 2nd Try now accounting for 20% of the company’s revenue. Of course, those numbers also mean The Try Guys remain reliant on other revenue streams, including YouTube advertising. Also, Italy-based app company Bending Spoons, which owns Evernote and Meetup, is planning to lay off 75% of the staff of file transfer service WeTransfer, TechCrunch has learned. Bending Spoons acquired the Dutch company in July for an undisclosed amount.

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Mintlify is building a next-gen platform for writing software docs Sep 09, 2024

Mintlify offers a collection of documentation-authoring tools, including tools that can auto-generate docs from codebases.

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Salesforce acquires data management firm Own for $1.9B in cash Sep 09, 2024

Salesforce has acquired Own Company, a provider of data management and protection solutions, for $1.9 billion in cash. In a press release, Salesforce GM Steve Fisher said in a statement that Own “underscores [Salesforce’s] commitment to providing secure, end-to-end solutions that protect our customers’ most valuable data.”

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E-bike maker Cowboy raises a small funding round as it targets profitability next year Sep 06, 2024

Cowboy has closed funding of around $5.5 million. With this recent funding round, Cowboy is now valued at €40 million on a pre-money basis.

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Verizon acquires Frontier, Publishers prevail in lawsuit, Starliner home without its crew on Friday, and The Cosmos Institute launche grant programs Sep 06, 2024

Some major consolidation is afoot in the world of internet communications — and it will have implications for competition and consumer internet access in U.S. On Thursday, Verizon announced that it would gobble up Frontier Communications for $20 billion — more than double Frontier’s market cap at the close of trading the night before; A long-running lawsuit over the Internet Archive’s “emergency” ebook lending practices during the COVID-19 pandemic has ended in a loss for the website and a victory for publishers. The lawsuit concerned the Internet Archive’s National Emergency Library, a program it established at the beginning of the pandemic to allow wider access to some 1.3 million ebooks; These final maneuvers will bring to a close a troubled first crewed mission for the Boeing-made Starliner; The Cosmos Institute, a nonprofit whose founding fellows include Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark and former Defense Department technologist Brendan McCord, has announced a venture program and research initiatives to — in the organization’s words — “cultivate a new generation of technologists and entrepreneurs equipped with deep philosophical thinking to navigate the uncharted territory.

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DubClub wants amateur sports betters to win more Sep 05, 2024

The American sports betting market produced $10.9 billion in revenue in 2023 for casinos, sportsbooks and iGaming, according to the American Gambling Association. One of the reasons this industry is so lucrative is because the majority of people who bet on sports lose.

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Anthropic launches Claude Enterprise plan to compete with OpenAI Sep 05, 2024

Anthropic is launching a new subscription plan for its AI chatbot, Claude, catered towards enterprise customers that want more administrative controls and increased security. Claude Enterprise will compete with OpenAI’s business-specific solution, ChatGPT Enterprise, released roughly a year ago. Claude Enterprise allows businesses to upload proprietary company knowledge into Anthropic’s AI chatbot.

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Oxylus Energy strikes “beautiful balance” to make e-fuels for aviation and shipping Sep 04, 2024

Flexible green methanol, which is made without fossil fuels, could rid carbon pollution from a range of industries.

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Spotter launches AI tools to help YouTubers brainstorm video ideas, thumbnails and more Sep 04, 2024

Spotter, the startup that provides financial solutions to content creators, announced Tuesday the launch of its new AI-powered creative suite. Dubbed Spotter Studio, the solution aims to support YouTubers throughout the creative process, such as helping them brainstorm video concepts, generate thumbnail and title ideas, plan projects, organize tasks, and collaborate with their team.

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Why do so many home robots still suck? Sep 03, 2024

Home robots’ unfulfilled potential is neither because of lack of demand on the part of consumers nor lack of effort from manufacturers.

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Apple saying goodbye to USB-A, TikTok's new feature, Bluesky tops the charts, and more Tech news Sep 03, 2024

The Mac mini will be the next Apple device to say goodbye to USB-A, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Apple customers have probably gotten used to seeing the familiar, rectangular USB-A ports replaced with their thinner USB-C siblings. And while USB-C has its advantages, the transition can sometimes leave users confused and scrambling for adapters; TikTok is introducing a new “Manage Topics” feature that will give you more control over what you see on your For You feed, the company announced on Friday. The new feature is rolling out to users in the U.S. With the new tool, you can tailor your For You feed to show you more; a Brazilian court’s decision to ban X (formerly Twitter) seems to benefiting its rivals, especially Bluesky. The microblogging platform announced late Friday that it was seeing “all-time-highs for activity” with 500,000 new users joining in the previous two days. It’s also number one on the free iPhone app chart in Brazil today; In the latest twist in Bolt’s aggressive fundraising efforts, the fintech company’s CEO appears to have made a veiled threat of legal action against Silverbear Capital, the investment bank whose involvement in the deal remains in some dispute. “We believe there was some internal miscommunication at Silverbear Capital, one of our lead investors; No matter who powerful generative AI becomes, writer Ted Chiang says it will never create true art. Chiang is one of the most admired science fiction authors writing today, best known for the novella “Story Of Your Life” (which was adapted into the movie “Arrival”). But he’s also published terrific pieces for The New Yorker.

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Former Riot Games employees leverage generative AI to power NPCs in new video game Sep 02, 2024

Jam & Tea Studios is the latest gaming startup implementing generative AI to transform the way players interact with non-playable characters (NPCs) in video games. Traditionally, video game NPCs are directed by predetermined scripts, which can feel repetitive, unrealistic, and boring

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Google is working on AI that can hear signs of sickness, Apple and Nvidia could be OpenAI’s next big investors ... and more news Sep 02, 2024

Given everything you’ve already heard about AI, you may not be surprised to learn that Google is among other outfits beginning to use sound signals to predict early signs of disease. How? According to Bloomberg, Google has trained its foundation AI model with 300 million pieces of audio that included coughs, sniffles, and labored breathing; Nvidia and Apple are reportedly in talks to contribute to OpenAI’s next fundraising round — a round that could value the ChatGPT maker at $100 billion. Per its sources, the New York Times says earlier OpenAI investor Thrive Capital would lead the deal should it happen; It seems that the Ministry of Truth has been busy at Tesla. Some sharp-eyed folks, including reporters at Electrek, noticed that Tesla has deleted all of its blog posts prior to 2019; Gmail users on Android devices can now chat directly with Google’s AI assistant, Gemini, about their emails in the Gmail app. Google rolled out the new feature, Gmail Q&A, on Thursday to users who pay for Gemini, according to a blog post, and announced the feature would be coming to iOS devices.

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UK’s Wayve secures strategic investment from Uber to further develop self-driving tech Aug 30, 2024

Uber is making a strategic investment into Wayve as an extension of the U.K.-born startup’s previously announced $1.05 billion Series C round. The partnership will also see the two companies work with automakers to integrate Wayve’s AI into consumer vehicles that will one day operate on the ride-hail giant’s platform.

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OpenAI in talks to close a new funding round, Bolt’s backer the London Fund, has been scrubbing its web page, Apple's AI-powered object remover, and NEA reentered the secondaries market Aug 30, 2024

OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, could be in talks to raise a massive tranche of cash. The Wall Street Journal reports that OpenAI may be close to closing a fundraising round led by Thrive Capital, a previous investor, that’d value the AI company at over $100 billion; One-click checkout tech company Bolt is still waiting to find out if shareholders will sign off on a proposed funding round with stipulations that founder Ryan Breslow would return as CEO; Apple released the new developer betas for iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS 15.1 Sequoia. With this update, the company is launching new Apple Intelligence features including the ability to remove objects from photos; New Enterprise Associates is getting back into the secondaries game. The Silicon Valley-based VC raised more than $468 million for NEA Secondary Opportunity Fund, according to an SEC filing. The fundraise closed on July 3, according to a source familiar with the matter, but hasn’t received much attention

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CoinSwitch sues WazirX to recover trapped funds Aug 29, 2024

CoinSwitch, a prominent Indian cryptocurrency exchange, is suing rival platform WazirX to recover trapped funds.

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The U.S. military’s latest psyop? Advertising on Tinder ... and more news Aug 29, 2024

Tinder removed the U.S. military ads, saying the campaign violated the company's policies; Elon Musk’s X has already declared it aims to compete with LinkedIn for job listings and PayPal for payments. Now, it wants to take on the likes of Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams with a video conferencing tool; Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander failed to reach the moon because of a problem with a single valve in the propulsion system, according to a report on the mission released Tuesday. Company leadership said in a press conference that engineers have redesigned the valve and introduced additional redundancy into the propulsion system of its next lander.

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Meta and Instagram spotted developing a new social music-sharing feature Aug 28, 2024

Meta and Spotify are exploring deeper music integration in Meta’s Instagram app. New findings indicate the companies are testing a feature that would allow users to continuously share what music they’re listening to through Instagram’s Notes.

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Uber fined $324M over EU driver data transfer breach Aug 27, 2024

Ride-hailing platform Uber has been fined €290 million — around $324 million at current exchanges rates — by the Netherlands’ privacy watchdog for breaching the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

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Apple iPhone 16 lineup on Sept. 10, RealPage sued by Justice Dept, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov arrested ... and more news Aug 27, 2024

Apple will be unveiling new products on September 10, with the announced phones going on sale on September 20, according to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. That lineup will reportedly include the iPhone 16, with larger screens on the Pro models and a new button just for taking pictures.; RealPage, which makes property management software, was sued Friday by the U.S. Justice Department and eight attorneys general for allegedly helping apartment and building managers around the country collude to drive up unit prices; Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of messaging app Telegram, was arrested on Saturday evening at France’s Bourget airport, according to French television network TF1. Neither Telegram nor a spokesperson for France’s national anti-fraud office ONAF immediately responded to a request for comment; Disappearing posts on social networks are handy if you have a habit of deleting them through third-party tools or the context of those posts is short-lived. Earlier this month, Threads said it is testing ephemeral posts only as an internal prototype; Boeing’s Starliner mission is coming back to Earth — empty. After months of data analysis and internal deliberation, NASA leadership announced today that Starliner will be coming back to Earth in September, without a crew. Meanwhile, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams will remain on-board the International Space Station until February;

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Cache Energy’s mysterious white pellets could help kill coal and natural gas Aug 26, 2024

The pellets can be stored in piles or silos, moved around using conveyor belts, and transported via rail cars.

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Waymo wants to chauffeur your kids, get paid to be a Robot, Mineral sold technology to John Deere, and DeepMind workers protest Google’s defense contracts Aug 26, 2024

Soon, parents in range of Waymo robotaxis might not have to worry about picking up their kids from after-school activities — or anytime, really. The San Francisco Standard reports that Waymo, the Alphabet subsidiary, is considering a subscription program that would let teens hail one of its cars solo and send pickup and drop-off alerts; Tesla is hiring individuals standing between 5’7 and 5’11 to carry up to 30 pounds for seven hours a day to train its Optimus robot; Citing a crowded market and profit concerns, Mineral ceased operation and pivoted to technology licensing; At least 200 workers at DeepMind, Google’s AI R&D division, are displeased with Google’s reported defense contracts — and according to Time, they circulated a letter internally back in May to say as much. The letter, dated May 16, says the undersigned are concerned by “Google’s contracts with military organizations,” citing articles about the tech

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Harmonyze built AI agents that sit between franchisors and their franchisees Aug 23, 2024

For some businesses, there is a clear path to growth that doesn’t involve acquiring other companies or expanding organically: franchising. The U.S. has more than 800,000 franchise businesses, according to Statista, and that number is predicted to keep growing year over year.

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Apple is bringing audio sharing to Beats Studio Pro, Deepfake scam costs Telecom $1M, Aviron branches out into bikes and more news Aug 23, 2024

A firmware update is delivering multi-user audio sharing, allowing music to be streamed to multiple headphones at once; also Microsoft demonstrated its leadership in accessible gaming hardware again on Wednesday with the announcement of a new one-handed joystick controller for Xbox and PC. The Xbox Adaptive Joystick works with the company’s already robust accessibility hardware stack, and even includes support for custom 3D-printed parts; early this year, AI-powered fake audio of President Biden reached voters in New Hampshire. The FCC struck back swiftly, identifying the perpetrator as the Texas-based Life Corporation, which has been behind similar scams over the years, and whacked them and an associated individual with a $6 million fine; At around $2,000, the Fit Bike places the system between Peloton’s entry-level Bike ($1,500) and Bike+ ($2,500).

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Ford says a pickup truck will be the first EV built on its low-cost platform Aug 22, 2024

The first vehicle that will be built on the low-cost EV platform Ford’s been developing in secret will be a mid-size pickup due out in 2027, the automaker announced Wednesday morning. The news comes as part of a much larger rewriting of Ford’s electrification plans.

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The banks that loaned Musk $13B to buy Twitter might be having regrets ... and more tech news Aug 22, 2024

X looks like a pretty bad investment right about now. As readers might recall, billionaire Elon Musk borrowed $13 billion from Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and five other major banks to help finance the $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, as it was then called; OpenAI signs deal to train on Condé Nast content, surface stories in ChatGPT; WeTransfer’s expiry dates haven’t gone away, but you can at least extend them; Is your company AI-washing? Rippling founder Parker Conrad thinks it might be.

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YouTube takes on TikTok Shop with expanded Shopify partnership Aug 21, 2024

As TikTok Shop gains traction, YouTube is expanding its partnership with Shopify to onboard more brands for its YouTube Shopping affiliate program, the company announced on Tuesday.

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LiveNation lawsuit, a million on a Zoom call, and Waymo numbers are up Aug 21, 2024

The United States Department of Justice filed a major lawsuit against Live Nation-Ticketmaster in May, arguing that the entertainment giant is acting as a monopoly. An additional 10 state attorneys general joined the suit this week, bringing the total to 39 states and the District of Columbia; also, Zoom on Monday announced a new single-user webinar feature that caps out at 1 million attendees. The addition comes less than a month after the #WinWithBlackWomen fundraiser for Vice President Kamala Harris peaked at 44,000 users before crashing; and Waymo disclosed Tuesday it’s now giving more than 100,000 paid robotaxi rides every week across its three main commercial markets in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix. Those figures were shared by Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana in a social media post on X.

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As CO2 emissions from supply chains come into focus, this startup is aiming at farms Aug 20, 2024

Root helps food and beverage companies collect primary data on their agricultural supply chains.

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GM cuts 1,000 software jobs as it prioritizes quality and AI Aug 20, 2024

General Motors is cutting around 1,000 software workers around the world in a bid to focus on more “high-priority” initiatives like improving its Super Cruise driver assistance system, the quality of its infotainment platform and exploring the use of AI. The job cuts are not about cost cutting or individual performance.

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Rivian launches smaller $1,400 camp kitchen, five years after initial demo Aug 19, 2024

The Rivian camp kitchen attracted buzz from almost the moment it appeared as a prototype in 2019 at Overland Expo West. Despite interest in the accessory, Rivian never actually sold the camp kitchen, which was kind of massive and designed to slide into the R1T pickup truck’s trademark gear tunnel.

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OpenAI shuts down election influence operation using ChatGPT Aug 19, 2024

OpenAI has banned a cluster of ChatGPT accounts linked to an Iranian influence operation that was generating content about the U.S. presidential election, according to a blog post on Friday. The company says the operation created AI-generated articles and social media posts, though it doesn’t seem that it reached much of an audience.

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Meta axed CrowdTangle, a tool for tracking disinformation. Critics claim its replacement has just ‘1% of the features’ Aug 16, 2024

Journalists, researchers, and politicians are mourning Meta’s shutdown of CrowdTangle, which they used to track the spread of disinformation on Facebook and Instagram. In CrowdTangle’s place, Meta is offering its Content Library – but is limiting usage to people from “qualified academic or nonprofit institutions who are pursuing scientific or public interest research.”

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TipRanks, an AI-based stock tip evaluator created after its founder got burned by bad advice, sells for $200M to Prytek Aug 16, 2024

Prytek had already been a big investor in TipRanks since 2017, most recently leading a $77 million round in the company in 2021.

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The first post-quantum cryptography standards are here Aug 15, 2024

For many companies, this also means that now is the time to start implementing these algorithms.

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Kiteworks captures $456M at a $1B+ valuation to help secure sensitive data Aug 15, 2024

Search engine optimization (SEO) has been top of mind for brands for more than a decade to ensure their websites and products capture as many eyeballs as possible by ranking high up on search results pages. But search is changing, and as consumers increasingly turn to AI chatbots like ChatGPT or Claude

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SoundCloud launches its own merch store, will let artists create their own designs Aug 14, 2024

Music streaming service SoundCloud has launched a merch marketplace called SoundCloud Store. The store will sell SoundCloud-themed items, but will also act as a service for artists to put out their own designs. The first edition of the store features designs from Wiz Khalifa, Denzel Curry, wolfacejoeyy, Bk The Rula, and Armani White.

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She grew up a gearhead — now her startup has raised $4M to cut CO2 from trucking Aug 14, 2024

The irony was not lost on her. Growing up the daughter of a racing car enthusiast father, Danielle Walsh had become — in her late 20s — the head of HSBC’s ‘Future Cities’ project, the global banking giant’s effort to serve clients’ climate change mandates.

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As Alexa turns 10, Amazon looks to generative AI Aug 13, 2024

While Amazon has continued releasing Echo devices, including an upgraded Spot announced last month, the company has taken its foot off the gas.

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Maybe Friend wasn’t crazy for spending $1.8M on a domain after all Aug 13, 2024

Avi Schiffmann, the founder and CEO of Friend, told TechCrunch over email that the purchase has already paid for itself.

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Rocket Lab’s sunny outlook bodes well for future constellation plans Aug 12, 2024

Rocket Lab surpassed $100 million in quarterly revenue for the first time, a 71% increase from the same quarter of last year. This is just one of several shiny accomplishments executives showed off to investors on Thursday — and a good omen for the space company’s medium-term ambitious plans.

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Spotify and Epic Games call Apple’s revised DMA compliance plan ‘confusing,’ ‘illegal’ and ‘unacceptable’ Aug 12, 2024

Count Spotify and Epic Games among the Apple critics who are not happy with the iPhone maker’s newly revised compliance plan for the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). Shortly after Apple announced the updated version on Tuesday, including loosened restrictions along with the addition of two more fees, Spotify shared a statement with TechCrunch

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UK launches formal probe into Amazon’s ties with AI startup Anthropic Aug 09, 2024

The U.K.’s antitrust regulator has confirmed that it’s carrying out a formal antitrust investigation into Amazon’s ties with Anthropic, after Amazon recently completed a $4 billion investment into the AI startup.

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Airbnb details plans to expand beyond short-term rentals, including co-hosting and relaunching ‘experiences’ Aug 08, 2024

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky suggested on Tuesday’s Q2 earnings call with investors that the company will soon expand into new products and services, including co-hosting, a relaunch of Airbnb’s “experiences,” guest services, and more.

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Lyft to ‘open up a can of whoop ass’ on surge pricing Aug 08, 2024

Ride-hail giant Lyft will pilot a new feature called Price Lock that will let a rider purchase a monthly subscription “that caps the price for a specific route at a specific time,” according to CEO David Risher.

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Figure’s new humanoid robot leverages OpenAI for natural speech conversations Aug 07, 2024

Figure 02 is outfitted with speakers and microphones to speak and listen to people at work.

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Uber highlights autonomous vehicle efforts with Tesla in its rearview mirror Aug 07, 2024

Uber reported strong second-quarter results, with gross bookings and net profit both up decently. But the company has chosen to highlight the success of its autonomous vehicle effort, likely to assuage investors concerned about incoming competition from Tesla, which aims to reveal its first robotaxi in October.

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AWS launches Mithra to identify and mitigate malicious domains across its massive system Aug 06, 2024

When a company is the size of Amazon, a lot of bad actors will come after it and its customers, which makes defending the network a monster job.

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How the theft of 40M UK voter register records was entirely preventable Aug 06, 2024

A scathing rebuke by the U.K. data protection watchdog reveals what led to the compromise of tens of millions of U.K. voters' information.

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iPad sales help bail out Apple amid a continued iPhone slide Aug 05, 2024

In spite of a drop for the quarter, iPhone remained Apple’s most important category by a wide margin.

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AI music startup Suno claims training model on copyrighted music is ‘fair use’ Aug 05, 2024

Following the recent lawsuit filed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) against music generation startups Udio and Suno, Suno admitted in a court filing on Thursday that it did, in fact, train its AI model using copyrighted songs. But it claimed that doing so was legal under the fair-use doctrine.

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Google Cloud now has a dedicated cluster of Nvidia GPUs for Y Combinator startups Aug 02, 2024

Google Cloud is giving Y Combinator startups access to a dedicated, subsidized cluster of Nvidia graphics processing units and Google tensor processing units to build AI models. It’s part of Google Cloud’s effort to cozy up with promising early-stage AI startups, in hopes some of them will evolve into massive, compute-hungry business

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Vast plans microgravity lab on its Haven-1 private space station Aug 02, 2024

Commercial space station company Vast is building a private microgravity research lab as part of its wider Haven-1 station plans. The module is set to launch no earlier than the second half of 2025, the company said Thursday.

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Bumble and Hinge allowed stalkers to pinpoint users’ locations down to 2 meters Aug 01, 2024

Badoo, Bumble, Grindr, happn, Hinge and Hily all had the same vulnerability that could have helped a malicious user to identify the near-exact location of another user, according to the researchers.

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Controversial internet bill KOSA passed by Senate Aug 01, 2024

The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) has passed in the Senate after Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) pushed the internet bill to a vote. Proposed in 2022, KOSA requires that online platforms take reasonable steps to protect users from harm, and could become the most significant children’s online safety legislation to take effect since COPPA

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Zoe, a microbiome-focused nutrition company, raises $15 million to expand in the U.S. Jul 31, 2024

Zoe sends customers at-home testing materials to collect blood or feces to test blood fat, blood sugar, and gut microbiome health. Following those results, the company scores every food (on a scale from 0 to 100), so people can make better choices of what to eat.

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Disinformation may ‘go nuclear’ rather than ‘go viral,’ researchers say Jul 31, 2024

We say something “goes viral” because we tend to think of rumors and disinformation spreading the way that an infection spreads. But these days it may be more accurate to say something “goes nuclear,” according to a new paper that models disinfo as a form of fission reaction

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A tale of two foldables Jul 30, 2024

Samsung is still foldables’ 500-pound gorilla, but the company successes have made the category significantly less lonely in recent years.

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UK’s Zapp EV plans to expand globally with an early start in India Jul 29, 2024

Zapp is launching its urban electric two-wheeler in India in 2025 as it plans to expand globally.

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Data breach exposes US spyware maker behind Windows, Mac, Android and Chromebook malware Jul 29, 2024

Exclusive: The Minnesota-based spyware maker Spytech snooped on thousands of devices before it was hacked earlier this year.

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Lodestar’s robotic arm will be an orbital ‘first responder’ for satellites in need Jul 26, 2024

Satellites are among our most critical infrastructure, providing everything from GPS to disaster coordination, yet their inherent inaccessibility leaves them vulnerable to relatively simple technical issues or attacks. London-based Lodestar is looking to change that with a “first responder” service in space using advanced robotic sentries.

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GM-backed Addionics aims to make lithium-ion batteries cheaper with wavy foil Jul 26, 2024

The startup has developed a way to create copper and aluminum foils that are laced with tiny holes and riddled with undulating peaks and valleys.

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Spotify CEO says company is in ‘early days’ of hi-fi audio plans Jul 25, 2024

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek says the streaming service is still in the “early days” of its plans to bring hi-fi support to the platform. During the company’s earnings call on Tuesday, the executive offered details about an upcoming deluxe tier.

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How to prevent your software update from being the next CrowdStrike Jul 25, 2024

There is no fool proof way to prevent a buggy update like CrowdStrike's, but there are best practices that could mitigate the fallout.

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Rosotics wants to manufacture massive orbital shipyards using 3D printing Jul 24, 2024

Mesa, Arizona-based Rosotics has kept a low profile. From the startup’s website, one would think they are solely focused on selling large metal 3D printers to aerospace and defense customers. For the past three years, the company’s been quietly architecting plans that involve launching multiple massive spacecraft, each containing dozens of smaller spacecraft

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Former Tesla humanoid head launches a robotics startup Jul 24, 2024

In spite of maintaining stealth until now, Mytra has already drummed up interest with big names. The startup has a pilot with grocery giant Albertsons, among others.

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Linx emerges from stealth with $33M to lock down the new security perimeter: Identity Jul 23, 2024

Identity management is one of the most common fulcrums around which security breaches have pivoted in the last several years, and one of the main reasons it’s the gift that keeps on giving to malicious hackers is that it’s a nightmare for organizations to track.

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Pesa unlocks new markets to keep remittances flowing to emerging economies Jul 23, 2024

Founders of Pesa, a remittance fintech, know too well how costly, inaccessible and unreliable remittance services drive people to opt for risky informal channels — like WhatsApp groups — to transfer money.

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Waymo wants to bring robotaxis to SFO Jul 22, 2024

Waymo would need a ground transportation permit to operate at SFO, which has yet to be approved.

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Apple Vision Pro debuts immersive content featuring NBA players, The Weeknd and more Jul 22, 2024

Apple on Thursday announced its upcoming lineup of immersive video content for the Vision Pro. The list includes behind-the-scenes footage of the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend, an immersive performance by The Weeknd, new series, films, concerts and more. The headset launched in February with more than 150 3D movies and immersive titles

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NASA cancels $450M Viper moon mission, dashing ice prospecting dreams Jul 19, 2024

The now-scrapped moon mission would have been the U.S. space agency's first resource-mapping mission off planet Earth.

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Ford’s EV plans are in flux once again as it invests $3B into its biggest trucks Jul 19, 2024

Ford is still pushing forward on electrification, notably by increasing hybrid options.

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Shaped raises $8M Series A and launches its self-serve recommendations and search service Jul 18, 2024

Whether it’s an online marketplace, store, or social media platform, virtually every site today uses some kind of recommendation service to personalize its offerings. Shaped, which is announcing an $8 million seed funding round today, wants to make it easier for businesses of all sizes to combine the data they already have with large language models.

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The Way app offers a chance to meditate alongside a Zen Master Jul 18, 2024

A new app called The Way is aiming to help people explore the deeper side of meditation through a single, structured path guided by an authorized Zen Master. Founded by uncle-and-nephew duo Henry Shukman and Jack Shukman, The Way wants to help people move beyond modern mindfulness practices offered by popular meditation apps like Headspace

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Ultrahuman’s smart ring gets FDA-approved AFib detection Jul 17, 2024

The smart ring has long played second fiddle to the smart watch. While tech giants like Apple and Google duked it out over wrists for years, the ring has been significantly quieter, a space where plucky startups have a chance to make their mark. Things are quickly changing, however.

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Kaspersky to shut down US operations Jul 17, 2024

The Russia-based security software maker said its U.S. business is "no longer viable" following a U.S. Commerce Department sales ban.

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Google reportedly in talks to acquire cloud security company Wiz for $23B Jul 16, 2024

Google’s parent company Alphabet might be on the verge of making its biggest acquisition ever. The Wall Street Journal reports that Alphabet is in advanced talks to acquire Wiz for around $23 billion. While the deal isn’t finalized, the WSJ says it could come together soon.

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Whistleblowers accuse OpenAI of ‘illegally restrictive’ NDAs Jul 16, 2024

Whistleblowers have accused OpenAI of placing illegal restrictions on how employees can communicate with government regulators, according to a letter obtained by The Washington Post. Lawyers representing anonymous whistleblowers sent the letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler.

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Amazon AI chatbot Rufus is now live for all U.S. customers Jul 15, 2024

Amazon’s AI-powered shopping assistant, named “Rufus,” is now live for all U.S. customers in the Amazon mobile app, the retailer announced on Friday. The assistant, which lives on the bottom right of the app’s main navigation bar, is designed to offer customers help with finding products, performing product comparisons, and getting recommendations.

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Archer’s vision of an air taxi network could benefit from Southwest customer data Jul 15, 2024

Archer Aviation and Southwest Airlines are teaming up to figure out what it will take to build out a network of electric air taxis at California airports.

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FTC study finds ‘dark patterns’ used by a majority of subscription apps and websites Jul 12, 2024

Dark patterns refer to a range of design techniques that can subtly encourage users to take some sort of action or put their privacy at risk.

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More ex-military officials are becoming VCs as defense tech investment reached $35 billion Jul 12, 2024

As venture capitalists continue to pour money into defense tech startups, they’re turning to a new hiring pool: ex-military officials.

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Anthropic’s Claude adds a prompt playground to quickly improve your AI apps Jul 11, 2024

Prompt engineering became a hot job last year in the AI industry, but it seems Anthropic is now developing tools to at least partially automate it. Anthropic released several new features on Tuesday to help developers create more useful applications with the startup’s language model, Claude, according to a company blog post.

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Whataburger app becomes unlikely power outage map after Houston hurricane Jul 11, 2024

Fast food chain Whataburger’s app has gone viral in the wake of Hurricane Beryl, which left around 1.8 million utility customers in Houston, Texas without power. Hundreds of thousands of those people may remain without power for days as Houston anticipates a heat wave, with temperatures climbing into the mid-90s.

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Data workers detail exploitation by tech industry in DAIR report Jul 10, 2024

The essential labor of data work, like moderation and annotation, is systematically hidden from those who benefit from the fruits of that labor. A new project puts the lived experiences data workers around the world in the spotlight, showing firsthand the costs and opportunities of tech work abroad.

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Quora’s Poe now lets users create and share web apps Jul 10, 2024

Poe, Quora’s subscription-based, cross-platform aggregator for AI-powered chatbots like Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s GPT-4o, has launched a feature called Previews that lets users create interactive apps directly in chats with chatbots. Previews allows Poe users to build data visualizations, games and even drum machines

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YouTube and LinkedIn have games now, and here’s how you can play them Jul 09, 2024

Here are the latest companies venturing into the gaming scene and details about each offering, including pricing, examples of titles and supported devices.

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Waymo robotaxi pulled over by Phoenix police after driving into the wrong lane Jul 09, 2024

A police officer pulled over a self-driving Waymo vehicle in Phoenix after it ran a red light and pulled into a lane of oncoming traffic, according to dispatch records. The incident took place on June 19, but local media including Arizona Republic released bodycam footage of the traffic stop this week, showing the vehicle weaving.

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Noplace, a mashup of Twitter and MySpace for Gen Z, hits No. 1 on the App Store Jul 08, 2024

Aiming to bring the “social” back to “social media,” a new app called noplace has surged to the top of the App Store as it launches out of invite-only mode Wednesday.

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Fizz, the anonymous Gen Z social app, adds a marketplace for college students Jul 08, 2024

Teddy Solomon just moved to a new house in Palo Alto, so he turned to the Stanford community on Fizz to furnish his room. “Every time I show up to buy something from somebody, I grill them about the marketplace, because I’m really curious about their experience,” Solomon, a co-founder of Fizz, told TechCrunch.

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Epic Games calls out Apple for rejecting its Games Store in the EU Jul 05, 2024

Fortnite maker Epic Games has hit a stumbling block in its plans to bring the company’s alternative app store, the Epic Games Store, to the EU. As now permitted by the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), Epic Games announced earlier this year it planned to bring both the digital storefront and its flagship game, Fortnite.

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X weighs adding a downvote button to replies — but it doesn’t want to emulate Reddit Jul 05, 2024

Code references found in the X iOS app indicate that the company could be considering adding downvotes for replies only to improve how they're ranked.

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Twitter/X alternative Mastodon appeals to journalists with new ‘byline’ feature Jul 04, 2024

Mastodon, the open source, decentralized alternative to X (formerly Twitter), is today rolling out a new feature meant to make the app more appealing to those who use it to keep up with news and information from writers and journalists

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Google’s environmental report pointedly avoids AI’s actual energy cost Jul 04, 2024

Google totally dodges the question of how much energy is AI is using — perhaps because the answer is "way more than we'd care to say."

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Figma disables its AI design feature that appeared to be ripping off Apple’s Weather app Jul 03, 2024

Figma CEO Dylan Field says the company will temporarily disable its “Make Design” AI feature that was said to be ripping off the designs of Apple’s own Weather app. The problem was first spotted by Andy Allen, the founder of NotBoring Software, which makes a suite of apps that includes a popular, skinnable Weather app

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Anthropic looks to fund a new, more comprehensive generation of AI benchmarks Jul 03, 2024

Anthropic is launching a program to fund the development of new types of benchmarks capable of evaluating the performance and impact of AI models, including generative models like its own Claude.

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MIT’s soft robotic system is designed to pack groceries Jul 02, 2024

RoboGrocery combines computer vision with a soft robotic gripper to bag a wide range of different items.

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Meta changes its label from ‘Made with AI’ to ‘AI info’ to indicate use of AI in photos Jul 02, 2024

After Meta started tagging photos with a “Made with AI” label in May, photographers complained that the social networking company had been applying labels to real photos where they had used some basic editing tools.

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MagicSchool thinks AI in the classroom is inevitable, so it’s aiming to help teachers and students use it properly Jul 01, 2024

These days, when you hear about students and generative AI, chances are that you’re getting a taste of the debate over the adoption of tools like ChatGPT. Are they a help? (Yay! Great for research! Fast!) Or are they a harm? (Boo! Misinfo! Cheating!).

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Zuckerberg disses closed-source AI competitors as trying to ‘create God’ Jul 01, 2024

In the conversation, Zuckerberg said there needs to be a lot of different AIs that get created to reflect people's different interests.

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Directo turns a TikTok travel hack into a deal-finding Chrome extension Jun 29, 2024

A travel hack that went viral on TikTok teaches users how to save money on hotels and Airbnbs by booking directly with the properties themselves. Now, a new startup, Directo, will help travelers find those same deals with the help of a Chrome extension that points you to the property’s website,

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Amazon hit with fresh class action-style suit in UK — $3.4BN in competition damages sought for 200,000+ sellers Jun 28, 2024

Amazon is facing another competition lawsuit in the UK. The latest claim, which was filed Thursday, is seeking more than £2.7BN in damages — or around $3.4BN at current exchange rates — before the UK’s Competition Appeals Tribunal.

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Climate X founders, who mortgaged their houses to stay afloat, now raise a $18 million Series A Jun 28, 2024

To date, most of the hottest software platforms in the ClimateTech space have been about carbon accounting, offsets, removals, and regulatory disclosure. For instance, New York’s Persefoni (accounting) raised $164.2 million to date, Plan A (accounting/monitoring) in Berlin raised $43 million and at the lower end, Supercritical (removals) raised $15.8 million while CUR8 (removals) raised

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VW to invest up to $5B into Rivian in software deal Jun 27, 2024

VW Group invest $1 billion into EV startup Rivian as part of a software development deal that could expand to as much as $5 billion. The deal, which was announced Tuesday afternoon, sent Rivian’s shares up more than 36% in after-hours trading. The two companies will create a joint venture focused on next-generation electrical architecture

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Snapchat introduces new safety features to limit bad actors from contacting users Jun 27, 2024

Snapchat on Tuesday announced a new suite of safety features, including updates to its account blocking functionality and enhanced friending safeguards, making it difficult for strangers to contact users on its platform. The new move comes amid concerns over predators exploiting teens on social media apps, which often results in severe incidents, including sextortion

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Uber Freight and self driving trucks startup Aurora partner for the long haul Jun 26, 2024

Uber Freight and Aurora Innovation have announced a multi-year collaboration that will see Aurora’s autonomous driving technology offered on the Uber Freight network through 2030. The deal gives Aurora access to shipping customers as it prepares to launch its fully driverless commercial service later this year. It also helps Aurora also secure longer-term customers through

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Apple might partner with Meta on AI Jun 26, 2024

As Apple enters the AI race, it’s also looking for help from partners. During the announcement of Apple Intelligence earlier this month, Apple said it would be partnering with OpenAI to bring ChatGPT into the revamped version of Siri. Now, the Wall Street Journal reports that Apple and Facebook’s parent company Meta are in talks

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Meta makes its AI chatbot available to all users in India Jun 25, 2024

After a few months of testing during the general elections, Meta is making its Llama-3-powered AI chatbot available to all users in India. However, Meta AI currently only supports English and no other local languages. The company started testing Meta AI in India across WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, and Facebook in April.

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Google is pausing its experiment of allowing real-money games on the Play Store Jun 25, 2024

Google said today that it is globally pausing its experiment of allowing real-money games on the Play Store, where there was no central body for this kind of app. In January, the company said it would start allowing real-money apps widely in June in India, Brazil, and Mexico.

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YouTube confirms crackdown on VPN users accessing cheaper Premium plans Jun 24, 2024

YouTube appears to be taking a firm stance against Premium subscribers who attempt to use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to access cheaper subscription prices in other countries. This week, a number of users took to Reddit to express their frustration after their Premium plans were canceled for using a VPN to purchase the subscription

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US bans sale of Kaspersky software citing security risk from Russia Jun 24, 2024

U.S. officials imposed the “first of its kind” ban arguing that Kaspersky threatens U.S. national security because of its links to Russia.

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Amazon extends generative AI-powered product listings to Europe Jun 21, 2024

Amazon is bringing its generative AI listing smarts to more sellers, revealing today that those in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the U.K. can now access tools designed to improve product listings by generating product descriptions, titles, and associated details.

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Spotify quietly lets all podcasters upload videos, surpasses 250K shows Jun 21, 2024

Non-hosted podcasters can now upload videos to Spotify. Over 250K video podcasts are on the platform.

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Genspark is the latest attempt at an AI-powered search engine Jun 20, 2024

Genspark taps generative AI to write custom summaries in response to search queries.

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iOS 18 could ‘sherlock’ $400M in app revenue Jun 20, 2024

Apple's changes may affect apps that today have an estimated $393 million in revenue and have been downloaded roughly 58 million times over the past year.

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Snap previews its real-time image model that can generate AR experiences Jun 19, 2024

At the Augmented World Expo on Tuesday, Snap teased an early version of its real-time, on-device image diffusion model that can generate vivid AR experiences.

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Threads finally launches its API for developers Jun 19, 2024

Meta said today that it finally launched its much-awaited API for Threads so developers can build experiences around it.

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XReal introduces a $200 device that brings Android apps to its AR glasses Jun 18, 2024

The $200 Beam pro looks like an Android phone, but instead it's a mobile device designed specifically for Xreal’s glasses.

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Former NSA head joins OpenAI board and safety committee Jun 17, 2024

The high-profile addition is likely intended to satisfy critics who think that OpenAI is moving faster than is wise for its customers and possibly humanity.

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Amazon says it’ll spend $230 million on generative AI startups Jun 17, 2024

Amazon says that it’ll commit up to $230 million to startups building generative AI-powered applications.

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iOS 18 cracks down on apps asking for full address book access Jun 14, 2024

To give users more control over the contacts an app can and cannot access, the permissions screen has two stages.

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Ford’s secretive low-cost EV team is growing with talent from Rivian, Tesla and Apple Jun 14, 2024

A TechCrunch review of LinkedIn data found that Ford has built this team up to around 300 employees over the last year.

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Apex’s off-the-shelf satellite bus business attracts $95M in new funding Jun 13, 2024

Fresh off the success of its first mission, satellite manufacturer Apex has closed $95 million in new capital to scale its operations.

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Biden administration looks to give Rocket Lab $24M to boost space-grade solar cell production Jun 13, 2024

In addition to the federal funding, the state of New Mexico — where SolAero is based — committed to providing financing and incentives that value $25.5 million.

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Elon Musk threatens to ban Apple devices from his companies over Apple’s ChatGPT integrations Jun 12, 2024

Elon Musk is threatening to ban iPhones from all his companies over the newly announced OpenAI integrations Apple announced at WWDC 2024 on Monday.

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The mystery of an alleged data broker’s data breach Jun 12, 2024

Since April, a hacker with a history of selling stolen data has claimed a data breach of billions of records — impacting at least 300 million people — from a U.S. data broker, which would make it one of the largest alleged data breaches of the year

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Bereave wants employers to suck a little less at navigating death Jun 11, 2024

If death and taxes are inevitable, why are companies so prepared for taxes, but not for death?

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New York moves to limit kids’ access to ‘addictive feeds’ Jun 11, 2024

New York’s state legislature has passed a bill that would prohibit social media companies from showing so-called “addictive feeds” to children under 18, unless they obtain parental consent.

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Siri and Google Assistant look to generative AI for a new lease on life Jun 10, 2024

Voice assistants in general are having an existential moment, and generative AI is poised to be the logical successor.

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Shopify acquires Threads (no, not that one) Jun 10, 2024

Shopify has acquired Threads.com, the Seqiuoa-backed Slack alternative, Threads said on its website.

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Robinhood acquires global crypto exchange Bitstamp for $200M Jun 07, 2024

Stock-trading platform Robinhood is diving deeper into the cryptocurrency realm with the acquisition of crytpo exchange Bitstamp.

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Amazon buys Indian video streaming service MX Player Jun 07, 2024

Amazon has agreed to acquire Indian video streaming service MX Player from the local media powerhouse Times Internet, the latest step by the e-commerce giant to make its services and brand popular in smaller cities and towns in the key overseas market.

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Dive goes cloud-native for its computational fluid dynamics simulation service Jun 06, 2024

Spun out of Bosch, Dive wants to change how manufacturers use computer simulations by both using modern mathematical approaches and cloud computing.

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Asana introduces ‘AI teammates’ designed to work alongside human employees Jun 06, 2024

Asana is using its work graph to train LLMs with the goal of creating AI assistants that work alongside human employees in company workflows.

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GetWhy, a market research AI platform that extracts insights from video interviews, raises $34.5M Jun 05, 2024

GetWhy helps businesses carry out market studies and extract insights from video-based interviews using AI.

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Travel app Sékr wants to help you plan your next road trip with its new AI tool Jun 05, 2024

Sékr, a startup that offers a mobile app for outdoor enthusiasts and campers, is launching a new AI tool for planning road trips.

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Spotify to increase premium pricing in the US to $11.99 per month Jun 04, 2024

Spotify has announced that it’s hiking subscriptions for customers in the U.S., the second such price increase in the space of a year.

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X tweaks rules to formally allow adult content Jun 04, 2024

X will now allow users to post consensually produced NSFW content as long as it is prominently labeled as such.

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Spain bans Meta from launching election features on Facebook, Instagram over privacy fears Jun 03, 2024

Meta has been banned from launching features on Facebook and Instagram that would have collected data on voters in Spain using the social networks ahead of next month’s European Elections.

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Instagram now lets teens limit interactions to their ‘Close Friends’ group to combat harassment Jun 03, 2024

Instagram is expanding the scope of its "Limits" tool specifically for teenagers that would let them restrict unwanted interactions with people.

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Billionaire Groupon founder Lefkofsky is back with another IPO: AI healthtech Tempus Jun 01, 2024

Eric Lefkofsky knows the public listing rodeo well and is about to enter it for a fourth time.

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Redpanda acquires Benthos to expand its end-to-end streaming data platform May 31, 2024

Redpanda has already integrated Benthos into its own service and has made it the core technology of its new Redpanda Connect service.

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How Clean Energy Ventures avoided the pandemic bubble and raised a $305M fund May 30, 2024

When other firms were investing and raising eye-popping sums, Clean Energy Ventures took a different approach. It appears to be paying off.

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YouTube’s free games catalog ‘Playables’ rolls out to all users May 30, 2024

YouTube's free Playables don't directly challenge the app store model or break Apple's rules. However, they do compete with the App Store's free games.

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Félix Pago raises $15.5 million to help Latino workers send money home via WhatsApp May 29, 2024

Remittances from workers in the U.S. to their families and friends in Latin America amounted to $155 billion in 2023. With such a huge opportunity, banks, money transfer companies, retailers, and fintechs are all trying make transfers more convenient on both sides of the transaction.

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LumApps, the French ‘intranet superapp,’ sells majority stake to Bridgepoint in a $650M deal May 29, 2024

Big news today for LumApps, the French startup that has described itself as an “intranet superapp” with a platform for building and provisioning internal communications and apps for workforces.

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Canva launches a proper enterprise product — and they mean it this time May 28, 2024

Back in 2019, Canva, the wildly successful design tool, introduced what the company was calling an enterprise product, but in reality it was more geared towards teams than fulfilling true enterprise requirements.

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Spotify to shut off Car Thing for good, leading users to demand refunds May 28, 2024

Spotify is notifying customers who purchased its Car Thing product that the devices will stop working after December 9, 2024

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Using memes, social media users have become red teams for half-baked AI features May 27, 2024

“Running with scissors is a cardio exercise that can increase your heart rate and require concentration and focus,” says Google’s new AI search feature.

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Google invests $350 million in India’s Flipkart May 27, 2024

Google is investing nearly $350 million in Flipkart, becoming the latest high-profile name to back the Indian e-commerce startup.

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Google to build first subsea fibre optic cable connecting Africa with Australia May 24, 2024

Google is preparing to build what will be the first subsea fibre optic cable connecting the continents of Africa and Australia.

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Meta’s new AI council is comprised entirely of white men May 24, 2024

Meanwhile, women and people of color are disproportionately impacted by irresponsible AI.

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Why Spotify is launching its own font, Spotify Mix May 23, 2024

Spotify launched its own font, the company announced on Wednesday.

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Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses now let you share images directly to your Instagram Story May 23, 2024

Meta is updating its Ray-Ban smart glasses with new hands-free functionality

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Meta, Match, Coinbase and others team up to fight online fraud and crypto scams May 22, 2024

The new coalition, Tech Against Scams, will work together to find ways to fight back against the tools used by scammers and to better educate the public against financial scams.

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Aurora unveils self-driving truck with Volvo May 22, 2024

A new self-driving truck — manufactured by Volvo and loaded with autonomous vehicle tech developed by Aurora Innovation — could be on public highways as early as this summer.

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Hollywood agency CAA aims to help stars manage their own AI likenesses May 21, 2024

Creative Artists Agency, one of the top entertainment and sports talent agencies, is hoping to be at the forefront of AI protection services for celebrities in Hollywood.

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OpenAI to remove ChatGPT’s Scarlett Johansson-like voice May 21, 2024

OpenAI is removing one of the voices used by ChatGPT after users found that it sounded similar to Scarlett Johansson, the company announced on Monday.

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A US trustee wants troubled fintech Synapse to be liquidated via Chapter 7 bankruptcy, cites ‘gross mismanagement’ May 20, 2024

The prospects for troubled banking-as-a-service startup Synapse have gone from bad to worse this week after the United States Trustee filed an emergency motion on Wednesday.

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Microsoft warned it could be fined billions by EU over missing GenAI risk info May 20, 2024

The European Union has warned Microsoft it could be fined up to 1% of its global annual turnover under the bloc’s online governance regime, the Digital Services Act .

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Shipping logistics startup Harbor Lab raises $16M Series A led by Atomico May 17, 2024

Cargo ships docking at a commercial port incur costs called “disbursements” and “port call expenses.”

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Cannabis and gaming payments startup Aeropay is now offering an alternative to Mastercard and Visa May 17, 2024

The key to taking on legacy players in the financial technology industry may be to go where they have not gone before

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Netflix to take on Google and Amazon by building its own ad server May 16, 2024

The announcement signifies a significant shake-up in the streaming giant's advertising approach.

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Restaurant365 orders in $175M at a $1B+ valuation to supersize its food service software stack May 16, 2024

The restaurant industry in the U.S. is expected to pass $1 trillion in sales for the first time this year, despite wider economic pressures on consumer

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Accel has a fresh $650M to back European early-stage startups May 15, 2024

Accel has invested in more than 200 startups in the region to date, making it one of the more prolific VCs in this market.

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Uber to acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan unit from Delivery Hero for $950M in cash May 15, 2024

Uber Technologies announced Tuesday that it will buy the Taiwan unit of Delivery Hero’s Foodpanda for $950 million in cash.

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The buzziest EV IPO of the year is a Chinese automaker May 14, 2024

Zeekr's market hype is noteworthy and may indicate that investors see value in the high-quality, low-price offerings of Chinese automakers.

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Anthropic now lets kids use its AI tech — within limits May 14, 2024

AI startup Anthropic is changing its policies to allow minors to use its generative AI tools — in certain circumstances, at least.

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Microsoft is launching its mobile game store in July May 13, 2024

Microsoft will launch its own mobile game store in July, the company announced at the Bloomberg Technology Summit on Thursday.

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Oura launches two new heart health features May 13, 2024

Smart ring maker Oura is launching two new features focused on heart health, the company announced on Friday.

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Bluesky now lets you personalize its main Discover feed using new controls May 11, 2024

The social network has announced an updated version of its app that lets you offer feedback about its algorithmic feed so you can better customize it.

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Always-on video portal lets people in NYC and Dublin interact in real time May 10, 2024

A new sculpture going live on Wednesday in the Flatiron South Public Plaza in New York is not your typical artwork.

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Match looks to Hinge as Tinder fails May 10, 2024

Match Group, the company that owns several dating apps, including Tinder and Hinge, released its first-quarter earnings report on Tuesday, which shows that Tinder’s paying user base has decreased for the sixth quarter in a row.

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Bedrock Studio is Amazon’s attempt to simplify generative AI app development May 09, 2024

Amazon is launching a new tool, Bedrock Studio, designed to let organizations experiment with generative AI models, collaborate on those models, and ultimately build generative AI-powered apps.

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Rivian loses $1.45 billion as cost-cutting measures continu May 09, 2024

Rivian lost $1.45 billion in the first quarter, showing that its recent company-wide cost-cutting measures have a ways to go before it can approach profitability.

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Threads is testing cross-posting from Instagram globally May 08, 2024

Meta is encouraging more users to post to its X rival Threads.

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Apple teased AI improvements, including the M4’s neural engine, at its iPad event May 08, 2024

Tuesday's theme focused on the new hardware devices themselves — devices like new iPads and an updated Apple Pencil — not on the AI advances Apple is making under the hood.

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Match-owned Archer hits over half a million installs amid dating app slump May 07, 2024

It’s been almost one year since Match Group announced the launch of Archer, the online dating giant’s first app for gay, bi, and queer men.

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Farewell, dunks? Threads launches quote controls for all users May 07, 2024

Threads users can now exert more control over who can quote their posts.

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UnitedHealth data breach should be a wakeup call for the UK and NHS May 06, 2024

The ransomware attack that has engulfed U.S. health insurance giant UnitedHealth Group and its tech subsidiary Change Healthcare is a data privacy nightmare for millions of U.S. patients, with CEO Andrew Witty confirming this week that it may impact as much as one-third of the country.

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NASA is expanding its Wallops Island facility to support three times as many launches May 06, 2024

NASA is kicking off a formal environmental assessment of its facilities on Wallops Island, Virginia.

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NASA orders studies from private space companies on Mars mission support roles May 03, 2024

Mars exploration has been always been the exclusive purview of national space agencies, but NASA is trying to change that, awarding a dozen research tasks to private companies as a prelude to commercial support for future missions to the Red Planet.

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Peloton announces 400 layoffs, 15% of the workforce, as CEO Barry McCarthy departs May 03, 2024

Peloton, the exercise equipment maker and creator of online fitness classes, has announced that it’s laying off 15 percent of its workforce — 400 people — as CEO, president, and board director Barry McCarthy steps down after two years in the role.

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Amazon CodeWhisperer is now called Q Developer and is expanding its functions May 02, 2024

Pour one out for CodeWhisperer, Amazon’s AI-powered assistive coding tool.

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Elon Musk guts Tesla’s charging team after winning over major automakers May 02, 2024

Tesla has gutted its charging team in a new round of layoffs, despite recently winning over major automakers like Ford and General Motors and making its connector the defacto standard in North America.

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Bumble’s “Opening Move” feature takes the pressure off women to come up with a new message every time May 01, 2024

As Bumble prepares for its app relaunch this summer, the women-first dating platform announced a series of product updates on Tuesday, including a new feature that lets women prepare questions to send to matches, additional dating intention preferences and prompts, and more.

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The first-ever race between four self-driving cars and a Formula 1 driver just happened in Abu Dhabi May 01, 2024

Wander the pits at any professional motorsports event, especially something like Formula 1, and you’ll see endless computer displays full of telemetry

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Zomato’s quick commerce unit Blinkit eclipses core food business in value, says Goldman Sachs Apr 30, 2024

Goldman Sachs said in a report late Thursday that Indian food delivery giant Zomato’s quick commerce arm Blinkit is now more valuable than its core food delivery business, as per the bank’s sum-of-the-parts analysis.

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OpenAI inks strategic tie-up with UK’s Financial Times, including content use Apr 30, 2024

OpenAI, maker of the viral AI chatbot ChatGPT, has netted another news licensing deal in Europe, adding London’s Financial Times to a growing list of publishers it’s paying for content access.

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Google’s new ‘Speaking practice’ feature uses AI to help users improve their English skills Apr 29, 2024

Google is testing a new “Speaking practice” feature in Search that helps users improve their conversational English skills.

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The IBM-HashiCorp coupling could be more complicated than it seems Apr 29, 2024

At a quick glance the IBM-HashiCorp deal seems like a good one for both sides, but upon closer inspection, perhaps not.

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TikTok pulls feature from Lite app in EU over addiction concerns Apr 26, 2024

TikTok suspended a gamification feature in the European Union following an intervention by the bloc.

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Mark Zuckerberg says Threads has 150 million monthly active users Apr 26, 2024

Meta’s Twitter/X rival Threads is growing at a stable pace. The social network now has more than 150 million monthly active users

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Tesla profits drop 55%, company says EV sales ‘under pressure’ from hybrids Apr 25, 2024

Tesla profits fell 55% to $1.13 billion in the first quarter from the same year-ago period as a protracted EV price-cutting strategy continued to cut into the automaker’s bottom line

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X is launching a TV app for videos ‘soon’ Apr 25, 2024

X, the company formerly known as Twitter, is launching a dedicated TV app for videos uploaded to the social network soon

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Framework’s repairability philosophy is set to expand beyond the laptop Apr 24, 2024

Framework Computer was ahead of the curve.

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Perplexity is raising $250M+ at a $2.5-$3B valuation for its AI search platform, sources say Apr 24, 2024

Perplexity, the AI search engine startup, is a hot property at the moment.

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TikTok Shop expands its secondhand luxury fashion offering to the UK Apr 23, 2024

TikTok Shop, TikTok’s social commerce marketplace, is launching a secondhand luxury category in the U.K., putting it in closer competition with The RealReal, Vestiaire Collective, Depop, Poshmark, and Mercari, among others.

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Tinder gets a ‘Share My Date’ feature for users to send date plans to their curious friends Apr 23, 2024

It’s not uncommon for people to screenshot dating profiles and send them to their friends and loved ones, either to get feedback or to let them know who they’re seeing that weekend

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Robots can make jobs less meaningful for human colleagues Apr 22, 2024

Much has been (and will continue to be) written about automation’s impact on the jobs market. In the short term, many employers have complained of an inability to fill roles and retain workers, further accelerating robotic adoption.

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Internet users are getting younger; now the UK is weighing up if AI can help protect them Apr 22, 2024

Artificial intelligence has been in the crosshairs of governments concerned about how it might be misused for fraud, disinformation and other malicious online activity

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Alphabet X’s Bellwether harnesses AI to help predict natural disasters Apr 19, 2024

The world is on fire.

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Ramp raises another $150 million co-led by Khosla, Founders Fund at a $7.65B valuation Apr 19, 2024

Spend management startup Ramp has raised another $150 million at a valuation of $7.65 billion, the company confirmed to TechCrunch today.

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Kickstarter launches pre-orders for completed campaigns Apr 18, 2024

Once a Kickstarter campaign is complete, you need to turn to a creator’s own page to pre-order the products — that is, until now.

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Waymo begins robotaxi testing in Atlanta Apr 18, 2024

Waymo, the self-driving company under Alphabet, began testing its robotaxis in Atlanta on Tuesday, adding another city to its ever-expanding testing and deployment domain.

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Meta’s Oversight Board probes explicit AI-generated images posted on Instagram and Facebook Apr 17, 2024

The Oversight Board, Meta’s semi-independent policy council, it turning its attention to how the company’s social platforms are handling explicit, AI-generated images.

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Bluesky now allows heads of states to sign up for the social network Apr 16, 2024

Social networking platform Bluesky lifted its ban on sign-ups for heads of state over the weeken

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Meta’s ‘consent or pay’ tactic must not prevail over privacy, EU rights groups warn Apr 16, 2024

Ahead of a full meeting of the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) this week (April 16 and 17), which is expected to produce guidance on a controversial tactic used by Meta to force Facebook and Instagram users to consent to its tracking, almost two dozen civil society groups and nonprofits have penned an open letter.

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Space Force tees up new ‘responsive space’ mission from Rocket Lab and True Anomaly Apr 15, 2024

Each company will design and build a satellite capable of rendezvousing with other spacecraft in orbit at close proximity, as well as command and control centers for the mission.

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X is removing ability to hide checkmarks for premium users Apr 15, 2024

Last year, Elon Musk-owned social network X rolled out a feature for paid users to hide their checkmarks from others.

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Elon Musk accused of profiting from tragedy as study finds X rewards hate targeting Israel-Gaza war Apr 12, 2024

A few weeks after defeating Elon Musk’s attempt to silence it in court, anti-hate research nonprofit, the Center for Countering Digital Hate, is back with a new piece of research into Musk’s social media platform X.

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Apple opens access to used iPhone components for repair Apr 12, 2024

Apple announced that it has opened its iPhone repair process to include used components. Starting this fall, customers and independent repair shops will be able to fix the handset using compatible components.

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Proxima Fusion raises $21M to build on its ‘stellarator’ approach to nuclear fusion Apr 11, 2024

Munich-based Proxima has raised €20 million ($21.7M) in a seed round to begin building its first generation of fusion power plants.

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Tesla risks losing its lead without an inexpensive EV Apr 11, 2024

Given flagging sales of the company’s existing product line, a mass-market electric vehicle would be a welcome shot in the arm.

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With Vertex AI Agent Builder, Google Cloud aims to simplify agent creation Apr 10, 2024

AI agents are the new hot craze in generative AI. Unlike the previous generation of chatbots, these agents can do more than simply answer questions.

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Google announces Axion, its first custom Arm-based data center processor Apr 10, 2024

Google says its Axion instances offer 30% better performance than other Arm-based instances from competitors.

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Microsoft AI gets a new London hub fronted by former Inflection and Deepmind scientist Jordan Hoffmann Apr 09, 2024

Microsoft has announced a new London hub for its recently unveiled consumer AI division.

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Spotify launches personalized AI playlists that you can build using prompts Apr 09, 2024

AI playlists will initially become available to users on Android and iOS devices in the U.K. and Australia and will be iterated on in the months ahead.

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Ford delays new EVs once more, showing why legacy automakers need to adopt a startup mentality Apr 08, 2024

Ford is unusual in that it performs best when thinking like a startup, something it appears to have taken to heart recently, EV delays notwithstanding.

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Tesla slashes Model Y inventory prices by as much as $7,000 Apr 08, 2024

Tesla is dropping prices of unsold Model Y SUVs in the U.S. by thousands of dollars in an attempt to clear out an unprecedented backlog of inventory.

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Rooms, a 3D design app and ‘cozy game,’ gets a major update as users jump to 250K Apr 06, 2024

Five months ago, Rooms, a 3D design platform made by ex-Google employees, launched its beta version on the App Store.

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X is giving blue checks to influential users (which is what blue checks were supposed to be all along) Apr 05, 2024

So, basically this means that if you are a popular poster, you will get a blue check.

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Opera allows users to download and use LLMs locally Apr 04, 2024

Web browser company Opera announced today it will now allow users to download and use Large Language Models (LLMs) locally on their computer

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AWS unveils new service for cloud-based rendering projects Apr 04, 2024

Amazon announced Deadline Cloud, a new service that lets customers set up, deploy and scale up graphics and visual effects rendering pipelines on AWS cloud infrastructure.

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TikTok is bringing its dedicated STEM feed to Europe Apr 03, 2024

As TikTok continues to face increased pressure in the U.S. and the U.K., the company is signaling its commitment to fostering educational content on its app.

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Indeed announces AI-powered work experience writer and support for multiple resumes Apr 03, 2024

Hiring portal Indeed has redesigned the profile page for users, allowing individuals to use an AI-powered writer to fill up work experience and also added support for multiple resumes.

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MIT tool shows climate change could cost Texans a month and a half of outdoor time by 2080 Apr 02, 2024

Finally, something that makes climate change relatable.

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TikTok ban could harm Amazon sellers looking for alternatives Apr 02, 2024

In March, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill that could force ByteDance to divest TikTok or face a ban in U.S. app stores.

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Apple dismisses Microsoft monopoly comparisons Apr 01, 2024

A week after finding itself at the business end of a landmark lawsuit from the United States Department of Justice, Apple is staunchly denying any parallels between itself and Microsoft in the 1990s.

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X’s Grok chatbot will soon get an upgraded model, Grok-1.5 Apr 01, 2024

X.ai, Elon Musk’s AI startup, has revealed its latest generative AI model, Grok-1.5. Set to power social network X’s Grok chatbot in the not-to-distant future (“in the coming days,” X.ai writes in a blog post),

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LinkedIn is experimenting with a TikTok-like video feed in its app Mar 29, 2024

LinkedIn is testing a new TikTok-like short-form video feed, the company confirmed to TechCrunch on Wednesday.

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Oregon signs right to repair into law Mar 29, 2024

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek on Tuesday signed Senate Bill 1596 into law, joining California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts and Minnesota in a growing list of states embracing a right to repair for citizens.

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NASA’s snake robot is designed to search out life in the icy oceans of a Saturn moon Mar 28, 2024

The snake robot form factor has existed for decades. In addition to the diversity it adds to the world of automation, the design has several pragmatic attributes. The first is redundancy, which allows for the system to keep chugging even after a module is damaged.

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Facebook snooped on users’ Snapchat traffic in secret project, documents reveal Mar 28, 2024

In 2016, Facebook launched a secret project designed to intercept and decrypt the network traffic between people using Snapchat’s app and its servers. The goal was to understand users’ behavior and help Facebook compete with Snapchat, according to newly unsealed court documents. Facebook called this “Project Ghostbusters"

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Profluent, spurred by Salesforce research and backed by Jeff Dean, uses AI to discover medicines Mar 27, 2024

Last year, Salesforce, the company best known for its cloud sales support software (and Slack), spearheaded a project called ProGen to design proteins using generative AI.

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Spotify tests video courses to teach everything from music production to excel Mar 27, 2024

In its ongoing efforts to get its 600 million+ users to spend more time and money on its platform, Spotify is spinning up a new line of content: e-learning.

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Telegram’s peer-to-peer SMS login service is a privacy nightmare Mar 26, 2024

Telegram has introduced a controversial new feature.

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Lordstown Motors’ ousted CEO settles with SEC for misleading investors Mar 26, 2024

Steve Burns, the ousted founder, chairman and CEO of bankrupt EV startup Lordstown Motors, has settled with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over misleading investors about demand for the company’s flagship all-electric Endurance pickup truck.

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Boeing CEO to leave company by year-end, after a wave of safety incidents Mar 25, 2024

Boeing’s chief executive Dave Calhoun will leave the plane-maker by the end of 2024, according to the company.

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AT&T won’t say how its customers’ data spilled online Mar 25, 2024

Customers say leaked AT&T customer data — names, addresses, phone numbers and Social Security numbers — is accurate.

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Why is AI so bad at spelling? Mar 22, 2024

AIs are easily acing the SAT, defeating chess grandmasters and debugging code like it’s nothing.

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Pelikan Mobility's software-enabled commercial EV leasing solution; Candela’s electric ferries multiply Mar 22, 2024

Chances are you may have noticed that many commercial vehicles are now electric vehicles; Electric boat maker Candela is approaching cruising speed with $25 million in new funding and the first commercial deployment of its new P-12 ferry, in New Zealand.

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White House proposes up to $8.5B to fund Intel’s domestic chip manufacturing Mar 21, 2024

Well before President Joe Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law back in August 2022, Intel has been a cornerstone of U.S. efforts to increase domestic chip manufacturing.

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Nvidia and Qualcomm join Open Source Robotics Alliance to support ROS development Mar 21, 2024

The Open Source Robotics Foundation (OSRF) this week announced the launch of the similarly named Open Source Robotics Alliance (OSRA).

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Quilt is building AI assistants for solutions teams Mar 20, 2024

The job of so-called “solutions professionals” — people like sales engineers, solutions architects and consultants — revolves around pitching complex enterprise tech to potential customers.

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Meta offers lower cost for EU ad-free subscription under privacy review Mar 20, 2024

Meta has proposed to drop the price of an ad-free subscription in the European Union

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Tech giant Fujitsu says it was hacked, warns of data breach Mar 19, 2024

Multinational technology giant Fujitsu confirmed a cyberattack in a statement Friday, and warned that hackers may have stolen personal data and customer information.

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Scrap coercive ‘privacy fee’, MEPs urge Meta’s Nick Clegg in open letter Mar 19, 2024

Meta is facing a call from lawmakers in the European Union to scrap its controversial “consent or pay” tactic on Facebook and Instagram.

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Mercedes begins piloting Apptronik humanoid robots Mar 18, 2024

Pilot season has officially begun for the world of humanoid robotics.

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Apple acquires AI startup specializing in overlooking manufacturing components Mar 18, 2024

Apple has added another AI startup to its acquisition list with Canada-based DarwinAI, which specializes in vision-based tech to observe components during manufacturing to improve efficiency, Bloomberg reported.

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A bug in an Irish government website took two years to publicly disclose Mar 15, 2024

The Irish government fixed a vulnerability two years ago in its national COVID-19 vaccination portal that exposed the vaccination records of around a million residents.

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Amazon now lets sellers create listings through a URL by using AI Mar 15, 2024

Amazon launched generative AI-powered features last year to help sellers quickly create listings by entering just a few words about the product.

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Furno bets that super-efficient, modular kilns will turn the cement industry upside down Mar 14, 2024

Cement startup promises to slash carbon emissions in the process, helping the company raise a $6.5 million seed round.

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Orbio Earth finds methane leaks that could cost oil companies $9 billion this year Mar 14, 2024

Investors bet the startup’s algorithms, which feed on satellite data, will fill a significant gap in the methane market.

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Tierra Biosciences nabs $11 million to create new AI-guided proteins Mar 13, 2024

By using cell-free technology, Tierra is able to cut down protein manufacturing from months to weeks and enable customers to order proteins online.

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Google confirms it’s restricting Gemini election queries globally Mar 13, 2024

If you want to ask Google’s AI chatbot a question about an upcoming election, you will have to do it from a country where there are no elections taking place.

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‘Banking as a Service’ startup Griffin riases $24M and attains full banking licence Mar 12, 2024

Founded by former Silicon Valley engineers, UK-based Griffin Bank bills itself as an API-driven ‘Banking as a Service’ platform.

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Elon Musk says xAI will open-source Grok this week Mar 12, 2024

Elon Musk said Monday he will open-source Grok, X’s AI chatbot rivaling ChatGPT, this week, days after suing OpenAI and complaining that the Microsoft-backed startup had deviated from its open roots.

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Artemis Fund has a fresh $36 million to back diverse founders solving ‘big, hairy problems’ Mar 11, 2024

For Fund II, Artemis intends to continue leading and co-leading investments and will target around 20 new companies.

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Faraday Future survives long enough to issue its first recall Mar 11, 2024

Troubled EV startup Faraday Future has issued its first recall, covering all 11 vehicles it built last year, as it fights to hold onto its Los Angeles headquarters.

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Saildrone’s first aluminum Surveyor autonomous vessel splashes down for Navy testing Mar 08, 2024

Ocean intelligence company Saildrone has just put the first of a new generation of Surveyor autonomous vessels in the water: an aluminum version that the Navy is keen to take advantage of.

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Telegram now lets users to convert personal accounts to business accounts Mar 08, 2024

Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced Wednesday that users on the chat app with personal accounts can now convert them into business accounts.

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Binance made crypto perfume in a baffling attempt to woo women Mar 07, 2024

What does crypto smell like? Ozone, salt and moss, according to Binance’s new fragrance, “CRYPTO.”

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Amazon teams with recycling robot firm to track package waste Mar 07, 2024

Amazon generate a lot of trash. Precisely how much is a matter of some debate. In 2021, the company says it used 214 million or so pounds of single-use plastic in its packaging.

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NSA says it’s tracking Ivanti cyberattacks as hackers hit US defense sector Mar 06, 2024

The U.S. National Security Agency has confirmed that hackers exploiting flaws in Ivanti’s widely used enterprise VPN appliance have targeted organizations across the U.S. defense sector.

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Fohm rebrands to Saintly, for a heavenly clean bottom Mar 06, 2024

When it comes to doing business — not startups, that other kind of business, that you have a whole separate room for in your house — we need to talk about wipes.

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Now the EU is asking questions about Meta’s ‘pay or be tracked’ consent model Mar 05, 2024

Meta’s controversial pay or be tracked ‘consent’ choice for users the European Union is facing questions from the European Commission.

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Apple reverses decision about blocking web apps on iPhones in the EU Mar 05, 2024

Apple has reversed its decision about blocking web apps, also known as Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), on iPhones in the EU.

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Karma3 Labs raises $4.5M to improve trust in web3 with ratings and recommendations Mar 04, 2024

There’s no reputation system in the decentralized world of web3, so it’s hard to figure out which entities and individuals to trust and depend on.

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Spotify launches a $9.99/mo standalone audiobooks service for its free users Mar 04, 2024

After adding 15 hours of free audiobooks listening to its subscription plan late last year, Spotify today is introducing a $9.99 per month option that will allow its free users to also access its audiobooks collection.

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Google brings Stack Overflow’s knowledge base to Gemini for Google Cloud Mar 01, 2024

Developer Q&A site Stack Overflow is launching a new program today that will give AI companies access to its knowledge base through a new API, aptly named OverflowAPI.

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Vibe helps small companies buy video ads on streaming services Mar 01, 2024

As streaming apps and services are gradually showing more ads to viewers, adtech startup Vibe plans to help small businesses take advantage of that trend by letting them access that ad inventory with a self-serve ad platform.

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Reliance and Disney to merge media assets in India Feb 29, 2024

Reliance, its media asset Viacom18 and Disney are merging their media businesses in India, creating the largest media conglomerate in the South Asian market.

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Yolk is a social app where users swap custom live stickers — no text allowed Feb 29, 2024

With so much fresh competition in social apps right now — plus the usual set of social media platforms and messaging giants sucking up attention — it might feel like there’s precious little room to innovate in this slice of the consumer market.

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SeatGeek’s new tools help fans resell tickets at the best price Feb 28, 2024

Ticketing platform and resale marketplace SeatGeek is introducing three features to simplify the ticket-selling experience for users wanting to resell.

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Threads widens the gap with X, with triple the daily downloads on iOS Feb 28, 2024

Although an app’s downloads aren’t an exact proxy for usage, they can hint at where the market is headed. And in the case of the alt-Twitter wars, the app winning the game right now is Instagram’s Threads.

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The Supreme Court could decide the fate of content moderation — or it could punt Feb 27, 2024

The Supreme Court is considering the fate of two state laws that limit how social media companies can moderate the content on their platforms.

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Winning wireless with American strengths Feb 27, 2024

Eric Schmidt Contributor Eric Schmidt was the CEO of Google from 2001 to 2011 and executive chairman of Google and its successor company, Alphabet, from 2011 to 2017.

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Spyware leak offers ‘first-of-its-kind’ look inside Chinese government hacking efforts Feb 26, 2024

Over the weekend, someone posted a cache of files and documents apparently stolen from the Chinese government hacking contractor, I-Soon.

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Hackers are exploiting ConnectWise flaws to deploy LockBit ransomware, security experts warn Feb 26, 2024

Security experts are warning that a pair of high-risk flaws in a popular remote access tool are being exploited by hackers to deploy LockBit ransomware — days after authorities announced that they had disrupted the notorious Russia-linked cybercrime gang.

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Byju’s investors unanimously vote to remove founder Feb 23, 2024

A group of Byju’s investors on Friday voted to remove the edtech group’s founder and chief executive Byju Raveendran.

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Bioptimus raises $35 million seed round to develop AI foundational model focused on biology Feb 23, 2024

There’s a new generative AI startup based in Paris. But what makes Bioptimus interesting is that it plans to apply everything we’ve collectively learned about AI models over the past few years with a narrow, exclusive focus on biology.

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Tinder is expanding ID verification to the US, UK, Brazil and Mexico Feb 22, 2024

Tinder is expanding its identify verification program to users in the U.S., U.K., Brazil and Mexico, the company announced on Tuesday.

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YouTube rolls out new channel pages for creators on its TV app Feb 22, 2024

YouTube is changing the design for creators’ channels on the big screen, the company announced today.

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YouTube dominates TV streaming in U.S., per Nielsen’s latest report Feb 21, 2024

Nielsen today released its January report on viewing usage across linear TV and streaming, which revealed that YouTube is once again the overall top streaming service in the U.S., with 8.6% of viewing on television screens. Netflix, meanwhile, saw 7.9% of TV usage.

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With Twilio under activist pressure, Segment could be put up for sale Feb 21, 2024

With Twilio under pressure from activist investors, it's looking at whether to sell Segment, the company it bought in 2020 for $3.2 billion.

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SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son is reportedly seeking $100B to build a new AI chip venture Feb 20, 2024

SoftBank Group’s Masayoshi Son has made no secret of his intent to double down on red-hot artificial intelligence industry.

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Feds open second probe into Fisker’s Ocean SUV after rollaway complaints Feb 19, 2024

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a second investigation into EV startup Fisker’s Ocean SUV, after the agency received four complaints about the vehicle rolling away unexpectedly, including one injury.

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European digital rights group say the future of online privacy is on a knife edge Feb 19, 2024

A coalition of more than two dozen digital and democratic rights groups, NGOs and not-for-profits, including noyb and Wikimedia Europe, have written to the European Union’s regulatory body for data protection urging it to reject a tactic that’s been controversially seized upon by Meta in its latest bid to circumvent the bloc’s privacy laws.

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Lucid Motors drops the price of its cheapest EV by more than $8,000 Feb 16, 2024

Lucid Motors is lopping thousands of dollars off the price of its most affordable electric sedans as it looks to boost demand after a disappointing year of sales.

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TikTok launches a ‘reimagined’ app for the Apple Vision Pro Feb 16, 2024

TikTok has launched a native and “reimagined” app on the Apple Vision Pro, the company announced on Thursday.

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General Atlantic leads $50M Series C into Bold to grow digital payments in Colombia Feb 15, 2024

Bold provides low-cost payment terminals, called dataphones, that enable small and medium businesses to accept link payments.

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US military notifies 20,000 of data breach after cloud email leak Feb 15, 2024

The U.S. Department of Defense is notifying tens of thousands of individuals that their personal information was exposed in an email data spill last year.

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Hackers uncover new TheTruthSpy stalkerware victims: Is your Android device compromised? Feb 14, 2024

A consumer-grade spyware operation called TheTruthSpy poses an ongoing security and privacy risk to thousands of people whose Android devices are unknowingly compromised with its mobile surveillance apps, not least due to a simple security flaw that its operators never fixed.

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Cruise names first chief safety officer following crash and controversy Feb 13, 2024

Cruise has named its first “chief safety officer” as part of the company’s effort to rehabilitate itself following an incident — and ensuing controversy — last year that left a pedestrian stuck under and then dragged by one of its robotaxis.

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Bugcrowd snaps up $102M for a ‘bug bounty’ security platform that taps 500K+ hackers Feb 13, 2024

Bugcrowd — the startup that taps into a database of half a million hackers to help organizations like OpenAI and the U.S. government set up and run bug bounty programs, cash rewards to freelancers who can identify bugs and vulnerabilities in their code — has picked up a big cash award.

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Apple defends parts pairing as Oregon mulls right-to-repair bill Feb 12, 2024

Oregon may soon become the latest state to pass right-to-repair legislation. Last month, Google lent its support in an open letter, calling Senate Bill 1596 “a compelling model for other states to follow.”

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Pinterest announces a new ad deal with Google as it approaches 500M MAUs Feb 12, 2024

Pinterest announced a new ad deal with Google as the company aims to ramp up its ad revenue. Google is the social platform’s second third-party ad partner after Amazon signed a multiyear deal with Pinterest last year.

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Meta challenges EU’s Digital Services Act supervisory fee as unfair Feb 10, 2024

Meta is challenging a fee levied by the European Union on larger online platforms under its rebooted ecommerce rules.

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FCC officially declares AI-voiced robocalls illegal Feb 09, 2024

The FCC’s war on robocalls has gained a new weapon in its arsenal with the declaration of AI-generated voices as “artificial” and therefore by definitely against the law when used in automated calling scams.

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Californian regulator looking into Waymo’s collision with a cyclist Feb 09, 2024

California’s auto regulator, the Department of Motor Vehicles, is investigating an incident that occurred on Tuesday, where a driverless Waymo car collided with a cyclist, according to a report by Reuters.

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Snap is looking to unify user experience across Spotlight and Stories Feb 08, 2024

Snap’s stock plunged 30% on Tuesday after announcing Q4 2023 results that didn’t meet analyst expectations.

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WhatsApp is preparing to roll out third-party chat support Feb 08, 2024

With a month away from the Digital Markets Act (DMA) deadline, WhatsApp is preparing to allow other messaging networks in its app.

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Invite-only dating app Blush launches with $7M in seed funding Feb 07, 2024

Invite-only dating app Blush has raised $7 million in seed funding to scale and expand its exclusive platform.

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Yandex to sell its remaining Russian businesses for $5.2B — half its market value Feb 07, 2024

Yandex N.V., the Dutch parent company of the eponymous Russian internet giant, is selling the last of its remaining Russian businesses at a steep discount.

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Bluesky is now open for anyone to join Feb 06, 2024

After almost a year as an invite-only app, Bluesky is now open to the public.

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Meta cuts off third-party access to Facebook Groups, leaving developers and customers in disarray Feb 06, 2024

The recent surprise announcement that Meta will soon be shutting down a Facebook Groups API is throwing some businesses and social media marketers into disarray.

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Stalkerware apps PhoneSpector and Highster appear to shut down Feb 05, 2024

The makers of two phone surveillance services appear to have shuttered after the owner agreed to settle state accusations of illegally promoting spyware that his companies developed.

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As Podcastle raises $13.5M, its founder credits AI-driven growth in Armenia’s ‘Mini-Silicon Valley’ Feb 05, 2024

Podcastle, a podcasting platform that has boosted its product with various generative AI-driven features, has raised $13.5 million in a Series

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FTC orders Blackbaud to overhaul ‘reckless’ security practices in wake of 2020 breach Feb 03, 2024

Education tech company Blackbaud agreed to settle with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over the company’s security practices that resulted in a 2020 data breach.

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MessageBird rebrands as Bird, and slashes prices by 90% on SMS to take on Twilio Feb 02, 2024

No, don’t think Bird Scooters. Think Bird, formerly MessageBird.

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Three San Francisco supervisors receive threats following YC President Garry Tan’s tweet Feb 02, 2024

Aaron Peskin says Garry Tan’s now deleted X post did “harm to democratic discourse."

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Sundar Pichai says Google One cloud storage service has nearly 100M subscribers Feb 01, 2024

Google CEO Sudar Pichai said that the company’s Google One cloud storage service is ” just about to cross” 100 million subscribers.

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Universal Music Group plans to pull song catalog from TikTok Feb 01, 2024

Universal Music Group (UMG), the label representing artists including Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and Ariana Grande, says that it’ll pull its music from TikTok tomorrow at midnight after failing to reach a deal with the platform’s parent company, ByteDance, over royalties.

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Yelp launches revamped feed with AI-powered business summaries Jan 31, 2024

Yelp is releasing new features as part of its winter release, which includes a more visual feed, AI-powered summaries of businesses, and number masking while contacting businesses for better privacy.

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Streaming media company Plex raises new funds as it nears profitability Jan 31, 2024

Media streamer Plex has raised new capital.

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Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal leaves board Jan 30, 2024

Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal has resigned from the e-commerce group’s board, the two said Saturday.

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Spotify calls Apple’s DMA compliance plan ‘extortion’ and a ‘complete and total farce’ Jan 30, 2024

Count Spotify among those not thrilled with how Apple has chosen to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which sets the stage for sideloading apps, alternative app stores, browser choice, and more.

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General purpose humanoid robots? Bill Gates is a believer Jan 29, 2024

The robotics industry loves a good, healthy debate. Of late, one of the most intense ones centers around humanoid robots.

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OpenAI responds to Congressional Black Caucus about lack of diversity on its board Jan 29, 2024

OpenAI has been criticized for the lack of diversity on its board.

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Pokemon Company says it intends to investigate Palworld Jan 26, 2024

The Pokemon Company said Thursday it has not granted any permission to “another company,” referring to Palworld-developer Pocketpair, to use Pokemon intellectual property or assets and “intends to investigate and take appropriate measures” against the fast-growing survival game operator.

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Meta is rolling out tighter teen messaging limitations and parental controls Jan 26, 2024

Meta announced today that it is rolling out new DM restrictions on both Facebook and Instagram for teens that prevent anyone from messaging teens. Until now, Instagram restricts adults over the age of 18 from messaging teens who don’t follow them.

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BeReal, which now has 23M DAUs, is onboarding brands and celebs Jan 25, 2024

BeReal, a rising social media app that emphasizes authenticity, is making its first outreach to brands and celebrities.

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Etsy launches ‘Gift Mode,’ a new AI-powered feature that generates 200+ gift guides Jan 25, 2024

E-commerce site Etsy today launched “Gift Mode,” a new AI-powered feature to match you with tailored gift ideas based on specific preferences.

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Apple will pay artists more to have a spatial audio version on Apple Music Jan 24, 2024

Apple will pay additional royalties starting this month to artists if they have a spatial audio version on Apple Music, according to multiple reports.

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Telegram is rolling out ‘view-once’ voice and video messages Jan 24, 2024

Telegram is rolling out a bunch of upgrades as part of its January feature drop including “view-once” video and audio messages, the ability to pause recording while sending a video or an audio message, and new read-time controls.

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Chronosphere acquires Calyptia to extend its observability platform Jan 23, 2024

Chronosphere, a startup that offers a cloud native observability platform, today announced that it has acquired Calyptia.

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Sony tells Zee it’s terminating the $10 billion India merger Jan 23, 2024

Sony called off the merger between its India unit and Zee Entertainment on Monday, ending a two-year acquisition deliberation that would have created a $10 billion media powerhouse in the South Asian market.

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X says a bug caused numerous posts to be labeled as ‘Sensitive Media’ Jan 22, 2024

A bug on X, formerly Twitter, was causing numerous posts over the weekend to be flagged as “Sensitive Media,” thwarting the company’s own attempts to make its platform more approachable to advertisers.

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TikTok faces Iowa lawsuit accusing the company of ‘lying’ to parents Jan 22, 2024

The state of Iowa is suing TikTok, alleging that the social media company misleads parents about the kinds of content available to young users.

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Spotify’s astrology-like Daylists go viral, but its micro-genre mastermind was let go last month Jan 20, 2024

Is it a “fearful vocaloid wednesday morning,” a “yearning cottagecore thursday afternoon,” or perhaps a “heartbroken karaoke friday evening”?

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Unredacted Meta documents reveal ‘historical reluctance’ to protect children Jan 19, 2024

Internal Meta documents about child safety have been unsealed as part of a lawsuit filed by the New Mexico Department of Justice against both Meta and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg.

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Land Moto accelerates its electric bike battery play with $3M infusion Jan 19, 2024

Cleveland-based electric motorcycle startup Land Moto is looking to diversify by powering up the battery design side of its tech.

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NASA’s robotic, self-assembling structures could be the next phase of space construction Jan 18, 2024

Bad news if you want to move to the Moon or Mars: housing is a little hard to come by.

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Apple tops Samsung in worldwide smartphone shipments for the first time Jan 18, 2024

Apple’s iPhone has overtaken Samsung for the first time ever as the best-selling smartphone in 2023, according to a new report from IDC.

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FedEx announces its own commerce platform for merchants Jan 17, 2024

Logistics company FedEx announced its own commerce platform called FDX today.

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Elon’s Tesla robot is sort of ‘ok’ at folding laundry in pre-scripted demo Jan 17, 2024

Elon Musk’s Optimus humanoid robot from Tesla is doing more stuff — this time folding a t-shirt on a table in a development facility.

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Google will allow more real-money games on the Play Store Jan 16, 2024

Google announced today that the company plans to support more real-money games (RMG) on the Play Store this year by allowing more types of games in the category following local laws.

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LG opens its first US EV charging factory in Texas Jan 16, 2024

LG Electronics has opened its first electric vehicle (EV) charger facility outside of South Korea — in Fort Worth, Texas — to capture a share of North America’s competitive EV charging market.

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As Disney pushes towards streaming profitability, Pixar to undergo layoffs in 2024 Jan 15, 2024

Disney-owned animation studio Pixar is poised to undergo layoffs this year, TechCrunch has learned and the company confirmed.

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Google Cloud rolls out new gen AI products for retailers Jan 12, 2024

Google wants to inject a little generative AI into retail.

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Smart molluscs – yes, smart molluscs – could watch our waterways 24/7 for pollution Jan 12, 2024

If the clams could speak, what would they say? Surely we all ask ourselves this question every day.

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App economy recovered in 2023, with $171B in consumer spending, but downloads were flat Jan 11, 2024

After the app economy slowed for the first time ever in 2022, things picked up pace again over the past year.

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X removes support for NFT profile pictures Jan 10, 2024

On Tuesday, Elon Musk’s X wrote about a grand vision for the company in 2024, which includes launching peer-to-peer payments and more AI-powered tools.

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Threads accidentally rolls out the feature to view latest search results Jan 10, 2024

Multiple Threads users on the iOS app reported earlier today that they are seeing a new “Latest” option to sort search results on the new social network.

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After taking credibility hit, Carta announces it is exiting the secondaries business: “We have decided to prioritize trust” Jan 09, 2024

Roughly 72 hours after a prominent startup customer complained that Carta was misusing information with which it was entrusted — scaring many of Carta’s tens of thousands of other customers in the process.

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Astrobotic lander on its way to the moon with ULA’s historic flight Jan 09, 2024

It’s hard to understate just how much was at stake in Monday’s early morning launch of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket.

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RIP? Third-party podcast app Castro appears to be dead, company goes quiet Jan 08, 2024

The once popular third-party podcast app Castro has seemingly shut down, after earlier saying that it was “actively seeking a new home” for its product.

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Logan Paul promises CryptoZoo refunds, as long as you don’t sue him Jan 06, 2024

Logan Paul is offering refunds for CryptoZoo, the failed and allegedly fraudulent Pokémon-inspired NFT game that he launched in 2021.

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Aurora and Continental pass first major hurdle in commercial self-driving trucks deal Jan 05, 2024

Aurora and automotive supplier Continental have wrapped up the first phase of a more than $300 million project to mass produce autonomous vehicle hardware for commercial self-driving trucks.

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Superpedestrian to auction 20,000 e-scooters after shutting down Jan 05, 2024

More than 20,000 electric scooters belonging to Superpedestrian will be auctioned off later this month, along with other equipment from the startup’s U.S. operations, after closing its doors December 31

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Intel spins out a new enterprise-focused gen AI software company Jan 04, 2024

Intel, intent on making bigger moves in the market for AI-powered enterprise software, is spinning out a new platform company with the backing of Boca Raton, Florida-based asset manager and investor DigitalBridge.

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Telegram’s latest update brings a redesigned call interface that uses less of your phone’s battery Jan 04, 2024

Telegram is rolling out a new update that introduces improved calls with a new design that uses less of your phone’s battery.

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Moonwalker robotic shoes get lighter and smarter Jan 03, 2024

Next week at CES, Austin-based Shift Robotics will debut a revamped version of their viral hit robotic shoes.

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OpenAI moves to shrink regulatory risk in EU around data privacy Jan 03, 2024

While most of Europe was still knuckle deep in the holiday chocolate selection box late last month, ChatGPT maker OpenAI was busy firing out an email with details of an incoming update to its terms that looks intended to shrink its regulatory risk in the European Union.

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Fidelity marks down X valuation by 71.5% Jan 02, 2024

Mutual fund company Fidelity has marked down its investment in X holdings

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Try these apps to reach your New Year’s resolutions in 2024 Jan 02, 2024

As the new year approaches, many of us are reminded of all the things we accomplished this year — getting a promotion, being more productive or even showing up to places on time — as well as things we failed to do.

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2023 showed cybersecurity isn’t immune from brutal layoffs Jan 02, 2024

Despite a rise in cyberattacks and breaches, the cybersecurity industry is by no means exempt from the uncertainty inspired by the current economy. 2023 will likely be remembered as the “year of the layoff.” While many expected the tide to shift after a rough 2022 that saw more than 130,000 tech workers lose their jobs.

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6 great audiobook apps that aren’t Audible Jan 01, 2024

Audiobooks are a great way to bring words on a page to life and fit reading into your schedule throughout the day when you’re doing things like working out, cooking, driving and relaxing. Amazon-owned Audible is arguably the most popular audiobook app out there, but there are several other lesser-known options.

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India government agency seeks to block Binance and Kraken Dec 29, 2023

Financial Intelligence Unit, an Indian government agency which scrutinizes financial transactions, said Thursday nine global crypto exchanges — including Binance, Kraken, Kucoin and Mexc — are operating “illegally” in the country without complying with the local anti-money laundering act and requested the IT Ministry to block their websites.

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Meet the cyber-criminals of 2023 Dec 29, 2023

Once again we look back at the past year in cybercrime and those who we lost… to the law. This year was no different to last: we saw another round of high-profile busts, arrests, sanctions, and prison time for some of the most prolific cybercriminals in recent years. This is our look back at who […]

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Xiaomi’s first EV is the freshest take on a ‘smartphone on wheels’ Dec 28, 2023

Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi has revealed its first electric car, a sharp-looking sedan called the SU7. Slated to roll out in China next year, it’s another entry into an increasingly-crowded market for EVs. It’s also another attempt in this software-obsessed world to match up the technology people find in their phones to what goes on […]

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Hackers stole $2 billion in crypto in 2023, data shows Dec 28, 2023

For yet another year, hackers stole billions of dollars in crypto. But for the first time since 2020, the trend is downwards, according to crypto security firms. This year, hackers stole around $2 billion dollars in crypto across dozens of cyberattacks and thefts, according to De.FI, the web3 security firm that runs the Rekt leaderboard. […]

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Apple Vision Pro tipped for late Jan/early Feb release Dec 27, 2023

We’ve known about the Vision Pro for more than half-a-year now (not to mention the years of rumors), but Apple’s first “spatial computing” device is one of consumer electronics’ biggest question marks heading into the new year. The $3,499 headset was given an “early-2024” release time frame when it was unveiled at WWDC in June, […]

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Fintech’s biggest hits and misses of 2023 Dec 27, 2023

"As 2023 comes to a close, we’re here to look back at the biggest fintech stories of the year. Silicon Valley Bank’s implosion felt like a fintech story in that a number of startups (Brex, Arc and Mercury, for example) in the space leapt to fill the hole left by its collapse. But it truly […]

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A dual-use ‘Slack+location+payments’ startup raises Seed to serve humanitarian, military scenarios Dec 23, 2023

When Helsing raised a $223 million Series B round, the tech world saw it as continued confirmation that Defence was unquestionably back on the investing agenda. Further confirmation comes today in the form of a $5.5 million Seed round for UK defense tech startup Labrys Technologies, led by Germany’s Project A Ventures. Also participating were […]

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Cisco to acquire cloud-native networking and security startup Isovalent Dec 22, 2023

Cisco announced this morning that it intends to acquire Isovalent, a cloud-native security and networking startup that should fit well with the company’s core networking and security strategy.

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PaintJet is building big industrial robots for big industrial paint jobs Dec 21, 2023

Construction may well prove to be the next major focus for robotics investment.

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AR platform Really launches ‘Fandime’ NFTs to reward users with exclusive movie-related content Dec 21, 2023

Traditionally, being a hardcore movie fan means collecting physical memorabilia like autographed posters to show dedication.

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Spill is now in open beta on iOS and Android Dec 20, 2023

It’s been more than a year since Elon Musk purchased Twitter, yet we’re still seeing the reverberations of that deal on other social platforms, including the new ones that have cropped up since.

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OpenAI buffs safety team and gives board veto power on risky AI Dec 20, 2023

OpenAI is expanding its internal safety processes to fend off the threat of harmful AI. A new “safety advisory group” will sit above the technical teams and make recommendations to leadership, and the board has been granted veto power.

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Google says it will pay $700M as a part of Play Store dispute settlement Dec 19, 2023

Google said today it will pay $700 million — $630 million to U.S. consumers and $70 to a fund used by U.S. states — in a settlement over Play Store reached in September.

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Google moves to end geofence warrants, a surveillance problem it largely created Dec 19, 2023

Google will soon allow users to store their location data on their devices rather than on Google’s servers.

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Meltwater, the media monitoring startup, gets a $65M investment from Verdane Dec 18, 2023

Meltwater, which first made its name around media monitoring and then got active in business intelligence using AI and big data analytics techniques, is picking up a new investor.

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Waymo launches curbside robotaxi pickup at Phoenix airport Dec 18, 2023

Select Waymo One riders can now get picked up or dropped off by the company’s robotaxis curbside at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

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Credit Karma co-founder Nichole Mustard stepping down after more than 16 years Dec 16, 2023

Credit Karma co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer Nichole Mustard is leaving the company after 16-and-a-half years.

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Microsoft disrupts cybercrime operation selling fraudulent accounts to notorious hacking gang Dec 15, 2023

Microsoft says it has successfully dismantled the infrastructure of a cybercrime operation that sold access to fraudulent Outlook accounts to other hackers, including the notorious Scattered Spider gang.

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Apple will no longer give police users’ push notification data without a warrant Dec 15, 2023

Apple said it will no longer give over records of users’ push notifications to law enforcement unless the company receives a valid judge’s order.

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China’s autonomous vehicle regulation requires safety operators, in-car recordings Dec 14, 2023

When it comes to spurring the development of cutting-edge technologies, the Chinese government is rather pragmatic in its policymaking process.

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Verve Motion raises $20M to grow its exosuit business Dec 13, 2023

Verve Motion, a startup building a robotic “exosuit” designed to help workers complete physically demanding tasks in factories and other like environments, today announced that it raised $20 million in a Series B round.

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China’s WeRide tests autonomous buses in Singapore, accelerate global ambition Dec 13, 2023

After years of aggressive expansion at home, China’s autonomous vehicle upstarts are now setting their gaze on overseas markets.

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Hasbro to cut 1,100 jobs despite Dungeons & Dragons thriving Dec 12, 2023

Hasbro is laying off 1,100 employees, according to an SEC filing. The company behind franchises like Dungeons & Dragons and Transformers, Hasbro already laid off 800 employees in January.

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US-China tech war escalates over EV battery dominance Dec 12, 2023

Semiconductors have in recent years become a focal point in the U.S.’s efforts to impede China’s technological advancement.

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TikTok to invest $1.5B in GoTo’s Indonesia e-commerce business Dec 11, 2023

ByteDance’s TikTok will take a 75.01% controlling stake in a joint venture entity formed in partnership with GoTo’s e-commerce unit Tokopedia.

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Threads is rolling out its hashtags without the hash symbol globally Dec 11, 2023

Meta’s social network Threads got a major update Thursday as the company started rolling out tags (without the hash symbol) on the platform.

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Google’s best Gemini demo was faked Dec 08, 2023

Google’s new Gemini AI model is getting a mixed reception after its big debut yesterday, but users may have less confidence in the company’s tech or integrity after finding out that the most impressive demo of Gemini was pretty much faked.

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EU ‘final’ talks to fix AI rules to run into second day — but deal on foundational models is on the table Dec 08, 2023

As European Union lawmakers clock up 20+ hours of negotiating time in a marathon attempt to reach agreement on how to regulate artificial intelligence a preliminary accord on how to handle one sticky element.

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Meta finally starts rolling out default end-to-end encryption for Messenger Dec 07, 2023

After years of promises and limited tests, Meta has started rolling out default end-to-end encryption protection for Messenger.

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Bing’s new ‘Deep Search’ feature offers more comprehensive answers to complex search queries Dec 07, 2023

Microsoft Bing is getting a new “Deep Search” feature powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4.

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X is now licensed for payment processing in a dozen U.S states Dec 06, 2023

Elon Musk is moving forward with his plans to turn the company formerly known as Twitter, now called X, into an “everything app” that includes its own payments system.

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Meta set to discontinue cross-messaging between Instagram and Facebook Dec 06, 2023

Meta has silently updated its support pages to indicate that the company won’t let users on Instagram message their Facebook contacts anymore.

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Cruise faces fines in California for withholding key details in robotaxi accident Dec 05, 2023

Cruise keeps getting kicked while it’s down.

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TikTok expands its in-app Ticketmaster ticketing feature to users in 20 countries Dec 05, 2023

TikTok and Ticketmaster are expanding their partnership into 20 new countries after initially launching it in the United States back in August 2022.

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Meta faces $600M competition damages claim in Spain as media owners pursue privacy breach lawsuit Dec 04, 2023

Meta is facing a major legal challenge and damages claim in Spain that argues the adtech giant’s years of failing to have a valid legal basis for processing people’s data for ads under European Union data protection rules.

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Smartphone sales to rebound on AI gains, Morgan Stanley says Dec 04, 2023

Smartphone sales will mount a comeback starting in 2024, defying growing warnings of a prolonged slump across the mobile sector, according to separate projections by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley reviewed by TechCrunch.

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Former Blue Origin rocket engine manager alleges wrongful termination for whistleblowing on safety Dec 01, 2023

The former program manager of Blue Origin’s BE-4 rocket engines has filed a lawsuit against the company alleging whistleblower retaliation after he spoke up about safety issues.

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Immensa, a MENA-based additive manufacturing and digital inventory platform, raises $20 million Dec 01, 2023

The global energy spare parts market is valued at over $90 billion, with the Middle East representing about 35% of this sector.

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Here’s your reminder that Google is deleting inactive accounts tomorrow Nov 30, 2023

As Google ramps up its security measures, the company is deleting inactive accounts that haven’t been touched for two years as a way of protecting users from security threats, such as identity theft, unwanted spam and scams.

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Polestar’s climate-tweeting bot isn’t actually a bot, for good reason Nov 30, 2023

“When is a bot a person?,” my colleague Kirsten asked after I learned that Polestar’s climate bot is more human than machine.

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London’s iconic black cabs can soon be hailed on Uber Nov 29, 2023

Uber has secured another win over the struggling taxi industry. Soon, riders in London will be able to hail an iconic black cab in the city.

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AWS brings Amazon One palm-scanning authentication to the enterprise Nov 29, 2023

Amazon’s cloud computing subsidiary AWS (Amazon Web Services) has lifted the lid on a new palm-scanning identity service that allows companies to authenticate people when entering physical premises.

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Apple partner Foxconn to invest $1.5 billion in India Nov 28, 2023

Foxconn plans to invest $1.54 billion in India, the latest in its growing expansion plan, following a surge in revenues in the South Asian market.

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X loses Paris Hilton’s 11:11 Media partnership in latest brand pull-out Nov 28, 2023

Paris Hilton’s 11:11 Media is pulling out of its partnership with the X.

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After two ambitious years, TikTok parent ByteDance starts mass layoffs in gaming Nov 27, 2023

ByteDance’s gaming ambition has been an expensive, short-lived pursuit.

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OpenAI will benefit from unity of purpose with Sam Altman’s return Nov 23, 2023

In case you missed it, Sam Altman is back as OpenAI CEO. His reinstatement comes after a whirlwind few days in which we saw unusual corporate governance lead to an attempt to oust Altman, despite support from both Microsoft and the vast majority of OpenAI’s workforce. While the whole process was incredibly messy, the result […]

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Florida judge finds Tesla, Elon Musk knew of defective Autopilot system Nov 22, 2023

There is “reasonable evidence” to conclude that Tesla and its officers, including CEO Elon Musk, knew its vehicles had defective Autopilot systems but still allowed the cars to be driven in areas “not safe for that technology,” a Florida judge found. The ruling last week from Judge Reid Scott, in the Circuit Court for Palm […]

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Generative AI startup AI21 Labs raises cash in the midst of OpenAI chaos Nov 22, 2023

One AI startup’s undoing is another’s opportunity. Case in point: today, AI21 Labs, a company developing generative AI products along the lines of OpenAI’s GPT-4 and ChatGPT, closed a $53 million extension to its previously-announced Series C funding round.

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Chaos at OpenAI adds fuel to the AI talent poaching war Nov 21, 2023

It may be difficult for just any company to court OpenAI employees even if compensation packages are eye-poppingly high because of loyalty to Sam Altman.

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Tinder redesigns profile pages with prompts, info tags and quiz Nov 21, 2023

Tinder is revamping its profile pages to make them more informative and create easier starting points for conversations.

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Altman won’t return as OpenAI’s CEO after all Nov 20, 2023

Capping off a tumultuous weekend at OpenAI that culminated in investors — and a contingent of employees — attempting to convince the company’s board to hire back former Y Combinator president Sam Altman after firing him on Friday, Altman won’t be returning as CEO

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Signal details costs of keeping its private messaging service alive Nov 20, 2023

What price privacy? End-to-end encrypted (E2EE) messaging app Signal has put out an interesting overview of the costs required to develop and maintain its pro-privacy systems which shield user data from tracking by default.

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Wattpad Premium subscribers now have access to 5 free monthly Wattpad Originals Nov 17, 2023

Wattpad announced today “Premium Picks,” a new offering that gives Premium and Premium+ subscribers monthly access to five free Wattpad Originals—the recently launched freemium model where select authors can choose to monetize chapters.

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DeepMind and YouTube release Lyria, a gen-AI model for music, and Dream Track to build AI tunes Nov 17, 2023

Back in January, Google made some waves — soundwaves, that is — when it quietly released some research on AI-based music creation software that built tunes based on word prompts.

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Toyota is turning to startup Redwood Materials for critical battery materials Nov 16, 2023

Battery cells produced at Toyota’s future North American EV factory will someday contain a little Redwood Materials DNA.

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GM inserts exec at Cruise as safety review expands, manual self driving paused Nov 16, 2023

General Motors is taking a more active role in shaping the safety culture at Cruise.

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Tesla hits reverse on threat to sue Cybertruck resellers Nov 15, 2023

Tesla seems to be walking back the punitive limits it placed on buyers of its yet-to-be-released Cybertrucks.

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Venmo gets a new way to split expenses among groups Nov 15, 2023

PayPal-owned Venmo is rolling out a new feature starting today that will allow its users to track and manage multiple expenses among groups.

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TikTok’s newest feature lets you save favorite songs directly to Spotify or Amazon Music Nov 14, 2023

TikTok is teaming up with streaming music services, including Spotify and Amazon Music, on a new feature that will allow users to save the songs they hear in TikTok videos directly to their preferred streaming music app.

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Shekel Mobility, a B2B marketplace for auto dealers in Africa, raises $7M led by Ventures Platform and MaC VC Nov 14, 2023

The World Economic Forum states that Africa has an average annual demand for 2.4 million cars and 300,000 commercial vehicles.

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Bose QuietComfort Ultra earn their name and maybe even their $429 price tag Nov 13, 2023

For years, any time someone asked what brand of headphones they should buy for a flight, the answer was a simple one syllable: Bose.

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Ghost, now OpenAI-backed, claims LLMs will overcome self-driving setbacks — but experts are skeptical Nov 13, 2023

It’s not hyperbolic to say that the self-driving car industry is facing a reckoning.

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Tumblr to run on skeleton crew as parent company Automattic absorbs staff Nov 10, 2023

According to a leaked memo, Tumblr’s longterm financial woes have reached a breaking point.

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Lyft picks comfort over sharing in bid to compete with Uber Nov 10, 2023

Lyft is introducing a “more affordable sort of higher-end ride” in an attempt to offer ride-hail products that customers actually want.

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OpenAI blames DDoS attack for ongoing ChatGPT outage Nov 09, 2023

OpenAI has confirmed that a DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attack is behind “periodic outages” affecting ChatGPT and its developer tools.

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Instagram is finally testing a feature to let you turn off read receipts for DMs Nov 09, 2023

By Ivan Mehta - Instagram is finally testing a feature that will let users turn off read receipts for Instagram DMs.

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Samsung unveils ChatGPT alternative Samsung Gauss that can generate text, code and images Nov 08, 2023

Written by Kate Park - Just a few days after OpenAI’s developer event, Samsung unveiled its own generative AI model, Samsung Gauss, at the Samsung AI Forum 2023.

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GM halts production of Cruise Origin robotaxi amid suspended operations Nov 08, 2023

Cruise is pausing production of its purpose-built robotaxi, the Origin — the autonomous vehicle company’s latest setback amid suspended operations and increased scrutiny from regulators.

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WeWork, once worth $47 billion, files for bankruptcy Nov 07, 2023

Flexible-office-space firm WeWork has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a stunning change in fortune for the once high-flying startup co-founded by Adam Neumann and bankrolled by SoftBank.

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People are turning to Snap Map for firsthand perspectives from Gaza Nov 07, 2023

The world is watching the humanitarian crisis in Gaza unfold in real time through firsthand accounts documented on, of all places, Snapchat.

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Android’s new real-time app scanning aims to fight malicious sideloaded apps Nov 06, 2023

Android’s in-built security engine Google Play Protect has a new feature that conducts a real-time analysis of an Android app’s code and blocks it from installing the app if it’s considered potentially harmful.

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DoorDash adds new safety tools for its delivery people, including ‘driving insights’ Nov 06, 2023

DoorDash is launching three new in-app safety tools for its delivery people, the company announced on Friday.

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X runs ‘timeline takeover’ ad promoting anti-trans film Nov 03, 2023

Thursday on X (Twitter), all users saw the same pinned topic under the “What’s happening?” sidebar.

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Dashtoon uses AI to turn storytellers into comics artists Nov 03, 2023

Dashtoon wants to make anyone with a story to tell into a comics artist, even if they can’t draw.

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Apple Music shuts down its Siri-only Voice Plan nearly two years later Nov 02, 2023

Apple Music just shut down its cheapest option—the Voice Plan.

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Politicians commit to collaborate to tackle AI safety, US launches safety institute Nov 02, 2023

By Ingrid Lunden. The world is locked in a race, and competition, over dominance in AI, but today, a few of them appeared to come together to say that they would prefer to collaborate when it comes to mitigating risk.

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YouTube is now cracking down on ad-blockers globally Nov 01, 2023

Written by Ivan Mehta. YouTube is now cracking down on ad-blocker usage globally, by showing warnings about breaking the platform’s terms of service. In some cases, the company is preventing users from viewing more videos unless they disable ad blocks.

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Apple brought back the best Mac colorway with the new M3 MacBook Pro Nov 01, 2023

Apple has a new range of updated MacBook Pro notebooks, and while they get a pretty nice internal upgrade courtesy mostly of the new M3 processor lineup, the big news for aesthetes is on the outside.

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Apple’s ‘Scary Fast’ event video was shot on iPhone Oct 31, 2023

In tech, ‘dogfooding’ means using your own stuff in the way you intend for your users to, which is helpful to make sure your stuff lives up to your marketing claims.

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Shein adds struggling UK brand Missguided to its fashion empire Oct 31, 2023

Shein, the fast fashion giant that has thrived on its nimble supply chain in China, is expanding its product range by scooping up competitors.

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President Biden issues executive order to set standards for AI safety and security Oct 30, 2023

U.S. President Joe Biden has issued an executive order that seeks to establish “new standards” for AI safety and security.

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Cruise pauses all driverless robotaxi operations to ‘rebuild public trust’ Oct 30, 2023

Cruise said Thursday evening it has paused all driverless operations, a decision that comes just two days after the California DMV suspended Cruise’s deployment and driverless testing permits effectively ending its robotaxi operations in the state.

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A year after Musk’s takeover, X says an average user spends 32 minutes per day on the platform Oct 27, 2023

On the eve of the one-year anniversary of Musk taking over Twitter (now X), the company published a retrospective blog post examining how it has fared under the new management.

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Meta says users and businesses have 600 million chats on its platforms every day Oct 27, 2023

Meta is doubling down on business messages for revenue generation, as Mark Zuckerberg indicated during the company’s earnings call for Q3 2023.

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Will X’s addition of audio and video calling create stickiness in the app? Oct 26, 2023

Elon Musk announced Wednesday that an early version of video and audio calling is now available on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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California agency pulls Cruise’s commercial robotaxi permit following DMV action Oct 26, 2023

The California Public Utilities Commission has suspended Cruise’s authority to carry and charge passengers for its robotaxi service.

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Google is actively looking to insert different types of ads in its generative AI search Oct 25, 2023

Google confirmed on its earnings call that it is working on different ad formats for its generative AI-powered search experience.

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FCC aims to investigate the risk of AI-enhanced robocalls Oct 25, 2023

As if robocalling wasn’t already enough of a problem, the advent of easily accessible, realistic AI-powered writing and synthetic voice could supercharge the practice.

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Feds expand Tesla investigation to include vehicle range, personal benefits Oct 24, 2023

Tesla has the attention of the U.S. Department of Justice — again.

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After $43B valuation, Databricks acquires data replication startup Arcion for $100M Oct 24, 2023

Databricks has remained a hot startup at a time when interest from investors has cooled across the ecosystem.

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Tinder’s app gets more social by letting friends play matchmaker Oct 23, 2023

Dating app users will often sit with friends as they swipe through their matches in order to gain feedback, or even hand over their phone and let their friends swipe for them.

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Google takes aim at Duolingo with new English tutoring tool Oct 23, 2023

Google’s gunning for Duolingo with a new Google Search feature designed to help people practice — and improve — their English skills.

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Elon Musk confirms X is soon launching two new premium tiers Oct 20, 2023

Elon Musk today said that X (formerly Twitter) is going to soon launch two new premium tiers, confirming previous reports and code sightings.

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Sidebar thinks the key to career dev is small peer groups Oct 20, 2023

Sidebar, a company developing a group coaching program focused on driving individual career growth, today announced that it raised $13.3 million in a seed round from investors.

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WhatsApp will now let log into two accounts simultaneously Oct 19, 2023

WhatsApp announced today that it is rolling out the ability for users to use two accounts simultaneously.

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Foxconn and Nvidia are building ‘AI factories’ to accelerate self-driving cars Oct 19, 2023

Nvidia and Foxconn are working together to build so-called “AI factories,” a new class of data centers that promise to provide supercomputing powers to accelerate the development of self-driving cars, autonomous machines and industrial robots.

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X starts experimenting with a $1 per year fee for new users Oct 18, 2023

X, formerly Twitter, announced today that is starting a new experiment to charge a $1 per year fee for “new unverified” users to interact with posts.

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YouTube is launching new playback and creator-focused features Oct 18, 2023

YouTube is rolling out a new set of features for better mobile-based playback, song search, and creator-friendly tools.

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WhatsApp is launching passkey support on Android Oct 17, 2023

WhatsApp is introducing support for passkeys on Android, the Meta-owned messaging service has announced.

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General Catalyst and European early stage fund La Famiglia ‘join forces’ to invest in European startups Oct 17, 2023

In a move that will help cement the incursion of US-based VCs into the European ecosystem, General Catalyst and La Famiglia have announced they are, in their words, “joining forces”.

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Leucine makes drug manufacturing compliance less onerous Oct 16, 2023

The compliance process at pharmaceutical manufacturers is a complicated and prone to errors because many still use paper-based systems to record manufacturing steps.

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Ford increases wages at planned EV battery factories amid UAW strike Oct 16, 2023

Ford and its joint venture partner SK On, will increase wages at two planned EV battery factories in Kentucky and Tennessee in an effort to assuage striking autoworkers.

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Microsoft’s $68.7B Activision acquisition clears final hurdle as UK approves restructured deal Oct 13, 2023

Microsoft’s near-two year attempt to buy gaming giant Activision is finally happening, after the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) accepted a restructured proposal.

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Twitch adds anti-harassment features to stop banned users from watching streams Oct 13, 2023

Twitch streamers can finally block banned users from watching their streams, thanks to a recent update to the platform’s anti-harassment features.

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Linda Yaccarino responds to EU: 700 Community Notes, 5K+ images shared on Israel-Hamas war, “thousands” of pieces of content removed Oct 12, 2023

X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, came under fire earlier this week in Europe.

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Recs is a social ‘wallet’ for stashing and sharing your favorite places Oct 12, 2023

The most popular apps suck us into the technological equivalent of couch lock, but it’s easy to imagine how things might have gone differently.

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Klarna launches a suite of new features, including an AI-powered image-search tool Oct 11, 2023

Klarna is introducing a suite of new features, including an AI-powered image-search tool called Shopping lens, the company announced on Wednesday.

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Consumer payments startup Braid shuts down, cites struggles with ‘leveraging third-party software’ Oct 11, 2023

Braid, a four-year-old startup that aimed to make shared wallets more mainstream among consumers, has shut down.

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X’s new control lets only verified accounts reply to a post Oct 10, 2023

X has introduced a new control that limits replies to only verified accounts.

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Prosus-backed fast-fashion startup Virgio, valued at $161 million, shuts down Oct 10, 2023

Fast-fashion startup Virgio, founded by former Myntra chief, is shutting down its operations less than a year after raising funds at a valuation of over $160 million.

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Waymo-Zeekr robotaxi poised for US testing by end of 2023 Oct 09, 2023

Nearly two years after Waymo and Geely struck a deal to develop robotaxis for the U.S. market, we are seeing concrete progress in the collaboration.

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Netflix’s 6.5M India subscribers dwarfed by Prime Video and Disney, Bernstein says Oct 09, 2023

Netflix has “not succeeded” in scaling up its business in India despite the global streaming giant consistently lowering the subscription costs in the country, analysts at AllianceBernstein wrote in a report to clients Thursday.

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All eyes on VW after Hyundai, Kia adopt Tesla charging standard Oct 06, 2023

Hyundai and Kia have finally announced their plans to adopt Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) ports for their electric vehicles in the U.S. and Canada, joining the swells of automakers that have also promised to do so.

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Union Square Ventures backs Indian EV infra startup Bolt.Earth in $20M funding Oct 06, 2023

Bolt.Earth, an Indian startup that offers charging infrastructure and software solutions for electric vehicles, has raised $20 million in a funding round to expand its presence within the South Asian nation and enter into new markets.

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X cuts headlines from link previews as Musk wants users posting directly on the platform Oct 05, 2023

X, formerly Twitter, has started cutting headlines from link cards on the iOS app and on the web. This means you will see just an image with the domain name of the link on the bottom left, which is easy to miss.

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In latest Cruise incident, video shows pedestrian struck by human-driven car, then run over by robotaxi Oct 05, 2023

The San Francisco Police Department is investigating an October 2 incident that left a woman stuck underneath a Cruise robotaxi after being hit by a human-driven vehicle.

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Electric Hydrogen is the green hydrogen industry’s first unicorn Oct 04, 2023

Investors have historically been skeptical of green hydrogen.

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Cloaked manages your logins with proxy emails, phone numbers and a built-in password manager Oct 04, 2023

Boston-based privacy and security startup Cloaked, launched its apps today to let users create unique proxy emails, phone numbers, and passwords for online accounts.

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Stitch raises $25M Series A extension led by Ribbit Capital, increasing the round’s total to $46M Oct 03, 2023

Open banking, in which traditional banks release their data via application programming interfaces (APIs) to enable the development of new financial services for their consumers, has been one of the most significant disruptions in global payments over the past decade.

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VW bails on its plan for a $2.1B EV plant in Germany Oct 03, 2023

Volkswagen’s $2.1 billion plan to launch a dedicated electric-vehicle factory in Wolfsburg, Germany is kaput.

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BeReal pushes back at report that it’s losing steam, says it now has 25M daily users Oct 02, 2023

Just under a year ago, the buzzy new social app BeReal looked to be on the rise, with reportedly 20 million users launching the app every day to snap their candid photos.

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SpaceX’s defense-focused Starshield satellite internet business lands first contract Oct 02, 2023

SpaceX won its first contract for Starshield, the defense-focused version of its Starlink satellite internet service, from the U.S. Space Force.

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Judge upholds $18 minimum pay for NYC delivery workers Sep 29, 2023

In a blow to Uber, DoorDash and Grubhub, a New York judge on Thursday ruled to allow the implementation of the minimum pay rate of $18 per hour for New York City’s food delivery workers.

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Vivaldi launches an iOS version of its browser Sep 29, 2023

Almost eight years after former Opera CEO Jon von Tetzchner launched a new browser for desktop users, his company named Vivaldi has introduced its iOS version today.

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X will be profitable in 2024, CEO claims in tense interview Sep 28, 2023

According to X CEO Linda Yaccarino, the company formerly known as Twitter will be profitable by early 2024.

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Google launches earthquake alerts on Android in India Sep 28, 2023

Google has announced the launch of its earthquake alert system for Android devices in India.

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The writers strike is over: here’s how AI negotiations shook out Sep 27, 2023

After almost five months, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has reached an agreement with Hollywood studios to end the writers strike.

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Meta says separate account deletion for Threads will roll out by December Sep 27, 2023

After launching its text-based social network Threads in July, Meta faced criticism as there was no way for users to delete their Threads account without deleting their Instagram account.

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Google Podcasts to shut down in 2024 with listeners migrated to YouTube Music Sep 26, 2023

Google announced this morning it will be shutting down its Google Podcasts app later in 2024 as part of its broader transition to move its streaming listeners over to YouTube Music.

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Snap partners with Microsoft on ads in its ‘My AI’ chatbot feature Sep 26, 2023

Snapchat has a new advertising partner in Microsoft for the ads it’s inserting into its AI product, My AI, an AI chatbot introduced earlier this year to the wider Snapchat user base.

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X will make audio and video calls a premium subscriber-only feature Sep 25, 2023

Last month X CEO Linda Yaccarino confirmed that video calls would be coming to the app formerly known as Twitter as part of its transition into an “everything app.”

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Microsoft-Activision: UK looks poised to clear restructured deal Sep 25, 2023

The UK’s competition watchdog has signalled it’s preparing to greenlight a restructured proposal for Microsoft to acquire Activision.

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Threads adds easy profile switching to its mobile apps Sep 22, 2023

Meta-owned Twitter rival Threads has finally added a way to switch between multiple accounts without logging out.

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Auctoria uses generative AI to create video game models Sep 22, 2023

Several years ago, Aleksander Caban, the co-founder of Carbon Studio, a Polish VR game developer, observed a major problem in modern game design.

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Waabi and Uber Freight partner to accelerate autonomous trucking Sep 21, 2023

Autonomous trucking startup Waabi is committing billions of miles of driverless capacity to the Uber Freight network as part of a 10-year strategic partnership between the two companies.

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Substack redesigns its mobile app to boost discovery and engagement Sep 21, 2023

Substack is overhauling its mobile app with a redesigned Home experience to boost discovery and engagement, the company announced on Wednesday.

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Airbnb is verifying all properties in its top five markets including the U.S. Sep 20, 2023

Airbnb is trying to crack down on fake listings by verifying all listings in its top five markets — US, Canada, Australia, UK, and France.

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Outschool launches an AI-powered tool to help teachers write progress reports Sep 20, 2023

Outschool, the online learning platform that offers kid-friendly academic and interest-based classes, announced today the launch of its AI Teaching Assistant, a tool for tutors to generate progress reports for their students.

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Darrow gets served $35M for an AI that parses public documents for class action lawsuit potential Sep 19, 2023

The U.S. is famous (or infamous) for its litigiousness.

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Bird Buddy, the AI-powered bird feeder startup, now lets anyone use its app to birdwatch Sep 19, 2023

Bird Buddy, the startup behind multiple AI-powered smart bird feeders, including the recently announced smart Hummingbird Feeder and Bird Bath, is today launching its latest product — and it’s not another bird feeder.

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Lyft to pay $10M fine to SEC for failure to disclose board member’s role in pre-IPO share sale Sep 18, 2023

Lyft has agreed to pay a $10 million fine over a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charge that the ride-hailing company failed to disclose a board director’s role in the sale of $424 million worth of private shares before to its initial public offering.

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Meta says not planning ads on WhatsApp Sep 18, 2023

Meta on Friday disputed a media report that claimed the social giant was exploring bringing ads on the popular messaging app WhatsApp.

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X launches account verification based on government ID Sep 15, 2023

X, formerly Twitter, has launched government ID-based account verification for paid users to prevent impersonation and give them benefits such as “prioritized support.”

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UK DeepTech gets another boost with new $100M SCVC fund out of Bristol Sep 15, 2023

Europe has far too few VCs created by former founders, or “Operators” as the industry often likes to call them.

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San Francisco requests redo on Cruise, Waymo robotaxi expansion hearing Sep 14, 2023

San Francisco has formally requested state regulators redo an August hearing that expanded robotaxi permits for Cruise and Waymo, giving both companies permission to widen commercial operations throughout the city 24/7.

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Telegram adds a self-custodial crypto wallet worldwide, excluding the US Sep 14, 2023

Telegram, the popular chat app with 800 million monthly active users, is rolling out a self-custodial crypto wallet.

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French watchdog temporarily halts iPhone 12 sales over radiation levels Sep 13, 2023

Just a few hours after Apple unveiled the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro, France’s radiation watchdog (ANFR) released a public statement announcing that the iPhone 12 breaches radiation levels.

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English learning platform ELSA lands $22.5M Series C Sep 13, 2023

ELSA, the English language learning platform, announced today it has raised $22.5 million in Series C funding.

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TikTok Shop officially launches in the U.S. Sep 12, 2023

After months of testing, TikTok has finally launched its e-commerce product, TikTok Shop, in the U.S — where it has more than 150 million users.

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Google.org to invest $20M into AI-focused grants for think tanks and academic institutions Sep 12, 2023

Ahead of Wednesday’s AI-focused private Congressional meeting with tech giants, Google this morning announced a new initiative aimed at supporting researchers and public policy solutions around AI with the debut of the Digital Futures Project.

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WhatsApp has reluctantly started work on cross-platform messaging due to EU regulation Sep 11, 2023

Last week, the European Union named the six big tech companies that should be considered as gatekeepers in one way or another under the Digital Markets Act.

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Google flips the switch on interest-based ads with ‘Privacy Sandbox’ rollout Sep 11, 2023

Google is now rolling out Privacy Sandbox — its tech to replace third-party cookies — to all Chrome users.

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BMW feels the heat, stops charging for warming cheeks Sep 08, 2023

When BMW started charging an $18 per month subscription for heated seats in 2022, the backlash was swift and brutal.

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Instagram is testing a feature to let you share feed posts just with ‘Close Friends’ Sep 08, 2023

Instagram users have been complaining for a while about the impersonal nature of the social network largely due to its algorithmic feed.

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Gaming browser Opera GX integrates ChatGPT-powered AI feature Sep 07, 2023

Powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the AI browser Aria launched on Opera in May to give users an easier way to search on the web, ask questions and write code.

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Arduino nabs $22 million in fresh funding to support expansion into enterprise Sep 07, 2023

Odds are if you know the name Arduino, it’s through its connection to the DIY community. Much like Raspberry Pi, the company built its reputation creating microcontrollers for hobbyists. But the last few years have seen it expanding that horizon.

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MetaMask now allows crypto cash-out to PayPal and banks, but fees could be high Sep 06, 2023

MetaMask, the world’s biggest self-custodial hot (internet-connected) wallet with over 22 million users, has added the option for users to convert cryptocurrencies into fiats like USD, as a growing list of web3 players strive to make digital assets usable in the real world.

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Envisics closes $100M to advance AR heads-up display tech in cars Sep 06, 2023

Envisics, a UK-based holographics company building in-car technology that projects navigation, safety alerts and other data onto the inside of a windscreen, has closed a $100 million Series C round.

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ThetaRay nabs $57M for AI tools to ID and fight money laundering Sep 05, 2023

Money laundering — the process of transferring assets around in order to disguise the illicit origin of the money behind them — has been a huge and growing business for years, used by terrorists to finance their work, criminals to wash their spoils, (some) fat cats to avoid taxes and more.

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Lawsuit alleges no due diligence in Amazon’s Project Kuiper launch contracts to Blue Origin, ULA Sep 04, 2023

An institutional investor is suing Amazon and its board, including founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos, over hefty launch contracts they awarded to Bezos’ space company, Blue Origin

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How the FBI took down the notorious Qakbot botnet Sep 04, 2023

A global law enforcement operation this week took down and dismantled the notorious Qakbot botnet, touted as the largest U.S.-led financial and technical disruption of a botnet infrastructure.

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Google pulls popular but controversial live video chat app Chamet from the Play Store Sep 01, 2023

Google has removed a popular but controversial live video chat app Chamet from the Play Store.

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OpenAI-backed language learning app Speak raises $16M to expand to the U.S. Sep 01, 2023

Speak, an English language learning platform backed by OpenAI’s startup investment fund, the OpenAI Startup Fund, today announced that it raised $16 million in a Series B-2 funding round led by angel investor Lachy Groom.

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X is now letting paid users hide their likes Aug 31, 2023

Elon Musk-owned X, formerly Twitter, is now rolling out a feature for paid users to let them hide their likes.

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Google discontinues its Pixel Pass subscription, which combined phones and services Aug 30, 2023

Google is discontinuing its Pixel Pass subscription service, which allowed people to get a Pixel phone combined with premium services including YouTube Premium, Google Play Pass, and YouTube Premium for a monthly fee.

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Apollo.io, a full-stack sales tech platform, bags $100M at a $1.6B valuation Aug 30, 2023

While working at his first startup, BrainGenie, a math and science skills practice website, Tim Zheng experienced firsthand the challenge of maintaining a small business — and expanding it.

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Eldercare robot ElliQ nabs another $25 million in funding Aug 29, 2023

Intuition Robotics isn’t hurting for funding these days. The Israeli firm announced a $36 million Series B in the early days of the pandemic, and now it’s adding another $25 million.

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Splinter group officially launches OpenTF fork of HashiCorp Terraform Aug 29, 2023

Earlier this month HashiCorp announced that it was changing the open source license it uses for Terraform and its other developer tools.

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X saw weekly active users and rankings drop post rebrand, but Twitter Lite installs grew Aug 28, 2023

Reports that X (formerly Twitter)’s downloads decreased after Elon Musk’s rebranding of the microblogging social network only tell part of the story.

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Reddit launches moderator rewards program amid sitewide discontent Aug 28, 2023

Reddit is launching the “Mod Helper Program” to reward moderators who offer helpful advice to other moderators, along with an updated moderator help center.

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You can finally buy Lego’s Braille Bricks Aug 26, 2023

Building with Lego bricks has stayed a formative and important practice for kids around the world, partly because it’s so easily enjoyed by anyone, regardless of location, language, or ability.

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Better.com’s stock tanks after SPAC combination brings it to the public markets Aug 25, 2023

Shares of Better.com are getting hammered into the ground Thursday morning after the digital mortgage company completed its long-delayed SPAC merger and began to trade as a public company for the first time.

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OpenAI partners with Scale AI to allow companies to fine-tune GPT-3.5 Aug 24, 2023

OpenAI, the AI startup behind the viral AI-powered chatbot ChatGPT, plans to partner with third party vendors to make it easier for developers — specifically enterprises — to fine-tune its AI models using custom data.

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Automakers now have to comply with MA’s Right to Repair law Aug 24, 2023

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Tuesday automakers can comply with a Massachusetts Right to Repair law, reversing a previous directive to ignore the state legislation.

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iOS 17 beta includes further hints that the iPhone 15 Pro will have an ‘Action Button’ Aug 23, 2023

Apple has released iOS 17 beta 7 to developers and it includes further hints that the iPhone 15 Pro will have an “Action Button.”

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Chip company Arm files for Nasdaq listing in IPO anticipated to be this year’s biggest Aug 23, 2023

Arm, the U.K.-based chipmaker owned by Japan’s SoftBank since 2016, has filed for a Nasdaq listing under the ticker symbol “ARM,” five months after announcing it had filed confidential, preliminary IPO paperwork with U.S. regulators.

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X is planning to hide headlines from news links for ‘improved aesthetics’ Aug 22, 2023

Elon Musk-owned X, formerly Twitter, is planning to roll out a new way to display news links without any headline or description.

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Mycoprotein producer Enough raises €40M toward doubling its production capacity Aug 22, 2023

Now with the Netherlands factory online, Enough is ramping up to produce over a tonne of Abunda every hour and around 10,000 metric tonnes per year.

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Cruise told by regulators to ‘immediately’ reduce robotaxi fleet 50% following crash Aug 21, 2023

Cruise told by regulators to ‘immediately’ reduce robotaxi fleet 50% following crash

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Tumblr is rolling out a new web interface, and it looks a lot like X (formerly Twitter) Aug 21, 2023

Tumblr is officially rolling out a new look for its web browser after testing it with select users over the past month.

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Cruise and Waymo see a surge in robotaxi app downloads Aug 18, 2023

Consumer interest in Cruise and Waymo’s competing robotaxi services surged following a vote last week by the California Public Utilities Commission that allowed the two companies to expand and charge for their driverless car operations in San Francisco.

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New York City bans TikTok on government-issued devices Aug 18, 2023

New York City becomes the latest government to issue new rules banning TikTok, a measure meant to ward off potential security threats from China.

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EV maker Vinfast still worth more than Ford and GM after stock tanks 19% Aug 17, 2023

Vietnamese EV maker VinFast’s debut Tuesday on the Nasdaq public exchange was nothing short of remarkable.

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Electrify America-backed 75MW solar farm kicks off operations Aug 17, 2023

Electrify America, the EV charging company created by Volkswagen in the aftermath of its diesel emissions scandal, said on Tuesday that a new, 75 megawatt solar farm in Southern California is now up and running.

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Bluesky adds self-labeling for posts and a dedicated media tab for profiles Aug 16, 2023

X- (previously Twitter) and Threads-rival Bluesky has started allowing users to self-tag their posts so they can be automatically filtered.

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Tesla reassures Chinese users on data security amid spying concerns Aug 16, 2023

The relationship between American tech giants and the Chinese government has never been an easy one.

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Rocket Lab to launch a pair of climate satellites for NASA Aug 15, 2023

Rocket Lab will launch two small satellites for NASA that could help scientists better understand how a warming climate will affect the massive ice shelves at the Earth’s poles.

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Bugs in transportation app Moovit gave hackers free rides Aug 15, 2023

Hackers could have hijacked the user accounts of a popular transportation app and used them to get free rides and access people’s personal information, according to a security researcher.

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Mastercard to purchase a minority stake in MTN’s $5.2B fintech business Aug 14, 2023

Mastercard has agreed to purchase a minority stake in the fintech division of MTN Group, Africa’s largest cellphone provider, which it values at $5.2 billion.

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Electric aircraft makers Wisk and Archer end bitter legal dispute, agree to work together Aug 14, 2023

Electric aircraft rivals Wisk and Archer Aviation have settled their trade secret legal dispute more than two years after the lawsuit was originally filed.

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Cruise and Waymo win robotaxi expansions in San Francisco Aug 11, 2023

In a win for the autonomous vehicle industry, California regulators have given the green light to Cruise and Waymo to offer commercial robotaxi services across San Francisco 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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VLGE opens SDK for its no-code virtual world builder aimed at fashion, beauty and art industries Aug 11, 2023

We’ve seen the rise of no-code and low-code platforms being applied to any number of applications and use-cases. What would happen if this thinking was applied to metaverse-style virtual worlds?

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Belarus hackers target foreign diplomats with help of local ISPs, researchers say Aug 10, 2023

Hackers with apparent links to the Belarusian government have been targeting foreign diplomats in the country for nearly 10 years, according to security researchers.

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Duolingo spotted developing a music learning app Aug 10, 2023

Work on Duolingo’s next big app, Duolingo Music, is well on its way, according to new findings.

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Astranis gives its “secret satellite” a formal introduction Aug 09, 2023

When news broke last month that Astranis’ first commercial satellite in orbit malfunctioned, the company made an unexpected announcement: it had a backup.

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Paramount+ tops 61 million subscribers after Showtime merger Aug 09, 2023

Paramount said that it added 700,000 subscribers to Paramount+ in Q2 2023 after the company launched a subscription tier with Showtime integration in June.

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Europe confirms in-depth probe for Adobe’s $20B Figma acquisition Aug 08, 2023

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India pushes ahead with data privacy bill despite pushback from critics Aug 08, 2023

India’s lower house of parliament greenlit the revised data privacy legislation presented the previous week, even as the bill has received criticism, with many believing that it grants significant discretionary authority to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.

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Array Labs is scanning the Earth from space to equip autonomous vehicles with 3D maps Aug 08, 2023

It’s an oft-told story: the boom of space startups today can be traced to dramatically lowered cost in launch and satellite manufacturing over the past ten years.

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AI.com flips from ChatGPT to Elon Musk’s X.ai Aug 07, 2023

There was a bit of a hubbub in February as it emerged that OpenAI had seemingly purchased AI.com in order to redirect it to the ChatGPT web interface.

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GoStudent adds another $95M to its war-chest to go after VR and AI-enhanced tutoring Aug 04, 2023

GoStudent — the late-stage tutor marketplace that has raised $686.3 million so far – has now raised another $95 million in what it calls as strategic fundraise.

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DJI’s new GoPro competitor launches at $399 Aug 04, 2023

The DJI/GoPro relationship has been an uneasy one ever since planned drone collaboration fell back down to earth some eight or so years back.

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Waymo is bringing its robotaxi service to Austin Aug 03, 2023

Waymo plans to launch a robotaxi service in Austin — putting the company once again in direct competition with rival Cruise.

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Tinder to launch a ‘high-end’ membership this fall amid product refresh Aug 03, 2023

Tinder is preparing to launch a new “high-end” membership later this fall as well as a product refresh aimed at better catering to Gen Z users.

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This California agency wants to know what happens to all that connected car data Aug 02, 2023

The troves of data collected by today’s modern connected cars has long been viewed as a cash cow — a yet untapped opportunity that could boost profits for automakers.

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Rapyd acquires a piece of PayU from Prosus for $610M to scale its fintech-as-a-service platform Aug 02, 2023

Rapyd, the fintech-as-a-service startup that provides APIs to enable payments, card issuing, digital wallet and other financial services to companies like Uber and Ikea, is taking a significant step forward in its growth with a big acquisition.

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Reddit updates its site design for logged-out users Aug 01, 2023

Reddit is rolling out a number of updates to its website for logged-out users, including improved performance, a more helpful search results page and better communities and related post suggestions.

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China’s cutthroat e-commerce tactic goes global as Shein-Temu war escalates Aug 01, 2023

The battle between two of China’s largest e-commerce firms is heating up, as they take the cutthroat tactics that have long been around in the country to the international markets they both covet.

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Walmart pays $1.4 billion to buy Tiger Global’s remaining Flipkart stake Jul 31, 2023

Walmart paid $1.4 billion to buy out Tiger Global’s remaining holding of Flipkart shares as the retail giant further expands its stake in the Indian e-commerce startup.

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A new study found that Facebook’s Pages and Groups shape its ideological echo chambers Jul 31, 2023

New research published Thursday offers an unprecedented dive into political behavior across Facebook and Instagram — two major online hubs where people express and engage with their political beliefs.

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AMD plans to invest $400 million in India by 2028 Jul 28, 2023

AMD plans to invest around $400 million in India over the next five years and set up its largest R&D facility in the country’s southern city of Bengaluru.

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Cash-strapped instant delivery giant Getir, trying to close funding, pulls out of Spain, Italy and Portugal Jul 28, 2023

More tough times for the instant-delivery startups that once flooded the markets of Europe.

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Hackers are infecting Call of Duty players with a self-spreading malware Jul 27, 2023

Hackers are infecting players of an old Call of Duty game with a worm that spreads automatically in online lobbies, according to two analyses of the malware.

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Amazon makes bid to settle UK antitrust probe into seller data, Buy Box and Prime Jul 27, 2023

In a move seeking to settle an open antitrust investigation in the UK, Amazon has offered to limit its use of data on marketplace sellers.

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Trustmi lands $17M to scale its payments fraud prevention tech Jul 26, 2023

Shai Gabay and Eli Ben-Nun, two entrepreneurs based in Israel, met in 2018 while working at Cynet, a cybersecurity startup developing extended detection and response tools

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Thales enters app security market with $3.6B Imperva acquisition Jul 26, 2023

French aerospace and defence group Thales is procuring cybersecurity company Imperva from Thoma Bravo in a deal worth $3.6 billion.

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Spotify reports strong user growth as it is raising subscription price Jul 25, 2023

Spotify just reported its second-quarter earnings and the two most impressive metrics are the number of subscribers and the total number of Spotify users.

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Spotify confirms price hike Jul 25, 2023

Spotify has announced that it’s raising its premium plan prices, confirming reports that first started to surface over the weekend.

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Twitter has officially changed its logo to ‘X’ Jul 24, 2023

Twitter has removed the iconic bird logo and adopted ‘X’ as its official logo.

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SpaceX’s Swarm Technologies is halting new device sales Jul 24, 2023

Swarm, the Internet-of-Things connectivity provider that was acquired by SpaceX, will no longer be selling new devices, according to an email sent to customers earlier this month.

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Autonomous vehicle company Aurora sells $820M worth of stock Jul 21, 2023

Aurora Innovation, the self-driving technology company that aims to launch an autonomous trucking business in 2024, has completed a capital raise of $820 million from a public and concurrent private offering of its stock. The company expects the deal to close Friday.

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Kitchen robot Botinkit raises $13M from DJI angel and others Jul 21, 2023

Having worked in the food industry for several years, Shirley Chen saw firsthand the challenges of managing staffing and training for restaurant expansion.

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Former NHTSA head blasts Cruise’s ‘Humans are terrible drivers’ ad Jul 20, 2023

A former administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has responded to a full-page ad taken out in several major newspapers by Cruise, General Motors’ self-driving subsidiary, that calls humans terrible drivers.

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Farizon, Geely’s truck unit, raised $600M to expand outside China Jul 20, 2023

Farizon, a maker of hybrid and electric trucks owned by China’s Geely, has closed a $600 million Series A raise, the company said in a statement.

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UK provisionally approves Broadcom’s $69B VMware acquisition Jul 19, 2023

The U.K.’s competition authority has said that it plans to greenlight Broadcom’s $69 billion bid for virtualization software giant VMware.

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TikTok’s new program aims to identify rising artists in the music industry Jul 19, 2023

TikTok is launching a new program that is designed to identify the next wave of rising artists in the music industry, the company announced on Tuesday.

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Hammerspace ingests $56M for a new approach to work with vast amounts of unstructured data Jul 18, 2023

Data may be “the new oil,” but only when it can be extracted and put to use.

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Intel backs Figure’s Humanoid robot to the tune of $9 million Jul 18, 2023

Bay Area-based robotics firm Figure this week announced that its humanoid officially took its first steps — a milestone it hit a few days shy of of the company’s first anniversary.

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Tesla announces first Cybertruck build ahead of Q2 earnings Jul 17, 2023

Tesla over the weekend said its first much anticipated Cybertruck came off the electric vehicle maker’s production line in Texas.

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Google Play Games beta for PC expands to over 60 new countries including India Jul 17, 2023

Google has finally launched its Play Games beta for PC project, which lets users play Android games on their Windows systems, in India after introducing it in more than 50 countries.

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India’s Chandrayaan-3 blasts off to the moon Jul 14, 2023

Chandrayaan-3, India’s third mission to the moon, has taken off successfully — almost four years after its predecessor failed to touch down on the lunar surface in 2019.

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Cruise, Waymo say humans are bad drivers amid robotaxi permit delays Jul 14, 2023

Autonomous vehicle companies Cruise and Waymo have separately pushed a narrative this week that humans are bad drivers, and that their technologies are crucial to making roads safer.

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Defacto gets new credit facility to provide instant financing to small companies Jul 13, 2023

French startup Defacto has closed a new securitization fund that will be used to provide short-term loans to small and medium enterprises via an embedded, API-first approach.

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Google’s Bard chatbot finally launches in the EU, now supports more than 40 languages Jul 13, 2023

Google is making its ChatGPT rival Bard available to a wider audience today, launching the generative AI chatbot in more than 40 languages and finally bringing it to the European Union (EU) after an initial delay due to data privacy concerns.

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Gmail brings in Calendly-style availability sharing from Google Calendar Jul 12, 2023

On Tuesday, Google released new scheduling-related features for Gmail with Google Calendar integration including quick event creation and easy availability sharing.

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Roku users can now buy products from Shopify merchants with their TV remote Jul 12, 2023

Roku is partnering with Shopify to give users the ability to purchase products from Shopify merchants through their TVs, the hardware company announced Tuesday.

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Discord introduces new opt-in parental controls for teens Jul 11, 2023

Discord is introducing a new Family Center opt-in-tool that is designed to make it easy for parents and guardians to learn more about who their teens are friends with and talk to on the platform, the company announced on Tuesday.

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Instagram’s Threads app reaches 100 million users within just five days Jul 11, 2023

Instagram’s text-based app Threads has achieved the mark of 100 million sign-ups in just five days.

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If you don’t buy Jony Ive’s $60,000 turntable, are you really a music fan? Jul 10, 2023

You enjoyed his iMacs, his iPhones, his iPads. You thrilled at the way he said “aluminium” [sic]. You admired the typeface.

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Tesla to provide more info on its driver alert system amid Autopilot probe Jul 10, 2023

U.S. regulators have requested more information from Tesla to assist in their ongoing investigation into 830,000 Tesla vehicles that include Autopilot, the automaker’s advanced driver assistance system.

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EV truck maker Nikola fails again to secure enough shareholder support to issue more shares Jul 08, 2023

Nikola failed for the second time since June to get enough shareholders to vote on a proposal that would allow the EV truck maker to issue more shares in a bid to raise more capital.

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TikTok launches a music streaming service in Brazil and Indonesia called ‘TikTok Music’ Jul 07, 2023

TikTok has already dominated the short-video and social media market, and is now looking to take on Spotify and Apple Music with its latest offering.

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Threads won’t be fun — but it will give brands a home away from Twitter Jul 07, 2023

There are many Twitters now, but we may never have another Twitter again.

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China’s WeRide secures self-driving vehicle license from UAE Jul 06, 2023

The United Arab Emirates has given Chinese autonomous driving company WeRide the first national license for self-driving vehicles.

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Rivian delivers first electric vans to Amazon in Europe Jul 06, 2023

Amazon has begun rolling out its custom electric delivery vans from Rivian in Europe, the e-commerce giant said Monday.

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Kentucky is the latest state to mandate Tesla’s charging plug Jul 05, 2023

Kentucky now requires that electric vehicle charging companies include Tesla’s charging plug if they want to secure federal funds from a state program to electrify highways, Reuters reports.

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Fidelity deepens valuation cut for Reddit and Discord Jul 03, 2023

Fidelity has further slashed the estimated worth of its holding in social platform Reddit and chat app Discord as well as SaaS startup Gupshup.

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TikTok parent ByteDance launches music creation and audio editing app in closed beta in the US Jul 03, 2023

TikTok’s parent company ByteDance announced today that it’s launching a new, free-to-use music production app in closed beta in the United States.

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Get a clue, says panel about generative AI: it’s being “deployed as surveillance” Jun 30, 2023

At a Bloomberg conference in San Francisco, some of the biggest names in AI turned up.

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Halo Car launches remotely piloted rental car deliveries in Las Vegas Jun 30, 2023

Halo Car, a startup that uses remote operators to deliver rental cars to a customer’s door, has launched driverless operations in Las Vegas.

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Techstars raising $150 million for new accelerator fund Jun 29, 2023

The accelerator is seeking new capital ahead of the end of the deployment period of its third institutionally-backed fund, Techstars Accelerator 2021, late this year.

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Reddit protest plunges user engagement, site activity and ad portal visits Jun 29, 2023

Reddit community moderators made a bold move earlier this month that caused quite a stir online.

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Rocket Lab doubles down on marine booster recovery with next Electron launch Jun 28, 2023

Rocket Lab’s next Electron mission will include another marine recovery attempt of the rocket’s booster, the latest step by the company to advance its reusability program.

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CalypsoAI raises $23M to add guardrails to generative AI models Jun 28, 2023

Companies are increasingly embracing generative AI.

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Redpanda nabs $100M Series C as streaming service experiences significant growth Jun 27, 2023

Redpanda helps companies capture data in real time in a modern context, providing a new way to stream data while maintaining backwards compatibility with Kafka, the popular open source streaming project.

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Aston Martin taps Lucid to help develop electric vehicles Jun 27, 2023

Lucid Group, the U.S. automaker that produces the luxury all-electric Air sedan, will supply Aston Martin with powertrain components for future electric vehicle models, the companies said Monday.

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UTU raises $35M to help travelers get more from tax-free shopping Jun 26, 2023

Utu, a travel tech company that helps flyers get more out of their tax-free shopping, announced today it has raised a $35 million Series B led by SC Ventures.

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SoulCycle to offer trainer-guided virtual work sessions with the FLOWN startup Jun 22, 2023

FLOWN is a startup that took the idea of the sort of ‘virtual co-working’ some of us during the pandemic just have some company during lockdowns, and created a model of guided “deep work” sessions with actual coaches.

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Apple’s Vision Pro SDK is now available, in-person developer labs launch next month Jun 22, 2023

Time to get a jump on all of that spatial computing. Apple today announced that its visionOS software development kit is now available, allowing 3D parties to begin building content for the Vision Pro.

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Twitch will require new labels for streams with sexual themes, gambling and M-rated games Jun 21, 2023

Twitch is rethinking the way it flags mature content, swapping its existing toggle for a more granular set of topic-specific labels. The company announced Tuesday that it would introduce a new set of content labels that require streamers to signal when their channels will contain sexual themes, graphic violence, “drugs, intoxication, or excessive tobacco use.

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Roblox invites its community to build mature experiences for 17+ users Jun 21, 2023

Roblox is well aware that its young users are getting older, and the company is making every effort to grow up along with them. The platform, once synonymous with younger kids, announced Tuesday that it would allow creators to build mature content designed for users age 17 and up.

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Consumer group calls on EU to urgently investigate ‘the risks of generative AI’ Jun 20, 2023

European regulators are at a crossroads over how AI will be regulated — and ultimately used commercially and non-commercially — in the region, and today the EU’s largest consumer group, the BEUC, weighed in with its own position: stop dragging your feet, and “launch urgent investigations into the risks of generative AI” now, it said.

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Oracle launches its ‘sovereign cloud’ for EU customers Jun 20, 2023

Oracle is formally launching its “EU Sovereign cloud” for customers in the European Union (EU) today, nearly a year after firs revealing plans for the initiative. So-called “digital sovereignty” has emerged as a critical issue for companies operating across the EU.

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Mercedes is adding ChatGPT to its infotainment system, for some reason Jun 20, 2023

Mercedes owners in the U.S. will soon add a new luxury to their already luxurious vehicles: ChatGPT.

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Twitter competitor Spill launches in beta on iOS Jun 19, 2023

From a team of ex-Twitter employees, the new social platform Spill launched in an invite-only beta on the App Store.

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Feds catch another LockBit hacker, Justice Department announces Jun 19, 2023

The Justice Department has arrested and charged a Russian national for his alleged role in multiple LockBit ransomware attacks against victims in the U.S. and around the world.

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Amazon’s $1.7B iRobot acquisition greenlighted by UK antitrust regulator Jun 16, 2023

The U.K.’s antitrust regulator has given the go-ahead to Amazon’s proposed billion-dollar iRobot acquisition, concluding that the deal “would not lead to competition concerns in the U.K.”

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BYD is overtaking Tesla, but its EV dream skips the US for now Jun 15, 2023

A Chinese electric vehicle brand that’s rarely spotted in the U.S. is quickly catching up to Tesla’s dominance of the global EV market. BYD, which started in Shenzhen 28 years ago, delivered 547,917 passenger EVs, including hybrids, a category it’s known for, in the first quarter of 2023.

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Ransomware gang lists first victims of MOVEit mass-hacks, including US banks and universities Jun 15, 2023

Clop, the ransomware gang responsible for exploiting a critical security vulnerability in a popular corporate file transfer tool, has begun listing victims of the mass-hacks, including a number of U.S. banks and universities. The Russia-linked ransomware gang has been exploiting the security flaw in MOVEit Transfer, a tool used by corporations and enterprises to share.

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Uber leads $20M round in India’s Everest Fleet for EV expansion Jun 14, 2023

Uber has led a $20 million round into Everest Fleet, a Mumbai-based fleet management company that boasts over 10,000 vehicles running on rideshare platforms Uber and Ola throughout India. The company will use the funds to accelerate its transition to electric vehicles, with a goal of having 10,000 EVs in its fleet by 2026.

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EV laggard Toyota says its next-gen EVs will have over 600 miles range Jun 14, 2023

Toyota plans to introduce a high-performance lithium-ion battery to its next-generation electric vehicles by 2026, part of the automaker’s new technology roadmap revealed Tuesday. The batteries will deliver quicker charging and around 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) of range, which would put Toyota’s vehicles ahead of the competition. Toyota has historically trailed behind other major automakers.

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Striveworks snaps up first funding of $33M to build tools for machine learning operations Jun 14, 2023

MLOps, or DevOps for those working with machine learning models, has seen a boom of interest in the last year, and that should come as no surprise.

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US intelligence confirms it buys Americans’ personal data Jun 13, 2023

A newly declassified government report confirms for the first time that U.S. intelligence and spy agencies purchase vast amounts of commercially available information on Americans, including data from connected vehicles, web browsing data, and smartphones.

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London lures a16z’s first international office with ‘predictable’ crypto regs Jun 13, 2023

US VC giant Andreessen Horowitz — which has about $35bn in assets under management — is to open its first (yes, the first) international office in London, led by one of the firm’s general partners, Sriram Krishnan.

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Barracuda urges customers to remove and replace vulnerable hardware exploited by hackers Jun 12, 2023

Barracuda Networks has told customers they must replace vulnerable email gateway appliances following the disclosure of a critical security flaw.

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Nasdaq to acquire financial services software company Adenza from Thoma Bravo for $10.5B Jun 12, 2023

Nasdaq today revealed that it’s doling out $10.5 billion to acquire Adenza, a company that develops risk-management and related regulatory software for the financial services market.

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Meta to appeal court ruling declaring content moderatos as its employees Jun 09, 2023

Meta is set to appeal Kenya’s court decision declaring it as the primary employer of the moderators that review content on its platforms in sub-Saharan Africa.

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Adobe brings Firefly to the enterprise Jun 09, 2023

Adobe today announced that it is bringing its Firefly generative image generator to its enterprise customers and allowing them to customize the model with their own branded assets.

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Uber is taking its car-sharing service to North America Jun 08, 2023

Uber plans to bring peer-to-peer car sharing to North America, starting with Toronto and Boston, the company said Thursday at its Go-Get product event in London.

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Automattic launches an AI writing assistant for WordPress Jun 08, 2023

Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com and the main contributor to the open-source WordPress project, launched an AI assistant for the popular content management system on Tuesday.

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Blush, the AI lover from the same team as Replika, is more than just a sexbot Jun 07, 2023

The team behind the AI friendship bot Replika is launching another AI companion — one that’s made to flirt.

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Apple Vision Pro: Here’s everything you need to know Jun 07, 2023

At its annual WWDC 2023 conference, Apple took the wraps off of the Vision Pro, its long-rumored augmented reality (AR) headset.

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Byju’s files suit challenging acceleration of $1.2B loan, seeks to disqualify Redwood for ‘predatory’ tactics Jun 06, 2023

Indian edtech giant Byju’s has filed a complaint in the New York Supreme Court to challenge the acceleration of the $1.2 billion term loan B and to disqualify Redwood, who it alleges has conducted a series of predatory tactics.

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As Deeptech and AI explodes, European Deeptech VC IQ Capital closes new $200M fund Jun 06, 2023

European Deeptech startups get another shot in the arm this week in the shape of IQ Capital’s new $200m venture fund. The new fund takes its assets under management to more than $1bn.

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YouTube rolls back its rules against election misinformation Jun 05, 2023

YouTube was the slowest major platform to disallow misinformation during the 2020 U.S. election and almost three years later, the company will toss that policy out altogether.

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NestAway, once valued at over $225 million, sells for $11 million Jun 05, 2023

PropTech firm Aurum is acquiring NestAway, a once high-flying Indian startup operating in the same space, for up to $10.9 million, in a deal that marks a near complete erosion in value for the startup’s investors.

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Shopify’s Shop app introduces a new ‘Shop Cash’ rewards program Jun 02, 2023

Shopify’s Shop app is introducing a new rewards program called Shop Cash, the e-commerce platform announced on Friday.

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Enzo Biochem says ransomware attack exposed clinical test data of 2.5 million patients Jun 02, 2023

Enzo Biochem, a New York-based biotechnology company, has confirmed that a ransomware attack exposed the clinical test information of almost 2.5 million patients.

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Legal tech firm Casepoint investigates breach after hackers claim theft of government data Jun 01, 2023

Casepoint says it’s investigating a potential cybersecurity incident after hackers claimed to have compromised the legal technology platform to steal terabytes of sensitive data.

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Flighty’s tool will help you connect with fellow WWDC attendees Jun 01, 2023

Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) is now just less than a week away. Many developer communities are already organizing watch parties across the world.

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Volvo’s new small EV tries to optimize space with Scandinavian design May 31, 2023

Volvo is continuing to drip-feed more information about its upcoming electric Volvo EX30 small SUV. Last week the automaker promised the new EV would have the smallest carbon footprint of any previously made Volvo vehicle.

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OpenAI’s ChatGPT iOS app now available in Canada, India, Brazil and 30 more countries May 31, 2023

OpenAI has expanded the availability of its ChatGPT app for iOS users in India and 32 other countries — just a week after its launching it in the U.S.

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Bernstein pegs Reliance as India’s eventual e-commerce kingpin May 30, 2023

The Indian conglomerate Reliance is poised to outpace Amazon and Walmart-backed Flipkart in the race for the country’s $150 billion e-commerce market

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Ford to bring Tesla’s charging tech into its future EVs May 30, 2023

Ford has reached an agreement with rival Tesla that will give owners of Ford’s EVs access to more than 12,000 Superchargers across the U.S. and Canada.

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Applied Intuition to buy autonomous trucking SPAC Embark for $71M May 29, 2023

Embark Trucks, the autonomous trucking company that recently cut 70% of its workforce, is being acquired by Applied Intuition, a simulation and software provider for autonomous vehicle development.

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Ambani’s Reliance targets Indian fashion e-commerce with low-cost model May 29, 2023

Reliance Industries, run by India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, is gearing up to deploy a winning strategy from its past playbook for the fashion market: low-cost products.

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Elon Musk says Tesla might ‘open source more code’ to other automakers May 26, 2023

Elon Musk suggested Thursday during a Twitter Spaces with Ford CEO Jim Farley that Tesla might open up some of its automotive operating system code to other automakers.

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Arc browser’s new tool lets you remove some elements from a website May 26, 2023

The Browser Company, the company behind the web browser Arc, introduced a fun new tool today called Boosts.

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The official ChatGPT app is now available in 11 more countries May 25, 2023

OpenAI has announced in a tweet that the official ChatGPT mobile app is now available in more countries.

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SoundCloud lays off 8% of staff as it aims to reach profitability this year May 25, 2023

Music streaming platform SoundCloud has laid off 8% of its staff according to multiple reports.

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Figure raises $70M to build its humanoid robots May 24, 2023

I spent a bit of time at Figure’s Sunnyvale offices during a recent visit to the South Bay.

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Proton launches family subscription plan for privacy app suite starting at $20 per month May 24, 2023

Privacy-centric software maker Proton has launched a new family plan starting at $19.99 (€19.99) per month, giving up to six family members access to its entire application suite.

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Former Apple engineer’s Mimestream app is a nifty Gmail client for Mac May 23, 2023

Former Apple engineer Neil Jhaveri has been working on an email app for Mac called Mimestream. It is now out of beta after a long test phase of more than two years.

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Meta ordered to suspend Facebook EU data flows as it’s hit with €1.2BN privacy fine May 23, 2023

It’s finally happened: Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, has been hit with a formal suspension order requiring it to stop exporting European Union user data to the US for processing.

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China bans Micron chips in key infrastructure over ‘national security’ risks May 22, 2023

China has banned some sales of Micron products after launching a probe into the American memory chip giant for cybersecurity risks in early April.

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Restaurant365 gobbles up $135M to supersize its software for the food service industry May 22, 2023

The price of food continues to go up and up, but surprisingly that hasn’t (yet?) played out as pressure on the wider restaurant industry.

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Apple releases iOS 16.5 with a new sports tab in Apple News May 19, 2023

Apple released iOS 16.5 Thursday to all users with a new sports tab in the Apple News app. The tab acts as a hub for scores, match schedules, and articles for your favorite sports teams.

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FTC says popular fertility tracking app Premom shared sensitive data with Chinese analytics firms May 19, 2023

A popular fertility tracking app shared users’ sensitive health information with third-party advertisers without their consent, a new Federal Trade Commission complaint alleges.

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1Password’s new service lets businesses quickly adopt passkeys May 18, 2023

Password manager 1Password today launched a new service, Passage by 1Password, that’s designed to allow businesses to build passkey authentication into their apps and websites without having to maintain their own security infrastructure.

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Disney+ changes up its release model, plans to launch all ‘Echo’ episodes at once May 18, 2023

President of Marvel Studios Kevin Fiege took to the Disney Upfront stage Tuesday to announce that Marvel’s new Disney+ show, “Echo,” is getting a binge release– a first for an MCU series.

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Amazon undercuts the Echo Dot with the $40 Echo Pop May 17, 2023

You know the old saying: If you don’t like Amazon Echo’s form factors, just wait a few minutes.

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Youth mental health startup Somethings launches with a $3.2M raise led by General Catalyst May 17, 2023

When he was 10 years old, Patrick Gilligan’s childhood struggle with food began.

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UK’s Space Forge debuts new reentry tech for in-space manufacturing satellites May 16, 2023

Welsh in-space manufacturing startup Space Forge has developed a satellite reentry system to enable rapid recovery and reuse of its in-space manufacturing spacecraft.

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US pharmacy giant says hackers accessed personal data of almost 6 million patients May 16, 2023

One of the largest pharmacy service providers in the United States has confirmed that hackers accessed the personal data of almost six million patients.

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Apple partner Foxconn to invest $500 million in India’s Telangana May 15, 2023

Foxconn will invest $500 million to set up manufacturing plants in the southern Indian state of Telangana, the latest in a series of bets from the key Apple contract partner as it expands its base in the South Asian market.

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Toyota Japan exposed data on millions of vehicles for a decade May 15, 2023

Toyota Japan has apologized after admitting to leaving millions of customers’ vehicle details on the public internet for a decade.

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TikTok turns up on the volume on its music play with NewMusic search feature May 12, 2023

TikTok has upended how music is discovered, used and consumed these days; now, its long-term effort to build a business around that is getting a boost.

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Pinterest is combining Pins and Idea Pins into a single format May 12, 2023

As Pinterest further shifts its focus to video content following the development of its video-focused Idea Pins, the company says it will now streamline its tools for all Pin formats into one creation flow.

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Study says App Store revenue of small developers grew by 71% in last two years May 11, 2023

Apple just released findings from an independent study, which highlighted that the revenue of small developers on the App Store grew by 71% from 2020 to 2022.

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Clearview fined again in France for failing to comply with privacy orders May 11, 2023

Clearview AI, the US startup that’s attracted notoriety in recent years for a massive privacy violation after it scraped selfies off the Internet and used people’s data to build a facial recognition tool it pitched to law enforcement and others, has been hit with another fine in France.

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Vast and SpaceX aim to put the first commercial space station in orbit in 2025 May 10, 2023

Artificial gravity space station startup Vast announced that it intends to put the first commercial space station in orbit in August 2025 via launch partner SpaceX.

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UK greenlights $7.3B merger between satellite rivals Viasat and Inmarsat May 10, 2023

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has officially greenlighted the proposed $7.3 billion merger between Viasat and Inmarsat.

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Porsche taps Mobileye for automated driving functions in future models May 09, 2023

Porsche has partnered with Mobileye, the autonomous driving unit that Intel spun out into a public company last year, to bring hands-free automated assistance and navigation functions to future sports cars, the companies said Tuesday.

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Western Digital tells customers that hackers stole their data May 09, 2023

On Friday, a month after the company revealed it had been the victim of a data breach, Western Digital published an update on the incident and notified customers that their data was stolen.

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Virgin Galactic aims for triumphant return with crewed flight at the end of May May 08, 2023

Virgin Galactic will return to the skies later this month, in a crewed mission that the company hopes will bring to an end the nearly three-year gap since its first and only crewed flight in July 2021.

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Security researcher finds trove of Capita data exposed online May 08, 2023

London-based outsourcing giant Capita left a trove of data exposed online for 7 years.

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Samsung surpasses Apple in smartphone shipments by 1% amid persisting market decline May 05, 2023

Samsung overtook Apple through a slender 1% lead to secure the top spot in smartphone shipment volumes during the first quarter of 2023.

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Japan’s biggest drone maker sets its sights on the US May 05, 2023

This week, ten-year-old drone company ACSL announced plans to enter the U.S. commercial drone market.

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Ransomware attack forces Dallas to shut down courts, disrupt some 911 services May 04, 2023

The City of Dallas in Texas has confirmed a ransomware attack has downed key services, including 911 dispatch systems.

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Roku touts its new ad products, including an AI that matches campaigns to TV moments May 04, 2023

In Roku’s recent quarter, the company posted better-than-expected revenue of $741 million, but worried investors with its warning of an uncertain ad market and declining average revenue per user.

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Airbnb’s average home prices have gone up, so now it’s refocusing on rooms to give users more affordable alternatives May 03, 2023

Airbnb started out of an idea of renting out spare beds and rooms in private homes to people as an affordable alternative to hotels.

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Mixpanel moves into marketing data with its latest product May 03, 2023

Traditionally, Mixpanel has provided information about product usage to product teams.

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Box is partnering with OpenAI to bring generative AI tools across the platform May 02, 2023

We’ve seen a number of enterprise software companies making announcements related to generative AI in the last six weeks from established companies like Salesforce and Adobe to startups like Ada and Forethought.

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SpaceX’s Starship didn’t self-destruct immediately as planned during test launch May 01, 2023

SpaceX’s recent Starship test flight, the first during which it flew with its Super Heavy orbital booster, was a bit more of a mess than it even appeared when it ended with a large explosion.

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Brave Search doesn’t use Bing’s index anymore May 01, 2023

Brave just announced that it is now exclusively using its own index for its search engine. In other words, it doesn’t rely on third-party solutions like Bing anymore.

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Reddit is testing Discord-like channels for community chat Apr 28, 2023

Reddit announced Thursday that it is testing Discord-like chat channels with select subreddits.

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Energy Dome gets $44M uplift into its CO2 battery for renewable energy storage Apr 28, 2023

Italian climate startup Energy Dome, which has developed a “CO2 Battery” for storing renewable energy, has closed a €40 million.

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NBCUniversal reports higher Peacock losses as it shows CEO the door Apr 27, 2023

Peacock losses continue to widen this quarter, NBCUniversal parent company Comcast reported Thursday, just days after the company announced that Jeff Shell’s time as NBCU CEO was up.

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Smile Identity expands African footprint with acquisition of Appruve to strengthen ID verification services Apr 27, 2023

Smile Identity, a KYC compliance and ID verification partner for many African fintechs and businesses, has acquired Inclusive Innovations, the parent company of Appruve, a Ghanaian developer of identity verification software.

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UK blocks Microsoft’s planned $68.7B Activision bid, saying it would ‘substantially weaken competition’ Apr 26, 2023

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority has confirmed that it intends to block Microsoft’s megabucks Activision acquisition, concluding that such a merger would create “…the most powerful operator” in the cloud gaming market.

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With $20M in new funding, Hydrosat preps climate-monitoring satellites for launch Apr 26, 2023

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Spotify passes 500M users, but its premium-to-free ratio is falling Apr 25, 2023

Spotify now has 515 million monthly active users (MAUs), representing a 5% increase on the previous quarter and 22% increase on the corresponding period last year.

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Apigee rolls out new AI-powered API protection features Apr 25, 2023

Timed to coincide with the annual RSA cybersecurity conference, Google Cloud announced updates to Apigee, its API management and predictive analytics service, designed to help prevent business logic attacks.

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Volvo Cars Tech Fund invests in driver monitoring startup CorrActions Apr 24, 2023

CorrActions, an Israeli startup that, among other things, built a driver monitoring system that can understand a driver’s cognitive state, today announced that it has raised a strategic investment from Volvo Cars Tech Fund.

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The IRS is sending four investigators across the world to fight cybercrime Apr 24, 2023

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) plans to send four agents who specialize in investigating cybercrime to Australia, Singapore, Colombia, and Germany starting this summer.

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Twitter seemingly now requires all advertisers to have a verified checkmark Apr 21, 2023

As Twitter’s legacy blue check mark system finally comes to an end, the social network’s new paid-for verification system is causing more than a little chaos, with CEO Elon Musk himself stepping in to pay for some celebrities’ verification when they refuse to do so.

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Uber and Cartken are bringing sidewalk delivery robots to Virginia Apr 21, 2023

Uber is expanding its partnership with sidewalk delivery robot startup Cartken to Fairfax, Virginia.

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Outsourcing giant Capita fears customer data stolen during ransomware attack Apr 20, 2023

Capita, the British outsourcing company that provides critical services for the U.K. government, says hackers may have accessed customer data during a cyberattack last month.

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Salesforce is working on a pair of new generative AI-driven workflow tools Apr 20, 2023

One of the promises of generative AI is the ability to create code based on a written request.

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Ditto raises $45M to help companies keep their data in sync Apr 19, 2023

Many apps today assume that data lives in only one location, typically a single cloud database. But the reality is more complex.

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Alaska Airlines does away with check-in kiosks Apr 19, 2023

Alaska Airlines recently started a 3-year, $2.5 billion project to improve the airport experience at its hubs and focus cities like Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

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Apple’s high security mode blocked NSO spyware, researchers say Apr 18, 2023

Last year, Apple launched a new feature for iPhone users who are worried about getting targeted with sophisticated spyware, such as journalists or human rights defenders.

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Mercedes debuts the Maybach EQS SUV with more power, range, and luxury Apr 18, 2023

I can’t get over the huge faux grill. Mercedes today revealed the Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV, an electric SUV built on its excellent EQS SUV.

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Adobe brings Firefly to its video tools Apr 17, 2023

A month ago, Adobe announced Firefly, its entry into the generative AI game. Initially, Firefly’s focus was on generating commercially safe images, but the company is now pushing its technology beyond still images.

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Spotify is shutting down Heardle, the Wordle-like music guessing game it bought last year Apr 17, 2023

Spotify is closing down Heardle, the Wordle-inspired music guessing game it acquired last July for an undisclosed sum.

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Twitter introduces 10,000 character long tweets for Blue subscribers Apr 14, 2023

Twitter has introduced a new feature that will let Blue subscribers post 10,000-character-long posts — as if the social network is trying to compete with a rival newsletter platform.

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Twitter partners with eToro to show real-time stock and crypto information Apr 14, 2023

Twitter has partnered with the investment platform eToro to show real-time information about stocks and crypto prices.

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LMS365, a learning management system built into Microsoft 365 and Teams, raises $20M Apr 13, 2023

Danish company LMS365, an online learning management system (LMS) built for use inside Microsoft products, has raised $20 million in its first institutional round of funding.

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Truecaller brings live caller ID to iPhone… but with a catch Apr 13, 2023

Truecaller has been a known name in the app market globally — thanks to its eponymous caller-identification service.

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Strava launches integration with Spotify to let users listen to content while tracking activities Apr 12, 2023

Strava, the activity tracking and social community platform used by more than 100 million people globally, has announced a new in-app integration with Spotify.

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‘Drink to dust’: Startup says just smash its clay alternative to plastic cups Apr 12, 2023

Disposable plastic and paper cups are an environmental mess. GaeaStar, a startup based in Berlin and San Francisco, thinks it can do better with just clay, water, salt and sand.

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Ex-Twitter CEO Agrawal, other execs sue firm over unpaid legal bills Apr 11, 2023

Former Twitter employees, including ex-CEO Parag Agrawal, ex-legal head Vijaya Gadde, and ex-CFO Ned Segal, have sued the social network over alleged unpaid legal reimbursements.

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Twitter is now resurfacing official Russian accounts in search results Apr 11, 2023

A year after Twitter restricted the Russian government accounts on its platform, the social network appears to have removed those blockings.

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Cruise recalls 300 robotaxis, issues software update after crashing into city bus Apr 10, 2023

GM’s self-driving unit Cruise filed with federal regulators a voluntary recall to update the software in 300 robotaxis after one struck the back of a city bus in San Francisco.

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Samsung cuts memory chip production as it hits worst quarterly profit since 2009 Apr 10, 2023

Samsung Electronics plans to cut back memory chip production as its operating profit in the first quarter of 2023 is expected to plummet about 96% from the previous year. This will be the lowest profit posted by the South Korean tech giant since 1Q 2009.

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T-Mobile to provide free MLB.TV subscriptions to customers through 2028 Apr 07, 2023

T-Mobile announced today that it has extended its partnership with Major League Baseball to allow its customers to continue receiving free MLB.TV subscriptions through 2028.

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Legal powerhouse Proskauer exposed clients’ confidential M&A data Apr 07, 2023

A security lapse saw Proskauer Rose, an international law firm headquartered in New York City, expose sensitive client data for more than six months, TechCrunch has learned.

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Nestle takes a big swig of Yfood in a deal that values the meal replacement startup at $469M Apr 06, 2023

Yfood, one of the direct-to-consumer food tech startups that has emerged over the last decade around the concept of meal replacement drinks, is bulking up.

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Cranium launches out of KPMG’s venture studio to tackle AI security Apr 06, 2023

Several years ago, Jonathan Dambrot, a partner at KPMG, was helping customers deploy and develop AI systems when he started to notice certain gaps in compliance and security.

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FBI seizes Genesis Market, a notorious hacker marketplace for stolen logins Apr 05, 2023

U.S. law enforcement agencies have seized Genesis Market, a notorious hacker marketplace used to acquire compromised credentials and digital browser fingerprints.

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Dozer exits stealth to help any developer build real-time data apps ‘in minutes’ Apr 05, 2023

Data has emerged as one of the world’s greatest resources, underpinning everything from video-recommendation engines and digital banking, to the burgeoning AI revolution.

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Zealy is an achievement system for web3 communities Apr 04, 2023

Meet Zealy, a French startup that you may already know under the name Crew3.

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Nintendo and mobile games company DeNA launch Nintendo Systems Apr 04, 2023

Back in November, Nintendo and app developer DeNA announced its joint venture company called Nintendo Systems, which is meant to help reinforce Nintendo’s business and “create value-added services,” according to Nintendo’s Japanese website.

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Rivian sticks to 2023 production goal for EVs despite quarterly dip Apr 03, 2023

EV automaker Rivian said Monday it produced 9,395 vehicles at its factory in Normal, Illinois in the first quarter, lower than the previous period but still on track to hit its 50,000 production goal for the year.

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Read’s AI-powered summary feature squeezes a meeting into a two-minute clip Apr 03, 2023

Summarization is one of the common use cases of different AI models. Multiple tools have come up with a summarization of articles, PDFs, videos, and transcripts.

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Italy orders ChatGPT blocked citing data protection concerns Mar 31, 2023

Two days after an open letter called for a moratorium on more powerful generative AI models being developed so regulators can catch up with the likes of ChatGPT, Italy’s data protection authority has just put out a timely reminder that some countries do have laws that already apply to cutting edge AI.

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P97 fills up its tank with $40M to fuel its gas station mobile commerce services Mar 31, 2023

The rising prices for gas continue to be a headache and stress for a lot of people around the world, but it underscores something more besides the cost of living becoming increasingly untenable: Cars are a central part of modern life.

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Roku announces a second set of layoffs impacting 200 employees Mar 30, 2023

Roku is the latest tech company to announce a second round of layoffs with today’s news that it’s letting go of 6% of its workforce, or around 200 employees.

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Hygraph raises $30M to scale out a new, federated approach to managing digital content Mar 30, 2023

Digital content and how we consume it continue to endlessly evolve, and with that, so too does the tech that helps manage all of it behind the scenes.

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Google to roll out new extreme heat alerts in Search soon Mar 29, 2023

Google is introducing new extreme heat alerts in Search that are designed to surface information to help people stay safe during heat waves, the company announced on Tuesday.

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Turntable LIVE (née tt.fm) raises $7M ahead of public launch Mar 29, 2023

The Turntable wars were one of the more fascinating stories to emerge in 2021 startup land (though I suspect those involved might dispute the matter).

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Amazon opens its low-bandwidth, long-range Sidewalk network to developers Mar 28, 2023

Back in 2019, Amazon announced Sidewalk, its low-bandwidth, long-range wireless network that uses the 900 MHz spectrum to connect Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

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Apple acquired a startup using AI to compress videos Mar 28, 2023

Apple has quietly acquired a Mountain View-based startup, WaveOne, that was developing AI algorithms for compressing video.

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France bans recreational apps like TikTok on government devices Mar 27, 2023

France is the latest country that is taking steps to ban TikTok from government-managed devices.

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Huupe, a ‘smart’ basketball hoop startup, raises its game with $11M Mar 27, 2023

Basketball can be played just about anywhere and by anyone in the U.S. and now many other parts of the world, thanks to a confluence of factors that lower a lot of barriers.

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Ford to build next-gen EV truck at $5.6B factory in 2025 Mar 24, 2023

Ford said Friday that its $5.6 billion BlueOval City complex outside of Memphis, Tennessee will include a truck plant capable of producing 500,000 electric vehicles a year.

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DoorDash is adding three new retail partners and updating its shopping features Mar 24, 2023

DoorDash is adding three new retail partners and updating its shopping features, the company announced on Thursday.

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Ford expects EV business unit to lose $3B this year, hit profitability in 2026 Mar 23, 2023

Any question of what business sector is — and is not — profitable at Ford is no longer a mystery.

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CodiumAI is using generative AI to help developers build code logic tests automatically Mar 23, 2023

Over his two decades of experience in the tech industry, CodiumAI co-founder and CEO Itmar Friedman has personally experienced the pain of building test suites to check his code logic.

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Ubisoft’s new AI tool automatically generates dialogue for non-playable game characters Mar 22, 2023

Ubisoft, the developer behind popular games like Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry, announced that it’s using an AI “Ghostwriter” tool to write dialogue for some of its games with the aim of keeping NPCs (non-playable characters) individually interesting and realistic with less manual work.

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IPRally, a patent search engine powered by explainable AI, raises $10.8M Mar 22, 2023

IPRally, a Finnish startup building a knowledge graph-based patent search engine, has raised €10 million ($10.8 million) in a Series A round of funding.

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Ferrari says ransomware attack exposed customers’ personal data Mar 21, 2023

Italian supercar manufacturer Ferrari has confirmed it was hit by a ransomware attack that exposed customers’ personal information.

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Foiled again: Candela raises another $20M to set course for the future of ferries Mar 21, 2023

Swedish company Candela will launch its 30-passenger commercial hydrofoil shuttle, the P-12, this summer — the vessel it believes will change the course of motorized water transport.

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Microsoft banks on regulations to build a mobile games store Mar 20, 2023

Apple and Google have had a stronghold on mobile app distribution through their app store.

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FCC proposes satellite-to-phone rules to eliminate ‘no signal’ once and for all Mar 20, 2023

The FCC has officially proposed, and voted unanimously to move forward with, a framework under which satellites can communicate directly with smartphones in a structured and useful way.

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Google warns users to take action to protect against remotely exploitable flaws in popular Android phones Mar 17, 2023

Google’s security research unit is sounding the alarm on a set of vulnerabilities it found in certain Samsung chips included in dozens of Android models, wearables and vehicles, fearing the flaws could be soon discovered and exploited.

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MLOps platform Seldon raises £20M Series B to improve the productions of AI models Mar 17, 2023

The rise of ChatGPTÂ has fuelled growth in the public awareness of AI, as well as the growing discourse around AI ethics.

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The Climate Choice wants to make supply chain emissions more visible and more green Mar 16, 2023

The World Economic Forum says that so-called ‘Scope 3 emissions,’ – or CO2 in supply chainsÂ – can make up as much as 90% of a company’s carbon footprint and worldwide more than half of all emissions can be traced back to only a handful of supply chains.

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Waze is making it easier for EV owners to find compatible charging points Mar 16, 2023

Google-owned mapping app Waze is adding a new feature that seeks to help EV owners find a compatible charger en route.

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Torch is building solar-powered outdoor sensors to spot wildfires early Mar 15, 2023

The Nest Protect is the single best piece of smart home hardware I’ve ever purchased. Not everything in your home would benefit from being connected, but smoke detectors really do.

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Firefox extends its anti-tracking protection to Android Mar 15, 2023

Firefox announced today that its Total Cookie Protection (TCP) feature that protects users from trackers is now available on Android.

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Google goes all-in on bringing AI to Workspace Mar 14, 2023

Google and Microsoft are locked in a head-to-head competition to bring as much generative AI to their productivity services as possible. Only days ahead of Microsoft’s “Future of Work” event, Google today announced a sweeping update to Workspace that will bring its generative AI models to virtually every part of its productivity suite, in addition […]
Google goes all-in on bringing AI to Workspace by Frederic Lardinois originally published on TechCrunch

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Founder of troubled crypto asset unicorn Babel launches new DeFi project, stablecoin Mar 14, 2023

Flex Yang, the former CEO and founder of Babel Finance, is leading efforts to restructure the now embattled crypto asset unicorn while introducing a new decentralized project with hopes to avoid some of the flaws of his previous venture.

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Naspers shuts down Foundry, its $100M fund focused on South African startups Mar 13, 2023

Naspers, Africa’s most valuable tech company by market capitalization, has winded down the operations of its R1.4 billion (â‰ˆ$100 million) South Africa-focused venture capital fund Naspers Foundry, according to local news outlet BusinessDay.

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PeopleGrove security lapse exposed users’ personal information Mar 13, 2023

PeopleGrove confirmed Thursday that it’s investigating after a security lapse exposed users’ personal information online.

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Apple could reportedly release a HomePod with a display Mar 10, 2023

According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple could be working on a new HomePod device that would feature a built-in display for 2024.

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Wing likens its drone ‘delivery network’ to rideshare Mar 10, 2023

Drone delivery is one of those ideas that’s been sold as “the next big thing” forever.

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Crypto-friendly bank Silvergate to wind down after FTX blow-up Mar 09, 2023

Silvergate Capital Corporation, the holding company of crypto-focused Silvergate Bank, announced Wednesday its intent to wind down operations and voluntarily liquidate the banking unit.

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Forethought aims to build more accurate chatbots with constrained generative AI models Mar 09, 2023

Forethought has been building chatbots since 2017 with increasing levels of sophistication, intelligence and automation.

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With Project Clover, TikTok touts new EU data privacy and security efforts Mar 08, 2023

TikTok is doubling down on its European charm offensive today as it looks to counter a rising tide of political discontent with the popular short-form video-hosting platform.

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Online food delivery platforms in Kenya under probe Mar 08, 2023

The competition regulator in Kenya is probing the conduct of online food delivery and groceries platforms to inform its suggestions on regulatory and policy options, to bolster healthy competition, and enforcement of consumer protection.

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Tensor raises $3M for Solana-focused NFT trading platform Mar 07, 2023

Tensor, a Solana-centric NFT trading platform, has raised $3 million in a seed round led by Placeholder, the team exclusively shared with TechCrunch.

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Police arrest suspected members of prolific DoppelPaymer ransomware gang Mar 07, 2023

An international law enforcement operation has led to the arrests of suspected core members of the prolific DoppelPaymer ransomware operation.

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Tesla slashes prices for Model S and Model Y in US Mar 06, 2023

Tesla has cut the prices of its Model S sedan and Model X SUV in the U.S., according to the company’s website. This is the second time this year that Tesla has slashed prices, and it might be a bid to boost sales before the end of the quarter

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Twitter Blue expands to more than 20 countries Mar 06, 2023

Twitter’s paid plan Twitter Blue is now available to more than 20 new countries in Europe.

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Secret Service and ICE conducted warrantless stingray surveillance, says watchdog Mar 03, 2023

A government watchdog has found that the Secret Service and ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit repeatedly failed to obtain the correct legal paperwork when carrying out invasive cell phone surveillance.

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Renovate is building robots to install roof shingles Mar 03, 2023

Roofing isn’t a glamorous job. In fact, one could reasonably argue that it checks off the classic three Ds of automation — dull, dirty and dangerous — with aplomb.

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Big Tech on notice as regulators in Africa group to investigate their market conduct Mar 02, 2023

Several competition watchdogs in Africa plan to collectively interrogate the market conduct of global digital firms, putting big techs like Google and Meta, which have faced investigations and remedial action in other jurisdictions, on alert.

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VW’s software unit Cariad launches app store to bring Spotify, Tiktok and hundreds more to vehicles Mar 02, 2023

Dozens of apps including Spotify, Amazon Music, Tiktok and gaming hubs Vector Unit and FRVR are headed to VW Group brands, beginning with Audi thanks to a new app store launched by its software subsidiary Cariad.

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TikTok rolls out new screen time controls, adds new default settings for teens and expands Family Pairing Mar 01, 2023

TikTok announced today that it’s introducing new well-being features for teens, families and its broader community.

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OnePlus’ first foldable will arrive in the second half of the year Mar 01, 2023

The OnePlus that was founded in 2013 was a cautious company, deliberate in its release schedule.

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Meta says it is experimenting with AI-powered chat on WhatsApp and Messenger Feb 28, 2023

No company is immune from the generative AI wave, and everybody wants in. Meta is the latest entrant in testing AI-powered tools for its products.

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CollX raises $5.5M to scan and evaluate value of trading cards Feb 28, 2023

Card collectors often dispute how much their cards are worth. New Jersey-based CollX provides a free iOS and Android app to card enthusiasts that allows them to scan their trading cards and get value in return.

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Planet Computers hits the desktop with a line of touchscreen Linux computers Feb 27, 2023

Planet Computers turned heads when it arrived on the scene almost exactly five years ago.

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Sono Motors has killed off its Sion EV in a pivot to solar tech business Feb 27, 2023

Sono Motors is ending its long-awaited electric car program and instead pivoting to a business that aims to sell its solar vehicle technology to other companies.

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DOJ suit could represent significant stumbling block for $20B Adobe-Figma deal Feb 25, 2023

The DOJ is reportedly getting ready to file suit to block the $20 billion Adobe-Figma deal announced last year on the grounds it is anti-competitive.

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NBA Top Shot creator to face lawsuit around securities status Feb 24, 2023

Dapper Labs, the company behind many popular NFT collectible projects, will face a lawsuit accusing it of selling unregistered securities.

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Spotify is testing playlists that could be unlocked by NFT holders Feb 23, 2023

Unlocking exclusive access has been a long-held promise of a lot of NFT-based communities. And now, Spotify is helping some of them realize that claim with token-gated playlists.

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Google Cloud partners with Tezos blockchain to bring web3 technology to its customers Feb 23, 2023

Google Cloud has partnered with the Tezos Foundation to grow its web3 application development and provide new services for its customers, the companies announced on Wednesday.

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Amazon Fire TV devices can now directly stream audio to Cochlear hearing implants Feb 22, 2023

Amazon teamed up with hearing implant company Cochlear to launch Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids (ASHA) support to compatible Cochlear devices, the company announced today.

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Kempus wants to be the ultimate app for sharing college hacks Feb 22, 2023

Remember poring over reviews on Rate My Professors to find out which prof is good-looking and who gives easy As?

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Agtech startup Green Labs is the latest Korean startup to lay off employees Feb 21, 2023

Green Labs, a South Korean agtech startup that raised $140 million (170 billion won) Series C in January last year, is cutting a significant number of jobs.

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Quell’s gamified home fitness tech drums up $10M Feb 21, 2023

Home fitness had a huge moment at the outset of the pandemic — and understandably so. People were stuck at home, gyms closed and suddenly workout options seemed to dramatically decrease.

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Japan’s central bank to pilot digital currency starting in April Feb 20, 2023

Japan is joining a growing list of countries exploring the possibility of adopting a digital currency, with country’s central bank, the Bank of Japan (BoJ), announcing that it would launch a pilot to test a “digital yen” in April.Â

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Binance-backed web3 gaming startup Unagi gets funding to expand fantasy sports platform Feb 20, 2023

Web3 gaming company Unagi today announced a €4.7 million ($5 million) seed round of funding, as the French startup prepares to expand its NFT fantasy sports platform beyond football (“soccer”) and into the basketball realm.

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Autonomous cargo drone airline Dronamics reveals it’s raised $40M, pre-Series A Feb 17, 2023

Autonomous aircraft have long been thought of as having the most potential, though not in the realm of glitzy people-carrying drones so much as the more sedate world of cargo.

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Former Amazon, Starbucks exec launches Yelp-like platform to review and discover NFTs Feb 17, 2023

Amid signs of life in the NFT market, an NFT-focused startup, Thred, launched today to help users discover new collections.

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Micro-EV subscription startup Dance pulls in another €12M from existing investors Feb 16, 2023

Micro-EV subscription startup Dance, which launched in 2020, has raised an additional €12 million in an equity and debt round led by existing investors HV Capital, Eurazeo and BlueYard.

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Sequoia-backed Bento wants be more than a link-in-bio tool for creators Feb 16, 2023

There are as many link-in-bio tools available for creators as the number of links they typically display on their pages.

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Google rolls out new features to make in-app browsers better on Android Feb 15, 2023

In-app browsers are usually not the best way to consume content in an app. In fact, Android developers have been usingÂ the Chrome custom tabs features to fine-tune the experience.

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Monad Labs raises $19M to grow its smart contract platform and improve the Ethereum space Feb 15, 2023

Monad Labs, the team supporting the Monad blockchain, has raised $19 million in seed funding led by Dragonfly Capital, it exclusively told TechCrunch.

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Joby flies towards 2025 commercial launch with final assembly of eVTOL Feb 14, 2023

Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) company Joby Aviation has taken another step on its path to start a commercial air taxi service by 2025.

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Two-year-old Zeekr raises $750M at $13B valuation Feb 14, 2023

At a time when venture capital funding is slowing in China, EV is one of the few sectors that are still keeping investors excited.

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Dockhunt is a new way to discover Mac apps by looking at other people’s docks Feb 13, 2023

App Store might suggest you a useful app from time to time, but you can’t rely on that to discover new apps. P

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Otonomo, the mobility data business valued at $1.4B in 2021 SPAC IPO, acquired by Urgent.ly as market cap dips to $70M Feb 13, 2023

Otonomo, connected automotive company that has seen its stock price plummet since going public in 2021, has announced that it is coming together with Urgent.ly, a roadside assistance tech provider, in a reverse merger.

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Reddit says hackers accessed internal data following employee phishing attack Feb 10, 2023

Reddit has confirmed hackers accessed internal documents and source code following a “highly-targeted” phishing attack.

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DJI’s Mini 2 SE ultraportable drone takes to the skies Feb 10, 2023

It’s a couple of years since DJI first launched its Mavic Mini, and last year it brought the Mini 3 Pro. It’s utterly confusing why the current drone is called the Mini 2 SE, but in any case, it’s the newest flying creature in the hovering menagerie that is the DJI line-up.

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DoorDash introduces new safety features for riders including reduced notifications Feb 09, 2023

Delivery company DoorDash is introducing new features for riders including reduced notifications, a request for customers to not text them while they are on a trip, and messaging promoting one-tap replies.

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IBM acquires GraphQL startup StepZen to step up its game in API management Feb 09, 2023

GraphQL, developed internally at Facebook to help developers with API management before getting rolled out as an open-source query language in 2015, has gained traction as an alternative (or complement) to REST and other tools.

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Russian ‘WhisperGate’ hackers are using new data-stealing malware to target Ukraine Feb 08, 2023

Security researchers say they have recently observed a Russian hacking crew, who were behind the destructive WhisperGate malware cyberattacks, targeting Ukrainian entities with a new information-stealing malware.

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Zenly co-founder returns with new social app company, Amo Feb 08, 2023

Last year, Snap shut down Zenly, a popular social mapping app it acquired for over $200 million in 2017, despite the fact that Zenly still had 40 million active users and growing.

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WhatsApp lets users put voice notes as status updates Feb 07, 2023

WhatsApp Status, the feature that was introduced in 2017 as the company’s take on Snapchat Stories, has received a number of updates to make it more attractive and appealing to users.

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More job cuts loom as Sendy changes course in Nigeria Feb 07, 2023

In October last year, Sendy, a Kenyan logistics scale-up, wound up its supplies service, which enabled retailers to purchase FMCGs directly from manufacturers, saying it was directing all its focus on its end-to-end fulfillment offering.

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Simple HealthKit is taking on health equity with at-home diagnostics, treatment Feb 06, 2023

Simple HealthKit provides at-home and in-clinic diagnostics, performs its own testing and telehealth services and works with pharmacy partners for treatment and follow-up care.

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Hackers exploiting two-year-old VMware flaw to launch large-scale ransomware campaign Feb 06, 2023

Cyber-criminals are actively exploiting a two-year-old VMware vulnerability as part of a ransomware campaign targeting thousands of organizations worldwide.

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Apple says it now has 935 million paid subscriptions Feb 03, 2023

Apple had a rare quarter where it missed its revenue target due to problems in the supply chain and manufacturing.

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As the bee population declines, this startup secures $8M to apply AI and EVs to pollination Feb 03, 2023

Given our general reliance on something called “food” you’d think the issue of pollination – and its general decline – might be higher up the world’s agenda.

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Twitter to end free access to its API Feb 02, 2023

Twitter will discontinue offering free access to the Twitter API starting February 9 and will make a paid version available, the Elon Musk-owned microblogging website said as it looks for more avenues to monetize the platform.Â

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Snapchat now has more than 2 million paid subscribers Feb 02, 2023

Snapchat has more than 2 million paid subscribers on its Snapchat+ program, the company said during its latest earnings report.

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Twitter discontinues CoTweets, says will debut text attachments next week Feb 01, 2023

Twitter announced Tuesday that it is discontinuing CoTweeting, a feature that let two users co-author a tweet. The company said that the feature will immediately cease to exist.

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Identity management platform Saviynt secures $205M in debt, appoints new CEO Feb 01, 2023

Showing that there’s real investor enthusiasm for identity management platforms, Saviynt, which enables companies to secure apps, data and infrastructure in a single platform, today announced that it raised $205 million in debt from AB Private Credit Investors’ Tech Capital Solutions group.

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Groupon cuts another 500 employees in the second round of layoffs Jan 31, 2023

Groupon has laid off another 500 employees in a measure to cut costs, the company said in an SEC filing last week.

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Eazy Digital helps Southeast Asia’s small insurers digitize their operations Jan 31, 2023

Founded by two insurance industry veterans, Eazy Digital wants to give small insurance companies in Southeast Asia the same advantage as their larger competitors.

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NASA’s ‘Mega Moon Rocket’ aced first flight and is ready for crewed Artemis II launch Jan 30, 2023

The enormous Space Launch System passed its first test with flying colors, NASA’s preliminary analysis concludes, and the rocket and Orion capsule are good to go for their next mission.

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Hands on with Walmart’s new (but buggy) ‘Text to Shop’ feature Jan 30, 2023

Walmart recently introduced a new way to shop: via text.

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Chrome for Android now lets you lock your incognito session Jan 27, 2023

Chrome is rolling out an update for Android users that lets them lock their incognito sessions with a password code or biometric info when they exit the app.

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Hawk AI, an anti-money laundering and fraud prevention platform for banks, raises $17M Jan 27, 2023

Hawk AI, a German company developing anti-money laundering (AML) and tangential fraud prevention smarts for financial institutions, has raised $17 million in a Series B round of funding.

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GitHub says it now has 100M active users Jan 26, 2023

Code-hosting platform GitHub has announced that 100 million developers are now using the platform.

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After inking its OpenAI deal, Shutterstock rolls out a generative AI toolkit to create images based on text prompts Jan 26, 2023

When Shutterstock and OpenAI announced a partnership to help develop OpenAI’s Dall-E 2 artificial intelligence image-generating platform with Shutterstock libraries to train and feed the algorithm, the stock photo and media giant also hinted that it would soon be bringing its own generative AI tools to users.

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Twitter won’t force you to the ‘For You’ timeline on web anymore Jan 25, 2023

In another flip-flop move, Twitter says that it will now remember the feed — the algorithmic “For You” or chronological “Following” — its users have chosen on the web.

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Zillow introduces Calendly-like instant booking for rental property tours Jan 25, 2023

Real estate marketplace Zillow has introduced an instant tour booking feature for renters on its platform.

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Forward Networks raises $50M for digital twin technology to help model, manage and secure complex enterprise networks Jan 24, 2023

Digital twins — virtual representations of actual systems — have become an important component in how engineers and analysts build, visualize and operate AI projects, network security, and other complicated architectures.

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Zenfi takes in new funding to bring Mexicans some financial peace Jan 24, 2023

Luis Rubén Chávez, founder and CEO of Zenfi: "If Credit Karma, SoFi, Marcus and Copilot Money had a kid, it would be us.”

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Spotify cuts 6% of its workforce, impacting 600 people Jan 23, 2023

Music streaming service Spotify has announced that it will be conducting a round of layoffs that will impact around 6% of its global workforce.

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GM, please build the baby EV pickup of my dreams Jan 23, 2023

In an industry obsessed with making everything huge (at least here in the U.S.), you may not’ve expected GM to show interest in an electric baby pickup, but here we are. GM is considering a pickup design that’s “smaller than the Ford Maverick and the Hyundai Santa Cruz,” with a “low roofline” and a 4 […]
GM, please build the baby EV pickup of my dreams by Harri Weber originally published on TechCrunch

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Smores is a music discovery app with a TikTok-like feed Jan 20, 2023

Music streaming platforms all claim to use both artificial intelligence and manual curation to find new songs from emerging artists.

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Zitti soaks up some funding sauce so restaurants can manage their food supply chain Jan 19, 2023

Zitti's payment software platform streamlines the transaction between restaurants and food suppliers through payment, price comparison and vendor discoverability tools.

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Cumul.io, a low-code embedded analytics platform for SaaS companies, raises $10.8M Jan 19, 2023

Cumul.io, the company behind a low-code business intelligence (BI) analytics platform for software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies, has raised €10 million ($10.8 million) in a Series A round of funding.

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Uber, Bolt drivers hope for increased earnings foiled as Tanzania reinstates 25% commission Jan 18, 2023

Barely a year after Tanzania capped the commissions that e-hailing firms like Uber and Bolt charge their partners at 15%, the authority in charge has backtracked on the order, taking away drivers’ prospects of increased earnings.

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Wristcheck wants to make used luxury watches more affordable Jan 18, 2023

In an age when almost everything can be bought online, watch resale is done in a surprisingly archaic way, namely, face-to-face with little price transparency.

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The Edit LDN raises seed round to serve sneakerheads around the world Jan 17, 2023

Before founding The Edit LDN, Moses Rashid frequented sneaker festivals and exhibitions to buy limited edition shoes.

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Twitter’s third-party client issue is seemingly a deliberate suspension Jan 17, 2023

Last Friday, a ton of popular Twitter clients including Tweetbot, Twitterrific, and Echofon were down. Users couldn’t log into their accounts or look at their timelines.

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Paris to hold vote on shared scooters Jan 16, 2023

This weekend, Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo told Le Parisien that Parisians will get to vote whether they want to ban free-floating electric scooters or not.

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Crypto.com cuts 20% jobs amid ‘unforeseeable’ industry events Jan 16, 2023

Crypto exchange Crypto.com is cutting its global workforce by 20%, it said on Friday, as it navigates ongoing economic headwinds and “unforeseeable” industry events.

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Third-party Twitter apps are facing issues, users say Jan 13, 2023

People using third-party Twitter clients are facing a number of issues including unable to log in and access Twitter feeds. Tweetbot, Echofon, and Twitterrific, three popular third-party Twitter apps, confirmed the issues and noted that they are not sure what has triggered the glitch.

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Our obsession with pets means startups aimed at Vets are booming, as Digitail shows Jan 13, 2023

With our mysterious, unsustainable, and psychological attachment to pets, combined with a boom in pet ownership since those lonely pandemic times, means veterinary practices have come under increasing pressure.

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Google is finally rolling out emoji reactions for Meet video calls Jan 12, 2023

Google is finally rolling out emoji reactions to people using Google Meet for video calls starting today. The company said that this feature will be first available on iOS and the web with Android support coming soon.

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Inflow, a platform for managing ADHD through cognitive behavioral therapy, raises $11M Jan 12, 2023

Inflow, a company developing a platform to manage ADHD using cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) techniques, has raised $11 million in a Series A round of funding. ADHD, or “attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,” is a condition impacting as much as 10% of the global population.

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Twitter makes algorithmic timeline default on iOS Jan 11, 2023

Twitter is making the algorithmic timeline named “For You” the default feed on iOS. If you are getting a sense of déjà vu, you are not dreaming.

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How companies at CES are taking on climate change (or pretending to) Jan 11, 2023

I can’t get it out of my head: A honkingly big Caterpillar sign that read, “JOIN US AS WE BUILD A BETTER WORLD.”

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FCC moves to form Space Bureau as its role in regulating orbit intensifies Jan 10, 2023

The Federal Communications Commission regulate lots of industries and practices relating to telecommunications and the internet, but it is now cementing its role as a space regulator by voting to create a brand new bureau specializing in the topic.

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Urine luck: these CES startups want to take a closer look at your waste Jan 10, 2023

You wait for years for a urine analysis company, then all of them hit their flow all at once.

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US tech giants say Indian panel’s recommended competition act ‘absolutist and regressive’ Jan 09, 2023

An influential industry group that represents Google, Meta and Amazon among other tech firms has expressed concerns about the digital competition law recommended by an Indian parliamentary panel that seeks to regulate their alleged anticompetitive practices, calling the proposal “absolutist and regressive” in nature.

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Tesla slashes Model 3, Model Y prices in China for the second time in three months Jan 09, 2023

Tesla quietly announced new pricing for the China market.

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Snap is shutting down its desktop camera app that allows users to apply filters during video calls Jan 06, 2023

Snap is shutting down its camera app for the desktop that allows users to apply filters like cat ears and pirate hats on video calls.

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Ring brings back the Peephole Cam, now starting at $129 Jan 06, 2023

In 2019, Ring launched the Peephole Cam, a camera that fits over existing door peepholes to record goings on outdoors, in apartment building hallways and so on

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Alexa, find me an EV charging station Jan 05, 2023

Amazon’s conversational voice assistant, Alexa, has made its way into many electric vehicles in recent years.

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Bird Buddy’s new smart hummingbird feeder can photograph and identify 350 different bird species Jan 05, 2023

Bird Buddy, the maker of a smart bird feeder that snaps photos of your bird visitors which are collected in a companion mobile app, is out today with another product for its nature enthusiast and birdwatching community.

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Nowatch is a health-focused smartwatch without the watch part Jan 04, 2023

Your health is all you’ve got, and you can’t change what you can’t measure, so it’s little wonder that health trackers are everywhere.

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Apple is increasing battery replacement service charges for out-of-warranty devices Jan 04, 2023

Apple is increasing service charges for battery replacement of out-of-warranty iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks starting March 2023.

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Tesla delivers 405,278 vehicles in Q4, missing Wall Street expectations Jan 03, 2023

Tesla reported Sunday 405,278 vehicles delivered in the fourth quarter of 2022.

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There’s now an open source alternative to ChatGPT, but good luck running it Jan 03, 2023

The first open-source equivalent of OpenAI’s ChatGPT has arrived, but good luck running it on your laptop — or at all.

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Fidelity slashes the value of its Twitter stake by over half Jan 02, 2023

Fidelity, which was among the group of outside investors that helped Elon Musk finance his $44 billion takeover of Twitter, has slashed the value of its stake in Twitter by 56%.

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India to explore prohibition of unbacked crypto in its G20 presidency Jan 02, 2023

India said on Thursday that under its G20 presidency, it will prioritize the development of a framework for global regulation of unbacked crypto assets, stablecoins and decentralized finance and will possibly explore their “prohibition” in a potentially large setback for the nascent industry. The Reserve Bank of India, the Indian central bank, said that crypto […]
India to explore prohibition of unbacked crypto in its G20 presidency by Manish Singh originally published on TechCrunch

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Spotify wants to help you ring in 2023 with its New Year’s Hub Dec 30, 2022

Spotify has launched a New Year’s Hub to help its users ring in 2023, the streaming service announced on Thursday. The company says the one-stop destination gives users access to classic party playlists and special takeovers from artists like Charli XCX,Â Rita Ora,Â N-DubzÂ and Céline Dion. “We’ve got plenty of music to kickstart your celebration, and it’s […]
Spotify wants to help you ring in 2023 with its New Year’s Hub by Aisha Malik originally published on TechCrunch

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Alibaba CEO to oversee cloud arm following major server outage Dec 30, 2022

When Alibaba’s former CEO Jack Ma passed the torch to Daniel Zhang, he established a system that regularly rotates executives to ensure the company always stays agile in the fast-changing internet space.

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Twitter suffers another outage Dec 29, 2022

If Twitter isn’t loading fine for you, you’re not alone. Tens of thousands of users are complaining that they are unable to access the Elon Musk-owned social network, seeing scores of strange error-messages instead.

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Movano’s new smart ring is focused on women’s health Dec 29, 2022

Movano’s getting a week’s jump on what might well prove a banner CES for the smart ring. Today the Bay Area-based firm debuted Evie, a smart ring focused on women’s health set to hit the market later next year.

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This tool helps you trim your follow list on Twitter Dec 28, 2022

Twitter is a mess, but it’s still addictive. While some folks might have headed to Mastadon, those who stick around might still want to get the best out of the bird site.

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Baidu starts offering nighttime driverless taxis in China Dec 28, 2022

Baidu, the Chinese internet giant that became known for its search engines, is making some big strides in autonomous driving.

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Balance is a Mac timekeeper app that requires you to manually clock in your hours Dec 27, 2022

There are plenty of time-tracking apps for Mac that automatically log the hours you’ve spent signed-in. Some even offer granular data, telling you how much time you spent on a particular app.

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This year in tech felt like a simulation Dec 27, 2022

This year in tech, too much happened and very little of it made sense.

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Facebook parent Meta to settle Cambridge Analytica class-action lawsuit for $725M Dec 26, 2022

Facebook’s parent company Meta has agreed a $725 million settlement to resolve a class-action lawsuit related to the Cambridge Analytica data harvesting scandal.

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Persistent Jack Sweeney brings back @ElonJet (but delayed) to Twitter Dec 23, 2022

More than a week after being banned from Twitter, Jack Sweeney, the University of Central Florida sophomore who has been a pain in the side of Elon Musk for at least the past year, has a new account on the platform.

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Twitter now displays stock and cryptocurrency prices directly in search results Dec 23, 2022

Amid all the chaos, Twitter rolled out a useful feature that lets you search for listed company stocks and cryptocurrency prices.

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FTX co-founder Gary Wang and Alameda’s Caroline Ellison plead guilty to criminal charges Dec 22, 2022

The FTX/Alameda saga continues, with news late Wednesday that two key Sam Bankman-Fried associates were charged and have been charged with federal criminal offences in the U.S.

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This autonomous ornithopter lands and perches on a single claw Dec 22, 2022

Isn’t it wonderful that there are researchers out there whose job is quite simply to make a robotic bird?

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Google Play now lets children send purchase requests to guardians Dec 21, 2022

Google already offers parents and guardians tools to restrict purchases their children make on Play Store using the family payment method. The company is now introducing an additional feature that will allow children to send a purchase request for the manager of the family account to approve when there is no present payment method. Children […]
Google Play now lets children send purchase requests to guardians by Ivan Mehta originally published on TechCrunch

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Kredito banks $6M as the LatAm business lender eyes international expansion Dec 21, 2022

Kredito created products with few requirements so that customers could more easily access financial products.

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Twitter Blue for Business now allows companies to identify their employees Dec 20, 2022

Twitter launched “Blue for Business” last week alongside relaunching Twitter Blue. At that time, the social network had assigned a gold checkmark to businesses.

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Google introduces India’s DigiLocker integration to Files app to access official documents Dec 20, 2022

Google has announced that it is bringing India’s online document storage service DigiLocker to the Files app on Android to let users access verified government-issued documents from the app.

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YouTube to launch Courses in edtech push in India Dec 19, 2022

For years, teachers have used YouTube to promote their lessons and persuade learners to join their classes off the platform.

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TLDraw offers a collaborative whiteboard without any login Dec 19, 2022

There are a ton of tools that cater to the needs of having a collaborative whiteboard.

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Twitter pulls its Spaces group audio feature after Musk run-in with banned journalists Dec 16, 2022

Twitter has apparently pulled its Spaces group audio feature, at least temporarily, after Elon Musk joined a group conversation that included journalists that had been banned from the platform.

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Lucid wants a slice of China’s crowded EV market Dec 16, 2022

Lucid Motors, the publicly traded electric carmaker, is poised to enter China as it starts hiring in the world’s largest EV market.

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Airbnb is rolling out a toggle to show you price inclusive of all fees Dec 15, 2022

Airbnb is rolling out a new toggle to show you the price inclusive of all fees (before taxes) for your stay instead of showing you a per-night price.

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Oxyle’s tech uses water movement to remove pollutants Dec 15, 2022

UNESCO calls water pollution one of the main challenges facing societies, with 2 million tonnes of sewage entering the world’s water each day. Oxyle wants to help solve the crisis with a new wastewater treatment that removes micropollutants.

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YouTube will send a notification to users if their comment is abusive Dec 14, 2022

Toxic and hateful comments on YouTube have been a constant headache for the company, creators and users.

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As China relaxes zero-COVID, tech firms assume a larger role in fighting the virus Dec 14, 2022

China’s abrupt easing of its zero-COVID policy last week has led to a spike in cases and rising fears of the virus.

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NASA’s Orion capsule returns to Earth as ispace’s lunar lander takes flight Dec 13, 2022

Sunday was a landmark day for both commercial and public space ventures, with NASA’s Orion capsule returning to Earth just hours after the launch of a privately funded and built lunar lander by Japanese company ispace.

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Uber sues NYC Taxi & Limo Commission to block rate increase for drivers Dec 13, 2022

Uber is suing the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission, which last month approved a fare hike for ride-hail apps and taxi drivers amid a post-pandemic driver shortage, rising operational costs and higher inflation.

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Microsoft to acquire 4% stake in London Stock Exchange Group as part of 10-year cloud partnership Dec 12, 2022

Microsoft is to acquire a 4% stake in the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), the company that owns the London Stock Exchange as well as a several other businesses including financial market data company Refinitiv.

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Roblox will let 13+ users import contacts and add recommended friends Dec 12, 2022

Roblox is adding two new ways for people who spend time in its virtual worlds to find old friends and make new ones.

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Disney+ ad-supported plan is currently unavailable on Roku devices Dec 09, 2022

On Thursday, Disney+ launched its first-ever ad-supported plan, “Disney+ Basic,” in the U.S. at $7.99 per month, which is the same price as the previous ad-free plan before Disney raised the price to $10.99/month.

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Renault China boss is making super-premium EVs that monitor your health Dec 09, 2022

There’s an ever-growing list of wearables that track people’s health, but what about a vehicle that monitors one’s blood pressure and heart rate with smart sensors and algorithms?

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Zeraki, a Kenyan edtech providing digital solutions for school admin, raises $1.8M Dec 08, 2022

Kenyan edtech Zeraki, a scale-up that is building digital learning and school data analytics platforms, has raised $1.8 million seed funding in a round led by Acumen Fund, for product catalog growth and regional expansion.

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Uber and Motional launch robotaxi service in Las Vegas Dec 08, 2022

Uber and Motional, the Hyundai-Aptiv joint venture focused on commercializing self-driving technology, have launched a robotaxi service in Las Vegas — the first step in the companies’ 10-year plan to co-scale across major North American cities.

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Google Search’s new topic filters make it easier to refine results and expand searches Dec 07, 2022

Google announced today that it’s making it easier for users to drill down on a search and explore related topics. Search currently has a few filters to help you refine and separate your search results between videos, news, images or shopping results. Now, the search giant is going to start showing users a scrollable list […]
Google Search’s new topic filters make it easier to refine results and expand searches by Aisha Malik originally published on TechCrunch

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Apple’s first car, delayed until 2026, won’t be self-driving Dec 07, 2022

Apple has talked a big game about its future plans to break into the automotive market. But a report from Bloomberg says that Apple has had to scale back its plans.

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Social commerce startup Kapu, by ex-Jumia executive, comes out of stealth with $8M funding Dec 06, 2022

Kapu, a social commerce startup, coming out of stealth today having raised $8 million seed funding, is hoping to help lessen the burden of buying food for Kenyan consumers, many of whom are grappling with the sky-rocketing food prices.

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Partech raises fourth seed fund Dec 05, 2022

French VC firm Partech has closed another seed fund dedicated to early-stage tech startups — the fund is calledÂ Partech Entrepreneur IV.

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OpenAI’s ChatGPT shows why implementation is key with generative AI Dec 05, 2022

It’s probably not a secret to those doing a lot of focused work in the space, but when it comes to generative AI, it’s quickly becoming apparent that how a user interfaces with generative models and systems is at least as important as the underlying training and inference technology.

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India won’t enforce market share cap on UPI until 2025 in a win for Google and Walmart Dec 02, 2022

India won’t enforce a cap on the market share for players operating on the homegrown payments network until December 31, 2024 in a surprising move that analysts say is a major a win for Google Pay and Walmart’s PhonePe.

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Plant-based food brand Huel valued at $560M following Idris Elba-backed round Dec 02, 2022

Much of the company’s sales are outside the UK today, with U.S. “Hueligans,” the company’s loyal fans, representing Huel’s second-biggest market.

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Web3 developer platform Fleek raises $25M led by Polychain Capital Dec 01, 2022

Web3 developer platform Fleek has raised $25 million in Series A funding led by Polychain Capital, the company shared exclusively with TechCrunch.

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Bitcoin ‘rarely’ used for legal transactions, on ‘road to irrelevance’, say European Central Bank officials Dec 01, 2022

European Central Bank officials alleged on Wednesday that bitcoin is “rarely used for legal transactions."

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New Gorilla Glass just dropped Nov 30, 2022

According to Corning in-house research, “84% of consumers across three of the largest smartphone markets – China, India, and the United States — cite durability as the number one purchasing consideration behind brand itself.”

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Pearpop raises $18M at a $300M valuation to scale its social collaboration marketplace Nov 30, 2022

Pearpop, a marketplace for social collaborations, announced today that it has raised an extension to its 2021-era Series A funding round.

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Moovit users can now track transit vehicles on map in real time Nov 29, 2022

Israeli urban trip planning app Moovit unveiled a new feature Tuesday that allows users to follow a transit line’s movements along the map in real time.

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US government bans Huawei, ZTE, and Hikvision tech over ‘unacceptable’ spying fears Nov 29, 2022

The U.S. government said it is banning telecommunications and video surveillance equipment from several prominent Chinese brands in an effort to protect the nation’s communications network.

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Great Wall of porn obscures China protest news on Twitter Nov 28, 2022

Search any major Chinese city on Twitter, and you will see a cascade of spam tweets showing porn, escort services, and gambling content that are published every few seconds, making it impossible to get any legitimate results. There has been a “significant uptick” in these tweets over the last three days, according to a China-focused […]
Great Wall of porn obscures China protest news on Twitter by Rita Liao originally published on TechCrunch

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A new wave of Solo GP VCs is coming to Europe and Hypernova hopes to power it Nov 28, 2022

The US has had solo VC fund managers for many years but the trend is only just starting to catch on in Europe.

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Elon Musk says Twitter’s new multicoloured verification will launch next week Nov 25, 2022

After messing up the first launch of Twitter’s “power to the people” verification system, Elon Musk said that the social network will tentatively roll out a new multicolored verification system next week.

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More headaches for Apple in China as protests erupt at Foxconn Nov 24, 2022

Two weeks after Apple warned of production delays in China amid heightened COVID-19 restrictions, the giant is facing more challenges as worker protests broke out at its largest manufacturing partner Foxconn.

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Apple TV+ series ‘Severance’ gets exclusive ‘innie’ and ‘outie’ vinyl records Nov 23, 2022

Fans of Apple TV+’s popular sci-fi workplace drama, “Severance,” can have their very own Lumon music-dance experience—maracas not included.

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Indian social network Koo gains popularity in Brazil but faces moderation challenges Nov 23, 2022

Elon Musk taking over Twitter has sent some people to look for alternatives such as Mastodon and Hive.

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Carv valued at $40M as investors race to back web3 identity builders Nov 22, 2022

Decentralized identity startups are having a moment as investors seek the next generation of killer applications in web3, even in times of market volatility.

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Custom jeweler Wove bags $3.85M to make engagement ring purchases less stressful Nov 22, 2022

The online custom jewelry company is injecting technology into the engagement and wedding ring buying experience.
Custom jeweler Wove bags $3.85M to make engagement ring purchases less stressful by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch

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Amazon-owned Wickr is shutting down its free encrypted messaging app Nov 21, 2022

Secure communications provider Wickr has announced that it will shutter its free encrypted messaging app, Wickr Me, next year.

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India’s first private rocket, built by startup Skyroot, makes successful launch Nov 21, 2022

India’s space agency has successfully launched the Vikram-S after much anticipation and years-long work in a boost to the private sector of the nation’s space industry.

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New Twitter accounts will have to wait 90 days before buying a subscription Nov 18, 2022

Twitter has published a policy change saying that newly-created Twitter accounts will have to wait 90 days before being allowed to subscribe to the new Twitter Blue plan and get verified.subscription by Ivan Mehta originally published on TechCrunch

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Twitter is working on a feature to divide long text into a thread automatically Nov 18, 2022

Composing a thread on Twitter can be challenging as you need to separate the whole text into 280-character chunks.

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Apple’s iCloud website gets a widget-styled redesign Nov 17, 2022

Apple has finally launched a redesigned iCloud website with apps appearing as widget-styled tiles instead of icons.

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Elon Musk, disaster artist Nov 17, 2022

We’re at the point in the Elon Musk/Twitter debacle where the fact that it’s a shit show is our new normal, and anything that resembles a normal functioning tech company or leadership is more newsworthy than the inverse.

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New code suggests Twitter is reviving its work on encrypted DMs Nov 16, 2022

Under Elon Musk, Twitter may be reviving a project that would bring end-to-end encryption to its Direct Messaging system.

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Pickle picks up $26M for its truck unloading robots Nov 16, 2022

Fulfillment has arguably been the hottest robotics category over the past two years, as companies have looked to stay competitive with Amazon, even amid ongoing labor shortages.

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Impacked packs up $2.5M to give the packaging industry a greener tint Nov 15, 2022

Packaging is a trillion-dollar-per-year industry that, by and large, has some sustainability challenges. Impacked is a B2B company that’s bringing green tech to the forefront for everything from jars, tubes and pouches to bottles.

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A ‘credible alternative to Google and Amazon’: Klarna brings its price comparison tool to Europe Nov 15, 2022

Klarna is expanding into the competitive world of price comparisons, with the launch of a new tool that compares prices across thousands of retailers.

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Amazon eyes devices group as it undertakes broad cost cutting Nov 14, 2022

The Echo business has always looked like Amazon playing the long game from the outside. Above all, the company’s home consumer hardware is a convenient vessel for getting Alexa into millions of homes.

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Australia tells Medibank hackers: ‘We know who you are’ Nov 14, 2022

The Australian Federal Police claims to have identified the cybercriminals behind the Medibank ransomware attack, which compromised the personal data of 9.7 million customers.

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Have you tried turning it off and on again, Elon? Nov 11, 2022

A few days ago, new Twitter owner Elon Musk said that the company will try a lot of dumb things in the coming days. And that seems to be the product strategy of the company — even if it causes utter chaos all around.

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Aiphone door entry systems can be ‘easily’ bypassed thanks to NFC bug Nov 11, 2022

The vulnerability in the door entry security system, used in government buildings and apartment complexes, cannot be fixed.
Aiphone door entry systems can be ‘easily’ bypassed thanks to NFC bug by Zack Whittaker originally published on TechCrunch

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Twitter blocks new accounts from its $8 verified tier after high-profile fakes abound Nov 10, 2022

The motto over at Twitter is clearly a throwback ‘move fast and break things’ at the moment under new ruler Elon Musk, and the latest thing to break is the just-introduced $8 monthly Twitter Blue tier.

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Ping wants to simplify global payments while helping Latin Americans embrace crypto Nov 10, 2022

Ping users create a free account in U.S. dollars to receive bank transfers in either their local currency or cryptocurrency.
Ping wants to simplify global payments while helping Latin Americans embrace crypto by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch

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Filing: Meta slashes expenses on reduced hiring and capex investments Nov 09, 2022

Meta’s body blow layoff announcement will see the parent of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp making its first-ever major layoffs as a company, cutting 11,000 employees, 13% of its total; predictably investors are responding favorably, bumping the stock up by over 5% in pre-market trading.

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Southeast Asia health tech platform Speedoc raises $28M Nov 09, 2022

Speedoc, a health tech platform that brings hospital care to homes, has raised $28 million in pre-Series B funding.

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Netflix launches a new interactive trivia experience, ‘Triviaverse’ Nov 08, 2022

Today, Netflix is launching a new interactive game called “Triviaverse” that allows subscribers to test their knowledge and compete against an all-knowing “Trivia master” using their TV remote.

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Ouster and Velodyne agree to merger, signaling consolidation in lidar industry Nov 08, 2022

Ouster and Velodyne, two lidar companies, have agreed to a merger in an all-stock transaction, the companies said Monday. Both Ouster and Velodyne will maintain a 50% stake in the new company, according to the agreement that was signed on November 4.

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Unity and IronSource’s $4.4B merger is now complete Nov 07, 2022

Unity‘s proposed merger with IronSource has formally concluded, with the two companies coming together to create an end-to-end platform for developers to build and monetize games.

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Ant’s global play is to be a payments aggregator and it now reaches 1B users Nov 07, 2022

After trying for years to replicate the success of its QR code-enabled payments solution overseas, Ant Group seems to have finally found a path to scaling.

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After Stripe and Square, Venmo and PayPal are set to support Apple’s Tap to Pay on iPhones Nov 04, 2022

PayPal announced Thursday that it will soon support Apple’s Tap to Pay on iPhones. The company said in its Q3 2022 earnings report that both PayPal and Venmo will soon support this tech as a part of its offering.

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Patreon adds a long-awaited native video feature Nov 04, 2022

Patreon creators can now upload videos directly to the platform.

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Smartex sews up $24.7M to put smarter eyes on textile manufacturing Nov 03, 2022

A lot of things might spring to mind when you hear “fashion,” but taking care of the planet generally isn’t on that list. Smartex just raised a couple of bolts’ worth of cash, sowing up a round of funding to bring smart tech to fabric manufacturing.

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Ex-Bain investor launches $30M web3 consumer VC fund as solo female founder Nov 03, 2022

Magdalena “Mags” Kala, a self-described “lifetime degen,” is no stranger to beating the odds. Before she became an investor, she co-founded an all-female blackjack team that sought to exploit gender bias to make a profit through gaming, she told TechCrunch in an interview.

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Byju’s eyes $1 billion IPO for physical tutor chain Aakash Nov 02, 2022

Indian edtech giant Byju’s is engaging with bankers to put together a plan for theÂ initial public offering of its unit Aakash, which it acquired last year, a source familiar with the matter told TechCrunch.Â

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Volocopter raises $182M to bring air taxi closer to certification Nov 02, 2022

Volocopter, a German startup building electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles, has secured $182 million for the second signing of its Series E round.

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Evolito, with an axial-flux motor lighter than Tesla’s, starts ramping up its team Nov 01, 2022

Last year YASA, a British electric motor startup with a revolutionary “axial-flux” motor, was acquired by Mercedes-Benz to develop ultra-high-performance electric motors for Mercedes’s AMG.EA electric-only platform.

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Hong Kong to explore legalizing retail crypto trades in reversal of previous proposal Nov 01, 2022

Hong Kong has proposed allowing retail investors to trade in cryptocurrencies and crypto exchange-traded funds and plans to conduct pilots in NFT issuance and CBDC as it looks to regain its status as a global financial hub.

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GM pauses paid advertising on Twitter as Chief Twit Elon Musk takes ownership Oct 31, 2022

General Motors has temporarily paused paid advertising on Twitter, one day after billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk finalized a $44 billion acquisition of the social media platform.

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US sanctions on China could extend to biotech, official says Oct 31, 2022

On the heels of the Biden administration’s decision to impose sweeping chip sanctions on China, there are signs that China might also lose access to other types of critical U.S. technologies.

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Europe schools Elon Musk that Twitter’s wings are already clipped Oct 28, 2022

And so the it begins… Elon Musk has only been owner of Twitter for a few hours but he’s already earned himself a schooling from the European Union in response to his suggestive “the bird is freed” tweet.

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It’s time to admit self-driving cars aren’t going to happen Oct 28, 2022

A couple caveats for those going apoplectic over the headline: I mean self-driving isn’t going to be a thing A) in our lifetimes and B) with any kind of omnipresent scale.

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Versa raises $120M for its software-defined networking and security stack Oct 27, 2022

Networking and cybersecurity firm Versa today announced that it raised $120 million in a mix of equity and debt led by BlackRock, with participation from Silicon Valley Bank.

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US charges Ukrainian national over alleged role in Raccoon Infostealer malware operation Oct 27, 2022

U.S. officials have charged a Ukrainian national over his alleged role in the Raccoon Infostealer malware-as-a-service operation that infected millions of computers worldwide.

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Twitter’s Elon problem could soon become Apple’s Elon problem, too Oct 26, 2022

Reports indicate Elon Musk is on track to close his purchase of mildly popular bird website Twitter dot com as of this Friday, which is when he’s been ordered by the judge in the ongoing legal fracas to do so anyway.

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Google hit with $113 million fine in India for anti-competitive practices with Play Store policies Oct 26, 2022

India’s antitrust watchdog has hit Google with $113 million fine for abusing the dominant position of its app store, the second such penalty on the Android-maker in just as many weeks in the key overseas market.

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Jasper’s robots assemble fresh meals for nearby apartment dwellers Oct 25, 2022

After attempting to sell its tech to large food service companies, cooking automation startup Jasper has shifted to direct-to-consumer.

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Taylor Swift’s ‘Midnights’ is the priciest digital album Tencent has sold Oct 24, 2022

Taylor Swift’s latest album “Midnights” has dropped, and it might be setting a new standard for China’s digital music industry.

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YouTube Premium’s family plan gets a price hike in several countries Oct 24, 2022

YouTube is raising prices for its Premium subscription plans across many countries including the US, the UK, Canada, and Argentina.

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Uber pilots electric cab offering in India Oct 21, 2022

Uber has started offering electric vehicles to customers in certain parts of the Delhi-NCR region and says it will be expanding its efforts over the coming months.

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Google Messages adds reaction support for iPhone texts and in-app reminders Oct 21, 2022

Google has left no stones unturned in pushing Apple to adopt the Rich Communication ServicesÂ that the search giant argues will improve cross-platform communication.

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Ocean-climate VC Propeller launches with $100M to fund ‘tomorrow’s narwhals’ Oct 20, 2022

Propeller, a new climate-tech investor with a focus on the ocean, tells TechCrunch that it has hooked $100 million for its first seed fund.

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Pinterest partners with record labels to bring popular music to its TikTok rival, ‘Idea Pins’ Oct 20, 2022

Pinterest’s TikTok competitor is gaining new music. The company announced today its video-focused “Idea Pins” feature will now include the ability to add popular tracks from top artists, thanks to new licensing deals with Warner Music Group, Warner Chappell Music, Merlin and BMG.

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Eswatini’s central bank mulls issuance of a digital currency Oct 19, 2022

The kingdom of Eswatini is considering the introduction of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), joining the growing list of African countries exploring the viability of an e-currency.

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Rolls-Royce Spectre EV to launch next year with 260-mile range Oct 19, 2022

Rolls-Royce plans to deliver its first EV, the Spectre two-door coupe, to customers late next year as it transitions toward becoming a fully electric brand by 2030.

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Belkin’s $30 Continuity Camera accessory is now available for MagSafe iPhones Oct 18, 2022

Continuity Camera was one of the odder additions that arrived in the last round of Apple operating system updates.

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Shares of Korean internet giant Kakao slide after fire disrupts service Oct 18, 2022

The stock price of South Korea’s internet giant Kakao tumbled on Monday after a fire at a data center that cut off power on Saturday, causing several service malfunctions.

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PayPal debuts a new rewards program that combines Honey’s discounts with other ways to earn Oct 17, 2022

PayPal is taking a step away from the Honey brand, the $4 billion shopping rewards acquisition it made in 2019, with today’s launch of PayPal Rewards.

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Shein owner fined $1.9M for failing to notify 39M users of data breach Oct 17, 2022

A data breach from 2018 is putting Shein under the spotlight as the ultra-fast fashion e-commerce platform continues to conquer Gen-Z markets across the world.

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Repairable laptop firm Framework introduces refurbished program Oct 14, 2022

Framework is at the vanguard of a growing movement to make electronics more repair-friendly.

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Nudge Security emerges from stealth to tackle cybersecurity’s people problem Oct 14, 2022

Social engineering attacks are on the rise.

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Uniswap Labs valued at $1.66 billion in $165 million new funding Oct 13, 2022

Uniswap Labs has raised $165 million in a new funding round as the parent firm of the world’s largest decentralized exchange looks to broaden its offerings.

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Roboadvisor Betterment launches crypto offering with four themed portfolios Oct 13, 2022

Betterment, a roboadvisory platform which manages over $33 billion in assets, has finally launched its crypto offering after completing a private beta phase.

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Moon set for November traffic jam as both ispace and NASA target launches Oct 12, 2022

If all goes to plan, Florida’s Space Coast could see two separate lunar missions take off in November.

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OatFi secures capital to power BNPL services for SMBs Oct 12, 2022

The buy now, pay later (BNPL) market was once seen as a bulletproof investment, given the meteoric rise of players like Klarna and Afterpay during the pandemic.

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Starship partners with Grubhub to bring sidewalk bots to colleges Oct 11, 2022

Autonomous sidewalk delivery robot company Starship Technologies is partnering with food ordering and delivery company Grubhub to provide robotic delivery services on college campuses across the U.S.

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Samsung seeks smart TV growth with first Tizen OS licensing deals Oct 11, 2022

Samsung has confirmed the first third-party smart TV makers to ship with its Tizen operating system (OS), with several manufacturers preparing to launch Tizen-powered TVs this year across Europe and Australasia.

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Google removes The OG App from the Play Store as founders think about next steps Oct 10, 2022

Almost a week after Apple removed The OG App from the App Store, an Instagram client that promised to provide an ad-free and suggestion-free feed, Google followed the suit and booted the app off the Play Store.9

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Purple Elephant Ventures, Kenya’s tourism-focused startup studio, raises $1M pre-seed funding Oct 10, 2022

A Kenya-based venture studio with a focus on tourism, Purple Elephant Ventures (PEV), has raised $1 million pre-seed funding to build the next generation of startups that use technology to modernize the tourism sector.

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Twitter nudges you to share the tweet instead of taking a screenshot Oct 07, 2022

Screenshots of tweets are one of the most popular ways to share tweets with friends or post them on your other social media accounts.

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UK to probe Inmarsat and Viasat’s $7.3B merger on competition grounds, says it could lead to pricier in-flight Wi-FI Oct 07, 2022

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced that the proposed merger between London-based satellite communications company Inmarsat and its U.S. rival Viasat raises potential competition concerns, and plans to launch a full-scale investigation into the deal.

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Uber’s former security chief found guilty of covering up 2016 data breach Oct 06, 2022

Uber’s former head of security has been found guilty of criminal obstruction for attempting cover up a data breach that saw tens of millions of customer and driver records stolen.

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Party Round’s rebrand is banking on founder bank accounts Oct 06, 2022

Party Round wants you to know that the party isn’t over. In fact, it just rebranded, put the music just a little bit lower, and finally put out some appetizers.

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White House proposes voluntary safety and transparency rules around AI Oct 05, 2022

The White House this morning unveiled what it’s colloquially calling an “AI Bill of Rights,” which aims to establish tenets around the ways AI algorithms should be deployed as well as guardrails on their applications.

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VLC-developer VideoLAN sends legal notice to Indian ministries over ban Oct 05, 2022

VideoLAN, the developer and operator of popular media player VLC, has filed a legal notice to India’s IT and Telecom ministries, alleging that the Indian bodies failed to notify the software developer and did not afford it a chance for an explanation.

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App Store experienced sharp revenue drop in September, Morgan Stanley says Oct 04, 2022

Apple’s App Store suffered a 5% year-on-year dip in net revenue in September according to a note from Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring.

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Rivian taps Capital One exec Diane Lye as its first CIO Oct 04, 2022

Rivian has hired Diane Lye as its first chief information officer, a position that the EV maker says is necessary to expand globally.

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Amazon is launching a dedicated hub for its affordable shopping options Oct 03, 2022

Amazon is launching Amazon Access, a new hub for customers to explore the programs, discounts and features that the online retailer offers for affordable shopping, the company announced on Monday.

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Truepill, a digital health unicorn, conducts fourth round of layoffs in 2022 Oct 03, 2022

Truepill, a platform that helps other companies offer diagnostics, telehealth services and prescriptions, has conducted its fourth layoff of the year.

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YouTube TV users can now subscribe to standalone networks without a base plan Sep 30, 2022

YouTube TV launched a new option that allows subscribers to purchase add-ons without subscribing to the full channel offering in the service’s Base plan.

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Fairphone adds fully refurbished handsets to its modular reuse mix Sep 30, 2022

Away from the premium smartphone feature-utility hyperbole swirling around dynamic islands, mobile devices remain much of a muchness.

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Square now supports Apple’s Tap to Pay on iPhones Sep 29, 2022

Block, the company behind Square and Cash App, now supports Apple’s Tap to Pay for iPhone feature for merchants.

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Hacker breaches Fast Company systems to send offensive Apple News notifications Sep 29, 2022

U.S. business publication Fast Company has confirmed that a hacker breached its internal systems to send offensive push notifications to Apple News users.Â

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Cionic gets $12.5M to accelerate its assistive mobility wearable Sep 28, 2022

There’s been plenty of excitement on the robotic exoskeleton front in recent years. For the most part, these devices slot into two categories: 1) workplace assistance and 2) mobility assistance.

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Document onboarding startup Flatfile nabs $50M from investors, including Workday Sep 28, 2022

Data cleansing — prepping data for applications like predictive analytics — takes time.

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NASA’s DART anti-asteroid satellite successfully smashes into space rock Sep 27, 2022

NASA has completed a key step of its “Double Asteroid Redirection Test” (DART), smashing a satellite roughly the size of a vending machine into a small moon that’s about half-a-mile in diameter.

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Apple starts manufacturing iPhone 14 in India Sep 27, 2022

Apple has started assembling the iPhone 14 models in India, it said Monday, locally producing the current lineup for the first time in the same calendar year in the world’s second largest smartphone market as analysts predict a greater shift in the American giant’s future manufacturing.

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Samsung launches credit card in India Sep 26, 2022

Samsung has launched two credit cards in India, entering a crowded category that sees over 50 companies fiercely compete for consumers’ attention in the world’s second largest internet market.

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Rad Power Bikes and Cycle pilot consumer e-bike subscriptions Sep 26, 2022

Rad Power Bikes, a popular American e-bike brand that has raised over $300 million in the past two years, will start offering bikes as a subscription service next week.

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Breaking Bad creator is making a new show for Apple TV+ with Rhea Seehorn Sep 23, 2022

Apple TV+’s original programming has received a major boost with the company landing a deal with “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul” creator Vince Gilligan.

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Alibaba Cloud pledges $1B to boost overseas alliance Sep 23, 2022

Alibaba is known for its sprawling e-commerce empire, but like Amazon, cloud service has been a big driver of its revenues in recent years.

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Florida escalates the fight over a controversial social media law to the Supreme Court Sep 22, 2022

After an appeals court struck down key portions of a state law designed to prevent social media companies from freely making content moderation decisions, Florida wants the Supreme Court to weigh in.

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Berlin’s Kaiko Systems nets €2M to help maritime technical operations go paperless Sep 22, 2022

From healthcare to manufacturing, traditional industries have been getting a digital makeover over the past decade.

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Google is integrating Assistant and Calendar reminders with Tasks Sep 21, 2022

In its latest step of the app cleanup drive, Google is folding in Assistant and Calendar reminders in its Tasks app.

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YouTube’s ‘dislike’ and ‘not interested’ options don’t do much for your recommendations, study says Sep 21, 2022

There is no secret that both viewers and creators are confused by the puzzle that is YouTube’s recommendation algorithm.

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Slack adds persistent information layer to channels called Canvas Sep 20, 2022

Slack has succeeded in large part in the enterprise by allowing people to communicate in a number of ways while integrating with many common enterprise applications.

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This Mac app makes it easy to create your own AI images with Stable Diffusion Sep 20, 2022

Everyone wants to get in on the AI image generation action, but if you’ve been intimidated by the existing options out there based on Stable Diffusion, including the Midjourney Discord bot, you’re in luck.

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Swedish last-mile delivery companies Instabox and Budbee to become Instabee in $1.7B merger Sep 19, 2022

Swedish last-mile delivery companies Instabox and Budbee have have announced plans to merge in a 18 billion krona ($1.7 billion) deal.

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Autonomous electric truck company Einride rides into Germany Sep 19, 2022

Autonomous and electric truck maker Einride is rolling into Germany, representing its first new market in Europe outside its native Sweden.

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YouTube encourages creators to make Shorts directly from replies Sep 16, 2022

If one short video app has a feature, everyone else has to have it. That’s the rule.

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Adobe snaps up Figma for $20B, taking out one of its biggest rivals in digital design Sep 16, 2022

Big news in the world of digital creative tech: Adobe today announced that it would acquire Figma for $20 billion.

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Lightyear opens to stocks and ETFs across the UK and Europe Sep 15, 2022

U.K.-based fintech Lightyear is extending its stock-trading offering to include a wide selection of U.K. and European stocks, as well as exchange traded funds (ETF).

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Chameleon raises cash to help SaaS companies build better onboarding experiences Sep 15, 2022

Chameleon, a startup providing low- and no-code tools designed to help software companies personalize the appearance of their apps, today announced that it raised $13 million.

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GoPro’s Hero11 gets improved image quality, stabilization and a Mini version Sep 14, 2022

This year marks GoPro’s 20th year. It’s been an interesting journey for a company that has become synonymous with a specific product category for well over a decade.

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Hone raises $30M to grow its corporate learning platofrm Sep 14, 2022

One of the co-founders of FanDuel has raised $30 million to fund a startup — Hone — that’s providing a platform for “enterprise-scale,” exec-level learning and development.

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Ashby lands $21.5M to automate key aspects of recruiting Sep 13, 2022

As hiring remains challenging in an economy where jobs are plentiful (depending on the sector), venture capitalists continue to pump money into HR startups focused on assessing and onboarding candidates.

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Roku’s latest update adds short-form video, a universal save list and ‘continue watching’ feature Sep 13, 2022

Alongside its fall hardware update, which included new streaming and audio devices, Roku today unveiled the features it has in store for the next version of its media software, Roku OS 11.5.

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Gotham Greens just raised $310M to expand its greenhouses nationwide Sep 12, 2022

That’s not a typo. $310 million, with a zero at the end. This latest round brings Gotham Greens’ total funding up to $440 million since its 2009 launch.

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Rocket Lab, Sierra Space sign agreements under US military’s rocket cargo project Sep 12, 2022

Rocket Lab and Sierra Space have signed separate agreements with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to explore how their respective flight systems — Rocket Lab’s Electron and Neutron rockets, Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spaceplane — could be used for superfast cargo delivery on Earth.

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Tesla wants your vote for new Supercharger locations Sep 09, 2022

Tesla said Thursday it is turning to the public to help determine where to locate its next Superchargers as the automaker continues to expand its network of EV fast-charging stations in North America, Europe and Asia.

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Uber wants court to nullify Kenya’s new ride-hailing law that caps service fee at 18% Sep 09, 2022

Uber has appealed to Kenya’s apex court to annul the new digital taxi-hailing regulations claiming that some aspects are unconstitutional, discriminatory, discouraging to foreign investments, and infringe on its rights and those of its riders and partners.

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Bloomingdale’s goes all-in on metaverse with new virtual store Sep 08, 2022

Bloomingdale’s virtual store will initially feature collections from brands like Polo Ralph Lauren, Marc Jacobs, David Yurman, MCM, Byredo and Baccarat.

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Boston’s ClearMotion funded by Nio Capital to switch on in-car metaverse in China Sep 08, 2022

U.S.-China decoupling is expected to discourage cross-border investments between the two superpowers as investors shy away from sanctions and geopolitical risks.

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Twitter will let you edit your tweet up to five times Sep 07, 2022

Twitter announced a much-anticipated feature last week — the ability to edit tweets.

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Open-source password manager Bitwarden raises $100M Sep 07, 2022

Bitwarden, an open-source password manager for enterprises and consumers, has raised $100 million in a round of funding led by PSG, with participation form Battery Ventures.

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LG Electronics launches NFT platform that lets users buy and sell digital artwork Sep 06, 2022

LG Electronics said today it has released its non-fungible token (NFT) platform LG Art Lab, which lets users discover, buy, sell and trade NFTs on LG’s smart TVs.

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Docquity, a community for healthcare professionals, raises $44M Series C Sep 06, 2022

A call between doctors can save lives. That’s what Docquity co-founder Indranil Roychowdhury learned when his father was hospitalized with a life-threatening condition in India.

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UK clears $8.1B merger between NortonLifeLock and Avast Sep 05, 2022

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has formally cleared the proposed $8.1 billion merger between cybersecurity giants NortonLifeLock and Avast, a month after provisionally greenlighting the deal.

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Google will allow alternative payment systems for Play Store in more countries Sep 02, 2022

Google announced today it’s expanding the user choice billing program for Play Store — which lets users choose alternative payment systems for in-app purchases — to India, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, and the European Economic Area.

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Disney+ will reportedly launch in-app commerce features by year’s end Sep 02, 2022

Disney is looking at ways for viewers to buy themed merchandise and accessories by scanning a QR code in the Disney+ app, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

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OneSignal lands $50M to automatically optimize SMS, in-app and email campaigns Sep 01, 2022

OneSignal, a platform that powers notifications for mobile apps and more, today announced that it raised $50 million in a Series C round led by BAM Elevate with participation from SignalFire and other existing investors.

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Twitter’s attempt to monetize porn reportedly halted due to child safety warnings Sep 01, 2022

Despite serving as the online watercooler for journalists, politicians and VCs, Twitter isn’t the most profitable social network on the block.Â

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China’s NetEase snaps up French video game studio Quantic Dream Aug 31, 2022

NetEase, a Chinese technology company and billion-dollar video-game publisher, has acquired French video-game studio Quantic Dream.

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PostEx acquires Call Courier to become Pakistan’s larger e-commerce service provider Aug 31, 2022

Pakistani fintech PostEx has acquired logistics service provider Call Courier, creating what it describes as the largest e-commerce service provider in the country. PostEx will now serve 1.3 million users with over 8,000 merchants across 500 cities in Pakistan, and is on track to having a loan book of more than $12 million.

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Musk cites whistleblower allegations in fresh attempt to backtrack on $44B Twitter acquisition Aug 30, 2022

Elon Musk is adding allegations from Twitter security whistleblower Peiter “Mudge” Zatko to his list of reasons for pulling out of the $44 billion Twitter acquisition he proposed back in April.

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Honda and LG Energy plan to build a $4.4 billion lithium-ion plant in the US Aug 30, 2022

Honda is the latest car company with plans to manufacture lithium-ion batteries in the U.S.

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NASA scrubs Artemis I launch due to technical issue Aug 29, 2022

After much fanfare, including a crop of celebrity appearances and the arrival of Vice President Kamala Harris, NASA said it was scrubbing today’s first-ever launch attempt of the mega moon rocket due to technical issues.

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T-Mobile phones will connect to Starlink for free starting next year Aug 29, 2022

T-Mobile and SpaceX have announced that Starlink satellites launched next year will be able to connect directly to the carrier’s phones over existing cellular bands.

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Zuckerberg says Meta’s next VR headset will launch in October and will focus on ‘social presence’ Aug 26, 2022

Meta is launching its next VR headset this October at the company’s Connect conference.

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$10B crypto developer platform Alchemy buys coding bootcamp in first-ever acquisition Aug 26, 2022

Web3 developer infrastructure startup Alchemy, which last raised a $200 million Series C1 last February, has just made its first acquisition ever — and it’s in the education space.

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Instagram is now allowing users to share posts, Reels, and locations through QR codes Aug 25, 2022

Instagram is now allowing users to share anyone’s posts or Reels through a QR code. What’s more, users can also share a QR code location through its searchable Map experience.

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Strange Facebook bug is spamming everyone’s feed with celebrity page posts Aug 24, 2022

Facebook said Wednesday that it’s aware that some users are seeing bizarre posts on their feeds and assured it’s working to resolve the issue.

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Dutchie launches new cannabis Point of Sale platform with its own dual-screen register Aug 24, 2022

Dutchie today is announcing a new cannabis point of sale platform, including a dual-screen terminal for dispensaries. Called Dutchie POS, this comes just weeks after the company announced a new payment platform, Dutchie Pay.

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Ex-Apple engineer admits stealing automotive trade secrets Aug 23, 2022

A case concerning Apple’s driving trade secrets which started in 2018 has come to a close.

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Human drivers in UK won’t be liable for accidents when vehicle is self-driving Aug 23, 2022

Manufacturers operating self-driving vehicles in the UK will be liable for a vehicle’s actions when in autonomous mode, according to the country’s new roadmap to achieve a widespread rollout of self-driving vehicles by 2025.

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Zencastr adds editing and distro in bid to become a full-service podcast offering Aug 22, 2022

Zencastr has been my go-to podcast recording platform for a while now, owing to an innovative system that records each participant’s channel locally, before uploading it to the server. It’s a nice, quick way to ensure your guests have better sound quality than non-purpose-built platforms like Zoom, without forcing them to record locally.

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Otter.ai challenger Airgram raises $10M to transcribe and time your video calls Aug 22, 2022

There’re plenty of tools out there competing to help people make their video calls breezier. Some, like voice transcription service Otter.ai, have been getting a boost from the COVID-19 pandemic and pulling in handsome investments.

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Lincoln’s latest EV concept is a grand tourer land yacht with a sprinkle of 1920s nostalgia Aug 19, 2022

Lincoln revealed Thursday during Monterey Car Week its vision for future EVs — while commemorating its centennial year — with the debut of the Lincoln Model L 100 concept, an autonomous, battery-electric grand tourer that pays homage to the brand’s first luxury vehicle, the 1922 Model L.

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Revolut to allow users to donate to the homeless via the Beam crowdfunding platform Aug 19, 2022

The world is entering a huge cost of living crisis, which will inevitably result in a rise in homelessness.

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This new $100M fund plans to focus on startups accelerating the science around longevity Aug 18, 2022

Longevity-focused startups have been proliferating in recent years as we become more focused on our health. However, it’s not just about apps to get you in the gym.

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Funding Circle cofounder unveils new Super Payments fintech venture with $27M investment Aug 18, 2022

Funding Circle cofounder Samir Desai has unveiled a new U.K. fintech startup called Super Payments, a venture he founded back in February but which very little was known about up until now.

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Incredible Health passes unicorn valuation as it bags $80M Series B Aug 17, 2022

Incredible Health, a US-based job-matching platform which made nurses its first focus, has closed an $80 million Series B funding round and announced hitting a $1.65BN unicorn valuation, billing itself as the highest valued “tech-enabled” career marketplace in the healthcare sector.

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Polestar is launching an EV roadster in 2026 called the Polestar 6 Aug 17, 2022

Electric vehicle maker Polestar said Tuesday that it is expanding its lineup to include an 884-horsepower hard-top convertible with recycled polyester upholstery.

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Meta launches Horizon Worlds in France and Spain Aug 16, 2022

In an effort to expand its social platform for virtual reality, Horizon Worlds, Meta is launching it in France and Spain today.

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Tencent veterans secure $13M to build cross-chain decentralized identities Aug 16, 2022

There is a host of startups working on decentralized identities for the next generation of the internet.

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Uber to sunset free loyalty program in favor of subscription membership Aug 15, 2022

Ride-hailing giant Uber is shutting down its free loyalty program, Uber Rewards, so it can focus on its subscription-based Uber One membership.

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US unmasks alleged Conti ransomware operative, offers $10M for intel Aug 15, 2022

The U.S. government said it will offer up to $10 million for information related to five people believed to be high-ranking members of the notorious Russia-backed Conti ransomware gang.

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Suspected Tornado Cash developer arrested in Amsterdam Aug 12, 2022

The Dutch government agency responsible for investigating financial crimes said it has arrested a developer suspected of being involved with crypto mixing service Tornado CashÂ in a move that has rattled some crypto and privacy advocates.

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Google Meet’s new feature lets users consume YouTube and Spotify together Aug 12, 2022

As Google continues the great merger between its Duo and Meet video communications apps, the company today announced that it’s introducing new Apple SharePlay-like live-sharing features to Meet, making it easier for call-participants to engage with content together in real time. I

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Farther, a wealth tech firm, banks $15M Series A as valuation hits $50M Aug 11, 2022

Farther provides two sets of tools, one for advisors to expand their businesses and one for clients to invest in ways that align with their goals.

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Weedmaps for Business debuts as a SaaS suite for cannabis retailers and brands Aug 11, 2022

Veteran cannabis tech company WM Technology is rebranding and expanding its SaaS offering to move upstream beyond its existing Weedmaps marketplace.

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Joby Aviation’s contract with U.S. Air Force expands to include Marines Aug 10, 2022

The United States Department of Defense is deepening its relationship with electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft company Joby Aviation.Â

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South Korea to probe Apple and Google over in-app payment rule break Aug 10, 2022

South Korea’s communication watchdog, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), said Tuesday it will investigate Apple and Google over potential violations of the country’s in-app payment rule.

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WhatsApp extends time limit to delete a message to 60 hours Aug 09, 2022

WhatsApp now allows you to delete a message for up to two days and 12 hours (60 hours in total), so you can remove an accidentally sent chat even after hours. Previously, this limit was 1 hour, 8 minutes, and 16 seconds — yep, there were seconds involved.

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Bitmain co-founder welcomes crypto regulation to restore market confidence Aug 09, 2022

The collapse of Three Arrow Capital and the counterparties wrapped in the crypto hedge fund’s troubles have drawn questions about the soundness of the heady digital asset investment space.

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Google is suing Sonos over patent infringement once again Aug 08, 2022

Google is suing Sonos (again) over patent infringement in what seems to be an unending legal fight series between two tech companies.

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Amazon is buying iRobot for $1.7B Aug 08, 2022

Amazon this morning announced plans to acquire Roomba maker iRobot for an all-cash deal valued at $1.7 billion.

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Get ready for a HBO Max – Discovery+ mashup app in 2023 Aug 05, 2022

The headline of Warner Bros. Discovery’s earnings call was something a lot of people dreaded: HBO Max and Discovery+ are merging into a new service.

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Toyota-backed robotaxi unicorn Pony.ai sues ex-employees over trade secrets Aug 05, 2022

Pony.ai, a Chinese autonomous vehicle company valued at $8.5 billion as of late, has sued two former employees over alleged trade secret infringement.

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Samsung brings Amazon Luna games to its smart TVs and monitors Aug 04, 2022

Samsung announced Wednesday that it’s bringing more than 250 games to the Samsung Gaming Hub through the Amazon Luna streaming-based gaming service.

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Thousands of Solana wallets drained in multimillion dollar exploit Aug 04, 2022

Solana, an increasingly popular blockchain known for its speedy transactions, has become the target of the crypto sphere’s latest hack.

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Uber’s ride with Indian food delivery firm Zomato comes to an end Aug 03, 2022

Uber’s ride with Zomato has concluded. The ride-hailing firm sold its 7.8% stake of the lossmaking Indian food delivery firm on Wednesday for over $390 million, a person familiar with the matter said, becoming the latest large institutional investor to offload its shares.

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Discord says Android users won’t be left hanging anymore Aug 03, 2022

Discord announced new measures to bring its Android app into parity with its iOS counterpart today.

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Sheryl Sandberg officially stepped down as Meta COO on August 1, filing shows Aug 02, 2022

We knew it was happening, but Meta has confirmed that its long-standing chief operating officer (COO) Sheryl Sandberg has departed from her role as of yesterday (August 1).

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After dominating the short video market, TikTok may be considering a music service Aug 02, 2022

TikTok parent company ByteDance filed a trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in May for a service called “TikTok Music.”

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Indian telecom firms bid $19 billion in 5G auction Aug 01, 2022

Telecom operators in India bid slightly over $19 billion in the government auction for the 5G airwaves, the highest from them in any spectrum sale, as the world’s second-largest wireless market readies the rollout of improved and faster voice and data speeds.

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US-based fintech Umba buys majority stake in Kenya’s Daraja microfinance bank Aug 01, 2022

Umba, a US-based digital bank with a focus on emerging markets, has acquired a majority shareholding of Daraja, a Kenyan deposit-taking microfinance bank, for an undisclosed amount.

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Twitter is increasing the price of Twitter Blue from $2.99 to $4.99 per month Jul 29, 2022

Twitter is increasing the price of its subscription service, Twitter Blue, from $2.99 to $4.99 per month.

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Gmail rolls out its latest Material You redesign and search improvements to all users Jul 29, 2022

If you feel like you’ve seen a lot of “Gmail redesign roll out” posts in the last few months, it’s not just you: Google has been teasing and testing features for new, integrated-view quick access to apps like Chat and Meet since the start of the year.

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DealCart is focused on price-conscious Pakistani consumers Jul 28, 2022

The price of consumer goods has been soaring all around the world, creating a major budgeting headache for many people. Social commerce startup DealCart wants to make life easier for shoppers, at least in Pakistan.

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Google Maps is rolling out location sharing notifications and immersive view for landmarks Jul 28, 2022

Google Maps is introducing three features today in different categories including an aerial view of 100 landmarks, detailed cycling routes, and improved location sharing with notifications for the arrival and departure of your friends.

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Spotify exits short-lived Car Thing hardware play, as reports Q2 MAUs of 433M, offsetting Russia exit and service outage Jul 27, 2022

Spotify’s push to complement its music streaming with a big move into podcasting and related content appears to be paying off, despite the ups and downs of operating in an uncertain economic and political climate and Spotify’s exit from its foray into hardware.

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Corporate travel tech platform Spotnana nabs $75M Jul 27, 2022

Spotnana, a self-proclaimed “travel-as-a-service” platform that targets corporations, travel management firms, and other technology companies with a cloud-based toolset for booking and managing travel, has raised $75 million in a series B round of funding.

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Snyk adds policy-based code security to its arsenal Jul 26, 2022

Last year was a pretty good one for Snyk, a Boston-based security company. It raised a hefty $530 million on a $8.5 billion valuation, and with that kind of money in the bank, it’s probably not surprising that it went shopping. In February, it bought developer-focused cloud security company Fugue for an undisclosed amount.

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Netflix’s iOS app now has a sign up button that takes you to its website Jul 26, 2022

Netflix’s app on iOS now has a signup button that will redirect you to its site so you can subscribe to one of its plans with the company paying no App Store fees.

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Real driverless cars are now legal in China’s tech hub Shenzhen Jul 25, 2022

There are plenty of autonomous driving vehicles testing on the roads of Shenzhen today: Pony.ai, Baidu, DeepRoute, AutoX, you name it.

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Mexican region gives Tesla and its suppliers a dedicated border crossing lane Jul 25, 2022

Tesla suppliers traveling from Nuevo León, Mexico, to Texas now have their very own dedicated border patrol lane.

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Google’s Pixel 6a is a budget device with the heart of a flagship Jul 22, 2022

It’s probably hyperbole to credit Google’s Pixel A devices for single-handedly keeping the broader line alive during some admittedly lean times.

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Meati Foods sinks teeth into $150M to expand its mushroom-root meat operations Jul 22, 2022

After five years of research, Meati Foods is poised to begin shipping its plant-based meat product later this year.

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Just Eat Takeaway scales back in France as market value drops 84% in 10 months Jul 21, 2022

Just Eat Takeaway is cutting 390 jobs from its workforce in France, constituting part of a broader global restructuring effort as the food delivery giant looks to reverse its recent downturn.

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China’s $1B fine on Didi could end the mobility giant’s troubled year Jul 21, 2022

Didi, the Chinese ride hailing behemoth that has undergone a year of regulatory overhaul, faces a fine of over 8 billion yuan ($1.28 billion) from the country’s authorities.

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Google expands its photo and canvas printing service to Europe and Canada Jul 20, 2022

Google is expanding its photo and canvas prints service to Europe and Canada. Google has offered printed photo books in the U.S. since 2017, a service that started rolling out in Europe the following year.

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Microsoft u-turns on policy that would’ve banned commercial open source apps Jul 20, 2022

Microsoft has confirmed that it won’t be introducing a previously announced new policy that would effectively ban developers from selling open source software on the Windows app store.

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Amazon sues admins from 10,000 Facebook groups over fake reviews Jul 19, 2022

If the reviews of the last completely necessary and not at all superfluous thing you bought on Amazon looked like so much copypasta, there’s a good reason.

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HireArt lands $26.25M to help manage and recruit W2 contractors for clients Jul 19, 2022

HireArt, which TechCrunch previously described as a “resume-killing” jobs marketplace, today announced that it raised $26.25 million in a Series B financing round led by Three Fish Capital with participation from over a “half dozen” angel investors. CEO Nick Sedlet said that the cash will be put toward product development and more than doubling HireArt’s […]

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Vektor Partners raises new €125M fund to look specifically at sustainable mobility Jul 18, 2022

SomeÂ estimatesÂ put the future mobility market at $178.7 billion by 2026, up from $78.1 billion two years ago. And there has been $400 billion worth of investments made into the sector over the past decade, with Â $100Â billion invested since 2020.

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The New York Times is turning Wordle into a board game Jul 15, 2022

The New York Times is turning the popular online word game Wordle into a board game by teaming up with toymaker Hasbro.

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Richard Branson backs Lightyear as UK stock trading platform launches into Europe Jul 15, 2022

Lightyear, a U.K. fintech startup that promises consumers commission-free trading on U.S. and European stocks, is officially extending into Europe from today.

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Plaid adds read-only support for thousands of crypto exchanges Jul 14, 2022

Plaid, the company building data transfer technologies to power fintech and digital finance products like smartphone-based wallets, today announced that it’s adding support for thousands of crypto exchanges to its data network.

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SendSprint, by ex-Flutterwave executive, hits market with $5 flat fee for all international money transfers Jul 14, 2022

SendSprint, a money transfer startup based in the UK but with operations in the US and Nigeria, has been launched today with the unique selling point of a $5 flat fee for all transfers.

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Long-time Bitcoin bull Anthony Pompliano launches crypto hiring firm Inflection Points with $12.6M raise Jul 13, 2022

Over the past 18 months, Inflection Points has been working in stealth mode to build out a crypto-focused employment and corporate training business and just secured $12.6 million in funding.

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SpaceX’s Starship booster engines explode in test gone wrong Jul 13, 2022

SpaceX’s Starship program encountered a setup after a test ended in a fiery explosion at its Boca Chica development facility in Texas on Monday night.

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Spotify is expanding video podcast publishing to creators in six more countries Jul 12, 2022

Spotify is expanding the ability to post video podcasts for creators in six new countries, including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Brazil, and Mexico.

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Pix Moving brings robovans to Japan, eyes DAO-based EV making Jul 12, 2022

A company from China is ready to capture Japan’s demand for autonomous service vehicles as robots play an increasingly important role to address the aging society’s labor shortage.

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Online donation platform Change helps charities fundraise in crypto Jul 11, 2022

Crypto owners tend to be more generous when donating to charity than other investors, research shows.

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Feds must step in or renewable energy will have nowhere to go, says MIT report Jul 11, 2022

Building wind and solar farms is an important part of building a new green grid, but a calm night stops their energy generation cold. It’s just as important to research and build green energy storage — and to that at scale requires federal intervention as soon as possible, suggests a new report from MIT. “The […]

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Instacart’s new rewards program gives shoppers exclusive early access to orders and more Jul 08, 2022

Instacart announced today that it’s launching a new “Cart Star” rewards program for shoppers on its platform. The program will offer incentives in three tiers: gold, platinum and diamond. To qualify for Cart Star, shoppers need to accumulate points based on the number of orders they fulfill, earning 10 points per customer order they deliver. […]

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28% of Americans still won’t consider buying an EV Jul 08, 2022

More than a quarter of Americans say they would not buy an electric vehicle, according to a Consumer Reports survey released Thursday. Price, range and access to charging stations have remained as primary barriers to buying an EV. But Consumer Reports has identified a new factor: a lack of education around EVs. The survey of […]

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Pinterest launches new shopping features for merchants Jul 07, 2022

Pinterest announced today that it’s rolling out new merchant features, including product tagging on Pins and a Pinterest API for Shopping. The company says all of the new features are designed to make it easier for merchants to create engaging shopping experiences for users. With the new Pinterest API for Shopping, merchants will get access […]

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Nothing can’t resist the NFT hype, and its fans are questioning Jul 07, 2022

Nothing, the consumer tech company started by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei and known for its aggressive marketing, unveils a non-fungible token project called Black Dot. Its fans are skeptical. Black Dot is a video clip featuring a rotating, transparent cube with a black dot bouncing off the walls inside and making a crispy, metallic sound. […]

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With maiden $42M fund, Bonfire Union wants to invest in web3 like Tencent does in web2 Jul 06, 2022

Mask Network, a Binance-backed startup that enables users to send cryptocurrencies and encrypted messages on established internet platforms like Twitter, has an ambitious goal: to become the corporate venture capital powerhouse in web3 as Tencent has done in web2. To that end, the five-year-old company recently completed the first close of its venture investment arm […]

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Google-backed Glance to launch in US within two months Jul 06, 2022

Glance, a subsidiary of adtech giant InMobi Group, is planning to launch its lock screen platform on Android smartphones in the U.S. within two months, a source familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. The startup is engaging with wireless carriers in the U.S. for partnerships and is gearing up to launch on several smartphone models […]

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American Robotics’ owner set to acquire fellow drone firm, Airobotics Jul 05, 2022

Some drone industry consolidation this morning as Ondas Holdings, the company behind Waltham, Massachusetts–based American Robotics announced its plans to acquire Airobotics. It’s admittedly been a few years since we covered the latter, when the Israeli firm announced a combined $28.5 million A/B round. To date, the company has raised $130 million since its 2014 […]

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Google will start erasing location data for abortion clinic visits Jul 05, 2022

In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision to strip federal abortion rights in the U.S., many people are questioning how the apps they use every day might suddenly be turned against them. As concerns over the endless well of data that tech companies built an entire industry around mount, Google is taking at least […]

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Meta is pulling the plug on its crypto payments wallet, Novi Jul 04, 2022

Three years after Facebook announced its ill-fated push into cryptocurrency, aka the Libra project, the tech giant has signalled another scaling back of its activity — announcing Friday that Novi, the digital wallet payments pilot it launched last October, will be ending on on September 1. In a statement provided to CoinDesk, the tech giant […]

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Google will reimburse developers $90 million to settle a lawsuit over Play Store earnings Jul 04, 2022

Google said Thursday it will pay $90 million to settle a lawsuit with US developers that accused Google of abusing its power of app distribution and charging an unfairÂ fee of 30% for app purchases and in-app purchases made through the Play Store.

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Open source developers urged to ditch GitHub following Copilot launch Jul 01, 2022

Software Freedom Conservancy, a not-for-profit organization that provides support and legal services for open source software projects, has called on the open source community to ditch GitHub after quitting the code-hosting and collaboration platform itself.

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Apple says developers will have to submit a new version to use third-party payment systems in South Korea Jul 01, 2022

Apple announced Thursday that developers can now use a third-party payment system for the South Korea App Store.

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The Drako Motors 2,000-hp electric luxury SUV “feels more like a spaceship” Jun 30, 2022

Startup EV manufacturer Drako Motors previewed today the follow-up to its $1.25 million Drako GTE: the 2,000-horsepower Drako Dragon Super-SUV.

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Tesla lays off nearly 200 Autopilot workers, shutters San Mateo office Jun 30, 2022

Tesla has gutted the data annotation team working on Autopilot, laying off nearly 200 employees and shutting down the San Mateo, California office where they worked.

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Arzooo raises $70 million to bring ‘best of e-commerce’ to physical stores in India Jun 29, 2022

Arzooo, an Indian startup that is attempting to bring the “best of e-commerce” to physical retail shops, has raised $70 million in a new financing round as it looks to scale its platform to more cities.

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Democrats ‘exploring’ legislation to protect data in reproductive health apps Jun 29, 2022

US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday that Democrats are considering the introduction of legislation that could protect the abortion rights of citizens.

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JourneyOne harvests a dope $10M fund to invest in cannabis tech Jun 28, 2022

As the cannabis markets are maturing, we’re seeing new opportunities rise to the surface. JourneyOne ventures told TechCrunch it’s closed a $10 million fund and has started making its first few investments.

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Battery giant Anker backs programmable robot maker Keyi Jun 28, 2022

The promise of STEAM robots, which are billed to increase children’s interest in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM), has been around for years. The market is teeming with products from hardcore robotics scientists and their copycats. Many have faded away, but investor interest hasn’t died down, at least for one company coming from […]

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Volkswagen unveils ID.AERO concept that will provide the basis for 2023 flagship EV Jun 27, 2022

Volkswagen Group unveiled its ID.AERO concept in China on Monday — slated to serve as the inspiration behind the automaker’s flagship EV, and first-ever global all-electric sedan, next year.

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Amsterdam cyber startup Hadrian closes €10.5M Seed for platform which simulates hacker attacks Jun 27, 2022

As companies grow they expose more of themselves online and become harder to defend in terms of cybersecurity.

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Airrow is automating battery and payload swapping for drones Jun 24, 2022

Any given year, the real unsung highlight of re:Mars are the dozen or so startups and researchers who show off their wares on the show floor. There are always a couple of cool projects that have somehow managed to escape our radar, thus far.

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Einride to operate its cab-less autonomous pods on U.S. public roads Jun 24, 2022

Einride, the Swedish startup that wants to electrify the autonomous freight industry, will begin operating its purpose-built, self-driving pods on public roads in the U.S. this year as part of an existing partnership with General Electric Appliances (GEA).

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Uber rejects claim that it explored exiting India Jun 23, 2022

Uber said on Thursday it has never explored exiting India, a key overseas market for several tech giants, dismissing a claim that it has had held discussions to sell the local unit.

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Twitter partners with Shopify to bring merchants’ products to Twitter Shopping Jun 23, 2022

As part of its ongoing efforts to expand into e-commerce, Twitter today announced a new partnership with Shopify. The deal will see Twitter launching a sales channel app that will be made available to all of Shopify’s U.S. merchants through its app store.

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Wingcopter raises another $42M ahead of ambitious Africa deployment Jun 22, 2022

In mid-May, Wingcopter announced an extremely ambitious plan to deploy some 12,000 of its fixed-wing UAVs in Sub-Saharan Africa over the next half decade.

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Neobank Stashfin raises $270 million, tops $700 million valuation Jun 22, 2022

Singapore-based Stashfin has raised $270 million in a new funding round as the neobanking platform, which currently only serves customers in India, looks to expand to Southeast Asia and other South Asian markets, it said Tuesday.

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Magic Eden raises $130M, hitting unicorn status at $1.6B valuation Jun 21, 2022

NFT marketplace Magic Eden, launched just nine months ago, has raised $130 million in a Series B round co-led by Electric Capital and Greylock Partners, bringing its valuation to $1.6 billion.

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Iran to cut electricity to authorized crypto miners: report Jun 21, 2022

Iran’s relationship with the crypto mining sector is a love-hate one. The government is again restricting crypto mining activity as it tries to ease the strain on the country’s power supply, despite knowing the promise of crypto as a way to evade international sanctions.

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Ransomware ring claims attack on Africa’s largest retail chain Shoprite Jun 20, 2022

RansomHouse, a ransomware gang, has claimed responsibility for the cyberattack on Shoprite, Africa’s largest retailer.

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Brex, which started out serving startups, now says it is ‘less suited to meet the needs of smaller customers’ Jun 20, 2022

Three months after announcing it would make a big push into software and enterprise, fintech giant Brex is apparently abandoning the very segment it started out to serve – small and medium-to-sized businesses.

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Immutable launches $500M fund to boost web3 gaming adoption Jun 17, 2022

The crypto gaming industry is continuing to grow in popularity as more capital is deployed in the space and traditional Web 2.0 gaming studios look to enter the web3 market.

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Reddit is buying machine learning platform Spell Jun 17, 2022

Reddit announced Thursday that it would buy Spell, a platform for running machine learning experiments, for an undisclosed amount.

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Google Maps has a new Android widget to show live traffic around you Jun 16, 2022

Google Maps is introducing a new widget for Android that will be another use for the functionality that helped make a name for Waze, the other driving and mapping app that Google acquired nearly a decade ago.

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GreyNoise to expand its threat intel collection after securing $15M in funding Jun 16, 2022

GreyNoise Intelligence, a Washington D.C.-based cybersecurity startup that analyses internet scanning traffic to help organizations separate threats from internet “background noise,” has landed $15 million in Series A funding to expand its threat collection capabilities and help protect organizations from emerging vulnerabilities.

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Amazon revamps Fire TV user interface with new home screen, improved navigation and more Jun 15, 2022

Amazon Fire TV revealed an updated user interface that aims to improve the navigation experience for users.

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Lime is trailing shared electric motorbikes Jun 15, 2022

Shared micromobility giant Lime is piloting electric motorbikes in Long Beach, California.

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Overair nabs $145M to produce eVTOL prototype by 2023 Jun 14, 2022

Overair, a California-based electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicle startup, has secured $145 million in funding that will go towards the development of Butterfly, the company’s experimental aircraft prototype, by the second half of 2023.

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Cereal maker Magic Spoon scoops up $85M as it lands spot on Target shelves Jun 14, 2022

Gaining a place on retail shelves is just the start to Magic Spoon's plan to evolve into an omnichannel brand that eventually goes beyond the cereal box.

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Crypto lender Celsius pauses withdrawals, transfers citing ‘extreme market conditions’ Jun 13, 2022

Cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network, recently valued at about $3 billion, told customers Sunday evening that it is pausing “withdrawals, swap, and transfers between accounts."

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Amazon said to pull out of IPL cricket streaming bidding Jun 13, 2022

Amazon won’t be bidding for the IPL media rights for the year 2023 to 2027, a person familiar with the matter said, leaving the hotly contested streaming auction to Disney and Reliance.

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Duolingo back in China app stores after 1 year with a local twist Jun 10, 2022

Duolingo, the Nasdaq-listed language learning app, is back in China’s Apple App Store and Android stores nearly a year after it disappeared from the country’s app stores.

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Tesla accuses civil rights agency of unlawfully suing for racial discrimination Jun 10, 2022

Tesla has accused the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) of failing to conduct proper investigations before it sued Tesla for racial bias at its assembly plant, according to a petition filed Wednesday with California’s Office of Administrative Law (OAL).

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Google expands ads verification program to tackle financial scams Jun 09, 2022

Google is expanding a verification program for financial services ads that it launched in the UK last summer after seeing what it describes as a “pronounced decline” in reports of ads promoting financial scams.

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Multicoin Capital leads $60M investment in Delphia to give retail investors edge against hedge funds Jun 09, 2022

The startup’s “share-to-earn” data token model will reward users for contributing valuable information, which it will then use to help its model better pick stocks.

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Tencent once more seeks to expand its mobile hit Honor of Kings globally Jun 08, 2022

Honor of Kings, the world’s largest mobile game made by China’s internet behemoth Tencent, is rolling out a global version by the end of this year.

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Oracle quietly closes $28B deal to buy electronic health records company Cerner Jun 08, 2022

At the end of last year, just before Christmas, Oracle made a big move when it announced it was acquiring electronic health records company Cerner for $28 billion, thrusting it quickly into the top enterprise deal for 2021, just under the wire.

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At 65 inches and 8K, the world’s largest holographic display is here Jun 07, 2022

Bigger isn’t always better, but when the Looking Glass Factory announces a beast of a holographic display, it tickles our rods, cones and curiosity equally.

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Etsy is launching a purchase protection program, investing $25M to cover refunds in some cases Jun 07, 2022

Online marketplace Etsy is launching a new Purchase Protection program for buyers and sellers on its platform, the company announced on Monday. Starting August 1st, buyers on Etsy will be eligible to receive a full refund for purchases that don’t match the item description, arrive damaged or don’t arrive at all.

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Google disables RCS ads in India following rampant spam by businesses Jun 06, 2022

Google has disabled businesses ability to use RCS for promotion in India, the company’s biggest market by users, following reports of rampant spam by some firms in a setback for the standard that the company is hoping to be the future of SMS messaging.

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Gemini lays off 10% of workforce as the ‘crypto revolution’ enters its ‘contraction phase’ Jun 06, 2022

Crypto platform Gemini has cut approximately 10% of its workforce, per co-founders and twin brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.

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Foxconn confirms ransomware attack disrupted operations at Mexico factory Jun 03, 2022

Smartphone manufacturing giant Foxconn has confirmed that a ransomware attack in late May disrupted operations at one of its Mexico-based production plants.

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Amazon is launching an invite-based ordering option, starting with the PS5 and Xbox Series X Jun 03, 2022

Amazon is launching a new invite-based ordering experience for high-demand, low-supply products.

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Pear VC’s Anand Iyer goes solo with new $20M fund for crypto developer tools Jun 02, 2022

Engineers are the bedrock of any tech product, and blockchains are no exception.

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Binance Labs closes $500M fund to focus on Web3 and blockchain adoption Jun 02, 2022

Venture capital firms continue to deploy and raise capital for crypto markets despite volatility in recent weeks, with Binance Labs closing a $500 million investment fund to focus on web3 and blockchain technology adoption.

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Smiler comes up with a different kind of gig economy for event and venue photographers Jun 01, 2022

Traditional venue photography providers like DEI Global, MagicMemories, Picsolve and Sharingbox are reliant on fixed equipment, permanent staffing costs, and on-site printed products.

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Zinc heads towards new $41M tech-for-good fund to back pre-team talent solving big problems Jun 01, 2022

So-called “tech for good” accelerators addressing such worthy-sounding subjects as ESGs and SDGs have appeared in the last few years. Some observers have dismissed these efforts as scalable only put to a point.

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HitPay is a one-stop solution for SMEs May 31, 2022

HitPay has almost everything SMEs need to run their businesses. In addition to being an online payment gateway, it also offers tools like point-of-sale software with card readers, plugins, payment links and no-code online stores.

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India withdraws warning on biometric ID sharing following online uproar May 31, 2022

India has withdrawn a warning that asked users to not share photocopies of their national biometric ID following a widespread uproar from users on social media, many of whom pointed that this is the first time they were hearing about such a possibility.

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Berlin-based B2B BNPL platform Mondu raises $43M Series A led by Valar in the US May 31, 2022

Given the likely global recession, small businesses are reaching for new kinds of financing. Thus, the Buy Now Pay Later business model is now expanding into this B2B world at a rate of knots.

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Joywell Foods raises $25M to bring sweet proteins to market May 31, 2022

Joywell uses a proprietary microbial fermentation process to produce sweet proteins that are nearly identical to those found in exotic fruits and berries.

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FlexID gets Algorand funding to offer self-sovereign IDs to Africa’s unbanked May 27, 2022

Much of the world’s attention around blockchain is on the highs and lows of cryptocurrency values. Startups like FlexID remind us that distributed ledger technology has the potential to play other roles.

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Amid crypto market turmoil, Andreessen Horowitz announces $4.5 billion web3 fund May 27, 2022

Despite a gloomy outlook for crypto markets based on the past few weeks of token turbulence, venture capitalists looking to spend their way into a web3 future aren’t taking their foot off of the gas.

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ViolaCredit closes $700M fund to provide asset-based lending FinTech startups May 27, 2022

Fintech startup and alternative credit asset manager ViolaÂ Credit, has closed its latest $700 million fund which provides asset-based lending capital to FinTech, PropTech, and InsurTech startups.

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Broadcom to acquire VMware in massive $61B deal May 27, 2022

Sometimes when there is smoke, there is actually fire. Such was the case with the rumors of Broadcom’s interest in VMware this past weekend.

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Dyson has been secretly building robots May 25, 2022

You probably know Dyson for their vacuums, or maybe that too-powerful dryer you’ve tentatively stuck your hands in while waiting for a flight. Maybe you’ve seen their hair dryers or fans.

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Monte Carlo raises $135M Series D at $1.6B price, showing that unicorn rounds are still a thing May 25, 2022

If you grow this quickly, yes, you can raise capital for your software business like it's still 2021.

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DigitalOcean launches serverless product based on last year’s Nimbella acquisition May 24, 2022

When DigitialOcean bought Nimbella last year, you knew it intended to go deeper into serverless technologies, and sure enough the company announced a new feature called DigitalOcean Functions today, based on Nimbella technology.

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Premium streaming subscriptions continue to increase despite Netflix’s downfall May 24, 2022

If you’ve been following Netflix lately, then you’d know the streamer is on shaky ground at the moment.

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Metaverse app BUD raises another $37M, plans to launch NFTs May 23, 2022

BUD, a nascent app taking a shot at creating a metaverse for Gen Z to play and interact with each other, has raised another round of funding in three months.

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COVID was the best thing for Kitty, as insurance apps for pets boom May 23, 2022

Technology turned out to be a boon for pets during the pandemic. Without ready access to vets, pet owners turned to mobile apps to keep track on their pet’s health, often via educational content, and in some cases that was linked to insurance providers.

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Leanplum acquired by Clevertap as retention marketing platforms consolidate May 20, 2022

CleverTap, a retention marketing platform which has raised $76.6M to date, is to fully acquire Bulgarian-originated but San Francisco-based Leanplum, a customer engagement platform which has raised $131.2M, for an undisclosed amount.

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Everstream Analytics secures new cash to predict supply chain disruptions May 20, 2022

Everstream Analytics, a supply chain insights and risk analytics startup, today announced that it raised $24 million in a Series A round led by Morgan Stanley Investment Management with participation from Columbia Capital, StepStone Group, and DHL.

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Framework’s user-repairable laptop gets an upgrade May 19, 2022

There may be some irony in upgrading a laptop designed around the principles of user repairability/upgradeability. Though certainly Framework isn’t expecting too many folks who purchased last year’s model to replace their system with the latest and greatest.

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India reiterates its strict VPN rules, breach disclosures despite concerns May 19, 2022

India is pushing ahead with its new cybersecurity rules that will require cloud service providers and VPN operators to maintain names of their customers and their IP addresses despite many players threatening to leave the world’s second largest internet market over the new guidelines.

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Amazon launches Smart Commerce in India to help offline stores launch digital storefronts May 18, 2022

Amazon said it will help neighborhood stores across India launch their own digital storefronts to better serve their customers, the latest effort by the e-commerce giant as it attempts to leverage the dense network of offline stores in the key overseas market.

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Banking-as-a-service startup Unit closes on $100M at a $1.2B valuation May 18, 2022

Unit, a banking-as-a-service startup, has closed on a $100 million Series C round of funding led by Insight Partners. Existing backers Accel, Better Tomorrow Ventures, Aleph, and Flourish Ventures also participated in the financing, which values the company at $1.2 billion.

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Red Hat open sources StackRox, the Kubernetes security platform it acquired last year May 17, 2022

Last January, Red Hat announced that it was acquiring Kubernetes security startup StackRox, a company that had raised over $65 million since it was founded in 2014.

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Curious Thing’s voice AI communication platform asks the right questions May 17, 2022

Sydney-based Curious Thing is an aptly-named startup. The voice AI communication platform can call people and ask them questions like “How are you feeling today?” and then follow up with “how does it feel compared to yesterday?”

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Tech giants pledge $30M to boost open source software security May 16, 2022

Tech giants including Amazon, Google and Microsoft have pledged millions of dollars to bolster the security of open source software.

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Binance halts Luna and UST trading across most of its spot pairs following meltdown May 16, 2022

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, has suspended trading of Terraform Labs’ Terra (Luna) and TerraUSD (UST) tokens across most of its spot pairs, and for Luna, additionally across all of cross margins and isolated margins pairs following one of the biggest meltdowns in the history of cryptocurrencies.

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Elon Musk says Twitter deal “temporarily on hold” over spam May 13, 2022

Twitter staff must really be wishing for a quiet life… Elon Musk, the gadfly billionaire who recently decided he wants to add the social media platform to his collection of tech firms, has just tweeted that his $43BN bid to buy the company is “on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts.

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TopUp Mama looking to solve sourcing challenges for restaurants May 13, 2022

Stock-outs, unpredictable prices of farm produce and a lack of working capital are among the challenges that plague small restaurants and food vendors in emerging markets.

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Interswitch receives $110M investment from LeapFrog and Tana Africa Capital May 12, 2022

African payments company Interswitch has secured a $110 million joint investment from LeapFrog Investments and Tana Africa Capital to scale its digital payment services across the continent, the two private investment firms said in a statement Wednesday.

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Educapital aims to raise a $160 million fund focused on edtech and future of work May 12, 2022

VC firm Educapital recently announced that it has reached the first close of its second fund.

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Faye hopes to do for travel insurance what Lemonade did for general insurance May 11, 2022

While (former) startups like Lemonade came along to attack the tired world of insurance, the travel insurance market is now coming in for the same treatment from the likes of Safetywing (covered by TCÂ here) and Battleface.

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Tenyx raises $15M to build more intelligent voice-based customer service AI May 11, 2022

Automating customer service tasks, particularly those that require agents to speak with customers on the phone, is something of a holy grail in the enterprise.

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Moovit adds Beep’s autonomous shuttle to trip-planning app May 10, 2022

Israeli trip-planning app Moovit is integrating with Orlando-based autonomous shuttle startup Beep, which will allow riders to view options for taking Beep shuttles alongside other forms of transit, like buses or trains.

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Cloudflare heads effort to make JavaScript environments interoperable May 10, 2022

Cloudflare today announced that it’s collaborating with Deno, the development company behind the eponymous Deno runtime, and individual contributors of the Node.js open source project to create standards that enable developers to write code between Deno,

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Atma wants to make job hunting in Indonesia easier May 09, 2022

Atma, an Indonesian startup that wants to make job hunting less painful, announced today it has raised $5 million in pre-seed funding led by AC Ventures, with participation from Global Founders Capital.

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Fortnite is back on iOS through Xbox Cloud Gaming May 09, 2022

Microsoft is throwing its weight behind Epic Games in the fight against Apple — and bringing Fortnite back to iOS in the process.

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Peloton reportedly looks to sell up to a 20% stake amid struggles May 06, 2022

In February, Peloton CEO John Foley stepped down as the connected fitness pioneer cut 2,800 jobs. No one could say the news was unexpected.

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Porsche joins $400M bet on lithium-silicon batteries to juice up future EVs May 06, 2022

Porsche has read the room. With its first electric vehicle now outselling the quintessential 911 sports car, the German automaker is responding by upping its bet on EVs, in part via a hefty investment in lithium-silicon battery developer Group14 Technologies.

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Pinterest quietly launches a live-streaming app for video creators May 05, 2022

Pinterest on Monday launched a new app aimed at making it easier for creators to live stream to its platform.

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Amberdata raises $30M to chase the “unlimited opportunity” of bringing traditional finance into web3 May 05, 2022

Amberdata, an institutionally-focused digital asset data provider, has raised $30 million in its Series B, its CEO Shawn Douglass exclusively told TechCrunch.

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Ursa Major lands order for 200 rocket engines from Phantom Space May 04, 2022

Hundreds of rocket engines manufactured by startup Ursa Major will be going to space company Phantom Space over the next few years, part of a massive order that reflects Phantom’s bullish stance on the small launch market.

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AccelByte, a backend services platform for game developers, raises $60M led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 May 04, 2022

AccelByte, a platform that helps game creators build backend services and tools, has raised $60 million in Series B led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with participation from Sony Interactive Entertainment and returning backers Galaxy Interactive and NetEase.

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Americana’s chip turns physical objects into NFTs May 03, 2022

NFTs are being used for far more than just proving you own a JPEG on the internet.

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USV quietly announces $625M in fresh funding for ‘both Web2 and Web3’ teams May 03, 2022

Union Square Ventures (USV), the 19-year-old, New York-based venture firm,Â hasÂ raised $275 millionÂ for its eighth early-stage fund and $350 million for its fourth opportunity fund, the firm announced in aÂ blog postÂ yesterday.

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Okra Solar is bringing renewable energy to underserved markets May 02, 2022

Okra Solar walked away with the trophy and a giant check at our 2019 Shenzhen Hardware Battlefield event. It’s a moment happily eternalized in a new press release announcing the renewable energy startup’s $2.1 million new round (it’s a nice photo. I used it on this post, too).

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Airbnb commits to fully remote workplace: ‘Live and work anywhere’ May 02, 2022

Airbnb is going all in on the “live anywhere, work anywhere” philosophy that much of the business world has been forced to adopt, committing to full-time remote work for most employees and a handful of perks like 90 days of international work/travel.

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More TradFi in DeFi as Sienna Network launches SiennaLend, a private crypto lending platform Apr 29, 2022

It was last year that we covered the $11.2M fundraise for Sienna Network, the ‘privacy decentralized’ startup.

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CommandBar lands $19M to inject in-app searches with smarts Apr 29, 2022

Thanks to the explosion of low- and no-code development tools, building web apps from scratch has become easier — and cheaper — than it once was. But sophisticated search and navigation functions can complicate the process.

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Smallstep takes big step toward authenticating machine-to-machine communications Apr 28, 2022

Smallstep founder and CEO Mike Malone calls big, distributed systems his happy place, but these systems involve a lot of machine-to-machine communications, an area identity vendors haven’t been able to solve.

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Apple opens Self Service Repair to US iPhone users Apr 28, 2022

I’ve been covering Apple in various capacities for a long time now. Over the years, I don’t know that I’ve seen an announcement from the company as unexpected and warmly received as Self Service Repair.

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GM expects to spend $2B on Cruise in 2022 Apr 27, 2022

General Motors expects full-year 2022 expenses at Cruise, the automaker’s autonomous driving subsidiary, to be approximately $2 billion, according to GM’s chief financial officer Paul Jacobson.

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In the wake of Fast’s collapse, Volume thinks it can crack the payment checkout conundrum Apr 27, 2022

Online payment methods can be expensive for merchants, who have to pay between 2% and 8% of every sale to debit and credit card, ewallet and BNPL facilitators.

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Jack in the Box is piloting Miso’s hamburger-cooking robot Apr 26, 2022

You’ve got to hand it to Miso — the company knows how to sell the sizzle, as they say in the meat-cooking business. The robotics firm has been striking high-profile deals with some of the U.S.’s biggest fast food chains, from White Castle to Panera Bread.

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Reliance says its $3.4 billion deal with Future Group ‘cannot be implemented’ Apr 26, 2022

Reliance Industries “cannot implement” its $3.4 billion deal to acquire several parts of retail chain Future Group after secured creditors rejected the offer earlier this week, India’s most valuable firm said in a stock exchange filing on Saturday.

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Twitter said to be close to a deal with Elon Musk Apr 25, 2022

As unlikely as it may have once seemed, reports indicate Elon Musk may actually end up the owner of a newly-private Twitter after all.

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After layoffs, Flockjay lands on a new SaaS-y vision for tech sales Apr 25, 2022

Months after cutting half its staff, edtech startup Flockjay has landed on a new vision for how to disrupt tech sales: start from the inside, out.

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Snapchat is growing faster than Facebook and Twitter Apr 22, 2022

Snap released its first quarter financial results for 2022 today, affirming that it’s growing faster than its fellow US-based competitors Facebook (now Meta) and Twitter. Meta reported its first loss in daily active users (DAUs) last quarter.

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Immigrant credit FinTech Pillar raises $16.9M pre-seed led by Global Founders Capital and Backed VC Apr 22, 2022

Immigrants to a new country can often be cash-rich. The problem is, is that they have no credit history in their new country.

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This kamikaze drone sacrifices its own rotors to take down other drones Apr 21, 2022

Drones can be dangerous, and we’ve seen consumer-grade drones used for all sorts of nefarious purposes.

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Connected strength-training startup Vitruvian eyes US with $15M raise Apr 21, 2022

It’s been a wild few years for the home fitness industry. Few consumer technologies were better positioned to ride the pandemic to new heights. There’s been some leveling off of late, of course.

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BMW launches its first all-electric 7 Series sedan Apr 20, 2022

After months of teasers and a slow drip of information, BMW today announced its new i7 xDrive60, the first all-electric version of its full-size luxury sedan.

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Facebook is losing interest in its podcasting plans, new report claims Apr 20, 2022

Last April, Facebook announced a suite of new audio products, including new support for podcasts and a Clubhouse live audio competitor, which was an indication that it was taking the threat from other audio platforms more seriously.

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Music streamer Deezer is going public via SPAC at a $1.1B valuation Apr 19, 2022

A European music streamer, Deezer is going public via a SPAC deal, valuing the Spotify competitor at $1.1 billion. Deezer will merge with the “blank-check” company I2PO, which is headed by former WarnerMedia executive Iris Knobloch. Founded in 2007, the company previously tried to IPO in 2015, only to reverse course and raise Series E […]

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Youth sports app TeamSnap launches a new system designed for clubs and leagues Apr 19, 2022

TeamSnap, a web service for managing recreational and competitive sports teams and groups, announced the launch of its all-in-one multi-program management system for youth sports organizations.

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D&D Beyond comes under the wing of Wizards of the Coast in $146 million deal Apr 18, 2022

The parent company of Dungeons & Dragons publisher Wizards of the Coast will buy D&D Beyond, the role-playing game’s popular digital suite of tools.

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Peloton is increasing its subscription fees starting June 1 Apr 18, 2022

Peloton announced today that it’s increasing the price of its subscription fees in the United States and Canada. Starting June 1, the cost of the company’s all-access plan fee is increasing from $39 to $44 in the United States and from $49 to $55 in Canada.Â

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Swiggy backs bike taxi platform Rapido in $180 million funding Apr 15, 2022

Swiggy has led a $180 million financing round into bike taxi startup Rapido as the Indian food delivery giant looks to broaden its fleet network across the country, the two firms said on Friday.

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As post-covid food distribution digitizes, Cerve raises $2M for wholesaler platform Apr 15, 2022

As we found during the pandemic, food and beverage distribution is critical, but most food wholesalers’ sales remain manually operated. Post-covid, food wholesalers are fast digitizing their operations, but many still rely on legacy backend systems.

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Tinder adds a ‘Festival Mode’ for making connections ahead of concerts and events Apr 14, 2022

Tinder today is launching a new feature called Festival Mode designed to help users connect ahead of their plans to attend concerts or larger music festivals, like The Governors Ball, Bonnaroo, Stagecoach, EDC Las Vegas, and others.

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Moot channels $18M for a platform and toolkit to power e-commerce strategies for brands Apr 14, 2022

E-commerce today is played out wherever a consumer sees something and wants it — be it on a company’s site or app, a social media feed, a marketplace, a search, or an advert.

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Nurse-assisting robotics firm Diligent raises $30M Apr 13, 2022

Nursing shortages were a problem well before our hospitals were rocked by a pandemic. Two years in and overloaded systems have further contributed to burnout, stress and other factors plaguing the people we rely on for our own well-being.

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Prelude raises $24M to help organizations harden their cybersecurity defenses Apr 13, 2022

Prelude, a Washington D.C-based startup that helps organizations harden their cyber defenses through the use ofÂ autonomous red-teaming, has secured $24 million in Series A funding.

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Miso Robotics brings a new coffee monitoring system to Panera Apr 12, 2022

Miso made a name for itself with the hamburger-cooking robot, Flippy.

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Elon Musk is not joining Twitter board, CEO Parag Agrawal says Apr 12, 2022

Elon Musk is not joining Twitter’s board, the social network’s chief executive Parag Agrawal said, in a surprising reversal following last week’s announcement that theÂ Tesla and SpaceX chief executive had been appointed to the panel.

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Perforce adds infrastructure automation tooling with Puppet acquisition Apr 11, 2022

Perforce Software has been building developer tools since 1995, a long time in the tech world. The company was acquired by Clearlake Capital in 2018, and over the last several years has been modernizing and expanding its reach through acquisition.

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Brilliant Planet is running algae-farms to pull carbon out of the air Apr 11, 2022

Sure you can run machines to decarbonize the air, but where’s the fun in that when you can invite mother nature to do the work for you?

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Twitter launches improved alt text accessibility features globally Apr 08, 2022

Sometimes, new Twitter features can be divisive — we’ve made our feelings clear about the edit button, which is apparently in the works. But we can (hopefully) all agree that simple accessibility features are a good thing.

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Goldman Sachs joins other investors in $88M round for web3 and blockchain security firm CertiK Apr 08, 2022

CertiK, a Web3 and blockchain security company, has raised $88 million in its latest round, bringing its valuation to $2 billion.

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Built Robotics raises another $64M to make construction equipment autonomous Apr 07, 2022

If you’re still wrapping your head around the idea of self-driving cars, get ready for something that might seem even wilder: self-driving construction equipment exists, and it’s already out there digging away on job sites.

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Visa unveils first innovation hub in Africa to drive product development Apr 07, 2022

Global digital payments giant Visa has opened up an innovation studio in Kenya, its first in Africa and sixth globally, after posts in Dubai, London, Miami, San Francisco and Singapore.

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Rivian picks up EV production in Q1, on track to hit annual target Apr 06, 2022

Rivian produced 2,553 vehicles in the first quarter, putting it on course to meet its production goal of 25,000 EVs this year, the company said Tuesday.

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Amazon lines up dozens of launches to put thousands of Kuiper satellites in orbit Apr 06, 2022

Amazon is finally taking decisive action on its Kuiper communications satellite constellation, securing the rights to as many as 83 launches from United Launch Alliance, Arianespace, and of course Blue Origin.

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The Peloton Guide is now available for $295 Apr 05, 2022

Late last year, Peloton announced Guide. The set-top system is an effort to reach a broader slice of the market with a lower cost alternative to its line of bikes and treadmills.

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UPS partners with Jumia to expand delivery network in Africa Apr 05, 2022

Global logistics and package delivery company UPS will leverage Jumia’s network across Africa to grow its reach across the continent, following a new partnership announced today that gives it access to the e-commerce firm’s last mile delivery infrastructure.

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Musk takes a $3B bite out of Twitter; now the Tesla mogul has a 9.2% share of the social network Apr 04, 2022

He’s used Twitter to poll people apparently to make major business decisions. He’s had his hand figuratively slapped (more than once) by regulators over how he’s used the social platform to potentially manipulate the markets.

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Biden’s answer to high gas prices is to boost U.S. battery production Apr 04, 2022

President Joe Biden will trigger the Defense Production Act to secure U.S. sources ofÂ critical minerals and materials like lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite and manganese that are used to make batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage.

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GoPro’s new battery grip triples your action-cam shooting time Apr 01, 2022

You just know your battery will kick the bucket at the worst possible time, right when you’ve perfected your sick, hella nar-nar skateboard tricks, bruh.

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Mojo Vision takes another step toward AR contact lenses with new prototype Apr 01, 2022

We’ve known Mojo Vision’s journey to market was going to be a long and deliberate one since we saw an early prototype in Las Vegas a number of CESes ago.

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Tumblr expands its tip jar feature to enable blog-level tipping Mar 31, 2022

Tumblr is expanding its tip jar feature by introducing blog-level tipping for its iOS and web applications, the company announced on Wednesday. The company rolled out its tip jar feature last month allowing users to leave tips on posts.

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Dyson is betting you’ll want to strap an air purifier to your face Mar 31, 2022

Air. I love it, you love it. We’re all out here walking around in it all day, filling our lungs and blood with the stuff. We can’t get enough of it. But that beautiful, wonderful, life-saving air that you, me and your pet chinchilla all need is bad sometimes.

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Can robotic hives help save the world’s bees? Mar 30, 2022

Here’s a bummer of a statistic for you: Around 30% of bee colonies disappear every year. Scientists coined the phrase “colony collapse disorder” (CCD) to describe what’s been a devastating ongoing trend in the world’s bee population.

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Celonis pushes into Microsoft ecosystem with $100M Process Analytics Factory acquisition Mar 30, 2022

Celonis moves into Microsoft ecosystem with Process Analytics Factory acquisition

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After six months of invite-only sales, Amazon Glow is now available to all in the U.S. Mar 29, 2022

Back in September of last year, Amazon announced a curious looking device called the Amazon Glow.

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Treeswift is using drones to monitor forests Mar 29, 2022

Over the past decade, drones have become an increasingly important tool for forest monitoring. They’re a fast and effective way to collect a lot of data in one go, without upsetting the natural balance too much.

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Apple TV+ becomes the first streaming service to win a Best Picture Oscar with “CODA” Mar 28, 2022

Apple TV+ has beat out Netflix to become the first streaming service to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards, with “Coda’s” triumph.Â

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Former TikTok content moderators file lawsuit over ‘psychological trauma’ Mar 28, 2022

A pair of former TikTok content reviewers is suing the company, alleging that it failed to adequately support them as they engaged in the deeply disturbing work of removing objectionable videos from the social network.

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Polestar’s long range single motor Polestar 2 arrives in the US Mar 25, 2022

Following the release of its dual-motor variant late last year, Polestar announced that the 270-mile long range, single-motor version of its Polestar 2 EV is now available for sale in the US.

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Samsara Eco wants to help end global plastic crisis with enzyme-based technology Mar 25, 2022

Global plastic use is expected toÂ double by 2040, with most plastic sent to landfills and only 13 percent recycled. According to CIEL (Center for International Environmental Law), plastic production and incineration could produce 2.8 gigatons of carbon dioxideÂ every year by 2050.Â

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Coinbase makes India push with support for UPI payments Mar 24, 2022

Coinbase is beginning to add support for payment instruments UPI and IMPS in India, making its crypto exchange broadly functional in the world’s second largest internet market for the first time in years.

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Astronomer ready for its next mission after Datakin acquisition, $213M Series C Mar 24, 2022

The once scrappy company is scrappy no more and poised to build new features around what it's already done with Airflow.

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Tome livens up slide decks with real-time data, flexible layouts Mar 23, 2022

The company thinks you should be spending less time trying to adapt your content to a presentation page and more time on storytelling.

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Podcasters, get ready to find out how many followers you have on Apple Podcasts Mar 23, 2022

Apple Podcasts is rolling out new features to incentivize podcasters to offer paid subscriptions to listeners on the app. One of those features will — for better or for worse — reveal to podcasters in their private analytics dashboard how many people follow them on Apple Podcasts.

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Talkspace-owned Lasting launches new ‘Parenting Guide’ app, its latest self-guided advice service Mar 22, 2022

Lasting, which is owned by mobile therapy company Talkspace, has launched a new app aimed at parents.

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Gensyn applies a token to distributed computing for AI developers, raises $6.5M Mar 22, 2022

For self-driving cars and other applications developed using AI, you need what’s known as ‘deep learning’, the core concepts of which emerged in the ‘50s.

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Lune offers an API to calculate carbon emissions at checkout Mar 21, 2022

Meet Lune, a new startup that wants to expose CO2 emissions calculations so that customers are better informed when they purchase something online.

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Sleek wants to be the last shopping check-out form you ever fill out Mar 21, 2022

Sleek is developing a browser extension enabling one-click checkout and cash-back savings.

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Porsche is turning its mid-engine 718 roadster into an EV by 2025 Mar 18, 2022

The Porsche 718, a mid-engine roadster that injects the automaker’s motorsports’ history into a modern-day package, is going all electric by 2025.

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Getir is now worth nearly $12 billion after raising another $768 million Mar 18, 2022

Instant delivery startup Getir has announced that it has closed a new $768 million Series E founding round. Following this deal, the company has reached a valuation of $11.8 billion.

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MeliBio’s honey production, minus the bee, will have you buzzing Mar 17, 2022

The company is making real honey with precision fermentation and plant science.

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Instagram rolls out new safety tools for parents Mar 17, 2022

Meta announced a new set of tools designed to protect young users on Wednesday, an overdue response to widespread criticism that the company doesn’t do enough to protect its most vulnerable users.

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Liveblocks grabs $5 million for its real-time collaboration API Mar 16, 2022

Liveblocks has raised a $5 million seed round. The startup lets you turn a regular web app into a multiplayer product with high-level hosted APIs.

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Meta faces prosecution in South Africa for alleged antitrust breach Mar 16, 2022

Meta is facing prosecution in South Africa, after the country’s competition regulator, the Competition Commission, found as uncompetitive its intention to block the government’s startup GovChat and #LetsTalk from using its WhatsApp Business API.

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NASA’s mega expensive moon rocket will make its public debut Thursday Mar 15, 2022

Twelve years after it was first announced, NASA’s massive Space Launch System will finally make its public debut.

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Ford announces new EV production and profit goals for Europe Mar 15, 2022

Ford is accelerating plans to sell more electric vehicles in Europe on its way toward reaching carbon neutrality in the region by 2035. The automaker announced Monday that it will launch three new electric passenger vehicles and four new electric commercial vehicles in Europe over the next two years.

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Blue Origin will fly SNL’s Pete Davidson to space on March 23 Mar 14, 2022

Blue Origin has announced its next roster for a flight of New Shepard to suborbital space, and it includes Saturday Night Live’s Pete Davidson.

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Sorenson Ventures keeps focus on enterprise with new $150M fund Mar 14, 2022

Sorenson Ventures may not be a household name, but the Lehi, Utah-based firm has quietly backed 30 enterprise startups since 2017 when it launched its initial $100 million fund, some exiting via acquisition and some sporting flashy valuations.

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Ubisoft won’t say why it reset employee passwords after ‘cyber incident’ Mar 11, 2022

Gaming giant Ubisoft has confirmed a cybersecurity incident that led to the mass-reset of company passwords, but has declined to say what the incident actually was.

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Google’s Art & Culture platform updated with documents, artifacts and music from Timbuktu Mar 11, 2022

Google, working with historians from West Africa, has been working to digitize contemporary art, cultural and historic sites about Mali, and the digital library went live on Google Art & Culture (GAC) today, making these items available for exploration by the world.

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Topsort, an auction-based advertising startup, now valued at $110M after seed round Mar 10, 2022

When Regina Ye was in college, she was a Shopify seller and recalls being so fed up with advertising solutions that she spent finals week staying up late to figure out how ads worked on Facebook and Amazon.

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E-bike subscription service Dance adds new cities and mopeds Mar 10, 2022

After raising nearly $20 million a few months ago, Berlin-based startup Dance is expanding its electric bike subscription service to a handful of new cities.

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Workbounce’s ‘Google meets Slack’ product for sales teams raises $2.7M from Index Ventures Mar 09, 2022

Selling commercial products has become pretty complex, and the pandemic has not helped. Sales teams are often hampered by the difficulties of building trust in their product, especially in a hybrid world where much of the interactions are virtual.

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Amazon launches a ‘live radio’ app, Amp, which lets you play DJ with the Amazon Music catalog Mar 09, 2022

Amazon’s Clubhouse competitor has arrived. The retail giant on Tuesday launched a new mobile app called Amp, which allows people to create live “radio shows” where they can act as a DJ, by taking callers and playing tracks from Amazon Music’s tens of millions of licensed songs, ranging from classic titles to today’s music.

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General Motors, PG&E pilot EVs as backup power sources for homes Mar 08, 2022

General Motors and Pacific Gas and Electric Company are launching a pilot that will let EV owners use their vehicles as a backup power source for their homes during an outage.

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Robotaxi startup Pony.ai now valued at $8.5B Mar 08, 2022

China- and U.S.-based Pony.ai said Monday its valuation has surged to $8.5 billion after the first close of its Series D funding round.

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Aston Martin to develop battery cell technology with Britishvolt Mar 07, 2022

British luxury carmaker Aston Martin has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with lithium-ion battery cell technologies company Britishvolt.

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Disco gets brands to boogie together on customer acquisition Mar 07, 2022

Disco used to be Co-op Commerce, and leadership says the new name better reflects the company's focus on consumer discovery.

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Sony and Honda reveal plans to jointly make and sell electric vehicles Mar 04, 2022

Sony’s current favorite big tease is playing at being a carmaker, and today it announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with real automaker Honda to discuss and develop that idea further.

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Sikur touts a new secure Android phone for enterprise, gov’t comms Mar 04, 2022

It’s many years since the Blackberry was the corporate phone du jour. Touchscreen phones and the ‘Bring your Own Device’ trend put paid to all that.

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Reliance to invest $221 million for electronics manufacturing with Sanmina in India Mar 03, 2022

Reliance Industries plans to invest up to $221 million in American electronics firm Sanmina to set up a joint venture as the Indian giant looks to expand its electronics manufacturing.

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Blockchain infra startup Tenderly raises $40M after seeing ‘500x’ YoY revenue growth Mar 03, 2022

Tenderly, a startup that aims to make it easier for web3 developers “of all skill sets” to build blockchain products, has raised $40 million in a Series B round of funding – just months after closing on its Series A.

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Ford splits EV and combustion units in major restructuring Mar 02, 2022

Ford today announced a significant restructuring to better focus on the different challenges and opportunities with electric vehicles and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.

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Alphabet’s Wing drones hit 200,000 deliveries as it announces supermarket partnership Mar 02, 2022

Alphabet’s drone service Wing this morning announced another milestone, as it hit 200,000 commercial deliveries.

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YouTube geoblocks Russia Today, Sputnik channels in Europe Mar 01, 2022

Google has just announced that YouTube will geoblock the Kremlin-affiliated media outlets Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik in Europe, following pressure from regional lawmakers to choke off Russian war propaganda.

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Weee! delivers second big funding round in a year, this time backed by SoftBank Mar 01, 2022

This new monster round comes about a year after another big fundraise of $316 million in Series D financing.

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HearHere raises $3.2M to scale its immersive storytelling road-trip app Feb 28, 2022

Santa Barbara-based HearHere, the company behind an audio entertainment and immersive storytelling road-trip app, has raised $3.2 million in seed funding led by RV and outdoor retailer Camping World.

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Carvana acquires Adesa US auction business for $2.2B to jump-start used car sales Feb 28, 2022

Carvana, the online used car marketplace, has agreed to buy Kar Global’s Adesa U.S. auction subsidiary for $2.2 billion in cash, an acquisitionÂ aimed at adding another revenue stream as well as a network of physical sites that could help bolster operations.

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SEC opens investigation into Elon Musk over possible insider trading Feb 25, 2022

Elon Musk isn't getting a break from the SEC any time soon. WSJ reports the SEC is investigating whether Musk and his brother Kimbal violated insider trading regulations with recent share sales.

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Specify automagically collects, stores and distributes your design tokens and assets Feb 25, 2022

Meet Specify, a startup that is creating a common language for Figma and GitHub. Specify acts as a central repository and API for your design tokens and assets.

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Cloudflare to acquire Area 1 Security, a startup that blocks phishing emails Feb 24, 2022

Cloudflare has announced that it plans to acquire Area 1 Security, a security startup that has developed a product that stops phishing attacks before they land in an employee’s inbox. Cloudflare plans to spend around $162 million on the acquisition.

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Target to add Starbucks orders and returns to its curbside pickup service Feb 24, 2022

Target is preparing a series of changes to make its curbside pickup service called Drive Up more appealing to consumers.

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RightHand cashes in on the white-hot warehouse robotics space with a $66M raise Feb 23, 2022

COVID, supply chain issues, labor shortages, Amazon. Take your pick. The reasons for getting excited about logistics robotics are numerous and growing.

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To combat chip shortage, Bosch to invest $296M to produce semiconductors Feb 23, 2022

Bosch is increasing its previously stated investment in semiconductor production in order to stay on top of the ongoing chip shortage.

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PerchPeek raises $11M to woo ‘great resignation employees’ with easy relocation Feb 22, 2022

Relocating employees can involve up to 20-30 different complex processes, while many of the support packages on the market can be inflexible and expensive. Plus, relocating services are usually only available to company leaders, not staff.

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Better.com loses more senior execs as employees brace for another mass layoff Feb 22, 2022

Things are getting worse at Better.

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Walmart is expanding autonomous delivery pilot with GM’s Cruise this year Feb 21, 2022

Cruise plans to expand the self-driving delivery pilot it has with Walmart in Arizona, the company’s senior government affairs manager said in a recent public meeting with state legislators.

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Reusable packaging startup bags $3.1M to pick a fight with single-use packaging Feb 21, 2022

Quick pop quiz: Is it better to recycle your cardboard boxes, or use a sturdier packaging bag that can be used again and again until it meets its maker again?

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New York’s Thrive Capital closes its eighth fund with a whopping $3 billion Feb 18, 2022

Thrive Capital, the venture firm founded in 2009 by a then-25-year-old Joshua Kushner, says it has closed its eighth fund with approximately $3 billion in capital commitments, $500 of which it plans to invest in early-stage startups and another $2.5 billion that it has earmarked for later-stage companies.

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Amazon reaches deal to continue accepting Visa payments worldwide Feb 18, 2022

Amazon and Visa have resolved their simmering dispute over payment fees in the UK and elsewhere, Reuters has reported. Amazon threatened to stop accepting Visa in the UK starting January 19.

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Blueland raises more money to avoid shipping water around and reduce single-use plastics Feb 17, 2022

The cleaning products you use in your house are 99% water. Yes, the same stuff that comes out of the spigot at your house.

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New Waymo Via partnership gives it access to 200,000 shippers and carriers Feb 17, 2022

Waymo Via, Waymo’s autonomous trucking and cargo unit, has found another long-term strategic partner to see it through to commercialization.

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Stronghold launches $100M venture arm to invest in underrepresented founders and fintech Feb 16, 2022

Payments infrastructure company Stronghold has launched a venture capital arm to deploy $100 million of its balance sheet capital in startups and funds in three core strategies.

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Singapore-based alternative protein startup Next Gen Foods gets $100M Series A for U.S. growth Feb 16, 2022

Alternative protein startups have attracted a lot of investor attention over the past couple of years and the trend looks set to continue.

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Grubhub expands its ‘Grubhub Goods’ convenience offering nationwide Feb 15, 2022

Food delivery app GrubHub is expanding its branded convenience offering nationwide, the company announced on Tuesday.

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Gaia, a platform to finance IVF treatments, closes $20M Series A led by Atomico Feb 15, 2022

Gaia is a startup that is effectively out to ‘de-risk’ the whole process of IVF fertility treatment, using products like personalized insurance and payment plans.

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3D social network BUD raises $15M in Series A+ round Feb 14, 2022

Investors are justling to find the next killer app for the metaverse.

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Chasing Cruise and Waymo, Chinese AV company AutoX plans to begin testing in San Francisco Feb 14, 2022

AutoX, a Chinese autonomous vehicle company that has made plays in both the U.S. and its home country, is now making a move into San Francisco, an area where its biggest competitors are creeping towards commercialization.

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Indiegogo will designate legit crowdfunders with a ‘Trust-Proven’ badge Feb 11, 2022

Indiegogo has a trust problem. It’s something the company is keenly aware of.

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Sardine’s algorithm helps crypto and fintech companies detect fraud Feb 11, 2022

It’s a great time to be in the fraud detection business in crypto and fintech.

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Tinder introduces a way for members to go on virtual ‘blind dates’ Feb 10, 2022

Tinder is bringing back the idea of the “blind date” through a new in-app feature, launching today.

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eAgronom closes $7.4M Series A to create a farming-based carbon credits platform Feb 10, 2022

There are plenty of competitors in so-called FMS (FarmÂ ManagementÂ Software), but so far no global dominant leader has emerged.Â Agrivi has raised $7.3M,Â Granular $24.9M and Farmlogs $37M. So there’s clearly plenty of scope for more.

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SpaceX loses 40 Starlink satellites to a geomagnetic storm Feb 09, 2022

80% of Starlink satellites launched by SpaceX on February 3 won't reach their intended orbit. SpaceX has revealed that a geomagnetic storm had a severe impact on the satellites.

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Artiphon drops the hardware requirement for its musical camera app, Orbacam Feb 09, 2022

We’ve been following Artiphon closely over the years. Back in late 2020, I took a liking to the music startup’s latest smart instrument, the Orba.

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American Express launches its first all-digital consumer checking account Feb 08, 2022

American Express has launched its first all-digital consumer checking account, the company announced on Tuesday. The new offering, American Express Rewards Checking, is currently available for eligible U.S. Consumer Card Members.

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Joby Aviation to launch air taxi service in South Korea Feb 08, 2022

California-based electric vertical takeoff and landing startup Joby Aviation plans to offer an air taxi service in South Korea in partnership with SK Telecom (SKT), one of the country’s largest telecommunication companies.

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A Twitter slap fight goes wrong Feb 07, 2022

Certain VCs who tweet a lot have grown a little vituperative of late, with some of the most powerful people in the industry lashing out in unprecedented ways.

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Apple to charge 27% fee for Dutch dating apps using alternative payment options Feb 07, 2022

Following a court order, developers working on dating apps don’t have to use Apple’s in-app purchase system in the Netherlands.

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In Ford’s transition to EVs, cost-cutting takes center stage Feb 04, 2022

Ford has made cost-cutting a key piece of its EV strategy as the company works to improve profit margins while meetingÂ what CEO Jim Farley has called “incredible demand” of its new electric vehicle models.

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Blockchain bridge Wormhole confirms that exploiter stole $320 million worth of crypto assets Feb 04, 2022

Wormhole, a popular cryptocurrency platform that offers bridges between multiple blockchains, announced on Twitter that it noticed an exploit.

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Travel booking app Hopper upgrades its valuation to $5B on secondary sale Feb 03, 2022

Hopper, the mobile travel booking startup and app that lets users book flights, hotels, cars, and — most recently — short-term home rentals a la Airbnb and VRBO, has been on a fast pace of growth in the wake of Covid-19 travel restrictions loosening up in the last year, with 70 million downloads to date.

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SpaceX reveals $500 monthly ‘Premium’ Starlink service with speeds up to 500 Mbps Feb 03, 2022

SpaceX has a new tier for its Starlink satellite internet service with higher performance but pricing that might make your eyes water, called Starlink Premium, with speeds between 150 and 500Mbps.

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GM’s Chevy Silverado EV already has 110,000 reservations Feb 02, 2022

General Motors said it has secured more than 110,000 reservations for its new all-electric Chevrolet Silverado, which includes reservations from more than 240 fleet operators, Chair and CEO Mary Barra said in the company’s full-year and fourth quarter earnings letter to shareholders.

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Tesla recalls Full Self Driving feature that lets cars roll through stop signs Feb 02, 2022

Tesla is issuing an over-the-air update to recall a "Full Self-Driving" (FSD) beta feature that allowed cars to roll through stop signs, which appeared in FSD 10.3.

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Superpedestrian gets $125M to expand tech that corrects unsafe scooter riding Feb 01, 2022

Shared e-scooter company Superpedestrian is gearing up to deploy its Pedestrian Defense safety system at scale, a feature that allows the company’s e-scooters to detect and correct unsafe riding behaviors, like riding on sidewalks or the wrong way down a one-way street, in real time.

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AllSpice thinks hardware developers lack their own ‘GitHub,’ so it is building one Feb 01, 2022

The idea behind the company was to get engineers back to spending the majority of their time designing and building hardware products.

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Joni Mitchell joins Neil Young, pulls her music from Spotify over vaccine misinformation Jan 31, 2022

Spotify’s Joe Rogan headache is about to get a lot worse. Earlier this week, musician Neil Young announced that he would pull his music from the streaming service to protest Spotify’s relationship with Joe Rogan.

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Google will let legacy G Suite users migrate to free Google accounts Jan 31, 2022

Earlier this month, Google announced that it would kill free Google Workspace accounts that were using the G Suite legacy free edition. As spotted by Ars Technica and following customer backlash, Google has updated its support page and says that it plans to offer more options to existing users. Google Workspace as it exists today […]

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Amazon must pay $2M and end program after price-fixing investigation by Washington AG Jan 28, 2022

Amazon must pay $2.25 million and permanently shut down a previously suspended sales program, following an investigation and lawsuit by the Attorney General of Washington alleging it was essentially price-fixing.

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Compound aims to be a one-stop-shop for tech employees to manage their finances Jan 28, 2022

Jordan Gonen and Jacob Schein had both worked in the tech industry for a few years when they realized they lacked a clear understanding of their own finances.

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Apple will reportedly allow iPhones to accept contactless payments Jan 27, 2022

Small businesses might soon be able to accept payments using their iPhones without extra hardware. Apple could start rolling out the feature through a software update in the next few months.

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Paack pulls in a $225M Series D led by SoftBank to scale its E-commerce delivery platform Jan 27, 2022

By now, many of us are familiar with the warehouse robots which populate those vast spaces occupied by the likes of Amazon and others. In particular, Amazon was very much a pioneer of the technology.

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FTC fines online shop $4M for hiding reviews below 4 stars Jan 26, 2022

We all know online reviews must be taken with a grain of salt, but generally you’d like to think that a product with a 4.5-star average is better than one with a 3.5-star average.

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Twitter’s experimental ‘Flock’ feature will let you share tweets with your closest friends Jan 26, 2022

Twitter is still working on a feature that will give you a way to blast tweets that can only be seen by the friends you choose first revealed in July last year.

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Starship Technologies picks up €50M from the EU’s investment arm to expand its fleet of autonomous delivery robots Jan 25, 2022

Starship Technologies, one of the bigger names in the world of autonomous delivery robots — those little caboose-like, boxy delivery vehicles that self-drive around cities — has been on a roll during Covid-19.

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Ola Electric valued at $5 billion in new funding Jan 25, 2022

Ola Electric said on Monday it has raised $200 million in a new financing round even as the Indian ride-hailing giant’s spin off struggles to deliver its maiden electric scooter to customers and questions about its work culture are being raised.

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FarmRaise aims to become a financial services giant, starting with farm grants Jan 24, 2022

You have to start somewhere. So when Jayce Hafner and Sami Tellatin bonded as Stanford MBA classmates over their shared belief that making U.S. farms more efficient would be good for farmers, good for the country, and a great business.

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Peloton CEO acknowledges corrective actions, denies ‘halting all production’ of bikes and treadmills Jan 24, 2022

Ahead of the company’s upcoming earnings, Peloton CEO John Foley took a break from a “quiet period” to address a number of reports related to poor device sales.

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Netflix had its lowest year of subscriber growth since 2015 Jan 21, 2022

Despite producing global hits like “Squid Game” in 2021, Netflix’s fourth quarter returns show the streaming giant struggling to maintain a lead over its competitors.

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Clench your jaw to skip a track: That’s the magic of Wisear Jan 21, 2022

By adding some electrodes and some electronics to your earbuds, Wisear can make your music experience a lot more hands-free than before.

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French robotic exoskeleton maker Wandercraft eyes US expansion courtesy of a $45M Series C Jan 20, 2022

Wandercraft was founded in 2012, with the vision of improving mobility of wheelchair users. The company’s solution comes by way of exoskeletons, which can offer wearers the ability to walk with robotic assistance.

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Wrangle secures $2M to automate company workflows Jan 20, 2022

The company’s no-code software can automate any kind of process: employee onboarding, contract approvals, help tickets or any other recurring work.

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Harness releases open version of continuous delivery product with access to source code Jan 19, 2022

Harness, a startup from AppDynamics founder Jyoti Bansal, has been building a platform of developer tools over the last five years. In 2020, the company made its first foray into open source when it bought continuous integration tool Drone.

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Castiron serves up a $6M seed round to support ‘food artisans’ Jan 19, 2022

The pandemic hasn’t been easy for anyone, but the food service industry has been hit particularly hard. More than 90,000 restaurants and bars have closed, leaving workers unemployed in an already precarious industry.

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Wayve raises $200M Series B led by Eclipse for its AI for autonomous delivery vehicles Jan 18, 2022

British autonomous vehicle startup Wayve has raised a $200 million Series B funding round from investors to scale its technology and expand its partnerships with commercial fleets. Wayve is aiming to be a major player in the arena of Robo-deliveries and logistics.

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Animoca, Galaxy Interactive and Polygon back gaming firm nCore in web3 push Jan 18, 2022

nCore Games has raised $10 million in a new financing round as the top Indian gaming firm gears up to launch web3 offerings, its top executives said Monday.

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InFlow, a science-based app for ADHD, raises $2.3M Seed led by Hoxton Ventures Jan 17, 2022

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms can include anxiety, chronic boredom, impulsiveness, trouble concentrating, controlling anger, and even depression. But ADHD suffers can face lengthy waiting periods for assessment and prohibitively expensive treatments. Now a startup, which launched in 2020, hopes to address this by luring the knowledge of a team of clinicians and coaches […]

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EVage raises $28M to be a driving force in India’s commercial EV revolution Jan 17, 2022

A congruence of factors in India — notably, climate change policies, fuel costs and skyrocketing demand for e-commerce — has set up ideal conditions for startups like all-electric commercial vehicle startup EVage.

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Google’s loss to Sonos settles it: Big Tech has an IP piracy problem Jan 14, 2022

Simply put, Big Tech benefits from stealing IP. The legal costs and potential damages, if ever issued after years of litigation, are paltry by comparison.

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Swell takes in $20M to develop more adaptable headless commerce infrastructure Jan 14, 2022

Starting an e-commerce business is large marketplaces can be an easy process, but what the team at Swell began to notice was that the model could only take a business so far.

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Seel secures $17M round to infuse AI in customer product returns Jan 13, 2022

Merchants can add “return assurance” to an order, if it is returned in the next 30 days, Seel, instead of the merchant, will pay for the refund.

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Newcomer aggregator Ecommerce Brands snags $40M in equity, debt to deploy eCaaS model Jan 13, 2022

Ecommerce Brands aims to differentiate itself from the crowded aggregator space by being the technology force for DTC brands to scale while operators focus on running their businesses.

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BigPanda gets its horn after securing $190M in fresh capital Jan 12, 2022

The company’s technology transforms huge volumes of IT data into actionable insight and automates incident management so IT operations teams can be proactive about their response processes.

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Roku adds a new ‘Live TV Zone’ to its homescreen Jan 12, 2022

Roku is furthering its investment in its Live TV platform with today’s introduction of a new “Live TV Zone” that will roll out to the main, left-side navigation on Roku devices.

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GoStudent Raises $340M Series D funding round as it pushes into international markets Jan 11, 2022

Fresh from raising a $244 million Series C (that valued the company then $1.7 billion) back in June, K12 online tutoring marketplace GoStudent has now raised a $340 million Series D round led by new investor Prosus, an Amsterdam-based investment firm.

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GM finally agrees California can set vehicle emissions rules as it preps to scale EVs Jan 11, 2022

In what appears to be a politically and economically savvy move by General Motors, the automaker said Sunday it recognized California’s authority under the Clean Air Act to set its own vehicle emissions standards.

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Ankorstore reaches $2 billion valuation two years after launching its wholesale marketplace Jan 10, 2022

French startup Ankorstore has raised a $283 million Series C funding round (€250 million). Founded in November 2019, it took Ankorstore around two years to reach a post-money valuation of $2 billion (€1.75 billion).

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Apple Fitness+ introduces new ‘Collections’ feature and ‘Time to Run’ series Jan 10, 2022

Apple Fitness+ is introducing a new “Collections” feature along with a new “Time to Run” series starting on January 10th. Collections are a curated series of workouts and meditations from the Fitness+ library organized to help users reach a goal.

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At CES 2022, metaverses metaversed the metaverse Jan 07, 2022

In the lead up to CES, I wrote a piece reflecting on top tech of CES 2012. It was an interesting exercise for a number of reasons — not the least of which was recalling the buzzwords from 10 years ago. That year, LTE and ultrabooks topped the list. One had a great run.

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Mosqitter’s machine murders mosquitos with much mirth Jan 07, 2022

After ridiculing one mosquito-fighting product, I figured it’d be only right to highlight another piece of buzz-reducing tech that was showing off its products at CES this year.

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Canada’s Assent Compliance lands $350M from Vista Equity for supply chain data management Jan 06, 2022

Never before has the importance of a smooth-flowing supply chain been as clear as it has been in the COVID-19 pandemic era. For manufacturers in particular, managing intricate supply chains can be particularly challenging.

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BMW wants to turn your car into a rolling cinema Jan 06, 2022

After fitting some of its cars with comfy lounge chairs at CES 2020, BMW today unveiled the next step in its in-car entertainment story.

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Stellantis to transform Chrysler into an all-electric brand by 2028 Jan 05, 2022

Chrysler, the 96-year-old brand owned by Stellantis that is best known today for its minivans, will become an all-electric brand by 2028.

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Labrador set to deliver a robotic helping hand to homes in 2023 Jan 05, 2022

Back at CES 2020, Labrador Systems co-founder/CEO Mike Dooley told me, “I think there are fewer fake robots [at the show] this year.”

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Liquid Death lands $75 million more in funding, including to roll out flavored water Jan 04, 2022

Liquid Death, a water brand that began life in 2018 with a funny video to first test the concept, has grown deadly serious about its growth prospects.

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Samsung’s 2022 Smart TVs to support cloud gaming, video chat and even NFTs Jan 04, 2022

Ahead of the official start of CES, Samsung today revealed its vision for its next generation of smart TVs that will include everything from cloud-based gaming services to video chat while watching TV to even NFTs.

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Twitter bans Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene’s personal account over COVID-19 misinformation Jan 03, 2022

Twitter has permanently suspended the personal account of Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-GA) “for repeated violations of our COVID-19 misinformation policy,” according to the company.

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Let’s talk CES 2022 trends Jan 03, 2022

I spent a chunk of yesterday morning rediscovering the big trends of CES 2012. It’s a strange experience, examining so much technology that feels — at once — extremely dated and very recent.

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Apple puts Foxconn India plant on probation after protests over food and accommodation conditions Dec 31, 2021

Apple has put the southern India factory of Foxconn on probation following protests from workers over subpar food and accommodation conditions, a concern both the firms acknowledged and pledged to improve.

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The best tech of CES 2012 Dec 31, 2021

Consumer electronics are a bad metric for gauging the passage of time. And, frankly, Consumer Electronics Shows are considerably worse.

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Fiverr rolls out new Pinterest-like personalized discovery feature Dec 30, 2021

Freelance marketplace Fiverr is rolling out an interactive Pinterest-like mobile experience aimed at enabling users to engage with a constantly updated feed of visual content curated specifically for them.

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Waymo partners with Geely to make electric AVs for ride hail in the US Dec 30, 2021

Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous driving technology arm, is partnering with Chinese automaker Geely to build an all-electric, self-driving ride-hailing vehicle.

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Europe’s antitrust policy shouldn’t ignore China Dec 29, 2021

The TechCrunch Global Affairs Project examines the increasingly intertwined relationship between the tech sector and global politics.

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More companies bow out of in-person CES presence Dec 29, 2021

The last few days have been fairly quiet, so far as CES is concerned — no doubt owing to the holiday. The last major dropout came from Microsoft, which confirmed on Christmas Eve it would no longer be traveling to Las Vegas for the event.

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Movano targets an H2 2022 launch for its fitness ring Dec 28, 2021

My first in-person experience with a fitness ring was back at CES 2017. Four years later, one wonders if they might be having a moment at next week’s show — in-person or no.

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Naren Gupta, co-founder of Nexus Venture Partners, passes away Dec 27, 2021

Naren Gupta, a venture capitalist who co-founded Nexus Venture Partners to help cement Indian SaaS startups’ position to the world, died on Saturday. He was 73.

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TikTok moderator sues over mental trauma caused by graphic videos Dec 27, 2021

In a proposed class-action lawsuit, TikTok moderator Candie Frazier said that she has screened videos showing violence, school shootings, fatal falls and even cannibalism.

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Despite scrapped IPO, Babbel sees fast growth for its language learning service Dec 24, 2021

Berlin-based language learning service Babbel was supposed to IPO on the Frankfurt stock exchange in late September.

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FDA authorizes Pfizer’s Covid antiviral pill for people 12 and older Dec 23, 2021

The FDA has issued an emergency authorization for Pfizer's antiviral pill, making it the first oral method for treating mild to moderate cases of COVID-19. The EUA covers high-risk people 12 and up.

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Dealroom raises €6M Series A for its startup data, market intelligence service Dec 22, 2021

European startup and venture capital data company Dealroom has raised a €6 million Series A, it told TechCrunch. The company’s new capital comes nearly two years after it raised €2.75 million in early 2020.

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Via files confidentially to go public Dec 22, 2021

On-demand shuttle service and software company Via has confidentially filed to go public, the company said in a statement.

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The long haul of Microsoft’s China localization Dec 21, 2021

In 2019, when LinkedIn began asking for Chinese users’ phone numbers, it was clear that the professional social network would have to follow a different set of rules in the country.

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AI chip maker Kneron raises $25M for autonomous driving push Dec 21, 2021

AI chips, which are semiconductors designed to accelerate machine learning, have many applications. One of the promising use cases, according to Albert Liu, is using AI chips in autonomous driving vehicles.

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Line to launch NFT service LineNext next year Dec 20, 2021

Japan-based messaging app Line Corporation, which is wholly owned by Z Holdings, will launch NFT service next year via its new organization LineNext to provide the marketplace for companies and individuals to trade NFTs globally, excluding Japan.

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Security flaws found in a popular guest Wi-Fi system used in hundreds of hotels Dec 20, 2021

A security researcher says an internet gateway, used by hundreds of hotels to offer and manage their guest Wi-Fi networks, has vulnerabilities that could put the personal information of their guests at risk.

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Fuzey takes in $4.5M to charge up its management tools for service-based businesses Dec 17, 2021

The company's tools digitize for small businesses what was traditionally done manually and on paper, like invoices.

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Spotify acquires podcast tech company Whooshkaa which turns radio broadcasts into on-demand audio Dec 17, 2021

Spotify is continuing its investments in podcasts with today’s news that’s it’s acquired another podcast technology company, Whooshkaa, an Australia-based all-in-one platform for hosting, managing, distributing, promoting, monetizing and measuring podcasts.

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Silverflow nabs $17M for its updated, cloud-based take on payments processing technology Dec 16, 2021

When it comes to online payments, the front end of the system has seen a massive amount of disruption in the last several years, with companies like Stripe, Adyen, PayPal, Square and others building APIs.

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Amazon to lower its cut of Alexa skill developer revenue starting in 2022 Dec 16, 2021

Amazon is joining other tech giants by lowering its cut of developer revenue generated by voice apps, known as Alexa skills, which run on Amazon’s smart speakers and other Alexa-powered devices.

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Papaya raises $50M to give you a way to pay bills via its mobile app Dec 15, 2021

Paying bills is hardly a fun thing. So I think it’s safe to say that any technology that can make the process easier is welcome by all.

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Six more women sue Tesla over workplace sexual harassment Dec 15, 2021

In the wake ofÂ Jessica Barraza’s lawsuit last month, six more current and former female employees have come forward to accuse Tesla of fostering a culture of rampant sexual harassment at its Fremont factory in California. In separate complaints filed on Tuesday with the Superior Court in Alameda County, the women said they were consistently subjected to catcalling, unwanted advances, physical contact and discrimination while at work.

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Mesh Payments racks up $50M to help corporate users manage spend and payments Dec 14, 2021

Now that the world appears to have settled longer-term into working in a significantly more distributed way in the wake of Covid-19, companies are getting more serious about using tools to manage how their teams operate within those new parameters.

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The race is on to patch Log4Shell, the bug that’s breaking the internet Dec 14, 2021

Security teams around the globe are scrambling to fix Log4Shell, a critical security flaw in Log4j, an open source logging software that’s found practically everywhere from online games to enterprise software and cloud datacenters.

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Mozilla expects to generate more than $500M in revenue this year Dec 13, 2021

The Mozilla Foundation today released its financial report for 2020. As usual, this gives us a good picture of the organization’s financial health from a year ago, but for the first time this year, Mozilla also provided us with more recent data.

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Volvo had some R&D data stolen in security breach Dec 13, 2021

Volvo Cars is investigating a cybersecurity breach and theft of a limited amount of the company’s research and development data. The data breach was reported Friday by the Swedish automaker.

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Coinbase Ventures backs cross-chain infra Router Protocol Dec 10, 2021

A startup that has built a decentralized exchange as well as a cross-chain infrastructure to facilitate communication across layer 1 and layer 2 blockchain solutions is the latest to receive backing from Coinbase Ventures.

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Meta’s Horizon Worlds is available in the US and Canada for 18+ users Dec 10, 2021

The company formerly known as Facebook is taking a step toward its goal to transport us to the metaverse. Now, Horizon Worlds — the Second Life or Minecraft of Meta’s VR apps — is expanding out of invite-only beta, opening up to all users over 18-years-old in the US and Canada.

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Collective helps freelancers work together as a team Dec 09, 2021

Meet Collective, a French startup that wants to redefine what it means to work as a freelancer in development, product design, digital marketing, data strategy and more.

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Chainguard lands $5M to help companies secure their software supply chains Dec 09, 2021

By late last year, the alarm bells were just starting to ring. Researchers discovered that Russian spies had months earlier burrowed deep into the networks of several U.S. federal networks.

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Arch nabs $5.5M to aggregate private market data for investors Dec 08, 2021

More capital has been raised in the private markets than the public markets for over a decade, and this staggering growth has shown no signs of slowing.

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Netflix’s gaming service adds three more titles globally on iOS and Android Dec 08, 2021

Last month, Netflix’s new gaming service became globally available across both iOSÂ andÂ Android with a debut lineup that included two “Stranger Things”-themed games and a few more casual gaming titles. Netflix has now expanded its lineup with three more games that are rolling out globally for both iOS and Android users.

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Chinese Amazon aggregator Nebula Brands raises $50M led by L Catterton Dec 07, 2021

2021 has been a rosy year for China-based Amazon vendors looking for exits. Roll-ups, or brand aggregators, have been flooding China’s export-oriented e-commerce market with capital to scoop up sellers.

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Toyota will build its first US battery plant in North Carolina Dec 07, 2021

Toyota Motor will build its first battery factory in the U.S. in North Carolina, the company and state officials confirmed Monday, as more automakers seek to take control of the supply chain with in-house battery manufacturing plants.

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VCs eye investment in Polygon Dec 06, 2021

A number of investors including Sequoia Capital India and Steadview Capital are in talks to backÂ Polygon, which operatesÂ a framework for building and connecting Ethereum-compatible blockchain networks, by way of tokens purchase, three sources familiar with the matter told me.

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New Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal begins restructuring as two execs step down Dec 06, 2021

Earlier this week, Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey stepped down from his role. He appointed CTO Parag Agrawal as new CEO, effective immediately.

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Porsche invests in German startup aiming to be a one-stop shop for carbon neutral homes Dec 03, 2021

Porsche’s venture arm has taken a minority stake in 1Komma5, a five-month-old German startup aiming to offer households everything needed for a carbon neutral home, including energy storage, charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and solar.

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GM delays production of new Chevy Bolt EVs until end of January Dec 03, 2021

General Motors will continue to delay production of new Chevrolet Bolt EVs at the company’s Orion assembly plant in Michigan “through the week of Jan. 24, 2022,” the company said in a statement emailed to TechCrunch on Thursday.

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Bounce’s first electric scooter features swappable battery, costs less than $500 Dec 02, 2021

Bangalore-based Bounce on Thursday priced its first electric scooter at as low as 36,000 Indian rupees ($480), considerably undercutting the heavily-backed rival Ola as the mobility war intensifies in the world’s second most populous nation.

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Attack surface management startup CyCognito raises $100M Series C on $800M valuation Dec 02, 2021

As companies look for ways to prevent cyber attacks, one strategy is to be proactive and find vulnerabilities that could lead to a breach in an approach called “attack surface management.”

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Fresh from a $10M round, Plan A launches SaaS tool for ESG reporting aimed at startups/VCs Dec 01, 2021

With key ESG reporting regulations such as the EU Taxonomy and the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) covering more than 75 percent of European companies, across the EU and the UK, the regulatory environment is evolving fast.

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Irish eSports giant’s new startup bets big on rugby in bid for US market share Nov 30, 2021

A fantasy sports exchange founded by Irish betting veteran Paddy Power is bringing NFT-enabled live trading to rugby fans in a bid to expand globally.

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Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen will talk Section 230 reform with Congress this week Nov 30, 2021

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen will go before Congress again this week, this time offering her unique perspective on the company’s moderation and policy failures as they relate to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the key legal shield that protects online platforms from liability for the user-created content they host.

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Thought Machine closes $200M for its cloud native banking SaaS and becomes a unicorn Nov 29, 2021

Thought Machine, a 2014 (Xoogler) founded startup that sells cloud-based b2b banking services, has closed a $200 million Series C round and announced that it’s achieved unicorn status (aka, passing a $1BN valuation).

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Paris asks scooter sharing services to restrict speed to 10km/h Nov 29, 2021

Riding a scooter in Paris will soon feel incredibly… slow. The City of Paris has announced that scooter sharing services should restrict the maximum top speed to 10km/h (that’s 6.2mph).

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Perfeggt brings in first capital to shell out plant-based egg alternative Nov 26, 2021

Worldwide, over 1.3 trillion eggs are produced annually, and Perfeggt co-founders believe this market is largely untapped and has room to grow with plant-based alternatives.

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On legal demands and press freedoms Nov 24, 2021

In August 2020, two FBI agents were standing on my doorstep, unannounced, wanting to ask me questions about a TechCrunch story we had published the year before. The story was about how a hacker took thousands of documents, including visas and diplomatic passports, from a server at Mexico’s Embassy in Guatemala.

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India’s Blume Ventures raises $105 million in the first close of its fourth fund Nov 24, 2021

Blume Ventures said on Wednesday it has raised $105 million in the first close of its fourth fund, less than two years after finalizing its previous fund, as investment activity intensifies in the world’s second largest internet market.

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Polestar is bringing its electric Precept sedan to market in 2024 with a new name Nov 23, 2021

The Polestar Precept sedan — the concept vehicle turned production project — has a new name and an official launch date.

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Roku customers report streaming issues after 10.5 update Nov 23, 2021

A number of Roku customers are experiencing problems with their Roku TVs following the Roku OS 10.5 update.

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Lydia adds stock and crypto trading to its payment app Nov 22, 2021

French startup Lydia is entering a whole new category by adding trading to its financial super app later this year. The company is partnering with Bitpanda for this feature.

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Mmhmm eats Macro Nov 22, 2021

Mmhmm has perhaps the noisiest take on the future of video-conferencing: virtual meetings will be fun, flexible, and, as shown by its most recent acquisition, emotive.

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Zuma takes in fresh capital to convert your next apartment tenant lead into a contract Nov 19, 2021

Given its product market fit in real estate, Zuma now aims to implement its business model into other industries with sales teams, like healthcare, automotive, insurance, education and fashion.

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Biliti bets US market is primed for electric tuk tuk deliveries Nov 19, 2021

Biliti Electric, a startup founded less than a year ago, wants its electric tuk tuks to become a common sight in densely packed cities in the United States.

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Cross-selling startup Carro secures $20M to connect brands with each other, influencers Nov 18, 2021

Carro enables brand partnerships to sell each other’s products without having to purchase inventory or manage logistics and returns.

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VR glove startup says Meta’s recently unveiled prototype is ‘substantively identical’ to their own device Nov 18, 2021

Facebook, errr Meta, showed off a new prototype haptic feedback glove yesterday which they detailed could eventually bring a new generation of AR/VR users closer to digital content than they’ve ever been.

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QuEra Computing emerges from stealth with $17M to launch quantum device Nov 17, 2021

QuEra Computing, a Boston-based quantum computer developer, is coming out of stealth mode today with $17 million in funding from Rakuten,Â Day One VenturesÂ andÂ Frontiers Capital. Angel investorsÂ Serguei BeloussovÂ andÂ Paul MaritzÂ also joined in the round.Â

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Lambda School shakes off its brand with new name Nov 17, 2021

Lambda School, a buzzy coding bootcamp that has landed over $122 million in known venture capital to date, is rebranding to Bloom Institute of Technology, according to a blog post from CEO Austen Allred. The company is also updating its tuition payment options to introduce an outcomes-based loan.

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EasySend raises $55.5M for a no-code platform to build online interactions with customers Nov 16, 2021

No-code continues to permeate the many layers of enterprise IT, where traditionally non-technical workers have had to rely on technical experts to get things done, and startups building these tools are raising a lot of money as they see a surge of business.

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Mark Cuban’s Fireside app attracts NFL stars and others as backers Nov 16, 2021

Mark Cuban’s Fireside, an audio platform that is helping creators share their stories with audiences through live, interactive and virtual shows, is in advanced stages to close a “seed+” round, two sources familiar with the matter told me.

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Apple offers $30 million to settle off-the-clock bag search controversy Nov 15, 2021

California's supreme court ruled Apple broke the law by failing to pay employees while they waited for mandatory bag and iPhone searches. Now, Apple has offered to pay $30 million to settle the suit.

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Oxygen, a neobank for freelancers and small businesses, in talks to raise funds at over $500 million valuation Nov 15, 2021

Oxygen, a startup that is bringing digital banking services to freelancers and micro-and small-sized businesses, is in talks to raise a new round at a valuation of over $500 million, two sources familiar with the matter told me.

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Starlink’s new rectangular satellite broadband dish is smaller and lighter than before Nov 12, 2021

Starlink has introduced a new user terminal customers can get with their starter kit. The company now offers a rectangular option that's smaller and lighter than its original circular one.

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GM plans to build a military vehicle based on the Hummer EV Nov 12, 2021

The Hummer H1 was based on a military truck, and now it appears GM is ready to return the favor: GM plans to build a military vehicle prototype based on the upcoming Hummer EV.

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Tencent shares its metaverse vision for the first time Nov 11, 2021

How could Tencent not jump on the metaverse bandwagon when Facebook is hinging its future on the new buzzword? At this stage, Tencent’s approach seems more measured than Facebook’sÂ $10 billion investment into its metaverse division.

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Ample raises $30M to take battery swapping business to Europe Nov 11, 2021

Ample, a startup developing battery swapping technology for electric vehicles, has scored another $30 million from The Blackstone Group and Spanish multinational financial services company Banco Santander.

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Digital restaurant startup Zak orders up new capital on mission to be ‘Toast of LatAm’ Nov 10, 2021

As food operators themselves, ZAK founders saw first-hand last year the toll it was taking on restaurants that needed to quickly reinvent themselves during the pandemic.

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fuboTV to acquire streaming platform Molotov for $190 million Nov 10, 2021

fuboTV is making a significant move in Europe with plans to acquire Molotov, a French startup with a leading television streaming service. fuboTV also operates a TV streaming platform, but it is currently only operating in the U.S., Canada and Spain.

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AudioMob, which serves audio ads inside mobile games, raises a $14M Series A Nov 09, 2021

AudioMob is a startup that provides ‘non-intrusive’ audio ads within mobile games. It turns out that gamers don’t seem to mind little ads like this popping up, and somehow AudioMob seems to have cracked the mechanic.

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Instagram’s creator subscriptions nearing launch, App Store listing reveals Nov 09, 2021

Instagram earlier this year said it would explore the idea of creator subscriptions and was later spotted developing a feature that would offer exclusive Stories that were only visible to a creator’s subscriptions. Now, it seems, the company is poised to launch creator subscriptions into broader testing.

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Edtech startup BrightChamps comes out of stealth mode with $63 million funding Nov 08, 2021

BrightChamps, an Indian edtech startup that is attempting to bridge the learning gap left by K12 schools, said on Monday it has raised $51 million in a new financing round and $63 million to date since launching a year ago as the Goa-headquartered firm looks to expand its footprints in over 10 nations.

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US government offers $10M bounty for DarkSide ransomware hackers Nov 08, 2021

The U.S. Department of State is upping the ante in its fight against ransomware by offering a reward of up to $10 million for information that helps identify or track down leaders of the notorious DarkSide ransomware group.

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An accelerator and fund says it’s giving away its voting rights to scientist founders: “They lose control” Nov 05, 2021

SciFounders, an accelerator program and fund launched back in January with $6 million in backing, has a new proposition for the scientist founders who it looks to help run their own companies.

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Rivian hit with gender discrimination lawsuit that alleges toxic ‘bro culture’ Nov 05, 2021

Rivian, the electric automaker that recently filed for an IPO, has been sued by a former sales and marketing vice president for alleged gender discrimination.

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Nintendo releases Animal Crossing update a day early Nov 04, 2021

Grab your Nintendo Switches and start downloading theÂ “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” update, because it’s going to be a late night. Nintendo just dropped the update to version 2.0 – a day early.

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As Allbirds goes public, sustainability is the mantra of the future Nov 04, 2021

Allbirds started with a humble, natural wool shoe, but it is not merely an apparel company today. It has become a materials innovation company disrupting how clothes are made.

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Femtech startup illumigyn secures $33M to provide women with accessible and affordable medical care Nov 03, 2021

According toÂ World Health Organization, cervical cancer, the fourth most common cancer among women, affected approximately 570,000 women and resulted in about 311,000 death in 2018.Â

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Facebook says it will delete facial recognition data on more than a billion users Nov 03, 2021

Just days after rebranding itself, Facebook announced plans to delete a trove of the most worrisome data that the world’s biggest social network collected on more than a billion individuals.

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137 Ventures, which buys equity from private company shareholders, just raised a new fund Nov 02, 2021

137 Ventures, a 10-year-old, San Francisco-based investment firm that mostly buys private company shares of founders, executives, early employees, and other large shareholders of private, high-growth tech companies, has closed its fifth fund with $350 million.

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Epic pulls plug on Fortnite in China Nov 02, 2021

Epic Games announced today that its work to bring video game mega-title Fortnite to the Chinese market is shutting down. The company said in an official announcement that the long-running test of the popular shooter title in China will conclude on November 15th.

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Six-month-old Zepto, a 10-minute grocery delivery startup in India, raises $60 million Nov 01, 2021

Two Stanford dropouts in their late teens, who have previously collaborated on a number of projects including a ride-hailing commute app for school kids, said on Sunday they have raised $60 million to disrupt India’s overcrowded and highly-competitive grocery delivery market.

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MIT’s CSAIL self-driving water taxis launched in the Amsterdam canals Nov 01, 2021

Granted, there aren’t many cities where self-driving water taxis are a viable option, but Amsterdam may just be one of those places.

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Google and Jio’s smartphone with custom Android OS for India launches November 4 for $87 Oct 29, 2021

Google and top Indian telecom network Jio Platforms said on Friday that their much-anticipated budget smartphone, JioPhone Next, will go on sale in the world’s second largest smartphone market on November 4 (to coincide with Big Indian festival of Diwali.)

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Facebook changes its corporate branding to Meta Oct 29, 2021

Well, it’s official. After 17 years of being called Facebook, the social networking parent company behind Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus has a new name. Facebook’s corporate entity is now Meta. Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg announced the change at the company’s AR/VR-focused Connect event, sharing that the new title captured more of the company’s core […]

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N!CK’S grabs $100M to create better-for-you snacks Oct 28, 2021

The new funding will accelerate the company’s goal of doubling its stores in the U.S. and Europe.

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Apple now lets you review more default apps like Phone, Messages, Photos and Safari Oct 28, 2021

Apple finally put itself on equal footing with rivals by allowing users to rate and review its own, first-party apps for the first time this fall, amid increased regulatory pressure ahead of a likely antitrust investigation.

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Skyryse brings in $200M to make flying an aircraft as simple as swiping a touchscreen Oct 27, 2021

Five-year-old startup Skyryse has raised a $200 million Series B to develop FlightOS, a flight automation technology stack that the company says will help experienced pilots operate new types of aircraft and allow complete novices to quickly learn the ropes of flying.

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DeHaat raises $115 million in the largest agritech round in India Oct 27, 2021

DeHaat, an online platform that offers full-stack agricultural services to farmers in India, has raised $115 million in what is the largest funding round for an agritech startup in India. Sofina, Lightrock, and Temasek co-led the 10-year-old startup’s Series D financing round.

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India’s Chalo acquires Amazon-backed bus aggregator Shuttl Oct 26, 2021

Chalo, an Indian startup that is digitizing bus commutes in India and which recently raised $40 million in a financing round, has acquired Amazon-backed app-based office commute bus aggregator Shuttl in an all-cash deal, the two said on Tuesday.

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YouTube rolls out personalized ‘New to you’ feed to help users discover content Oct 26, 2021

YouTube is rolling out a designated “New to you” tab on its platform after testing the feature earlier this year. The new tab is now available on the YouTube homepage across mobile, desktop and TV devices.

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Asymmetric Capital Partners hits ground running with $105M debut fund targeting B2B startups Oct 25, 2021

The new firm brings together a foursome with operator, venture capital and private equity expertise.

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Voyager, Nanoracks and Lockheed’s “Starlab” is the latest sign that the low Earth orbit economy is coming Oct 25, 2021

The era of private space stations is officially here as Nanoracks, Voyager Space and Lockheed Martin announce plans to launch a commercial station in 2027, but it’s just the next logical step for developing the new space economy, the companies say.

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Pledge raises $4.5M Seed round to build a carbon-measurement and removal API Oct 22, 2021

With the Climate Crisis looming, lots of companies want to do their part. But asking customers to “offset the CO2 emission of this delivery” is usually a hammer to crack a nut. There is very little transparency around carbon offsets.

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Twitter rolls out the ability for anyone to host a Space Oct 22, 2021

After steadily expanding access over the course of the year, Twitter announced today its audio chatroom feature known as Twitter Spaces is now open to anyone who wants to host a Space across iOS and Android.

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Blume Ventures and AWI back Indian exporter SaaS startup SourceWiz Oct 21, 2021

Small and medium-sized exporters in India struggle to communicate their designs with buyers. They can’t list those designs publicly on their website or sell through popular e-commerce platforms as doing so would risk giving away the proprietary property to rivals.

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Olympus US hack tied to sanctioned Russian ransomware group Oct 21, 2021

An “ongoing” cyberattack against the Japanese technology giant Olympus was caused by a Russian ransomware group sanctioned by the U.S. government, according to two people with knowledge of the incident.

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NASA and Boeing confirm Starliner won’t fly until first half of 2022 as valve investigation continues Oct 20, 2021

NASA and Boeing provided an update on the beleaguered Starliner capsule Tuesday, confirming that the earliest the spacecraft will fly will be sometime during the first half of next year.

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Biden’s QSBS tax plan would have unintended consequences for startups Oct 20, 2021

Buried in Biden’s 2021 tax plan are new amendments to the U.S. Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) program, which, if passed, will impact early-stage startup employees, founders and investors.

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Zoba wants to help micromobility companies get more rides, increase profitability Oct 19, 2021

Micromobility companies that aim to turn a profit have to juggle running a tight ship, adhering to constantly shifting localÂ regulations and getting as many riders on vehicles as possible. Boston-based Zoba, a micromobility fleet optimization startup, has developed a platform to help with that.

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Apple to release macOS Monterey on October 25 Oct 19, 2021

Apple has unveiled some new MacBook Pro models at a virtual conference today. And the company is timing the release of the next major release of macOS with the new laptop. Mac users will be able to update to macOS Monterey on Monday, October 25.

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Dispute resolution platform Immediation raises $3.6M AUD to expand in the U.S. Oct 18, 2021

The pandemic forced the legal profession to cobble together remote work strategies, often through a combination of video conferencing and emails. Founded in Melbourne, Immediation provides a tailor-made solution with digital courtrooms and mediation tools.

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Pandora is partnering with SoundCloud to launch a new station Oct 18, 2021

SiriusXM-owned Pandora is partnering with SoundCloud to launch ‘The Lookout by SoundCloud,’ a new station available on Pandora that aims to showcase music from the “hip hop superstars of tomorrow.” Today’s announcement comes as Pandora’s parent company, SiriusXM, recently partnered with SoundCloud to launch a show of the same name on its Hip-Hop Nation channel.

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Clubhouse gives musicians a new high quality audio mode Oct 15, 2021

Clubhouse added a new “music mode” this week, doubling down its commitment to centering social audio in all its permutations. The new music mode will give musicians who play live on the social network their own special set of tools to optimize sound quality and will hit iOS first before rolling out to Android. Clubhouse […]

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McDonald’s will serve Beyond Meat McPlant burgers in select US locations next month Oct 15, 2021

After announcing a deal with Beyond Meat back in February, McDonald’s this morning announced that it is set to start selling plant-based Beyond Meat burgers in select locations next month.

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European point of sale provider SumUp acquires customer loyalty startup Fivestars for $317M Oct 14, 2021

SumUp, a European-based competitor to Square, PayPal/iZettle and others that provide mobile-powered card readers and other sales technology to merchants and small businesses, has made an acquisition in the U.S. to dig deeper into that market, and to expand the kinds of services that it provides to customers globally.

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Instagram adds scheduling and ‘practice mode’ features for Live creators Oct 14, 2021

Instagram today announced the launch of a couple of new tools aimed at addressing the needs of Live creators. Now, creators will be able to build up buzz for their upcoming Live by scheduling it up to 90 days in advance, then share the news across Instagram to alert their fans.

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Global Processing Services raises $300M its API-based payments and embedded finance platform Oct 13, 2021

Embedded finance continues to be a major theme in the world of fintech, with a wide swathe of new financial services companies tapping APIs built by others to power payments and other financial transactions, and more.

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Twitter will now let you remove followers without blocking them Oct 13, 2021

After testing last month, Twitter is rolling out a feature to all web users that will let them remove followers without blocking them.

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Google and Temasek back Indian neobank Open in $100 million fundraise Oct 12, 2021

Google has invested in Bangalore-based Open, becoming the latest high-profile investor to back a neobanking platform. Open said on Tuesday it has raised $100 million in a Series C financing round.

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Facebook’s Oversight Board will meet with the Facebook whistleblower Oct 12, 2021

Facebook’s external policy review board will meet with Frances Haugen, a former Facebook employee who went public with her concerns about the company last week. Facebook’s Oversight Board announced Monday that it would meet with Haugen “in the coming weeks” after the whistleblower accepted the board’s invitation to speak.

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Gogoro launches battery swapping stations in China Oct 11, 2021

Five months after announcing a deal with two of China’s biggest two-wheel vehicle makers, Gogoro officially launched there today, opening 45 battery swapping stations in Hangzhou.

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The mystery of Elon Musk’s missing gas Oct 11, 2021

Experts say an environmental document that needs U.S. Federal Aviation Administration approval before SpaceX can begin testing the world’s largest rockets is missing key details about where its fuel will come from.

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Elon Musk announces Tesla to move headquarters to Austin Oct 08, 2021

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company would be moving its headquarters from Palo Alto, California to Austin, Texas, a city that has recently seen a flood of tech companies and remote workers.

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RoboTire raises $7.5M to automate tire replacement Oct 08, 2021

RoboTire crossed our radar in February of last year, just before much of the world was brought to a complete standstill courtesy of the pandemic. Things were still fairly early stages for the Detroit-based startup, which was founded by former Spark Robotics CEO Victor Darolfi.

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Indian cloud kitchen startup Rebel Foods valued at $1.4 billion in $175 million fundraise Oct 07, 2021

Rebel Foods, which operates a large network of dark kitchens in nearly a dozen markets, is the latest Indian startup to attain the unicorn status. The Bangalore-based startup said on Thursday it has raised $175 million in its Series F financing round that valued it at $1.4 billion, up from about $800 million last year.

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OpenStack gains new momentum, as deployments increase during the pandemic Oct 07, 2021

OpenStack, the open-source project that gives large enterprises and public cloud providers the tools to run their own AWS-like private clouds in their data centers, today announced the release of OpenStack 24. Codenamed Xena, the release focuses on polishing many of the system’s sharper edges.

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Uber pilots new features to reserve rides at airports Oct 06, 2021

Uber is piloting new app features aimed at making air travel more hassle-free, including the ability to reserve rides from airports, gain access to enhanced curbside pickup, request a ride once you land and order food in advance from airport restaurants for pickup.

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Technical interview platform Byteboard spins out of Google’s Area 120, takes on new funding Oct 06, 2021

Byteboard, a service designed to replace the on-site technical interview part of a company’s hiring process with a web-based alternative, will be spinning out of Google, TechCrunch learned and Google confirmed.

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Kobo refreshes e-reader line with Sage and Libra 2, adding Bluetooth and stylus support Oct 05, 2021

A pair of new e-readers from Kobo iterate on the company’s high-end options, adding Bluetooth audiobook and stylus support to the now familiar asymmetrical design of its larger devices. The Sage and Libra 2 also gain a new charging cover so you only have to plug the device in every few months rather than every […]

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NFT startup Dapper Labs acquires virtual influencer startup Brud Oct 05, 2021

Dapper Labs, the NFT startup behind NBA Top Shot which was recently valued above $7.5 billion, made an interesting acquisition this morning, telling Decrypt that they have purchased virtual influencer startup Brud and will be bringing the entire 32-person team aboard.

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Five Seasons Ventures pulls in €180M fund to tackle human health and climate via FoodTech Oct 04, 2021

FoodTech is booming in Europe has grown exponentially. In 2020, €3 billion went into European FoodTech companies (State of European Tech Report, March 2021), and the pandemic has accelerated demand as consumers have shifted to grocery delivery. The industry has also been affected by the rise of direct-to-consumer food brands.

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Current and former employees raise major safety concerns, allegations of sexual harassment at Blue Origin Oct 04, 2021

Jeff Bezos just can’t get away from labor issues. The beleaguered billionaire, who has faced repeated and persistent criticism over working conditions at the company he formerly led, Amazon, is now facing allegations of a hostile work environment at his space company Blue Origin.

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SquadPal is a social app to help remote working teams gel Oct 01, 2021

The future of office work, post-COVID-19, is driving plenty of startup activity. Not just around core business needs like comms (Zoom, Slack et al) — but entrepreneurs are also competing to come up with the perfect tool to recreate the social serendipity of office life in order to make dispersed workers feel a bit more […]

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Clubhouse adds clips, replays for asynchronous listening, better search, and spatial audio for Android Oct 01, 2021

Clubhouse announced today that it is unveiling four new features: Clips, Replay, Universal Search, and spatial audio for Android (which already exists on iOS). All of these features will launch today, except for Replay, which will roll out in October.

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Matternet’s automated drone-docking station makes its real-life debut in Switzerland Sep 30, 2021

No one knows exactly how drone delivery will fit into the future of logistics, but one thing is for sure: the aircraft aren’t going to drop off important payloads directly onto someone’s lawn. Matternet’s Station, an automated landing space and payload control tower, may be the solution, and the flower-like structure has finally made the […]

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General Motors’ new software platform Ultifi is coming to vehicles starting in 2023 Sep 30, 2021

General Motors is rolling out a new end-to-end software platform in vehicles starting in 2023 that executives say will usher in a sweeping set of capabilities including giving drivers access to in-car subscription and using over-the-air updates to offer new apps and services.

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Employee leave startup Cocoon launches after raising $20M in new funding Sep 29, 2021

The platform is available in across all 50 states and is designed for any type of employee leave, like parental, medical, caregiver or bereavement.

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Amazon reveals Halo Fitness and Halo Nutrition programs for Halo subscribers Sep 29, 2021

Amazon is introducing two new services tied to user health and fitness, and its Halo personal health devices. They include Halo Fitness, a new service for interactive home video workouts that looks a lot like Apple Fitness+, and Halo Nutrition, a personalized, guided meal planner.

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Indian food delivery giant Swiggy in talks to raise funds at over $10 billion valuation Sep 28, 2021

Indian food delivery startup Swiggy is in talks to raise over $500 million in a new financing round that could value it at over $10 billion, two sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. Atlanta-headquartered Invesco is in talks to lead — or co-lead — the new financing round in the Bangalore-based startup, which counts […]

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LinkedIn is testing a new, paid ticketed events service Sep 28, 2021

LinkedIn earlier this month unveiled a new push around creators to bring more original content (and engagement) to its platform, but that’s not the only effort they are making to bring more activity to its networking site. TechCrunch has learned and confirmed that LinkedIn is also running a test around events — specifically, paid events.

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D-ID launches ‘Speaking Portrait,’ a way to turn photos into custom, photo-realistic videos Sep 27, 2021

The company whose tech powered the sensational MyHeritage app that turned classic family photos into lifelike moving portraits is back with a new implementation of its technology: Transforming still photographs into ultra-realistic video, capable of saying whatever you want.

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California makes zero-emission autonomous vehicles mandatory by 2030 Sep 27, 2021

Starting in 2030, California will require all light-duty autonomous vehicles operating in the state to emit zero emissions, thanks to a new bill signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday.

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China says all cryptocurrency-related transactions are illegal and must be banned Sep 24, 2021

China’s central bank said on Friday that all cryptocurrency-related transactions are illegal in the country and they must be banned, citing concerns around national security and social stability. The world’s most populated nation also said that foreign exchanges are banned from providing services to users in the country. In a joint statement, ten Chinese government […]

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Unagi’s $2,440 smart scooter includes turn-by-turn directions and GPS tracking Sep 24, 2021

Unagi Scooters has revealed what it claims is the first 'smart scooter' in the Model Eleven. It includes a bunch of intriguing features, such as audible directions, remote kill and an ADAS sensor.

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Cybersecurity startup Sternum raises $27M to ‘immunize’ IoT devices Sep 23, 2021

Sternum, a three-year-oldÂ IoT cybersecurity startup based in Tel Aviv, has secured $27 million in Series B funding, led by Spark Capital. Internet of Things devices are more popular than ever, yet cybersecurity remains a looming concern. The number of attacks on IoT devices more than doubled during the first six months of 2021, according to […]

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AeroFarms is supplying the hops for Goose Island’s latest IPA Sep 23, 2021

The world of vertical farming has seen a massive uptick in interest over the past decade, as the world grapples with concerns over resource use, farmable area and exploding population growth. While promising, there are still plenty of question marks surrounding the technology, including the diversity of crops one can grow indoors at scale.

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Google Meet will automatically adjust webcam brightness in your browser Sep 22, 2021

The web version Google Meets can soon detect when someone is underexposed due to bad lighting. Meet will then increase the brightness so it's easier to see yourself and your cohorts on calls.

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GM details the motors that will power its electric Hummer and other EVs Sep 22, 2021

Igor Bonifacic Contributor Igor Bonifacic is a contributing writer at Engadget. More posts by this contributor Rivian announces membership plan with complementary charging and LTE connectivity Microsoft Office 2021 will be available on October 5th General Motors has spent a lot of time recently talking up the capabilities of its upcoming Ultium battery technology but […]

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MIT study finds Tesla drivers become inattentive when Autopilot is activated Sep 21, 2021

By the end of this week, potentially thousands of Tesla owners will be testing out the automaker’s newest version of its “Full Self-Driving” beta software, version 10.0.1, on public roads, even as regulators and federal officials investigate the safety of the system after a few high-profile crashes. A new study from the Massachusetts Institute of […]

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Following SEC lawsuit threat, Coinbase cancels launch of ‘Lend’ product Sep 21, 2021

Coinbase efforts to play hardball with the Securities and Exchange Commission didn’t last too long. The cryptocurrency exchange had garnered the ire of the regulatory commission over its plans to launch a crypto lending product, with the SEC sending the company a Wells notice which indicated that the agency would sue Coinbase if they launched.

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Amazon starts probe over bribe to gov’t officials by its lawyers in India, report says Sep 20, 2021

Amazon has launched an investigation into the conduct of its legal representatives in India following a complaint from a whistleblower who alleged that one or more of the company’s reps had bribed government officials, Indian news and analysis outlet the Morning Context reported on Monday.

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OpenSea released an app — but it’s for browsing, not buying and selling Sep 20, 2021

It’s a big day for the Amazon of the decentralized internet — OpenSea now has an app for iOS and Android. For most companies, having a mobile app is a milestone you’d reach before hitting a $1.5 billion valuation. But like any store — whether you’re selling NFT art or not — there’s a hefty […]

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In internal memo, Apple says it is monitoring legal challenges to Texas abortion law Sep 17, 2021

In a message posted on an internal employee message board today, Apple said that it was monitoring the legal challenges to what it refers to as the “uniquely restrictive abortion law” that was recently passed in Texas. Apple confirmed the authenticity of the message to TechCrunch.

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Mirantis launches cloud-native data center-as-a-service software Sep 17, 2021

Mirantis has been around the block, starting way back as an OpenStack startup, but a few years ago the company began to embrace cloud-native development technologies like containers, microservices and Kubernetes. Today, it announced Mirantis Flow, a fully managed open source set of services designed to help companies manage a cloud-native data center environment, whether […]

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Alphabet’s Project Taara is beaming high-speed internet across the Congo River Sep 16, 2021

The high speed wireless optical link technology Alphabet originally developed for its shuttered Loon balloon company is currently being used for another moonshot called Project Taara.

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Clubhouse hires a head of news from NPR to build out publisher relationships Sep 16, 2021

Clubhouse has hired a veteran editor from NPR to lead news publishing for the app. Nina Gregory will serve as Clubhouse’s Head of News and Media Publishers, working as a liaison between news publishers and the Clubhouse’s ecosystem of audio-based communities.

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The iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max features 120Hz display, better cameras Sep 15, 2021

Apple has announced its new lineup of phones at its virtual conference. In addition to the regular iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini, the company has two Pro models with some premium features that you won’t find in the regular iPhone 13. Of course, the Pro models are also more expensive.

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Spaceflight will be ferrying payloads from Orbit Fab, GeoJump to lunar orbit next year Sep 15, 2021

Space rideshare service provider Spaceflight Inc. is going to be shuttling customers on a lunar flyby mission next year, part of its long-term vision of giving companies easy access to lunar orbits and beyond. The Seattle-based company will be delivering payload using its propulsive transfer vehicle, Sherpa EScape, or Sherpa-ES, the latest iteration of Sherpa […]

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SpaceX launches its first batch of Starlink satellites aimed at new coverage areas from California Sep 14, 2021

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 51 of its Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Monday night at 8:55 PM PDT (11:55 PM EDT). This was the first launch for the Starlink satellite internet constellation from the west coast, and also the first batch of a second stage of Starlink.

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Ford hires new chief digital information officer as it seeks to expand into software and services Sep 14, 2021

Ford Motor has hired Mike Amend as its chief digital and information officer as the automaker seeks to expand into software, subscriptions and in-vehicle connectivity. Amend, who was president of Lowe’s Online for three years, will focus on Ford’s “use of data, software and technology” — all areas central to Ford’s new Ford+ strategy, the […]

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Freshworks aims for nearly $9 billion valuation in US IPO Sep 13, 2021

Freshworks disclosed on Monday that it is aiming for a valuation of up to $9 billion in its US initial public offering in which it is hoping to raise over $800 million. The California-based firm, which started its journey in India and rivals Salesforce, said it plans to sell 28.5 million shares at a price […]

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Twitter introduces a new label that allows the ‘good bots’ to identify themselves Sep 13, 2021

Twitter today is introducing a new feature that will allow accounts to self-identify as bots by adding a label to their profile. This feature is designed to help people better differentiate between automated accounts — like bots that retweet the news, public service announcements, or other updates — from those operated by humans. It’s not, […]

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Epic Games asks Apple to reinstate Fortnite in South Korea after new law Sep 10, 2021

Epic Games has asked Apple to rejoin its Fortnite developer account in South Korea as the U.S. game maker plans to re-release Fortnite on iOS in South Korea, offering both Epic and Apple payments side-by-side, said in a tweet on September 10. Epic has asked Apple to restore our Fortnite developer account. Epic intends to […]

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GM extends Chevy Bolt EV production shutdown another two weeks Sep 10, 2021

GM has extended a shutdown at its Orion Assembly Plant another two weeks due to a battery pack shortage related to the widespread Chevrolet Bolt EV and Bolt EUV safety recall. GM said the extended downtime at the Orion plant will last through September 20.

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The newest Roomba gets smarter as it vacuums Sep 09, 2021

The Roomba is easily among the most ubiquitous robots in the world — but it has never been one of the smartest. On the whole, that’s not a major issue. The top-selling vacuum is good at what it does: cleaning floors. But a roboticist’s work is never done; iRobot has turned the vast majority of […]

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Automakers race to design desire for luxury and tech Sep 09, 2021

In late summer, car collectors converged in Monterey, Detroit and, most recently, Oxford, England, in an annual tradition focused on ogling over — and oftentimes bidding for — luxury and historic vehicles. The outdoor luxury automotive events ruled in 2021 after a universal pause the year before due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The events, which […]

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Texas Right to Life website exposed job applicants’ resumes Sep 08, 2021

Anti-abortion group Texas Right to Life exposed the personal information of hundreds of job applicants after a website bug allowed anyone to access their resumes, which were stored in an unprotected folder on its website. A security researcher told TechCrunch that the group’s main website, built largely in WordPress, was not properly protecting the file […]

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Howard University cancels classes after ransomware attack Sep 08, 2021

Washington D.C’s Howard University has canceled classes after becoming the latest educational institution to be hit by a ransomware attack. The incident was discovered on September 3, just weeks after students returned to campus, when the University’s Enterprise Technology Services (ETS) detected “unusual activity” on the University’s network and intentionally shut it down in order […]

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Zip acquisition of Payflex means Africa is ripe for BNPL disruption Sep 07, 2021

Australian buy now, pay later (BNPL) company Zip this week acquired South Africa-based BNPL player Payflex for an undisclosed amount. It’s a piece of news that once again highlights the hype around BNPL services and the quest for global dominance among the leading players. This year we have covered BNPL services from the likes of […]

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Dukaan raises $11 million to help merchants in India set up online stores Sep 07, 2021

Dukaan, a one-year-old Bangalore-based startup that enables merchants to set up online stores and sell products digitally, said on Monday it has raised $11 million in a new financing round as it looks to broaden its offerings and deepen footprints in the South Asian market. The new financing round, a Pre-Series A, was led by […]

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Rivian’s electric R1T pickup truck, R1S SUV get their official EPA ranges Sep 06, 2021

Rivian announced Friday that the first edition version of its all-electric R1T pickup truck has an official EPA range of 314 miles, while its R1T SUV comes in a skosh higher at 316 miles. The official range and fuel economy values have been posted on the U.S. EPA website. The official numbers align with Rivian’s […]

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Elon Musk warns the Tesla Roadster might not ship until at least 2023 Sep 06, 2021

Add the Roadster to the list of delayed Tesla vehicles. On Wednesday, CEO Elon Musk said the performance EV wouldn’t make its previously announced 2022 shipment date.

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Point raises $46.5 million for its premium debit card Sep 03, 2021

Challenger bank Point has raised a $46.5 million Series B funding round. The company offers an account associated with a debit card. And the startup positions itself as a premium debit card company and tries to offer credit card rewards with debit cards. Existing investor Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures is investing more money in the […]

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Nikola and Bosch ink deal for hydrogen fuel cell modules Sep 03, 2021

Beleaguered electric truck developer Nikola Corp. has inked a new agreement with Bosch for its hydrogen fuel cell modules. The modules will be used to power two of Nikola’s hydrogen-fueled semi-trucks, the short-haul Nikola Tre and Nikola TwoÂ sleeper. “This announcement is the result of a multi-year working relationship with Bosch,” Nikola CEO Mark Russell said […]

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FAA opens probe into anomaly on Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic spaceflight Sep 02, 2021

The FAA is looking into an anomaly on the Virgin Galactic flight that carried Richard Branson to space. Virgin's spacecraft went off-course during descent, triggering an "entry glide-cone warning."

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Apollo completes its $5B acquisition of Verizon Media, now known as Yahoo Sep 02, 2021

Private equity firm Apollo Global Management this morning announced that it has completed its acquisition of Yahoo (formerly known as Verizon Media Group, itself formerly known as Oath) from Verizon. The deal is worth $5 billion, with $4.25 billion in cash, plus preferred interests of $750 million.

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Danish startups Responsibly raises $2M to benchmark supply chains on climate, diversity Sep 01, 2021

If the world is to reach NetZero, and avoid climate disaster it needs to make every product sustainable and that means every purchase. But to do that you need a lot more transparency, so that means more data on suppliers to improve sourcing and benchmarking companies. While companies are often doing their best, the problem […]

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CryptoPunks creator inks representation deal with major Hollywood talent agency Sep 01, 2021

One of Hollywood’s biggest talent agencies is getting into the NFT game. Larva Labs, the creator of CryptoPunks, just signed with United Talent Agency (UTA) in a representation deal that will bring one of the earliest and most iconic NFT projects into the entertainment and branding worlds.

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Windows 11 launches October 5 Aug 31, 2021

Microsoft offered a broad “Holiday 2021” release date when it announced Windows 11, back in June. Of course, it didn’t specify precisely which holiday. Perhaps the company was aiming for World Teachers’ Day, a belated Sukkot or an extremely early Halloween. After strongly implying a late-October release a few months back (which some pointing to […]

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China restricts kids’ online gaming to three hours a week Aug 31, 2021

China’s National Press and Publication Administration has released a notice imposing limits on online gaming for minors. On September 1st, video game companies will have to restrict gaming time to three hours a week — from 8 PM to 9 PM on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

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Astra’s first commercial launch fails to reach orbit Aug 30, 2021

Astra, now a public company, ran into a problem during its first commercial launch (the mission carried a test payload contracted by the U.S. Space Force as part of its Space Test Program) that meant the rocket never made it to orbit. On Saturday, the rocket ignited all its engines at liftoff time on the […]

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Indiagold raises $12 million for its gold-focused digital alternative credit platform Aug 30, 2021

India has a fascination for gold. The households in the South Asian market are estimated to have a stash of over 25,000 tons of the precious metal, whose value today is about half of the country’s nominal GDP. But much of this gold has been sitting idly in lockers in big metal wardrobes for generations.

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Fig raises $2.2M to supercharge the terminal Aug 27, 2021

Can an old Terminal learn new tricks? Fig, a company out of Y Combinator’s S20 class, has raised a $2.2M seed round to prove that it can. Their goal: augment (but don’t try to replace) the command line terminal that so many people use every day and make it more powerful and easy to use […]

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Workstream’s text-based recruitment tool gets a $48M bet from BOND and beyond Aug 27, 2021

It isn’t only tech giants that are struggling to fill open roles with talented individuals, it’s your local Jamba Juice, too. Since 2017, San Francisco-based Workstream has been working on an answer to recruitment for the hourly worker.

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Canalys: U.S. PC sales up 17% YoY for quarter, even as tablet sales stagnate Aug 26, 2021

Canalys released its quarterly U.S. PC sales today, and while the news was quite good with sales overall up 17% YoY, the growth slowed significantly from the prior quarter when sales soared to 74% pushed by the pandemic.

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After testing, Instagram launches ads in the Instagram Shop tab globally Aug 26, 2021

Last year, Instagram unveiled Shops as part of Facebook’s larger pivot toward e-commerce. Shops is front-and-almost-center on the app’s bottom navigation bar, even more readily accessible than the button to upload a new photo.

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Peloton Tread arrives next week with enhanced safety features, following recall Aug 25, 2021

During a banner year for connected fitness, Peloton stumbled, as its two treadmills – the Tread+ and Tread – drew the scrutiny of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The two eventually collaborated for the planned recall of 125,000 Tread+ units, while offering fixes to 6,450 Treads.

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Microsoft will bring cloud gaming to Xbox consoles this holiday season Aug 25, 2021

Microsoft is moving into the next phase of its plan to bring Xbox Cloud Gaming to as many devices as possible, bringing it to Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One consoles this holiday season.

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GM says it will seek reimbursement from LG Chem for $1B Chevy Bolt recall losses Aug 24, 2021

American automaker General Motors expanded its recall of Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles on Friday due to fire risks from battery manufacturing defects. The automaker said it would seek reimbursement from LG Chem, its battery cell manufacturing partner, for what it expects to be $1 billion worth of losses.

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OpenTable integrates CLEAR’s digital vaccine card for restaurants requiring proof of vaccination Aug 24, 2021

Cities like New York City, San Francisco and New Orleans are moving to enact COVID-19 vaccination requirements for indoor dining. So OpenTable, the online restaurant reservation service, is rolling out features to help restaurants streamline vaccination checks. Today, OpenTable announced a partnership with the biometric security company CLEAR, which allows users to create a digital […]

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India’s Zetwerk valued at $1.33 billion in new funding Aug 23, 2021

An Indian startup that operates a business-to-business marketplace for manufacturing items is the latest to attain the coveted unicorn status in the South Asian market. Bangalore-based Zetwerk said on Monday it has raised $150 million in a Series E financing round led by New York based D1 Capital Partners.

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Spotify to spend $1B buying its own stock Aug 23, 2021

If Spotify is still a growth-focused company, shouldn't it preserve its capital to invest in exclusive podcasts and the like — efforts that may grant it pricing power in the future?

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Musk: The Tesla Bot is coming Aug 20, 2021

Remember that weird Will Smith movie about robots? Yeah, neither do we. But Elon Musk does. Tesla is developing a 5’8” Tesla Bot, with a prototype expected sometime next year. The news comes during Tesla’s inaugural AI Day, which was streamed on the company’s website Thursday night. The bot is being proposed as a non-automotive […]

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Would the math work if Databricks were valued at $38B? Aug 20, 2021

Databricks, the open-source data lake and data management powerhouse has been on quite a financial run lately. Today Bloomberg reported the company could be raising a new round worth at least $1.5 billion at an otherworldly $38 billion valuation. That price tag is up $10 billion from its last fundraise in February when it snagged […]

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RepairSmith raises $42M Series B to bring auto repair to customers’ doorsteps Aug 19, 2021

Needing to get your car fixed is like having a toothache: It’s painful, hard to ignore and likely means someone messing around under the hood. RepairSmith, launched in 2019, wants to make that process a little smoother through its mobile auto repair service that sends a mechanic right to the driver’s home. The startup is […]

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Waze with ‘PAW Patrol’ voices sounds like a chill car ride Aug 19, 2021

Waze might have a way to keep your kids entertained during a drive without handing them a tablet: distract them with your navigation app. The company has added a PAW Patrol experience.

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Fortnite adds a new mode that’s basically Among Us Aug 18, 2021

Fortnite now boasts its own version of one of the pandemic’s hottest games. Fortnite-maker Epic just introduced into the game a new limited-time mode called Impostors; it follows the hit format that sent Among Us to Twitch’s front page — and Congress — during the pandemic’s earlier days.

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OnlyFans promotes its SFW app as it seeks funding at a $1B+ valuation Aug 18, 2021

OnlyFans — the platform where adult creators can directly monetize their audience — is pushing its safe-for-work app OFTV, which is available on iOS and Google Play. The ad-free app launched in January, sharing over 800 videos from OnlyFans creators, like cooking tutorials, yoga routines, and interviews. But this week will be the first time […]

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EV startup Canoo is gearing up for production in Oklahoma factory Aug 17, 2021

EV startup Canoo has hired hundreds of employees and is homing in on a production date, but critical milestones including landing a battery supplier remain, according to the company’s second quarter earnings report. Canoo’s earnings report comes just a few weeks after the company’s first investor relations day when it named Dutch company VDL Nedcar […]

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Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin goes toe to toe with NASA in federal court over award to SpaceX Aug 17, 2021

Blue Origin, the space company helmed by billionaire Jeff Bezos, is taking NASA to court. The company filed a complaint with a federal claims court on Monday over the agency’s decision to award a lunar lander contract solely to rival company SpaceX. The complaint, which Blue Origin successfully petitioned to have sealed, says NASA’s evaluation […]

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Google infringed on five Sonos patents, according to preliminary ruling Aug 16, 2021

Way back in January 2020, Sonos sued Google over patent infringement. Today, the streaming speaker company scored an early victory with the U.S. International Trade Commission. A preliminary ruling penned by ITC chief administrative law judge Charles Bullock finds that Google infringed on five patents. “Today the ALJ has found all five of Sonos’ asserted […]

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Lamborghini’s Countach LPI 800-4 is an 802-horsepower hybrid supercar Aug 16, 2021

After all the leaks and teases, Lamborghini has finally announced its new hybrid-engine Countach. Thankfully, almost everything you need to know about the car is in its model designation: LPI 800-4.

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Foxconn plans to build EV factories in the US and Thailand in 2022 Aug 13, 2021

Foxconn is getting more serious about its electric vehicle ambitions. The company told investors during an earnings call that it plans to build EV factories in the US and Thailand in 2022.

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Ford F-150 hybrid: The 2021 rumble before the Lightning EV strikes Aug 13, 2021

Full-size pickup trucks are the meat of the U.S. automotive business; it’s a red-hot category with the Ford F-150 leading the pack in sales and the Chevrolet Silverado and Ram pickups fast followers. But the air is thin at the top. What’s often lost in truck coverage is how fiercely automakers compete to woo discerning […]

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Reddit is raising up to $700M in Series F funding Aug 12, 2021

Earlier this year, Reddit raised $250 million, bringing the 16-year-old site up to around $800 million in total funding. Today, it announced plans for an even more massive windfall, with a Series F led by Fidelity. The company has secured $410 million, with plans to raise up to $700 million.

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Archer Aviation is seeking $1B in damages from Wisk Aero as legal dispute escalates Aug 12, 2021

Archer Aviation is seeking $1 billion in damages from Wisk Aero, according to court filings Tuesday, significantly escalating the ongoing legal battle between the two air taxi rivals. Wisk “deployed a knowingly false extra-judicial smear campaign that projected stand-alone defamatory statements about Archer to the world,” the filing says. On this basis, Archer claims that […]

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Impossible’s plant-based sausage is coming home Aug 11, 2021

Impossible sent me a tube of its plant-based sausage to try ahead of today’s news. As an aside, the big box with several frozen packs inside was maybe not the most efficient way to send it, but I don’t know, maybe there’s no great way to send frozen foodstuffs. Someone feel free to disrupt that […]

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Wix launches a no-code app builder for $200 per month Aug 11, 2021

This morning, Wix announced a new product for business owners called Branded App by Wix, which allows users to develop native apps without writing code. The publicly-traded company provides tools for people and businesses to manage their online presence, but it’s most well-known for its drag-and-drop website builder. Now, the platform is expanding its user-friendly […]

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Cannabis giant Leafly is going public through a SPAC merger Aug 10, 2021

Leafly is turning to a SPAC with Merdia Merger Corp. I to go public. The deal, valued at about $532 million and expected to generate proceeds of up to $161.5 million, includes Leafly’s recent capital raise of $31.5 million from investors.

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Fortnite’s Ariana Grande concert offers a taste of music in the metaverse Aug 10, 2021

Ariana Grande strutted and soared around a candy-colored series of Fortnite sets in Epic’s latest major in-game live music event. The multi-day “tour” offered gamers and Grande fans alike plenty to enjoy while showcasing Epic’s impressively smooth and visually inventive vision for live events that millions of people can enjoy simultaneously. Fortnite players have known […]

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Siga secures $8.1M Series B to prevent cyberattacks on critical infrastructure Aug 09, 2021

Siga OT Solutions, an Israeli cybersecurity startup that helps organizations secure their operations by monitoring the raw electric signals of critical industrial assets, has raised $8.1 million in Series B funding. Siga’s SigaGuard says its technology, used by Israel’s critical water facilities and the New York Power Authority, is unique in that rather than monitoring […]

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Google’s Nest Cams and Doorbell get a refresh Aug 09, 2021

Yesterday’s leak didn’t leave much to the imagination. And today’s big Nest reveal confirms pretty much everything we saw — which is precisely what happens when Google’s the one doing the leaking. Still, this morning’s announcement marks one of the biggest refreshes to Google’s home security line in recent memory, with updates to various configurations […]

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Bulk payments startup Comma raises $6M Seed round led by Octopus and Connect Aug 06, 2021

UK-based open banking bulk payment startup Comma has raised £4.34 million ($6m) in a Seed round of funding led by Octopus Ventures and Connect Ventures. They were joined by investors Village Global, and the founders of Wagestream, Peter Briffet and Portman Wills.

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Twitter Spaces now let you invite co-hosts Aug 06, 2021

Fleets weren’t long for this world, but Twitter’s product teams aren’t slowing down on bringing new stuff to Spaces, the company’s own take on audio rooms. Twitter introduced Spaces in a limited test last year, expanding the Clubhouse copycat feature more broadly to anyone with at least 600 followers in May. Now, Twitter is giving […]

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Heatworks opens pre-orders for its plumbing-free countertop dishwasher Aug 05, 2021

Heatworks has at long last opened pre-orders for the Tetra, a countertop dishwasher that debuted at CES 2018. The Tetra doesn't require any plumbing, just an electrical outlet.

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Oh, Facebook changed its privacy settings again Aug 05, 2021

Ever considerate of its users, Facebook has determined that its privacy settings needed a bit of a shuffle to keep things clear and easy to find. To that end they’ve taken the “privacy settings” settings and scattered them mischievously among the other categories. “We’ve redesigned our entire settings menu on mobile devices from top to […]

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Discord now lets you customize your user profile on its apps Aug 04, 2021

For mobile users, Discord is adding one new feature that you’d find on a more traditional social app. The company rolled out an option for users to customize their profiles across its iOS and Android apps Tuesday, following the feature’s release on the desktop version of Discord in late June.

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Apple’s Touch ID-enabled keyboard is finally available on its own Aug 04, 2021

Three-and-half months after launching the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, Apple is finally breaking it out from its iMac bundle. The accessory is now available as a standalone, through Apple Stores and the company’s site.

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Controversial crime app Citizen launches $20/month Protect service Aug 03, 2021

After months of testing with upwards of 100,000 beta testers, Citizen today is launching its premium Protect offering for all users. The subscription service runs $20 a month and opens up a number of features on the app. Chief among the new paid features is a “Get Agent” button, which offers access to a Citizen […]

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Google gives the world its first official glimpse of the Pixel 6 Aug 03, 2021

While the company isn’t revealing everything about it just yet, this morning Google gave the world its first official peek at its next flagship phone: the Pixel 6. Here’s what we know so far: It’ll come in two forms: Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. The base 6 will have a matte aluminum finish with […]

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Finite State lands $30M Series B to help uncover security flaws in device firmware Aug 02, 2021

Columbus, Ohio-based Finite State, a startup that provides supply chain security for connected devices and critical infrastructure, has raised $30M in Series B funding.Â The funding lands amid increased focus on the less-secure elements in an organizations’ supply chain, such as Internet of Things devices and embedded systems.

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Apple tweaks controversial iOS 15 Safari changes in latest beta Aug 02, 2021

Apple is responding to user complaints and feedback about the controversial changes to the Safari mobile browser with today’s launch of iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 beta 4. The new Safari design first introduced at WWDC had moved the tab bar (URL bar) to the bottom of the screen — a fairly radical change for […]

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Panic sells 20,000+ Playdate handhelds in under 20 minutes Jul 30, 2021

As we’ve known for about a week, today was the day Panic’s charming/whacky/curious/all-of-the-above Playdate gaming device (and its crank!) went up for pre-order. The buzz around the little retro-inspired handheld seemed strong — but would that translate into actual sales?

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Nothing Ear (1) review Jul 30, 2021

It’s always exciting to see a new company enter the consumer hardware space — and deliver a solid first product out of the game.

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Rocket Lab returns to flight after failed May mission with successful launch for U.S. Space Force Jul 29, 2021

Rocket Lab is back in business launching rockets, after an issue during its last launch in May caused a total loss of the payloads on board. The company was quick to investigate the issue, and announced just over a week ago that it had completed that work, identified the problem and implemented corrective action to […]

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The Lilium electric Jet will use batteries manufactured by Germany’s Customcells Jul 29, 2021

Electric air taxi startup Lilium has tapped German manufacturer Customcell to supply batteries for its flagship 7-seater Lilium Jet. The battery IP is the result of “multiple players,” a Lilium spokesperson told TechCrunch, but the manufacturing will be the sole job of Customcells. While Lilium declined to specify the number of battery systems as part […]

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Alphabet crushes Q2 earnings estimates as Google Cloud cuts losses, grows 54% Jul 28, 2021

Today after the bell amidst a deluge of major technology company earnings reports, Alphabet reported its own second-quarter performance.

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Here’s Nothing’s $99 Ear (1) buds Jul 28, 2021

It’s been just over five months since Carl Pei first told the world about Nothing. Perhaps it’s just the way time moves these days or maybe it’s the fact that the company has trickled out information in the intervening months. Whatever the case, it feels like we’ve been waiting on today’s full Ear (1) reveal […]

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Polestar to double its retail stores as it seeks to ramp up EV sales Jul 27, 2021

Polestar plans to launch in nine more markets this year, doubling its global presence as it seeks to sell more of its electric sedans.

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I get it, Elizabeth Holmes Jul 27, 2021

The next time someone jokes at a cocktail party about Elizabeth Holmes’ baritone voice, remind them how dumb is it that we give more money to people with deep voices.

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Apple Music brings its spatial audio and lossless streaming to Android Jul 26, 2021

It takes a really specific consumer to buy an Android phone, yet use Apple Music. But the small overlap in that venn diagram may be getting bigger. Last month at WWDC, Apple unveiled a free update for Apple Music subscribers that added lossless audio streaming and spatial audio with support for Dolby Atmos.

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Fi’s smart collar adds sleep tracking for dogs Jul 26, 2021

Conventional wisdom holds that one ought let sleeping does lie. But no one says you’re barred from tracking them while they do. New York-based smart collar maker Fi announced today that it’s adding sleep to the list of the device’s tracking. The added feature uses the collar’s on-board motion sensing to monitor your best friend’s […]

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OnePlus announces $150 Pro noise cancelling earbuds Jul 23, 2021

With a couple of generations of wireless earbuds under its belt, OnePlus finally has the AirPods Pro — and the rest of the premium market — in its sights. As part of an event today that also includes the launch of its budget Nord 2, the company officially announced the OnePlus Buds Pro. The top-line […]

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Pre-orders for Panic’s Playdate handheld will open on July 29th Jul 23, 2021

Playdate, the adorable whimsy-and-nostalgia-box/handheld game system built by Panic (with some help from Teenage Engineering), has taken one more big step toward reality: it has an official pre-order date. And it’s soon! The company announced this morning that pre-orders for the handheld will go live on July 29th at 10 a.m pacific.

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Upgrade launches a credit card with bitcoin rewards Jul 22, 2021

Fintech startup Upgrade is launching a new credit card today. The Upgrade Bitcoin Rewards Card is a classic Visa credit card that works across the Visa network. But you get 1.5% in bitcoin rewards when you make payments.

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Rivian plans to install EV chargers in Tennessee’s 56 state parks Jul 22, 2021

Rivian electric vehicle charging stations are coming to yet another state park system. The EV startup said it would install its so-called “waypoint” chargers at all of Tennessee’s 56 state parks, just four months after announcing a similar agreement with the state of Colorado. It’s the next step in Rivian’s plans to build out its […]

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Samsung will announce new foldables on August 11 Jul 21, 2021

Samsung just sent out invites for its next Unpacked event. There are those companies that like to sneak hints into their invites — and then there’s Samsung.

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Inkbit raises $30M for its self-correcting 3D printing technology Jul 21, 2021

MIT CSAIL spinout Inkbit this week announced that it has raised $30 million. The Series B, led by Phoenix Venture Partners LLC, brings the firm’s total funding up to $45 million. PVP joins existing partners like industrial 3D printing giant Stratasys, DSM Venturing, Ocado, 3M, IMA and Saint-Gobain. Inkbit was founded in 2017, building on […]

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CNN+ streaming service will offer live and on-demand content in early 2022 Jul 20, 2021

The rumors of a CNN streaming service were true. The network has unveiled a CNN+ service that will offer a blend of live and on-demand shows that are "separate and distinct" from existing TV coverage.

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US blames China for Exchange server hacks and ransomware attacks Jul 19, 2021

The Biden administration and its allies has formally accused China of the mass-hacking of Microsoft Exchange servers earlier this year, which prompted the FBI to intervene as concerns rose that the hacks could lead to widespread destruction.

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The new Anthony Bourdain documentary ‘Roadrunner’ leans partly on deepfaked audio Jul 19, 2021

On July 16th,Â Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony BourdainÂ will open in US theatres. Like many documentaries, the film pieces together archival footage, including interviews and show outtakes, to attempt to tell the story of its subject in their own words.

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Valve launches Steam Deck, a $400 PC gaming portable Jul 16, 2021

A new challenger has emerged in the gaming hardware category. Game distribution giant Valve today announced the launch of Steam Deck, a $399 gaming portable designed to take PC games on the go.

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Clubhouse ventures beyond audio with Backchannel, a new messaging feature Jul 16, 2021

We knew DMs were on the way to Clubhouse and today the new feature landed, spicing up the audio-only app with a text-based chat feature. Clubhouse’s new direct messaging system, called “Backchannel,” gives users an oft-requested way to start conversations behind the scenes on the social audio app.

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An Echo Dot designed by Diane von Furstenberg? Yeah, sure, why not Jul 15, 2021

Earlier this year, Amazon launched Build It, a fun little program that lets customers preorder concept devices. Think about it like Indiegogo or Kickstarter, where the company will only actually make the product if enough people buy-in via preorder. Obviously Amazon has a significantly larger ability to absorb a misstep than your average first-time hardware […]

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Apple introduces a $99 MagSafe Battery Pack for the iPhone 12 Jul 15, 2021

The addition of MagSafe to the iPhone 12 line introduced all manner of fun avenues for accessory makers, but there’s a strong case (so to speak) to be made that a snap on battery pack might be the most useful of all.

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Android 12 will let you play games before they finish downloading Jul 14, 2021

At its Game Developer Summit, Google today announced a new feature for Android game developers today that will speed up the time from starting a download in the Google Play store to the game launching by almost 2x — at least on Android 12 devices. The name of the new feature, ‘play as you download,’ […]

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MSCHF drops tiny action figures of your favorite failed startup hardware Jul 14, 2021

Hardware is hard. You can browse the archives of this site and come up with dozens of bold attempts to make new consumer electronics gadgets work — some of them very close to home.

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Brazilian HR startup Flash raises $22M in a Tiger Global-led Series B round of funding Jul 13, 2021

Flash, a startup that has developed a flexible benefits platform for Brazilian companies and employees, has raised $22 million in a Series B round of funding led by Tiger Global Management. Monashees (which led Flash’s Series A), Global Founders Capital (who backed Flash’s seed round), Citius and Kauffman Fellows also participated in the financing. Founded […]

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Twitter appoints resident grievance officer in India to comply with new internet rules Jul 13, 2021

Twitter has appointed a resident grievance officer in India days after the American social media firm said to have lost the liability protection on user-generated content in the South Asian nation over non-compliance with local IT rules.

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EU fines BMW, VW $1B for running emissions cartel since the 90s Jul 13, 2021

As environmental issues really came of age in the 1990s, certain German automakers were meeting in secret groups to make sure their cars would continue to industriously contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.

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New York City’s new biometrics privacy law takes effect Jul 12, 2021

A new biometrics privacy ordinance has taken effect across New York City, putting new limits on what businesses can do with the biometric data they collect on their customers.

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Nintendo’s OLED Switch arrives October 8, priced at $350 Jul 09, 2021

So much for the big E3 reveal. Weeks after the big gaming show, Nintendo has finally taking the wraps off the latest iteration of its wildly popular hybrid gaming console. The Nintendo Switch (OLED model) [parentheses theirs] will arrive on October 8, priced at $350.

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Dodge Challenges: Can the automaker bring muscle into the electric future? Jul 09, 2021

The term muscle car has always been a euphemism for concessions. Want the most power for the money? Forget about a sports car from Porsche or Lotus. Buy a muscle car and just take corners a bit slower. Today Dodge announced it’s making an electric muscle car and it will be available in 2024.

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Beyond Meat launches plant-based chicken tenders at US restaurants Jul 08, 2021

Beyond Meat today announced the arrival of its new plant-based Chicken Tenders at upward of 400 U.S. based restaurants. The news follows continued growth for the California-based faux meat giant, which includes expansion to Walmart stores, Taco Bell restaurants and a big push into China over the past year.

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Dispatch from Bangalore Jul 08, 2021

A startup founder, who hasn’t had much sleep all week, woke up on a recent Sunday to a phone call from his co-founder. A senior engineer was feeling burnt out and was contemplating leaving.

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ZeroFox acquires dark web threat intelligence company Vigilante Jul 07, 2021

ZeroFox, a cybersecurity startup that helps companies detect risks found on social media and digital channels, has announced it has acquired dark web threat intelligence company Vigilante.Â Vigilante — not to be confused with the controversial crime reporting app — scours the dark web to source intelligence that helps to protect organizations from cyberattacks. The […]

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Box takes fight with activist investor public in SEC filing Jul 07, 2021

The war between Box’s current leadership and activist shareholder Starboard took a new turn todayÂ with a detailed timelineÂ outlining the two groups’ relationship, thanks to an SEC filing and companion press release. Box is pushing back against a slate of board candidates put forth by Starboard, which wants to shake up the company’s leadership and sell […]

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Twitter has lost liability protection in India, government says Jul 06, 2021

Twitter no longer enjoys the liability protection against user-generated content in India, the government said in a court filing this week as tension escalates between the two over the South Asian nation’s new IT rules. In a court filing on Monday, New Delhi said Twitter has lost its immunity in India after the American social […]

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Facebook is testing a Twitter-like ‘threads’ feature on some public figures’ pages Jul 06, 2021

Get your spool-of-yarn emojis ready — threads might be coming to Facebook soon. Facebook has been spotted testing a new feature that gives public figures on Facebook the ability to create a new post that’s connected to a previous one on a related subject.

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Jim Whitehurst steps down as president at IBM just 14 months after taking role Jul 05, 2021

In a surprise announcement today, IBM announced that Jim Whitehurst, who came over in the Red deal, would be stepping down as company president just 14 months after taking over in that role. IBM didn’t give a lot of details as to why he was stepping away, but acknowledged his key role in helping bring […]

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Apple just released the first iOS 15 beta to everyone Jul 05, 2021

This is your opportunity to get a glimpse of the future of iOS, iPadOS and watchOS. Apple just released the first public beta of iOS 15, iPadOS 15 and watchOS 8. Those releases are the next major versions of the operating systems for the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. Unlike developer betas, everyone can download […]

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Branson aims to beat Bezos to orbit in final stretch of billionaire space race Jul 02, 2021

Two billionaires are neck and neck in the final sprint to the Kármán line, but Richard Branson may clinch it with a July 11 flight on a Virgin Galactic spacecraft, narrowly beating out Jeff Bezos’s planned July 20 trip aboard a Blue Origin New Shepard capsule.

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Paris court fines Airbnb $9.6 million for illegal listings Jul 02, 2021

A court in Paris has fined Airbnb, the popular marketplace for vacation rentals. According to the court, the tech company has failed to comply with local regulation when it comes to listing your apartment on the platform. Airbnb should pay $9.6 million (€8.08 million) to the City of Paris. This decision has been years in […]

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Barracuda acquires Skout Cybersecurity to enter the XDR market Jul 01, 2021

Barracuda Networks has purchased Skout Cybersecurity, a New York-based channel-only provider of extended detection and responseÂ (XDR) services.Â The deal, the terms of which were not disclosed, will see the California-based cybersecurity vendor enter the fast-growing XDR market.Â As a result of the ever-increasing attack surface as businesses shift to the cloud and embrace hybrid working, […]

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Twitter is making NFTs now, apparently Jul 01, 2021

No, it’s not April Fool’s Day. But Twitter’s entire account has been taken over by NFTs. As its new header reads: “I’ve stopped moisturizing because tweeting about NFTs is keeping me young now.” If that’s true, the Twitter bird is going to look like a little baby duckling by the end of the day. This […]

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FightCamp punches its way to a $90M round Jun 30, 2021

FightCamp, an interactive at-home training system for boxing/kickboxing, is announcing this morning that it has raised a $90M round from a long list of investors, including quite the roster of famous fighters. FightCamp pairs smart sensors (“punch trackers” worn under your boxing gloves) with a subscription-based stream of training videos.

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Consumer spending on apps hit record $64.9B in first half of 2021, but install growth slowed to 1.7% Jun 30, 2021

Consumer spending in mobile apps hit a record $64.9 billion during the first half of 2021, according to preliminary data from app store intelligence firm Sensor Tower. This figure represents a 24.8% increase in spending seen across both the App Store and Google Play, compared with the year-ago period. But while industry experts believe the […]

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SpaceX plans to use its Starlink internet on Starship orbital launch to demonstrate connection quality Jun 29, 2021

SpaceX’s upcoming Starship orbital test flight could end up being a veritable smorgasbord of its technological capabilities, as the company has filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to request approval to fly Starlink terminals on the spacecraft in order to “demonstrate high data rate communications” between the new launch system and the ground.

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Discord acquires augmented reality startup Ubiquity6 Jun 29, 2021

After raising tens of millions from investors and executing a pretty substantial pivot earlier this year, augmented reality startup Ubiquity6 and its team have been acquired by gaming chat app giant Discord. The ambitious AR startup had raised $37.5 million from a series of top investors including Benchmark, First Round, Kleiner Perkins and Google’s Gradient […]

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Robotic beverage maker Botrista raises $10M Jun 28, 2021

Drink making probably isn’t at the top of your list of jobs most likely to be fully automated. The past year-and-a-half have, however, brought into stark relief how large a role robotics could play in the food service industry. I’ve said it time and again on these pages, but the appeal is clear: Robots don’t […]

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Snap makes a deal with Universal Music Group, adding its catalog to Sounds Jun 28, 2021

Snap today announced a multi-year deal with Universal Music Group, one of the largest music companies in the world. From Queen to Justin Bieber, users can clip songs from the expansive UMG catalog to use in their Snaps and on Spotlight, the app’s TikTok competitor. This announcement comes after Snapchat added its Sounds feature in […]

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Sneaker marketplace GOAT hits $3.7 billion valuation in Series F raise Jun 25, 2021

Sneaker and streetwear empire GOAT just doubled its valuation in a massive new raise. The GOAT Group parent company shared today that it has raised $195 million in a Series F raise valuing the fashion giant at some $3.7 billion. The raise was led by a handful of hedge funds and P/E firms including Park […]

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SPAC charts are exercises in the limits of hype Jun 25, 2021

Having read more SPAC investor decks in the last twelve months than I’d like to admit to, I thought I was over being irked by their bullishness. Call me conservative, but public companies shouldn’t be full of shit, and companies going public should probably aim for a similar target. That’s why S-1 filings for traditional […]

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TikTok’s Chinese nemesis Kuaishou hits 1 billion monthly users worldwide Jun 24, 2021

It’s a big day for Kuaishou, TikTok’s largest rival in China. The Chinese short video company, known overseas for one of its video apps Kwai, announced it has sailed past the one billion monthly active user (MAU) mark. How big is that? Facebook’s MAUs stood at 2.85 billion as of March. TikTok was forecasted to […]

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An interview with a leading venture capitalist Jun 24, 2021

Inspired by this Hunter Walk tweet and the ensuing chatter. TechCrunch recently sat down with Leading Investor from Well Known Firm to chat about their investing theses, the state of today’s venture capital market, and why prices are so high for early-stage startups. We’ve been hunting down Leading Investor for some time, so it’s great […]

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Forto raises $240M in funding round led by Softbank, taking its valuation to $1.2Bn Jun 23, 2021

Freight technology startup, Forto, which we most recently covered when it raised $50 million late last year, is upping the stakes. It’s now raised $240 million in a round led by Softbank Vision Fund 2 to expand its trade shipments between China and Europe. Forto manages shipping containers from origin to destination.

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Apple is opening a store in downtown LA’s nearly 100-year-old Tower Theatre Jun 23, 2021

This Thursday, Apple will mark the opening of a new store in downtown Los Angeles. The space occupies the newly renovated Tower Theatre, which opened in DTLA’s Broadway Theater District in 1927. Among other milestones, the 900-seat theater was the first in LA to be wired for the talkies, hosting a premier of “The Jazz […]

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Chinese sellers on Amazon in hot demand by VCs and e-commerce roll-ups Jun 22, 2021

Chinese merchants selling on Amazon are having a moment. The scruffy exporters are used to roaming about suburban factory areas and dealing with constant cash flow strain, but suddenly they find themselves having coffee with top Chinese venture capital firms and investment representatives from internet giants, who come with big checks to hunt down the […]

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TikTok launches Jump, a third-party integration tool Jun 22, 2021

TikTok announced today the launch of its Jump program, which expands the app’s potential for third-party integrations. TikTok began beta-testing this feature in February with Whisk, a recipe-sharing app, though only select creators could use the feature. Now, Jump will start rolling out to all users with an expanded slate of partners.

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Music licensing marketplace Songtradr raises $50M Jun 21, 2021

Music licensing marketplace Songtradr this morning announced a $50 million Series D. The oversubscribed round – which features Regal, Aware Super, Perennial, Argo and Greencape – follows a $30 million raise last August, bringing the Los Angeles company’s total funding to north of $100 million. The platform licenses music to high profile names for advertising, […]

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Delivery service Gopuff acquires rideOS for $115 million-plus Jun 21, 2021

On-demand goods, food and alcohol delivery service Gopuff has acquired fleet management platform rideOS for $115 million to $125 million, sources familiar with the deal say. This acquisition comes just a few months after the Philadelphia-based startup announced a $1.15 billion funding round at a $8.9 billion valuation, up from $3.9 billion in October. Last […]

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Tiger Global in talks to back BharatPe at $2.5 billion valuation Jun 18, 2021

Indian fintech startup BharatPe is in advanced stages of talks to raise about $250 million in a new financing round led by Tiger Global, two sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch.

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Instagram’s TikTok rival, Reels, rolls out ads worldwide Jun 18, 2021

Instagram Reels are getting ads. The company announced today it’s launching ads in its short-form video platform and TikTok rival, Reels, to businesses and advertisers worldwide. The ads will be up to 30 seconds in length, like Reels themselves, and vertical in format, similar to ads found in Instagram Stories.

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Lincoln’s first EV will arrive in 2022 with three more to follow Jun 17, 2021

The first EV will come to market just in time for Lincoln’s 100th birthday celebration.

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Facebook will begin beaming advertisements into virtual reality Jun 17, 2021

Well, it was only a matter of time. Advertising giant Facebook announced Wednesday that they’re going to begin testing advertising inside virtual reality titles on its Oculus platform soon. The first roll-out is limited enough, with Facebook testing ads inside a single gaming shooter title: BlastonÂ fromÂ Resolution Games. They are interestingly not rolling this out with […]

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Everyone you know is a Disney princess, which means AR is queen Jun 16, 2021

This weekend, all of your friends morphed one by one into animated, Pixar-inspired characters. This isn’t a fever dream, and you’re not alone. On Thursday, Snapchat released a Cartoon 3D Style Lens, which uses AR to make you look like a background character from “Frozen.”

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Intel announces two new 11th-gen chips and a 5G M.2 laptop module at Computex Jun 16, 2021

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Jaguar Land Rover to develop a Defender-like hydrogen fuel cell EV Jun 15, 2021

Jaguar Land Rover is developing a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle based on the new Defender SUV and plans to begin testing the prototype next year. The prototype program, known as Project Zeus, is part of JLR’s larger aim to only produce zero-tailpipe emissions vehicles by 20236.

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Supreme Court revives LinkedIn case to protect user data from web scrapers Jun 15, 2021

The Supreme Court has given LinkedIn another chance to stop a rival company from scraping personal information from users’ public profiles, a practice LinkedIn says should be illegal but one that could have broad ramifications for internet researchers and archivists.

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Niantic is working with Hasbro on a Pokémon GO-style Transformers game Jun 14, 2021

Niantic has encouraged the world to roam the streets as Pokémon trainers and wizards… next up? Time to transform and roll out. 80’s mega toy Transformers is the latest IP to partner with Niantic to build a map-heavy, geolocation-centric game.

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NASA seeking proposals for two new private astronaut missions to ISS Jun 14, 2021

NASA said Friday it was seeking proposals from commercial companies for two new private crewed missions to the International Space Station. The first mission would likely take place between fall of 2022 and mid-2023. The second one would follow sometime between mid-2023 and the end of 2023.

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U.S. PC shipments soar 73% in the first quarter as Apple falls from top spot Jun 11, 2021

With pent up demand from the pandemic, Canalys reports that U.S. PC shipments were up 73% over the same period last year. That added up to a total of 34 million units sold.

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Dark Sky iOS app and website are likely shutting down at the end of 2022 Jun 11, 2021

After Apple acquired Dark Sky in March of 2020, we all knew the super-granular weather app was probably headed for shutdown. But while the company announced that the Android app would go dark in July of the same year, things were left a bit more open-ended for the iOS app. There would be “no changes” […]

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Apple is bringing Shortcuts to the Mac and starts transition from Automator Jun 10, 2021

Apple has announced the next major version of macOS at WWDC 2021 —Â macOS Monterey. Among other features, Apple is going to release Shortcuts on macOS. It’s going to look and work a lot like Shortcuts on iOS and iPadOS.

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Paytm, India’s most valuable startup, confirms plan for an IPO Jun 10, 2021

Paytm, India’s most valuable startup, confirmed to its shareholders and employees on Monday that it plans to file for an IPO. In a letter to shareholders and employees, Paytm said that it plans to raise money by issuing fresh equity in the IPO, and also sell existing shareholders’ shares at the event. The startup has […]

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Global smartphone market continues rebound with 26% Q1 bump Jun 09, 2021

More signs of the global market righting the ship after a disastrous 2020. New figures from Gartner point to 26% increase in global sales year over year for the first quarter of 2021.

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Turntable.fm competitor tt.fm launches beta app for iOS and Android Jun 09, 2021

You’d be forgiven for being confused. I’ve been following this story and am currently writing it and I’m still fairly confused. But Turntable (or tt.fm), not to be confused with Turntable.fm (the name of both the original and recently re-released social music app) today just announced that it has launched iOS, Android and desktop versions.

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Apple releases torrent of updates, and Wall Street yawns Jun 08, 2021

Today’s WWDC keynote from Apple covered a huge range of updates. From a new macOS to a refreshed watchOS to a new iOS, better privacy controls, FaceTime updates, and even iCloud+, there was something for everyone in the laundry list of new code.

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Apple unveils macOS 12 Monterey Jun 08, 2021

The past year has seen some of the most dramatic updates to Macs in recent memory. At last year’s WWDC, Apple announced its long-awaited move from Intel chip’s to its own first party silicon.

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Elon Musk officially hits the brakes on Tesla Model S Plaid+ Jun 07, 2021

Tesla CEO Elon has made it official and publicly cancelled plans to produce the Model S Plaid+, a supercharged version of the upcoming Plaid version of the electric vehicle that will be delivered to the first customers this month. Musk’s reason: Plaid is so good that another variant isn’t needed.

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Facebook will reconsider Trump’s ban in two years Jun 07, 2021

The clock is ticking on former President Donald Trump’s ban from Facebook, formerly indefinite and now for a period of two years, the maximum penalty under a newly revealed set of rules for suspending public figures. But when the time comes, the company will reevaluate the ban and make a decision then whether to end […]

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Waymo’s driverless taxi service can now be accessed on Google Maps Jun 04, 2021

Waymo One, the ride-hailing service that uses driverless vehicles in the suburbs of Phoenix, can now be accessed and booked through Google Maps. This will be the first fully autonomous ride-hailing option available in the app, which will roll out first to Android users, Waymo said Thursday.

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Google’s Pixel Buds A Series are an exercise in earbud cost cutting Jun 04, 2021

Google does a lot of things well. But hardware strategy has never really been among them. The last several years have seen the company at least finding some consistency with its Pixel and Nest devices. But the former, in particular, has continued to struggle as the company has worked to find its footing in an […]

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LeoLabs raises $65M Series B for its satellite monitoring and collision detection service Jun 03, 2021

Low Earth orbit is full of stuff: not only bits of debris and junk, but also satellites — the number of which is growing rapidly alongside the decreasing cost of launch.

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Taking Lyft’s new e-bike for a spin Jun 03, 2021

The bike had none of the usual signage when I took it for a spin around the chaotic and construction-filled streets of Manhattan. It very much looked like a prototype, with visible soldering on the joints and a not-quite-complete AV system.

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Rocket Lab cleared by the FAA to resume launches after mission failure last month Jun 02, 2021

Rocket Lab has already received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to resume its launch activities, following a failure during the second stage burn of its 20th Electron rocket mission that resulted in the loss of the payload.

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Twitter to begin pilot testing Fleet ads starting today Jun 02, 2021

Ads are coming to Twitter’s version of Stories, known as Fleets. The company announced today it will began pilot testing Fleet ads in the U.S., which will bring full-screen, vertical format ads to Twitter for the first time, allowing it to better compete with the vertical ads offered across social media platforms.

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Truebill raises $45 million for its personal finance app Jun 01, 2021

Personal finance startup Truebill has raised a $45 million Series D funding round led by Accel. This comes just a few months after the company raised a $17 million Series C. Overall, the startup has raised $85 million since its creation.

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SpaceX’s first ocean spaceport is being built and will host launches next year Jun 01, 2021

SpaceX is already underway on building its first floating spaceport platform, and the plan is for it to start hosting launches as early as next year. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk shared those details on the progress of its build for Deimos, one of two converted oil rigs that SpaceX purchased earlier this year in order […]

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Indian logistics giant Delhivery raises $277 million ahead of IPO May 31, 2021

Delhivery, India’s largest independent e-commerce logistics startup, has raised $277 million in what is expected to be the final funding round before the firm files for an IPO later this year. In a regulatory filing, the Gurgaon-headquartered startup disclosed it had raised $277 million in a round led by Boston-headquartered investment firm Fidelity. Singapore’s sovereign […]

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Rock picking robotics startup TerraClear raises $25 million May 31, 2021

Rock picking is probably not the first thing you think about when you think agricultural robotics. Understandably so. There are a number of companies out there looking to automate aspects like fruit and vegetable picking, weeding and field tending, but rocks are still a major issue for many farmers. They’re big, they’re heavy and they […]

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Amazon is now letting Indians read magazine articles in its shopping app May 28, 2021

Amazon, in its ever-growing desire to become a super app in India, is testing a new category to persuade users to spend more time on the shopping service: Feature articles. The American e-commerce giant has quietly launched “Featured Articles” on its shopping app and website in India that showcases feature articles, commentary and analysis on […]

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Meme-based dating is here: Meet Schmooze May 28, 2021

Vidya Madhavan always wanted to be in business. Growing up in India, she thought she might be in the business of running a factory, given the power and influence of outfits like Tata Group, the Indian multinational conglomerate. She certainly had an affinity for school, graduating at the top of her high school class, nabbing […]

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Tesla has installed 200,000 Powerwalls around the world so far May 27, 2021

Tesla has installed its 200,000th Powerwall, the company’s home battery storage product, the company said in a tweet on Wednesday. Tesla’s CFO Zachary Kirkhorn told investors during a first-quarter earnings call in April that Tesla is continuing to work through a “multi-quarter backlog on Powerwall,” suggesting that the volume of installations will continue to soar […]

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Whatnot raises $50M to let people sell Pokémon cards, Funko Pops, and more via livestream May 27, 2021

Whatnot exists with one primary goal in mind: to give people a place to buy and sell collectibles (like Pokémon cards, sports cards, pins, etc) in a safe, authenticated way. The company started out with intentions of being a GOAT/StockX-style resale marketplace, where the products up for sale lived on neat little pages with row […]

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Flexibits updates contacts app Cardhop, adds deeper integration with Fantastical May 26, 2021

Flexibits, the company behind productivity apps Fantastical and Cardhop, is releasing a new version of Cardhop for both macOS and iOS. This is the second major version of the app and it adds new features, such as business card scanning, widgets, organizational charts and a deeper integration with Fantastical.

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Lyft, Uber kick off free COVID-19 vaccine rides program May 26, 2021

Uber and Lyft have officially started to offer free rides to anyone traveling to get a COVID-19 vaccine, two weeks after the ride-hailing companies announced an agreement with the White House to offer the program.

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Germany gives greenlight to driverless vehicles on public roads May 25, 2021

Germany has adopted legislation that will allow driverless vehicles on public roads by 2022, laying out a path for companies to deploy robotaxis and delivery services in the country at scale. While autonomous testing is currently permitted in Germany, this would allow operations of driverless vehicles without a human safety operator behind the wheel.Â The […]

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Apple just dropped a whole bunch of OS updates and WWDC info May 25, 2021

How’s your Monday going? If you’re Apple, the answer is probably somewhere between “very busy” to “gaaaaaaah.” The company just dropped a whole bunch of new OS updates today, including iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS, all ahead of the upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference, which kicks off (virtually) on June 7. Indeed, iOS and iPadOS are […]

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Taking Microsoft’s Surface Laptop 4 for a spin May 24, 2021

These days, the path of least resistance in laptop design is straight-up knocking off the MacBook. We’ve certainly seen our share of egregious cases over the years. Microsoft, however, has defiantly forged its own path with industrial design across the board.

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Snap brings partner-centric Layers to its social map used by 250 million people May 24, 2021

Snap wants users to get a more personal view of the world around them. While products like Google Maps and Apple Maps have long-relied on data partners to juice the quality of their contextual insights, Snap is hoping it can give users a more hands-on approach to mixing and matching third-party tie-ins to its Snap […]

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US Treasury calls for stricter cryptocurrency rules, IRS reporting for transfers over $10K May 21, 2021

President Biden’s vision for an empowered, expanded IRS is poised to have a big impact on cryptocurrency trading. According to a new report from the U.S. Treasury Department, the administration wants to put new requirements in place that would make it easier for the government to see how money is moving around, including digital currencies.

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Snap announces Story Studio, a new standalone app to edit stories May 21, 2021

During Snap Partner Summit, Snap announced a brand new app focused on creators. Named Story Studio, this standalone iOS app gives you several editing tools so that you can make your content look as professional as possible. Story editing tools are still in Snapchat — nothing is changing on this front. But if you’ve been […]

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So long, Internet Explorer, and your decades of security bugs May 20, 2021

Pour one out for Internet Explorer, the long-enduring internet browser that’s been the butt of countless jokes about its speed, reliability, and probably most notable of all, security, which will retire next year after more than 25 years of service.

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Span introduces a new home electric panel May 20, 2021

As energy prices continue to rise and more home owners look to the viability of things like solar, consumers will no doubt be searching for more ways to control their usage. Founded by ex-Tesla engineer Arch Rao, Span looks to address these questions, while asking, in a world of smart home devices, why the end-user […]

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Spotify launches a virtual concert series with The Black Keys and more May 19, 2021

The past year has been utterly devastating to the music industry generally, and live music in particular. Artists who make a living touring have been forced to find alternative ways to make ends meet.

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Discovery’s new reality show ‘Who Wants to Be an Astronaut?’ will pick one winner to go to space May 19, 2021

Discovery has ordered a new reality show, to air in 2022, which will be an eight episode competition series where competitors will vie for a chance to take a trip to the International Space Station on commercial Axiom Space mission.

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Gucci brings digital items and experiences to Roblox in new partnership May 18, 2021

As gaming platforms capitalize on pandemic-fueled traffic to their digital worlds, brands that drive culture in the physical world are fighting to ensure they don’t miss any new opportunities. A new partnership between Roblox and Gucci brings digital items from the fashion house into the platform’s metaverse alongside a new limited-run digital experience.

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Apple to add lossless audio to Apple Music at no additional cost May 18, 2021

Apple has announced that it is adding some new features to its music streaming serviceÂ Apple Music. Starting next month, users will find some new options, such as spatial audio with support for Dolby Atmos as well as lossless audio files. Spotify recently announced a new high-end subscription tier with CD-quality, lossless audio files.

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Google’s ‘DVD Screensaver’ Easter egg makes the logo bounce around your screen accordingly May 17, 2021

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a good Easter egg out of Google. Not too long ago it felt like someone would discover a new hidden gag in Google’s products every few weeks. The company cranked them out like it was their job.

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GasBuddy tops the App Store for the first time due to Colonial Pipeline attack May 17, 2021

The GasBuddy mobile app, which typically helps consumers find the cheapest gas nearby, has now become the No. 1 app on the U.S. App Store for the first time ever, due to the fuel shortages in the U.S. that followed the cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline.

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Uber, Lyft to give free rides to COVID-19 vaccine sites in deal with White House May 14, 2021

Uber and Lyft will provide free rides to any user traveling to get the COVID-19 vaccine through an agreement reached with the White House. The free rides will last through July 4, the date when President Joe Biden wants 70% of U.S. adults to be vaccinated.

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Chef Robotics raises $7.7M to help automate kitchens May 14, 2021

A year and a half’s worth of global pandemic has had a profound impact on virtually every sector of the workforce.

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Jumia’s Q1 earnings report continues to show falling losses, slow growth May 13, 2021

African e-commerce giant Jumia today shared its earnings for the first quarter of 2021 that ended in March. While its customer count grew, a drop in the company’s revenues spoke to the fact that it is still reeling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Amazon updates Echo Show line with a pan and zoom camera and a kids model May 13, 2021

Amazon this morning announced a handful of updates across its Echo Show line of smart screens. The top-level most interesting bit here is the addition of a pan and zoom camera to the mid-tier Echo Show. The feature is similar to ones found on Facebook’s various Portal devices and Google’s high-end Nest Hub Max. Essentially, […]

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Orbite offers a five-star ‘space camp’ for would-be space travelers May 12, 2021

As private companies like Axiom Space, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic and SpaceX prepare to ferry private customers to the stars, a whole new market is opening up to train affluent would-be travelers for their future missions.

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Lisbon’s Kitch raises $4M to help restaurants to take control of the delivery app mess May 12, 2021

Lisbon-based food delivery startup Kitch hopes to hands back control to restaurants dogged by the mess of food delivery apps today, by aggregating the apps onto one tablet and platform. Restaurants then get one place to manage all their delivery orders, track couriers, and update their menus across all the delivery apps. It’s now raised […]

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Nothing’s first product, the Ear 1 earbud, launches in June May 11, 2021

Say what you will, Nothing has been doing a fine job milking its upcoming launch for all it’s worth. The company has spent the last several month’s teasing the arrival of its first product.

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Snack, a ‘Tinder meets TikTok’ dating app, opens to Gen Z investors May 11, 2021

Snack, a video-first mobile dating app designed with a younger generation in mind, is opening itself up to Gen Z investors. The startup today announced the launch of its own Gen Z Syndicate on AngelList, which will allow Gen Z community members, influencers, creators and others to participate in the company’s upcoming $2 million SAFE, […]

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Cowboy launches the Cowboy 4 e-bike, with a step-through version and built-in phone charger May 10, 2021

E-bike startup Cowboy has launched the Cowboy 4, its newest generation of urban electric bikes. The bike will come in two different frames, a traditional frame, and a step-through.

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Sennheiser sells off its consumer brand May 10, 2021

Long-running German audio company Sennheiser today announced that it has found a buyer for its consumer brand. Swiss holding company Sonova — a giant in the hearing aid business — will be acquiring the brand in a deal expected to close by end of year. The deal will bring headphones and sound bars to Sonova’s […]

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How Robert Reffkin went from being a C-average student to the founder of Compass May 07, 2021

In April, real estate tech company Compass forged ahead with its initial public offering and is now valued at nearly $6.4 billion. At that time, TechCrunch Senior Editor Alex Wilhelm caught up with founder and CEO Robert Reffkin to chat about his company’s debut in the market’s suddenly choppy waters for tech and tech-enabled debuts. […]

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Peloton projects $165M revenue impact from treadmill recalls May 07, 2021

What would have been a celebratory earnings call in just about any other quarter ended on a somber note today, as Peloton CEO John Foley kicked things off with an apology. “We are a members-first organization,” the executive stated. “And that means for all of us at Peloton, the safety of our member community comes […]

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Evening Fund debuts with $2M micro fund focused on investments between $50K and $100K May 06, 2021

We tend to think of venture capital in tens or hundreds of millions, even billions of dollars, so it’s refreshing to find Evening Fund, a new $2 million micro fund that focuses on small investments between $50,000 and $100,000 as it seeks to help young startups that may be struggling to find funding elsewhere.

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Chromebook shipments grew 275% in Q1 May 06, 2021

New numbers from research firm Canalys point to continued growth for PCs in 2020/21, as the pandemic has forced many to rethink how – and where – they work. PC shipments have grown for four straight quarters. All told, the numbers (within which the firm lumps tablets, incidentally) grew 53% year over year.

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London’s Stride VC raised second $138.6M seed fund, hunts for third partner May 05, 2021

Stride VC, a London-based seed investment fund, has raised its second fund, which will be £100M ($138.6M) – identical to its first fund. The fund will invest primarily in London startups but also look at select European opportunities.

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SpaceX launches 60 more Starlink satellites, claims over 500,000 service pre-orders so far May 05, 2021

SpaceX has launched 60 more of its Starlink internet broadband satellites — on ‘Star Wars Day,’ no less, and only five days after it launched the last batch.

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Twitter expands Spaces to anyone with 600+ followers, details plans for tickets, reminders and more May 04, 2021

Twitter Spaces, the company’s new live audio rooms feature, is opening up more broadly. The company announced today it’s making Twitter Spaces available to any account with 600 followers or more, including both iOS and Android users.

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Cloud infrastructure market keeps rolling in Q1 with almost $40B in revenue May 04, 2021

Conventional wisdom over the last year has suggested that the pandemic has driven companies to the cloud much faster than they ever would have gone without that forcing event with some suggesting it has compressed years of transformation into months. This quarter’s cloud infrastructure revenue numbers appear to be proving that thesis correct.

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Facebook rolls out vaccine finder tool in India, donates $10 million May 03, 2021

Facebook has announced a $10 million grant to support emergency response efforts in India and has rolled out its Vaccine Finder tool in the country as the South Asian nation grapples with the latest wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Basecamp sees mass employee exodus after CEO bans political discussions May 03, 2021

Following a controversial ban on political discussions earlier this week, Basecamp employees are heading for the exits. The company employs around 60 people, and roughly a third of the company appears to have accepted buyouts to leave, many citing new company policies.

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Eclipse Ventures has $500 million more to digitize old-line industries and bring them up to speed Apr 30, 2021

Two years ago, we talked with Lior Susan, the founder of now six-year-old Eclipse Ventures in Palo Alto, Ca. At the time, the outfit believed that the next big thing wasn’t another social network but instead the remaking of old-line industries through full tech stacks — including hardware, software and data — capable of bring […]

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Biden’s labor secretary thinks many gig workers should be reclassified as employees Apr 30, 2021

Biden Labor Secretary Marty Walsh charged into the white hot issue of the gig economy Thursday, asserting that many people working without benefits in the gig economy should be classified as employees instead. In an interview with Reuters, Walsh said that the Department of Labor is “looking at” the gig economy, hinting that worker reclassification […]

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Google announces career and digital training initiative for formerly incarcerated individuals Apr 29, 2021

Google today announced the launch of Grow with Google Career Readiness for Reentry. The initiative — created in partnership with nonprofits The Last Mile, Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), Defy Ventures, Fortune Society and The Ladies of Hope Ministries — is designed to offer job readiness and digital skill training for formerly incarcerated individuals.

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Facebook hides posts calling for PM Modi’s resignation in India Apr 29, 2021

Facebook has temporarily hidden all posts with hashtag “ResignModi” in India, days after the U.S. social juggernaut — along with Twitter — complied with an order from New Delhi to censor some posts critical of Indian government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Roam Robotics introduces a smart knee brace Apr 28, 2021

There are lot of companies out there making robotic exoskeletons. In fact, it’s one of the more active categories in the space — and for good reason. These sorts of technologies have the ability to profoundly impact the future of how people work, move and rehabilitate.

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Amazon announces new Fire tablets and kids editions Apr 28, 2021

There’s a bunch of tablet news coming from Amazon this morning. Leading the way is the release of two new 10-inch devices: the Fire HD 10 and Fire HD 10 Plus. The former features a 1080p display with a bump in brightness, an unnamed eight-core processor and 3GB of RAM — a 50% jump over […]

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The #8meals app from Habits of Waste helps people cut back on meaty meals to save the planet Apr 27, 2021

Earth Day may have come and gone, but with apps like #8meals from the non-profit Habits of Waste, anyone can try and do their part to help reduce deforestation and rising greenhouse gas emissions by cutting meat out of their diets for just 8 meals a week.

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Lyft sells self-driving unit to Toyota’s Woven Planet for $550M Apr 27, 2021

Ride-hailing company Lyft has sold off its autonomous vehicle unit to Toyota’s Woven Planet Holdings subsidiary for $550 million, the latest in a string of acquisitions spurred by the cost and lengthy timelines to commercialize autonomous vehicle technology. Under the acquisition agreement announced Tuesday, Lyft’s so-called Level 5 division will be folded into Woven Planet […]

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Bobby Goodlatte has designs on how to succeed in venture, and so far, so good Apr 26, 2021

Bobby Goodlatte has only been an investor for about a decade, but he appears to have already made tens of millions of dollars, contrary to the expectations of some traditional VCs who have privately, and publicly, griped that too many novice investors have flooded into the industry.

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Engineered earworms on TikTok aren’t that far off from disinfo campaigns Apr 26, 2021

Ever since I read this Bloomberg story about how songs are engineered to go viral on TikTok, I’ve had one thought in my head – if you can call it that – it’s more of a noise, or impression:Â AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Yes, it’s the sound of internally screaming. Just when I thought I understood how deeply […]

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EU’s top data protection supervisor urges ban on facial recognition in public Apr 23, 2021

The European Union’s lead data protection supervisor has called for remote biometric surveillance in public places to be banned outright under incoming AI legislation. The European Data Protection Supervisor’s (EDPS) intervention follows a proposal, put out by EU lawmakers on Wednesday, for a risk-based approach to regulating applications of artificial intelligence. The Commission’s legislative proposal […]

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The M1 iMac’s power supply sports magnetic connector, Ethernet port Apr 23, 2021

Apple just announced the new iMac powered by Apple’s own M1 silicon. Among the numerous updates and upgrades is a new power brick that sports something special to Apple’s lineup: an Ethernet port. On the surface, this seems like a silly placement of a critical I/O port, but there’s a good chance this feature could […]

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The new iPad Pro features Apple’s M1 chip Apr 22, 2021

The big news from today’s Spring Loaded event is, as anticipated, a new version of Apple’s high-end tablet. The new iPad Pro is the first in the line to adopt the M1 chip introduced on the company’s Mac line.

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Apple event fails to save the company’s stock from broader market sell-off Apr 22, 2021

Today’s Apple event, chock-full of the company’s products that will help decide whether the company meets, exceeds or undershoots Wall Street expectations for its future growth and performance, had little to no impact on its share price.

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Running apps still lag behind on privacy and security Apr 21, 2021

Some of the most popular running apps are still lagging behind on security and privacy. That’s the verdict from security researchers who examined the leading running apps five years apart and found only a few apps had improved — and not by much.

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Apple brings Touch ID to the Magic Keyboard Apr 21, 2021

Apple has unveiled a new, colorful iMac today with an Apple-designed M1 chip. But that was just part of the story as the company used that opportunity to release new Mac accessories.

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What to expect from Apple’s Spring Loaded event Apr 20, 2021

Surprise! It’s another Apple Event. Gone are the days of getting a few weeks’ notice before these events now that they’re entirely virtual (at least until 2022, most likely). Instead, the company just dropped the news last week.

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Fitbit’s latest is a $149 ‘luxury’ fitness tracker Apr 20, 2021

It’s been a strange few years for Fitbit. After defining the fitness tracking space, the company was a bit late to the smartwatch trend, but was still able to ride that wave to a rebound.

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General Motors leads $139 million investment into lithium-metal battery developer, SES Apr 19, 2021

General Motors is joining the list of big automakers picking their horses in the race to develop better batteries for electric vehicles with its lead of a $139 million investment into the lithium-metal battery developer, SES. Volkswagen has QuantumScape; Ford has invested in SolidPower (along with Hyundai and BMW); and now with SES’ big backing […]

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Peloton responds to concerns over Apple GymKit integration Apr 19, 2021

Third-party hardware integration can be a tricky thing. Peloton this week raised some eyebrows by dropping Apple GymKit compatibility for its Bike Bootcamp program. Users were, naturally, quick to react. The situation left some wondering whether the move was a direct response to Apple’s recent entry into the home exercise market with Fitness+. A Peloton […]

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Twitter bans James O’Keefe of Project Veritas over fake account policy Apr 16, 2021

Twitter has banned right-wing provocateur James O’Keefe, creator of political gotcha video producer Project Veritas, for violating its “platform manipulation and spam policy,” suggesting he was operating multiple accounts in an unsanctioned way. O’Keefe has already announced that he will sue the company for defamation.

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You can now pay for BART using an iPhone or Apple Watch Apr 16, 2021

Good news, Bay Area! Apple Pay now works with Clipper cards. That means you can now use an iPhone or Apple Watch to pay for BART. Or Muni. Or Caltrain. Or the Ferry! Or (almost) any other transit-related thing you’d otherwise use the plastic Clipper card for. Clipper has a page outlining the Apple Pay […]

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Microsoft’s latest Surface Laptop goes on sale this week, starting at $999 Apr 15, 2021

Microsoft is understandably positioning the latest additions to its Surface line as productivity devices. Laptop sales, in particular, have jumped amid the pandemic, as many have scrambled to shift to a work from home setting.

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Amazon’s Alexa earbuds return with a smaller design and wireless charging Apr 15, 2021

It’s been about a year and a half since Amazon released the first Echo Buds. I reviewed them when they arrived, and they were, I don’t know, fine, I guess.

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Apple’s next event is April 20 Apr 14, 2021

Apple only dropped info about WWDC two weeks back, but the company just announced another event – this one happening much sooner. After Siri spilled the beans this morning, the company has officially confirmed its next event for April 20.

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Microsoft is really pushing Teams with its latest accessories Apr 14, 2021

The new Surface Laptop was the marquee arrival in today’s Microsoft announcement, but boy howdy, the company also dropped a whole bunch of new accessories. It’s a pretty broad range of new devices, including some small updates to existing products and entirely new entries.

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Zoho launches new low code workflow automation product Apr 13, 2021

Workflow automation has been one of the key trends this year so far, and Zoho, a company known for its suite of affordable business tools has joined the parade with a new low code workflow product called Qntrl.

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Cleo Capital is targeting $20 million for Fund II Apr 13, 2021

Cleo Capital, a venture capital firm founded in 2018 by Sarah Kunst, is raising up to $20 million for its second fund, according to a source familiar with the matter.

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Domino’s, Nuro to begin autonomous pizza deliveries in Houston Apr 12, 2021

Starting this week, some Domino’s customers in Houston can have a pizza delivered without ever interacting with a human. The pizza delivery giant said Monday it has partnered with autonomous delivery vehicle startup Nuro to allow select customers to have their pizzas dropped at their door via Nuro’s R2 robot.

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APKPure app contained malicious adware, say researchers Apr 12, 2021

Security researchers say APKPure, a widely popular app for installing older or discontinued Android apps from outside of Google’s app store, contained malicious adware that flooded the victim’s device with unwanted ads.

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Both& introduces a line of D2C transmasculine clothing Apr 09, 2021

Historically, the transmasculine community has been neglected by the fashion world. But Both& is a new brand looking to offer clothing tailored specifically for transmasculine bodies.

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Consumers now average 4.2 hours per day in apps, up 30% from 2019 Apr 09, 2021

The coronavirus pandemic has increased our collective screen time, and that’s particularly true on mobile devices. According to a new report from mobile data and analytics firm App Annie, global consumers are now spending an average of 4.2 hours per day using apps on our smartphones, an increase of 30% from just two years prior.

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Google I/O will return as a virtual event May 18-20 Apr 08, 2021

When the pandemic arrived in the U.S. early last year, companies scrambled to figure out what to do with their long-standing, in-person developer events. For Apple and Microsoft, that meant going virtual – something companies have done with mixed results. For Google, it meant calling off I/O all together.

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E-bikes and earbuds among the first third-party hardware to support Apple’s Find My tracking Apr 08, 2021

Yesterday we noted that Apple launched a new Find My Certification Asst. app, designed to test support for third-party hardware. Find My, of course, has been a long-standing feature for Apple’s own hardware like iPhones, AirPods and Macs, but back at WWDC, the company announced plans to open it up to manufacturers. Today the company […]

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Facebook confirms ‘test’ of Venmo-like QR codes for person-to-person payments in U.S. Apr 07, 2021

Facebook confirms it’s testing a new QR code feature and payment links for use with Facebook Pay to make it easier for people in the U.S. to send or request money from one another.

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Real raises $10M from Lightspeed, Megan Rapinoe and others to rethink therapy Apr 07, 2021

The last year has put a spotlight on mental health, and startup Real is looking to shake up the space with a product that makes group therapy available on-demand. Founded by CEO Ariela Safira, Real is inspired by a long-standing methodology in the world of mental health: Group therapy.

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India’s CRED valued at $2.2 billion in new $215 million fundraise Apr 06, 2021

Two-year-old CRED has become the youngest Indian startup to be valued at $2 billion or higher. Bangalore-based CRED said on Tuesday it has raised $215 million in a new funding round — a Series D — that valued the Indian startup at $2.2 billion (post-money.

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Tim Cook drops hints about autonomous tech and the Apple car Apr 06, 2021

Apple CEO Tim Cook dropped a few hints in an interview released Monday about the direction of the much-anticipated Apple car, including that autonomous vehicle technology will likely be a key feature. “The autonomy itself is a core technology, in my view,” Cook told Kara Swisher in an interview on the “Sway” podcast. “If you […]

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Three ways VC firms can construct sustainably diverse portfolios Apr 05, 2021

Underrepresented founders are the most undervalued asset class in the U.S. today, and investors are starting to realize that diversity is not charity -- it’s economic opportunity.

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Indian social commerce Meesho valued at $2.1 billion in new $300 million fundraise Apr 05, 2021

Meesho said on Monday it has raised $300 million in a new financing round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 as the Indian social commerce startup works to become the “single ecosystem that will enable all small businesses to succeed online.”

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US iPhone users spent an average of $138 on apps in 2020, will grow to $180 in 2021 Apr 02, 2021

U.S. consumers spent an average of $138 on iPhone apps last year, an increase of 38% year over year, largely driven by the pandemic impacts, according to new data from app store intelligence firm Sensor Tower.

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Gillmor Gang: ZoomHouse Apr 02, 2021

I use Feedly to work my way through each day’s stream of politics, tech, and media stories. Today, I am greeted with a picture of something called Feedly Cloud and the following message: Scheduled Maintenance Feedly will be back in less than 30 minutes. 60 minutes later, it still says that. Feedly is built on […]

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Collaborative iOS app Craft Docs secures $8M, led by Creandum and a ‘Skyscanner Mafia’ Apr 01, 2021

Launched in only November last year, the Craft Docs app — which was built from the ground up as an iOS app for collaborative documents — has secured an $8 million Series A round led by Creandum.

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Consumers spent $32B on apps in Q1 2021, the biggest quarter on record Apr 01, 2021

The pandemic’s remarkable impact on the app industry has not slowed down in 2021. In fact, consumer spending in apps has hit a new record in the first quarter of this year, a new report from App Annie indicates.

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Apple’s WWDC stays online-only, kicking off June 7 Mar 31, 2021

Apple this morning announced that it will be returning to an all-virtual format for a second year. The company went online-only for the first time in 2020, as Covid-19 ground in-person events to a halt.

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Google Nest Hub 2 review: The solid smart screen adds sleep tracking Mar 31, 2021

Two-and-a-half years later, the Nest Home Hub remains one of my favorite smart screens on the market. Maybe that’s a commentary on the rate of improvement in the category, or maybe Google just got things pretty right the first time out.

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Visa supports transaction settlement with USDC stablecoin Mar 30, 2021

Payment card network Visa has announced that transactions can be settled using USD Coin (USDC), a stablecoin powered by the Ethereum blockchain. Crypto.com is the first company to test the new capability with its own Visa-branded cards.

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ABB and AWS team up to create an EV fleet management platform Mar 30, 2021

Swiss automation and technology company ABB has announced a collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to create a cloud-based EV fleet management platform that it hopes will hasten the electrification of fleets. The platform, which the company says will help operators maintain business continuity as they switch to electric, will roll out in the second […]

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This is Boston Dynamics’ next commercial robot Mar 29, 2021

Boston Dynamics’ transition from a decades-long research robotics firm to a company that productizes and sells hardware has been a fascinating one to watch.

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A new Android spyware masquerades as a ‘system update’ Mar 29, 2021

Security researchers say a powerful new Android malware masquerading as a critical system update can take complete control of a victim’s device and steal their data. The malware was found bundled in an app that had to be installed outside of Google Play, the app store for Android devices.

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Porsche adds the all-electric Taycan to its subscription program Mar 26, 2021

Porsche has added its first all-electric vehicle, the Taycan sports sedan, to its subscription and short-term rental program as part of a broader expansion that aims to build a new customer base of U.S. owners. The German automaker said Thursday it is also expanding the Porsche Drive subscription and rental programs to five more cities.

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Afriex raises $1.2M seed to scale its payments and remittances platform across Africa Mar 26, 2021

Sending money from the U.S. to Nigeria can be a painstaking process. For remittance platforms like Western Union, it will cost a transfer fee and take between one to five business days for money sent from a U.S. debit card to enter a Nigerian bank account.Â

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Eat Just (the alt-protein company formerly known as Hampton Creek) has raised another $200 million Mar 25, 2021

Eat Just, the purveyor of eggless eggs and mayonnaise and the first government-approved vendor of lab-grown chicken, has raised $200 million in a new round of funding, the company said. The funding was led by the Qatar Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund of the state of Qatar, with additional participation from Charlesbank Capital Partners.

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Why Adam Selipsky was the logical choice to run AWS Mar 25, 2021

When AWS CEO Andy Jassy announced in an email to employees yesterday that Tableau CEO Adam Selipsky was returning to run AWS, it was probably not the choice most considered.

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OnePlus 9 arrives, sporting a Hasselblad-branded camera system Mar 24, 2021

Cameras have long been the battleground on which the smartphone wars have been fought. Short of any left-field innovation like folding screens or strange form factors, that looks likely to continue to be the case for the foreseeable future. Year after year and generation after generation, companies tout imaging breakthroughs to set themselves apart.

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NASA plans first flight of Mars helicopter Ingenuity on April 8 Mar 24, 2021

As exciting as the entire Perseverance mission to Mars is, one of the events most looked forward to by us Earthlings must be the first flight of Ingenuity.

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Niantic announces partnership with Nintendo on new augmented reality ‘Pikmin’ title Mar 23, 2021

Nearly five years after the launch of Pokémon Go, Niantic announced Monday that they are partnering with Nintendo to co-develop a new title based on the company’s Pikmin franchise. Niantic says the app is being developed in their Tokyo office and will launch later this year.

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Biden will nominate big tech critic and antitrust star Lina Khan to the FTC Mar 23, 2021

Biden didn’t campaign on getting tough against big tech, but his early actions are speaking louder than his words. The White House confirmed its intentions to nominate Lina Khan to the FTC Monday, sending a clear signal that his administration will break from the Silicon Valley-friendly precedents of the Obama era.

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Brian Brackeen returns as an advisor to facial recognition startup Kairos following his ouster as CEO Mar 22, 2021

Brian Brackeen, the founder and former CEO of facial recognition startup Kairos, has made his way back to the company following his ouster in 2018. Brackeen is now chairing the company’s scientific advisory board, where he’ll help to address and eliminate issues of racial bias from the technology.

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Facebook showcases wrist-worn AR interface concept Mar 22, 2021

Facebook’s hardware strategy often looks pretty opaque from the outside. The company has done fairly well with Oculus sales amid pandemic demand.

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Rising encrypted app Signal is down in China Mar 19, 2021

Chinese users of the instant messenger Signal knew that the good times wouldn’t last long. The app, which is used for encrypted conversations, is unavailable in mainland China as of the morning of March 16, a test by TechCrunch shows.

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Nvidia raises GeForce Now subscription plan to $10 per month Mar 19, 2021

Nvidia’s cloud gaming service GeForce Now has announced some changes when it comes to subscription plans. Starting today, paid memberships now cost $9.99 per month, or $99.99 per year — they are now called ‘Priority’ memberships.

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Secureframe raises $18M Series A to simplify cybersecurity compliance Mar 18, 2021

Security compliance may not be the hottest conversation starter, but it’s a critical and often grueling process that companies have to endure every year to show that their security practices are up to par. It’s a burden that bogs down startups more than others.

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BMW takes the wraps off the i4, its first all-electric sedan Mar 18, 2021

BMW plans to have 25 electrified cars in its lineup by 2025 and it’s taking a few more steps in this direction this year with the launch of the all-electric iX SUV and the i4 sedan.

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Google’s Family Link updates reflect the pandemic’s impact on how parents view screen time Mar 17, 2021

Google is making changes to its parental control system, Family Link, that aims to better reflect parents’ changing views on children’s screen time. In the pre-pandemic world, parents were more likely to see screen time as something in need of restriction — they’d rather their kids get offline or go outside to play with friends.

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India’s CRED in talks to raise $200 million at $2 billion valuation Mar 16, 2021

Bangalore’s fintech startup ecosystem is inching closer to delivering a new unicorn: CRED. Two-year-old CRED is in advanced stages of talks to raise about $200 million at about $2 billion valuation, three sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch.

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U.S. e-commerce on track for its first $1 trillion year by 2022, due to lasting pandemic impacts Mar 16, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic boosted U.S. online shopping by $183 billion, accord to a new report by Adobe’s e-commerce division, released this morning. This figure represents the increase in online shopping during the months of March 2020, when the pandemic began in the U.S, through February 2021.

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Elon Musk, Tesla board sued in lawsuit alleging “erratic” tweets violate fiduciary duty Mar 15, 2021

Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s tweets are the subject of another lawsuit. A Tesla investor is suing the company board and Musk for continuing to send ‘erratic tweets’ that violate a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that requires oversight of his social media activities. The lawsuit, which was first reported by Bloomberg, claims […]

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Canoo combines work and play in its new electric pickup truck Mar 15, 2021

Los-Angeles based startup Canoo revealed its newest — and now third — electric vehicle, a pickup truck that does away with the sharp corners and huge engine housing of both comparable EV trucks and legacy diesel pickups and is aimed at both commercial customers and weekend warrior-minded consumers.

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Ocean floor mapping robotics startup Bedrock announces an $8M raise Mar 12, 2021

“It seems quite odd that no one has built the SpaceX equivalent for the ocean,” Anthony DiMare tells TechCrunch. “There’s no big, modern technology company that fits the space yet.” DiMare cofounded Bedrock Ocean Exploration last year, with Charles Chiau.

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Sequoia Capital puts millions of dollars into Gather, a virtual HQ platform Mar 12, 2021

Gather helps people, well, gather in virtual spaces for any reason, whether it be for weddings, magic conventions, or, just a regular day at work. Over the past few months, as remote workers look for better ways to interact with each other, the startup has quietly amassed more than 4 million users.

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Could Marc Benioff be the next CEO to move to executive chairman? Mar 11, 2021

Last month Jeff Bezos announced he would step down as CEO of Amazon later this year, moving into the executive chairman role, while passing the baton to AWS CEO Andy Jassy. Could Marc Benioff, co-founder, chairman and CEO at Salesforce be the next big-name executive to make a similar move? A Reuter’s story published on […]

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The Department of Defense is establishing a working group to focus on climate change Mar 11, 2021

The U.S. Department of Defense is setting up a working group to focus on climate change The new group will be led by Joe Bryan, who was appointed as a Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense focused on climate earlier this year. The move is one of several steps that the Biden administration has […]

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Sonos goes full portable Bluetooth speaker with the $169 Roam Mar 10, 2021

Introduced in late-2019, the Move was a very Sonos approach to the Bluetooth speaker. It was an attempt to bring the company’s long-standing premium approach to a more portable form factor. Accordingly, the press photos feature a lot of shots of the product on porches and around pools. Today’s arrival of the Roam, however, takes […]

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Backstage Capital’s Arlan Hamilton discusses how to find the next unicorn Mar 10, 2021

Arlan Hamilton, the Backstage Capital founder and managing partner, joined us at TC: Sessions Justice to chat about how she vets founders beyond Stanford signal, the changing role of venture capital, how raising money from the community, versus institutional LPs, can impact Backstage strategy. On what makes a founder make sense for Backstage Capital In […]

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Makers of ‘kid’s first virtual world’ Animal Jam targets Gen Z teens with Fer.al debut Mar 09, 2021

Before kids graduate to the expansive virtual worlds in games like Roblox, Minecraft, and Fortnite, they often get their start in online social gaming with a game like Animal Jam. Here, kids learn to personalize their avatar, explore a world, chat with other players, and trade items in a safe environment with parental controls.

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Attend TechCrunch’s free virtual Miami meetup on March 11 Mar 09, 2021

TechCrunch is hosting a small virtual meetup this Thursday centered around Miami. We hope you can attend. It’s free. This is our first (virtual) field trip to Miami. Even though we can’t be there physically right now, it’ll sure feel like we are. All lights will be shining on the Magic City.

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The iMac Pro is being discontinued Mar 08, 2021

Chalk this up to inevitability. The iMac Pro is soon to be no more. First noted by 9to5Mac, TechCrunch has since confirmed with Apple that the company will stop selling the all-in-one once the current stock is depleted. One configuration of the desktop is still available through Apple’s site, listed as “While Supplies Last” and […]

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Twitter Spaces arrives on Android ahead of Clubhouse Mar 08, 2021

Twitter announced today it’s opening up its live audio chat rooms, known as Twitter Spaces, to users on Android. Previously, the experience was only open to select users on iOS following the product’s private beta launch in late December 2020.

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Whatnot raises $20M for its live streaming platform built for selling Pokémon cards and other collectibles Mar 05, 2021

When I first wrote about Whatnot in February of last year, they were just getting started. Aiming to be the GOAT of collectible toys, they were focusing first on being the go-to trusted spot for buying and selling authenticated Funko Pop figurines.

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SpaceX launches 60 new Starlink satellites, while Starship moves closer to being able to launch up to 400 at a time Mar 05, 2021

SpaceX has launched another batch of its Starlink satellites –Â the usual complement of 60 of the low Earth orbit spacecraft, which will join the more than 1,000 already making up the existing constellation. This is the fifth launch of Starlink satellites for SpaceX this year, and the 20th overall. Earlier this year, SpaceX opened up […]

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TikTok launches ‘TikTok Q&A,’ a new feature for creators to engage with viewers’ questions Mar 04, 2021

Earlier this year, TikTok was spotted testing a new Q&A feature that would allow creators to more directly respond to their audience’s questions using either text or video. Today, the company has announced the feature is now available to all users globally. With the release of TikTok Q&A, as the feature is officially called, creators […]

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Oscar Health prices IPO at $39 and secures a $9.5B valuation Mar 04, 2021

Late last night Oscar Health, a tech-enabled medical insurance provider, priced its IPO at $39 per share. The final price came in $1 per share above its raised IPO guidance; Oscar Health had originally targeted a $32-$34 per-share IPO price.

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DJI launches an all-in-one FPV drone system Mar 03, 2021

DJI has flirted with FPV goggles before, of course. The company got on the burgeoning FPV movement with the launch of its DJI Goggles back in 2016. It was a logical extension for the company that controls around 70% of the drone market.

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Following unionization, Glitch signs collective bargaining agreement Mar 03, 2021

In another key moment for the growing tech labor movement, Glitch employees today announced that they have signed a collective bargaining agreement with the company. The move comes a year after the site’s workforce voted to join the Communications Workers of America Local 1101.

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Facebook will pay $650 million to settle class action suit centered on Illinois privacy law Mar 02, 2021

Facebook was ordered to pay $650 million FridayÂ for running afoul of an Illinois law designed to protect the state’s residents from invasive privacy practices.

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Calling Zagreb Investors: Be featured in The Great TechCrunch Survey of European VC Mar 02, 2021

TechCrunch is embarking on a major project to survey the venture capital investors of Europe, and their cities. Our survey of investors in Zagreb will capture how Croatia is faring, and what changes are being wrought amongst investors by the coronavirus pandemic.

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Salesforce delivers, Wall Street doubts as stock falls 6.3% post-earnings Mar 01, 2021

Wall Street investors can be fickle beasts. Take Salesforce as an example. The CRM giant announced a $5.82 billion quarter when it reported earnings yesterday.

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Sources: Lightspeed Venture Partners is close to hiring a new London-based partner to put down further roots in Europe Mar 01, 2021

Lightspeed Venture Partners, the well-known Silicon Valley venture capital firm that has backed the likes of DoubleClick and Snapchat, is in the midst of hiring a new London-based investment partner as it looks to put down further ties to Europe, TechCrunch has learned.

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Newsela, the replacement for textbooks, raises $100M and becomes a unicorn Feb 26, 2021

Newsela, a SaaS platform for K-12 instructional material backed by the likes of TCV, Kleiner Perkins, Reach Capital, and Owl Ventures, announced today that it has raised $100 million in a Series D round. The financing was led by new investor Franklin Templeton, and brings Newsela’s valuation to $1 billion. The new round is larger […]

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USV has been aggressively selling off shares in Coinbase in run up to IPO Feb 26, 2021

Coinbase’s S-1 publicly dropped this morning with much anticipation. My colleague Alex Wilhelm has the high-level details, but there was one major wrinkle for the crypto trading darling: two of its early investors seem to be cutting down their stakes pre-IPO. Coinbase files to go public in a key listing for the cryptocurrency category The […]

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Oak HC/FT closes on $1.4 billion to invest in fintech and healthcare startups Feb 25, 2021

Oak HC/FT general partners Annie Lamont, Andrew Adams and Tricia Kemp invested in healthcare and fintech before the two sectors were mainstream, and today, as a result of that early intuition and a handful of key exits, the trio has over a billion dollars in new fund money to show for it. The firm announced […]

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Francisco Partners is acquiring MyHeritage, sources say for $600M Feb 25, 2021

Genealogy tracking online is a big business, and today comes some M&A news for one of the bigger names in the field. TechCrunch has learned and confirmed that Israel’s MyHeritage.com — which lets people test DNA and track their family lineage and has some 62 million users — is getting acquired by Francisco Partners, for […]

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Twitter relaunches test that asks users to revise harmful replies Feb 24, 2021

Twitter is running a new test that will ask users to pause and think before they tweet. According to the company’s announcement, when Twitter detects what appears to be a potentially harmful or offensive reply to someone else’s tweet, it will prompt you to consider revising your text instead of tweeting. Users whose tweets are […]

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Streamlabs launches a ‘link in bio’ website builder that includes tipping Feb 24, 2021

A number of online creators and influencers have adopted mobile-friendly “link in bio” websites, like Linktree, to point their fans to their social profiles or other content they want to promote. Today, live streaming software company Streamlabs launched its own product in this market with its new mobile website builder Willow. Its tool differentiates itself […]

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Huawei launches its next foldable in China Feb 23, 2021

Huawei’s first foldable feels like a distant memory. Announced in 2019, the company went back to the drawing board prior to release, as Samsung ran into its own much publicized issues with the innovative form factor. The Mate X was well-received among journalists — I had the opportunity to spend some time with it at […]

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Calling Oslo VCs: Be featured in The Great TechCrunch Survey of European VC Feb 23, 2021

TechCrunch is embarking on a major project to survey the venture capital investors of Europe, and their cities. Our survey of VCs in Oslo and Norway will capture how the country is faring, and what changes are being wrought amongst investors by the coronavirus pandemic. We’d like to know how Norway’s startup scene is […]

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Second crew member of first all-civilian SpaceX mission revealed Feb 22, 2021

SpaceX is now in the business of flying people to space, and if all goes to plan, it’ll be the first to provide a trip for a crew made up entirely of private space tourists later this year. Now, we know who will join billionaire and Shift4Payments founder Jason Isaacman on that trip – St. […]

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Miami edtech startup Nearpod acquired by Renaissance Feb 22, 2021

Nearpod, the Miami-based edtech company, is being acquired by Renaissance Holding Corp., a group that develops education technology. While Nearpod isn’t announcing the news until later this month, the information leaked to Yahoo! Finance yesterday, and a source inside the company confirmed the sale with TechCrunch this morning. The acquisition price, and further details, have […]

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Chromebooks had a banner 2020 Feb 19, 2021

2020 was a weird year by any measure. Certainly it was a wild ride for those in the consumer electronics category. Take smartphones — first there were manufacturing delays out of China, followed by an across the board decrease in demand. There are lots of reasons contributing to the latter, but the simplest and most […]

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Anthony Lin named permanent managing director and head of Intel Capital Feb 19, 2021

When Wendell Brooks stepped down as managing partner and head of Intel Capital last August, Anthony Lin was named to replace him on an interim basis. At the time, it wasn’t clear if he would be given the role permanently, but today, six months later, the answer is known. In a letter to the firm’s […]

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Google suspends Trump 2020 app from Play Store for non-functionality Feb 18, 2021

Google has suspended the Trump 2020 campaign app from the Google Play Store for policy violations, the company confirmed, following a report from Android Police which noted the app was unable to load any content and appeared to have been taken down. Both the Android version of the app and its iOS counterpart have been […]

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Amazon will let users vote on new Alexa devices with pre-orders, including a cuckoo clock Feb 18, 2021

Amazon’s Day 1 Edition program pulled back the curtain ever-so-slightly on the company’s hardware development process. The initial class featured its Echo Frames smart glasses and Loop smart ring. Based on early user feedback, the company only opted to continue production on the former. But it takes the idea even further. The program is akin […]

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Justice Through Code is a free coding program for those impacted by the criminal justice system Feb 17, 2021

People who have spent time in jail or prison oftentimes face barriers to accessing stable jobs, housing and financial services. These types of barriers are a key driver of recidivism for the more than 600,000 people who are released from prison each year. Between 2005 and 2014, an estimated 68% of people released in 2005 […]

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Atlassian launches a whole new Trello Feb 17, 2021

Trello, the Kanban board-centric project management tool acquired by Atlassian in 2017, today launched what is likely one of its most important updates in recent years. With significantly more than 50 million users, Trello is one of the most popular project management tools around and in many ways, it brought digital Kanban boards to the […]

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After raising $150 million in equity and debt, Nature’s Fynd opens its fungus food for pre-orders Feb 16, 2021

Nature’s Fynd, the food technology company with a new food offering cultivated from fungus found in the wilds of Yellowstone National Park, is releasing its first products for pre-order.Â Pitching both a non-dairy cream cheese and meatless breakfast patties, Nature’s Fynd had managed to attract some serious investors including Al Gore’s Generation Investment Management and […]

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Calling Danish VCs: Be featured in The Great TechCrunch Survey of European VC Feb 16, 2021

TechCrunch is embarking on a major project to survey the venture capital investors of Europe, and their cities. Our survey of VCs in Copenhagen and Denmark will capture how the country is faring, and what changes are being wrought amongst investors by the coronavirus pandemic. We’d like to know how Denmark’s startup scene is […]

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GM unveils a refreshed Chevy Bolt EV and its bigger, yet compact crossover sibling Feb 15, 2021

GM revealed Sunday a refreshed Chevrolet Bolt EV and a new, bigger — yet still compact — crossover called the Chevrolet Bolt EUV as part of the automaker’s goal to introduce 30 electric vehicles in the next four years. The vehicles, which are expected to go on sale this summer, are like siblings: the pair […]

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ClubLink offers a better Clubhouse link for sharing on social media Feb 15, 2021

Although the popular audio chat platform Clubhouse today includes a way to share your upcoming hangouts and events across social media, the resulting link that displays is fairly boring. A new link-sharing tool called ClubLink can help. The tool allows hosts to better promote their events by offering a more customized social media preview featuring […]

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Facebook Oversight Board says other social networks ‘welcome to join’ if project succeeds Feb 12, 2021

The Facebook Oversight Board has only been operational for a short time, but the nascent project is already looking ahead. In a conversation hosted by the Carnegie Endowment Thursday, Oversight Board co-chair and former Prime Minister of Denmark Helle Thorning-Schmidt painted a more expansive vision for the group that could go beyond making policy decisions […]

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Top 100 subscription apps grew 34% to $13B in 2020, share of total spend remained the same Feb 12, 2021

Apps saw record downloads and consumer spending in 2020, globally reaching somewhere around $111 billion to $112 billion, according to various estimates. But a growing part of that spend was subscription payments, a new report from Sensor Tower indicates. Last year, global subscription app revenue from the top 100 subscription apps (excluding games), climbed 34% […]

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Researchers look to ‘worm blobs’ to improve robotic movement Feb 11, 2021

What, you are no doubt asking, is a worm a blob? Well, it’s a blob of worms, obviously. More specifically, it’s a blob of California blackworms. It’s not a flock, nor a swam nor a school. It’s a big, undulating mass of a Lumbriculus variegatus tangled up, but somehow moving as one. Roboticists, of course, […]

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SmartHop raises a $12M Series A to ease trucking logistics Feb 11, 2021

If you are a founder and launched a startup last February of 2020 just before the pandemic hit, then you may have felt like you were living the ultimate business nightmare. But if your company serves to stabilize the supply-chain business, then, in fact, you may have hit the ground running at just the right […]

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Hyundai shrinks its ‘walking car’ robot to carry cargo, get rides from drones Feb 10, 2021

Hyundai Motor Group is back with a new “walking car” robot that can use its wheels to roll along a path or stand up and navigate tougher terrain on its legs. This time, the concept is designed to carry cargo and is small enough to be carried by a drone. The TIGER robot — short […]

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SplashLearn raises $18 million for its game-based edtech platform Feb 10, 2021

SplashLearn, a 10-year-old U.S.-headquartered edtech startup that teaches children through a game-based curriculum, has raised $18 million in a new financing round as it looks to expand to more markets. San Francisco-based Owl Ventures led the Series C funding round in SplashLearn, and Accel, which had earlier invested $7 million in the startup’s Series B, […]

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LanzaJet inks deal with British Airways for 7500 tons of fuel low emission fuel additive per year Feb 09, 2021

LanzaJet, the renewable jet fuel startup spun out from the longtime renewable and synthetic fuel manufacturer, LanzaTech, has inked a supply agreement with British Airways to supply the company with at least 7500 tons of fuel additive per yer. The deal marks the second agreement between the UK-based airline and a renewable jet fuels manufacturer […]

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Hasselblad X1D II 50C: out of the studio and into the streets Feb 09, 2021

We crawled into an abandoned school bus, trespassed through dilapidated hallways, dodged fleeting thunderstorms and wandered through empty streets of Chinatown late into the evening. For two summery weeks, I couldn’t have been happier. New York City was in lockdown. I’d been quarantined in my dinky apartment, disheartened and restless. I was anxious to do […]

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Clubhouse is now blocked in China after a brief uncensored period Feb 08, 2021

Thousands of Chinese users suddenly found themselves unable to access Clubhouse on early Monday evening as the country prepared to start the week-long Lunar New Year holiday. Inside WeChat groups, Clubhouse users rushed to report the situation and help each other with ways to get back onto the red hot live audio app. Audio drop-in […]

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Okta launches its new open-source design system with a focus on accessibility Feb 08, 2021

Identity and access management service Okta today launched its new design system, both for its own corporate and brand use, but also as an open-source project under the Apache 2.0 license. The Odyssey Design System, as the company calls it, is similar to the likes of Google’s Material Design or Microsoft’s Fluent Design. It may […]

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Firefly will light up the Moon with $93M lunar lander contract from NASA Feb 05, 2021

NASA has awarded Firefly Aerospace with a $93.3 million contract to take a lunar lander module loaded with experiments to the surface of the Moon. While the company will not be performing the launch itself, it will be providing the spacecraft and “Blue Ghost” lander for the 2023 mission. The space agency made the award […]

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The cloud infrastructure market hit $129B in 2020 Feb 05, 2021

The cloud infrastructure market in 2020 reflected society itself, with the richest companies getting richer and the ones at the bottom of the market getting poorer. It grew to $129 billion for the year, according to data from Synergy Research Group. That’s up from around $97 billion in 2019. Synergy also reported that the cloud […]

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Apple Music, Books, iTunes, App Store and more are experiencing outages Feb 04, 2021

Several high-level Apple services are experiencing issues and outages on Wednesday morning, Apple has confirmed. These issues are impacting a number of consumer-facing services including Apple Music and Radio, Apple Books, and the App Store platforms across both iOS devices and Mac. For some users, the services are down. For example, there were reports circulating […]

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CA Supreme Court denies lawsuit challenging Prop 22’s constitutionality Feb 04, 2021

The California Supreme Court today shot down the lawsuit filed by a group of rideshare drivers in California and the Service Employees International Union that alleged Proposition 22 violates the state’s constitution. “We are disappointed in the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear our case, but make no mistake: we are not deterred in our […]

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What Andy Jassy’s promotion to Amazon CEO could mean for AWS Feb 03, 2021

Blockbuster news struck late this afternoon when Amazon announced that Jeff Bezos would be stepping back as CEO of Amazon, the company he built from a business in his garage to worldwide behemoth. As he takes on the role of executive chairman, his replacement will be none other than AWS CEO Andy Jassy. With Jassy […]

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Mask-wearers will be able to unlock their iPhone with the Apple Watch Feb 03, 2021

In addition to AirPlay support for Fitness+, today’s iOS 14.5 developer beta is bringing some key new features to mobile operating system. At the top of the list is undoubtedly Apple Watch unlock for users wearing face coverings. The long-awaited feature arrives a year or so into a pandemic that has made face masks a […]

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Rocket startup Astra is going public vis SPAC Feb 02, 2021

Rocket launch company Astra, which just reached space this past December with a test launch from Alaska, will be going public on the NASDAQ via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) called Holicity. The recent SPAC craze has already extended to the New Space sector, and Virgin Galactic was among the in […]

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Apple Fitness+ is adding AirPlay casting Feb 02, 2021

A week after introducing Time to Walk, Apple has released another software update aimed at expanding its Fitness+ footprint. With today’s arrival the developer seed of watchOS 7.4 and iOS 14.5, the company is adding a new feature that will make it possible to stream workouts to an AirPlay enabled TV – with some caveats. […]

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bluShift Aerospace launches its first rocket powered by biofuels Feb 01, 2021

New space startup bluShift wants to bring a new kind of propellant to the small satellite launching market, with rockets powered by bio-derived rocket fuels. These differ from traditional fuels in that they offer safety advantages during handling, and ecological advantages during production and use. The startup has been working on its solid rocket biofuel […]

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Charlie launches a mobile app that ‘gamifies’ getting out of debt Feb 01, 2021

Charlie, a personal finance app that began as a chatbot, is relaunching today with a revamped experience focused on the larger goal of helping everyday Americans get out of debt. To do so, Charlie presents users with a full picture of their current debt and how long it will take them to pay it off. […]

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Pivoting to home fitness, Aviron offers gamified rowing machines Jan 29, 2021

Few tech sectors had more to gain from the events of 2020 than home fitness. Interest in the category was swift, as gyms were declared one of the bigger problem areas amid the worldwide spread of Covid-19. Suddenly home workouts were more than just luxury. For YC-backed Aviron, it was the ideal time to pivot. […]

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Google open sources Tilt Brush VR software as it shuts down internal development Jan 29, 2021

As Facebook and Apple begin to fire up more projects in the AR/VR world, Google has spent the last year shutting down most of their existing projects in that space. Today, the folks at Google announced they had ended active development of Tilt Brush, a VR painting app that was one of virtual reality’s early […]

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Sony’s tempts professionals with the top-shelf, top-tier Alpha 1 Jan 28, 2021

Sony is making a play for the top end of the professional digital camera world, where videographers and sports photographers demand immaculate image quality at high resolutions in short order. The new Alpha 1 beats pretty much everything on the market on paper, but it’ll set you back a cool $6,500. This is, of course, […]

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Ring’s new video doorbell is $60 Jan 28, 2021

The top-line feature for Ring’s latest is no doubt its price. No way around that. At $60, it’s $40 cheaper than the standard Video Doorbell – and prices from there go up significantly, with the “Elite” running $350. Perhaps the company is feeling some pressure from the race the bottom for smart home hardware pricing. […]

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GitLab reshuffles its paid subscription plans, drops its Bronze/Starter tier Jan 27, 2021

GitLab, the increasingly popular DevOps platform, today announced a major update to its subscription model. The company is doing away with its $4/month Bronze/Starter package. Current users will be able to renew one more time at the existing price or move to a higher tier (and receive a significant discount for the first three years […]

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Tweetbot 6 released with new subscription pricing Jan 27, 2021

Tapbots, the company behind Tweetbot, has released a major update for the iPhone and iPad. Tweetbot 6 is now available in the App store. While there aren’t a lot of visual changes, there are a couple of important things happening under the hood. First, Tweetbot 6 is using Twitter’s API v2. An API is an […]

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Twitter acquires newsletter platform Revue Jan 26, 2021

Twitter is getting into the newsletter business. The social media company is announcing that it has acquired Revue, a Dutch startup that allows users to publish and monetize email newsletters. While Revue hasn’t driven the same wave of “is this the future of media?” think pieces as Substack, it counts major publishers like Vox Media […]

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Calling Swedish VCs: Be featured in The Great TechCrunch Survey of European VC Jan 26, 2021

TechCrunch is embarking on a major project to survey the venture capital investors of Europe, and their cities. Our survey of VCs in Stockholm, and Sweden generally, will capture how the country is faring, and what changes are being wrought amongst investors by the coronavirus pandemic. The deadline is the end of this week. We’d […]

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Google refreshes its mobile search experience Jan 25, 2021

Google today announced a subtle but welcome refresh of its mobile search experience. The idea here is to provide easier to read search results and a more modern look with a simpler, edge-to-edge design. From what we’ve seen so far, this is not a radically different look, but the rounded and slightly shaded boxes around […]

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Xbox Live Gold is getting a big price hike Jan 25, 2021

In what feels like an attempt at kicking some bad news under the rug on a Friday, Microsoft announced this morning that the price of Xbox Live Gold is going up.

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YouTube launches hashtag landing pages to all users Jan 22, 2021

YouTube is embracing the hashtag. The company has been quietly working on a new feature that allows users to better discover content using hashtags — either by clicking on a hashtag on YouTube or by typing in a hashtag link directly. Before, these actions would return a mix of content related to the hashtag, but […]

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Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra review: Camera refinements are nice, but the price drop’s the thing Jan 22, 2021

The Galaxy S21 is a tank. It’s a big, heavy (8.04 ounces versus its predecessor’s 7.7), blunt instrument of a phone. It’s quintessential Samsung, really — the handset you purchase when too much isn’t quite enough. In fact, it even goes so far as adopting S-Pen functionality — perhaps the largest distinguishing factor between the […]

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Raspberry Pi Foundation launches $4 microcontroller with custom chip Jan 21, 2021

Meet the Raspberry Pi Pico, a tiny little microcontroller that lets you build hardware projects with some code running on the microcontroller. Even more interesting, the Raspberry Pi Foundation is using its own RP2040 chip, which means that the foundation is now making its own silicon. If you’re not familiar with microcontrollers, those devices let […]

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Facebook and Instagram’s AI-generated image captions now offer far more details Jan 21, 2021

Every picture posted to Facebook and Instagram gets a caption generated by an image analysis AI, and that AI just got a lot smarter. The improved system should be a treat for visually impaired users, and may help you find your photos faster in the future. Alt text is a field in an image’s metadata […]

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Landbot closes $8M Series A for its ‘no code’ chatbot builder Jan 20, 2021

Barcelona-based Landbot, a ‘no-code’ chatbot builder, has bagged a $8M Series A led by the Spanish-Israeli VC firm Swanlaab, alongside support from Spain’s innovation-focused public agency, CDTI. Previous investors Nauta Capital, Encomenda and Bankinter also participated in the round. We last chatted to Landbot back in 2018 when it raised a $2.2M seed and had […]

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Netflix’s ‘Shuffle Play’ feature will roll out to all users worldwide this year Jan 20, 2021

Netflix is always in search of a better way to instantly connect users to something to watch, instead of having them waste time unsuccessfully scrolling through all the available programming options. Now, the company says a recent test focused on solving this problem, Shuffle Play, has proven popular enough to roll out to all users […]

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India asks WhatsApp to withdraw new privacy policy, expresses ‘grave concerns’ Jan 19, 2021

India has asked WhatsApp to withdraw the planned change to its privacy policy, posing a new headache to Facebook-owned service that identifies the South Asian nation as its biggest market by users. In an email to WhatsApp head Will Cathcart, the nation’s IT ministry said WhatsApp’s planned update to its data-sharing policy raised “grave concerns […]

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Calling Bucharest VCs: Be featured in The Great TechCrunch Survey of European VC Jan 19, 2021

TechCrunch is embarking on a major project to survey the venture capital investors of Europe, and their cities. Our survey of VCs in Bucharest and Romania will capture how the country is faring, and what changes are being wrought amongst investors by the coronavirus pandemic. We’d like to know how Romania’s startup scene is […]

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Samsung vice chairman Jay Y. Lee sent back to prison in bribery case Jan 18, 2021

Samsung Electronics vice chairman Jay Y. Lee is back in prison following a retrial of his 2017 conviction in a bribery case that helped lead to the downfall of former South Korean president Park Guen-hye. The Seoul High Court sentenced Lee to 30 months on Monday. Lee was originally convicted of bribery in 2017 and […]

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Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Pro are a solid AirPods alternative Jan 18, 2021

I suspect it will be a while before I get excited over wireless earbuds. It’s not for a lack of trying on the part of manufacturers. In fact, quite the contrary. The category actually matured quite quickly, compared to various other verticals in the consumer electronics space. The truth is, most major hardware makers have […]

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Amazon’s newest product lets companies build their own Alexa assistant Jan 15, 2021

Amazon is selling access to the underlying technology stack of Alexa to let companies — starting with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles — build their own intelligent assistants with unique voices, skills and wake words. The new Alexa Custom Assistant product, which was announced Friday, can coexist and cooperate with the Alexa assistant. Theoretically, this means an […]

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Samsung answers Apple with the $199 Galaxy Buds Pro Jan 15, 2021

Even before the leaks, we all saw the Galaxy Buds Pro coming. It was a given that the company was planning to deliver its own take on Apple’s AirPods Pro, with improved sound quality and active noise canceling. The real secret weapon here, however, may be the price. This morning’s S21 announcement found Samsung dropping […]

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At least one of Samsung’s new robots is definitely coming out (hint: it’s the vacuum) Jan 14, 2021

For the last couple of years, Samsung’s CES press conferences have featured a parade of futuristic home robots. They’re are smart, dexterous and impressive (and reasonably adorable). But home robots are hard. Like, really, really hard. There’s a reason the robotic vacuum continues to be one real viable home robot nearly 20 years after the […]

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Checkout.com raises $450 million and reaches $15 billion valuation Jan 14, 2021

Payments company Checkout.com is raising once again. The company has closed a $450 million Series C round with Tiger Global Management leading the round — Greenoaks Capital and all existing investors are also participating. If you’re not familiar with the company, Checkout.com wants to build a one-stop shop for all things related to payments, such […]

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Rollables are the new foldables Jan 13, 2021

Smartphone sales are bad — and have been for a couple of years now. Certainly this ongoing pandemic hasn’t helped. All the talk about how 5G and new form factors were going to cause a kind of bounce-back all fell by the wayside, as people put a pause on unnecessary luxuries. Samsung is the only […]

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Following riots, alternative social apps and private messengers top the app stores Jan 13, 2021

Alternative social media apps including MeWe, CloutHub and other privacy-focused rivals to big tech, are topping the app stores following Trump’s ban from mainstream social platforms like Facebook and Twitter and the more recent removal of conservative social app Parler from both the App Store and Google Play. In the days since the Parler ban, […]

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Microsoft’s latest business-focused Surface is focused on remote work Jan 12, 2021

As CES starts in earnest today, I anticipate we’ll be seeing a lot of hardware focused on remote work. PC sales saw a nice spike last year, even as smartphone sales continued to slip. There was a lot of adapting that needed to be done, moving from offices to virtual work places, and now we’re […]

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Google Stadia and Nvidia GeForce Now are coming to LG TVs Jan 12, 2021

LG spent a good chunk of its CES press conference talking about its lineup of TVs for 2021. You can expect bigger, slimmer and brighter TVs. I’m not going to list the specifications of new models. But there are a few new features that are worth mentioning. LG doesn’t use Android TV for the operating […]

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Stripe reportedly joins the tech platforms booting President Trump from their services Jan 11, 2021

It might be easier at this point to ask which tech platforms President Donald Trump can still use. Payment-processing company Stripe is the latest tech company to kick Donald Trump off of its platform, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. That means the president’s campaign website and online fundraising arms will no […]

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Samsung simplifies with a lower-price premium Chromebook Jan 11, 2021

Happy almost CES! Sure the year’s biggest consumer electronics show hasn’t officially kicked off, but, well, what do such arbitrary signposts really mean in a year like 2021, right? Samsung just dropped what’s almost certainly one of its biggest pieces of news for the show, with the arrival of the Galaxy Chromebook 2. The two-in-one […]

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Tesla has decided to sell the cheaper Model Y standard range after all Jan 08, 2021

Tesla has started taking orders for a cheaper standard range version of the Model Y in an apparent reversal by CEO Elon Musk who earlier this year seemed to put plans to release the vehicle on hold.Â Electrek was the first to report that Tesla had updated its website to include the Model Y standard […]

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Lenovo’s new all-in-one has a swiveling screen, because sure, why not? Jan 08, 2021

Leave it to Lenovo to give the world a swiveling all-in-one. It’s kind of the company’s M.O. – not always the most necessary or practical, but never not interesting. When it comes to fairly staid product categories like this, I’m all for trying something a little weird. And hey, in a world of convertible and […]

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Tech leaders speak out about platforms’ roles in US Capitol riots Jan 07, 2021

After pro-Trump extremists violently stormed the U.S. Capitol, a number of tech executives and industry leaders are calling on Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to more aggressively curb the president’s messages amplifying and endorsing violence. After Trump released a video calling the extremists “very special” and telling them to go home, […]

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TikTok rolls out its first LiDAR-powered AR effect Jan 07, 2021

Snapchat was among the first apps to leverage the iPhone 12 Pro’s LiDAR Scanner for AR, but now TikTok has followed suit. The social video app confirmed today it has launched its first-ever LiDAR-powered effect to help its users ring in the new year. The effect features an AR ball, similar to the one that […]

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Any San Francisco teacher who needs a second monitor can get one, via Two Screens for Teachers Jan 06, 2021

Any teacher in the San Francisco Unified School District who needs a second monitor can request one free of charge from Two Screens for Teachers, the nonprofit that recently extended a similar privilege to Seattle educators. If you’re a teacher in SF, you can sign up here. Having a second monitor may sound like a […]

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C by GE gets rebranded under new ownership, expands beyond lighting Jan 06, 2021

There’s a decent chance you missed the news back in May — there was, after all, a lot going on at the time. General Electric sold off its more than 100-year-old GE Lighting division to smart home company Savant. Today, the division’s new owner is announcing a key rebranding effort, six months after the initial […]

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Looking to decarbonize the metal industry, Bill Gates-backed Boston Metal raises $50 million Jan 05, 2021

Steel production accounts for roughly 8 percent of the emissions that contribute to global climate change. It is one of the industries that sits at the foundation of the modern economy and is one of the most resistant to decarbonization. As nations around the world race to reduce their environmental footprint and embrace more sustainable […]

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Google and Snap in talks to invest in India’s ShareChat Jan 05, 2021

ShareChat, which added Twitter as an investor in 2019, is in talks to add two more American giants to its captable. The Indian social network is in advanced stages of talks to raise money from Google and Snap, three sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. The new financing round — a Series E — […]

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Astronaut Anne McClain on designing and piloting the next generation of spacecraft Jan 04, 2021

NASA recently announced the astronauts who will be taking part in the Artemis missions, and among them is Anne McClain, who has spent 203 days in orbit and conducted two spacewalks on the ISS. With the space industry looking nothing like it did 10 years ago and new spacecraft and technologies on the rise, McClain […]

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NYC MTA’s contactless fare system completes rollout, will phase out MetroCard in 2023 Jan 04, 2021

On the last day of 2020, New York City’s Metro Transit Authority announced that it has finished its roll out of contactless payment systems. With the addition of a final stop in Brooklyn, every MTA subway station and bus in the five boroughs now sports the OMNY “Tap and Go” system. We got an early […]

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Bose’s latest sleep-centric earbuds mostly do the trick Jan 01, 2021

It’s been a strange year for sleep. For me, levels have fluctuated between too little and too much, but have – more often than not – tended toward the former. 2020 gave most of us no shortage of excuses for sleep deprivation, from personal stresses to larger societal concerns. And, thankfully, the past few years […]

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An earnest review of a robotic cat pillow Dec 31, 2020

You don’t need Qoobo in your life. Nobody needs Qoobo, exactly. In fact, first reactions tend to range from befuddlement to bemusement. The robotic cat pillow doesn’t make a ton of sense on the face of it – in part because Qoobo has no face. The handful of time I’ve interacted with the original Qoobo […]

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Imagine being blind and trying to attend a virtual event. Try that next time you stage one. Dec 31, 2020

How do you make a virtual event accessible for people who are blind or visually impaired? When I started work on Sight Tech Global back in June this year, I was confident that we would find the answer to that question pretty quickly. With so many virtual event platforms and online ticketing options available to […]

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RentPath drops acquisition deal with CoStar after FTC antitrust lawsuit Dec 30, 2020

RentPath, owner of property listing sites including Rent.com and Apartment Guide, said today it has cancelled its agreement to be acquired by CoStar Group after the Federal Trade Commission sued to block the sale. CoStar, a commercial real estate data and analytics provider that also operates listing sites like Apartments.com and ApartmentFinder.com, agreed in February […]

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Seattle-based Madrona raises $320M for its eighth fund Dec 30, 2020

Madrona Venture Group has been a mainstay of the Seattle and northwest United States startup ecosystem for years now, and it looks like it is going to continue that legacy going forward. In a filing with the SEC, the firm announced its eighth venture capital fund, raising $320 million. That’s up slightly from the firm’s […]

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Tesla to make India debut ‘early’ next year Dec 29, 2020

Tesla will begin its operations in India “early” 2021, a top Indian minister said on Monday, a day after the tech carmaker said it was confident it would enter the world’s second most populated market next year. The American car company will begin operations with sales in early 2021 and then “maybe” look at assembling […]

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Samsung hasn’t announced the Galaxy S21 yet, but you can already reserve one Dec 29, 2020

For obvious reasons, many of us are spending the final week of 2020 looking forward. Samsung is hoping some folks are looking far enough ahead to reserve a spot in line for its still-unannounced Galaxy S21 handset (not an official name, mind, but probably a safe guess). If you’re on the Samsung Mobile mailing list, […]

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Gillmor Gang: Get Back Dec 28, 2020

Today we sat on the deck with our daughter Ella and her boyfriend Nick. Knowing of my fascination with all things Beatles, Nick gave me a Japanese 45 of Get Back flipped with Don’t Let Me Down. His gift coincided with a 5 minute cut of material from a newly authorized production of a new […]

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Music made 2020 better, but we failed to make 2020 better for musicians Dec 28, 2020

“Are you okay?” I don’t have a good answer to the question. Knowing full well that I’m talking back to an algorithm — even one asking the same question of everyone with a different band mad-libbed in — doesn’t soften the blow. Am I? Are we? Is anyone, really? In this case, it’s referring to […]

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Elon Musk claims he tried selling Tesla to Apple but Tim Cook wasn’t interested Dec 24, 2020

Tesla stock’s miraculously bizarre 2020 might have a gone different way had Apple’s Tim Cook agreed to a meeting in recent years, or so says Elon Musk. Reacting to Reuters’ recent news that Apple has not abandoned its electric car program and is still pursuing plans to build a physical vehicle, Musk tweeted that in […]

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Honk introduces a real-time, ephemeral messaging app aimed at Gen Z Dec 24, 2020

A new mobile app called Honk aims to make messaging with friends a more interactive, real-time experience. Instead of sending texts off into the void and hoping for a response, friends on Honk communicate via messages that are shown live as you type, with no saved chat history and no send button. The end result […]

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TikTok launches its first personalized annual recap feature, ‘Year on TikTok’ Dec 23, 2020

Spotify users have Wrapped and Instagram users have their Top 9. And now TikTok users will have their own year-in-review feature, too. The company today announced the launch of its first personalized annual recap feature with the launch of “Year on TikTok,” a video highlight reel that showcases individual users’ own top TikTok moments. This […]

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Google expands its cloud with new regions in Chile, Germany and Saudi Arabia Dec 23, 2020

It’s been a busy year of expansion for the large cloud providers, with AWS, Azure and Google aggressively expanding their data center presence around the world. To cap off the year, Google Cloud today announced a new set of cloud regions, which will go live in the coming months and years. These new regions, which […]

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Gillmor Gang: Full Stream Ahead Dec 22, 2020

Twitter is shutting down Periscope, the video app it acquired several years ago when Facebook Live threatened to lap the field. When we stream the Gillmor Gang sessions, we send them to Facebook, Twitter, and an unlisted embed on YouTube. At one point, we planned to stream the sessions live on TechCrunch, but for now […]

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Unicorn travel startup Hopper is facing a pandemic-fueled customer service nightmare Dec 22, 2020

Mobile travel app Hopper has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic as consumers canceled their trips and airlines dropped their flights. But the complications around getting airline credits and refunds have since turned into a customer service crisis for the airfare prediction and ticket booking startup, which had been valued at $750 million back […]

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Space Force commander explains how the new military service operates like a startup Dec 21, 2020

The latest branch of the US Military was founded just a year ago and will celebrate its first birthday on December 20. General John W. “Jay” Raymond spoke at TechCrunch Sessions: Space and explained how the youngest military branch operates like a startup. “In some ways, we’re a startup as well,” Gen. Raymond said. “The […]

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Google Stadia is now available on iOS Dec 21, 2020

A few weeks after announcing that iOS support was on the way, Google’s cloud gaming service now supports the iPhone and iPad. As expected, the company is using a web app to access the service. Google also says that you need to update to iOS 14.3, the latest iOS update that was released earlier this […]

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Googling for “Baby Yoda” will beam him into your living room via augmented reality Dec 18, 2020

Google has been all about the fun little augmented reality Easter Eggs lately, with a bevy of search terms triggering Halloween-themed AR experiences back in October. Ghosts! Jack-o-lanterns! Dancing skeletons! Now they’ve got another one. Rolled out just in time for tomorrow’s Season 2 finale of The Mandalorian, this one brings The Child (or, as […]

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Coinbase files to go public confidentially and we’re hyped Dec 18, 2020

Coinbase, perhaps the best-known American crypto company, announced today that it has filed confidentially to go public. The company’s debut was expected, having been reported earlier in the year. As the well-funded unicorn has filed confidentially, its debut looks to be an early-2021 affair. What sort of flotation the company will pursue is not clear […]

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Austin’s edtech startup Aceable adds another $50 million for accelerated expansion Dec 17, 2020

Aceable, the Austin-based mobile edtech service for state-accredited classes, is getting an “A” from investors again as private equity firm HGGC pours $50 million into the company. In the eight years since Aceable’s launch, the company has grown from a driver’s ed test prep service to an online training tool for drivers and real estate […]

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Bitcoin passes $20k and reaches all-time high Dec 17, 2020

After reaching a previous all-time high on November 30th, 2020 and December 1st, 2020, bitcoin is now trading well above $20,000 and has surpassed its previous peak price. Bitcoin’s value has rapidly increased over the past two months. According to CoinMarketCap, you could buy one bitcoin for $11,500 on October 16th. As I’m writing this […]

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Bandcamp Fridays will continue through next May Dec 16, 2020

The past eight or so months have been profoundly difficult for musicians. With touring ground to a halt and streaming services offering fractions of cents, livelihoods have been utterly upended for countless artists. Since March, however, Bandcamp has been a rare beacon for many musicians. On the first Friday of every month, the service has […]

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Among Us launches on the Nintendo Switch Dec 16, 2020

Surprise! Among Us is now available on the Nintendo Switch for $5.00. The Switch version features cross-platform play allowing PC, mobile, and Switch players to play a game together. The hit game just launched on the gaming platform after becoming a surprise hit during the Covid-19 pandemic. Originally launched in 2018, the game found an […]

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Amazon Fashion launches a custom clothing service, Made for You Dec 15, 2020

Amazon today is launching a way for customers to create custom clothing with a new service called Made for You, which lets shoppers create a custom T-shirt to their exact measurements. But unlike some companies that use mobile technology to scan and measure your body from an app, Amazon Fashion’s Made for You service requires […]

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Atlanta-based gaming controller peripheral seller KontrolFreek has been bought by SteelSeries Dec 15, 2020

After nearly a decade selling gaming and console peripherals to gamers looking to spice up their systems, Atlanta-based KontrolFreek has been acquired by the international peripherals retailer, SteelSeries. Terms of the acquisition were undisclosed, but KontrolFreek has shipped over 2 million units of its flagship product, which is available in over 9,000 retailers in 60 […]

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Amazon’s body-scanning Halo fitness band is now available to everyone in the US Dec 14, 2020

Given all of the…feedback Amazon has received, it’s hard to believe the Halo wasn’t widely available until today. Announced in late-August, the product has been offered in “early access” to invited users. That changes today, however, as the product opens to everyone in the U.S. The band runs $100, a price that includes six months […]

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Google will let you turn off YouTube ads for alcohol and gambling Dec 14, 2020

If you’ve ever had a Father’s Day ad offering great deals for your dead dad sail into your inbox, you know that online advertising can be disturbing sometimes. Children’s gifts for people struggling to get pregnant, pet toys for your deceased doggo, the list goes on. Google is taking a small but helpful step to […]

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Hyundai buys controlling interest in Boston Dynamics Dec 11, 2020

It’s official. Boston Dynamics is becoming part of the Hyundai family (pending regulatory approval, naturally). The Waltham, Massachusetts-based robot maker confirmed that the South Korean technology company is acquiring controlling interest in a press release today. The deal, which values the company at $1.1 billion, gives Hyundai Motor Group an 80% stake, with SoftBank controlling […]

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This is not a review of Apple’s new AirPod Max headphones Dec 11, 2020

I’ve had Apple’s AirPod Max headphones for less than 24 hours, so there is no way I would attempt to write a review of any sort. But I do have some of those oh so popular these days “first impressions” to share. Mostly on build quality, but I’ll throw a few first listen thoughts at […]

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App stores to see 130 billion downloads in 2020 and record consumer spend of $112 billion Dec 10, 2020

Consumers will have downloaded 130 billion apps in 2020 across iOS and Google Play, up 10% year-over-year, according to mobile data and analytics firm App Annie’s year-end forecast. Consumer spending across the two app stores will also grow by 25% year-over-year to reach $112 billion by year end, the firm also predicts. Typically, much of […]

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DoorDash, C3.ai skyrocket in public market debuts Dec 10, 2020

Haters gonna hate, IPOs gonna pop. That’s the story today as richly valued DoorDash and C3.ai, two American technology unicorns, saw their values skyrocket after they began trading today. DoorDash shares are up just under 83% to $186.51. The company priced its IPO at $102 per share last night, ahead of its raised IPO range […]

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Twitter users complain of timelines being overrun with ‘Promoted Tweets’ Dec 09, 2020

Twitter’s timeline is currently overrun with ads for some users, in what appears to be a glitch involving the distribution of Promoted Tweets. Typically, a Promoted Tweet — which is just a regular tweet an advertiser has paid to promote more broadly — will appear just once at the top of a user’s timeline, then […]

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Apple announces $549 over-ear headphones, the AirPods Max Dec 09, 2020

The AirPods Max are joining the AirPods and AirPods Pro in Apple’s audio accessory lineup. As you can see on the photo, Apple is releasing its first over-ear headphones under the AirPods brand. The wireless headphones feature active noise cancellation and cost $549. With this product, Apple competes directly with Sony’s and Bose’s wireless headphones […]

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Luko raises $60 million for its home insurance products Dec 08, 2020

French startup Luko has raised a $60 million Series B funding round (€50 million). The round is led by EQT Ventures, with existing investors Accel, Founders Fund and Speedinvest also participating. Some angel investors with a background in insurance and technology are also investing in the startup, such as Assaf Wand, the co-founder of Hippo […]

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Gillmor Gang: HBO Plus Dec 08, 2020

With one fell swoop, WarnerMedia eradicated the status quo in Hollywood, turning its 2021 feature film schedule on its head. Well, not quite. By moving 2021’s theatrical releases to both physical and digital theaters, the AT&T affiliate gave us a reason to sign up for its HBOMax streaming service. With a simultaneous window of one […]

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Apple reportedly testing Intel-beating high core count Apple Silicon chips for high-end Macs Dec 07, 2020

Apple is reportedly developing a number of Apple Silicon chip variants with significantly higher core counts relative to the M1 chips that it uses in today’s MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac mini computers based on its own ARM processor designs. According to Bloomberg, the new chips include designs that have 16 power cores and […]

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Google shutting down Poly 3D content platform Dec 07, 2020

Google is almost running out of AR/VR projects to kill off. The company announced today in an email to Poly users that they will be shutting 3D-object creation and library platform “forever” next year. The service will shut down on June 30, 2021 and users won’t be able to upload 3D models to the site […]

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WH’s AI EO is BS Dec 04, 2020

An Executive Order was just issued from the White House regarding “the Use of Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence in Government.” Leaving aside the meritless presumption of the government’s own trustworthiness and that it is the software that has trust issues, the order is almost entirely hot air. The EO is like others in that it is […]

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Twitter finally shuts down its abandoned prototype app twttr Dec 04, 2020

Twitter is shutting down its experimental app twttr, which the company had used publicly prototype new features back in 2019. The app was first introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2019, then launched to testers that March. Its primary focus had been on trying out new designs for threaded conversations, including things like […]

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Salesforce beats growth expectations, as investors digest the Slack acquisition Dec 03, 2020

Today after the bell, Salesforce reported its third-quarter earnings for its fiscal 2021, a period that ended October 31, 2020. The CRM giant reported top-line revenue of $5.42 billion, up 20% from the year-ago period. Salesforce also had net income of $1.08 billion and earnings per share of $1.15. Analysts had expected the company to […]

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The UK approves the BioNTech/Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use Dec 02, 2020

The UK’s medicines regulator has approved the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine againstÂ COVID-19 for emergency use, the companies said today. The UK is the first country to approve the vaccine for widespread use — paving the way for some of the most “high risk” citizens, such as elderly care home residents, to get the jab before the end […]

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Gift Guide: Camping and backpacking gear that the outdoors lover in your life really wants Dec 02, 2020

Whether it’s a fun day hike, a car camping excursion or a multi-day backcountry backpacking trip, there’s plenty of great camping and hiking gear that can make life easier for the outdoors person (without going overboard).

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EV bus and truck maker The Lion Electric to take SPAC route to public markets Dec 01, 2020

Canadian electric truck and bus manufacturer The Lion Electric Company said Monday it plans to become a publicly traded company via a merger with special-purpose acquisition company Northern Genesis Acquisition Corp. The combined company, which will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, will have a valuation of $1.9 billion. The companies raised $200 […]

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Raspberry Pi Foundation releases case fan to prevent overheating Dec 01, 2020

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has released a new product today. It’s a tiny $5 fan combined with a small heatsink for the Raspberry Pi 4. It works with the official case, below the top cover. That accessory should prevent the Raspberry Pi from overheating. If you’re not familiar with the Raspberry Pi, it’s a cheap, […]

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Moderna claims 94% efficacy for COVID-19 vaccine, will ask FDA for emergency use authorization today Nov 30, 2020

Drugmaker Moderna has completed its initial efficacy analysis of its COVID-19 vaccine from the drug’s Phase 3 clinical study, and determined that it was 94.1% effective in preventing people from contracting COVID-19 across 196 confirmed cases from among 30,000 participants in the study. Moderna also found that it was 100% effective in preventing severe cases […]

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Amazon Web Services outage takes a portion of the internet down with it Nov 30, 2020

Amazon Web Services is currently having an outage, taking a chunk of the internet down with it. Several AWS services were experiencing problems as of early Wednesday, according to its status page. That means any app, site or service that relies on AWS might also be down, too. (As I found out the hard way […]

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Facebook’s latest ad tool fail puts another dent in its reputation Nov 27, 2020

Reset yer counters: Facebook has had to ‘fess up to yet another major ad reporting fail. This one looks like it could be costly for the tech giant to put right — not least because it’s another dent in its reputation for self reporting. (For past Facebook ad metric errors check out our reports from […]

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Gift Guide: Which next-gen console is the one your kid wants? Nov 27, 2020

This holiday season the next generation of gamers, bless their hearts, will be hoping to receive the next generation of gaming consoles. But confusing branding by the console makers — not to mention a major shortage of consoles — could lead to disappointment during the unwrapping process. Before making any big promises this year, you’ll […]

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France starts collecting tax on tech giants Nov 26, 2020

France is going forward with its plan to tax big tech companies. The government has sent out notices to tech giants, as reported by the Financial Times, Reuters and AFP. There could be retaliation tariffs on French goods in the U.S. For the past couple of years, France’s Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire has been […]

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Netflix removes ‘Chappelle’s Show’ at Dave Chappelle’s request Nov 25, 2020

Netflix started streaming “Chappelle’s Show” at the beginning of November — but barely more than three weeks later, it has taken the Comedy Central sketch show off its service. Co-creator Dave Chappelle offered some context for the decision in an Instagram clip of what appears to be a recent standup set, in which described any […]

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Gift Guide: 7 great gifts for anyone working from home Nov 25, 2020

Let’s just get this out of the way: for the past several years, I’ve contributed the “Best Gifts for Frequent Travelers” segment to TechCrunch’s annual gift guide. I love it. It was easily my favorite gift guide to write, and it was an audience favorite, as well. But I am no longer a frequent traveler. […]

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Biden-Harris team finally get their transition .gov domain Nov 24, 2020

Finally. It only took almost three weeks, but the Biden-Harris transition has officially begun. On Monday, the General Services Administration gave the green light for the Biden-Harris team to transition from political campaign to government administration, allowing the team to receive government resources like office space, but also classified briefings and secure computers. And, with […]

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After Apple’s M1 launch, Intel announces its own white-label laptop Nov 24, 2020

Its long fruitful relationship with Apple may be sunsetting soon, but Intel’s still got a fairly massive footprint in the PC market. There’s never a good time to get complacent, though (a lesson the company learned the hard way on the mobile front). This week the chip giant is debuting its own laptop, the NUC […]

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A bug meant Twitter Fleets could still be seen after they disappear Nov 23, 2020

Twitter is the latest social media site to allow users to experiment with posting disappearing content. Fleets, as Twitter calls them, allows its mobile users post short stories, like photos or videos with overlaying text, that are set to vanish after 24 hours. But a bug meant that fleets weren’t deleting properly and could still […]

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Charge’s City is an e-bike for everyone Nov 23, 2020

Charge Bikes founder Nick Larsen and VP of product Peter Vallance wanted to reduce the pain points of buying and owning an electric bike to attract everyday folks and cycling enthusiasts alike. The company offers three models: the Comfort for weekend leisure rides, the City for commuters and the XC for off-road enthusiasts. I got […]

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Thank you, Chrome team Nov 20, 2020

Since Chrome came out back in 2008, it’s been a constant companion in my life. In fact, Chrome’s launch is how I helped get the startup I worked for at the time onto TechCrunch for the first time. We did shots to celebrate. Chrome rocked, and we were Day One Fans. But over time what […]

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Microsoft brings new shopping tools to its Edge browser Nov 20, 2020

Microsoft announced a few updates to its Edge browser today that are all about shopping. In addition to expanding the price comparison feature the team announced last month, Edge can now also automatically find coupons for you. In addition, the company is launching a new shopping hub in its Bing search engine. The timing here […]

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Google Pay gets a major redesign with a new emphasis on personal finance Nov 19, 2020

Google is launching a major redesign of its Google Pay app on both Android and iOS today. Like similar phone-based contactless payment services, Google Pay — or Android Pay as it was known then — started out as a basic replacement for your credit card. Over time, the company added a few more features on […]

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Yubo could be the next big social app as it raises $47.5 million Nov 19, 2020

French startup Yubo is the biggest social media app you’ve never heard of — unless you’re a teen. With a focus on young people under 25, the company has managed to attract 40 million users. A fraction of them hang out every day in live-streaming rooms, meet new people and spend money for more features. […]

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Musicians get the bulk of ticket sales with Bandcamp’s new live-streaming concert feature Nov 18, 2020

The musician’s life is rarely an easy one. That goes double for these last, oh, eight or so months. Most artists who haven’t risen the ranks to rock-star levels make the lion’s share of their money from live shows, and that’s just not in the cards for now — and likely won’t be for some […]

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Twitter’s new Stories feature ‘Fleets’ is struggling under the load Nov 18, 2020

Twitter’s new Stories feature, “Fleets,” appears to be struggling under the load. Launched this morning to Twitter’s global user base, Fleets appear at the top of the Twitter app, allowing users to post ephemeral content that disappears in 24 hours as well as view stories posted by others. But user demand and curiosity about the […]

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Apple responds to Gatekeeper issue with upcoming fixes Nov 17, 2020

Apple has updated a documentation page detailing the company’s next steps to prevent last week’s Gatekeeper bug from happening again, as Rene Ritchie spotted. The company plans to implement the fixes over the next year. Apple had a difficult launch day last week. The company released macOS Big Sur, a major update for macOS. Apple […]

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Animal Jam was hacked, and data stolen. Here’s what parents need to know Nov 17, 2020

WildWorks, the gaming company that makes the popular kids game Animal Jam, has confirmed a data breach. Animal Jam is one of the most popular games for kids, ranking in the top five games in the 9-11 age category in Apple’s App Store in the U.S., according to data provided by App Annie. But while […]

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Nintendo’s Switch dominates US console sales ahead of PlayStation/Xbox launches Nov 16, 2020

Another banner month month for Nintendo hardware sales, per the latest figures from NPD. The firm puts Switch sales (including the standard and Lite models) at 735,000 units in the U.S., making the best October for a Nintendo console since the Wii sold 807,000 units in October 2008. It’s been a good couple of years […]

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Using the GoPro Hero 9 Black and Zeus Mini to improve my manual driving skills Nov 16, 2020

There are plenty of reviews out there for the Hero 9 already, so I wanted to do something a little different. I decided to put GoPro’s latest to the test while hugging turns in my 1970 Chevelle. I recently swapped the automatic transmission in it for a Tremec Magnum 6-speed manual in order to do […]

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Calling Dublin VCs: Be featured in The Great TechCrunch Survey of European VC Nov 13, 2020

TechCrunch is embarking on a major new project to survey the venture capital investors of Europe, and their cities. Our survey of VCs in Dublin will capture how the city is faring, and what changes are being wrought amongst investors by the coronavirus pandemic. (Please note, if you have filled the survey out already, […]

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Twitter brings its Stories feature, Fleets, to Japan Nov 12, 2020

Twitter’s own version of Stories, which it calls “Fleets,” have arrived in Japan. The new feature allows users to post ephemeral content that automatically disappears after 24 hours. Though Fleets previously launched in Brazil, India, Italy, and South Korea, Japan is notably Twitter’s second largest market, with some estimated 51.9 million users. It’s also second […]

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Google cuts back on free storage to push users to paid plans Nov 12, 2020

Come June 1, 2021, Google will change its storage policies for free accounts — and not for the better. Basically, if you’re on a free account and a semi-regular Google Photos user, get ready to pay up next year and subscribe to Google One. Currently, every free Google Account comes with 15 GB of online […]

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SentinelOne, an AI-based endpoint security firm, confirms $267M raise on a $3.1B valuation Nov 11, 2020

This year, more than ever before because of the Covid-19 pandemic, huge droves of workers and consumers have been turning to the internet to communicate, get things done, and entertain themselves. That has created a huge bonanza for cybercriminals, but also companies that are building tools to combat them. In the latest development, an Israel-hatched, […]

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Apple updates Mac Mini with Apple-designed M1 chip Nov 11, 2020

In addition to the MacBook Air, Apple also introduced a new Mac Mini. It runs Apple’s first custom chipset specifically designed for Mac computers, the M1. It still features the same familiar design, but it now uses an Arm-based chip. “If you compare a Mac mini to the top-selling desktop in this price range, the […]

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Beyond Meat earnings miss big on declining food service and consumer demand Nov 10, 2020

Beyond Meat’s partnership with McDonald’s to develop the McPlant burger wasn’t enough to keep shares from collapsing after the company posted third-quarter earnings that fell far below analysts’ expectations. The big miss sent shares tumbling nearly 29% in after markets closed Monday after reporting it generated $94.4 million in revenues and a loss of 28 […]

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What we expect from Apple’s ‘One More Thing’ Mac event Nov 10, 2020

Macs. Okay, great. We’re done here.

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Tim Berners Lee’s startup Inrupt releases Solid privacy platform for enterprises Nov 09, 2020

Inrupt, the startup from World Wide Web founder Tim Berners-Lee, announced an enterprise version of the Solid privacy platform today, which allows large organizations and governments to build applications that put users in control of their data. Berners-Lee has always believed that the web should be free and open, but large organizations have grown up […]

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Hands-on with Mophie’s new modular smartphone battery case Nov 09, 2020

There was some confusion when the Juice Pack Connect was announced last week. I admit I was a bit confused, too. It was, no doubt, the proximity to Apple’s iPhone 12 launch that lead many to (understandably) assume that the new take on Mophie’s case is based on the handset’s new MagSafe tech. While it […]

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DOJ says it seized over $1 billion in bitcoin from the Silk Road drugs marketplace Nov 06, 2020

Two days ago, about $1 billion worth of bitcoin that had sat dormant since the seizure of the Silk Road marketplace in 2013, one of the biggest underground drug websites on the dark web, suddenly changed hands. Who took it? Mystery over. It was the U.S. government. In a statement Thursday, the Justice Department confirmed […]

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The $900 tCentric Hybrid chair is a solid Aeron alternative Nov 06, 2020

Let’s get this out of the way: The Aeron is better. But not much, and that’s the story here. The tCentric Hybrid starts at $900 and offers serious comfort and support for the tireless worker. There are endless adjustment levers, knobs, and options. The chair is available for ordering with a bevy of accessories and […]

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Vivid Money raises $17.6 million for its European challenger bank Nov 05, 2020

German fintech startup Vivid Money has raised a $17.6 million Series A funding round (€15 million). Ribbit Capital is leading the investment. Today’s funding round gives Vivid Money a valuation of $117 million (€100 million). Vivid Money is quite a young startup as the company started accepting customers just a few months ago. Built on […]

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NBC News launches an iOS 14 widget that puts election results on your home screen Nov 05, 2020

NBC News has updated its iOS app with a new feature that brings election news, data and results directly to your iPhone or iPad home screen. With the app’s new “Decision 2020” iOS 14 widget, you can customize a series of widgets with information related to early voting stats, polls, as well as the current […]

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Insight Partners, Precursor Ventures join Hustle Fund in raising new fund money Nov 04, 2020

Even as the country is in the final days of a polarizing election, the cogs of VC never stop turning. On this ever-so-quiet, non-election-news Tuesday, venture firms still managed to file paperwork with the SEC indicating newly raised funds. Precursor Ventures and Insight Partners will join Hustle Fund in closing new capital. The filings are […]

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PayPal details its digital wallet plans for 2021, including crypto, Honey integration and more Nov 04, 2020

PayPal this week laid out its vision for the future of its digital wallet platform and its PayPal and Venmo apps. During its third-quarter earnings on Monday, the company said it plans to roll out substantial changes to its mobile apps over the next year to integrate a range of new features including enhanced direct […]

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Twitter hides Trump tweet attacking Supreme Court’s decision on Pennsylvania ballots Nov 03, 2020

In an election eve preview of what to expect in the coming days, President Trump pushed the limits on Twitter’s election-specific policies Monday night. In a tweet, Trump railed against the Supreme Court’s decision to allow Pennsylvania officials to count ballots postmarked by Election Day. The Republican party has waged a brazen legal onslaught against […]

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Walmart reportedly ends contract with inventory robotics startup Bossa Nova Nov 03, 2020

Robotics and automation startups have seen a strong uptick in interest over the course of the pandemic. And it’s easy to see which companies have a newfound interest in automating their workforce amid a seemingly endless virus-driven shutdown. But Walmart, which has long promised to take an increasing focus on such technology, has reportedly pulled […]

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Tencent claims record 100M daily users on mobile game Honor of Kings Nov 02, 2020

At its five-year anniversary gala graced by celebrities, esports stars and orchestras, Tencent’s mobile game Honor of Kings said it has crossed 100 million daily active users. The title has not only broken user records but generated other unprecedented accomplishments along the way. For one, it consistently ranks among the top-grossing mobile games worldwide, jostling […]

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Wyze launches version 3 of its $20 security camera Nov 02, 2020

Wyze first made a name for itself when it launched its $20 indoor security camera a few years ago. Since then, the company branched out into other smart home products, ranging from doorbells to scales. Today, it’s going back to its origins with the launch of the Wyze Cam V3, the third generation of its […]

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Qualtrics CEO Ryan Smith is buying majority stake in the Utah Jazz for $1.6B Oct 30, 2020

The Utah Jazz, an NBA basketball team based in Salt Lake City, announced today that Qualitrics CEO and co-founder Ryan Smith was buying a majority stake in the team along other properties. ESPN is reporting the deal is worth $1.6 billion. Smith can afford it. He sold Qualtrics, which is based in Provo, Utah, in […]

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Qualtrics CEO Ryan Smith is buying majority stake in the Utah Jazz for $1.6B Oct 30, 2020

The Utah Jazz, an NBA basketball team based in Salt Lake City, announced today that Qualitrics CEO and co-founder Ryan Smith was buying a majority stake in the team along other properties. ESPN is reporting the deal is worth $1.6 billion. Smith can afford it. He sold Qualtrics, which is based in Provo, Utah, in […]

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Commissary Club wants to help formerly incarcerated people find community Oct 30, 2020

Y Combinator-backed employment platform 70 Million Jobs is launching a new social network geared toward helping formerly incarcerated individuals connect with each other. While 70 Million Jobs focuses on helping people with criminal records find jobs, Commissary Club wants to serve as a place for folks to find community. “Folks with [criminal] records have always, […]

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Juganu begins selling its tunable lighting system for pathogen disinfection and deactivation in the US Oct 29, 2020

Juganu, the venture-backed Israeli company that makes lighting systems capable of emitting light at specified wavelengths, is now selling a product that it claims can disinfect surfaces and deactivate pathogens in an attempt to provide buildings with new safety technologies that can prevent the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The company claims that […]

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Coinbase to launch debit card in the US with rewards program Oct 29, 2020

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is launching a debit card in the U.S. this winter. Customers can join the waitlist and get the Coinbase Card whenever it is available. Coinbase already launched the Coinbase Card in the U.K. and Europe. The Coinbase Card is a Visa debit card that works with any Visa-compatible payment terminal, online checkout […]

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T-Mobile launches new TVision streaming bundles, pricing starts at $10 per month Oct 28, 2020

T-Mobile is launching new skinny bundles of live TV and streaming services to compete with expensive cable subscriptions. The carrier has already been moving into the TV market with the acquisition of Layer3 and the subsequent launch of TVision Home last year. However, that was closer to traditional cable, with a price tag starting at […]

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Instagram extends time limits on live streams to 4 hours, will soon support archiving Oct 28, 2020

Instagram is adapting to the way creators have been using its service during the coronavirus pandemic. With individuals and businesses now limited from hosting in-person events — like concerts, classes, meetups, and more — users have turned to Instagram to live stream instead. Today, the company says it’s significantly expanding the time limit for these […]

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Gillmor Gang: Unsuppressed Oct 27, 2020

Not just the future of civilization is up for grabs this November. In this age of mobile social computing, we’re figuring out how to vote, entertain, teach, learn, and commit to meaningful change. Thanks to the pandemic emergency, our plans for transforming our country and planet are subject to immediate recall. Much of the current […]

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Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit gets unofficial remote play on Surrogate.tv Oct 27, 2020

Readers of a certain age will no doubt remember some region variation of TV Powww. The syndicated program, which found viewers at home giving directions over the phone to an in-studio operating playing an IntellivisionÂ game. Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit review Perhaps the best-known variant is New York’s TV PIXXX, wherein the player would say […]

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Dropbox begins shift to high efficiency Western Digital Shingled Magnetic Recording disks Oct 26, 2020

Last year, Dropbox talked about making a shift to Shingled Magnetic Recording or SMR disks for short because of the efficiency they can give a high volume storage platform like theirs. Today, Western Digital announced that Dropbox was one of the first companies to qualify their Ultrastar® DC HC650 20TB, host-managed SMR hard disks. Dropbox’s […]

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Calling Brussels VCs: Be featured in The Great TechCrunch Survey of European VC Oct 26, 2020

TechCrunch is embarking on a major new project to survey the venture capital investors of Europe, and their cities. Our survey of VCs in Brussels will capture how the city is faring, and what changes are being wrought amongst investors by the coronavirus pandemic. (Please note, if you have filled the survey out already, […]

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Lyft will soon let riders pay for rides with Venmo Oct 23, 2020

Lyft riders will soon have the option for paying and splitting fares using Venmo, the company said in a blog posting this morning. Venmo joins Lyft’s other payment methods of PayPal, credit cards, debit cards, Lyft Cash and more. To enable the payment method, users need to authorize Venmo in the Lyft app. Lyft says […]

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‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ is now an Apple TV+ exclusive Oct 23, 2020

On first screening, the network assumed it had a disaster on its hands. It was a quiet cartoon — more of a meditation on seasonal depression than a proper holiday film. The pacing was slow, it was voiced by a cast of amateur children and the soundtrack amounted to little more than the jazz piano […]

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PayPal to let you buy and sell cryptocurrencies in the US Oct 22, 2020

PayPal has partnered with cryptocurrency company Paxos to launch a new service. PayPal users in the U.S. will soon be able to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies. More countries are coming soon. PayPal plans to support Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin at first. You’ll be able to connect to your PayPal account to buy […]

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AOC’s Among Us stream topped 435,000 concurrent viewers Oct 22, 2020

Last night, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez went live on Twitch to stream Among Us with a handful of superstar streamers. The purpose of the stream, which drew a massive crowd, was to get out the vote as we head into the general election. At its peak, the stream drew a concurrent viewership of 435,000+ people, and […]

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The Polaris Slingshot R is a 3-wheel pocket rocket begging for electrification Oct 21, 2020

The Polaris Slingshot has always wowed. Three wheels, open cockpit, and a design reminiscent of the Batmobile. It draws a crowd and is a blast to drive. I spent several weeks in the reworked Polaris Slingshot. The company just unveiled a new version that is finally available with an automatic transmission. Past versions were limited […]

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French TV networks team up to launch streaming service Salto Oct 21, 2020

There’s a new streaming service in France called Salto. The companies behind the new service have been around for a while though. Salto is a joint initiative between TF1, France Télévisions and M6 — three major TV networks. Those companies already had their own apps with live TV and ad-supported catch-up content. And of course, […]

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Amazon Echo Dot with Clock review: A mostly aesthetic update Oct 20, 2020

It’s been a busy few weeks for smart speakers. Amazon kicked things off in late September with newer, rounder versions of both the Echo and Echo Dot. Less than a week later, Google updated the Home, after four years, with the rebranded Nest Audio. And then, last week, Apple unveiled the long-awaited $99 HomePod Mini, […]

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Lockheed picks Relativity’s 3D-printed rocket for experimental NASA mission Oct 20, 2020

Relativity Space has bagged its first public government contract, and with a major defense contractor at that. The launch startup’s 3D-printed rockets are a great match for a particularly complex mission Lockheed is undertaking for NASA’s Tipping Point program. The mission is a test of a dozen different cryogenic fluid management systems, including liquid hydrogen, […]

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Google Assistant, Maps, and Search can now help you figure out where to vote Oct 19, 2020

Election Day approaches! Still not sure where the nearest polling place or ballot drop box is? Google wants to help. This morning the company rolled out a handful of features across Google Assistant, Google Maps, and Google Search, all meant to kick in when a user seems to be looking for information on voting locations. […]

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Microsoft reverse engineers a budget computer with the Surface Laptop Go Oct 19, 2020

The Surface Laptop Go joined me in the woods last week. It lived in my backpack for a few days and came along for a 20-mile hike through footpaths and across bridges of questionable integrity. It is, without a doubt, light. It’s certainly lighter than the MacBook Air I also packed for the trip, at […]

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Twitter changes its hacked materials policy in wake of New York Post controversy Oct 16, 2020

Twitter has announced an update to its hacked materials policy — saying it will no longer remove hacked content unless it’s directly shared by hackers or those “acting in concert with them”. Instead of blocking such content/links from being shared on its service it says it will label tweets to “provide context”. Wider Twitter rules […]

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With ‘absurd’ timing, FCC announces intention to revisit Section 230 Oct 16, 2020

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has announced his intention to pursue a reform of Section 230 of the Communications Act, which among other things limits the liability of internet platforms for content they host. Commissioner Rosenworcel described the timing — immediately after Conservative outrage at Twitter and Facebook limiting the reach of an article relating to […]

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Alibaba-affiliated marketplace to leave Taiwan, again Oct 15, 2020

Separated by a strait, the internet in Taiwan and mainland China are two different worlds. Even mainland tech giants Alibaba and Tencent have had little success entering the island, often running into regulatory hurdles. Less than a year after Taobao launched on the island through an Alibaba-backed joint venture, the marketplace announced it will cease […]

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Elon Musks tweets the Model S will be priced at $69,420 because he’s a child Oct 15, 2020

The Tesla Model S is about to get a bit less expensive. Tesla CEO and resident meme maker, Elon Musk, just tweeted that the Model S sedan will soon be priced at $69,420. This pricing wasn’t done on a whim and a joint. The price cut is likely in response to Lucid undercutting Tesla on […]

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Lab-grown meat project gets first taste of EU public funds Oct 14, 2020

A cultured meat research program led by a Spanish biotech firm has been awarded a €2.7M grant under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 R&D funding framework. The consortium project, called ‘Meat4All’, says it’s the first lab-grown meat research effort to get public investment by the EU — which it’s taking as a sign that regional […]

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Beats announces $50 Bluetooth earbuds Oct 14, 2020

Apple clearly has plenty to announce during today’s big iPhone event. That means, as usual, its Beats line didn’t really get any love. The company is much more content to focus on its own audio offerings, instead. But the Apple-owned brand had some news to share today, as well. In contrast to Apple’s offerings, the […]

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Alphabet’s latest moonshot is a field-roving, plant-inspecting robo-buggy Oct 13, 2020

Alphabet (you know… Google) has taken the wraps off the latest “moonshot” from its X labs: A robotic buggy that cruises over crops, inspecting each plant individually and, perhaps, generating the kind of “big data” that agriculture needs to keep up with the demands of a hungry world. Mineral is the name of the project, […]

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eBay takes a bite at StockX and GOAT with sneaker authentication for sales $100+ in the U.S. Oct 13, 2020

eBay is announcing today that it’s going to start authenticating sneaker sales over $100 in the U.S. This is a clear bite into the dominance of StockX and GOAT in the limited sneaker universe. The authentication will be done by Sneaker Con, the company that runs, well, Sneaker Con. Founded by Yu-Ming Wu and Hayden […]

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Changing how retweets work, Twitter seeks to slow down election misinformation Oct 12, 2020

Twitter announced a major set of changes to the way its platform would work Friday as the social network braces for the most contentious, uncertain and potentially high stakes election in modern U.S. history. In what will likely be the most noticeable change, Twitter will try a new tactic to discourage users from retweeting posts […]

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Devialet announces wireless earbuds Oct 12, 2020

High-end speaker manufacturer Devialet is launching its first pair of earbuds called Devialet Gemini. The in-ear earbuds feature active noise canceling and cost £279 in the U.K. — they will be available in the coming weeks. The Devialet Gemini are completely wireless, which means that there’s no cord between each earbud, like on Apple’s AirPods. […]

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These tiny sensors can hitch a ride on mothback Oct 09, 2020

Everyone is familiar with carrier pigeons, but what about carrier moths? This research project uses the nocturnal insects as a delivery service for tiny electronic packages that weigh less than a hundredth of an ounce. The system was created by graduate students at the University of Washington and its prolific tiny gadget creator Shyam Gollakota. […]

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Apple is extending some AppleTV+ subs through February 2021 for free Oct 09, 2020

Apple told me today that it will be extending AppleTV+ subscriptions that are set to end November 1, 2020 through January 31, 2021 through their billing date in February of 2021. The basic situation is that Apple gave away a free year of AppleTV+ to new device purchasers last year and those are all set […]

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Kroger, one of America’s largest grocery chains, experiments with ghost kitchens and delivery in the Midwest Oct 08, 2020

The Kroger Co., one of the biggest grocery chains in the Midwest is dipping its toe into on-demand delivery and the ghost kitchen craze through a partnership with an Indianapolis-based startup, ClusterTruck. Supermarkets would seem to be logical places to site the kinds of ghost kitchens that have caught investor’s eye over the past few […]

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Former Apple engineer and autocorrect creator builds his first app, a word game called Up Spell Oct 08, 2020

Former Apple software engineer and designer Ken Kocienda, whose work included the original iPhone and the development of touchscreen autocorrect, has created his first iOS app, Up Spell. The fast-paced, fun word game challenges users to spell all the words you can in two minutes and uses a lexicon of words Kocienda built to allow […]

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Bespoken Spirits raises $2.6M in seed funding to combine machine learning and accelerated whiskey aging Oct 07, 2020

Bespoken Spirits, a Silicon Valley spirits company that has developed a new data-driven process to accelerate the aging of whiskey and create specific flavors, today announced that it has raised a $2.6 million seed funding round. Investors include Clos de la Tech owner T.J. Rodgers and baseball’s Derek Jeter. The company was co-founded by former […]

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Twitter tests a new way to find accounts to follow Oct 07, 2020

Twitter is testing a new way to follow accounts. The company announced today it’s rolling out a new feature, “Suggested Follows,” that will pop up a list of other accounts you may want to follow on the profile page of someone you had just followed. The feature will be tested on Android devices, for the […]

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Spotify’s new Soundtrap capture app offers collaborative voice notes for songwriters Oct 06, 2020

Acquired in 2017, Soundtrap more or less serves a similar role as Anchor under the larger Spotify banner — albeit largely focused on music creation, instead of podcasting. The company’s software of the same name is a cloud-based service designed to let musicians remotely collaborate on a song, track by track. It is, honestly, a […]

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Google teams up with Samsonite to launch a Jacquard smart fabric-enabled backpack Oct 06, 2020

It has been over four years since Project Jacquard, Google’s smart fabric technology, made its debut at the I/O developer conference. Launched out of what was then Google’s ATAP unit, Jacquard is currently best known for being available on Levi’s jeans jackets, but Saint Laurent also launched its $1,000 Cit-e Backpack with built-in Jacquard technology. […]

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Lime and Scoot veterans have built Ridepanda, a one-stop micromobility marketplace Oct 05, 2020

Chinmay Malaviya and Charlie Depman found themselves at the center of the shared micromobility industry just as it took off, working for companies like Bird, Lime and Scoot. They experienced a rollercoaster ride of venture funding and skyrocketing demand, product pitfalls and regulatory hurdles. It was in the midst of this activity that the pair […]

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Plaid improves its account linking flow Oct 05, 2020

Plaid, the company building a universal banking API that lets you connect an app or service with a bank account, has updated Plaid Link. Plaid Link is the interface that you see when you add your bank account to any app or service that uses Plaid, such as Cash App or TransferWise. Given that 3,000 […]

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Nintendo’s new RC Mario Kart looks terrific Oct 02, 2020

In a year, Nintendo would have demoed, in person, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit. The company would have invited select members of the press into some rented event space and let us experience the game first-hand, like it had with Labo and Ring Fit Adventures. It’s 2020, however, and that’s just not how we do […]

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Oracle’s TikTok and Zoom deals won’t move cloud market share needle significantly Oct 02, 2020

While the overall cloud infrastructure market is booming having reached $30 billion last quarter worldwide, Oracle is struggling with market share in the low single digits. It is hoping that the Zoom and TikTok deals can jump start those numbers, but trying to catch the market leaders Amazon, Microsoft and Google, never mind several other […]

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Google to pay out $1B to publishers to license content for new Google News Showcase Oct 01, 2020

Google has long had a frenemy position with regards to the world of news: it can direct a lot of traffic to online publishers, but that’s only if people bother to click on links after getting the gist of the story from Google itself (and that’s before considering Google’s AMP approach on mobile that keeps […]

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How Twilio built its own conference platform Oct 01, 2020

Twilio’s annual customer conference was supposed to happen in May, but like everyone else who had live events scheduled for this year, it ran smack-dab into COVID-19 and was forced to cancel. That left the company wondering how to reimagine the event online. It began an RFP process to find a vendor to help, but […]

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iRobot cofounder Helen Greiner named CEO of robotic gardening startup, Tertill Sep 30, 2020

Boston-based robotic gardening startup Tertill this morning announced that it has appointed Helen Greiner as CEO and Chairman. The executive is best known for cofounding iRobot in 1990 along with fellow MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab members Rodney Brooks and Colin Angle (the company’s longtime CEO). At first glance, Tertill is a pretty natural fit for […]

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Greylock is trying to diversify tech’s wealth cycle Sep 30, 2020

Greylock Partners has teamed up with Management Leadership for Tomorrow to address issues of diversity and inclusion in the technology industry. “Our view is this has to be a comprehensive approach,” MLT Founder and CEO John Rice told TechCrunch. “This is not just a coding program, mentor program, fellowship program. There are plenty of great […]

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Grammarly launches new features to improve your business writing Sep 29, 2020

Grammarly, the popular spelling and grammar checker, is launching a few new features for its paying users today that go beyond some of its traditional tools to help its users make their overall writing not just technically correct but also more legible. That means the service can now help you restructure sentences for clarity, help […]

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Calling VCs in Rome and Milan: Be featured in The Great TechCrunch Survey of European VC Sep 29, 2020

TechCrunch is embarking on a major new project to survey the venture capital investors of Europe, and their cities. Our survey of VCs in Rome and Milan will capture how the cities are faring, and what changes are being wrought amongst investors by the coronavirus pandemic. (Please note, if you have filled the survey […]

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Trump administration’s TikTok ban has been delayed, court rules Sep 28, 2020

A U.S. federal court has said a ban on TikTok will not go into effectÂ on Monday as scheduled. The move to delay the anticipated ban will allow Americans to continue using the app while the court considers the ban’s legality and whether the app poses a risk to national security as the Trump administration claims. […]

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Amazon redesigns the Echo line with spherical speakers and swiveling screens Sep 28, 2020

Amazon today announced a lot of new products including the new Echo speaker line. And the products looks dramatically different. Gone are the cylinders. They’re spheres now and look like nothing else on the market. The lights are now on the bottom, while there are still rounded buttons on the top. The Alexa software got […]

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Apple is (temporarily) waiving its App Store fee for Facebook’s online events Sep 25, 2020

Last month, Facebook introduced support for paid online events — and since many of the businesses offering those events have struggled during the coronavirus pandemic, the company also said it would not collect fees for the next year. At the same time, it complained that Apple had “dismissed” its requests to waive the App Store’s […]

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Twitter plans to bring prompts to ‘read before you retweet’ to all Twitter users Sep 25, 2020

Twitter’s experiment to get people to actually read the content they’re sharing is going so well the company plans to expand it to the platform at large “very soon.” In June, Twitter introduced a test feature on Android to promote “informed discussion” on the platform — something social media’s staccato conversational bursts are rarely conducive […]

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The eighth-generation iPad is a fine choice for casual users Sep 24, 2020

It happens to the best of us. Some newer, flashier model comes along and we’re no longer the latest and greatest new thing. The iPad’s had a plenty good run, of course. Ten years ago, the device redefined what a tablet is and has maintained a dominant spot atop the category, as countless competitors have […]

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Teachers deserve two screens, and Two Screens for Teachers aims to get them just that Sep 24, 2020

The pandemic has caused K-12 classrooms, chaotic at the best of times, to descend into Zoom call chaos. What’s more, thousands of teachers who must wrangle this new, weird system are doing so with just a single monitor, making it difficult to see their students and the lesson at the same time. Two Screens for […]

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Royole returns with another foldable Sep 23, 2020

I first spent time with the Royole Flexpai at a TechCrunch event in China back in 2018. The devices was exciting. It was the first commercially released foldable, after all, before Samsung and Huawei offered their respective takes on the form factor. But ultimately it felt like, at best, a proof of concept. It was […]

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Bose introduces a new pair of sleep-focused earbuds Sep 23, 2020

Sleep is tough to come by even when there isn’t a pandemic raging. Even when it doesn’t feel like the world is coming apart at the seams every damn day. Bose’s original Sleepbuds pre-date the current desperate moment of “coronasomnia” (not my turn of phrase, mind) by a couple of years, but the timing of […]

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Pandemic accelerated cord cutting, making 2020 the worst-ever year for pay TV Sep 22, 2020

The pandemic has accelerated adoption of a number of technologies, from online grocery to multi-platform gaming to streaming services and more. But one industry that has not benefited is traditional pay TV. According to new research from eMarketer, the cable, satellite and telecom TV industry is on track to lose the most subscribers ever. This […]

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On lying AIs Sep 22, 2020

A yellow-eyed cat tilts its eyes at the camera, gazing up from a grey bedspread. ‘London Trip’, is the AI’s title for this photo-montage ‘Memory’ plucked from the depths of my iPhone camera-roll. It’s selected a sad score of plinking piano and sweeping violin. The algorithm has calculated it must tug at the heart strings.Â […]

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Conan O’Brien on how to embrace an ever-changing media landscape Sep 21, 2020

“Like most of the best things in my life,” Conan O’Brien explains, with a wry smile, “the success of the podcast was a complete surprise.” The answer is a typically self-effacing one from the comedian. Since launching “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” nearly two years ago, the show has quickly risen up the podcasting charts […]

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Black Tech Pipeline proves the ‘pipeline problem’ isn’t real Sep 21, 2020

The tech industry has become known as a place that is predominantly white and male. Contrary to the misguided popular belief, it’s not a pipeline problem as much as it’s a retention problem. Black Tech Pipeline, aims to debunk that myth and help support Black technologists along their respective journeys. Black Tech Pipeline, founded by […]

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Gillmor Gang: In The Bag Sep 18, 2020

This may be counterintuitive. I hope so. I remember the day I first started using Twitter. My friend Gabe Rivera suggested it would be a good idea to sign on to the fledgling network. Basically it was a land grab — claim the real estate of my name. I most likely was aware of the […]

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A closer look at the new Apple Watches Sep 18, 2020

I’m very much still working on a full review of the new Apple Watches — specifically the Series 6. As of this posting, I’ve had the wearables in my possession (and on my person) for a little under 24 hours. It’s a special circumstance attributable to the virtual nature of this week’s event. Simply put, […]

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iOS 14 is now available to download Sep 17, 2020

Apple has just released the final version of iOS 14, the next major version of the operating system for the iPhone. It is a free download and it works with the iPhone 6s or later, both generations of iPhone SE and the most recent iPod touch model. If your device runs iOS 13, it supports […]

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Kiri is a screen-free smart toy meant to help kids learn languages and more Sep 17, 2020

After six months of sheltering in place (and now weeks of hiding from wildfire smoke) alongside a toddler who never seems to run out of energy, I’m the last person who would try to make anyone feel bad for giving their kid some screen time. But if a company wants to build a toy that […]

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This is the new iPad Air, with Touch ID built into the power button Sep 16, 2020

At Apple’s (virtual) hardware event today, the company announced a significantly redesigned iPad Air with a new look and tiny bezels. In a move portentous for other Apple products, Touch ID has returned — inside the power button on the top of the tablet. For the 10th anniversary of the iPad, the new 4th-generation Air […]

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Here’s everything Apple revealed at its September hardware event today Sep 16, 2020

Apple announced a ton of new devices and features today at its September hardware event, but no word on its upcoming iPhones. That’s expected later in the month, maybe next. In case you missed Apple’s hour-long keynote, here’s everything that was announced — including some things you might have missed. Apple Watch One of Apple’s […]

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What to expect from Apple’s hardware event Sep 15, 2020

If this was a normal year, we would be settling in for an iPhone event right about now. This is, however, very much not a normal year. And while we are, in fact, getting an Apple hardware event tomorrow at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET, it’s looking entirely possible — even likely — that we […]

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Leaked memo excoriates Facebook’s ‘slapdash and haphazard’ response to global political manipulation Sep 15, 2020

A former Facebook data scientist dropped a detailed, damning memo on her last day there, calling the social network out for what she describes as an arbitrary, slow, and generally inadequate response to fake accounts and activity affecting politics worldwide. BuzzFeed News acquired the full memo and has published excerpts in this report, which is […]

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Samsung is holding yet another Unpacked Event on September 23 Sep 14, 2020

One thing I’ll say for in-person events: they compelled companies to cram in a lot of news. After all, if you’re going to ask an auditorium full of people to travel from around the country — or world — you want to give them a lot of bang for their buck. Samsung did manage that […]

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Bose’s music-playing sunglasses are back Sep 14, 2020

Glasses/sunglasses with built-in speakers have been a thing for a shockingly long time now. They’ve never been particularly popular, mind, but at the very least, they’re an interesting enough concept for companies to continue taking a sporadic stab at the category, whose primary appeal seems to be not being forced to purchase both glasses and […]

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WildType is opening up a pre-order list for select chefs as it focuses on sushi-grade salmon Sep 11, 2020

WildType, the startup making lab-grown salmon, is opening up a pre-order list for select chefs. Although the company is as much as five years out from commercial production, according to founders, the company is looking to partner with select chefs around the country who want to incorporate their sushi-grade salmon product into their menus . […]

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Rick Moranis breaks acting hiatus for 30 seconds to launch Mint’s $30 a month unlimited plan Sep 11, 2020

If you know one thing about Mint Mobile, it’s probably the fact that it’s owned by Pizza Place guy turned Pikachu voice, Ryan Reynolds. The actor’s been building a nice investment portfolio for himself, beginning with a piece of the Aviation American Gin company in 2018 and an ownership stake in Mint last year. The […]

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Microsoft introduces monthly financing plan for its new Xbox consoles Sep 10, 2020

Monthly financing isn’t an entirely new concept in the world of Xbox. Microsoft offered a similar plan for the Xbox One S a few years ago. The idea is pretty simple: pay a monthly fee for hardware and software for two years until you outright own the device. What’s new here, however, is that the […]

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Motorola gives its foldable Razr another go with the addition of a 5G model Sep 10, 2020

Last year’s Motorola Razr reboot should have been a slam-dunk. An iconic name attached to a cutting edge form factor — what could possible go wrong? A lot, turns out, especially in the world of foldables where nothing seems to go according to plan. Some questionable design choices gave rise to a poorly reviewed device […]

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Gillmor Gang: Table Stakes Sep 09, 2020

Â I quite like the iPad Pro 11 inch with the Magic Keyboard. In the Land of Pandemic where every day is Saturday, the tablet is king. With no real purchase on the chaotic flow of life, the rules — any rules — of the road are very dear to me. Structure is arbitrary but […]

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The $10B JEDI contract is locked, loaded, and still completely stuck Sep 09, 2020

The other day I took a moment to count the number of stories we’ve done on TechCrunch on the DoD’s $10 billion, decade-long, winner-take-all, JEDI cloud contract. This marks the 30th time we’ve written about this deal over the last two years, and it comes after a busy week last week in JEDI cloud contract […]

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TikTok joins Europe’s code on tackling hate speech Sep 08, 2020

TikTok, the popular short video sharing app, has joined the European Union’s Code of Conduct on Countering Illegal Hate Speech. In a statement on joining the code, TikTok’s head of trust and safety for EMEA, Cormac Keenan, said: “We have never allowed hate on TikTok, and we believe it’s important that internet platforms are held […]

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VW’s all-electric ID.4 will use interior lighting to communicate with the driver Sep 08, 2020

Newly released teaser images of Volkswagen’s upcoming all-electric ID.4 compact SUV reveals an interior that leans in on tech such as touchscreens and ambient lighting used to talk to the driver without erasing every toggle or knob from automotive’s yesteryear. In short: the ID.4 appears to have struck a balance between stark minimalism and a […]

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Stocks are selling off again, and SaaS shares are taking the biggest lumps Sep 07, 2020

It was just days ago that cries of “stocks only go up,” and “no it makes sense that Tesla is going up because it split” and other bits of unironic stupidity were the only thing you could read online about the equities markets. Today, and yesterday, that all went to hell. Stocks, it turns out,Â can […]

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Nintendo is remaking the first portable gaming system it ever built Sep 07, 2020

Quick, what was the first portable gaming system Nintendo made? If you said “Game Boy”… solid guess, but not quite. For nearly a decade before Nintendo released that iconic gray beast, it was making the Game & Watch — a collection of handheld devices, each dedicated to playing just one or two simple games and, […]

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That Whole Foods is an Amazon warehouse; get used to it Sep 04, 2020

Earlier this week, in Brooklyn, near the waterfront, Amazon opened what looks from the outside like a typical Whole Foods store. It isn’t open to the public, however; it’s a fulfillment center. “Grocery delivery continues to be one of the fastest-growing businesses at Amazon,” the company said in a statement about the location, noting that […]

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Building paths to funding for Black female founders Sep 04, 2020

Amid a racial justice reckoning following countless events of police brutality (justice for Breonna Taylor), it’s high time companies and investors in the tech industry do more than just say “Black Lives Matter,” but show that Black lives matter. As Human Utility CEO Tiffani Ashley Bell aptly put it, “Make the hire, send the wire!” […]

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Samsung’s got a new budget 5G handset and a fitness tracker with a two-week battery Sep 03, 2020

Yesterday’s overflow Galaxy Unpacked event was about one thing and one thing alone: the Galaxy Z Fold 2. Honestly, it was a bit anticlimactic after its predecessor found Samsung unveiling five new devices. But the singular focus wasn’t for lack of new stuff to show off. In fact, the company just unleashed a whole slew […]

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Samsung’s new Galaxy Fold arrives September 18 for $2,000 Sep 03, 2020

As far as launches for revolutionary products are concerned, the Galaxy Fold could have gone a lot better. It’s not for lack of hype, of course. Years of prelude punctuated by Samsung’s own breathless expectations provided plenty of build-up, but in the end, the device felt like a partially baked disappointment. A number of early […]

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The 5G version of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S7 starts at $850 and arrives September 18 Sep 02, 2020

2020 was going to be the year 5G went truly mainstream. Things obviously haven’t gone according to plan these past several months, but this is undoubtedly the year Samsung went all-in on the next generation technology. After being one of the first to market with a 5G device, it’s since made its way across the […]

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Movies Anywhere officially launches its digital movie-lending feature, ‘Screen Pass’ Sep 02, 2020

Digital locker service Movies Anywhere is today officially launching its movie-sharing feature dubbed “Screen Pass,” which lets you lend out one of your purchased movies to a friend or family member. The feature was rushed into beta testing this March, followed by a more open public beta trial in April, thanks to increased demand from […]

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Gillmor Gang: Platforming Sep 01, 2020

Â Much was made during the Republican Convention of the lack of a party platform. The media characterized this as a capitulation to the Cult of Trump phenomenon, but the questioned begged was: so what? If you’re running as a candidate to disrupt the status quo…. But beneath the media framing, an important question emerges. […]

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Lenovo’s Smart Clock Essential is less smart by design Sep 01, 2020

The Smart Clock Essential really blurs smart display lines. Aesthetics aside, Lenovo’s news device probably has more in common with the Echo Dot with Clock than it does the company’s first generation Smart Clock. In fact, at $50, it’s actually $10 less expensive than Amazon’s offering. Lenovo Smart Clock review Essentially the Essential is a […]

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Walmart-exclusive TrillerTok will run on Azure, or Oracle, or something Aug 31, 2020

If you can’t keep up with the latest rumor mill on TikTok’s impending doom acquisition, my suggestion is simple: don’t. Or instead, enjoy it for what it is: one of the most absurd bakeoff deals in investment banking history. Walmart and its always low prices are in the fray. Oracle is looking to find synergies […]

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Walmart expresses interest in TikTok, teaming up with Microsoft Aug 31, 2020

There’s been a flurry of TikTok news today, and the flood doesn’t seem to be letting up. First was the announcement that Kevin Mayer, who joined the company just a bit more than three months ago, has stepped down overnight. TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer resigns after 100 days Now, we are receiving a bunch of […]

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Samsung is holding another Unpacked event next week for the Galaxy Z Fold 2 Aug 28, 2020

One of the nice things about virtual events is you can essentially hold as many as you’d like. It’s one thing to ask people to fly across the country or world to attend and another entirely to get them to tune into a livestream for an hour. On September 1 at 10AM ET, Samsung will […]

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Muze redesigns mobile messaging as a free-form canvas for creativity Aug 28, 2020

New York-based startup Muze is rethinking mobile messaging. While today’s messaging apps have expanded over the years to include support for sharing photos and videos, voice messages, reactions and more, Muze has fully redesigned the traditional messaging experience as a blank canvas, allowing for more creative interactions. The company’s new mobile app on iOS allows […]

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Passion Capital has backed Fronted, the startup that wants to offers loans to cover rent deposits Aug 27, 2020

Fronted, the new London-based startup aiming to make life easier for renters, including lending the cash needed for a deposit, has picked up seed investment from Passion Capital. The investment showed up in a recent regulatory filing for the company. The exact cheque size isn’t yet disclosed, but what we do know is that Passion […]

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Fitbit intros the Versa 3 and Inspire 2 Aug 27, 2020

Fitbit’s big news for today was the launch of the Sense, a new, more premium smartwatch line designed to compete directly against the likes of Apple and Samsung. But Fitbit has never been one for solitary product launches. As such, two of its biggest lines are also getting key updates. First off is the Versa. […]

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Desktop Metal going public in SPAC-led deal that could value 3D printer company at $2.5B Aug 26, 2020

Desktop Metal’s had no shortage of investor interest in its business during in its half-decade existence. To date, the metal 3D printing company has raised $430 million, becoming one of the fastest U.S. companies to achieve unicorn status in the process. Today it also became the latest in a recent string of firms to announce […]

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Vue’s $179 Lite smart glasses have built-in speakers for music and calls Aug 26, 2020

Perhaps some day in the not-so-distant future, we’ll all be wearing smart glasses. Stranger things have happened. And hey, most people were fairly skeptical in the early days of smartwatches. And while I’m not saying that it will definitely take Apple launching its own pair to accelerate mainstream acceptance à la the Apple Watch, I […]

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Google Cloud Anthos update brings support for on-prem, bare metal Aug 25, 2020

When Google announced Anthos last year at Google Cloud Next, it was a pretty big deal. Here was a cloud company releasing a product that purported to help you move your applications between cloud companies like AWS and AzureÂ — that would be GCP’s competitors — because it’s what customers demanded. Google tapped into genuine […]

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3 thoughts after 24 hours in the $177,000 Bentley Bentayga Aug 25, 2020

Long story short, I borrowed a new Bentley Bentayga for 24 hours. What follows is a brief overview of the $177,000 sport utility vehicle. As I had the vehicle for a short time, I was unable to dive deep into the SUV, and it feels disingenuous to write a full review after driving just a […]

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Twitter hides Trump tweet behind notice for potentially dissuading people from voting Aug 24, 2020

Twitter flagged one of President Donald Trump’s tweets on Monday, placing it behind a notice that warns users it violates the platform’s rules against dissuading people from voting. In the tweet, posted on Monday, Trump claimed mail drop boxes are a “voter security disaster” and also said they are “not COVID sanitized.” Twitter’s notice says […]

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OpenUnit aims to be Shopify for self-storage facilities Aug 24, 2020

So you’re looking for a storage unit to put some stuff in for a few months. Maybe you’re moving and your new place isn’t ready yet – or maybe you’re just looking to declutter and want to tuck some stuff away for a while and see if you’re really ready to part with it. As […]

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There’s no frontrunner to be found among the TikTok alternatives Aug 21, 2020

The U.S. market has no real frontrunner poised to claim TikTok’s throne if the app is banned in the country. According to Trump’s executive order, TikTok’s owner ByteDance has to divest of TikTok’s U.S. operations or the app will be banned from the U.S. market on November 12. A number of companies have considered the […]

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Palantir moves its HQ from Palo Alto to Denver as plans to go public percolate Aug 21, 2020

Between the IPO buzz and a raft of new federal contracts for COVID-19 work, it’s been a year of big moves for Palantir. Now, the company is making a more literal one: decamping from its Palo Alto headquarters to Denver, Colorado. The decision to relocate its Palo Alto headquarters, first reported by the Denver Business […]

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Author and professional poker player Annie Duke on how conspiracy theories gain ground Aug 20, 2020

Earlier today, Facebook said it has removed hundreds of QAnon groups from its site, and that it’s restricting manyÂ more groups, along with hundreds of pages, and more than 10,000 Instagram accounts. As the New York Times observed in its report about the maneuvers, four-year-old QAnon, once a fringe phenomenon, has gone mainstream in recent […]

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The journey of a kids book startup that tackles topics like racism, cancer and divorce Aug 20, 2020

Jelani Memory, an entrepreneur and father, had been wanting to write a kids book for years. While in the midst of raising a Series B round for his startup Circle Media, he started to feel burned out and wanted to start doing something more creatively fulfilling, Memory told me. That’s what led Memory to create […]

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If Oracle buys TikTok I’ll go to Danny’s house and eat his annoying Stanford sweatshirt Aug 19, 2020

Hey everyone, how are you? Are you doing well? Great. Or, condolences, depending. Anyway, last week the Equity crew was discussing bankers, and how they love to talk up stuff. The topic matters as there is a big impending transaction out there in the world, namely the shotgun sale of TikTok. And all sorts of […]

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Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra review Aug 19, 2020

The Galaxy Note Ultra is a $1,399 smartphone. Even by Samsung’s standards, this is a high-end luxury device. It’s the phone for people who board the plane early and derive a sense of pride in watching the rest of us slowly shuffle onto the plane, wondering just how close to the back we’ll get. Sure, […]

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Tesla shares rally for no reason Aug 18, 2020

Tesla shares surpassed $1,800 for the first time today, the latest in an eye-popping run up of the stock that has propelled the company’s valuation to more than $341 billion. Let’s put these numbers in perspective. Tesla, an automaker that delivered 367,500 vehicles in 2019 and is aiming to exceed the 500,000-mark in 2020, is […]

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Facebook launches support for paid online events Aug 18, 2020

Businesses will now be able to monetize online events on Facebook, thanks to a new feature that the social network is launching in the United States and 19 other countries today. In a call with reporters, Head of Facebook App Fidji Sumo said that Facebook’s Events feature was designed for in-person events, but with the […]

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Elon Musk says ’embarrassingly late’ two-factor is coming to Tesla app Aug 17, 2020

Tesla CEO Elon Musk acknowledged Friday that the company was ‘embarrassingly late’ rolling out a security layer known as two-factor authentication for its mobile app. “Sorry, this is embarrassingly late. Two factor authentication via sms or authenticator app is going through final validation right now,” Musk wrote Friday in response to a question from a […]

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The Polestar 2 bests the Tesla Model 3 in drivability and enjoyment Aug 17, 2020

I enjoy driving the Polestar 2 more than the Tesla Model 3. The Polestar 2 is more comfortable, seemingly better built, and has a better infotainment system. In all the traditional automotive metrics, it’s a better car, and yet I find it hard to recommend over the Tesla Model 3. The Polestar 2 often excels […]

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Digital imaging pioneer Russell Kirsch dies at 91 Aug 14, 2020

Russell Kirsch, whose research going back to the ’50s underlies the entire field of digital imaging, died earlier this week at the age of 91. It’s hard to overstate the impact of his work, which led to the first digitally scanned photo and the creation of what we now think of as pixels. Born to […]

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Lyft shares get small bump after reporting 61% Q2 revenue decline Aug 14, 2020

Today after the bell, Lyft reported its second-quarter financial performance. The American ride-hailing company’s results helped illustrate just how much the economy has changed in the wake of COVID-19 and its resulting disruptions to life, travel and work. Uber’s own results, which were shared last week, provided hints of what was coming for Lyft. The […]

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Square’s Cash App tests new feature allowing users to borrow up to $200 Aug 13, 2020

Cash App, the peer-to-peer payments service from Square, is giving select users a way to get short-term loans. The company said it’s only testing the feature with around 1,000 users for now. But it could become more broadly available — and there are probably plenty of people who could use the money, given the state […]

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Hyundai to bring three new EVs to market under spinoff brand Ioniq Aug 13, 2020

Hyundai has launched a dedicated EV brand called Ioniq with plans to bring three all-electric vehicles to market over the next four years. The Ioniq brand is part of the Korean automaker’s broader strategy to sell 1 million battery electric vehicles — and take a 10% share of the EV market — by 2025. If […]

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Court dismisses Genius lawsuit over lyrics-scraping by Google Aug 12, 2020

A state court has dismissed a high-profile case showing unsportsmanlike conduct by Google, which was caught red-handed using lyrics obviously scraped from Genius. Unfortunately for the latter, the complaints amount to a copyright violation — which wasn’t what the plaintiffs alleged, sinking the case. The lawsuit, filed in December, accused Google of violating Genius’s terms […]

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Google’s Lookout app for vision-impaired now scans food labels and long documents Aug 12, 2020

Google has updated its Lookout app, an AI toolkit for people with impaired vision, with two helpful new capabilities: scanning long documents and reading out food labels. Paper forms and similarly-shaped products at the store present a challenge for blind folks and this ought to make things easier. Food labels, if you think about it, […]

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The all-electric Lucid Air gets an estimated EPA range of 517 miles Aug 11, 2020

Lucid Motors said Tuesday that its upcoming all-electric luxury sedan can travel 517 miles on a single charge — a range that, if validated by the U.S. EPA, blows past every other EV on the road today including Tesla. The estimated EPA range was released ahead of the September 9 reveal of the Lucid Air. […]

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Google Maps comes to Apple’s watchOS and CarPlay dashboard Aug 11, 2020

Google Maps is now also available on the Apple Watch so you can get your walking, biking and driving directions right on your wrist. Don’t expect to get a full-blown Maps app on your wrist, though. The new app is mostly focused on giving you directions to know places (think home, work, etc.). To start […]

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Moft is back with a clever laptop sleeve that converts into a stand Aug 10, 2020

Moft is a clever company that makes clever products. For a while there, I was sporting their laptop stand. It was a head-turner when I used to unfold it during meetings — back when we used to do those in-person. The truth is, I ended up having to tear it off the bottom. It lasted […]

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WordPress.com launches new P2 to take on internal communication tools Aug 10, 2020

WordPress.com, a division of Automattic, is launching a new product called P2. And this time, it’s all about improving internal communications for private groups. As a remote company, Automattic has been using P2 internally for years to communicate asynchronously. It’s a place to share long-form posts, a repository to keep onboarding documents and other important […]

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Sony’s excellent over-ear headphones get smarter Aug 07, 2020

Sony knows how to make a great pair of headphones. The WH-1000XM3 are one of the best received pairs of over-ear models in recent years. Two years later, the company is ready to unveil their successors, which sport a number of smart connected features. In fact, the WH-1000XM4 bring all sorts of nice upgrades to […]

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Samsung’s new Galaxy Buds Live bring active noise cancelation for $170 Aug 06, 2020

Samsung’s made quality earbuds for a number of years now. They’re never particularly exciting or innovative, but they’re always a solid choice in an overcrowded market. Today’s big Unpacked event adds yet another model to the growing list of options. Already sporting the Galaxy Bean nickname based on early leaks, and for reasons that should […]

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YouTube bans thousands of Chinese accounts to combat ‘coordinated influence operations’ Aug 06, 2020

YouTube has banned a large number of Chinese accounts it said were engaging in “coordinated influence operations” on political issues, the company announced today. 2,596 accounts from China alone were taken down from April to June, compared with 277 in the first three months of 2020. “These channels mostly uploaded spammy, non-political content, but a […]

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AI is struggling to adjust to 2020 Aug 05, 2020

Identifying the new context we’re asking the system to understand is the first step towards moving visual AI forward. Then we need more content.

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Apple’s 27-inch iMac gets a processing and graphics boost Aug 05, 2020

Apple sold a lot of Macs last quarter — a record, in fact, for Q3, jumping a full 21%, year over year. Given the state of the world, with most office workers moving to a remote setup, there’s little surprise the company’s desktop and laptops moved at such an impressive clip. For that reason alone, […]

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The 4a and 5 will be Google’s first 5G-enabled Pixels Aug 04, 2020

Surprise. The latest version of Google’s budget Pixel device will be one of the first two to get its next-gen technology. It’s an odd strategy, to be sure, but sometimes roadmaps work out like that, I guess. You can read basically everything you need to know about the Pixel 4a in my review here. It’s […]

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Google’s budget Pixel 4a addresses its premium predecessor’s biggest problem Aug 04, 2020

The Pixel line has always felt like more of an underdog product than one should reasonably expect from a corporation as massive as Google. After years of partnerships and Nexus devices, when Google finally did enter the smartphone market in earnest, it found itself attempting to chip away at an already mature category — an […]

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TikTok says it’s “not planning on going anywhere” in response to pending U.S. ban Aug 03, 2020

TikTok’s U.S. General Manager Vanessa Pappas has posted a video message to the platform that appears to be a response to reports from Friday that President Trump is working on an effective “ban” of the app in the U.S., a plan he shared with reporters from the White House pool on board Air Force One. […]

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Lyft expands its rental business with Sixt partnership Aug 03, 2020

Lyft continues to expand beyond its core ride-hailing business into bikes, scooters, transit and now rental cars. The company said Thursday that it’s taking Lyft Rentals, a pilot program that launched in December, and expanding it through a partnership with Sixt. Lyft Rentals initially gave folks in Los Angeles and San Francisco the ability to […]

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Triller sues TikTok over patent infringement Jul 31, 2020

Social video platform Triller has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against its biggest rival TikTok and parent company ByteDance. The suit, which was filed in the U.S District Court for the Western Division of Texas, claims TikTok is infringing on Triller’s U.S Patent No. 9,691,429. The patent covers a “systems and methods for creating music […]

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The Great TechCrunch Survey of Europe’s VCs — Be featured in our survey Jul 31, 2020

TechCrunch is embarking on a major new project to survey the venture capital investors of Europe. â€¨Over the next few weeks, we will be ‘zeroing-in’ on Europe’s major cities, from A-Z, Amsterdam to Zurich, and many points in-between. It’s part ofÂ a broader series of surveysÂ we’re doing to help founders find the right investors.Â Our survey […]

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Google One now offers free phone backups up to 15GB on Android and iOS Jul 30, 2020

Google One, Google’s subscription program for buying additional storage and live support, is getting an update today that will bring free phone backups for Android and iOS devices to anybody who installs the app — even if they don’t have a paid membership. The catch: While the feature is free, the backups count against your […]

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Amazon’s hardware business doesn’t escape Congressional scrutiny Jul 30, 2020

While much of today’s Congressional grilling into the anticompetitive practices of the big tech giants focused on their core businesses, Amazon’s hardware also came in for close inspection during the hours-long interrogation. It was a small but significant exchange, because it touched on the breadth of the company’s services and how dominance in one area […]

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Toppr raises $46 million to scale its online learning platform in India Jul 29, 2020

Toppr, one of the largest online learning startups in India, has secured $46 million in a new financing round as it looks to scale its platform including a new product. Dubai-headquartered investment firm Foundation Holdings led the Mumbai-based seven-year-old startup’s Series D round. Kaizen Private Equity, an existing investor, also participated in the new round, […]

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Alcohol delivery service Drizly confirms data breach Jul 29, 2020

Online alcohol delivery startup Drizly has told customers that it was hit by a data breach. In an email to customers obtained by TechCrunch, the company said that a hacker “obtained” some customer data. The hacker took customer email addresses, date-of-birth, hashed passwords, and in some cases delivery address, the email read. Drizly did not […]

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Google is building a new private subsea cable between Europe and the U.S. Jul 28, 2020

Google today announced its plans to build a new subsea cable with landing points in New York in the U.S. and Bude, UK and Bilbao, Spain in Europe. The new cable, named after the pioneering computer scientist Grace Hopper, will join Google’s various other private subsea cables like Curie between the U.S. and South America, […]

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Google will continue to let employees work from home through the end of June 2021 Jul 28, 2020

Following earlier reporting, Google has confirmed that it will continue to allow employees to work from home through the end of June of next year. The company told TechCrunch that Sundar Pichai announced the plan in an email sent to staff earlier today. “To give employees the ability to plan ahead, we are extending our […]

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Space Force debuts official logo and motto, both reminding you that it’s ‘always above’ Jul 27, 2020

Earlier this year, the oft-mocked but actually pretty important new branch of the military, the Space Force, revealed an image that was suspiciously reminiscent of Star Trek. Now the Space Force has revealed a new, sharper graphic that is the force’s actual logo — and a motto to go with it: “Semper Supra,” or “always […]

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Instacart blames reused passwords for account hacks, but customers are still without basic two-factor security Jul 27, 2020

Online shopping service Instacart says reused passwords are to blame for a recent spate of account breaches, which saw personal data belonging to hundreds of thousands of Instacart customers stolen and put up for sale on the dark web. The company published a statement late on Thursday saying its investigation showed that Instacart “was not […]

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Gorilla Glass Victus can survive a two-meter drop and is set to arrive on a Samsung device soon Jul 24, 2020

You might not know Gorilla Glass by name, but odds are pretty good you own at least one device sporting Corning’s chemically strengthened glass composite. It’s been a ubiquitous feature of consumer products ranging from smartphones to wearables for more than a decade now, courtesy of excellent drop and scratch resistance. All in all, it […]

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Fox Sports is adding ‘virtual fans’ to empty baseball stadiums Jul 24, 2020

The Toronto Blue Jays may not have a have a home yet this season, but one things for sure: plenty of teams are going to be playing in the uncanny valley this year. The spectacle of a major league baseball team playing in front of an empty has some precedent from places like Korea, Taiwan […]

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Lenovo brings some unique features to its new gaming phone Jul 23, 2020

Gaming phones are a weird one. They make sense on paper to some degree. As we well know, everyone’s a gamer these days, and much or most of that gaming happens on mobile devices. So why aren’t devoting gaming phones a more popular phenomenon? It’s not for lack of trying. Lenovo’s the latest company to […]

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The Herman Miller x Logitech gaming chair will set you back $1,500 Jul 23, 2020

I’ve learned a lot during this pandemic. About myself, about the world. But perhaps most important of all, I’ve learned the value of a good chair. In normal years I’m rarely home, between work and travel, and as such it’s not something I gave much thought to. So naturally, I spent the first month and […]

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Diaspora Ventures wants to invest in French founders with a global mindset Jul 22, 2020

Meet Diaspora Ventures, a new VC fund based in the U.S. founded by two partners who grew up in France but have been in the U.S. for more than a decade —Â Ilan Abehassera (pictured right) and Carlos Diaz (pictured left). As the name suggests, Diaspora Ventures wants to invest in the French diaspora, and especially […]

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Nord is OnePlus’s sub-$500 5G handset Jul 22, 2020

While other premium smartphone makers were exploring mid-tier devices amid slowing sales, OnePlus’s prices were slowly creeping up. It’s true that the company never cracked the $1,000 price point (beyond a few limited-edition models), but for those following the company’s story, it felt like it was straying a bit from its biggest appeal: flagship-quality devices […]

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Netflix tests new low-cost subscription plan in India Jul 21, 2020

Netflix is testing a new pricing tier in India as the on-demand video streaming service looks to court more subscribers in Asia’s third-largest economy. The American giant has unveiled a “Mobile+” plan for some new subscribers in India that delivers streaming in high-definition (HD) quality and supports mobile, tablet, and computer screens (but not TV). […]

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Fox Sports launches redesigned app with modern design, bonus camera angles Jul 21, 2020

As the sports world slowly begins to emerge from the pandemic shut down with MLB scheduled to start this week, Fox Sports is launching its redesigned sports app today for Android and iOS. The new app and accompanying website, offers a more modern interface, access to live sports (with cable subscription) and bonus camera angles […]

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Gaming sales had another great month in June Jul 20, 2020

We continue to be stuck inside, and video games continue to sell well. It’s pretty much as simple as that, honestly. I mean, there’s more nuance than that, obviously, but that’s really the top line takeaway from NPD’s June gaming numbers. More specifically, last month saw $1.2 billion total spent on gaming, up 26% from […]

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Play the prologue of ‘Linda & Joan,’ a video game about the worst year of its creator’s life Jul 20, 2020

It’s not hard to see why Russell Quinn calls 2017 the worst year of his life. That was the year he moved back to the United Kingdom to take care of his mother, and the year in which both his mother and grandmother died within a month of each other. Quinn recalled returning to Los […]

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With 600+ more founder recommendations, the second revision of The TechCrunch List is coming next week Jul 17, 2020

Let’s just say it’s been busy times over here (Twitter being completely unusable has helped productivity though!) On Tuesday, we launched the first draft of The TechCrunch List, a verified, curated list of investors who have demonstrated a commitment to first checks and leading rounds from seed through growth, organized by market vertical. We constructed […]

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U.S. beat China on App Store downloads for first time since 2014, due to coronavirus impact Jul 17, 2020

The U.S. App Store’s downloads have surpassed China’s downloads for the first time since 2014, in a new milestone. According to data from Sensor Tower’s Q2 2020 report, out today, the U.S. App Store saw 27.4% year-over-year growth in the quarter, compared to the 2.1% growth for the China App Store. During the quarter, the […]

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Uber acquires Routematch as it drives deeper into public transit in hunt for SaaS revenue Jul 16, 2020

Uber said Thursday it has acquired Routematch, an Atlanta-based company that provides software to transit agencies as the ride-hailing company looks to offer more SaaS-related services to cities. Uber did not share terms of the deal. However, this doesn’t appear to be a minor “acquihire,” in which a company is purchased to land a few […]

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Tilting Point acquires FTX Games assets and Plamee Studios Jul 16, 2020

Game publisher Tilting Point announced today that it has made its third acquisition in eight months, buying games, key employees and “most of the assets” from FTX Games and Plamee Studios — both previously owned Playtech, which will be focusing on its gaming and sports betting software moving forward. Plamee previously developed Narcos: Cartel Wars, […]

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Kobo introduces the lackluster Nia to replace its budget Aura e-reader Jul 15, 2020

The e-reader category was exciting once — or at least as exciting as one could hope from such a space. It was a vibrant category, with plenty of key players, each looking to outdo one another. But as is the case with a depressing number of verticals, Amazon has largely wiped the floor with the […]

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After colleges sue, ICE backs down from student visa rule change Jul 15, 2020

The Trump administration has backed down from plans to revoke visas of international students studying in the U.S., whose schools planned to take their classes exclusively online in the fall because of the coronavirus pandemic. The reversal comes as over a dozen universities and colleges threatened legal action against the administration’s order. The multi-faceted effort […]

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Writing app Ulysses gets new document dashboard and advanced grammar and style check Jul 14, 2020

Ulysses, a popular writing app for the Mac, iPhone and iPad, is receiving an update with some new features. The user interface has been slightly redesigned with a new right-hand column that acts as a dashboard. There’s also a new grammar and style check feature that goes beyond what’s provided on Apple’s platform by default. […]

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Tesla lowers the starting price of its Model Y electric SUV Jul 14, 2020

Tesla has lowered the price of another vehicle. This time it’s the Model Y, an electric SUV the company started shipping in March. The long-range all-wheel drive version of the car is now listed with a purchase price of $49,990, or $3,000 less than what it was before. The car’s new pricing was first reported […]

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Google makes education push in India Jul 13, 2020

Google said on Monday that it has partnered with CBSE, a government body that oversees education in private and public schools in India, to deliver a “blended learning experience” across 22,000 schools in the world’s second largest internet market by the end of this year. The Search giant, which today also announced plans to invest […]

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PC shipments rebound slightly following COVID-19-fueled decline Jul 13, 2020

PC shipments had a rough first quarter for all of the same reasons as everything that isn’t a Clorox wipe or N95 mask. People just weren’t ready to drop a ton of money on a new device. The impact of COVID-19 was lessened slightly by IT departments and individuals adapting to the new remote working […]

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TikTok likes and views are broken as community worries over potential U.S. ban Jul 10, 2020

TikTok likes and views are broken for some unknown portion of the video app’s user base this afternoon. The impacted users are seeing a “zero” like count on TikTok posts, including their own and those of other app users, as well as “zero” views. The company has acknowledged the issue and says it’s working on […]

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iOS 14 gets rid of the app grid to help you find the app you’re looking for Jul 10, 2020

Apple unveiled the next major version iOS a few weeks ago. I’ve been playing around with beta versions of iOS 14 and here’s what you should expect when you update your iPhone to the final release of iOS 14 this fall. The most interesting change is something you’re not going to notice at first. The […]

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Data brokers track everywhere you go, but their days may be numbered Jul 09, 2020

Everywhere you go, you are being followed. Not by some creep in a raincoat, but by the advertisers wanting to sell you things. The more advertisers know about you — where you go, which shops you visit, and what purchases you make — the more they can profile you, understand your tastes, your hobbies and […]

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PopShop Live gets $3 million to bring live streaming to shopping Jul 09, 2020

Streaming video has become a huge part of our lives, whether it’s watching your favorite shows on Netflix or getting live TV through Hulu or YouTube or checking out your favorite gamers on Twitch. But streaming is trickling into other facets of our lives, too, whether it’s fitness or the move from physical events to […]

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Samsung will reveal the next Galaxy Note on August 5 Jul 08, 2020

Samsung’s next big Unpacked event is scheduled for August 5. As is the trend these days, the unveiling will be online-only, following in the footsteps of big virtual events from the likes of. Microsoft and Apple. It’s Samsung’s first crack at the format. The company just made it under the pre-COVID-19 shutdown wire back in […]

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Instagram swaps out its ‘Activity’ tab for ‘Shop’ in new global test Jul 08, 2020

Instagram today is starting a small global test of the Instagram Shop tab, first announced this May, which allows Instagram users to shop from top brands and creators via a new tab in the app’s navigation bar with just one tap. Here, users will be able to filter products by categories, as they can today […]

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High Earth Orbit Robotics uses imaging satellites to provide on-demand check-ups for other satellites Jul 07, 2020

Maintaining satellites on orbit and ensuring they make full use of their operational lifespan has never been more important, given concerns around sustainable operations in an increasingly crowded orbital environment. As companies tighten their belts financially to deal with the ongoing economic impact of COVID-19, too, it’s more important than ever for in-space assets to […]

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Mercedes-Benz 2021 S-Class jumps on the giant touchscreen bandwagon Jul 07, 2020

Mercedes-Benz sent out a teaser image and video Monday of its upcoming 2021 S-Class that hints at a sleeker interior that forgoes the bevy of physical knobs and toggles found in previous models in favor of a digital centric design. The teasers illustrate a movement in the automotive industry popularized by Tesla to incorporate large […]

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We need a new field of AI to combat racial bias Jul 06, 2020

Responsibly managing machine learning processes is no longer just a desirable component of progress but a necessary one.

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What ðŸ‘ðŸ‘„ðŸ‘.fm means for Silicon Valley Jul 06, 2020

VCs should take note. These are the people who will build the next Facebook.

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Sprint 5G is no more, as T-Mobile focuses on its own network Jul 03, 2020

A day after formally completing the sale of Boost, Virgin and other Sprint prepaid networks to Dish, T-Mobile is pulling the plug on Sprint 5G. The move is one in a long list of issues that need sorting out in the wake of April’s $26.5 billion merger. And like a number of other moves, it’s […]

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Dish closes Boost Mobile purchase, following T-Mobile/Sprint merger Jul 03, 2020

T-Mobile today announced that it has closed a deal that divests Sprint’s pre-paid businesses, including Boost and Virgin Mobile. The news finds Dish entering the wireless carrier game in earnest, courtesy of the $1.4 billion deal. The whole thing was, of course, a key part of T-Mobile’s bid to merge with Sprint. It was a […]

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Google confirms US offices will remain closed until at least September, as COVID-19 spikes Jul 03, 2020

A few months back, Google announced plans to reopen some U.S. offices after the July 4th holiday. But the best laid plans, and all of that. Things have obviously not been going great in terms of the United States’ battle with COVID-19, and Google once again finds itself proceeding on the side of caution. As […]

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Facebook is shutting down Lasso, its TikTok clone Jul 02, 2020

Facebook is no longer betting on Lasso, an app it launched a year and a half ago, to take on TikTok . The social juggernaut’s TikTok clone is shutting down on July 10, Lasso alerted users on Wednesday. Launched in late 2018, Lasso was seen asÂ Facebook’s answer to TikTok that’s gained ground with young users, […]

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Facebook shuts down Hobbi, its experimental app for documenting personal projects Jul 01, 2020

Facebook’s recently launched app, Hobbi, an experiment in short-form content creation around personal projects, hobbies, and other Pinterest-y content, is already shutting down. The app first arrived on iOS in February as one of now several launches from Facebook’s internal R&D group, the NPE Team. Hobbi users have now been notified by way of push […]

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Global app revenue jumps to $50B in the first half of 2020, in part due to COVID-19 impacts Jul 01, 2020

Consumer spending on mobile apps and app installs grew significantly during the first half of 2020, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new data from Sensor Tower. In the first half of the year, consumers spent $50.1 billion worldwide across the App Store and Google Play — a figure that’s up 23.4% […]

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Trump suspended from Twitch, as Reddit bans the ‘The_Donald’ and additional subreddits Jun 30, 2020

Two big new pieces of news today from the ongoing battle between social media and politics. Both Twitch and Reddit have made moves against political content, citing violations of terms of service. Twitch confirmed today that it has temporarily suspended the president’s account. “Hateful conduct is not allowed on Twitch,” a spokesperson for the streaming […]

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All the tech in Ford’s most important vehicle: the 2021 F-150 truck Jun 30, 2020

Ford rolled out all the stops Thursday evening for the reveal of its all-new F-150 truck, right down to the splashy videos dominated by electric guitar riffs. Heck, the automaker even cast the sharp-tongued Denis Leary as its MC. Of course, none of that really matters. It’s all about what Ford has done to improve […]

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Facebook expands its fan subscription program Jun 29, 2020

Facebook is expanding the availability of the tools it offers to help game streamers and other online creators make money. The social network first launched fan subscriptions in early 2018, giving a small group of creators in the United States and the United Kingdom the ability to charge their fans a $4.99 monthly fee for […]

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Warner Bros. pushes back ‘Tenet’ release as COVID-19 cases surge in several states Jun 29, 2020

Set for a late-July release, Tenet has been viewed an important bellwether for Hollywood. After all, director Christopher Nolan has long been a surefire blockbuster machine, courtesy of films like the Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception and Interstellar. The mysterious thriller will be a clear test of whether audiences are willing to brave the indoor theater […]

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Google finally brings group calling to the Nest Hub Max Jun 26, 2020

Video chat has long been one of the chief selling points of smart screens like the Amazon Echo Show and Google’s Nest Hub Max (the regular Hub is still lacking a camera, mind). But until today, the latter only offered users the option for one-on-one calls. That’s all well and good for the most part, […]

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Apple Maps to tell you refine location by scanning the skyline Jun 26, 2020

With iOS 14, Apple is going to update Apple Maps with some important new features, such as cycling directions, electric vehicle routing and curated guides. But the app is also going to learn one neat trick. In dense areas where you can’t get a precise location, Apple Maps will prompt you to raise your phone […]

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Wyze launches its $50 wire-free outdoor camera Jun 25, 2020

In recent years, Seattle-based Wyze made a name for itself thanks to making a lot of smart home gadgets affordable. These days, the company sells everything from smart plugs and locks to scales and fitness bands, but what started it all was the $20 Wyze indoor security camera. Today, the company is following that up […]

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Dell’s debt hangover from $67B EMC deal could put VMware stock in play Jun 25, 2020

When Dell bought EMC in 2016 for $67 billion it was one of the biggest acquisitions in tech history, and it brought with it a boatload of debt. Since then Dell has been working on ways to mitigate that debt by selling off various pieces of the corporate empire and going public again, but one […]

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iOS 14’s App Clips will save you from always needing ‘an app for that’ Jun 24, 2020

The App Store ecosystem today is home to nearly 2 million apps. That means finding new apps to download is now more challenging than ever. This, in turns, leads app developers to funnel more money into App Store Search ads, traditional SEO, and digital advertising in an effort to acquire new users. A new feature […]

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MSCHF launches an internet-wide contest to see who can touch their phone the longest Jun 24, 2020

Whatever you do, don’t take your finger off your phone screen. MSHCF, a company striving to build a flashy brand by creating viral moments, is taking the wraps off of their next stunt, an internet-wide competition with as much as $25,000 on the line. How do you win the cash? Open up their new app, […]

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Apple unveils iOS 14 with home screen widgets Jun 23, 2020

During the virtual keynote of WWDC, Apple shares the first details about iOS 14, the next major version of iOS that is going to be released later this year. The most visual change is that the home screen is getting widgets. “This year, we spent time rethinking the iconic experience of the iPhone,” SVP of […]

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Here’s how Apple’s stock fared during the WWDC keynote Jun 23, 2020

Apple held its WWDC keynote today, a virtual affair that managed to convince swaths of the technology industry to watch a pre-recorded video. While TechCrunch has posts galore up on the site about all the latest stuff from Cupertino, we also kept an eye on Apple’s stock price during its event. Doing so is a […]

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Ford Bronco debut date moved so it wouldn’t fall on O.J. Simpson’s birthday Jun 22, 2020

Ford has changed the debut of its 2021 Bronco once again because its planned July 9 reveal falls on the birthday of O.J. Simpson, one of the iconic SUV’s most infamous passengers The automaker tweeted Friday that it has moved the unveiling to July 13. The reveal of the all-new Bronco lineup will now happen […]

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Apex Legends is heading to the Nintendo Switch, with PS4/Xbox/PC crossplay coming this fall Jun 22, 2020

Respawn just dropped a big ol’ bundle of news about its popular free-to-play Battle Royale shooter, Apex Legends, during a livestream event hosted by its parent company, EA. The key bits: Apex is coming to the Nintendo Switch this fall. Playing Apex up until now has meant camping in front of a TV (or rigging […]

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Somehow, Twitter does not have a team dedicated to accessibility Jun 19, 2020

Twitter does not have a team dedicated to accessibility, the company confirmed after a developer alluded to the fact. It’s a baffling omission for a company that employs some 4,000 people and a CEO who is often heard talking about doing the right thing. This is not to say that Twitter is a wasteland for […]

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Google brings Meet to Gmail on mobile Jun 19, 2020

Google today announced a deeper integration between Gmail on mobile and its Meet video conferencing service. Now, if you use Gmail on Android or iOS and somebody sends you a link to a Meet event, you can join the meeting right from your inbox. That obviously isn’t radically different from how things work today, where […]

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All bets are off as Hertz pulls plan to issue $500 million in new stock Jun 18, 2020

Hertz, which filed for bankruptcy last month, halted its $500 million stock offering Wednesday after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told the rental company it would review its controversial plan to sell shares that could soon be wiped out completely. Hertz disclosed Monday that it would issue a $500 million stock offering following approval […]

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Software will reshape our world in the next decade Jun 18, 2020

This storm shall pass. However the choices we make now will change our lives forever.

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Drone-deployed sterile mosquitoes could check spread of insect-borne illnesses Jun 17, 2020

Drone deployment of sterile mosquitoes could accelerate efforts to control their populations and reduce insect-borne disease, according to a proof of concept experiment by an multi-institutional research team. The improved technique could save thousands of lives. Mosquitoes are a public health hazard around the world, spreading infections like malaria to millions and causing countless deaths […]

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Apple adds new MacBook Pro graphics option and Mac Pro SSD upgrade kit Jun 17, 2020

A week before kicking off WWDC, Apple introduced a pair of upgrades to its pro-level hardware lines. Both the 16-inch MacBook Pro and the Mac Pro desktop are getting select internal upgrades, starting today. One the notebook front, the 16-inch model gets an additional graphics configuration. The addition of the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M GPU […]

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You can set up a Zoom call with Tony Hawk or Sinbad using Cameo’s latest feature Jun 16, 2020

My birthday was last month (still accepting belated greetings in the comments below). I was sick and sheltering in place, and my sister kindly gifted me a Cameo of Kids in the Hall/Newsradio star Dave Foley. His hair was blue for some reason and I found out he has a dog named Falkor. It was […]

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WarnerMedia tries to simplify HBO branding by sunsetting HBO Go and renaming HBO Now Jun 16, 2020

WarnerMedia is hoping to make things simpler for anyone wondering whether to get HBO Max, HBO Go or HBO Now. Back in simpler times, there were only two HBO streaming apps — Go for cable subscribers, and Now for viewers who wanted a standalone streaming subscription. Then the company launched launched HBO Max last month. […]

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Forget the casino, bankrupt Hertz can now sell up to $1 billion in stock Jun 15, 2020

Hertz, the rental car company that is going through Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, can now sell up to $1 billion in stock as it seeks to tap into one of the hottest tickets in town: traders with an appetite for short-term speculative bets. . The decision Friday by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District […]

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Volkswagen launches home EV charging system sales ahead of ID.3 vehicle deliveries Jun 15, 2020

Volkswagen has started to sell a home-charging device as the automaker prepares to bring itsÂ new ID. family of electric vehicles to market. The ID.3 is the first electric vehicle under the ID label and will only be sold in Europe. Customers who made reservations for the launch edition, known as ID.3 1st, will be able […]

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OpenAI makes an all-purpose API for its text-based AI capabilities Jun 12, 2020

If you’ve ever wanted to try out OpenAI’s vaunted machine learning toolset, it just got a lot easier. The company has released an API that lets developers call its AI tools in on “virtually any English language task.” Basically, if you’ve got a task that requires understanding word in English, OpenAI wants to help automate […]

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Snapchat redesigns its app with new action bar Jun 12, 2020

Snap is unveiling some important changes for Snapchat at its Snap Partner Summit. The navigation has been rethought with a new action bar at the bottom that lets you access Snap Map and Snap Originals in just a tap. Snap Map is also getting some brand new features to compete head-to-head with Google Maps. A […]

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How to get your nice camera set up as a high quality webcam Jun 11, 2020

Everyone needs a webcam these days, whether for business meetings or the distant socializing accomplished via video calling — but if you’re like most, you’re using the built-in camera on your laptop or some piece of junk from years ago. But if you happen to have a nice big-brand camera, it’s easy to set it […]

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Tesla shares surpass $1,000 on Semi truck production memo Jun 11, 2020

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a memo its time to “go all out” and start volume production of the Tesla Semi, the all-electric Class 8 truck revealed nearly three years ago. CNBC first reported on the memo that was sent to all employees. TechCrunch has also viewed the brief memo, which lacked details such […]

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Grow Credit, which builds credit scores by paying for online subscriptions, gets Mucker cash Jun 10, 2020

Grow Credit, the startup that launched last year to help customers build out their credit scores by providing a credit line for online subscriptions like Spotify and Netflix, has added Mucker Labs as an investor and closed its seed round with $2 million in total commitments. The Los Angeles startup founded by serial entrepreneur Joe […]

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The future ain’t what it used to be in first Bill & Ted Face the Music Trailer Jun 10, 2020

If there’s one lesson I’ve learned these last few months, it’s that life rarely works out as planned. One minute you’re the sole two members of the band whose music has been prophesied to heal the world and usher in a new era of peace, and the next you wake up middle-aged playing some barstool […]

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Grammarly adds custom style guides for business users Jun 09, 2020

Grammarly, the popular tool that aims to help you avoid grammar and style gaffes, today announced that launch of custom style guides for its paying business users. Like with any style guide, the idea here is to ensure that a business’ communications are consistent. You wouldn’t want one email to say ‘datacenter’ while the other […]

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The Acura NSX: A great cell phone holder with wheels Jun 09, 2020

The Acura NSX is a fun sports car with a hybrid powertrain that lays out an impressive amount of power. But I’m not here to talk about the car’s performance. One of the car’s best features is its cell phone holder. It’s time for automakers to face the reality that cell phones are a critical […]

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Fast-growing Madison Reed is eyeing men’s hair next; “We’re going to blow the doors off that market” Jun 08, 2020

Amy Errett’s company, Madison Reed, sells in-home care color. It may not sound like a glamorous business but, as it turns out, it’s a very durable one, done the right way. Not only has the seven-year-old outfit been slowing chipping away at the dominant personal care giants like L’Oreal that have long controlled what’s currently […]

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As Bandcamp waives fees again, labels donate their portion to justice programs Jun 08, 2020

There’s a decent chance buying music is the furthest thing from your mind right now, and I can’t say I blame you. Here in the States, 108,000 people are dead of COVID-19, and protests against the killing of George Floyd raged on for an eighth night. And neither of these society-shaping events are set to […]

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Global PC shipments set to drop 7% in 2020 Jun 05, 2020

New numbers from Canalys project a 7% drop in global PC sales, owing to financial strains. The category is one of countless impacted by the COVID-19-related shutdowns, but the group notes that the virus’s direct impact is mostly behind the industry, due to the rebounding of China’s supply chain. A resulting global recession, on the […]

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Slack drops 10%+ after its revenue growth, guidance fail to impress Jun 05, 2020

Today Slack reported its earnings results for the three months ending April 30, 2020, the first quarter of its fiscal 2021. The well-known SaaS chat service posted revenue of $201.7 million, up 50% compared to its year-ago period. Slack also reported an adjusted per-share loss of $0.02, and per-share losses of $0.13 when counting all […]

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Kitty Hawk ends Flyer program, shifts focus to once-secret autonomous aircraft Jun 04, 2020

Kitty Hawk is shutting down its Flyer program, the aviation startup’s inaugural moonshot to develop an ultralight electric flying car designed for anyone to use. The company, backed by Google co-founder Larry Page and led by Sebastian Thrun, said it’s now focused on scaling up Heaviside, a sleeker, more capable (once secret) electric aircraft that […]

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Remote work helps Zoom grow 169% in one year, posting $328.2M in Q1 revenue Jun 04, 2020

Today after the bell, video-chat service Zoom reported its Q1 earnings. The company disclosed that it generated $328.2 million in revenue, up 169% compared to the year-ago period. The company also reported $0.20 per-share in adjusted profit during the three-month period. Analysts, as averaged by Yahoo Finance, expected Zoom to report $202.48 million in revenue, […]

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Tembici raises $47M Series B to expand its fleet of electric bikes Jun 03, 2020

Tembici, which says it owns 80% of the market share in Latin America’s micromobility space, now has $47 million more in capital to double down on its docked ebike offering.Â The Series B round was led by Valor Capital and Redpoint eventures. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, and Joá […]

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Amid unprecedented growth on its platform, Acorns cuts roles and shuts down an office Jun 03, 2020

Acorns, which helps millions of people invest their spare change in the stock market, has laid off between 50 to 70 people, TechCrunch has learned from multiple sources. The Irvine, Calif.-based company would not confirm the total number of people laid off, but did confirm that there were cuts at the company as a result […]

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Global smartphone sales plummeted 20% in Q1, thanks to COVID-19 Jun 02, 2020

More dismal numbers confirm what we already knew: Q1 2020 was real rough for an already struggling smartphone category. Gartner’s latest report puts the global market at a 20.2% slide versus the same time last year, thanks in large part to fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Every single one of the global top-five manufactures saw […]

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Uber latest features lets riders book by the hour and make multiple stops Jun 02, 2020

Uber is bringing a new feature to the U.S. that lets users book rides for $50 an hour and make multiple stops as the ride-hailing company tries to respond to changing consumer needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The hourly booking feature, which is already available in a handful of international cities in Australia, Africa, Europe, […]

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Pax launches desktop app, bypassing Apple’s vaping ban Jun 01, 2020

Pax today is announcing a new app for its cannabis vaporizers. The service offers access to device controls, cannabis strain information, and safety features. The company previously launched an Android and iPhone app with similar features, but Apple later removed the version on the App Store, stripping iPhone users of features and information. Pax is […]

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Google’s latest experiment encourages social distancing through AR Jun 01, 2020

Several months into this pandemic, you can no doubt already eyeball six feet/two meters with the best of them. But if you’re still having trouble — and happen to have an Android device handy — Google’s got you covered, I guess. The latest project out of the company’s Experiments With Google collection, Sodar is a […]

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The Simpsons can now be watched in 4:3 aspect ratio on Disney+, as nature intended May 29, 2020

The greatest comedy in television history became a part of the Disney family when the mega-corporation gobbled up Fox last year, like so many forbidden donuts. Beyond having to make nice with the cartoon mouse American’s family had so openly antagonized over the decades, the deal meant that The Simpsons would have a permanent home […]

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2020 Lotus Evora GT Review: A thrilling, analog weekend racer May 29, 2020

Why’s this on TechCrunch? We hear that occasionally when posting things outside of our general programming. Generally, there’s a tech hook; there isn’t here with this $100,000 2020 Lotus Evora GT. The Lotus Evora GT is supersized go-kart with nary an advanced technical feature. And I love it. While most cars are coming equipped with […]

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Raspberry Pi Foundation announces Raspberry Pi 4 with 8GB of RAM May 28, 2020

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has released a new version of its flagship model, the Raspberry Pi 4. In addition to the models that come with 2GB and 4GB of RAM, there’s a new 8GB model. This model costs $75, which makes it the most expensive Raspberry Pi out there. As always, you get a single-board […]

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Rise Gardens raises seed funding for an indoor hydroponic gardening system May 28, 2020

You don’t need a green thumb and a big backyard to grow baskets of fresh produce. In fact, according to Chicago-based Rise Gardens, you probably just need a bookshelf’s worth of space in your living room and an app. Rise Gardens, an indoor hydroponic gardening system, has raised $2.6 million in seed funding for home-grown […]

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You can now surf in Microsoft’s Edge browser May 27, 2020

Browser developers love to add small Easter Eggs to their apps to help you while away the hours when your Interent is down, for example. Chrome has long had the Dino game, that you can start from the ‘No internet’ error screen, for example. With its surf game, Microsoft’s Edge team built something similar into […]

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Consumer hardware device shipments are on track for a 14% decline in 2020, courtesy of COVID-19 May 27, 2020

New numbers from Gartner show a sizable — if not unexpected — decline in device shipments for 2020. According to the analyst firm, the category (including phones, tablets and PCs) is currently on track to decline 13.6% for the year. An already struggling smartphone market takes a big hit from COVID-19 COVID-19 is, naturally, largely […]

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A new Android bug, Strandhogg 2.0, lets malware pose as real apps and steal user data May 26, 2020

Security researchers have found a major vulnerability in almost every version of Android, which lets malware imitate legitimate apps to steal app passwords and other sensitive data. The vulnerability, dubbed Strandhogg 2.0 (named after the Norse term for a hostile takeover) affects all devices running Android 9.0 and earlier. It’sÂ the “evil twin” to an earlier […]

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IBM confirms layoffs are happening, but won’t provide details May 26, 2020

IBM confirmed reports from over night that it is conducting layoffs, but wouldn’t provide details related to location, departments or number of employees involved. The company framed it in terms of replacing people with more needed skills as it tries to regroup under new CEO Arvind Krishna. “IBM’s work in a highly competitive marketplace requires […]

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Elon Musk: the Tesla Cybertruck isn’t getting any smaller May 25, 2020

In the days and weeks after Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed the cybertruck — a post-apocalyptic inspired vehicle made of cold-rolled steel — there was a lot of speculation about whether it would be smaller once it actually made it to market. Production of the Cybertruck is still a long ways off. There isn’t even […]

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Netflix’s beloved animated series Tuca & Bertie is getting a second life on Adult Swim May 25, 2020

Tuca & Bertie was wonderful. It was a hilarious and heartfelt examination of adult relationships, coupled with whimsical animated visuals. And like most good things in this world, it was simple too beautiful to live. The Netflix series, which starred comedians Tiffany Haddish and Ali Wong and two mismatched bird best friends was canceled after […]

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Magic Leap has apparently raised another $350 million, in spite of itself May 22, 2020

Magic Leap has reportedly received a $350 million lifeline, a month after slashing 1,000 jobs and dropping its consumer business. Noted by Business Insider and confirmed by The Information, CEO Rony Abovitz sent a note to staff announcing the funding, courtesy of unnamed current and new investors. The who — and more importantly, why — […]

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Brex brings on $150M in new cash in case of an ‘extended recession’ May 22, 2020

Fast-growing fintech behemoth Brex is raising big money as its customer base itself — high-growth and spendy startups — is struggling. The company, which sells a credit card tailored for startups, today announced that it has raised $150 million in a Series C extension from a group of existing investors, including DST Global and Lone […]

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How to decode a data breach notice May 21, 2020

Over the years I’ve seen hundreds, probably thousands, of data breach notifications warning that a company’s data was lost, stolen or left online for anyone to grab. Most of them look largely the same. It’s my job to decode what they actually mean for the victims whose information is put at risk. Data breach notifications […]

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Twitter is testing a feature that limits who can reply to your tweets May 21, 2020

Twitter today acknowledged that it’s begun testing a new setting that let users limit who can reply to tweets. The setting was first noted earlier this year. Similar to Facebook’s post view settings, the current implementation features a small glove icon in the corner. Tapping on it brings up a “Who Can Reply?” window. From […]

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Polestar to open first U.S. stores in the second half of 2020 May 20, 2020

Polestar’s first U.S. retail stores will open in Los Angeles, New York City and two locations in San Francisco later this year — the latest milestone for the automaker as it gets closer to bringing its all-electric vehicle to market. Polestar, which is jointly owned by Volvo Car Group and Zhejiang Geely Holding of China, […]

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The mystery of RGV2cw, Microsoft’s extremely nerdy secret message to developers May 20, 2020

When he was still running Microsoft, Steve Ballmer caused quite the stir in the tech world by screaming “Developers! Developers! Developers!” Since the executive retired to spend more time with his basketball team, however, the tech giant’s current CEO is decidedly more…subtle in his approach. In the kickoff keynote to the first all-virtual build conference, […]

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A smart highlighter and artificial window are among Samsung’s latest C-Lab spinoffs May 19, 2020

Samsung’s in-house incubator C-Lab has produced some of the more fascinating hardware devices in recent memory. Previous graduates have run the gamut from smart belts to augmented reality. The Samsung staff’s pet projects are not always the most practical, but they’re never not interesting. Per usual, the latest batch of graduates from the 9.5-year-old incubator […]

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As Jack Ma and SoftBank part ways, the open and globalized era of tech comes ever closer to an end May 19, 2020

It would be one of the greatest startup investments of all time. Masayoshi Son, riding high in the klieg lights of the 1990s dot-com bubble, invested $20 million dollars into a fledgling Hong Kong-based startup called Alibaba. That $20 million investment into the Chinese ecommerce business would go on to be worth about $120 billion […]

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Hypnosis for health? Investors have placed a $1.1 million bet on Mindset Health that it can work May 18, 2020

Chris and Alex Naoumidis came to hypnotherapy through dresses. As The New York Times reported last year, the two brothers initially started their careers as startup entrepreneurs with a peer-to-peer dress-sharing app for women. The Australian natives, overcome with doubt, about their ability to succeed in startupland and when apps didn’t work, their father suggested […]

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Unemployed Americans can get a free year of Headspace May 18, 2020

Back in March, Headspace announced that it would offer free content to all COVID-19 frontline responders. Now the meditation app is expanding the offer to include all unemployed people in the U.S. You can go here to sign up, by entering information on your most recent job, including the employer’s name and the date you […]

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Cruise lays off 8% of workforce amid COVID-19, puts resources towards engineering May 15, 2020

Cruise, the self-driving car subsidiary of GM that also has backing from SoftBank Vision Fund, automaker Honda and T. Rowe Price & Associates, is laying off nearly 8% of its more than 1,800-member workforce today as it tries to reduce costs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The layoffs will affect employees in Cruise’s product, marketing and […]

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France passes law forcing online platforms to delete hate speech content within 24 hours May 15, 2020

France’s lower chamber of the parliament has voted in favor of a controversial law against hate speech on social networks and online platforms. As I described last year, online platforms will have to remove illicit content that has been flagged within 24 hours. Otherwise, companies will have to pay hefty fines every time they infringe […]

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Taika is building a better coffee through natural chemistry and adaptogens May 14, 2020

So, an eight-year product veteran from Facebook and an internationally renowned barista walk into a coffee bar… It’s not a joke. It’s the origin story for Taika, a new startup that’s aiming to bring natural stimulants to the masses through its juiced up coffee-beverages. The two co-founders, Michael Sharon, an eight-year veteran of Facebook’s mobile […]

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NuraLoop buds deliver excellent customized sound in a portable profile May 14, 2020

I’ve been following the Nura story since the Australian startup brought an unfinished prototype of its first headphones to our offices four years back. When I finally had the opportunity to review the Nuraphones the following year, I put the noise-adapting headphones at the top of my list of 2017’s best gadgets. There was a […]

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Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg blames coronavirus for the streaming app’s challenges May 13, 2020

Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg is admitting that the short-form video service’s launch hasn’t gone the way he’d hoped — and he knows what to blame for its issues. “I attribute everything that has gone wrong to coronavirus,” Katzenberg said in an interview with The New York Times. “Everything. But we own it.” Back in April, […]

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Uber is reportedly in talks to buy GrubHub May 13, 2020

Uber is in talks to buy GrubHub in an all-stock deal, The Wall Street Journal reports. This comes a few months after reports emerged that GrubHub was looking to sell Uber, DoorDash and others. According to the report, Uber approached GrubHub earlier this year with an offer, but the two companies are still in talks. […]

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Spotify officially launches a shared-queue feature called Group Session May 12, 2020

Spotify is today introducing a new feature, Group Session, that will allow two or more of its Premium users in the same space to share control over they music being played. Essentially a “party mode” of sorts, Group Session participants can control what’s playing in real-time as well as contribute to a collaborative playlist for […]

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Yubico now lets enterprises ship security keys directly to their employees May 12, 2020

Yubico, a maker of security keys, has launched a new service that lets enterprise customers ship its YubiKey security keys directly to their employees, partners and customers — even to their homes. The service, dubbed YubiEnterprise Delivery, is a cloud-based dashboard that is available from anywhere. IT staff can log in, check their inventory levels […]

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Microsoft Surface Go 2 review May 11, 2020

The original Go was a mostly well-received addition to the Surface line when it arrived in late 2018. It was a nice, pint-sized alternatively, positioned fairly well to serve as a secondary device for some. It did the convertible double duty and traveled well, but otherwise was lacking in guts and versatility. Launching at the […]

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Boston Dynamics’ Spot is patrolling a Singapore park to encourage social distancing May 11, 2020

Since announcing the commercial availability of Spot, Boston Dynamics has presented a factotum of different gigs for the robot, from construction to telepresence. Last month, the company announced that it was partnering with local hospitals interested in using the platform to perform remote visits for COVID-19 victims. Turns out the global pandemic has spurred all […]

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Lyft shares rally 14% after it reports Q1 revenue growth of 23% to $955.7M May 08, 2020

Fresh off of a large round of layoffs, Lyft reported its Q1 results this afternoon. The ride-hailing company disclosed that it generated revenue of $955.7 million in the first three months of 2020, up 23% from its year-ago Q1 revenue result of $776 million. The company’s net loss of $398.1 million was also an improvement […]

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Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch review May 08, 2020

With the new MacBook, Apple closes one of the more unfortunate product chapters in its history. The upgraded 13-inch mercifully marks the end of the failed five-year experiment that was the butterfly switch. I won’t go into too much detail here. If you’ve purchased a MacBook in the past several years, you almost certainly know […]

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Equinix just recorded its 69th straight positive quarter May 07, 2020

There’s something to be said for consistency through good times and bad, and one company that has had a staggeringly consistent track record is international data center vendor, Equinix. It just recorded its 69th straight positive quarters, according to the company. That’s an astonishing record, and covers over 17 years of positive returns. That means […]

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Uber is laying off 3,700, as rides plummet due to COVID-19 May 07, 2020

In an SEC filing dating back to last week, Uber disclosed that plans to layoff 3,700 employees. The figure amounts to around 14% percent of the ride hailing giant’s total workforce. In the document, the company states that the job loss is part of a planned reduction in operating expenses, “in response to the economic […]

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Microsoft’s Surface Go 2 and Surface Book 3 are official May 06, 2020

The days of the big product event are on hold for the foreseeable future. Until then, a big blog post will have to do. A day after announcing that Microsoft would be shifting focus away from dual-screen devices, Chief Product Officer Panos Panay took to the company’s Devices blog to show off a slew of […]

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Tumblr now removes reblogs in violation of its hate speech policy, not just the original posts May 06, 2020

Tumblr is making a change to how it deals with hate speech on its blogging platform. The company announced today it will also remove the reblogs (repostings) from any blogs that were suspended for violating its policies around hate speech. Already, the company says it’s identified nearly 1,000 blogs that were banned for blatant violations […]

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“Here Kitty!” is an adorable way to pass the time while staying at home May 05, 2020

If you’ve got kids with you through this stay-at-home stretch, there’s a good chance you’re running low on new ways to keep them entertained. All the coloring pages have been colored in; the freeze dances frozen; the stickers stuck. Good news! Your iPhone is now a cat (congratulations!) You need to help your new cat […]

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Let housing rise from the empty offices and malls May 05, 2020

Jon Evans Contributor Jon Evans is the CTO of the engineering consultancy HappyFunCorp; the award-winning author of six novels, one graphic novel, and a book of travel writing; and TechCrunch's weekend columnist since 2010. More posts by this contributor How to make sense of the coronavirus chaos What do we do with the positives? It’s […]

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Tech for good during COVID-19: Sky-high gifts, extra help, and chips May 04, 2020

When Roger Lee, the co-founder of Human Interest, heard that San Francisco imposed shelter-in-place orders, he started blogging about layoff news and posting crowdsourced lists of employees who were laid off. His goal was to increase awareness about layoffs and give recruiters a place to search for candidates. However, one week and 40 startup layoffs […]

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Smart driving assistant Automatic is shutting down May 04, 2020

Automatic, makers of a connected car dongle, emailed customers today to announce that the company will shut down all operations May 28. The company says it’s the casualty of the COVID-19 shutdown. “Like many other companies in the United States, the COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted our business,” it writes, “and we have made the […]

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COVID-19 quarantine boosts smart speaker usage among U.S. adults, particularly younger users May 01, 2020

The coronavirus outbreak has driven more consumers to turn to their smart speakers for news, information, music and entertainment, according to new data released today by NPR and Edison Research. Around three-quarters of U.S. adults 18 and up said their routines have been impacted due to COVID-19 and their media habits have changed as a […]

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Microsoft’s Visual Studio Online code editor is now Visual Studio Codespaces and gets a price drop May 01, 2020

About a year ago, Microsoft launched Visual Studio Online, its online code editor based on the popular Visual Studio Code project. It’s basically a full code editor and hosted environment that lives in your browser. Today, the company announced that it is changing the name of this service to Visual Studio Codespaces. It’s also dropping […]

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Cleo Capital’s Sarah Kunst launches a fellowship for laid-off workers Apr 30, 2020

Sarah Kunst graduated from college in 2008 and went straight into the luxury marketing world with a job at Chanel. Then, the stock market collapsed and Kunst was laid off. It was that layoff, Kunst says, that brought her to the world of startups and eventually to founding her own firm, Cleo Capital, to invest […]

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Meet EventBot, a new Android malware that steals banking passwords and two-factor codes Apr 30, 2020

Security researchers are sounding the alarm over a newly discovered Android malware that targets banking apps and cryptocurrency wallets. The malware, which researchers at security firm Cybereason recently discovered and called EventBot, masquerades as a legitimate Android app — like Adobe Flash or Microsoft Word for Android — which abuses Android’s in-built accessibility features to […]

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Salesforce researchers are working on an AI economist for more equitable tax policy Apr 29, 2020

Tax policy is surely a complex beast, and depending on your political leanings, you probably have some strong feelings about how it should be implemented. Salesforce AI researchers are trying to build a model to bring artificial intelligence to bear on what will undoubtedly always be a highly political process. Richard Socher, who heads up […]

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Partech raises $100 million seed fund Apr 29, 2020

VC firm Partech has raised a new fund focused on seed investments. Named Partech Entrepreneur III, it is the third seed fund from the VC firm. Partech announced the final closing of its previous seed fund in December 2016. The firm is looking for companies at the very early stage, from pre-seed to pre-Series A. […]

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DJI’s mini Mavic Air gets an upgrade with improved camera and battery life Apr 28, 2020

DJI had to kibosh its usual big unveil this time out, for obvious reasons, but the company won’t let a little thing like a global pandemic get in the way of an announcement. A little over two years after unveiling its lightweight Mavic Air, the drone giant is announcing the sequel. When I reviewed the […]

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Google’s much improved Pixel Buds are finally here Apr 28, 2020

The original Pixel Buds weren’t very good. No way around it. Here’s a thing I wrote about them in a review titled “A disappointing debut for Google’s Pixel Buds“: As recently as a couple of years ago, they would have been a contender for the most compelling Bluetooth headphones on the market. But given the […]

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Verizon should make an Epic acquisition Apr 27, 2020

To: Hans (Mr. Vestberg? Boss?) RE: An Epic opportunity We wanted to jot down this memo to pitch a deal that could remake Verizon’s fortunes in the media business. Every major carrier and internet provider has staked out a huge piece of real estate in the entertainment world with the exception of Verizon (the parent […]

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New York payments startup exposed millions of credit card numbers Apr 27, 2020

A massive database storing millions of credit card transactions has been secured after spending close to three weeks exposed publicly to the internet. The database belongs to Paay, a card payments processor based in New York. Like other payment processors, the company verifies payments on behalf of selling merchants, like online stores and other businesses, […]

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The Air Force wants you to hack its satellite in orbit. Yes, really Apr 24, 2020

When the Air Force asked hackers to break into a F-15 fighter jet at last year’s Def Con security conference, the results were both eye-opening and eye-watering. It was the first time hackers were allowed to work on the system to look for bugs. In just two hours, a team of seven hackers found a […]

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Throw us your best 60-second pitch on May 13 at Pitchers and Pitches Apr 24, 2020

Founders have always faced big challenges, but they pale in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Moving your business forward will require new thinking, new tools and new opportunities along with tried-and-true essentials. We’ve got you covered on all fronts. Case in point — catching investor attention in this climate will require a pitch par […]

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A new iPhone email security bug may let hackers steal private data Apr 23, 2020

Apple will patch a newly discovered iPhone vulnerability that security researchers say hackers have already used to steal data from their victims’ devices. News of the vulnerability dropped Wednesday by security firm ZecOps. Zuk Avraham, the company’s chief executive, said the firm found the bug last year during a routine investigation. At least six organizations […]

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Tech for good during COVID-19: Children’s book, phone booths, and aperitifs Apr 23, 2020

Helena Price Hambrecht and Woody Hambrecht always had plans for Haus, their direct-to-consumer low-alcoholic drink, to land white-label partnerships with local restaurants. But when coronavirus spread across the country and hurt thousands of local restaurants, the Haus founders saw an opportunity to fast forward on that product plan and at the same time give back. […]

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The Nintendo Switch had a very good March Apr 22, 2020

Nintendo is selling a lot of Switches. The convertible console has been a lifesaver for people sheltering in place around the world. COVID-19-induced travel restrictions and the long-awaited arrival of Animal Crossing: New Horizons have proven to be a perfect storm for the three-year-old platform. New numbers out from NPD this morning shed some light […]

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Apple’s Magic Keyboard Review: Laptop class typing comes to iPad Pro Apr 22, 2020

Over the past two years, I’ve typed nearly every word I’ve written while traveling on the iPad Pro’s Smart Keyboard Folio. For more on why you can see my iPad Pro review here. For the purposes of this look at the new Magic Keyboard, though, you should probably just know two things: It was reliable, […]

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The pandemic will force sports to reimagine the fan experience Apr 21, 2020

When I was 10 years old, my dad took me to Fenway Park for the first time. I remember quite clearly walking up the runway and seeing the brilliant green lawn and being totally and completely amazed. Now that’s a great customer experience. I was hooked simply by the beauty of the ballpark, even before […]

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Santander launches PagoFX, a TransferWise competitor Apr 20, 2020

Spanish bank Santander has launched a new product called PagoFX. As the name suggests, PagoFX focuses on foreign exchange and lets you send money in other currencies. In other words, it’s a TransferWise competitor. It is completely separated from Satander’s retail bank products. You don’t need a Santander bank account. While Santander puts its logo […]

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NASA reveals ambitious multi-spacecraft plan to bring a piece of Mars back to Earth Apr 17, 2020

That NASA intends to collect a sample from Mars and return it to Earth is well known — they’ve said so many times. But how would they go about scooping up soil from the surface of a distant planet and getting it back here? With a plan that sounds straight out of sci-fi. Described by […]

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Apple introduces new $399 iPhone SE with Touch ID and 4.7â€³ screen Apr 17, 2020

Apple has dropped a new iPhone SE on the market today. It’s a 4.7” iPhone with a physical home button, Touch ID, a single rear-facing camera and the A13 Bionic chip on board. With a $399 starting price point, the new SE is aimed squarely at new iPhone users or first time smartphone buyers but […]

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Markets dragged down by abysmal retail sales and factory output Apr 16, 2020

US major stock indexes fell in Wednesday trading as new data from the Commerce Department and Federal Reserve indicated a collapse in manufacturing output and retail sales. However, the declines did not completely erase yesterday’s gains in another sign that US investors and corporations may be better positioned to withstand the economic shocks caused by […]

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Niantic will make Pokémon GO more stay-at-home friendly with remote raids Apr 16, 2020

Pokémon GO was built to be played outside, with friends, as you wandered around and explored interesting landmarks around you — or, you know, the exact opposite of what we’re supposed to be doing right now. Niantic has been working on transitioning the game into something that can still be played from your couch (Pokémon […]

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The odd reality of today’s stock market Apr 15, 2020

As the COVID-19 death toll in the United States continues to climb, American stocks are, in a grim divergence, recovering lost ground. It isn’t clear precisely why locally-listed equities have risen in recent weeks, let alone today, but let’s go over the day’s results so that we’re all on the same page. In regular trading […]

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The digital future is now Apr 15, 2020

Bruce Springsteen once wrote, “We’re living in the future and none of this has happened yet.” It seems that the world is changing before our eyes as COVID-19 has sent us all home and forced us and our institutions to change the way we operate overnight. As Box CEO Aaron Levie pointed out on Twitter […]

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Lucid Motors’ EV factory starts to take shape Apr 14, 2020

Four months after breaking ground, the Lucid Motors factory in Arizona sitsÂ — its new roof and sign emblazoned on its side— waiting for construction to resume. The electric vehicle company released Tuesday new photos of the factory located off Interstate 10 between Phoenix and Tucson. Construction was “well ahead of schedule” when Gov. Doug […]

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Apple and Google are launching a joint COVID-19 tracing tool Apr 14, 2020

Apple and Google’s engineering teams have banded together to create a decentralized contact tracing tool that will help individuals determine whether they have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. Contact tracing is a useful tool that helps public health authorities track the spread of the disease and inform the potentially exposed so that they can […]

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Altman and others want to crowdfund 1 billion masks in the next 180 days Apr 13, 2020

Sam Altman, former president of Y Combinator and CEO of OpenAI, tweeted out his goal to secure 1 billion masks in 180 days. The public just needs to crowdfund those masks, first. Altman, along with his brother Max Altman, an employee at Rippling, Radu Spineanu, the co-founder of Two Tap, Tinnei Pang, a designer at […]

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Silicon Valley Bank only started processing stimulus loan applications today Apr 13, 2020

In a sign of just how broken the process is for startups looking to receive stimulus dollars, Silicon Valley Bank, the bank that claims “more innovative startups bank with us than any other bank,” only just began processing claims today. “Since the CARES Act and the PPP were announced, we have been hard at work […]

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Google Stadia is free for everyone, with two-month trial for Pro Tier Apr 10, 2020

Google’s game-streaming service Stadia is now free for anyone with a Google account, the company announced today. Assuming you’ve got a compatible device and controller — and good internet in one of the 14 supported countries — you can sign up right now and get the “Pro” edition with a handful of built-in games for […]

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I had COVID-19, but my tech guilt is worse Apr 10, 2020

Let’s channel our guilt into something good.

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Stocks rally again as new COVID-19 cases show signs of slowing Apr 09, 2020

All major indices rose Wednesday, led by the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which increased 3.44% to close above 23,000 for the first time since March 13. Investors seemed heartened by comments made by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci, who said Wednesday that the U.S. death count from COVID-19 is lower […]

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Netflix now lets you lock your personal profile with a PIN to keep kids (and roommates) out Apr 09, 2020

Want to let your kids poke around Netflix without them wandering their way beyond the kids section? Got a roommate who keeps inexplicably forgetting to use their profile and is totally screwing up your “Continue Watching” list? Good news! Netflix is now letting users set a PIN to keep individual profiles locked down. The new […]

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Tech shares close down on the day despite roaring start Apr 08, 2020

American equities closed down today, with the major domestic indices all losing ground after a wild trading cycle. After starting the day up sharply higher after strong Monday gains, those gains were erased as the day closed. It was a day of confusing movement; the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, to pick an example, had a range […]

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Stocks rise following yesterday’s sharp rally Apr 08, 2020

After a sharp Monday rally seemingly built on optimism that the impact of the global pandemic may have reached its zenith in Europe — and indeed that the United States might see a lower infection and mortality peak than some anticipated — shares once again rose this morning. Here’s how the day looks a few […]

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American stocks rally sharply on COVID-19 optimism as earnings loom Apr 07, 2020

Stocks rallied Monday, with all major indices snapping back into positive territories as investors seized on any positive developments in the fight to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus. The stock market is, of course, not the economy. And this is likely a dead cat bounce — a temporary recovery after […]

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As tech layoffs surge, some support emerges for those without a job Apr 07, 2020

The massive surge of COVID-19-related layoffs has put tech in a unique position. While the startup world is facing layoffs itself, it is also trying to help get people back to work. Back at the end of 2019, the SoftBank-backed belt-tightening period led to a flurry of crowdsourced spreadsheets with employee names from companies like […]

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GrubHub/Seamless’s pandemic initiatives are predatory and exploitative, and it’s time to stop using them Apr 06, 2020

Times are exceptionally hard, especially for local restaurants, which were always in a precarious business even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. But when times are hard, people pull together, right? Or at least they don’t take advantage of the suffering and desperate to exploit and profit from them. Right? We’d all like to think so, […]

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‘Artemis Fowl’ is skipping theaters for Disney+ Apr 06, 2020

With movie theaters largely closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney is pushing back its slate of upcoming films. And at least one movie won’t be making it into theaters at all, with “Artemis Fowl” heading straight to streaming instead. The company announced today that that the film will debut exclusively on Disney+, and that […]

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You can now buy AWS’ $99 DeepComposer keyboard Apr 03, 2020

AWS today announced that its DeepComposer keyboard is now available for purchase. And no, DeepComposer isn’t a mechanical keyboard for hackers but a small MIDI keyboard for working with the AWS DeepComposer service that uses AI to create songs based on your input. First announced at AWS re:Invent 2019, the keyboard created a bit of […]

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Consumers spent record $23.4 billion on apps in Q1 2020, thanks to being stuck indoors Apr 03, 2020

Time spent in mobile apps has been surging, as people stuck at home due to the coronavirus outbreak have been turning to apps to do their shopping, manage their finances, find new exercises, work from home, and stay entertained. According to new data from App Annie, released today, Q1 2020 was the largest-ever quarter in […]

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Audible has the first Harry Potter audiobook (as read by Stephen Fry!) up for free right now Apr 02, 2020

If you’ve ever tried to buy the Harry Potter audiobooks, you probably noticed something kind of tricky: there’s two very different versions. The version most widely available in the US is narrated by Jim Dale. The UK version is read by Stephen Fry. Which is better? I won’t get into that — that’s something the […]

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Stocks fall sharply as U.S. government warns of hard weeks ahead Apr 02, 2020

A recent redbound in domestic equity prices faded further into the distance today, as American stocks fell for a second consecutive day following modest Tuesday declines. After rising from new 52 week lows, all domestic indices after the American president warned of difficult weeks ahead as the country reels from the economic and social impacts […]

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Stocks post worst quarter since 2008 financial crisis Apr 01, 2020

The first quarter of 2020 ended with a whimperÂ — with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and NASDAQ posting their worst quarter in decades — as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause uncertainty and volatility across all major stock market indices. At the beginning of the quarter, we were still basking in a […]

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Fitbit adds GPS and Spotify control for the Charge 4 Apr 01, 2020

Let’s be real: Now isn’t the ideal time to launch a health tracker. For a majority of us, expectations have dramatically plummeted for step counts, workout minutes and other gamified metrics. But hardware launches will, for the most part, go on. Fitbit eschewed its normal press event this time out — for increasingly good reason […]

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WTF is the denominator effect? Mar 31, 2020

The last few weeks have just been dreadful for asset managers. Not only have the markets tanked the past few weeks (if slightly recovered from their lows since the signing of the U.S. stimulus bill), but the daily volatility of different assets is making it very hard to keep portfolios balanced. As an example, the […]

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Microsoft Edge is getting smart copy and paste, a password monitor and vertical tabs Mar 31, 2020

Microsoft today announced a ton of new features for its productivity apps, but it also used today’s release to highlight a few new features that are coming to its Chromium-based Edge browser in the near future. Most of these are pretty straightforward and expected, like its Collections bookmarking feature coming to mobile later this year, […]

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White House extends social distancing guidelines to April 30 Mar 30, 2020

Only a few days after saying that he would like to see the country “opened up and raring to go by Easter” and maybe relax rules for at least some parts of the U.S. sooner than later, President Trump today announced that he is extending the government’s social distancing guidelines through April 30. “Nothing would […]

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Coronavirus pushes Folding@Home’s crowdsourced molecular science to exaflop levels Mar 30, 2020

The long-running Folding@Home program to crowdsource the enormously complex task of solving molecular interactions has hit a major milestone as thousands of new users sign up to put their computers to work. The network now comprises an "exaflop" of computing power: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 operations per second.

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Huawei announces the P40 and tries to stay relevant without Google Mar 27, 2020

Huawei has unveiled new flagship phones today, the P40, P40 Pro and P40 Pro+. These are beautiful phones with great specs. But it would only take you a few minutes to realize that there’s something odd with them. There is no Gmail, no Google Maps and no Google Play Store. Last year, the U.S. government […]

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88 out of top 200 U.S. cities have seen internet speeds decline this past week, 3 cities by more than 40% Mar 26, 2020

The impacts of telecommuting, shelter-in-place laws, and home quarantines resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak are starting to impact broadband speeds across a number of U.S. cities, a new report has found. According to broadband analysis site BroadbandNow, 88 out of the top 200 most populous U.S. cities analyzed have now experienced some form of network […]

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Brave partners with Binance to let you trade crypto assets from your browser Mar 26, 2020

Web browser Brave is expanding its cryptocurrency features with an integration with cryptocurrency exchange Binance. Brave users will be able to buy, trade and receive crypto assets directly on the new tab page. In addition to a particular focus on privacy, Brave has been playing around with cryptocurrencies for a while. The company launched its […]

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Musicians pulled in $4.3M after Bandcamp waived revenue shares for 24 hours Mar 25, 2020

Last week, popular music platform Bandcamp announced that it would be waiving its revenue shares from all sales for 24 hours, starting Friday morning. The move was an effort to help boost income for the innumerable artists who have been struggling to make ends meet as live performances have been canceled for the foreseeable future […]

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Apple releases iOS and iPadOS 13.4 with trackpad support Mar 25, 2020

Apple has released software updates for the iPhone, the iPad, the Apple Watch, the Apple TV and the Mac. The biggest changes are on the iPad. Starting today, you can pair a mouse or trackpad with your iPad and use it to move a cursor on the display. Apple unveiled trackpad support for iPadOS when […]

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Stocks broadly fall as Nasdaq dips modestly, SaaS gains on the day Mar 24, 2020

The technology industry’s central role in an American economy shaped by attempts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 is being reflected in how investors are approaching markets in these turbulent times. As the broader economy stumbles, technology companies and the major exchange they call home seem to be somewhat more of a safe-haven given the […]

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Under quarantine, media is actually social Mar 24, 2020

The flood of status symbol content into Instagram Stories has run dry. No one is going out and doing anything cool right now, and if they are, they should be shamed for it. Beyond sharing video chat happy hour screenshots and quarantine dinner concoctions, our piece-by-piece biographies have ground to a halt. Oddly, what remains […]

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Into and after the viral storm Mar 23, 2020

The path forward now seems pretty clear. First we get through the grim month-and-more ahead, supporting health care workers in any way we can. (Tip: findthemasks.com lists where to donate PPE, personal protective equipment, in the US. If you have any, do so. We are very literally all in this together, and they need it […]

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Nielsen explains how COVID-19 could impact media usage across the U.S. Mar 23, 2020

With U.S. consumers asked to refrain from social gatherings and shelter-in-place at home due to COVID-19, media consumption is prepared to boom. Based on Nielsen data from prior major crises in recent U.S. history that forced consumers to stay home, total TV usage increased by nearly 60%. We’re not there yet, but consumption is starting […]

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PSA: Yes you can join a Zoom meeting in the browser Mar 20, 2020

Work in the time of coronavirus is driving huge growth in videoconferencing, as scores of office workers go remote and log on to meetings from home. Zoom — which offers a range of slick features like auto-transcription and virtual backgrounds — has been a key beneficiary of this viral boom. Back in February research analysts […]

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Stocks gain as governments around the world pledge to prop up the global economy Mar 19, 2020

In a volatile trading session that saw the White House signal intentions to release the largest stimulus package since the great recession of 2008, American stocks made up for yesterday’s losses with major indices rising sharply. The return to gains was welcome after stocks posted huge losses to begin the week, tripping the market’s circuit […]

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Trump says Google CEO Sundar Pichai called to apologize Mar 19, 2020

At what is now a daily coronavirus press briefing at the White House, President Trump today said that Google CEO Sundar Pichai called him to apologize. What Pichai apologized for wasn’t immediately clear, but Trump then went on to praise Google’s communications team for supposedly substantiating Trump’s comments about Google’s coronavirus screening site. “I want […]

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Good news, Bay Area, you can still go on a hike (for now) Mar 18, 2020

Yesterday, San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced a lockdown for six Bay Area Counties: San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Marin, Contra Costa and Alameda. The public health order marks a big step to help reduce movement, potential transmission of COVID-19, of the nearly 7 million people within the Bay Area. It is important to […]

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Model Y deliveries begin: Here’s what is new in Tesla’s EV crossover Mar 17, 2020

Tesla said Monday it has started delivering the Model Y crossover to customers in the U.S., hitting a milestone one year after unveiling the prototype and six months ahead of schedule. Reports of deliveries started last week. The tweet from Tesla, which included a video of the Model Y being assembled and then hitting the […]

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Staff angered as Charter prohibits working from home as coronavirus spreads Mar 17, 2020

An engineer from Charter, one of the largest phone and internet providers in the U.S., sent an email blast to a senior vice president and hundreds of engineers on Friday. In the email, Nick Wheeler, a video operations engineer based in Denver,Â criticized his employer for not allowing its staff to work from home despite ongoing […]

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The latest Powerbeats bring Pro-style updates to a tethered design at $149 Mar 16, 2020

After several weeks worth of leaks, the latest version of Apple/Beat’s Powerbeats arrive this week. One key thing many of the rumors got wrong is the name. There will be no Powerbeats 4 — not for now, at least. Instead, the company’s somewhat confusingly doing away with the number scheme in favor of the simpler […]

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New Twitter client Brizzly+ lets you ‘edit’ and auto-delete your tweets Mar 16, 2020

Brizzly, the name associated with a long-gone Twitter client, and later, a goofy project highlighting our addiction to social media, is coming back. And this time, it’s focused on serving the needs of Twitter power users in search of features Twitter itself has failed to build — like an Edit button and an auto-deletion option for tweets, among other things.

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Stocks fall again, pushing deeper into bear territory as SaaS reaches 1 year lows Mar 13, 2020

American-listed shares are off sharply this morning, falling after a steep selloff yesterday was not staunched by a presidential address. The declines echo what happened to Asian-listed stocks earlier today. All major American indices are now in bear-market territory, having shed the requisite 20% from recent highs. Today’s carnage is simply bleak. As we write to you, here’s where stocks are: Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA): -1,688.5, or -7.2% S&P 500: -191.2, or -7.

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Stocks change their mind again, falling sharply this morning in early trading Mar 12, 2020

Have you ever seen a dead cat bounce? It’s a term that Wall Street traders coined to describe the moment when collapsing markets briefly rise before resuming a downward trajectory. It looks like investors new to the notion of an economic downturn may have seen their first such bounce yesterday. The glacial domestic response to the spreading novel coronavirus in the U.S.

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NASA’s SLS Moon rocket is 2 years behind and billions over budget, internal report finds Mar 12, 2020

NASA’s ambitious plan to put boots on the Moon in 2024 is looking increasingly costly — and increasingly unlikely — if the current cost overruns and delays are any indication, according to a report by the agency’s Office of the Inspector General. “NASA’s continued struggle with managing SLS Program costs and schedule has the potential to impact the Agency’s ambitious goals for the Artemis program,” reads the report issued yesterday.

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European Parliament moves to majority teleworking in response to COVID-19 Mar 11, 2020

The European Parliament is instructing managers to prepare for all but a minority of staff to work remotely for 70% of the week as of next Monday — dialling up its response to Covid-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Full-time remote working may follow, it has also said.

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Markets look a bit better today, because hope springs eternal Mar 11, 2020

It appears that the teaser from President Donald Trump’s press conference last night about the steps that the U.S. government might take to soften the economic blow of a more severe response from the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. has had the desired effect. At least it looks that way, given how the stock market opened regular trading hours.

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Wait, you all haven’t been wiping down your smartphones this whole time? Mar 10, 2020

A small consolation in the growing COVID-19 crisis is that some of our moderate germophobia has begun to feel like a minor super power. As I got settled for a cross-country flight last week, I took out my hand wipes and did a whole number on the screen, tray table and arm rests, and this time no one looked at me funny. I go to a lot of conferences and trade shows and have to shake a lot of hands (though I’ve taken to the elbow bash in recent weeks) before handling my phone.

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US markets halt trading after global equities retreat, oil collapses, bond yields fall, and cryptos drop Mar 10, 2020

Welcome to the bloodbath. This morning trading was halted on the major stock exchanges after the S&P 500 fell to 7% triggering what are one of the so-called circuit breakers to stop an absolute market rout. Within seconds of opening stocks fell sharply lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 872.42(or 3.37%) to 24,9992.36, the S&P 500 slipping 193.41 (6.51%) to 2,778.96, and the Nasdaq off 90.16 or 6.96% at 1,205.58 to start the day. By the time the S&P fell to 7%, trading was halted.

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John Oliver slams Disney’s Hotstar for censoring his show Mar 09, 2020

John Oliver slammed Disney-owned Hotstar on Sunday for censoring his show, “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” in India, saying the local streaming service has edited at least three episodes in recent months. A recent episode of “Last Week Tonight”, in which Oliver criticised the Indian government’s recent policies and its leader, Narendra Modi, never aired on Hotstar.[The same episode is available unedited on YouTube in India.

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Facebook bans face mask ads to fight coronavirus price gouging Mar 09, 2020

On Friday, Facebook announced that it would further attempt to limit coronavirus-related chaos on its platform by banning commerce listings and advertisements for medical face masks. “We’re monitoring COVID19 closely and will make necessary updates to our policies if we see people trying to exploit this public health emergency,” Facebook Director of Product Management Rob Leathern said in an update on Twitter. “We’ll start rolling out this change in the days ahead.

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Stocks fell sharply today, bringing yet more unwelcome volatility to tech shares Mar 06, 2020

Are you tired of TechCrunch reporting on the daily stock market gyrations? Well, we’re tired of writing about them. And yet here we are, because stonks yet again did wild things that we have to talk about. Markets are still skittish about the effect the rapidly spreading novel coronavirus, COVID-19, will have on the economy. And the U.S. is still figuring out exactly how many people in the country have been infected by the virus, and how aggressively it may need to respond. So far, the U.S.

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Bluecrew launches a mobile app to help businesses manage a flexible workforce Mar 06, 2020

Bluecrew, a flexible staffing business owned by holding company IAC, is launching a new mobile app called Bluecrew Manager. Rather than relying on a network of independent contractors, Bluecrew hires its own W-2 employees, who in turn have the option to accept hourly jobs from Bluecrew customers.

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Hailo raises $60M Series B for its AI chips Mar 05, 2020

Israeli AI chipmaker Hailo today announced that it has raised a $60 million Series B funding round led by its existing investors, who were joined by new strategic investor ABB Technology Ventures, the venture arm of the Swiss-based multination ABB, NEC Corporation and Londons’ Latitude Ventures. The new funding will help Hailo to roll out its Hailo-8 Deep Learning chip and to get into new markets and industries.

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Google Assistant on Android can now read entire web pages to you Mar 05, 2020

Just a few weeks back at CES, Google gave a sneak peak of a feature that would let your Android devices read entire web pages aloud to you — perfect for when you don’t have a hand free to scroll but still need to catch up on some text, or for when you just don’t feel like looking at your screen anymore. You’d say “Hey Google, read this page”, and they’d spin up Google Assistant’s neural networks to generate a pretty dang spot-on reading of it.

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Stocks fall despite Fed intervention, dragging tech shares down once again Mar 04, 2020

On a day that saw the U.S. Federal Reserve try to flip the only switch it can to light up investor confidence, investors remained unconvinced of the short-term financial prospects of the U.S. and global economies. All three major indices saw red on Tuesday after a sharp Monday rally partially erased their historically bad week that came before. The see-saw of domestic equities continued for yet another day.

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Apple agrees to settlement of up to $500 million from lawsuit alleging it throttled older phones Mar 04, 2020

Apple agrees to settlement of up to $500 million from lawsuit alleging it throttled older phones Apple Inc. has agreed to pay a settlement of up to $500 million, following a lawsuit accusing the company of intentionally slowing down the performance of older phones to encourage customers to buy newer models or fresh batteries. The preliminary proposed class action lawsuit was disclosed Friday night and would see Apple pay consumers $25 per-phone, as reported by Reuters.

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Stocks partially reverse last week’s slide in early-morning trading Mar 03, 2020

Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq have reversed course after a week of losses. The Dow was up 570.50 points to 25,979.86 and the Nasdaq was up 112.96 to 8680.33 near midday trading. The two major bellwethers of investor sentiment had a rough week last week as the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, and the response from governments that it engendered cut into supply chains and corporate earnings.

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The 2020 Chevy Corvette is good and will only getter better Mar 03, 2020

What’s a Corvette? To me, the formula is simple: Loads of power in an affordable package that can hold two golf bags. For the past 62 years, that meant putting the engine in the front and a stick shift on the floor. And now it’s all different, and it’s the start of something great. For the first time, the Corvette’s engine is in the middle of the car resulting in a radical departure in tradition. Because of this placement, the Corvette drives differently.

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How to work during a pandemic Mar 02, 2020

The world is bracing for the seemingly inevitable proliferation of SARS-COV-12, also known as COVID-19 and coronavirus, which has already paralyzed cities and isolated millions. In the U.S., especially the nonstop work culture in startups, we tend to think we’re immune to such things and carry on business as usual.

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Relativity Space expands its rocket printing operations into an enormous new Long Beach HQ Mar 02, 2020

Building a rocket is a big operation, even when you’re printing them from the ground up, like Relativity Space . The launch startup is graduating from its initial office, which is a bit cramped for assembling rockets, to a huge space in Long Beach where the company will go from prototype to first flight.

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‘Konami Code’ creator Kazuhisa Hashimoto has died Feb 28, 2020

Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, then start. Sound familiar? The Konami Code, as this sequence came to be known, is one of the most recognizable artifacts of an earlier era of gaming. Kazuhisa Hashimoto, its creator, has used up the last of his 30 lives. Hashimoto was a programmer at Konami, and created the code during the development of one of Konami’s best-known games of the 8-bit era: Gradius.

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The Raspberry Pi 4 gets more RAM for $35 Feb 28, 2020

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has updated its flagship model, the Raspberry Pi 4. It’s still the same awesome tiny single-board computer with a lot of connectors. But the entry level now comes with 2GB of RAM instead of 1GB of RAM for the same price of $35. The foundation says that RAM prices have been dropping lately, so it has become cheaper to build Raspberry Pi devices with more RAM. If you want more RAM, you can still buy a 4GB model for $55 — the price hasn’t changed.

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As Block exits, Salesforce forecasts it will surpass $20B in revenue in FY2021 Feb 27, 2020

When Keith Block joined Salesforce from Oracle in 2013, the CRM giant was already a successful SaaS vendor on a billion dollar quarterly revenue cadence. When the co-CEO announced he was stepping down yesterday, the company reported revenue of $4.9 billion for the quarter. During his tenure, the company’s revenue more than quadrupled, earning an impressive $17.

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LG’s latest has an optional second screen and a headphone jack Feb 27, 2020

One thing you can say for sure about 2020’s smartphone landscape: there’s no shortage of options. Sales have taken a dip in the last few years, causing a number of manufactures to get creative with their offerings. LG’s certainly in that boat. It’s been a less than spectacular few years for the company’s mobile offerings, but it’s not for a lack of trying.

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Firefox to enable DNS-over-HTTPS by default to US users Feb 26, 2020

Mozilla will bring its new DNS-over-HTTPS security feature to all Firefox users in the U.S. by default in the coming weeks, the browser maker has confirmed. It follows a year-long effort to test the new security feature, which aims to make browsing the web more secure and private. Whenever you visit a website — even if it’s HTTPS enabled — the DNS query that converts the web address into an IP address that computers can read is usually unencrypted.

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Disney CEO Bob Iger immediately steps down from CEO position Feb 26, 2020

The Walt Disney Company announced this afternoon that Robert Iger, the company’s long-time CEO who ushered in the company’s lush franchise and entertainment platform profits, will step down immediately as chief executive. Bob Chapek, a long-time senior exec at the company who most recently held the position of Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, will succeed him.

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Shipt shoppers are the latest gig workers to organize Feb 25, 2020

Inspired by the work of Instacart shoppers over the last few years, a handful of workers at Target-owned Shipt, a grocery delivery service, are beginning to organize. With the help of two key Instacart shopper-activists, Vanessa Bain and Sarah Clarke, who goes by a pseudonym, Shipt workers are now demanding better wages and the elimination of what some describe as a culture of fear. “We want to be the first responders,” Clarke tells TechCrunch.

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Disney+ launches discounted annual subscriptions for European users Feb 25, 2020

Disney is offering a discount on its new streaming service for select European markets ahead of its March 24th launch, the company announced on Monday. Customers who pre-order Disney+ before March 23rd will get £10 or €10 a full year’s subscription, bringing the cost down to around £49.99 or €59.99 per year (~$64 USD). The service initially debuts in the U.K., Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria, and Switzerland.

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Rallyhood exposed a decade of users’ private data Feb 24, 2020

Rallyhood says it’s “private and secure.” But for some time, it wasn’t. The social network designed to helping groups communicate and coordinate left one of its cloud storage buckets open and exposed. The bucket, hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS), was not protected with a password, allowing anyone who knew the easily-guessable web address access to a decade’s worth of user files.

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Twitter adds a button so you can thread your shower thoughts Feb 24, 2020

Hold that tweet — and add another one. Twitter is adding a new feature for mobile users to make it easier to link dispersed ‘shower thoughts’ together — and another thingstyleee. Per 9to5Mac, the feature — which Twitter tweeted about yesterday — is slowly rolling out to its iOS app. (At the time of writing we spotted it in Europe.

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Gaming-focused investment firm Bitkraft closes in on at least $140 million for its second fund Feb 21, 2020

Esports, video games and the innovations that enable them now occupy a central space in the cultural and commercial fabric of the tech world. For the investment firm Bitkraft Esports Ventures, the surge in interest means a vast opportunity to invest in the businesses that continue to reshape entertainment and develop technologies which have implications far beyond consoles and controllers. Increasingly, investors are willing to come along for the ride.

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One year later, the future of foldables remains uncertain Feb 21, 2020

Yesterday, Samsung announced that the Galaxy Flip Z sold out online. What, precisely, that means, is hard to say, of course, without specific numbers from the company. But it’s probably enough to make the company bullish about its latest wade into the foldable waters, in the wake of last year’s Fold — let’s just say “troubles.” Response to the device has been positive.

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CBS All Access to gain content from Nick, MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Pictures & more Feb 20, 2020

CBS All Access, the streaming service now owned by ViacomCBS following the merger, is expanding. Announced today as part of the company’s otherwise underwhelming Q4 earnings, the plan is to launch a new “broad pay” streaming service that will include CBS All Access content along with other ViacomCBS assets in film and TV to complement the company’s existing free streaming service Pluto TV and premium network Showtime.

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Netflix acquires Adam McKay’s asteroid comedy ‘Don’t Look Up’, Jennifer Lawrence will star Feb 20, 2020

Netflix announced today that it has acquired “Don’t Look Up,” a comedy written and directed by Adam McKay, with Jennifer Lawrence attached to star. The story sounds like a funhouse reflection of one of today’s other headlines, focusing on two “low-level astronomers” who try to warn the world about the dangers of an asteroid that’s approaching Earth.

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Ring slightly overhauls security and privacy, but it’s still not enough Feb 19, 2020

Security camera maker Ring is updating its service to improve account security and give more control when it comes to privacy. Once again, this is yet another update that makes the overall experience slightly better but the Amazon-owned company is still not doing enough to protect its users. First, Ring is reversing its stance when it comes to two-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication is now mandatory — you can’t even opt out.

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Black haircare startup Naza Beauty just raised $1 million from Alexis Ohanian’s Initialized Capital Feb 19, 2020

As we all saw in Oscar-winning short film Hair Love, black hair is beautiful but it’s also notoriously difficult to manage. One of the first hair memories Naza founder and CEO Natanya Montgomery has is of her mom brushing her hair into three afro puffs on the top of her head. When she was seven, she started coming to terms with the state of her hair, and that’s when her mom took her to the salon for the first time.

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Google confirms it again removed alleged spying tool ToTok from Google Play Feb 18, 2020

In December, The New York Times reported a popular messaging app called ToTok was actually a spying tool used by the government of the United Arab Emirates to track users’ conversations, location, and social connections. The app was removed from the Google Play store in December, while Google investigated, then reinstated in early January. Google now confirms the app has again been removed, but this time declined to comment as to why.

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Images of TCL’s slide-out display smartphone surface in wake of MWC cancellation Feb 18, 2020

This morning brought a look at some of what we’re missing at this year’s Mobile World Congress. The show may have been called off on account of coronavirus concerns, but the news goes on. We knew that TCL was planning to show off a number of “alternative” smartphone form factors, and one just showed up on CNET.

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Google ends its free Wi-Fi program Station Feb 17, 2020

Google said on Monday that it is winding down its Station program, through which it rolled out free Wi-Fi in more than 400 railway stations in India and in several other public places around the globe. Caesar Sengupta, VP of Payments and Next Billion Users at Google, said the program, launched in 2015, helped millions of users connect to the internet everyday — many for the first time. But as mobile data prices become affordable in many markets, Google Station is no longer needed.

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Google’s Gboard introduces Emoji Kitchen, a tool to mash up emojis to use as stickers Feb 17, 2020

If you’re ever felt like there just weren’t enough emoji options to express how you’re feeling, a new addition to Google’s Gboard keyboard, launching today, aims to help. Gboard for Android is introducing a feature called “Emoji Kitchen” which allows users to mash up different emoji then use them as stickers when messaging. The stickers will work across apps, including Gmail, Messages by Google, Messenger, Snapchat, Telegram, WhatsApp, and others.

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Instagram prototypes “Latest Posts” feature Feb 14, 2020

Instagram users who miss the reverse chronological feed might get a new way to see the most recent pics and videos from who they follow. Instagram has been spotted internally prototyping a “Latest Posts” feature that appears as a pop-up over the main feed and brings users to a special area showing the newest content from their network.

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Battery Ventures just closed on a whopping $2 billion across two funds, two years after its last fundraise Feb 14, 2020

Battery Ventures just closed on a whopping $2 billion across two funds, two years after its last fundraise Battery Ventures, the now 37-year-old investment firm, just closed on two new funds that — at $2 billion in capital commitments — nearly double the record-breaking $1.2 billion that the firm closed on exactly two years ago.

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Netflix fishes for new subscribers in U.S. with free stream of ‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’ Feb 13, 2020

Netflix is looking to get young adults hooked on its service by making its popular teenage rom-com, “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” available to stream for free to everyone in the U.S., including non-subscribers. This isn’t the first time Netflix has offered free streaming — it teased Brits last year by offering an episode of “The Crown” for free, and has run similar tests in markets like India and parts of South America.

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Samsung gives foldables another go with the Galaxy Z Flip Feb 12, 2020

Samsung did a surprisingly good job keeping the Galaxy Fold under wraps, surprising the world with its first foldable this time last year during the Galaxy S10 unveil. When it came to the Galaxy Z Flip, on the other hand, the company just went ahead and showed the whole thing off during an Oscar ad buy. (Not to mention numerous Samsung employees playing around with the handsets in their seats this morning, ahead of unveil). Crazy world, these mobile phones.

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Activist gig workers seek to form nonprofit to support fellow workers Feb 11, 2020

Vanessa Bain (pictured above), a well-known gig worker-activist, has teamed up with fellow gig worker-activist Sarah Clarke (pseudonym) to form the Gig Workers Collective. It’s early days for the organization, which is a pending 501(c)(3) organization, but its ambitions are big. “We want to be the first responders that, whenever gig workers find out there is a pay cut or some type of issue, they’ll feel comfortable coming to us,” Clarke told TechCrunch.

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Facebook’s Twitter account compromised, hacker group claims credit Feb 10, 2020

There’s this brilliant feeling on Fridays if you’re a reporter when you think that all the things you have to write about are complete. You kickstart some work for Monday. Maybe you tighten up a to-do list. Hell, you might even read some email. But then on Fridays like today, something eye-catching happens and the Great Content Gods demand written sacrifice and here we are.

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Attempt to fold Motorola’s Razr 100,000 times doesn’t go great Feb 10, 2020

The Galaxy Fold felt like an omen for a burgeoning category. The fascinating and promising product was plagued by broken review units that forced Samsung to go back to the drawing board with a reinforced model. But even that version ultimately ran into issues, as I can personally attest. No doubt other companies readying their own devices took the opportunity to reconsider their strategy.

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Instagram prototypes letting IGTV creators monetize with ads Feb 07, 2020

Instagram may finally let IGTV video makers earn money 18 months after launching the longer-form content hub. Instagram confirms to TechCrunch that it has internally prototyped an Instagram Partner Program that would let creators earn money by showing advertisements along with their videos. By giving creators a sustainable and hands-off way to generate earnings from IGTV, they might be inspired to bring more and higher quality content to the destination.

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Forescout to be acquired by a pair of private equity firms for $1.9B Feb 07, 2020

Forescout, the network security company that has been publicly traded since 2017, announced today it was going private again. Private equity firms Advent International and Crosspoint Capital are acquiring the company in an all-cash purchase of $1.9 billion. The two private equity firms will pay $33 per share, which represented a premium of 30% over the company’s closing price of $25.45 on October 19, 2019. The stock hit $39.

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Blackbox welfare fraud detection system breaches human rights, Dutch court rules Feb 06, 2020

An algorithmic risk scoring system deployed by the Dutch state to try to predict the likelihood that social security claimants will commit benefits or tax fraud breaches human rights law, a court in the Netherlands has ruled. The Dutch government’s System Risk Indication (SyRI) legislation uses a non-disclosed algorithmic risk model to profile citizens and has been exclusively targeted at neighborhoods with mostly low-income and minority residents.

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What is going on with Tesla? Feb 06, 2020

Shares of American electric car company Tesla are sharply higher again this morning, adding $122.40 (or 15.69 percent ) to their value before regular trading today. The gains come after Tesla has rapidly added value in recent days, including a nearly 20 percent gain yesterday during regular trading; shares of the company were worth around $560 a week ago. Today they are valued at around $900.

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Rocket Lab readies parachute tests for its rocket recovery and reuse program Feb 05, 2020

Rocket Lab is proceeding as planned with its efforts to recover and reuse spent rocket boosters from its Electron launch vehicle, and has completed its first prototype parachute for use in the recovery process.

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Alphabet earnings show Google Cloud on $10B run rate Feb 04, 2020

Today after the bell, Alphabet reported its fourth-quarter and full-year financial results. The company’s revenue grew from $39.3 billion in 2018 to $46.1 billion in 2019. The firm’s net income also expanded from $8.9 billion to $10.7 billion over the same time frame. The figures, when compared to expectations, were mixed. Alphabet beat analyst estimates on profit, but missed on revenue. Shares of the company are off around 4% in after-hours trading, following its disclosure.

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Truecaller hits 200 million users Feb 04, 2020

Truecaller, one of the world’s largest caller-identification service providers, has amassed 200 million monthly active users and is increasingly proving that it can turn a profit, it said Tuesday. The Swedish company has doubled its user base since February of last year, when it had about 100 million monthly active users. The firm took nine years to reach its first 100 million users, but just one more to double it. Its recent 50 million users joined the platform in the last five months.

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Maxar and NASA will demonstrate orbital spacecraft assembly with a new robotic arm Feb 03, 2020

NASA has awarded Maxar an estimated $142 million contract to demonstrate in-orbit spacecraft refueling and assembly of new components using a custom robotic platform in space. The space infrastructure dexterous robot, or SPIDER, program will be part of NASA’s Restore-L mission to demonstrate automation of proposed orbital tasks like reconfiguring or repairing a satellite or manufacturing new components from scratch.

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Top 10 meditation apps pulled in $195M in 2019, up 52% from 2018 Jan 31, 2020

The millennial obsession with wellness and self-care has led to a booming business for meditation apps. In the first quarter of 2018, app intelligence firm Sensor Tower had reported the top 10 “self-care” apps had pulled in some $27 million in revenue. Fast-forward to the end of 2019, and the numbers have gotten much higher.

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Insurance startup Gabi raises $27M to double its product, engineering and marketing teams Jan 31, 2020

Gabi, a startup built to help consumers save money on home and auto insurance, announced today that it has closed a $27 million Series B. The company intends on using its new capital to rapidly expand its team and invest in its product.

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Flexibits launches major Fantastical update Jan 30, 2020

Flexibits, the company behind popular calendar app Fantastical, is releasing Fantastical 3.0 on all platforms today — macOS, iOS, iPadOS and watchOS. New features include event proposals, interesting calendars, new calendar views and weather forecasts. I’ve been using the app on my Mac, iPhone and iPad for a week. The main difference with Fantastical 2 is that the app is now exactly the same across all platforms.

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Apple shares rise after company reports better-than-expected revenue of $91.8B Jan 29, 2020

Today after the bell, Apple reported the results of the first quarter of its fiscal 2020. The company’s revenue totaled $91.8 billion, far ahead of expectations of $88.43 billion. At the same time, the company’s per-share profit of $4.99 was greater than the market-anticipated figure of $4.54 per share. In immediate trading following the news, Apple’s stock is up several points.

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Apple reports a record $12.7B in services revenue Jan 29, 2020

Apple’s increasing focus on its services business seems to be paying off, with the company reporting a record $12.7 billion in services net sales during the first quarter of its fiscal year — a year-over-year increase of roughly 17%. Services includes existing offerings like iCloud and Apple Music, as well as a number of new subscriptions that Apple has launched in the past year, such as Apple Arcade and Apple TV+.

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Sundance: In Miss Americana, Taylor Swift demotes the Internet Jan 28, 2020

In nearly a decade of attending Sundance, I’ve never seen a scene like the premiere of the documentary Miss Americana, detailing the last year and a half or so of Taylor Swift’s life. The crowd before letting into the theater was huge, blistering with rumors about whether or not there was so many guests and press that there wouldn’t be room for ticketed attendees and whispers about which door Swift would use when arriving.

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Mural raises $23M Series A after history of capital-efficient growth Jan 28, 2020

This morning Mural, a software startup focused on visual collaboration1, announced that it closed a $23 million Series A round of capital. The funds come after MURAL, formerly Mural.ly, had raised just a few million dollars previously.

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Vine reboot Byte officially launches Jan 27, 2020

Two years after Vine’s co-founder Dom Hofmann announced he was building a successor to the short-form video app, today Byte makes its debut on iOS and Android. Byte lets you shoot or upload and then share six-second videos. It comes equipped with standard social features like a feed, Explore page, notifications, and profiles. For now, though Byte lacks the remixability, augmented reality filters, transition effects, and other bonus features you’ll find in apps like TikTok.

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Vivo beats Samsung for 2nd spot in Indian smartphone market Jan 27, 2020

Samsung, which once led the smartphone market in India, slid to the third position in the quarter that ended in December even as the South Korean giant continues to make major betson the rare handset market that is still growing. According to research firm Counterpoint, Chinese firm Vivo surpassed Samsung to become the second biggest smartphone vendor in India in Q4 2019. Xiaomi, with command over 27% of the market, maintained its top stop in the nation for the 10th consecutive quarter.

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Some tech I loved is getting worse and I’m mad Jan 24, 2020

Time is supposed to make technology better. The idea is simple: With more time, humans make newer, better technology and our lives improve. Except for when the opposite happens. Google is a good example of this. I’ve been harping on the matter for a while now. Google mobile search, in case you haven’t used it lately, is bad. It often returns bloated garbage that looks like a cross between new Yahoo and original Bing.

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U.S. mobile app subscription revenue jumped 21% in 2019 to $4.6B across the top 100 apps Jan 24, 2020

U.S. mobile app subscription revenue jumped 21% in 2019 to $4.6B across the top 100 apps Outside of in-app purchases in mobile games, subscription revenue from non-game apps helped to boost 2019’s mobile consumer spend — a figure that reached $120 billion globally last year, according to a recent report by App Annie. Now, new data from app intelligence firm Sensor Tower indicates U.S. subscription app revenue grew by 21% last year from the $3.

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Google’s latest user-hostile design change makes ads and search results look identical Jan 23, 2020

Did you notice a recent change to how Google search results are displayed on the desktop? I noticed something last week — thinking there must be some kind of weird bug messing up the browser’s page rendering because suddenly everything looked similar: A homogenous sea of blue text links and favicons that, on such a large expanse of screen, come across as one block of background noise.

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This ultrasonic gripper could let robots hold things without touching them Jan 23, 2020

If robots are to help out in places like hospitals and phone repair shops, they’re going to need a light touch. And what’s lighter than not touching at all? Researchers have created a gripper that uses ultrasonics to suspend an object in midair, potentially making it suitable for the most delicate tasks. It’s done with an array of tiny speakers that emit sound at very carefully controlled frequencies and volumes.

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Your Sonos system will stop receiving updates if you have an old device Jan 22, 2020

Your Sonos system will stop receiving updates if you have an old device Smart speaker manufacturer Sonos has announced that the company is going to drop support for some of its products. Sonos stopped selling these devices a few years ago. While nothing lasts forever, dropping support is going to have a lot of implications and shows once again that the connected home isn’t as future-proof as expected. Sonos points out that 92% of the products that it has ever sold are still in use today.

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Apple Card users can now download monthly transactions in a spreadsheet Jan 22, 2020

One of the big questions I got around the time the Apple Card launched was whether you’d be able to download a file of your transactions to either work with manually or import into a piece of expenses management software. The answer, at the time, was no. Now Apple is announcing that Apple Card users will be able to export monthly transactions to a downloadable spreadsheet that they can use with their personal budgeting apps or sheets.

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Deep tech VCs on what they view as some of the most impactful young startups right now Jan 21, 2020

Deep tech VCs on what they view as some of the most impactful young startups right now During this week’s Democratic debate, there was a lot of talk, unsurprisingly, about ensuring the future of this country’s children and grandchildren. Climate change was of particular interest to billionaire Tom Steyer, who said repeatedly that addressing it would be his top priority were he elected U.S. president.

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Max Q: SpaceX succeeds with a spectacular Crew Dragon test launch Jan 21, 2020

Max Q is a new weekly newsletter all about space. Sign up here to receive it weekly on Sundays in your inbox. We’re off and running with good milestones achieved for NASA’s commercial crew program, which means it’s more likely than ever we’ll actually see astronauts launch from U.S. soil before the year is out.

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The last radio station Jan 20, 2020

North of Silicon Valley, protected by the Point Reyes National Seashore, is the only operational ship-to-shore maritime radio station. Bearing the call sign KPH, the Point Reyes Station is the last of its kind. KPH is divided between two physical stations: one, knows as the voice, is responsible for transmitting; the other half of the station, known as the ears, was where human operators listened for incoming messages.

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The paradox of 2020 VC is that the largest funds are doing the smallest rounds Jan 20, 2020

I talked yesterday about how VCs are just tired these days. Too many deals, too little time per deal, and constant hyper-competition with other VCs for the same equity. VCs are just tired One founder friend of mine noted to me last night that he has already received inbound requests from more than 90 investors over the past year about his next round — and he’s not even (presumably) fundraising.

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Xiaomi spins off POCO as an independent company Jan 17, 2020

Xiaomi said today it is spinning off POCO, a sub-smartphone brand it created in 2018, as a standalone company that will now run independently of the Chinese electronics giant and make its own market strategy. The move comes months after a top POCO executive — Jai Mani — and some other founding and core members left the sub-brand. The company today insisted that POCO F1, the only smartphone to be launched under POCO brand, remains a “successful” handset.

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Chrome gets global media controls Jan 17, 2020

Here is a small but useful new feature in Google Chrome: global media controls that allow you to control all of the audio and video sources in your current tabs from a single widget. With this, you can switch to the next song from your favorite web-based music streaming service, start and stop a YouTube video that’s playing the background or switch back and forth between what’s playing in multiple tabs without having to hunt around your browser for the right tab.

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Hipmunk’s co-founders tried to buy it back before the shutdown Jan 16, 2020

In a little over a week, the travel metasearch engine Hipmunk will shut down. It’s an abrupt and disappointing end for a product acquired by SAP Concur around three and a half years ago. It didn’t have to go this way, though. We’re now hearing that Hipmunk co-founders Adam Goldstein and Reddit CEO Steve Huffman (both of whom left Hipmunk in years prior) made an offer to buy the company back rather than have it shutdown, to no avail.

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Four years after being acquired, Hipmunk is shutting down Jan 16, 2020

If you’re still using Hipmunk for trip planning, it’s time to find another site. Sooner than later, really. The Hipmunk team announced this afternoon that it’ll be shutting down in just one week’s time. Come January 23rd, says the blog post, both the Hipmunk website and app will be shuttered. The team also tweeted: We’re saying goodbye. On Jan. 23, 2020, the Hipmunk product will be retired; the app and website will no longer be available at that time.

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Dear Spotify, add rabbits to your pet playlists Jan 15, 2020

I there’s one thing I know, it’s that music is the best thing our species has every created. If there are two things I know, it’s the music thing and also that that rabbits aren’t hamsters. Listen, Spotify, I get the whole pet playlists thing. A curated playlist based on your listening preferences and a few sliders to determine an animal’s mood. It’s cute. But as one of millions of rabbit owners in the U.S. alone, someone needs to speak out for this grave oversight.

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Microsoft and NSA say security bug affects millions of Windows 10 computers Jan 15, 2020

Microsoft has released a security patch for a dangerous vulnerability affecting hundreds of millions of computers running Windows 10. The vulnerability is found in a decades-old Windows cryptographic component, known as CryptoAPI. The component has a range of functions, one of which allows developers digitally sign their software, proving that the software has not been tampered with.

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Visa is acquiring Plaid for $5.3 billion, 2x its final private valuation Jan 14, 2020

Visa announced today that it is buying financial services API startup Plaid for $5.3 billion. Plaid develops financial services APIs. It is akin to what Stripe does for payments, but instead of facilitating payments, it helps developers share banking and other financial information more easily. It’s the kind of service that makes sense for a company like Visa. The startup bought Quovo two years ago to move beyond just banking, and into broader financial services and investments.

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Tesla surges past $500 on back of analyst upgrade, China momentum Jan 14, 2020

Today in regular trading, shares of American electric car manufacturer Tesla surged past the $500 mark. Tesla, perhaps the most famous electric vehicle company in the world, has had tumultuous last twelve months on the public markets. The company’s shares have traded as low as $176.99 in the past 52 weeks, and, as has high as $507.50 today. The company is worth $507.28 per share at the moment, valuing Tesla at $91.38 billion according to Google Finance.

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Amazon fires employees for leaking customer email addresses and phone numbers Jan 13, 2020

Amazon has fired a number of employees after they shared customer email address and phone numbers with a third-party “in violation of our policies.” The email to customers sent Friday afternoon, seen by TechCrunch, said an employee was “terminated” for sharing the data, and that the company is supporting law enforcement in their prosecution. Amazon confirmed the incident in an email to TechCrunch. A spokesperson said a number of employees were fired.

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A closer look at Ballie, Samsung’s friendly robotic ball Jan 13, 2020

Okay, I’ve slept on it. I was skeptical at first, but after a good night’s sleep, let’s do this. I want a Ballie. All of the people and the pets in the below video seemed super into it. Where did I sign up? Okay, let me back up a second. I’d like a little hands on time with the robotic ball first. Or at very least a more in-depth demo. But once we’ve gotten those out of the way, yeah, totally. Let’s do this. I want my own BB8.

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Congratulations 23andMe users, your genes are finally helping the company make drugs Jan 10, 2020

All of that genetic material that 23andMe has been collecting is finally being used for commercial drug development — specifically dermatological drugs. The company inked an agreement with Spanish pharmaceutical developer Almirall, which concentrates on medical dermatology treatments, for the development of dermatological treatments based on an antibody developed by 23andMe.

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August Home ditches the bridge and Yale launches a smart lock in Europe Jan 10, 2020

Assa Abloy, the world’s largest lock maker and the parent company of August Home and Yale, announced some new products at CES this week. The company didn’t talk about doorbell cameras at all — it could be related to recent Ring’s controversies. As a well-known brand when it comes to smart lock in the U.S., August Home is iterating and refining with new products without any groundbreaking change. This time, the company is introducing a new August Wi-Fi Smart Lock.

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Pax unveils a vape that increases transparency around cannabis consumption Jan 09, 2020

The new Pax Era Pro vaporizer packs a host of improvements and brings increased transparency to the user. Pop in a pod, and the smartphone companion app displays a wealth of information generally unavailable to the average user. The idea is to provide more peace of mind about what’s in each pod and this system is launching at exactly the right time. The Era Pro uses proprietary cartridges embedded with an NFC tag. Pax calls this affair PodID, and the tags are unique to each cartridge.

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TCL teases a 5G device, headset and its first foldable at CES Jan 09, 2020

TCL is hardly a household name in the smartphone space. That’s hardly surprising, however, as the Chinese electronics company is better known for sub-brands like Alcatel and BlackBerry (hardware, not software — long story). Late last year, the company began really pushing its branded devices in Europe, a strategy it’s set to expand upon with some more cutting edge devices.

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Audi AI:ME concept demonstrates innovative safety through lights Jan 08, 2020

The Audi AI:ME is a concept for future urban travel. The little car is autonomous, has a surprisingly spacious interior, and it’s equipped with a host of exterior lights designed to better communicate with the outside world. No, really. There are lights everywhere. [gallery ids="1929915,1929905,1929900,1929895,1929913,1929894,1929914"] The idea is to surround the vehicle with multi-purpose lights. The front and rear fenders feature an array of lights along their shoulders.

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Samsung’s Lite devices bring the headphone jack to flagship design (sort of) Jan 08, 2020

Some devices need no explanation. The Galaxy S10 and Note 10 Line are not such devices. They’re more nebulous, walking an interesting line, between premium and mid-range. They’re a clear attempt by Samsung to change with a smartphone buying public that have balked at the idea of $1,000+ device. Samsung announces ‘Lite’ versions of the Galaxy S10 and Note 10 On that front, they make plenty of sense. Things are, however, not so cut and dry.

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Get a load of these Dell PC concepts that you can’t buy Jan 07, 2020

Concept PCs are a lot like concept cars. The idea comes from a decent enough place, but mostly they exist to make you feel bad an inadequate about your current dumb device. It’s a metaphor for life, really. In that spirit, here are a trio of concept PCs that Dell debuted this week at CES. Honestly, none are too farfetched. One looks an awful lot like an existing product, and the other two are pretty reminiscent of recently announced products from competitors.

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This matcha maker is (most likely) coming soon to a coworking space near you Jan 07, 2020

This matcha maker is (most likely) coming soon to a coworking space near you Over the past few years, matcha has become a kind of unavoidable phenomenon in cities like New York and L.A. The finely ground green tea powder is everywhere from coffee shops to bodegas to standalone stores. And it’s about to make its way to your startup/coworking space kitchen. At CES tonight, World Match Inc. took the wraps off of Cuzen Matcha.

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HTC had a terrible 2019 Jan 06, 2020

HTC can’t seem to catch a break. The once-king-of-the-hill smartphone vendor, which had a terrible 2018, continued to bleed last year, according to financial disclosuresit made on Monday. HTC reported revenue of 10,015 TWD ($333 million) in 2019, down 57.8% from 23,741 TWD ($789 million) it posted the year before, and whopping 87% below over $2 billion it grossed in 2017.

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Former HBO exec Richard Plepler signs exclusive production deal with Apple TV+ Jan 06, 2020

Nearly a year after stepping down as chief executive of HBO, Richard Plepler and his production company Eden Production have signed a five-year deal with Apple TV+. Plepler started at HBO back in 1993 and became CEO in 2013. During his time in that role, HBO had continued success with shows new (“True Detective” and “Big Little Lies”) and old (“Game of Thrones”).

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How two-year-old Loft nabbed $175M led by Andreessen Horowitz Jan 03, 2020

Loft may have better product market fit in Brazil than Opendoor does in the U.S.. And now the São Paulo-based property tech company has growth funding to prove it. Andreessen Horowitz is doubling down on its first Brazil investment with Loft, a two-year-old real estate marketplace. The $175 million Series C was co-led by Vulcan Capital. In the U.S., sites like Opendoor give us visibility into how much your house or properties you’re interested in are worth.

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The story of why Marc Benioff gifted the AppStore.com domain to Steve Jobs Jan 03, 2020

In Marc Benioff’s book, Trailblazer, he tells the tale of how Steve Jobs planted the seeds of the idea that would become the first enterprise app store, and how Benioff eventually paid Jobs back with the gift of the AppStore.com domain. While Salesforce did truly help blaze a trail when it launched as an enterprise cloud service in 1999, it took that a step further in 2006 when it became the first SaaS company to distribute related services in an online store.

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China-based NIO’s shares skyrocket as the Tesla rival beats investor expectations Jan 02, 2020

Shares of NIO, a China-based electric car manufacturer, are soaring this morning after the company’s Q3 2019 earnings beat investor expectations. NIO’s surprise win comes directly on the heels of Tesla, a competitor, announcing the delivery of its first cars made in China, NIO’s home market. NIO went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2018 for $6.26 per share. Its value has plunged as a public company, seeing its per-share price fall to as little as $1.19.

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TechCrunch Include yearly report Jan 02, 2020

Welcome to the third annual TechCrunch Include Progress Report. Our editorial and events teams work hard throughout the year to ensure that we bring you the most dynamic and diverse group of speakers and judges to our event stages. And finally, at the tail end of 2019, we bring you … 2018 data. (You can see 2017 data here.

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Tech’s biggest companies are worth ~$5T as 2019’s epic stock market run wraps Jan 01, 2020

Look, this is the last post I’m writing in 2019 and I’m tired. But I can’t let the year close without taking stock of how well tech stocks did this year. It was bonkers. So let’s mark the year’s conclusion with some notes for our future selves. Yes, we know that the Nasdaq has been setting new records and SaaS had a good year. But we need to dig in and get the numbers out so that we can look back and remember.

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Can a $30 pair of wireless earbuds actually be any good? Jan 01, 2020

2019 was the year wireless earbuds went mainstream. The category has been around much longer, of course, and Apple really broke the whole thing open a full three years ago, with the release of the first AirPods, but sales exploded in 2019. The category experienced a 183% YOY increase in shipments last quarter, according to a new study.

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VMware completes $2.7 billion Pivotal acquisition Dec 31, 2019

VMware is closing the year with a significant new component in its arsenal. Today it announced it has closed the $2.7 billion Pivotal acquisition it originally announced in August. The acquisition gives VMware another component in its march to transform from a pure virtual machine company into a cloud native vendor that can manage infrastructure wherever it lives. It fits alongside other recent deals like buying Heptio and Bitnami, two other deals that closed this year.

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Google Pixel 4A renders include a headphone jack and hole-punch display Dec 31, 2019

It’s the slowest week of the year for gadget news. Christmas is in the rearview, and it’s a few days until the new year. After that, it’s a straight shot to CES and then MWC. Meantime, best we’ve got going for us are a handful of rumors, including a peek at what Google’s next budget might could potentially possibly conceivably look like. Per renders from OnLeaks and 91Mobiles, a vision of the Pixel 4A has appeared — or, a render, rather.

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A ton of Ruckus Wireless routers are vulnerable to hackers Dec 30, 2019

A security researcher has found several vulnerabilities in a number of Ruckus Wireless routers, which the networking giant has since patched. Gal Zror told TechCrunch that the vulnerabilities he found lie inside in the web user interface software that runs on the company’s Unleashed line of routers. The flaws can be exploited without needing a router’s password, and can be used to take complete control of affected routers from over the internet.

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Animated, interactive digital books may help kids learn better Dec 30, 2019

Digital books may have a few advantages over ordinary ones when it comes to kids remembering their contents, according to a new study. Animations, especially ones keyed to verbal interactions, can significantly improve recall of story details — but they have to be done right. The research, from psychologist Erik Thiessen at Carnegie Mellon University, evaluated the recall of 30 kids aged 3-5 after being read either an ordinary story book or one with animations for each page.

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The year of the gig worker uprising Dec 27, 2019

The year of the gig worker uprising 'A pivotal year not only for gig workers but for workers across the tech economy' 2019 was a momentous year for gig workers. While the likes of Uber, Lyft, Instacart and DoorDash rely on these workers for their respective core services, the pay does not match how much they’re worth — which is a lot. It’s this issue that lies at the root of gig workers’ demands.

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Plenty of Fish app was leaking users’ hidden names and postal codes Dec 27, 2019

Dating app Plenty of Fish has pushed out a fix for its apps after a security researcher found they were leaking information that users had set to “private” on their profiles. The app was always silently returning users’ first names and Zip postal codes to the app, according to The App Analyst, a mobile expert who writes about his analyses of popular apps on his eponymous blog.

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Max Q: Launches from SpaceX, Boeing and the ESA Dec 26, 2019

Max Q is a new weekly newsletter all about space. Sign up here to receive it weekly on Sundays in your inbox. Typically, the holiday season is a slow one in the tech industry – but space tech is different, and this past week saw a flurry of activity including one of the most important rocket launches of the year. Just about every significant new space company got in on the action during the past seven days, either with actual spacecraft launches, or with big announcements.

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Chinese apps are losing their hold on India to local developers Dec 26, 2019

Apps from Chinese developers have been gaining popularity on Indian app stores for sometime. Last year, as many as 44 of the top 100 Android apps in India were developed by Chinese firms. But things have changed this year as local developers put on a fight. According to app analytics and marketing firm AppsFlyer, Indian apps as a whole have recaptured their original standing.

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No, Spotify, you shouldn’t have sent mysterious USB drives to journalists Dec 25, 2019

Last week, Spotify sent out a number of branded-USB drives to reporters with a note: “Play me.” It’s not uncommon for reporters to to receive USB drives in the post. Companies distribute USB drives all the time, including at tech conferences, often containing promotional materials or large files, such as videos that would otherwise be difficult to get into as many hands as possible.

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SoftBank Vision Fund invests $275M in India’s Lenskart Dec 23, 2019

Lenskart, an omni-channel retailer in India that sells eyewear products, said on Friday that it has raised $275 million in a new financing round from SoftBank Vision Fund as it looks to expand its business in the nation. As part of the new financing round, Series G, some of the nine-year-old startup’s existing investors are selling their stake, said Peyush Bansal, founder and chief executive Lenskart.

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Flickr owner SmugMug emails subscribers with an urgent request: help us find more paying users Dec 23, 2019

When in April of last year, the photo hosting service SmugMug acquired the photo-hosting service Flickr from Verizon’s digital media subsidiary, SmugMug CEO Don MacAskill said he was committed to breathing new life into the service, calling it “core to the entire fabric of the Internet.” MacAskill didn’t reveal at the time how much SmugMug — which is itself an independent, family-owned operation — paid for Flickr.

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Tesla vehicles are getting Stardew Valley Dec 20, 2019

Tesla owners have seen a bunch of games added to their car’s in-dash display over the last few months, from a handful of Atari classics to the painfully hard Cuphead. Next up? The oh-so-sweet farm living RPG, Stardew Valley. In addition to just being kind of cool, the in-dash games (playable only when parked, because duh) are meant to help Tesla owners kill time while at superchargers. Stardew Valley is… sort of the perfect game for this.

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Rocket Lab adds new $7.5 million “Mission Success” coin to its online store Dec 20, 2019

Rocket Lab’s merch store has pretty much what you’d expect from a space-themed gift shop – baby onesies, t-shirts, caps and mission patches. But the commercial rocket launch company just added its latest product, and it’s a bit different from their standard fare: For just $7.

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Facebook is building an operating system so it can ditch Android Dec 19, 2019

Facebook doesn’t want its hardware like Oculus and Portal to be at the mercy of Google because they rely on its Android operating system. That’s why Facebook has tasked a co-author of Microsoft’s Windows NT named Mark Lucovsky with building the social network an operating system from scratch, according the The Information’s Alex Heath.

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Here’s a Mickey Mouse version of Amazon’s Echo Wall Clock Dec 19, 2019

Amazon’s original Echo Wall Clock was mostly fine. Some consumers ran into connectivity issues with the device, but it was mostly okay. It’s one of the most passive members of the Echo family of devices, mostly doing its wall clock thing, until you need a time set. The latest addition to the line has something its predecessor lacked, however: a giant Mickey Mouse.

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Need more buttons for your PS4 controller? This gadget adds two on the caboose Dec 18, 2019

Need more buttons for your PS4 controller? This gadget adds two on the caboose When you play games on your PS4, it’s fair to say that your thumbs and index fingers are generally doing most of the work.

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As the Nasdaq sets new records, a reminder how highly valued tech stocks are today Dec 17, 2019

Today the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed at an all-time record high of 8,814.23, up 0.91% on the day. The Nasdaq is up more than 32% on the year. Turning the clock back, the Nasdaq Composite is up around 60% from the end of 2016. Compared to the anti-records set in 2009 during the doldrums that followed the 2008 crisis, the Nasdaq is up a staggering 594%. The huge run in value of technology stocks since the last recession is historic.

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Verizon’s 5G comes to (parts of) Los Angeles Dec 17, 2019

The clock is ticking on Verizon’s plans to bring 5G to 30 cities. Short of an actual Christmas miracle, things are looking rough. On the upside, the carrier (and, disclosure, parent of TechCrunch) just brought the next-gen technology to a 19th city. And it’s a doozy. Verizon announced this morning that it’s flipped the switch on 5G in Los Angeles. Or parts of it, at least. You get the usual caveat with Verizon’s chosen 5G tech here. It’s fast, coverage is limited.

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Rocket Lab cuts the ribbon on its US launch facility, with the Air Force as its first customer Dec 16, 2019

Launch provider Rocket Lab has opened the doors on LC-2, its first launch facility in the U.S., adding capacity and versatility for providing trips to orbit. And LC-2 already has its first customer: the U.S. Air Force’s Space Test Program. The company had a little shindig today at the facility, located on Wallops Island in Virginia — home to NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility as well.

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Join TechCrunch for our 3rd Annual Winter Party Dec 13, 2019

After last year’s stellar turn out of almost 1,000 Silicon Valley shakers and movers, TechCrunch is returning with the 3rd Annual Winter Party at Galvanize in San Francisco on February 7. The party will feature tasty beers, wine and canapés, party games and activities, plenty of photo ops (and our infamous karaoke), giveaways and some fun surprises.

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Klarna CEO says “maybe” of taking public Europe’s most valuable fintech next year (but he’s not ruling out another round, either) Dec 13, 2019

Klarna CEO says “maybe” of taking public Europe’s most valuable fintech next year (but he’s not ruling out another round, either) Yesterday, at TechCrunch Berlin, we sat down with Sebastian Siemiatkowski, the cofounder and CEO of Klarna, a 15-year-old company that’s currently the most highly valued privately held fintech in Europe, following a $460 million investment that pegged the company’s worth at $5.5 billion back in August.

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Join TechCrunch for our 3rd Annual Winter Party Dec 12, 2019

After last year’s stellar turn out of almost 1,000 Silicon Valley shakers and movers at our inaugural Winter Party, TechCrunch is returning with the 3rd Annual Winter Party in San Francisco on February 7. The party will feature tasty cocktails and canapés, party games and activities, plenty of photo ops, giveaways and some fun surprises.

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BeBlocky is using gaming to educate a new generation of African programmers Dec 11, 2019

BeBlocky is using gaming to educate a new generation of African programmers Nathan Damtew, the founder of new Ethiopian education technology and gaming company BeBlocky, has always been interested in games. An avid Call of Duty player, the young entrepreneur, who founded BeBlocky in his senior year of college, was always struck by the disconnection between how adept his generation was at playing games and how little they knew about how those games were built.

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The new Mac Pro goes up for order December 10 Dec 11, 2019

After more than a year of teasing, Apple finally unveiled the new Mac Pro at WWDC in June. The long wait was finally over — though Apple left out one key detail: when, precisely the high end desktop would arrive, beyond a purposefully vague fall timeframe Earlier this, however, the company began sending out pre-pre-order notifications to potential consumers (spotted by Marques Brownlee), noting the orders will open December 10.

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The first trailer for the NEW new Ghostbusters is here Dec 10, 2019

The first trailer for the NEW new Ghostbusters is here It’s been nearly a year since a teaser trailer revealed a world weary Ecto-1 beneath a tarp in some mysterious barn. Now, a few days after getting its official name, Ghostbusters: Afterlife has its first full trailer. The forthcoming film is helmed by Jason Reitman, son of original Ghostbusters director Ivan (who is on board as producer).

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Gal Gadot and Chris Pine are back in the first trailer for ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ Dec 09, 2019

Gal Gadot and Chris Pine are back in the first trailer for ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ Despite the financial success of of the goofily likable “Aquaman,” Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman is probably still the biggest draw in DC’s Extended Universe. She’s returning to big screens next year in “Wonder Woman 1984”, and Warner Bros released the first trailer over the weekend.

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Uber’s fatal accident tally shows low rates but excludes key numbers Dec 06, 2019

Uber’s just-released U.S. Safety Report sets forth in some detail the number of fatal accidents, and the good news is that the overall rate per mile is about half the national average. But the report makes some puzzling choices as far as what is included and excluded.

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After criticism, Homeland Security drops plans to expand airport face recognition scans to US citizens Dec 06, 2019

Homeland Security has confirmed it will not expand face recognition scans to U.S. citizens arriving and departing the country, days after it emerged the agency proposed making the scans for citizens mandatory. The department, whose responsibility is border protection and immigration checks, said in a government filingthat it it wanted to “amend the regulations to provide that all travelers, including U.S. citizens, may be required to be photographed upon entry and/or departure.

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What we know about Qualcomm’s next-gen Snapdragon 865 and 765 chips Dec 05, 2019

Qualcomm’s holding its big annual get-together this week in Hawaii, portioning off Snapdragon news, piece by piece. Yesterday’s event was the big unveiling of the Snapdragon 865 and 765, the chips that will power most of next year’s premium and mid-tier handsets, respectively. Today, the components came into sharper focus.

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YouTube warns creators of subscriber count declines amid purge of closed accounts Dec 05, 2019

YouTube is warning creators they may see their subscriber numbers decline this week as the result of a purge that will remove closed accounts from YouTube metrics. Closed accounts could refer to those that were willingly shut down by users or those that YouTube shut down for policy violations — like spam or abuse, for example.

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AWS announces new ARM-based instances with Graviton2 processors Dec 04, 2019

AWS, the cloud division of Amazon, just announced the next generation of its ARM processors, the Graviton2. This is a custom chip design with a 7nm architecture. It is based on 64-bit ARM Neoverse cores. Compared to first-generation Graviton processors (A1), today’s new chips should deliver up to 7x the performance of A1 instances in some cases. Floating point performance is now twice as fast. There are additional memory channels and cache speed memory access should be much faser.

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T-Mobile opens pre-orders on two 5G phones as low-band network goes live Dec 04, 2019

The 5G question has long been carts and horses. The next-generation wireless network has always been an inevitability, of course, but the rollout has always felt a bit piecemeal. T-Mobile, to its credit, is looking to flip the switch all at once (kind of), launching a “nationwide” deployment of 5G to a coverage area it says will reach 200 million of the U.S.’s 327 million residents.

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The UniFi Dream Machine router is a great entry point for networking nerds Dec 03, 2019

A few weeks ago, Ubiquiti unveiled the UniFi Dream Machine, an all-in-one networking device that combines a router, a switch with four Ethernet ports and a Wi-Fi access point for $299. It has what Ubiquiti calls an integrated cloud key that lets you control your network. I’ve been using the UniFi Dream Machine on my home network for the past couple of weeks, so consider this a review of the device. Ubiquiti is a well-known networking brand.

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Week in Review: Apple’s rebirth as a content company has a forgettable debut Dec 02, 2019

Hey everyone. Thank you for welcoming me into you inboxes yet again. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. After dodging your inboxes for a couple weeks as I ventured off to China for a TechCrunch event in Shenzhen, I am rested up and ready to go. If you’re reading this on the TechCrunch site, you can get this in your inbox here, and follow my tweets here.

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Google is giving away 3 months of Disney+ to new Chromebook owners Dec 02, 2019

Google is giving away 3 months of Disney+ to new Chromebook owners Google is hoping to juice holiday sales of Chromebooks by tacking on a subscription to the hot new streaming service, Disney+. The company on Monday announced it would give Chromebook buyers three, free months of Disney+ with the purchase of new devices. Specifically, the deal is valid for Chromebooks bought between November 25, 2019 and January 21, 2020, or while supplies last.

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Simple Contacts has a new service letting users cheaply switch contact lens prescriptions Nov 29, 2019

Simple Contacts has launched a new service letting users try out new contact lenses for as little as $3. The company launched a little over three years ago as a way for contact lens wearers to slash their refill costs, has now expanded into a service that offers users a chance to try out different lenses to see what might be a better fit. With a fresh $2 million Simple Contacts looks to cut refill costs for lenses Contact lenses are a big business. Just ask Warby Parker, href="https://www.

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Coup shuts down its electric moped scooter service Nov 28, 2019

Coup, an electric moped scooter-sharing service that operates in Berlin, Paris and Berlin, has announced in an email that it is going to shut down in all three cities. On Twitter, the company says that operating the service is “economically unsustainable” in the long term. “We plan to discontinue our service in Berlin and Tübingen in by the middle of December 2019.

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Ford says it has nothing to prove to Tesla in F-150 vs Cybertruck tow battle Nov 28, 2019

It was the challenge heard around the electric vehicle world. And now it seems, the Ford F-150 versus Tesla Cybertruck tow battle that we were all ready for, probably won’t happen. A quick recap: Tesla CEO Elon Musk poked the figurative Dearborn, Michigan bear in the middle of the company’s Cybertruck unveiling when he played a video of the futuristic electric truck pulling an F-150 in what was pitched as a head-to-head contest.

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You can take my Dad’s tweets over my dead body Nov 27, 2019

Editor’s note:Drew is a geek who first worked at AOL when he was 16 years old and went on to become a senior writer at TechCrunch. He is now the VP of Communications for venture equity fund Scaleworks. There are a few ways that people use Twitter, but for the most part the ones who have pushed the social platform into the national lexicon are regular users who like to communicate with each other using the thing. They’re the ones who use it a lot.

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Ford VP challenges Tesla to a fair F-150 vs Cybertruck tow battle Nov 27, 2019

Elon Musk took a big swipe at Ford during the unveiling of the Cybertruck. Mid-presentation, he played a video of a Cybertruck pulling an F-150 in what was pitched as a head-to-head contest. Many have questioned if it was a fair fight (I don’t think it was)… including Sundeep Madra, VP of Ford X, the automaker’s venture incubator. Madra tweeted to Elon Musk today, calling for Tesla’s CEO to send Ford a Cybertruck to do an “apples to apples” test.

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Elon Musk says sledgehammering Cybertruck led to the onstage window failure Nov 26, 2019

After pounding the side of his new Cybertruck with a sledgehammer with not a mark left behind, Elon Musk turned his focus to the “Tesla Armor Glass”. As we all saw, the glass did not fare so well. A toss of a steel ball into the window caused it to splinter, catching everyone on stage off guard. “Oh my [bleeping] God,” said Musk.

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Behold, the Tesla Cybertruck is here Nov 26, 2019

Elon Musk revealed Thursday evening the Tesla Cybertruck, a futuristic vehicle that seemed stripped straight out of a post-apocalyptic era movie. The Tesla Cybertruck, which Musk unveiled in dramatic fashion and to the hoots and hollers of invited guests at the Tesla Design Center in Hawthorne, California, is made of cold-rolled steel, armored glass that did crack in one demonstration, and adaptive air suspension. And yet despite its cubist look and performance specs, its price is rather modest.

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Tesla’s Cybertruck will have a solar charging option, says Musk Nov 25, 2019

Tesla revealed its Cybertruck pickup last night,a SciFi-tastic wedge built from the same steel alloy that SpaceX is using for its Starship spaceship. Elon Musk spent about twenty minutes showing off the truck, with demos ranging from a game of tug-of-war against an F-150, to racing a Porsche, to a window strength test that didn’t go quite as planned.

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The top 1% of app store publishers drive 80% of new downloads Nov 22, 2019

The current app store ecosystem doesn’t favor the indie developer. According to new data from Sensor Tower, the top 1% of publishers globally accounted for a whopping 80% of the total 29.6 billion app downloads in the third quarter of 2019. That means just 20%, or 6 billion, downloads are left for the rest of the publishers. This bottom 99%, which equates to roughly 784,080 publishers, averaged approximately 7,650 downloads each during the quarter.

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Volkswagen’s new all-electric concept wagon could be coming to the U.S. by 2022 Nov 21, 2019

Volkswagen revealed Tuesday evening a new concept vehicle called the ID Space Vizzion, and despite the crazy Frank Zappaesque name, this onemight actually make it into production in Europe and North America. The ID Space Vizzion is the seventh concept that VW has introduced since 2016 that uses its MEB platform, aflexible modular system — really a matrix of common parts — for producing electric vehicles that VW says make it more efficient and cost-effective.

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Is this Niantic’s next game? Nov 21, 2019

First came Pokémon GO. Then came Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. Then came… Catan? It’s starting to look like the next property to get Niantic’s “real world game” treatment will be Catan — the namesake island from the popular Settlers Of Catan board game series.

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Audi’s next all-electric vehicle, the e-tron Sportback, is a “coupé” SUV Nov 20, 2019

Audi revealed Tuesday evening in Los Angeles the e-tron Sportback as the German automaker begins to chip away at its plan to launch more than 30 electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids by 2025. The e-tron Sportback reveal ahead of the LA Auto Show follows the launch earlier this year of Audi’s first all-electric vehicle, the 2019 e-tron. Audi has delivered 18,500 of its all-electric e-tron SUVs globally since March 2019 when the vehicle first came to market.

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Four must-haves for the Tesla ‘Cybertruck’ all-electric pickup truck Nov 20, 2019

Tesla is set to unveil its pickup this week and it needs to be widely different from its current lineup. The current line of Tesla vehicles share a lot of parts, and, logically, the Tesla pickup will do the same. However, a truck has different demands than a passenger car or sport utility vehicle. It has to be more robust and able to stand up to more abuse. It has to tow and haul and scale more than a mall flowerbed. The Tesla pickup is launching as Rivian’s electric pickup is nearing launch.

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How AI can supercharge small business growth – TechCrunch Nov 19, 2019

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Why big four accounting firm KPMG is betting on technology and startups – TechCrunch Nov 18, 2019

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Convoy raises $400 million to expand its on-demand trucking platform Nov 18, 2019

Convoy, the digital freight network that connects truckers with shippers, has raised $400 million in a Series D funding round as it aims to scale its business amid an increasingly competitive market. The funding round brings Convoy’s post-money valuation to $2.75 billion. The round was co-led by Generation Investment Management and previous Convoy investor T. Rowe Price Associates.

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The Math of Sisyphus Nov 15, 2019

“There is but one truly serious question in philosophy, and that is suicide,” wrote Albert Camus in The Myth of Sisyphus. This is equally true for a human navigating an absurd existence, and an artificial intelligence navigating a morally insoluble situation. As AI-powered vehicles take the road, questions about their behavior are inevitable — and the escalation to matters of life or death equally so.

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Minecraft Earth is live, so get tapping Nov 14, 2019

Microsoft’s big experiment in real-world augmented reality gaming, Minecraft Earth, is live now for players in North America, the U.K. and a number of other areas. The pocket-size AR game lets you collect blocks and critters wherever you go, undertake little adventures with friends and, of course, build sweet castles. I played an early version of Minecraft Earth earlier this year, and found it entertaining and the AR aspect surprisingly seamless.

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Disney+ says it’s working to ‘quickly resolve’ its launch day streaming issues Nov 14, 2019

Disney+ has officially launched in the U.S.…and it’s struggling under the load. As is often the case with new streaming services, launch days bugs and crashes are today plaguing Disney+. This morning, users are reporting error messages when they try to stream content along with other connection issues, crashes, bugs, and more on the service’s first day out of the gate.

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Review: Samsung’s Space Monitor is handsome and minimal — if you have the desk for it Nov 13, 2019

When Samsung announced the Space Monitor, I knew in an instant that it was going to be something I had to try out in person. Now that I’ve had time to do so, I’m happy to say it’s much as advertised, a streamlined and solid monitor with a smart new design — but not necessarily one for everybody.

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MACLUNKEY! The Han/Greedo scene has an inexplicable change on Disney+ because George Lucas will never stop changing it Nov 13, 2019

Who shot first? Han? Greedo? Who cares. MACLUNKEY! Disney+ launched this morning, and with it comes a mostly inexplicable change to one of cinema’s most debated scenes — the encounter between Han and Greedo at the Mos Eisley Cantina. For reasons unknown to anyone but George Lucas right now, a super brief but newly inserted clip has Greedo shout what the Internet has decided is “MACLUNKEY!” before taking his failed shot at Han.

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A browser bug was enough to hack an Amazon Echo Nov 12, 2019

Two security researchers have been crowned the top hackers in this year’s Pwn2Own hacking contest after developing and testing several high profile exploits, including an attack against an Amazon Echo. Amat Cama and Richard Zhu, who make up Team Fluoroacetate, scored $60,000 in bug bounties for their integer overflow exploit against the latest Amazon Echo Show 5, an Alexa-powered smart display.

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Week in Review: Airbnb is just the beginning Nov 12, 2019

Hey everyone. Thank you for welcoming me into you inbox yet again. I got some awesome responses to the #DeleteLinkedIn newsletter last week, a few dozen emails (some of them angry) and plenty of tweets. Looking forward to chatting with some of you soon. On that note, I’m currently in China for a TechCrunch event that we’re having in Shenzhen and will be taking some time offline to travel a bit so I won’t be arriving in your inboxes the next two weeks.

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AT&T will pay $60 million over fake unlimited data ‘bait and switch scam’ Nov 11, 2019

AT&T is being punished at last for its shady claims of plans with “unlimited data” but were in reality nothing of the kind: The company has agreed to a $60 million settlement with the FTC, which has pursued the case for years. Some 3.5 million affected customers can expect partial refunds — little more than pocket money, but it’s something. The complaint was filed almost exactly five years ago, after customer complaints from previous years had piled up.

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Neo4j introduces new cloud service to simplify building a graph database Nov 08, 2019

Neo4j, a popular graph database, is available as an open source product for anyone to download and use. Its enterprise product aimed at larger organizations is growing fast, but the company recognized there was a big market in between those two extremes, and today it introduced a new managed cloud service called Aura. They wanted something in the product family for smaller companies, says Emil Eifrem, CEO and co-founder at Neo4j .

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Uber is entering the ads business Nov 08, 2019

Uber will become an ad platform, selling space inside its Eats app to restaurants hoping to lure in more food delivery orders. A recent Uber job listing spotted by TechCrunch seeks an Uber Eats Ads Lead “to lead the team and efforts responsible for creating a new ads business that enables eaters to discover new foods and restaurants to grow their customer base.

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WhatsApp says it will let you control if and how you get added to Groups (for real this time) Nov 07, 2019

WhatsApp, the popular messaging app owned by Facebook, has faced a lot of controversy over the role that Groups plays on the platform — both for Groups’ role in spreading spam, misinformation or worse; and for the fact that it can be very hard (actually impossible) to control when you are added except by blocking a specific contact altogether. Now, it seems that the company is finally starting to make some moves to change this.

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Google is acquiring Fitbit for $2.1 billion Nov 06, 2019

The rumors are true. A week after word surfaced that Google planned to buy Fitbit, the companies have confirmed the purchase in a blog post authored by Google device SVP, Rick Osterloh. The match could ultimately prove beneficial for both parties. Google has struggled to make much of a dent in the wearables category, leading the software giant to purchase a large chunk of IP from watchmaker, Fossil for $40 million.

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Week in Review: #DeleteLinkedIn Nov 05, 2019

Hey everyone. Thank you for welcoming me into you inbox yet again. Last week, I talked about SoftBank’s big embarrassment and how it could impact venture capital. If you’re reading this on the TechCrunch site, you can get this in your inbox here, and follow my tweets here.

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Big 3 cloud infrastructure earnings reach almost $22B this quarter Nov 04, 2019

Amazon, Microsoft and Google are often referred to as the Big 3 in the cloud infrastructure market, and if you had any doubt about the growth potential of the cloud, take a look at this quarter’s eye-popping revenue numbers from these three companies, which reached almost $22 billion this earnings’s season.

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The 2020 Ford Shelby Mustang: a savage, daily-driver muscle car Nov 01, 2019

The Shelby GT500 is a beast on the track. It’s not a surprise. After a day driving around Las Vegas, I found something that surprised me: The GT500 is as comfortable on the road as it is on the track. The Shelby GT500 is an icon of motoring. The name implies a simple formula of stuffing a lot of power into a modest body. I’m pleased to report Ford stuck to the proven method for the 2020 GT500. A 5.2L supercharged engine provides 670 HP in this coupe.

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A week-long iOS App Store bug wiped out over 20M ratings Oct 31, 2019

An accidental sweep of the App Store removed more than 20 million ratings from the most popular apps — including from well-known brands like Google, Microsoft, Starbucks, Hulu, Nike and others — as well as from smaller developers. The issue began on October 23, 2019 and wasn’t resolved until yesterday, October 29. Apple hasn’t yet explained how such a sizable and impactful change to app ratings occurred.

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Apple’s AirPods Pro set a pricey new standard for earbuds Oct 31, 2019

“These $250 earbuds are nice.” That’s the first thing I wrote to a co-worker after unboxing and trying on the new AirPods. After wearing them around the New York City streets, the subway and into a couple of cafes, that pithy review stands. Here are a few more words: They’re super comfortable. I’ve used a lot of different Bluetooth earbuds. It’s a weird perk of my job.

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Google brings its ‘.new’ domains to the rest of the web, including to Spotify, Microsoft & others Oct 30, 2019

Google brings its ‘.new’ domains to the rest of the web, including to Spotify, Microsoft & others A year ago, Google rolled out “.new” links that worked like shortcuts to instantly create new Google documents. For example, you could type “doc.new” (without the quotes) to create a new Google Doc or “sheet.new” to create a new spreadsheet. Today, Google announced it’s bringing the .new shortcuts to the rest of the web.

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Quantum computing’s ‘Hello World’ moment Oct 29, 2019

Does quantum computing really exist? It’s fitting that for decades this field has been haunted by the fundamental uncertainty of whether it would, eventually, prove to be a wild goose chase. But Google has collapsed this nagging superposition with research not just demonstrating what’s called “quantum supremacy,” but more importantly showing that this also is only the very beginning of what quantum computers will eventually be capable of.

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Microsoft reports a strong fiscal first quarter, but Azure’s growth rate continues to decline Oct 29, 2019

Microsoft posted quarterly results today that were well ahead of analysts’ expectations, but Azure’s growth rate continues to decline as it competes with AWS. The company’s revenue for the first quarter of the fiscal year rose 14% year-over-year to $33.1 billion. Net income increased 21% to $10.7 billion, or $1.38 per share. Revenue from Microsoft’s Productivity and Business Processes segment, which includes its Office products and LinkedIn, grew 13% to $11.1 billion.

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Slack announces new features to help ease app integration pain Oct 25, 2019

As Slack has grown in popularity, one of the company’s key differentiators has been the ability to integrate with other enterprise tools, but as customers use Slack as a central work hub, it has created its own set of problems. In particular, users have trouble understanding what apps they have access to and how to make best use of them. Slack announced several ways to ease those issues at its Spec developer conference today.

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Here’s what the Pixel 4’s radar chip looks like Oct 25, 2019

I’ve been tearing my gadgets apart for as long as I can remember. Consoles, phones, printers, whatever — I’ve always needed to see what makes it all work. Sometimes they even work when I put them back together. As soon as Google announced that the new Pixel 4 had friggin’ radar built in for detecting hand gestures, I needed to see under the hood.

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Just 6% of US adults on Twitter account for 73% of political tweets…and they disapprove of Trump Oct 24, 2019

Just 6% of US adults on Twitter account for 73% of political tweets…and they disapprove of Trump A small number of prolific U.S. Twitter users create the majority of tweets, and that extends to Twitter discussions around politics, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center out today. Building on an earlier study which discovered that 10% of users created 80% of tweets from U.S. adults, the organization today says that just 6% of U.S.

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Bird-owned Scoot deploys new electric mopeds Oct 23, 2019

Scoot, owned by Bird, has just unveiled what it’s calling the Scoot Moped. At first glance, it appears to be Bird’s two-seater vehicle. In June, Bird unveiled the Cruiser, which can seat up to two people and be pedal-assist or just have a peg, depending on the market. While the Scoot Moped is meant for one person, the design and engineering of the Scoot Moped were based on the Bird Cruiser, according to Scoot.

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A set of new tools can decrypt files locked by Stop, a highly active ransomware Oct 22, 2019

Thousands of ransomware victims may finally get some long-awaited relief. New Zealand-based security company Emsisoft has built a set of decryption tools for Stop, a family of ransomware that includes Djvu and Puma, which they say could help victims recover some of their files. Stop is believed to be the most active ransomware in the world, accounting for more than half of all ransomware infections, according to figures from ID-Ransomware, a free site that helps identify infections.

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Inside the shutdown of the ‘world’s largest’ child sex abuse website Oct 21, 2019

This morning, the Justice Department announced that it had brought charges against the administrator and hundreds of users of the “world’s largest” child sexual exploitation marketplace on the dark web. For me, it marked the end of a story I’ve wanted to write for two years. In November 2017, I was working for CBS as the security editor at ZDNet.

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Every angle of Volvo’s first electric vehicle, the XC40 Recharge Oct 18, 2019

Volvo Cars introduced Wednesday the XC40 Recharge, an all-electric vehicle that CTO Henrik Green described as “a car of firsts and a car of the future.” The XC40 Recharge is hardly the first electric vehicle on the market. But for Volvo the XC40 is a “car of firsts.” This is the company’s first all-electric vehicle.

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Up close with Google’s budget Chromebook, the Pixelbook Go Oct 17, 2019

The Chromebook has been a marked hit for Google — well, for Google’s hardware partners, at least. Low cost devices have flooded the market, with a stranglehold on the educational category in particular. Google’s own first party offerings, on the other hand, have been a bit more curious. Devices like the Pixelbook and Pixel Slate have pushed the $1,000 price point in an attempt to demonstrate Chrome OS’s viability in a more premium tier.

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Beats brings noise-canceling to its on-ear Solo headphones Oct 16, 2019

Beats this morning announced that it will be bringing its excellent noise-cancellation technology to its Solo line of on-ear headphones. The Solo Pro are the official followup to the Solo 3, a branding shift that’s in line with its other technologies. The noise canceling is the same introduced with the Studio over-ear line, way back in 2017.

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Adobe’s Creative Cloud app gets a new look Oct 15, 2019

As Adobe expanded its product lineup and cloud-based services in recent years, its core Creative Cloud app, the desktop app you use to download the rest of the Creative Cloud apps, started to feel a bit limited. Today, the company is introducing a completely redesigned Creative Cloud app that better integrates your Creative Cloud Libraries and offers deeper search and asset management features.

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Life with the Samsung Galaxy Fold Oct 14, 2019

Avoid pressing hard on the screen. Tap lightly to keep it safe. Your Galaxy Fold isn’t water or dust resistant. Don’t allow any liquids or foreign objects to enter it. Don’t attach anything to the main screen, such as a screen protector. So begins your journey. It’s the story of one of the most fascinating product releases in recent memory. It’s also the story of the most polarizing product I’ve ever reviewed…twice.

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App revenue climbs 23% year-over-year to $21.9B in Q3 Oct 11, 2019

Global app revenue continues to climb, thanks to the growth in mobile gaming and the subscription economy. In the third quarter of 2019, consumer revenue grew 22.9% year-over-year from $17.9 billion to reach an estimated $21.9 billion across both the App Store and Google Play worldwide, according to new data from Sensor Tower. Notably, the App Store continues to account for the large majority of this revenue, the report found, making up 65% of total spending compared with just 35% on Google Play.

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Andreessen Horowitz hires Julie Yoo as general partner Oct 10, 2019

Julie Yoo has joined Andreessen Horowitz as its newest general partner. She will make investments out of the venture capital firm’s bio fund, which closed on $450 million in 2017. Yoo spent the last eight years as a co-founder and chief product officer of Kyruus, a venture-backed healthcare provider matching tool.

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Instagram launches Threads, a Close Friends chat app with auto-status Oct 09, 2019

What if Instagram could automatically tell your Close Friends you’re (home), (working), (on the move), or (chilling and might want to hang out)? That’s the idea behind Instagram’s new companion app Threads, a Close Friends-only messaging experience that opens to the camera with shortcuts for instantly sending specific people photos and videos.

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Top VCs on how to break into venture capital Oct 08, 2019

Becoming a venture capitalist is notoriously difficult. One part timing, one part experience, another part network. Rarely can someone provide succinct instructions on how to break into the field of private market investing or how to create your own VC fund. Onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco, established VCs Theresia Gouw, the founder of a new firm called aCrew Capital, and Floodgate co-founder Ann Miura-Ko explained what they see as two distinct paths to the top of VC.

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Microsoft’s latest Surface Laptop arrives in 13- and 15-inch models Oct 07, 2019

The rumors for this morning’s Microsoft event are one-for-one. The first piece of hardware shown off this morning in New York is the latest version of the company’s very good Surface Laptop — arguably the strongest entry in the line. We're pleased to bring you the new Surface Laptop 3 from #MicrosoftEvent pic.twitter.com/Y7lH94NbQK — Microsoft Surface (@surface) October 2, 2019 As per earlier leaks, the Surface Laptop 3 arrives in 13.5 and 15 inch versions.

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Kitty Hawk reveals its secret project, Heaviside Oct 04, 2019

Kitty Hawk reveals its secret project, Heaviside The aviation startup has been working on the quiet electric aircraft for two years Sebastian Thrun is waving a device in his hand with an excited, almost gleeful expression on his face as he trots from a makeshift aircraft hangar toward the secret project that Kitty Hawk Corp. has been working on for nearly two years.

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Microsoft just announced a dual-screen Surface phone Oct 03, 2019

In spite of everything else leaking out at this morning’s Surface event, Microsoft was still able to save one big surprise for the end. The company’s getting back into phones. Not only that, it’s introducing a foldable. Though, as with the Neo, the Duo doesn’t actually have a foldable display like the Galaxy Fold. Instead, it’s two connected displays, more akin to the ZTE Axon M.

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DoorDash confirms data breach affected 4.9 million customers, workers and merchants Oct 02, 2019

DoorDash has confirmed a data breach. The food delivery company said in a blog post Thursday that 4.9 million customers, delivery workers and merchants had their information stolen by hackers. The breach happened at some point before May 4, 2019, the company said, but added that customers who joined after April 5, 2018 are not affected by the breach. It’s not clear why it took four months for DoorDash to publicly reveal the breach. A spokesperson for DoorDash did not immediatley comment.

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My Galaxy Fold display is damaged after a day Oct 01, 2019

Samsung’s new rebooted Galaxy arrives this week with one job: it just needs to not break. I’d already spent thousands of words breaking down the ins and outs of the product the first time around. This round, on the other hand, was more about making sure everything worked. Back in April, I was among the reviewers whose device worked perfectly well. I toted the original Fold around the Bay Area without a problem, much to the amusement of curious co-workers.

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The Galaxy Fold is now available for purchase in the US Sep 30, 2019

This is, surely, the moment some loyal fans have waited for. And understandably so. The Galaxy Fold is, by all measures, an exciting phone. It’s the sort of bold brashness that has helped Samsung set itself apart from the competition. Many of us laughed at the Galaxy Note, too, and yet here we are, with larger phones across the board. Five months after originally planned, the Galaxy Fold goes on sale today in the U.S. The handset has had its share of set backs, of course.

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Nintendo’s more portable Switch gets matching 8BitDo controllers Sep 30, 2019

In way, these new wireless controllers from 8BitDo kind of defeat the purpose of the Switch Lite. So, why do I kind of want them? Honestly, I’m pretty enamored with the new, more portable version of Nintendo’s wildly successful console. As I noted in a recent review, it’s exactly the take on the Switch I was looking for as a TV-less frequent traveler.

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Verizon lights up 5G in (parts of) NYC Sep 27, 2019

Verizon this week announced that it’s finally begun to flip the switch on its 5G network in parts of New York City, along with Panama City and Boise. That brings the wireless carrier’s (disclosure: also TechCrunch’s parent) totally number up to 13 cities with a taste of the next ten network. Here in NYC, 5G will touch three of the five boroughs (my home base of Queens, sadly, is not among them). Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn are, not surprisingly, the first focus of coverage.

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Amazon’s new Echo Dot With Clock is a new Echo Dot that has a clock Sep 26, 2019

Amazon’s new Echo Dot With Clock is a new Echo Dot that has a clock Today’s deluge of Amazon hardware kicked off with a new addition to the Echo Dot line, the Echo Dot With Clock. That’s it. That’s the name. It is, as advertised, an Echo dot with a digital alarm clock built into the front, next to the speaker grille.

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iOS, iPadOS and tvOS 13.1 updates are now available Sep 25, 2019

Apple has just released iOS 13.1. This updated brings everything new in iOS 13 in case you haven’t updated yet, as well as many bug fixes. I would recommend updating to iOS 13.1 to get a more stable phone. But that’s not all. iPadOS and tvOS are finally making the jump to version 13 with iPadOS 13.1 and tvOS 13.1 also available today. The update is currently rolling out and is available in the Settings app on your device. iOS 13.

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Programmer who took down open source pieces over Chef ICE contract responds Sep 24, 2019

On Friday afternoon Chef CEO Barry Crist and CTO Corey Scobie sat down with TechCrunch to defend their contract with ICE after a firestorm on social media called for them to cut ties with the controversial agency. On Sunday, programmer Seth Vargo, the man who removed his open source components, which contributed to a partial shutdown of Chef’s commercial business for a time last week, responded.

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Beats headphones will get iOS 13 audio sharing next week Sep 23, 2019

Audio sharing is among the more delightful features arriving as part of Apple’s iOS 13 update. With it, users will be able to share songs across nearby device — a sort of 2019 version of buying a headphone splitter or handing someone your earbud. Beats pinged TechCrunch this morning to let us know that the new addition will be arriving on a number of its new headphones, in addition to AirPods.

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Inside Apple’s reimagined Fifth Ave. store Sep 20, 2019

After two years of work, the wrapper comes off the giant glass cube this week, as Apple’s Fifth Avenue flagship opens to the public this Friday. The big reveal coincides with the company’s latest releases, including new iPhones and an Apple Watch — an appropriately grandiose homecoming for new gear. This morning, the company offered a sneak preview to select media, ourselves included. Apple pulled back the curtain as a handful of curious onlookers stood by on the sidewalk.

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This young litigation finance startup just secured $100 million to chase cases it thinks will win Sep 19, 2019

This young litigation finance startup just secured $100 million to chase cases it thinks will win If you haven’t heard much about litigation finance, that may change soon. The practice dates back decades, though it’s been picking up momentum since 2006, when Credit Suisse Securities founded a litigation risk strategies unit that it later spun off.

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Scientists propose ‘Spaceline’ elevator to the Moon Sep 18, 2019

Fans of sci-fi and fringe tech may already be familiar with the idea of the “space elevator,” which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like — and totally impossible with today’s technology. But a pair of scientists think they’ve found an alternative: a Moon elevator. And it’s slightly less insane… technically. The idea of the space elevator, first explored in detail by Arthur C.

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J.J. Abrams and Bad Robot sign exclusive deal with WarnerMedia Sep 17, 2019

After being courted by seemingly every major entertainment and streaming company, Bad Robot has signed an exclusive deal with WarnerMedia. While the production company — led by Star Wars director J.J. Abrams and his wife/co-CEO Katie McGrath — was already working with Warner Bros.

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Here are the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro Sep 16, 2019

Today, Apple has unveiled a new set of phones, including the iPhone 11, the iPhone 11 Pro, and the iPhone 11 Pro Max. These new devices are powered by a new chip, sport new cameras and are available in a variety of finishes and sizes. So without any further ado, let’s get into some of the details. iPhone 11 Design The iPhone 11 sports an anondized aluminum and glass design, which Apple claims is the toughest ever smartphone glass.

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Google to pay $549 million fine and $510 million in back taxes in France Sep 13, 2019

Google to pay $549 million fine and $510 million in back taxes in France After years of back and forth with tax authorities in France, Google has settled a fiscal fraud probe, as the financial prosecutor’s office told Reuters and AFP. Overall, Google will pay a $549 million fine as well as $510 million in back taxes (€500 million and €465 million respectively). This is a settlement, which means that French authorities are dropping charges against Google in France.

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Let’s look inside Volkswagen’s new ID.3 electric hatchback Sep 12, 2019

The Volkswagen ID.3 that debuted ahead of the IAA International Motor Show in Frankfurt looks like a compact hatchback. And it is. But inside customers might feel like they’re sitting in a bigger car, thanks to how engineers and designers took advantage of the electric architecture. Without having to contend with an internal combustion engine, there was more room to play around with.

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Fairphone 3 is a normal smartphone with ethical shine Sep 11, 2019

How long have you been using your current smartphone? The answer for an increasing number of consumers is years, plural. After all, why upgrade every year when next year’s model is almost exactly the same as the device you’re holding in your hand? Dutch social enterprise Fairphone sees this as an opportunity to sell sustainability.

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Joi Ito resigns as MIT Media Lab head in wake of Jeffrey Epstein reporting Sep 10, 2019

Joichi Ito, the embattled director of the M.I.T. Media Lab, has stepped down according to a statement by MIT’s president, L. Rafael Reif. The news was first reported byThe New York Times, which had received a copy of an email sent by Ito to university provost Martin A. Schmidt.

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Kobo brings the Forma form factor to a cheaper model Sep 09, 2019

I’ve long had a soft spot for Kobo for a few reasons. First is the simple fact that the company (now part of Rakuten) was one of the last few competing with Amazon in the e-reader market. Second is features like Pocket integration. Third is the device’s openness to file formats like ePub that don’t require the device to be tied to a single store. Kobo’s also never been afraid to experiment. Last year’s Forma was the perfect example.

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Porsche Taycan configurator: The 9 details that stood out Sep 06, 2019

The Porsche Taycan is here — actually two flavors, the Turbo S and the Turbo — in case you haven’t seen the deluge of media coverage. The upshot: the “lower” priced Turbo starts at $150,900 while the Turbo S begins at $185,000. While Porsche is promising cheaper variants of the Taycan next year, well-heeled drivers of the world will have to make do with these two options for now.

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Apple could release an update to the Apple TV Sep 05, 2019

All eyes are on the next iPhone, but Apple could also be working on a new Apple TV. The device could be announced next week, or maybe later this fall. The anonymous Twitter account @never_released shared the codename of a new Apple TV — AppleTV11,1 or J305AP. They have been accurate when it comes to finding codenames of various unreleased Apple products in the past. AppleTV11,1 is J305AP. https://t.

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Another US visa holder was denied entry over someone else’s messages Sep 04, 2019

It has been one week since U.S. border officials denied entry to a 17-year-old Harvard freshman just days before classes were set to begin. Ismail Ajjawi, a Palestinian student living in Lebanon, had his student visa canceled and was put on a flight home shortly after arriving at Boston Logan International Airport. Customs & Border Protection officers searched his phone and decided he was ineligible for entry because of his friends’ social media posts.

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Climate activists plan to use drones to shut down Heathrow Airport next month Sep 03, 2019

A UK group of climate activists is planning to fly drones close to Heathrow Airport next month in a direct action they hope will shut down the country’s largest airport for days or even longer. The planned action is in protest at the government’s decision to green-light a third runway at Heathrow. They plan to use small, lightweight “toy” drones, flown at head high (6ft) within a 5km drone ‘no fly’ zone around the airport — but not within flight paths.

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Nike Huaraches get updated for the smartphone age Sep 02, 2019

Ever since they went from Back to the Future fantasy to real world wearable tech, Nike has promised that the Adapt line was more than just a one-off gimmick. Slowly but surely, the company has made its self-lacing motor technology more accessible, most notably though its long awaited Adapt BB sneakers, which arrived earlier this year. The company announced today that it will be bringing the tech to its Huarache line next month, with the release of the Adapt Huaraches.

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‘Filmmaker Mode’ will automatically turn off all the dumb motion smoothing and noise reduction on new TVs Aug 30, 2019

Most people don’t adjust the settings on their TV after they buy it. Most newer TVs, meanwhile, come with a bunch of random junk turned on by default; things like motion smoothing that makes epic movies look like soap operas, or noise reduction that can wash out details and make an actor’s skin look cyborg-y.

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More than 130 U.S. companies have reportedly applied to sell to Huawei, but the Commerce Department has approved none of them Aug 29, 2019

More than 130 U.S. companies have reportedly applied to sell to Huawei, but the Commerce Department has approved none of them Trump said in July that some U.S. suppliers would be allowed to sell to Huawei while it remains blacklisted, but so far no vendors have been allowed to do so. Reuters reports that more than 130 applications have been submitted by companies that want to do business with Huawei, but the U.S. Commerce Department has not approved any of them yet.

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Samsung’s Note 10 is available today, starting at $949 Aug 28, 2019

Samsung’s settled into a nice little twice-yearly schedule for releasing flagships. That’s allowed the company double the opportunity to introduce some nice upgrades to their high-end Android handsets. Nearly six months after the release of the S10, the company just dropped the new Note line. Here’s a whole bunch of words I wrote about the 10+, the larger of the devices, which is helping distinguish the two lines with an utterly gigantic 6.8 inch screen.

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Chinese tariff retaliation, presidential tweets and market unease sends exchanges plummeting Aug 27, 2019

After a week of modest gains, major stock indexes plummeted on Friday as China retaliated against U.S. tariffs by imposing $75 billion worth of tariffs on U.S. goods coming into the country. China’s foreign ministry said that it would resume tariffs on U.S. imports of automobiles and auto parts and place an additional 5% or 10% tariff on agricultural and food products like soybeans, coffee, whiskey and seafood.

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The Pad & Quill Gladstone Briefcase offers plenty of storage in a beautiful design Aug 26, 2019

Pad & Quill makes some of the most handsome leather goods for the modern world, and its Gladstone Leather Briefcase is no different. This bag harkens back to the day of gentlemen with newspapers tucked under their arms and an Ascot on their head. This bag has an air of permanence and longevity, and yet it’s designed for people with modern needs. The bag features a smooth, hinged top that spreads to reveal a large opening.

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Hundreds of Uber and Lyft drivers to launch a protest caravan across California Aug 23, 2019

If you’re like me, chances are good you just distractedly clicked on this article while scrolling through your feed in, or while waiting for, a Lyft. Maybe, like me, you need that app to get to back-to-back meetings in different locations today, as you’re well on your way to at least a 60-hour workweek between the various things you do. Maybe you’re exhausted. Maybe the ride you just took, zoning out on your phone in an Uber on Quiet Mode, was actually a lifesaver.

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Deadline extended one week: apply to Hardware Battlefield @ TC Shenzhen Aug 22, 2019

Whether you’re a time-crunched procrastinator or a last-minute decision-maker we have great news for early-stage hardware startup founders! You get one more week to apply to compete in Hardware Battlefield at TC Shenzhen on November 11-12 in China. Did we just hear a collective sigh of relief? Take advantage of the reprieve and grab this opportunity for all it’s worth — $25,000 in prize money for starters.

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Netflix’s new feature for tracking upcoming releases could help retain subscribers Aug 21, 2019

Hoping to keep viewers engaged with its content, Netflix today announced the launch of a new section called “Latest” in its TV app, designed to highlight the streaming service’s recent and upcoming releases. The addition isn’t just another row or two within the main Netflix homepage. Instead, the “Latest” section gets its own dedicated area in the Netflix TV app, which is accessible from the left-hand sidebar navigation.

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Apple Card launches today for all U.S. customers, adds 3% cash back for Uber and Uber Eats Aug 21, 2019

Apple Card launches today for all U.S. customers, adds 3% cash back for Uber and Uber Eats Apple this morning announced its highly anticipated new credit card, Apple Card, is launching today for all customers in the U.S. Customers will be able to apply for the Apple Card through the Wallet app on the iPhone, then immediately begin using it by way of Apple Pay — before the physical card arrives in the mail.

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IFTTT warns against migrating Nest devices to Google accounts Aug 20, 2019

Google says it’s moving Nest devices over to a unified Google ecosystem for the sake of simplicity. But simple can be complicated, as is certainly the case here. In May, after user pushback, the company announced that it would maintain Works with Nest connections for some third-party integration. IFTTT’s popular applets for the company’s camera, smoke detector and thermostat are among those exceptions.

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Twitter to test a new filter for spam and abuse in the Direct Message inbox Aug 20, 2019

Twitter is testing a new way to filter unwanted messages from your Direct Message inbox. Today, Twitter allows users to set their Direct Message inbox as being open to receiving messages from anyone, but this can invite a lot of unwanted messages, including abuse. While one solution is to adjust your settings so only those you follow can send your private messages, that doesn’t work for everyone.

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Apple, Samsung continue growth as North American wearables market hits $2B Aug 19, 2019

New numbers out of Canalys show strong continued growth for the North America wearables market for Q2. The market hit $2 billion value for the quarter, according to the firm, marking a 38% year over year growth. It’s not exactly earth shattering, but it’s steady for a category that felt almost dead in the water a year or two back. Growth for the quarter was lead by Apple and Samsung, which marked 32% and 121% growth, coming in at first and third place, respectively — at 2.

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Fitz Frames, with $2.5M in seed funding, wants your kid to have custom glasses Aug 19, 2019

Fitz Frames, with $2.5M in seed funding, wants your kid to have custom glasses Fitz Frames is today launching out of beta to offer affordable, custom-made glasses for families, and in particular, for children. The company, which has raised $2.5 million in seed funding, was founded by Heidi Hertel is led by her and co-CEO Gabriel Schlumberger. The company declined to disclose its investors, but shared that it was a mix of angel and institutional investors.

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The New Soundboks is a massive, pro-level, battery-powered Bluetooth speaker Aug 16, 2019

The new Soundboks is impressive. It has everything: a sturdy housing, Bluetooth, large battery, XLR-inputs, and several methods to connect multiple Soundboks. Indoor or out, the new Soundboks sounds great. The Soundboks isn’t shy. It’s an extrovert. This speaker will stand tall among strangers and be the loudest in the room. It doesn’t try to compensate for lackluster sound with a quirky design, either.

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Another day, another reversal in stock fortunes as recession fears grow Aug 15, 2019

Another day, another reversal in stock fortunes as recession fears grow U.S. stock markets plummeted today as recession fears continue to grow. Yesterday’s good news about a reprieve on tariffs for U.S. consumer imports was undone by increasing concerns over economic indicators pointing to a potential global recession coming within the next year.

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Xiaomi tops Indian smartphone market for eighth straight quarter Aug 15, 2019

Xiaomi has now been India’s top smartphone seller for eight straight quarters. The company has become a constant headache for Samsung in the world’s second largest smartphone market as sales have slowed pretty much everywhere else in the world. The Chinese electronics giant shipped 10.4 million handsets in the quarter that ended in June, commanding 28.3% of the market, research firm IDC reported Tuesday.

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Apple starts selling Mophie’s take on AirPower Aug 14, 2019

There’s no shortage of AirPower knockoffs on the market. Many have been in the works since Apple took the wraps off its in-house version, positioned as more affordable alternatives. Since the company unceremoniously pulled the plug on the project, however, they’re the only game in town. We reviewed a $99 one a while ago. It seemed fine, and Amazon is currently overloaded with even more affordable options. It’s probably unfair to lump Mophie in the knockoff.

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Japan’s mobile payments app PayPay reaches 10 million users Aug 13, 2019

Paytm, India’s biggest mobile payments firm, now has 10 million customers in Japan, the company said as it pushes to expand its reach in international markets.Paytm entered Japan last October after forming a joint venture with SoftBank and Yahoo Japan called PayPay. In addition to 10 million users, PayPay is now supported by 1 million local stores in Japan, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and CEO of Paytm said Thursday.

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This charming little camera prints instantly to receipt paper Aug 13, 2019

I’m a big instant camera fan, but the film is expensive and the digital printers just aren’t very good. So I was delighted to see this alternative seeking funds on Kickstarter: the Alulu camera, which prints photos in black and white on receipt paper. Why did no one do this before? The idea is so simple that you’ve already gotten it — no explanation necessary, but since explaining things is my job I am going to do so anyway.

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Car2go hikes hourly rental rates by as much as a third Aug 12, 2019

By-the-minute car rental service Car2go is raising its rates for short trips under the guise of variable pricing, the company announced to its users today. As we’ve seen with other variably priced services like delivery and ride hailing, in practice this means you never really know what it will cost but will have little choice but to pay.

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Uber stock plummets following second-quarter earnings report Aug 12, 2019

Uber disclosed earnings for the second time since becoming a public company, reporting revenues of $3.16 billion on losses of $5.2 billion for the second quarter of 2019. Uber (NYSE: UBER) closed up more than 9% Thursday at $42.98 per share, just below its $45 IPO price, but took a nose dive more than 11% on the news. $5.2 billion in net losses represents the company’s largest-ever quarterly loss. Revenue, for its part, is up only 14% year-over-year.

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There’s a 5G version of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10+ headed for Verizon Aug 09, 2019

The 5G iPhone isn’t expected until roughly this time next year. But when it comes to the next-gen cellular technology, Samsung has already been there and done that. Back in the February, the company announced an everything and the kitchen sink version of the Galaxy S10, sporting 5G — its first device to do so. The model was finally made available last month.

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This is Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10 and 10+ Aug 09, 2019

Eight years later, the Galaxy Note is undeniable. The original device, unveiled at IFA 2011, seemed unfathomably massive for a handset — all 5.3 inches of it. Nearly a decade and hundreds of millions of handsets later, the line has transformed the way we think about mobile devices. Sure the stylus hasn’t become a mainstream element on handsets outside of Note devices, but much the rest of the industry has come around to Samsung’s way of thinking about big screens and productivity.

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The Note’s most impressive new feature is only available on the 10+ Aug 08, 2019

The new Note’s 3D scanning feature got what may well have been the loudest applause line of today’s big Samsung event. It’s an impressive feature for sure, but it’s the kind with little real-world value at the moment — and it’s only available on the pricier Note 10+. Understandable on the latter, at least. After all, Samsung needs some ways to distinguish the more expensive unit.

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The headphone jack dies not with a bang, but a Note Aug 08, 2019

Next month marks three years since Apple unceremoniously murdered the headphone jack. Courage. The company was roundly mocked for the its own hype, and the interviewing product cycles have been marked by several companies proudly showcasing their staunch refusal to cave. None were more vocal about clinging to the 3.5mm jack than Samsung. And the company certainly deserves kudos for turning the once ubiquitous port into a distinguishing feature.

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Disney will bundle Hulu, ESPN+ and Disney+ for a monthly price of $12.99 Aug 07, 2019

Disney’s upcoming streaming service Disney+ will be available as a $12.99 monthly bundle withESPN+ and ad-supported Hulu. That means the full Disney bundle (it owns ESPN and — thanks to the Fox acquisition — has a controlling stake in Hulu) will cost the same amount as Netflix’s standard U.S. plan. That’s also about $5 less than you’d pay every month if you signed up for each of the three separate subscriptions.

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Bird, Uber and Lyft get another chance to apply for electric scooter permit in SF Aug 07, 2019

In light of a so-far successful electric scooter pilot program in San Francisco, the city has opened up the application process for service providers to deploy their respective scooters as part of a more permanent program. However, the permits will only be valid for about one year, “reflecting the rapid pace at which the scooter industry continues to involve,” the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency wrote on its blog.

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Ethical fashion is on the rise Aug 06, 2019

Brian Kateman Contributor Share on Twitter Brian Kateman is President and Cofounder of the Reducetarian Foundation. More posts by this contributor Fish replacement may be the next big wave in alternative protein development The fashion industry has historically relied on exploitative, unsustainable and unethical labor practices in order to sell clothes —but if recent trends are any indication, it won’t for much longer.

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The galaxy is not flat, researchers show in new 3D model of the Milky Way Aug 06, 2019

The galaxy is not flat, researchers show in new 3D model of the Milky Way Six years of tracking a special class of star have yielded a new and improved 3D model of our galaxy, based on direct observation rather than theoretical frameworks. And although no one ever really though the Milky Way was flat flat, the curves at its edges have now been characterized in better detail than ever before.

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StockX was hacked, exposing millions of customers’ data Aug 05, 2019

It wasn’t “system updates” as it claimed. StockX was mopping up after a data breach, TechCrunch can confirm. The fashion and sneaker trading platform pushed out a password reset email to its users on Thursday citing “system updates,” but left users confused and scrambling for answers. StockX told users that the email was legitimate and not a phishing email as some had suspected, but did not say what caused the alleged system update or why there was no prior warning.

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What to expect from Samsung’s Galaxy Note event Aug 05, 2019

Samsung’s never been particularly good at keeping things under wraps. That’s no doubt, at least in part, by design. The company loves priming the rumor pump ahead of product announcements, and like clockwork, we’ve already seen plenty of what we expect is planned for next Wednesday’s Unpacked event in Brooklyn. Samsung targets iPad Pro with the Galaxy Tab S6 Earlier this week, Samsung announced the Galaxy Tab S6, its latest shot against the iPad Pro.

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A Q&A with Multiple, the quiet agency behind many a startup’s success story Aug 02, 2019

When Multiple first started in 2015 the concept of an agency specifically geared to the strategic branding and culture of startups was definitely not new, but the fact that it was starting in Europe definitely was. At the time, I remember startups in Silicon Valley having access to, literally, multiple ways of scaling up their concept, from growth hacking partners to branding agencies, to many different types of assistance.

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The Samsung Galaxy Dongle Aug 02, 2019

This, friends, is the Samsung Galaxy Dongle. The NSFW photo arrives courtesy of SamMobile. The story isn’t the image itself, so much as what it represents. It’s the end of an era. A last key flagship smartphone maker acknowledging the death of the 3.5mm jack. It’s been years in the making, of course. Apple took some fire for dropping the technology, though most others followed suit.

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Fitbit lowers guidance after Versa Lite disappoints Aug 01, 2019

Fitbit continued solid device growth for Q2, up 31%, year over year, representing a 5% bump in revenue. From that angle, the company’s long-term turnaround appears to be on track — but things weren’t all cheery this time out. Notably, the company’s stock is down in after-hours trading after it lowered guidance for annual revenue. The company laid much of the blame at the feet of the Versa Lite.

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Google’s Titan security keys come to Japan, Canada, France and the UK Jul 31, 2019

Google today announced that its Titan Security Key kits are now available in Canada, France, Japan and the UK. Until now, these keys, which come in a kit with a Bluetooth key and a standard USB-A dongle, were only available in the U.S. The keys provide an extra layer of security on top of your regular login credentials. They provide a second authentication factor to keep your account safe and replace more low-tech two-factor authentication systems like authentication apps or SMS messages.

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AWS’ new text-to-speech engine sounds like a newscaster Jul 31, 2019

Thanks to modern machine learning techniques, text-to-speech engines have made massive strides over the last few years. It used to be incredibly easy to know that it was a computer that was reading a text and not a human being. But that’s changing quickly. Amazon’s AWS cloud computing arm today launched a number of new neural text-to-speech models, as well as a new newscaster style that is meant to mimic the way… you guessed it… newscasters sound.

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SpaceX launches ISS mission using twice-flown Dragon for the first time Jul 31, 2019

SpaceX has launched CRS-18, the 18th commercial resupply mission its flown for NASA to deliver experiment, research and supply materials to the International Space Station. This mission’s cargo included IDA-3, the second automated docking ring set to be installed on the ISS, which will enable autonomous docking capabilities for future commercial spacecraft visiting the station with both crew and cargo on board.

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Marcus Hutchins, malware researcher and ‘WannaCry hero’, sentenced to supervised release Jul 30, 2019

MILWAUKEE, WI. — Marcus Hutchins, the malware researcher who became known as an “accidental hero” for stopping the WannaCry ransomware attack in 2017, has been sentenced to supervised release for one year on charges of making and selling the Kronos banking malware. Presiding Judge J. P. Stadmueller described Hutchins, 25, as a “talented” but “youthful offender” in remarks in court Friday.

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Tesla starts rolling out Chess to ‘Tesla Arcade’ in-car gaming app Jul 30, 2019

Tesla is making a new game available to its vehicle owners, with a roll-out starting today. The company started pushing out a new ‘Arcade’ app for its in-car infotainment system back in June at the annual E3 gaming conference, and now it’s adding the most thrilling game around to the mix: Chess. This isn’t the first time games have been on Tesla’s infotainment screens; its had them available as ‘Easter eggs,’ or hidden software features.

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Trump threatens Apple with tariffs, Google with investigation on Twitter Jul 29, 2019

The president of the United States called out two of the nation’s largest tech firms in a pair of tweets this morning. Google was the first target. The statement follows weeks of suggested investigations of the tech giant over a supposed relationship with China. There may or may not be National Security concerns with regard to Google and their relationship with China. If there is a problem, we will find out about it. I sincerely hope there is not!!! — Donald J.

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Old-school Doom and its sequels come to Switch, Xbox One, and PS4 Jul 26, 2019

Thinking about what to do this weekend? Think no more. Doom, Doom II, and Doom 3 have all just appeared on the Switch, Xbox One, and PS4, giving you no excuse not to play these classics. All the time. Over and over. Rip and tear! The announcement was made at QuakeCon 2019, the annual gathering of slayers and gibbers where id Software usually shows off its latest wares. Or in this case, its earliest. At $5 each, the original Doom and Doom II should provide dozens of hours of old-school fun.

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Google says it doubled Pixel sales year-over-year Jul 26, 2019

It looks like the mid-range Pixel 3a is the hit Google surely hoped it would be. Alphabet reported some pretty good earnings today, but the company’s report tends to be pretty generic, given that it doesn’t provide details for its different business units inside of Google and its other segments. That’s not to say there isn’t good news there for Google. On today’s call, Google CEO Sundar Pichai shared some new stats for the company’s phone line.

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Stackery lets AWS Lambda developers debug their serverless programs locally on a laptop Jul 26, 2019

Serverless developers have always faced a steep challenge when it comes to writing code on their laptops, and debugging said code on cloud services. It’s sort of a chicken and egg thing. You can’t deploy until you’re ready, but you can’t know if you’re ready without testing. That requires access to your cloud services on your laptop, something that up until now has been difficult to replicate.

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Samsung readies Galaxy Fold for September launch Jul 25, 2019

When it was unveiled on stage, the Galaxy Fold was heralded as the next big thing. Samsung seeded units to reviews and prepared for launch. And then a funny thing happened on the way to a smartphone paradigm shift: it started breaking. Multiple review units were sent back to Samsung with busted screens. It was a small sample size, to be sure. First Samsung blamed reviewers themselves. Ultimately, however, there was enough concern to cause the company to pump the breaks entirely.

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LG says smart TVs will gain AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support next week Jul 24, 2019

In addition to Samsung and Vizio, LG announced earlier this year that it would be adding support for Apple’s ecosystem to its TV operating system. According to a tweet from LG’s Australian account, the webOS update that adds support for HomeKit and AirPlay 2 will be released next week. Homekit is releasing in 1 week. Users require iOS 12.4 update to do Airplay2.

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The PureCam Connected Car Security System is a dashcam with extras Jul 24, 2019

Thanks to a rash of YouTube videos of traffic stops, wild crashes, and wacky antics, dashcams are becoming more and more popular with drivers. But does the world need one that shoots at 1080p and beams every minute of your drive back to a central storage device and can work as a Wi-Fi hotspot? PureGear thinks so. Their latest camera, the PureCam Connected Car Security System, shown at CES 2019, features front and back-facing cameras and 4G LTE connected.

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Sony WF-1000XM3 wireless earbuds review Jul 23, 2019

I would have had a review of the WF-1000XM3s up sooner, but they arrived while I was traveling. That was a bummer for two reasons. First and most obviously is the fact that I hate being late with a review. Second and more selfishly, I really wanted to try them out on those 16-hour flights I just took to Hong Kong and back. It’s a use case for Sony’s new fully wireless earbuds.

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Moon bricks could keep the lights on and the heat up in Lunar colonies Jul 23, 2019

Moon bricks could keep the lights on and the heat up in Lunar colonies There may be no “dark side” of the Moon, but when and where it is dark, it’s dark — and stays that way for two weeks. If we’re going to have colonists up there, they’ll need to stay warm and keep the lights (among other things) on for the long lunar night. Turns out bricks made of Moon dust could be part of the solution.

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Don’t hold your breath for the moon Jul 22, 2019

In the house in which I grew up, a single framed newspaper front page loomed over us. “MAN ON MOON“, it declared jubilantly, in an enormous, suitably momentous typeface. Subheadings included “‘It’s very pretty up here … a fine, soft surface’” and, of course, “A giant leap for mankind.” One leap forward, three steps back. That newspaper was dated fifty years ago today, as I type this.

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After Baidu tie-up, BMW taps Tencent for autonomous driving in China Jul 22, 2019

China is BMW’s largest market, and the German automaker knows in order to capture the country’s demanding consumers, its future models must support robust autonomous driving capability. But to build it itself in China is hardly possible. The success of autonomous driving relies in part on high-definition mapping, a process that requires an expansive collection of geographic information. By law, foreign entities can’t host China-based data without local partnerships.

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WeWork CEO Adam Neumann has reportedly cashed out of over $700 million ahead of its IPO Jul 19, 2019

WeWork CEO Adam Neumann has reportedly cashed out of over $700 million ahead of its IPO Adam Neumann, the co-founder and chief executive of the international real estate co-working startup, WeWork, has reportedly cashed out of more than $700 million from his company ahead of its initial public offering.

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Slack resets user passwords after 2015 data breach Jul 19, 2019

Slack will reset the passwords of users it believes are affected by a historical data breach that affected the company more than four years ago. In 2015, the company said it was hit by hackers who gained access to its user profile database, including their scrambled passwords. But the hackers inserted code that scraped the user’s plaintext password as it was entered by users at the time.

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Instagram will now hide likes in 6 more countries Jul 18, 2019

Would the internet be a better place if we all paid a little less attention to fake internet points? Instagram is still trying to figure it out. Just a few months back, Instagram started testing a design tweak that would no longer show the total number of “likes” other users’ posts had received. You could still see everyone that liked your photos and videos — but anyone else’s stuff? Don’t worry about it.

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FaceApp responds to privacy concerns Jul 18, 2019

FaceApp, the AI-powered selfie-editing app that’s been having another viral moment of late, has now responded to a privacy controversy that we covered earlier here. We’ve pasted the company’s full statement at the bottom of this post. The tl;dr here is that concerns had been raised that FaceApp, a Russian startup, uploads users’ photos to the cloud — without making it clear to them that processing is not going on locally on their device.

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With help from ‘Game of Thrones,’ HBO conquers Netflix in Emmy nominations Jul 17, 2019

With help from ‘Game of Thrones,’ HBO conquers Netflix in Emmy nominations When the Emmy nominations were announced last year, Netflix had a big win,overtaking HBO for the first time. But this year, HBO is back in the lead, with 137 nominations compared to Netflix’s 117. The Hollywood Reporter has tallied up the just-announced nominations, with Amazon Prime Video getting 47 nods and Hulu receiving 20.

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Elon Musk is raising the price of Tesla’s “full self-driving” feature by another $1,000 Jul 17, 2019

The price of a Tesla vehicle equipped with “full self-driving” is about to get more expensive, the second time in the past several months the company has increased fees for a feature that isn’t completely functional. Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted Tuesday that the price of its full self-driving option will increase by $1,000 on August 16.

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Steam Labs lets you peek into Valve’s experimental projects Jul 16, 2019

Like most companies, much of what Valve tinkers with behind the scenes never sees the light of day. Concepts are born, torn apart and rebuilt, and sometimes tossed away without anyone outside the company ever seeing a hint of it. Seems Valve is trying to change that, giving users an opportunity to provide feedback on potential new features before they’re fully baked.

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Hayabusa2 lands on an asteroid and sends back amazing pictures to prove it Jul 16, 2019

Japan’s Hayabusa2 mission to the asteroid Ryugu is an ambitious one to begin with, and the team recently made the decision to up the stakes with a second touchdown on the space rock’s surface. Not only did all go as planned, but we now have the best shots of an asteroid’s surface ever to be sent back to Earth. Hayabusa2 is a very, very cool mission.

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Behold, the mid-engine 2020 C8 Corvette’s steering wheel Jul 15, 2019

The new 2020 C8 Corvette won’t be revealed for six more days. But to hold us over, Chevrolet is showing off the steering wheel of the eighth generation vehicle. The photo, which Chevy teased Friday, is just the steering wheel. But there are hints and insights that even this single photo provides. For one, this new generation is unlike any of its predecessors. The leathered-wrapped steering wheel has the Corvette crossed flags logo as the centerpiece with two spokes.

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Boosted’s electric scooter is fast, durable, fun and…really heavy Jul 15, 2019

Boosted, the startup that got its beginnings with electric skateboards, has officially taken its first stab at electric scooters with the launch of the Boosted Rev. I’ve spent the last couple of weeks riding the Rev around the streets of San Francisco and, as I put in the headline, it’s fast, durable, fun and really heavy — 46 pounds to be exact.

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There’s a tennis game hidden in Google right now. Here’s how to find it Jul 12, 2019

Google loves a good Easter egg. From cutesie Douglas Adams references to the search results for “askew” being just a liiiiittle bit crooked, there’s all sorts of stuff hiding in the search engine if you know the right thing to type or the right buttons to push. The latest addition — a fun little tennis game hidden within certain search results pages — is in honor of the Wimbledon tennis tournament.

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‘World’s first Bluetooth hair straighteners’ can be easily hacked Jul 12, 2019

Here’s a thing that should have never been a thing: Bluetooth-connected hair straighteners. Glamoriser, a U.K. firm that bills itself as the maker of the “world’s first Bluetooth hair straighteners“, allows users to link the device to an app, which lets the owner set certain heat and style settings. The app can also be used to remotely switch off the straighteners within Bluetooth range. Big problem, though. These straighteners can be hacked.

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Tesla will not “refresh” its Model S or Model X electric vehicles Jul 11, 2019

Tesla owners and customers hoping for a refreshed Model S or Model X are going to be waiting indefinitely. Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted Monday night that there will be no “refreshed” Model X or Model S coming. In automotive speak, refreshed typically means small revisions to a vehicle model that extend beyond the typical yearly updates made by manufacturers. A refresh is not a major redesign, although there’s often a noticeable change to the vehicle model.

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BMW 2019 i8 Review: Driving yesterday’s car of tomorrow, today Jul 11, 2019

The BMW i8 is a lovely vehicle to drive even though it’s lacking. It hugs the road and commands attention. It’s thrilling in a way that few cars can achieve without speed. Sure, it’s quick, but it won’t set track records or quarter mile times. It just feels great to drive. By the numbers, there’s little reason to buy a $164,000 BMW i8 Roadster. Want speed? Buy a Porsche 911 Turbo for $161k or Corvette ZR1 for $123k or Nissan GT-R for $112k.

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Digital health is growing fast — but at what cost? Jul 10, 2019

Chris Hogg Contributor Share on Twitter Chris Hogg is a digital health advocate interested in how new forms of health data are changing the relationship between physician and patient. As CCO of Propeller Health, he leads the company's San Francisco office and oversees the pharma BD, health system and payer sales, clinical and medical affairs and data science teams. Silicon Valley is obsessed with growth. And for digital health startups, that obsession is not only misguided, but dangerous.

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Cloosiv gives local coffee shops a mobile ordering experience on par with the mega chains Jul 10, 2019

Starbucks’ mobile ordering app has proven wildly popular for the company, with reports indicating that it had more users than the likes of Apple Pay or Google Pay last year. The convenience is just too alluring. When you’re late for work and forgot to eat, being able to order up a drink and a sandwich with a tap or two and have it ready for pick up by the time you pass the store seems sort of like magic.

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HQ Trivia has paid out $6M, but winners complain of delays Jul 09, 2019

HQ Trivia’s troubles continue after a failed mutiny to oust the CEO, a 92% decline in downloads since versus a year ago, and layoffs of 20% of its staff last week. Now TechCrunch has learned HQ has failed to install a new CEO after months of searching. Meanwhile, users continue to complain about delays for payouts of their prizes from the live mobile trivia game, and about being booted from the game for no reason while on the final question.

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The sinkhole that saved the internet Jul 09, 2019

It was late afternoon on May 12, 2017. Two exhausted security researchers could barely unpack the events of what had just happened. Marcus Hutchins and Jamie Hankins, who were working from their homes in the U.K. for Los Angeles-based cybersecurity company Kryptos Logic, had just stopped a global cyberattack dead in its tracks. Hours earlier, WannaCry ransomware began to spread like wildfire, encrypting systems and crippling businesses and transport hubs across Europe.

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Fish replacement may be the next big wave in alternative protein development Jul 08, 2019

Brian Kateman Contributor Share on Twitter Brian Kateman is President and Cofounder of the Reducetarian Foundation. Fish make up 16% of animal protein consumed globally, anddemand is set to rise, accordingto the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, largely thanks to rising disposable incomes. But overfishing is hugely problematic – and it’s not sustainable to continue with the way things are.

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It was a really bad month for the internet Jul 08, 2019

If these past few weeks felt like the sky was falling, you weren’t alone. In the past month there were several major internet outages affecting millions of users across the world. Sites buckled, services broke, images wouldn’t load, direct messages ground to a halt, and calendar and email unavailable for hours at a time. It’s not believed any single event tied the outages together, more so just terrible luck for all involved.

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GPS on the Moon? NASA’s working on it Jul 05, 2019

If you’re driving your car from Portland to Merced, you probably rely on GPS to see where you are. But what if you’re driving your Moon rover from Oceanus Procellarum to the Sea of Tranquility? Actually, GPS should be fine — if this NASA research pans out. Knowing exactly where you are in space, relative to other bodies anyway, is definitely a non-trivial problem.

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Apple reveals App Store takedown demands by governments Jul 05, 2019

For the first time, Apple has published the number of requests it’s received from governments to take down apps from its app store. In its latest transparency report published Tuesday, the tech giant said it received 80 requests from 11 countries to remove 634 apps from its localized app stores during July 1 and December 31, 2018. Apple didn’t list the apps that were removed but noted in most cases why the apps were pulled.

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Samsung’s Galaxy Fold problems are reportedly fixed — so now what? Jul 04, 2019

In a recent interview, Samsung CEO DJ Koh noted that the company was hard at work on Galaxy Fold fixes (he also said people won’t be using smartphones in five years, so who knows?). And now, a report from Bloomberg confirms that the company has put the finishing touches on those fixes two months after the handset was originally set to debut. So now what? We still don’t have a date.

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Uber Eats invades restaurants with Dine-In option Jul 03, 2019

Tired of cleaning up after take-out or getting hangry waiting at your table in restaurants? Well Uber Eats is barging into the dine-in business. A new option in some cities lets you order your food ahead of time, go to the restaurant, then sit down inside to eat, a tipster from competing dine-in app Allset tells us. We tested it, and Uber Eats Dine-In even waives the standard Uber delivery and service fees.

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With a single wiretap, prosecutors collected 9.2 million text messages Jul 03, 2019

For four months in 2018, U.S. prosecutors in Texas collected more than 9.2 million messages under a single court-authorized wiretap order, newly released figures show. The wiretap, granted by a federal judge in the Southern District of Texas, was granted as part of a narcotics investigation and became the federal wiretap with the most intercepts in 2018, according to the government’s annual wiretap report.

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Nielsen reports a record half a trillion on-demand music streams in U.S. so far this year Jul 02, 2019

Nielsen reports a record half a trillion on-demand music streams in U.S. so far this year Music streaming services have already delivered a new high of half a trillion (507.7 billion) on-demand streams in the first half of 2019, according to Nielsen’s mid-year Music Report released this week. This record number — an increase of 31.

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Apple tries out the ‘choose-your-own adventure’ Twitter thread format that recently went viral Jul 01, 2019

It looks like choose-your-own-adventure Twitter games won’t be a one-hit wonder, now that Apple’s social team has adopted the format. A new tweet from the @AppleTV Twitter account today helps users find a movie to watch by having them click through a series of Twitter threads.

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Synergy Research finds enterprise SaaS revenue hits $100B run rate, led by Microsoft, Salesforce Jun 28, 2019

In its most recent report, Synergy Research, a company that monitors cloud marketshare, found that enterprise SaaS revenue passed the $100 billion run rate this quarter. The market was led by Microsoft and Salesforce. It shouldn’t be a surprise at this point that these two enterprise powerhouses come in at the top. Microsoft reported $10.1 billion in Productivity and Business Processes revenue, which includes Office 365, the Dynamics line and LinkedIn, the company it bought in 2016 for $26.

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AT&T’s 5G network hits (parts of) Las Vegas Jun 28, 2019

Hey, so remember earlier today when I said that new 5G cities still qualify as news, for a little while longer, at least? AT&T is making it under the wire with the addition of Las Vegas to its growing portfolio of 5G business cities. The addition of Sin City brings the carrier’s total up to 20 cities for its 5G+ — a confusing branding it gave to avoid confusion with its purposefully confusing 5G E branding. Confused? Good. That was kind of the point.

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The Office is leaving Netflix in 2021 because NBC wants it back Jun 27, 2019

Well, it’s official: The Office is leaving Netflix . Michael Scott and the rest of Dunder Mifflin will be heading for another streaming service come January 2021. By far the most popular show on Netflix in 2018, The Office was bound to leave the service eventually — or, at the very least, see some HUGE contract renegotiations. The show’s departure had been rumored a few times before now, but were quickly debunked.

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Twitter’s underrated Lists feature finally gets some attention Jun 26, 2019

Twitter Lists have never gotten the attention they deserve. A feature largely adopted by Twitter power users, lists allow you to create custom timelines by adding only those users whose tweets you want to track. And this can be done without having to also follow those Twitter accounts, which keeps your main timeline clutter-free. But the Twitter Lists feature has always been somewhat buried in Twitter’s interface — at least until now.

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Huawei says two-thirds of 5G networks outside China now use its gear Jun 26, 2019

As 5G networks begin rolling out and commercializing around the world, telecoms vendors are rushing to get a headstart. Huawei equipment is now behind two-thirds of the commercially launched 5G networks outside China, said president of Huawei’s carrier business group Ryan Ding on Tuesday at an industry conference.

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Drone Racing League is raising $50 million Jun 25, 2019

The enterprise drone space has been heating up over the past couple years, but a startup in the entertainment drone space is raising the big cash now. The Drone Racing League is in the process of raising up to $50 million from investors in a Series C round according to SEC docs published today. The startup has already raised over $26 million of that figure and is looking to secure additional investors to close out the rest.

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A Netflix hack lets you feel the action in a scene by vibrating your phone Jun 25, 2019

A Netflix hack lets you feel the action in a scene by vibrating your phone Netflix Hack Day, the company’s internal hackathon, has a habit of producing some amazing gems — like a brain-controlled interface, a Fitbit hack that shuts off Netflix when you fall asleep, a Netflix app for the original NES, and a way to navigate the Netflix app with Face ID and ARKit, to name a few.

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Hasselblad’s new medium format camera is a tiny, beautiful nod to history Jun 24, 2019

While mirrorless cameras accelerate into the future, medium format models are hearkening unto the past — and Hasselblad chief among them. Its new digital back fits lenses going back to the ’50s, and the tiny 907X camera body is about as lovely a throwback as one can imagine. The new set of systems, announced today, are somewhat different from what most people are used to.

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Crowdfunded spacecraft LightSail 2 prepares to go sailing on sunlight Jun 24, 2019

Among the many spacecraft and satellites ascending to space on Monday’s Falcon Heavy launch, the Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 may be the most interesting. If all goes well, a week from launch it will be moving through space — slowly, but surely — on nothing more than the force exerted on it by sunlight.

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Google says it’s not making any more tablets Jun 21, 2019

The writing has been on the slate for some time now. Roughly this time last year, we reported that Google had wiped all tablet sales off its site. Turns out that was just a bug, but it seemed like an ominous portent of things to come. Google still went ahead and launched the Pixel Slate late last year, hoping the device would give users a much-welcome form factor alternative to its high-end Pixel Book.

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Samsung’s Galaxy S10 5G arrives on Sprint tomorrow Jun 21, 2019

You surely know the whole deal about carts and horses by now. When Samsung’s first 5G handset, the Galaxy S10 5G, arrives on Sprint tomorrow, users will be able to get those blazing fast mobile speeds in all of four markets: Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Kansas City. Those all launched last week, after the arrival of the carrier’s first 5G handset, LG’s V50 ThinQ.

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Announcing Hardware Battlefield 2019 in Shenzhen, China Jun 20, 2019

Startup Battlefield is known around the world as TechCrunch’s premier startup competition, and today we’re proud to announce that on November 11-12 we are producing our hardware-focused competition, Hardware Battlefield at TC Shenzhen in that amazing heartland of hardware, Shenzhen, China. The event this November will be TechCrunch’s fifth Hardware Battlefield, but our first ever in China.

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NASA’s X-59 supersonic jet will have a 4K TV instead of a forward window Jun 20, 2019

NASA’s X-59 QueSST experimental quiet supersonic aircraft will have a cockpit like no other — featuring a big 4K screen where you’d normally have a front window. Why? Because this is one weird-looking plane. The X-59, which is being developed by Lockheed Martin on a $247 million budget, is meant to go significantly faster than sound without producing a sonic boom, or indeed any noise “faster than a car door closing,” at least to observers on the ground.

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Apple Watch’s own built-in apps can be deleted in watchOS 6 Jun 19, 2019

Good news for Apple Watch owners who don’t want to clutter up their Watch with unused apps. With the release of the new watchOS 6 operating system later this year, Apple will allow Apple Watch device owners to remove many more of the built-in, first-party apps from their smartwatch — including previously unremovable apps like Alarm, Timer, Stopwatch, Remote, Camera Remote, Radio, and others, as well as health apps like ECG, Breathe, Noise, and Cycle Tracking.

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The Geesaa automates (but overcomplicates) pourover coffee Jun 19, 2019

Making pourover coffee is a cherished ritual of mine on most mornings. But there are times I wish I could have a single cup of pourover without fussing about the kitchen — and the Geesaa, a new gadget seeking funds on Kickstarter, lets me do that. But it’s definitely still a ways from being a must-have.

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ThinkGeek.com to close, replaced as a section of GameStop Jun 18, 2019

Sad news for anyone who loves geeky goods and top-notch April Fools’ jokes: ThinkGeek.com, the 20 year old online retailer known for selling more geek-centric gadgets and peripherals than you could fit in a TARDIS, is going away. According to an FAQ sitting at the top of its site, ThinkGeek isn’t “shutting down”.

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Fiverr shares climb 90% in first day of trading Jun 18, 2019

Freelance marketplace Fiverr had a good first day on the New York Stock Exchange. The company priced its IPO at $21 per share last night, raising around $111 million. It then started trading this morning at $26, with shares climbing for most of the day and closing at $39.90 — up 90% from the IPO price. Fiverr is one of the most well-known companies facilitating the so-called gig economy.

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Walmart Grocery is now offering a $98 per year ‘Delivery Unlimited’ subscription Jun 17, 2019

Walmart is taking aim at Instacart, Target’s Shipt, and Amazon Prime Now/Whole Foods with a new grocery delivery subscription service called simply, “Delivery Unlimited.” Before, Walmart shoppers could order groceries online and pick them up at their local store for free or they could opt to pay the $9.95 (or sometimes less) per-order delivery fee.

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Millions of Venmo transactions scraped in warning over privacy settings Jun 17, 2019

A computer science student has scraped seven million Venmo transactions to prove that users’ public activity can still be easily obtained, a year after a privacy researcher downloaded hundreds of millions of Venmo transactions in a similar feat. Dan Salmon said he scraped the transactions during a cumulative six months to raise awareness and warn users to set their Venmo payments to private.

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Lightspeed Venture Partners doubles its growth practice Jun 14, 2019

Lightspeed Venture Partners, a firm behind the likes of BetterUp, Aurora, Goop and dozens of others, will allocate more capital to mature companies with the hiring of three new partners. Adam Smith, Amy Wu and Arsham Memarzadeh join the Menlo Park-headquartered venture capital fund’s growth practice. The team is led by longtime partner Will Kohler and Brad Twohig, who joined LSVP in 2018 to amp up the firm’s late-stage efforts, leading a $1.

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Chewy founder Ryan Cohen on its fast-approaching IPO: “It’s like seeing my baby graduate” Jun 13, 2019

Ask any venture capitalist about the most important ingredient to success in startups, and they’ll tell you it centers on founders who can persuade not only investors to part with some of their capital but, more important, who can convince people to leave what are often more stable jobs in order to build a company from scratch. Ryan Cohen certainly fits the description.

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Google leaks its own phone Jun 13, 2019

Details of the Pixel 4 have been swirling around this week, so Google has decided to just leak the design of its next phone via its official Twitter account, revealing the backplate and new camera module on the smartphone. “Well, since there seems to be some interest, here you go! Wait ’til you see what it can do. #Pixel4â€³ the tweet from the company’s verified @MadeByGoogle account read. Renders of the Pixel 4 had leaked this week via smartphone blog Pricebaba.

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Elon Musk: There is not a demand problem for the Tesla Model 3 Jun 12, 2019

Elon Musk: There is not a demand problem for the Tesla Model 3 Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s opening comments at the annual shareholder’s meeting went straight to a question that has been looming over the automaker since it reported wider-than-expected losses and a one-third drop in deliveries in the first quarter: demand. “We get this question a lot. I want to be clear, there is not a demand problem,” Musk said. But he didn’t stop there.

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Everyone loves pizza, including VCs Jun 12, 2019

Joanna Glasner Contributor More posts by this contributor Which public US universities graduate the most funded founders? Big revenues, huge valuations and major losses: charting the era of the unicorn IPO Sometimes a person (I’m not naming names here) tires of staring at startup funding data, and her hungry mind wanders to pizza. But ordering a pizza in real life isn’t always the best choice for such people/reporters.

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Vive Pro Eye launches in US, costs four times as much as Rift S Jun 11, 2019

Vive Pro Eye launches in US, costs four times as much as Rift S HTC had the hottest VR headset out of the gate in 2016, but the thinning margins on consumer hardware thanks to Oculus have pushed them into the enterprise business. Today, the company released the Vive Pro Eye headset, its latest enterprise play that integrates eye-tracking camera to give users an additional input mode and a way for users to signal attention. It’s available in a bundle with SteamVR 2.

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Answers to your burning questions about how ‘Sign In with Apple’ works Jun 11, 2019

One of the bigger security announcements from Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference this week is Apple’s new requirement that app developers must implement the company’s new single sign-on solution, Sign In with Apple, wherever they already offer another third-party sign-on system. Apple’s decision to require its button in those scenarios is considered risky — especially at a time when the company is in the crosshairs of the U.S.

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Xiaomi recalls some of its popular M365 scooter model Jun 10, 2019

Xiamoi recently discovered a safety issue with the M365 electric scooter where a screw could become loose in the folding apparatus. That would then cause the vertical component of the scooter to break off while in use. Xiaomi said it only affected a “limited number of production units” — 10,257 to be exact. The recall program will start in the United Kingdom on June 26 and in other markets July 1. The United States is not one of the markets affected.

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Uber’s COO and chief marketing officer are out Jun 10, 2019

Uber’s chief operating officer Barney Harford and chief marketing officer Rebecca Messina are stepping down as part of an organizational shakeup put into motion just a month after the ride-hailing company went public. CNBC first reported the departures. The departures, which CEO Dara Khosrowshahi explained in an email to employees, were prompted by his decision to more directly control core parts of the business.

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What to expect from E3 2019 Jun 07, 2019

E3 2019 is shaping up to be a bit of an in-between year. Nintendo Switch sales have finally started slowing, but the company’s a ways off from its next-generation console. Microsoft and Sony will be offering info on theirs soon, but we likely won’t be seeing much — especially from the latter, which has opted to sit out this show altogether. Still, there will be plenty to see next week in Los Angeles. Here’s what we expect so far.

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Destiny 2 goes free to play and gains cross-saving on all platforms Jun 07, 2019

Bungie aims to fortify the popular but flagging Destiny 2 with an expanded free-to-play plan and universal cross-platform saving, the company announced today. It’s an interesting and player-friendly evolution of the “games as a service” model, and other companies should take note. The base game, which is to say the original campaign and the first year of updates, will be available on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Google Stadia.

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YouTube’s bully problems prove that community doesn’t scale Jun 06, 2019

Drew Olanoff Contributor Editor’s note: Drew is a geek who first worked at AOL when he was 16 years old and went on to become a senior writer at TechCrunch. He is now the VP of Communications for venture equity fund Scaleworks. I have a confession to make. It’s something that I live with daily. It’s not that I’m not proud of it…it’s just that I’m never sure how people will see me after they know my “secret.” Here goes nothing. I. Was. A.

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Grow Mobility, the micromobility startup formerly known as Grin, merges with payment system Flinto Jun 05, 2019

Grow Mobility, the entity that consists of electric scooter startup Grin, and bike and scooter-share startup Yellow, has merged with payments startup Flinto. Flinto enables people to make peer-to-peer payments, add minutes and text messages to your phone, and pay bills and merchants. Flinto works for those with or without bank accounts. If someone doesn’t have a bank account, they can deposit cash at local shops and restaurants.

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Security stays hot as Imperva grabs Distil Networks Jun 05, 2019

Last week four security companies changed hands. The shopping spree continued this week with CDN company Imperva announcing it was buying bot mitigation startup Distil Networks. The companies did not share the acquisition price. Imperva CTO Kunal Anand says his company had a narrow bot capability, but was looking to bring a more complete solution to the platform and Distil fit the bill nicely.

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Brooklyn and Queens are now flush with 1,000 of Revel’s shared electric mopeds Jun 04, 2019

Brooklyn and Queens are now flush with 1,000 of Revel’s shared electric mopeds Revel Transit has released 1,000 of its shared electric mopeds onto the streets of Brooklyn and Queens, following the end of a nine-month pilot program in the area. The New York-based startup pulled the original 68 mopeds it used in its limited pilot and has replaced them with new models (and hundreds more of them) built for two riders and equipped with kickstands for parking.

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Teams autonomously mapping the depths take home millions in Ocean Discovery Xprize Jun 04, 2019

There’s a whole lot of ocean on this planet, and we don’t have much of an idea what’s at the bottom of most of it. That could change with the craft and techniques created during the Ocean Discovery Xprize, which had teams competing to map the sea floor quickly, precisely, and autonomously. The winner just took home $4 million.

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‘Gato Roboto’ and ‘Dig Dog’ put pixelated pets to work in gleeful gaming homages Jun 03, 2019

Drawing inspiration from games of yore but with dog and cat protagonists that signal light adventures rather than grim, dark ones, Gato Roboto and Dig Dog are easy to recommend to anyone looking to waste a couple hours this weekend. Not only that, but the latter was developed in a fascinating and inspiring way.

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Microsoft warns users to patch as exploits for ‘wormable’ BlueKeep bug appear Jun 03, 2019

Microsoft has issued its second advisory this month urging users to update their systems to prevent a re-run of attacks similar to WannaCry. The software giant said Thursday that the recently discovered “wormable” vulnerability in Remote Desktop Services for Windows can allow attackers to remotely run code on a vulnerable computer — such as malware or ransomware.

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What to expect from Apple’s WWDC 2019 May 31, 2019

Last year’s WWDC was a rare step away from hardware for the company, without a single device announcement. In fact, Apple’s gadget lines have largely been the subject of quiet releases over the past year. Ahead of the big Apple TV unveil, the company issued several press releases highlighting minor updates to flagship lines.

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LEGO celebrates Apollo 11 with a lovely, bricky Lunar Lander May 31, 2019

The 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 and the first lunar landing is approaching, and there will be no shortage of fanfare — so why shouldn’t LEGO get in on the fun? This Lunar Lander set looks like a great way to celebrate the missions of the space program’s past, while the space station and launch sets celebrate its present and future.

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The Crunchbase Unicorn Leaderboard is back, now with a record herd of 452 unicorns May 30, 2019

We are very pleased to announce that the new and improved Crunchbase Unicorn Leaderboardre-launched today after nearly a year’s absence from TechCrunch. Venture investors did a lot of handwringing in the past year over rising valuations, but that did not slow the unicorn juggernaut, as 2018 outstripped all previous years in terms of the number of unicorns created and venture dollars invested.

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Go chat yourself with Facebook’s new Portal companion app May 29, 2019

Ignoring calls that it’s creepy, Facebook is forging onward with its Portal smart display. Today Facebook quietly launched iOS and Android Portal apps that let owners show off photos on the screen without sharing them to the social network, and video call their home while they’re out.

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Zero raises $20 million from NEA and others for a credit card that works like debit May 29, 2019

Zero raises $20 million from NEA and others for a credit card that works like debit Just ahead of the launch of the Apple Card, a startup that has its own take on modernizing the credit card industry, Zero, is announcing the close of its $20 million Series A. The new round of funding was led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), and brings Zero’s total raised to date to $35 million, including both equity and debt funding.

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Using full-body MRIs, Ezra can now detect 11 cancers in men and 13 in women May 28, 2019

Using full-body MRIs, Ezra can now detect 11 cancers in men and 13 in women When Ezra first launched about six months ago, the company was using magnetic resonance imaging machines to test for prostate cancer in men. But the company’s founder, Emi Gal, always had a larger goal. “One of the biggest problems in cancer is that there’s no accurate, fast, painless, way to scan for cancer anywhere in the body” Gal said at the time of his company’s debut.

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Instagram’s vertical IGTV surrenders to landscape status quo May 28, 2019

A year ago Instagram made a bold bet with the launch of IGTV: That it could invent and popularize a new medium of long-form vertical videos. Landscape uploads weren’t allowed. Co-founder Kevin Systrom told me in August that “What I’m most proud of is that Instagram took a stand and tried a brand new thing that is frankly hard to pull off. Full-screen vertical video that’s mobile only. That doesn’t exist anywhere else.

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SpaceX reveals more Starlink info after launch of first 60 satellites May 27, 2019

Last night’s successful Starlink launch was a big one for SpaceX — its heaviest payload ever, weighed down by 60 communications satellites that will eventually be part of a single constellation providing internet to the globe. That’s the plan, anyway — and the company pulled the curtain back a bit more after launch, revealing a few more details about the birds it just put in the air.

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WikiLeaks’ Assange charged under the Espionage Act in a ‘major test case’ for press freedom May 24, 2019

Julian Assange, founder of whistleblowing site WikiLeaks, has been charged with more than a dozen additional charges by U.S. federal prosecutors, including under the controversial Espionage Act — a case that will likely test the rights of freedom of speech and expression under the First Amendment. Assange, 47, was arrested at the Ecuadorean embassy in London in April after the U.S.

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The U.S. Senate is coming after ‘loot boxes’ May 24, 2019

Gamers feel passionately about loot boxes, turns out some elected officials do too. A new Senate bill was formally introduced today with bipartisan support and it could categorically shift how today’s top platforms and distribution platforms monetize the titles they sell. The bill’s introduction was first reported by The Verge.

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My desk doesn’t deserve the $600 Dyson Lightcycle lamp May 23, 2019

Like many of you, I’m assuming, my desk was purchased at Ikea and is the center of my life. Such as it is, the desk is littered with bits of crackers, memory cards, branded Moleskin notebooks and countless coffee cups. I’m not a slob. I just live here. The desk is clean enough. Then Dyson sent me its new task light to try out. My desk suddenly felt dirty. After assembling the light, I looked around and took inventory of my life and choices.

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Seven years later, the OUYA is dead for real May 23, 2019

Remember the OUYA? As a cheap Android-powered game console, it was pitched as being able to “open the last closed platform: the TV”. It was one of the first huge Kickstarter campaigns, raising nearly 9 million dollars on the site in 2012. Even half a decade later, it remains one of the biggest campaigns Kickstarter has seen. Outside of Kickstarter, the $99 console never really found its audience. OUYA was split up by 2015, its software assets and team acquired by Razer.

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Future Family launches a $200 membership for fertility coaching May 22, 2019

Future Family is a startup aiming to make fertility services like IVF and egg freezing more accessible. They work with doctors and clinics to make the pricing of these services more predictable and upfront, then offer monthly payment plans to help customers spread the cost (often in the tens of thousands of dollars) over a few years.

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Apple announces new MacBook Pros with a keyboard fix, oh, and more powerful processors May 22, 2019

Apple is updating its 15” MacBook Pro with new 8-core and 6-core processors and its 13” MacBook Pro with Touch Bar with 8th gen quad-core processors. Apple says that these boosts mean that the 15” MacBook Pro will run at double the speed of the previous quad-core models and hit 40% improvements over the 6-core MacBook Pro model. Apple says that this is its fastest Mac notebook ever. Oh, and there is that keyboard update.

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Why is Facebook doing robotics research? May 21, 2019

It’s a bit strange to hear that the world’s leading social network is pursuing research in robotics rather than, say, making search useful, but Facebook is a big organization with many competing priorities. And while these robots aren’t directly going to affect your Facebook experience, what the company learns from them could be impactful in surprising ways. Though robotics is a new area of research for Facebook, its reliance on and bleeding-edge work in AI are well known.

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Minecraft Earth makes the whole real world your very own blocky realm May 21, 2019

When your game tops a hundred million players, your thoughts naturally turn to doubling that number. That’s the case with the creators, or rather stewards, of Minecraft at Microsoft, where the game has become a product category unto itself. And now it is making its biggest leap yet — to a real-world augmented reality game in the vein of Pokemon GO, called Minecraft Earth.

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Rivian debuts a pull-out kitchen for its electric pickup trick May 20, 2019

Sometimes you need scrambled eggs. And with that thought, toady at the Overland Expo in Flagstaff, AZ, Rivian announced a major accessory for its electric pickup: A camp kitchen. The unit slides out from the Rivian R1T’s so-called gear tunnel that lives between the bed and cab. The kitchen includes storage and a stove that’s powered by the R1T’s 180kWh battery pack. This kitchen unit is the first significant concept Rivian has unveiled for the pickup’s unusual gear tunnel.

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Clutter has picked up Omni’s storage business; Omni to focus on rentals May 20, 2019

On the heels of Clutter announcing a large growth roundof $200 million earlier this year, the storage startup is cleaning up the competitive field. TechCrunch has learned and confirmed that Clutter has purchased the storage business of erstwhile rival Omni. Omni will remain an independent company, which will now instead focus on rentals of personal items. That business was originally built around renting out items that you had stored with Omni itself.

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Asus’ $499 ZenFone 6 has a flip-up camera and a giant battery May 17, 2019

Premium smartphone manufacturers have moved the needle on pricing, but 2019 may well go down as a kind of golden age for budget flagships. Apple, Google and Samsung are all in that business now, and OnePlus has once again shown the world how to offer more for less. And then there’s the new ZenFone. It’s a bit of an understatement to suggest that Asus has had trouble breaking into the smartphone space.

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TikTok tops the iOS App Store for the fifth quarter in a row May 17, 2019

TikTok tops the iOS App Store for the fifth quarter in a row Despite a $5.7 million FTC fine and changes to restrict its use by under 13-year-olds, TikTok retained its No. 1 position as the most downloaded app on the Apple App Store for the fifth consecutive quarter, according to a new report from Sensor Tower. The app saw more than 33 million App Store downloads during Q1, and was followed by YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger to round out the top five. The No.

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Oh no, there’s A.I. whiskey now May 16, 2019

Forget all those whiskey brands from musicians and celebs — there’s A.I. whiskey now. Microsoft this week announced it has teamed up with Finnish tech company Fourkind and Sweden-based distillery Mackmyra Whisky to create the “world’s first whisky developed with artificial intelligence.” Oh no! Here’s how it will work. As part of the distillation process, whiskey first spends time — typically years — sitting in charred wooden casks.

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Jeff Bezos personally dumps a truckload of dirt on FedEx’s future May 16, 2019

Amazon want to be plenty of things, the most predictable of which is its ambitions to control America’s shipping backbone. The company’s efforts to bring users whatever they desire in 24 hours requires movements by land, air and sea. Today, the company broke ground on expanding its airborne ambitions, breaking ground on a three million square-foot Prime Air airport outside Cincinnati (in Kentucky).

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Stocks gain back some ground as investors assess the trade war’s impact May 15, 2019

Stocks had their best trading day in a while on Tuesday as investors took a break from selling to assess the actual effects of the trade war with China. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 gained back some of their losses with the DJIA climbing 207.06 points to close at 25,532.05 and the S&P hitting 2,834.41, up 0.8%. The Nasdaq Composite Index wrapped its trading day at 7,734.49.

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After year-long lockout, Twitter is finally giving people their accounts back May 15, 2019

Twitter is finally allowing a number of locked users to regain control of their accounts once again. Around a year after Europe’s new privacy laws (GDPR) rolled out, Twitter began booting users out of their accounts if it suspected the account’s owner was underage — that is, younger than 13. But the process also locked out many users who said they were now old enough to use Twitter’s service legally.

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Jeff Bezos aims Blue Origin at the Moon May 14, 2019

Today at a packed event blocks from the White House, Jeff Bezos took the stage in front of select members of the media, executives, government officials and a gaggle of middle schoolers to reveal new details of his plan to get to the Moon by 2024. Blue Origin is going to send humans to space on New Shepard later this year and has unveiled a lunar lander, called “Blue Moon”, to access the resource-rich lunar surface, Bezos said.

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Virgin Galactic is ‘coming home’ to Spaceport America in New Mexico May 14, 2019

Aspiring space tourism outfit Virgin Galactic has just announced its readiness to shift its operations to New Mexico’s Spaceport America, from which the company’s first commercial flights will take off. “Virgin Galactic is coming home to New Mexico where together we will open space to change the world for good,” said Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson at a press event.

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Blue Moon Brewing is capitalizing on Bezos’ news with a lunar lander keg May 13, 2019

Every so often, a big corporation manages to play the news cycle just right. Generally such things aren’t recommended and can fairly easily backfire, but the MillerCoors-owned Blue Moon Brewery would have been silly not to have capitalized on yesterday’s big announcement from Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin. Sodowe https://t.

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Uber’s first day as a public company didn’t go so well May 13, 2019

Ouch. Yikes. Oof. Sigh. Those are some of the friendlier phrases I imagine came out of the mouths of bankers, investors, executives and really anyone who has been paying close attention to Uber’s road to the stock markets today when the company debuted on the New York Stock Exchange below its initial public offering price. The ride-hailing business (NYSE: UBER), previously valued at $72 billion by venture capitalists, priced its stock at $45 apiece for a valuation of $82.4 billion on Thursday.

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Uber prices IPO at $45 per share, raises $8.1B May 10, 2019

Uber has set its initial public offering at $45 per share, per reports, raising $8.1 billion in the process. The price, which falls at the low end of Uber’s planned range, values Uber at $82.4 billion. Uber has yet to officially confirm its IPO price in an amended S-1 filing. The pricing comes one day after drivers all over the world went on strike, with drivers in San Francisco protesting right outside the company’s headquarters.

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Singapore passes controversial ‘fake news’ law which critics fear will stifle free speech May 09, 2019

Singapore has passed a controversial bill that could equip the government with extensive powers to police online media and free speech. The bill was first drafted last month and, as had been expected, it passed 72-9 in Singapore’s parliament, dominated by the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) party, late on Wednesday.

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Trump’s China tariffs are getting a major increase on Friday May 09, 2019

The stock market has already seen some wild fluctuations this week in anticipation of the latest volley in a trade war ramping up between the U.S. and China. Now it seems the President is making good on his promise to further increase tariffs on goods from the country. Reuters is reporting that the U.S. is set to increase import tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10 to 25 percent. The change is set to go into effect on Friday, May 10. ….

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Kotlin is now Google’s preferred language for Android app development May 08, 2019

Google today announced that the Kotlin programming language is now its preferred language for Android app developers. “Android development will become increasingly Kotlin-first,” Google writes in today’s announcement. “Many new Jetpack APIs and features will be offered first in Kotlin. If you’re starting a new project, you should write it in Kotlin; code written in Kotlin often mean much less code for you–less code to type, test, and maintain.

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The headphone jack is back for the Google Pixel 3a May 08, 2019

Hello old friend. I knew you would be back. I didn’t know how or when, but I knew we would be reunited again. It turns out all it would take was a cratering smartphone market to bring you back around. Google, of course, famously stood its ground on the importance of the 3.5 mm for the first Pixel, only to drop it a generation later. Now that the company’s got a budget offering in the form of the Pixel 3a, it’s returned to the nurturing arms of the hardwired headphone.

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A glitch is breaking all Firefox extensions May 07, 2019

Did you just open Firefox only to find all of your extensions disabled and/or otherwise not working? You’re not alone, and it’s nothing you did. Reports are pouring in of a glitch that has spontaneously disabled effectively all Firefox extensions. Each extension is now being listed as a “legacy” extension, alongside a warning that it “could not be verified for use in Firefox and has been disabled”.

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Uber and Lyft drivers are striking ahead of Uber’s IPO May 07, 2019

With Uber expected to make its debut on the public market by Friday, May 10, on-demand ride-hailing drivers are planning to strike on Wednesday. The New York Taxi Workers Association is calling on U.S.-based drivers to stand in solidarity with drivers in London and log off from both Uber and Lyft on May 8 between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. STRIKE STRIKE STRIKE! We are calling on all people of good conscience in NYC to log off of the apps in 7 AM to 9 AM Wednesday, May 8th to support our strike.

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Sonic the Hedgehog director says character is getting makeover after backlash May 06, 2019

In 2006, New Line Cinema added five days of reshoots for Snakes on a Plane, six months after principal filming had wrapped. The new shoots helped change the film’s rating from PG-13 to R, courtesy of, among other things, the addition of the line “I have had it with these motherf****** snakes on this motherf****** plane!” It was an early and still one of the best known instances of a film being altered in post-production over internet consensus.

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Coinbase loses its first CTO after just one year in the job May 06, 2019

Coinbase, the $8 billion-valued crypto exchange, has lost its CTO after Balaji Srinivasan announced his departure from the company. Srinivasan became the U.S. company’s first CTO one year ago after it acquired Earn.com, where he was CEO and co-founder. Given the tenure — one year and one day — it looks like Srinivasan’s departure comes after he served the minimum agreed period with Coinbase.

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Early Uber advisor Bradley Tusk looks back — and forward — as its IPO fast approaches May 03, 2019

Bradley Tusk’s story is well-known by now. A political operative who managed Michael Bloomberg’s successful third mayoral campaign, Tusk soon turned a bonus from his powerful boss into an opportunity that most people can only dream about. He launched his own business to help clients navigate turbulent regulatory waters, and one of his first calls came from Uber. Which paid him in stock.

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What to expect from Google I/O 2019 May 03, 2019

Developer season has begun! Next week, Google will be putting on a big party at the pointy outdoor amphitheater in Mountain View. It’s shaping up to be a biggie, too, if this week’s Google earnings call was any indication. Sundar Pichai teased out a number of upcoming offerings from the company that we can expect to see on full display at the show.

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Once a major name in smartphones, LG Mobile is now irrelevant — and still losing money May 02, 2019

Once a major name in smartphones, LG Mobile is now irrelevant — and still losing money LG was once a stalwart of the smartphone industry — remember its collaboration with Facebook back in the day? — but today the company is swiftly descending into irrelevance. The latest proof is LG’s Q1 financials, released this week, which show that its mobile division grossed just KRW 1.51 trillion ($1.34 billion) in sales for the quarter.

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Fanduel is now charging inactive users $3 per month for not playing May 02, 2019

You expect to lose money gambling, but you don’t really expect to lose it abstaining from gambling. But if you’re Fanduel user who hasn’t made any bets or deposits for two years, the site will now deduct $3 per month until you put some money on the table. You have to play to win, it seems, but not to lose.

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Ready or not, the first Sonic the Hedgehog trailer is here May 01, 2019

Ready or not, the first Sonic the Hedgehog trailer is here It’s been 28 years since Sonic the Hedgehog first arrived on home gaming consoles. In some senses, a feature film is long overdue. But if history has taught us anything, that might be for the best. Take Sonic’s semi-contemporary, Mario, who was given the large screen treatment two years after Sonic debuted on Sega’s consoles.

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Review: Oculus Quest could be the Nintendo Switch of VR May 01, 2019

Facebook has bet a lot on its VR dream. The industry has become the butt of a few jokes in the past couple years as hype has deflated, but there’s been no question that the tech is interesting, the question has been whether it’s sustainably cool. Oculus made a gamble on the high-end three years ago, but the $399 standalone Quest is where they see whether that bet was worth it. In a lot of ways, this is a VR headset built in the spirit of the Nintendo Switch.

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The Google Assistant can now tell you a story on your phone Apr 30, 2019

The Google Assistant can now tell you a story on your phone For the last year or so, you could ask the Google Assistant on your Google Home device to read your kids a story. Today, just in time for National Tell a Story Day, Google is bringing this feature to Android and iOS phones, too. It’ll be available in English in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia and India.

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Elon Musk, SEC agree to guidelines on Twitter use Apr 30, 2019

Tesla,Elon Musk and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reached an agreement Friday that will give the CEO freedom to use Twitter —within certain limitations — without fear of being held in contempt for violating an earlier court order. Musk can tweet as he wishes except when it’s about certain events or financial milestones. In those cases, Musk must seek pre-approval from a securities lawyer, according to the agreement filed with Manhattan federal court. U.S.

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Samantha Bee: Canadian, comedian, and defender of the free press Apr 29, 2019

The only job named in and protected by the U.S. constitution is journalism. But when it’s under attack from fake news, misinformation, and the supposed defender-of-the-constitution-in-chief, who looks out for the press? Reporters have an unlikely ally in the late night comedy circuit.

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Twitter makes ‘likes’ easier to use in its twttr prototype app. (Nobody tell Jack.) Apr 29, 2019

On the one hand, you’ve got Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey lamenting the “like” button’s existence, and threatening to just kill the thing off entirely for incentivizing the wrong kind of behavior. On the other hand, you have twttr — Twitter’s prototype app where the company is testing new concepts including, most recently, a way to make liking tweets even easier than before. Confused about Twitter’s product direction? Apparently, so is the company.

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Uber will reportedly seek up to $90 billion valuation in IPO Apr 26, 2019

Uber is reportedly looking to sell shares between $44 to $50, aiming to raise $8 to $10 billion in the offering. This would value the company between $80 billion to $90 billion, Bloomberg reports. Previous reports had pegged Uber’s valuation at around $120 billion. Still, that valuation is higher than its last valuation of $76 billion following a funding round. It’s likely this decrease in valuation is influenced by Lyft’s performance on the public market.

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Apple patches iOS App Store bug that was preventing app downloads Apr 26, 2019

Apple is rolling out a fix for an App Store bug that was preventing users from downloading new iOS apps or app updates. The issue, which impacted an unknown number of users, involved a Terms & Conditions dialog box that would continue to pop up even when users tapped the “Agree” button. The issue had frustrated users who took to Twitter in an attempt to get help from Apple Support. 9to5Mac and AppleInsider previously reported on the problem, citing the social media complaints.

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Snapchat revives growth in Q1 beat with 190M users as share price spikes Apr 25, 2019

Snapchat appears to have turned the corner after a year of flat or negative user growth thanks to a strong Q1 2019 earnings report. It reached 190 million daily active users, up 2 percent from 186 million in Q4 2018 but still down from 191 million a year ago, in part thanks to its newly reengineered Android app. Snap saw $320 million in revenue and -$0.10 non-GAAP EPS, beating Zack’s consensus estimates of $306 million and -$0.12 EPS, with revenue up 39 percent year-over-year.

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‘Avengers: Endgame’ is a very silly movie, but it ends in exactly the right way Apr 25, 2019

With just a few days until the release of “Avengers: Endgame,” Marvel fans everywhere are probably wondering A) Who dies?? and B) Will this actually resolve the cliffhanger ending of “Infinity War” in a satisfying way? So, just to get it out of the way: A) I’m not telling, and B) Kind of? Mostly? It depends? Certainly, if you’re like me and found yourself fatigued by the constant, overcrowded battles of “Infinity War,”the beginning of “Endgame” will come as an enormous relief.There’s a brief...

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You can now take your Amazon returns to all Kohl’s stores Apr 24, 2019

It’s one thing to be able to get everything delivered to your doorstep, it’s another to then have to actually have to leave your home, brace the elements and return those things that just didn’t work out (or work at all). Typically, that means a run to your local FedEx or UPS store. For the last two years, Amazon and department store chain Kohl’s had a limited partnership that allowed you to bring your return to 100 Kohl’s stores across the country.

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A week with the Samsung Galaxy Fold Apr 24, 2019

I know, I know. I will say this about the Galaxy Fold, however: it’s been a hell of a conversation piece. I’ve had a LOT of dialogues with strangers since I started using it as my day-to-day. And let’s be honest, that’s a big part of being an early adopter. The Galaxy Fold is also the most polarizing device I can recall have used. Everyone who sees the thing wants to play with it, but reaction has been very mixed.

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‘Anyone relying on lidar is doomed,’ Elon Musk says Apr 23, 2019

Today at Tesla’s first Autonomy Day event, Elon Musk took questions from the press but didn’t have time for questions about lidar. Historically, he’s been vocal about the technology, and this time he put it as clear as he could. “Lidar is a fool’s errand,” Elon Musk said. “Anyone relying on lidar is doomed. Doomed! [They are] expensive sensors that are unnecessary. It’s like having a whole bunch of expensive appendices.

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Notes from the Samsung Galaxy Fold: day four Apr 23, 2019

Apologies for skipping day three. This kept me extremely busy yesterday. Though the Galaxy Fold remained a constant companion. Before you ask (or after you ask on Twitter without having read beyond the headline), no it’s hasn’t broken yet. It’s actually been fairly robust, all things considered. But here’s the official line from Samsung on that, A limited number of early Galaxy Fold samples were provided to media for review.

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Malware researcher Marcus Hutchins pleads guilty, ending his legal case Apr 22, 2019

Malware researcher Marcus Hutchins has pleaded guilty to two counts of creating and selling a powerful banking malware, ending a long and protracted battle with U.S. prosecutors. Hutchins, a British national who goes by the online handle MalwareTech, was arrested in August 2017 as he was due to fly back to the U.K. following the Def Con security conference in Las Vegas. Prosecutors charged Hutchins with his involvement with creating the Kronos banking malware, dating back to 2014.

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Netflix says it’s testing a shuffle feature for when you don’t know what to watch Apr 22, 2019

Netflix is testing a new feature that can help you start streaming when you don’t know what to watch. The company confirmed it’s testing a shuffle mode of sorts, that will allow you to easily click on a popular show to start playing a random episode. The idea with the feature is to offer an experience that’s more like traditional TV — where you could just turn the set on, and there would be something to watch.

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Pinterest is up more than 25% in its first day of trading Apr 19, 2019

Pinterest is up more than 25% in its first day of trading Pinterest (NYSE: PINS) is a public company. Ben Silbermann’s virtual pinboard rose 25 percent in its NYSE debut, opening at $23.75 per share. Currently, shares of its stock are up another 2 percent, trading at more than $24 each. The company priced its shares above range last night at $19 apiece. The IPO price gave the company a fully diluted market cap of $12.6 billion, a figure slightly larger than its Series H valuation of $12.

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Samsung responds to reviewer complaints about its Galaxy Fold phone Apr 19, 2019

Samsung has issued a statement about its new, folding phone as early photos of tech reviewers with their shiny new toys were replaced on social media (and in numerous columns) with complaints from those same tech reviewers about problems with the phone’s screen. Apparently a number of reviewers either mistakenly destroyed their phone screens or had the screens bork on them after a few days of use. It’s not a good look for Samsung.

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Amazon China to close local marketplace and place more focus on cross-border Apr 18, 2019

Amazon has finally given up the fight with Chinese online shopping giants to capture the domestic market. On Thursday, the Seattle-based ecommerce company announced it will shut down its marketplace on Amazon.cn, which connects mainland Chinese buyers and sellers, while other units of its local venture will stay intact.

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Xbox One does away with discs in new $249 All-Digital Edition Apr 18, 2019

Discs! What are they good for? Well, they’re nice if you don’t want to be tied to an online-only ecosystem. But if you don’t mind that, Microsoft’s latest Xbox One S “All-Digital Edition” might be for you. With no slots to speak of, the console is limited to downloading games to its drive — which is how we’ve been doing it on PC for quite some time.

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Netflix added 9.6M subscribers in Q1, with revenue of $4.5B Apr 17, 2019

Netflix just released its earnings letter for the first quarter of 2019. The company says it saw growth of 9.6 million paying subscribers, up 16 percent year-over-year. That’s significantly ahead of the 8.9 million new subscribers that analysts had predicted. On the financial side, the quarter came in right at expectations, with revenue of $4.5 billion and earnings per share of 76 cents. Netflix says it now has 148.9 million paid streaming memberships. Most of this growth (7.

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Get ready for a new era of personalized entertainment Apr 17, 2019

Jarno M. Koponen Contributor Jarno M. Koponen is working on intelligent systems and human-centered personalization. He currently is product lead at Yle, one of the leading media houses in the Nordics.

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Uber files for IPO Apr 16, 2019

Uber has filed its S-1, setting the stage for the transportation company to go public next month. This comes less than one month after competitor Lyft’s debut on the public market. Uber is listing under the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “UBER,” but has yet to disclose the anticipated initial public offering price. In the filing, Uber reported 2018 revenues of $11.27 billion. Though, we knew this thanks to Uber’s previous disclosures of its financials.

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Unicorns, undercorns and horses: A guide to the nonsense Apr 16, 2019

It’s been more than a half-decade sinceAileen LeeofCowboy Ventureskicked off the unicorn craze. Noting in awell-read post for TechCrunchthat an interesting cohort of private companies worth a billion dollars or more was worth examining, the post brought the “unicorn” into its current usage inside of tech. And then tech itself did the term a favor, building and financing hundreds more.

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Did you fly a drone over Fenway Park? The FAA would like a chat Apr 15, 2019

Drones are great. But they are also flying machines that can do lots of stupid and dangerous things. Like, for instance, fly over a major league baseball game packed with spectators. It happened at Fenway Park last night, and the FAA is not happy. The illegal flight took place last night during a Red Sox-Blue Jays game at Fenway; the drone, a conspicuously white DJI Phantom, reportedly first showed up around 9:30 PM, coming and going over the next hour.

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Vector, Virgin and a mystery team will compete in DARPA’s $34M launch challenge Apr 15, 2019

DARPA wants to be able to launch anywhere, any time, and several times in a row. Is that too much to ask? Not for Vector Space, Virgin Orbit, and an unnamed startup that just qualified to take place in the agency’s Launch Challenge, which will push their responsive and mobile launch capabilities to the limit. In the challenge, the teams will be notified that they need to launch a payload to orbit from a given location only days beforehand.

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How to stop robocalls spamming your phone Apr 12, 2019

No matter what your politics, beliefs, or even your sports team, we can all agree on one thing: robocalls are the scourge of modern times. These unsolicited auto-dialed spam calls bug you dozens of times a week — sometimes more — demanding you “pay the IRS” or pretend to be “Apple technical support.” Even the now-infamous Chinese embassy scam, recently warned about by the FBI, has gained notoriety.

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Sharp goes clamshell with its folding phone concept Apr 12, 2019

The beauty of the foldable is 2019 is that there’s no consensus yet on the “right” way to do things. We’ve seen a number of different takes on the space as the year has progressed, and no two are exactly the same. Keep in mind that this device from Sharp is still very much a concept. And even if it does come to market, it’s still going to be tough to get your hands on the product here in the States, as Sharp has a virtually non-existent mobile footprint.

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Review: The $299 Echo Link Amp adds Alexa to any speaker Apr 11, 2019

The Echo Link Amp is designed to give Echo owners options. Instead of settling for the sound from a couple of Echo speakers, this amp lets owners use a set of nice bookshelf speakers. Best yet, this replaces a large receiver generally needed to power speakers. At $299 the Echo Link Amp lives in a curious spot. It’s less expensive and smaller than a traditional home audio system. Yet it’s more expensive than smaller desktop amps with a similar power rating.

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Flying taxis could be more efficient than gas and electric cars on long-distance trips Apr 10, 2019

Flying cars definitely sound cool, but whether they’re actually a good idea is up for debate. Fortunately they do seem to have some surefire benefits, among which you can now count improved efficiency — in theory, and on long trips. But it’s something! Air travel takes an enormous amount of energy, since you have to lift something heavy into the air and keep it there for a good while.

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Nintendo is bringing Zelda and Mario into virtual reality Apr 10, 2019

Nintendo’s Labo VR kit may just be a little cardboard experiment, but Nintendo is taking a chance on throwing its most beloved titles into the headset. Today, the company announced that they will be adding support to play two of the Switch’s flagship titles. Though Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild seems to just be gaining VR viewer support, Super Mario Odyssey is actually getting some new content alongside the updates which adds a trio of new mini-games.

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Apple Music cuts prices in India Apr 09, 2019

This morning, The WSJ reported Apple’s streaming music service overtook Spotify in paid subscribers in the U.S., and now it hopes to do the same in the Indian market by way of a big price cut. The company’s individual plan in India is now 99 rupees per month ($1.43 USD), versus the 120 rupees per month ($1.73 USD) it was previously.

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GPS Rollover is today. Here’s why devices might get wacky Apr 09, 2019

The Global Positioning System time epoch is ending and another one is beginning, an event that could affect your devices or any equipment or legacy system that relies on GPS for time and location. Most clocks obtain their time from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). But the atomic clocks on satellites are set to GPS time.The timing signals you can get from GPS satellites are very accurate and globally available.

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The Google Assistant on Android gets more visual responses Apr 08, 2019

About half a year ago, Google gave the Assistant on phones a major visual refresh. Today, the company is following up with a couple of small but welcome tweaks that’ll see the Assistant on Android provide more and better visual responses that are more aligned with what users already expect to see from other Google services. That means when you ask for events now, for example, the response will look exactly like what you’d see if you tried the same query from your mobile browser.

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Snapchat launches Scan, its AR utility platform Apr 08, 2019

Point and shoot? No, point and interact. Snapchat can now help with your homework. The app’s camera is becoming the foundation of an augmented reality developer platform known as “Scan”. Snap today announced partnerships with Photomath to add the ability to solve math problems, and Giphy for detecting objects which then spawn related GIFs on screen. Scan will roll out to all Snapchat users soon, and developers interested in joining the platform can contact Snap.

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Japan’s Hayabusa 2 probe is blasting a hole in an asteroid tonight (and that’s awesome) Apr 05, 2019

It’s a big day for space: launches, tests, orbits, and now a distant probe is going to shoot an asteroid with its space gun and make a new crater to play in. It’s Hayabusa 2, Japan’s ambitious and so far highly successful sample return mission to an object called Ryugu. Launched in 2014, Hayabusa 2 has been in the region of Ryugu for several months, carrying out a series of investigations.

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SpaceX has completed the first tethered hop for the “Starhopper” Apr 04, 2019

SpaceX has completed the first tethered jump for its Starship prototyped, Elon Musk confirmed in a tweet Wednesday evening. Called the Starhopper because it’s making limited hops to test the landing capabilities of the Starship vehicle, the tethered jump represents the first firing of a rocket engine at the company’s Boca Chica launch site. The hops are similar to the testing that preceded the commercial development and use of SpaceX’s reusable Falcon 9 rockets.

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Amazon reportedly removes the most obvious promotions for its private brands from search results Apr 04, 2019

If it feels like your Amazon search results have been overwhelmed with promotions for their private-label brands, like Amazon Basics, Mama Bear or Daily Ritual, that may be changing. As lawmakers pay more attention to the most powerful tech companies, Amazon has begun quietly removing some of the more obvious promotions, including banner ads, for its private-label products, reports CNBC, which spoke to Amazon sellers and consultants.

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How to file taxes on your cryptocurrency trades in a bear year Apr 03, 2019

Chandan Lodha Contributor Chandan Lodha is co-founder at CoinTracker, a Y Combinator and Initialized Capital-backed startup that offers a secure cryptocurrency tax calculator. He was previously the Product Manager on Project Loon at Google[x]. Fred traded bitcoin, ether and a handful of other cryptocurrencies on Gemini, Binance and Coinbase last year. Unfortunately, due to the crypto downturn, his trading yielded a capital loss of more than $35,000.

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Sega’s Genesis/Mega Drive Mini arrives in September Apr 03, 2019

Whether you call it the Genesis or the Mega Drive, Sega’s 16 bit system holds a special place in the hearts of many a gamer who came of age in the 80s and 90s. Like the NES and Super Nintendo before it, the console that gave us a ring-hoarding hedgehog is about to get miniaturized. Sega announced the Genesis/Mega Drive Mini last year, only to delay sales in order to fine tune the retro console.

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Mars helicopter bound for the Red Planet takes to the air for the first time Apr 02, 2019

The Mars 2020 mission is on track for launch next year, and nesting inside the high-tech new rover heading that direction is a high-tech helicopter designed to fly in the planet’s nearly non-existent atmosphere. The actual aircraft that will fly on the Martian surface just took its first flight and its engineers are over the moon. “The next time we fly, we fly on Mars,” said MiMi Aung, who manages the project at JPL, in a news release.

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How Apple Card works Apr 02, 2019

One of the most buzzy announcements on Apple’s stage this week was Apple Card, its in-house credit card powered by Goldman Sachs and Mastercard. Consumers, tech press, financial press and Wall Street were all intrigued for various reasons. But there are still a ton of questions around the way it works mechanically, the terms involved for consumers and its overall benefits. Though I’m not a financial reporter, I did used to cover payments and I’m a huge points hound.

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Apple sells wireless charging AirPods, cancels charger days later Apr 01, 2019

“Works with AirPower mat”. Apparently not. Looks like Apple doesn’t treat customers with the same “high standard” of care it apparently reserves for its hardware quality. 9 days after launching its $199 wireless charging AirPods headphones touting compatibility with the forthcoming Apple AirPower inductive charger mat, Apple has just scrapped AirPower entirely. It’s an uncharacteristically sloppy move for the “it just works” company.

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In San Francisco, a fight over a homeless shelter shines a harsh light on a conflicted population Apr 01, 2019

As of 2017, there were roughly 7,000 people living without homes in San Francisco, a number that comprises minors — a lot of them. The San Francisco Unified School District estimates that as of 2017, roughly 2,100 of the children in the school system were homeless — a number that it said looked to be escalating, not shrinking.

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Canon takes on Fuji with new instant-print CLIQ cameras Mar 29, 2019

Instant print cameras have been popular for a long, long time, but they’re seeing a renaissance now — led by Fujifilm, whose Instax mini-films and cameras lead the pack. But Canon wants in, and has debuted a pair of new cameras to challenge Fuji’s dominance — but their reliance on digital printing may hold them back. The cameras have confusing, nonsensical names in both the U.S.

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Twitter introduces a battery-saving ‘Lights Out’ dark mode option Mar 29, 2019

As promised back in January by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, the company today is rolling out an even darker version of the app’s existing dark mode. Before, Twitter’s dark theme was more of a blue-ish shade instead of a true black, which not everyone seemed to like. Now, there’s an optional setting that makes the current dark mode more of a pitch black.

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Contacts app Cardhop comes to iOS Mar 28, 2019

Productivity nerds, rejoice! Flexibits, the company behind Fantastical, is releasing Cardhop on the iPhone and iPad today. Cardhop was originally released on macOS, and it lets you text or call your contacts as well as add information more quickly. If you have an iPhone, chances are you're using the default Contacts app. It's a pretty straightforward app, but it hasn't evolved in years.

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Huawei unveils the P30 and P30 Pro Mar 28, 2019

Huawei held a press conference today in Paris. And the company just unveiled its brand new flagship phone — the P30 and the P30 Pro. In many ways, this year’s update is a continuation of the P20 series — but everything has been upgraded. I played with both devices for a bit of time yesterday, here’s my experience. While Huawei’s sub-brand Honor has switched to a hole-punch design, Huawei is keeping the good old notch for its flagship device.

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Review: Apple’s new iPad mini continues to be mini Mar 26, 2019

The iPad mini is super enjoyable to use and is the best size tablet for everything but traditional laptop work. It’s very good and I’m glad Apple updated it. Using Apple Pencil is aces on the smaller mini, don’t worry about the real estate being an issue if you like to scribble notes or make sketches.

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This is how much money Pinterest execs made last year Mar 25, 2019

This is how much money Pinterest execs made last year Silicon Valley is known for its massive wealth. When these companies file to go public, we all finally get to know how much money these executives take home each year, and the millions they’ll take home after the IPO. In Pinterest’s S-1, which it filed earlier today, we see that co-founder and CEO Ben Silbermann earned a salary of $197,100.

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Paris to tax scooter and bike services Mar 22, 2019

According to the City of Paris, there are 15,000 free-floating vehicles of all forms and shapes in the city, from electric scooters to fluorescent bikes and motorcycle-like scooters. And the City of Paris announced today that companies that operate free-floating services will have to pay a tax depending on the size of their fleet. If the plan goes through and if you’re running a bike-sharing service, you’ll have to pay €20 per bike per year.

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This is what the Huawei P30 will look like Mar 22, 2019

You can already find many leaked photos of Huawei’s next flagship device — the P30 and P30 Pro. The company is set to announce the new product at an event in Paris next week. So here’s what you should expect. Reliable phone leaker Evan Blass tweeted many different photos of the new devices in three different tweets: pic.twitter.com/nIlhxby1Ah — Evan Blass (@evleaks) March 20, 2019 As you can see, both devices feature three cameras on the back of the device.

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Dyson launches a vacuum with better battery, a desk lamp and a personal air purifier Mar 21, 2019

Dyson’s got a very specific way of doing things. The British company makes super-high-quality products for a world where price isn’t an option. Using their devices is a bit like driving a sports car for the first time. You’ve got no idea why someone would pay that much money for something until you actually try them out. Fittingly, it offered a few handfuls of reporters a chance to try out a trio of new products at a closed-door event this week.

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Amazon updates the $90 Kindle with a front light Mar 21, 2019

Cost has always been a big part of the Kindle line’s appeal at the low end. Amazon’s very good at undercutting the competition, while still managing to provide a workhorse e-reader in the process. Of course, paying $90 for the device comes with a number of cut corners, not the least of which has been the device’s stubborn refusal to adopt the front-lighting found on the rest of the line. Amazon’s just amended that oversight with the latest version of the standard Kindle.

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Vectordash’s cloud gaming service brings crypto-miners a new revenue stream Mar 20, 2019

PC gaming has grown to be a pretty wide niche of people with some far-flung similarities and differences, one thing they all share are souped-up rigs that rely on beefy GPUs. This is fine for those with dedicated machines but PC gaming isn’t too friendly to those trying to pull double-duty on their everyday machine. Vectordash, launching out of the latest Y Combinator batch, wants to turn your Macbook Air or other underpowered rig into a formidable machine through their cloud gaming service.

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Tiny claws let drones perch like birds and bats Mar 19, 2019

Drones are useful in countless ways, but that usefulness is often limited by the time they can stay in the air. Shouldn’t drones be able to take a load off too? With these special claws attached, they can perch or hang with ease, conserving battery power and vastly extending their flight time. The claws, created by a highly multinational team of researchers I’ll list at the end, are inspired by birds and bats.

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‘Ape Out’ and ‘Baba Is You’ demonstrate the depth of simplicity Mar 19, 2019

The games we see advertised the most aren’t necessarily the best representatives for what has become an incredibly diverse medium. Yearly AAA installments and massive open worlds are all well and good, but simplicity is rarely on display — which makes two recent releases, Ape Out and Baba Is You, all the more delightful. Both are, in a way, very simple games, but from that simplicity arises complex and enjoyable gameplay concepts that can entertain (or frustrate) for hours.

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Canal+ launches streaming service in France for €7 per month Mar 18, 2019

French premium TV channel Canal+ is facing increased competition from Netflix in France. The company is trying to reinvent itself with a new over-the-top offering called Canal+ Séries. The new service is launching today. As the name suggests, Canal+ Séries is focused on TV series — you won’t find any movie on the streaming service.

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The Tesla Model Y is a 300-mile range Model 3 doppelganger coming in fall 2020 Mar 15, 2019

At first glance, it appeared that Tesla Model 3 had a doppelganger. After years of teasers and hints, Tesla CEO Elon Musk finally unveiled the Model Y, a mid-sized all-electric vehicle that will start at $39,000 and is slated to hit the marketplace in fall 2020. The Model Y bears a striking resemblance to Model 3. The vehicle, which will come in a standard, long range, dual-motor all-wheel and performance variants, is a bit larger, allowing it to accommodate seven people.

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YSplit wants to make it so you never owe your friends money again Mar 15, 2019

YSplit wants to make it so you never owe your friends money again When you live with roommates or go out often with friends, it’s common for someone to front the payment — be that for utilities, the cable bill, rent or the restaurant bill — and have everyone else pay them back via cash, Venmo or Apple Pay. But YSplit, a company launching out of Y Combinator, wants to make it so you never have to owe anyone ever again.

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Fitbit Versa Lite review Mar 14, 2019

It’s a tricky proposition for a product launch: last year’s model, but with fewer features. But sometimes the rules of consumer electronic update cycles were made to be broken — or at the very least, a little bent. Last year’s Versa was itself a paring down from the company’s first true smartwatch, the Ionic. In that case, things worked out great.

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Salesforce at 20 offers lessons for startup success Mar 12, 2019

Salesforce is celebrating its 20th anniversary today. The company that was once a tiny irritant going after giants in the 1990s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) market, such as Oracle and Siebel Systems, has grown into full-fledged SaaS powerhouse. With an annual run rate exceeding $14 billion, it is by far the most successful pure cloud application ever created. Twenty years ago, it was just another startup with an idea, hoping to get a product out the door.

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Foursquare’s Hypertrending helps you spy on the coolest local happenings Mar 12, 2019

Ten years after the launch of Foursquare at SXSW, the company is laying its technology bare with a futuristic version of its old app that doesn’t require a check-in at all. The godfather of location apps is returning to the launchpad with Hypertrending, but this time it hopes to learn what developers might do with real-time info about where people are and where they aren’t.

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My little robot dude Mar 11, 2019

It was only a matter of time before I let a robot enter my apartment and run wild. Roomba’s have been around since 2002, so it’s somewhat odd that it took me so long to get on board the robot vacuum train. But, alas, I’ve been testing the Roborock S5, a combo vacuum and mop, in my apartment for the last few weeks. TL;DR: I love him.

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Over a quarter of U.S. adults now own a smart speaker, typically an Amazon Echo Mar 11, 2019

Over a quarter of U.S. adults now own a smart speaker, typically an Amazon Echo U.S. smart speaker owners grew 40 percent over 2018 to now reach 66.4 million – or 26.2 percent of the U.S. adult population – according to a new report from Voicebot.ai and Voicify released this week, which detailed adoption patterns and device market share.

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Elton John’s farewell tour marks the beginning for an audio augmenting wearable Mar 08, 2019

Elton John’s farewell tour marks the beginning for an audio augmenting wearable The good and bad of attending the legendary musician’s MSG show with headphones in your ears It’s not a great time to be a live venue. Once the only game in town, clubs, arenas and other live event spaces now have to compete with the seemingly endless on-demand entertainment options. Competing with the convenience of 4K Netflix on a 50-inch screen is a big ask, even for the biggest stars.

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France’s tax on tech giants is happening Mar 08, 2019

Is it happening? Is it not happening? After years of back and forth, it looks like the new tax on tech giants in France is about to become a law. Big tech companies that generate significant revenue in France will be taxed on their revenue generated in France. France’s Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire has been lobbying for a new tax so that tech giants would stop optimizing their European corporate structure to lower their effective tax rate.

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Trump called Apple’s CEO ‘Tim Apple’ by mistake Mar 07, 2019

The president has to remember a lot of names! Some he remembers, some he forgets. But we will never forget today in the Year of Our Lord 2019 when President Trump called Apple CEO Tim Cook “Tim Apple.” Maybe we’re just losing our minds waiting for a good meme, but there’s something relentlessly good and pure about calling the executive formerly known as Tim Cook “Tim Apple.” Tim Cook: Great guy, great phones.

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Court dismisses Paris lawsuit against Airbnb for illegal listings Mar 07, 2019

A court in Paris has dismissed a case against Airbnb, as Le Monde reported. Last month, the City of Paris sued Airbnb for 1,010 illegal listings. According to the mayor’s office, Airbnb failed to comply with regulation in Paris. Paris has been trying to limit the effect on Airbnb on the housing market in Paris. Paris is one of the top cities for Airbnb in the world. A few years ago, many people stopped renting their apartments the traditional way in favor of Airbnb.

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Barstool Sports founder reportedly blames company ‘idiots’ for copyright controversy Mar 06, 2019

In a recent Twitter thread, comedian Miel Bredouw recounted some shady behavior by Barstool Sports’ legal team. In fact, even Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy isn’t trying to defend it, and instead reportedly described it as “moronic,” admitting it, “makes us look like assholes.

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Mitzvah-minded unicorn Cross River is on holy mission to foster bank-fintech harmony Mar 06, 2019

“Then I took your ancestor Abraham from the other side of the Euphrates River and led him through the entire land of Canaan. I multiplied his descendants, and gave him his son Isaac.” That’s a passage from Joshua 24:3 in describing how Abraham “crossed over” the demarcation line into a spiritual awakening. It’s also the inspiration for the name of Cross River Bank (CR), led by its charismatic founder Gilles Gade.

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Ava Duvernay releases the first trailer for her Netflix series about the Central Park Five Mar 05, 2019

Ava Duvernay releases the first trailer for her Netflix series about the Central Park Five Celebrated director Ava DuVernay has released a harrowing first teaser trailer for her highly anticipated Netflix series about the Central Park rape case from the 1980s. The true story of the five African American and Hispanic teens who were wrongfully accused and convicted of the rape of a jogger in Central Park made headlines in 1989 in the wake of the attack and over the course of the subsequent trial.

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Samsung finally gets Bluetooth earbuds right Mar 05, 2019

Granted, this news is maybe a bit too late. Samsung’s already sold out of the free Galaxy Buds it was throwing in with S10 pre-orders. That said, the new Bluetooth earbuds are worth the $129 asking price, especially for Galaxy device owners. As with many fellow S10 reviewers, I’ve been using the Buds for about a week now. They happily hitched a ride in my ears from San Francisco to Barcelona and then back home to New York. And I’ve been digging them the whole time.

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Equity Shot: Lyft files to go public and we’re stoked Mar 04, 2019

Hello and welcome to an Equity Shot, a short-form episode of the show where we dive into a single breaking news story. Guess what we’re talking about today?! It’s Lyft . You guessed correctly. The Lyft S-1 is the very first major S-1 event of 2019. As you might recall, the government shutdown gummed the IPO process by halting the Securities and Exchange Commission, an agency that plays the most active role in helping a company go public.

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Lyft will give drivers a one-time cash bonus up to $10K Mar 04, 2019

Hardworking drivers, rejoice! As part of Lyft’s initial public offering, the transportation company is deciding to reward the drivers who form the backbone of the company’s core service. The program will give a maximum cash bonus of $10,000 to drivers “in good standing” who have completed at least 20,000 rides as of Feb. 25, 2019. On the lower end, Lyft will give drivers who have completed at least 10,000 rides as of Feb. 25, 2019 a $1,000 one-time cash bonus.

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Google is not great at retaining black, Latinx and Native American employees Mar 01, 2019

Believe it or not, the retention of black and Latinx employees at Google was better last year than in 2017. Though, Google’s attrition rates of black and Latinx — which indicate the rate at which employees leave on an annual basis — are still higher than the national average. For Native American employees, Google’s attrition rates significantly increased from the year prior. To be clear, that’s a bad thing.

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Tesla halts online sales ahead of Elon Musk announcement Mar 01, 2019

Tesla buyers might have a hard time ordering a vehicle through its website for the next several hours. The “order” webpages for the Model 3, Model S and Model X vehicle all redirect to show nebulous message that reads “”The wait is almost over.” Below the main message, it reads “Great things are launching at 2 pm.” Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted Feb.

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Fortnite Season 8 is about to kick off — here’s what to expect Feb 28, 2019

Fortnite Season 8 is almost here. There’s a lot we don’t know — most things, really — but the long wait will be over soon. If you can’t stand the anticipation or the requisite server downtime, we’re here to speculate so you’ll be mildly less bored. It worked for us. If Fortnite’s snowy Season 7 felt like it was dragging on through winter, things look to be warming up and melting out.

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Coterie, a young New York startup, promises to deliver charming party kits to your doorstep Feb 28, 2019

Party planning can be fun if you have the time for it and happen to know what you’re doing. For the rest of us, it can be a daunting, time-consuming endeavor, one that requires visits to numerous websites, in-store visits when those products invariably don’t arrive in time, then return visits to pick up those last items that you could have sworn you’d thrown in your shopping cart but did not.

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Twitter’s latest test changes ‘Retweet with Comment’ so it looks more like a Reply Feb 27, 2019

Twitter’s new prototype testing program isn’t the only way it’s working to fix conversations on its site. The company confirmed it’s currently running another public-facing test focused on making Twitter “more conversational” – but this time with Retweets instead of Replies. The test involves using a thin line to connect a quote-style retweet to the person commenting on the tweet, instead of placing the quoted tweet in a box as before.

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Here are the first leaked images of Microsoft’s new HoloLens Feb 26, 2019

Microsoft is scheduled to hold a major press conference at MWC Barcelona later today. With Satya Nadella and Alex Kipman in attendance, the expectation has long been that the company would use the event to show off the next version of its HoloLens mixed reality headset. Just hours before the event, though, Twitter user WalkingCat spoiled at least some of the surprise by leaking four images of the new device. These are the first images of the new HoloLens we’ve seen.

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Xiaomi announces its first 5G phone, the Mi Mix 3 5G Feb 26, 2019

Xiaomi doesn’t want to miss the 5G bandwagon — the company just unveiled its first smartphone that comes with a 5G modem at a press conference in Barcelona. The Mi Mix 3 5G is a new variant of the Mi Mix 3, a phone that Xiaomi originally released in October 2018. The company is trying to create a bezel-less phone with the Mi Mix line. Instead of a notch or a punch-hole display, Xiaomi has opted for a sliding front-facing camera. The result is a 93.4 percent screen-to-body ratio.

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Elon Musk finally hosted meme review with the co-creator of Rick and Morty Feb 25, 2019

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has been teasing — and his fanbase has been making pleas — to host a meme review. And after tweeted hints, meme review has arrived via YouTube star PewDiePie. Musk tweeted last month a photo and a question “Host meme review?” Host meme review? pic.twitter.

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Pinterest and Lyft move closer to IPO, and LPs question the Vision Fund’s investment strategy Feb 25, 2019

Hello and welcome back toEquity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. What a week. It had looked a bit quiet with just a few big rounds to cover. I was looking forward to a relaxed episode, frankly. But no, as Kate and I were prepping the show notes, the News Gods opened the heavens and dropped a fifty-weight of mana right on our heads. It was a lot of news.

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Samsung’s Galaxy S10 lineup arrives with four new models Feb 22, 2019

In what may well be the most Samsung move in Samsung history, Samsung just introduced four new Samsung S10 models. For the 10th anniversary of the flagship line, Samsung is going all in on this thing. And with more information expected on Samsung’s upcoming foldable, well, that’s a lot of Samsungs, Samsung. Before we dive in to what’s bound to be a lot of words about a lot of phones, here’s the basic breakdown of the line: S10: The flagship. 6.1 inch. Starts at $900.

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Lyft reportedly plans to debut on Nasdaq next month Feb 22, 2019

Ride-hailing company Lyft plans to file its initial public offering in March, possibly beating rival Uber to the milestone. Two reports, one from Reuters, the other from WSJ, indicate Lyft plans to list its shares on Nasdaq next month. The WSJ, citing unnamed sources, reported Lyft may make the filing public as early as next week. Reuters also reported that the ride-hailing company plans to launch the roadshow for itsIPO during the week of March 18.

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Highlights & transcript from Zuckerberg’s 20K-word ethics talk Feb 21, 2019

Mark Zuckerberg says it might be right for Facebook to let people pay to not see ads, but that it would feel wrong to charge users for extra privacy controls. That’s just one of the fascinating philosophical views the CEO shared during the first of his public talks he’s promised as part of his 2019 personal challenge.

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Cybersecurity 101: Five settings to secure your iPhone or iPad Feb 20, 2019

iOS 12, Apple’s latest mobile software for iPhone and iPad, is out. The new software packs in a bunch of new security and privacy features you’ve probably already heard about. Here’s what you need to do to take advantage of the new settings and lock down your device. 1.

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‘There’s no way the US can crush us,’ Huawei founder claims Feb 19, 2019

Huawei’s founder has come out fighting against the U.S. government after he claimed that “there’s no way the US can crush us.” Ren Zhengfei, who founded the telecom company in 1987, doesn’t often make public statements, but, in a rare interview with the BBC, he defiantly claimed that Huawei’s business is growing stronger amid pressure from the U.S. government, whichis pursuing criminal chargesover alleged business dealings in Iran.

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Netflix office goes on lockdown over report of a potential shooter, suspect now in custody Feb 19, 2019

Alarming reports popped up on Twitter late Thursday of incident involving an armed individual at Netflix’s Hollywood office on Sunset Blvd. TechCrunch has confirmed with the Los Angeles Police Department that a call reporting a man with a gun first came in at 3:53 Pacific Time. According to the LAPD, there were no shots fired, no reports of injuries and the suspect in question has been taken into custody.

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Daily Crunch: Amazon scraps HQ2 plans in NYC Feb 18, 2019

The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here. 1. Did New York lose anything with Amazon’s rejection? It’s complicated. Amazon announced yesterday that it’s taking its ball and going home, rather than dealing with mean, pushy New Yorkers (warning: not an exact quote).

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Peloton peddles toward an IPO, self-driving is big business and SaaS’s new highs Feb 18, 2019

Hello and welcome back toEquity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week was a treat. We had TechCrunch’s own Connie Loizos in the studio along with your humble servant and General Catalyst’s Niko Bonatsos. A fine group for a busy week.

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Boston and NY share high tech losses as Amazon and GE bail on same day Feb 15, 2019

Boston and New York have been sporting rivals for decades, constantly fighting over bragging rights across all four major sports, but today the two cities had something in common neither was probably hoping for. Both had major tech companies back out of massive deals on the same day. It turns out, however, the two cities lost the deals for entirely different reasons.

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Xnor’s saltine-sized, solar-powered AI hardware redefines the edge Feb 14, 2019

“If AI is so easy, why isn’t there any in this room?” asks Ali Farhadi, founder and CEO of Xnor, gesturing around the conference room overlooking Lake Union in Seattle. And it’s true — despite a handful of displays, phones, and other gadgets, the only things really capable of doing any kind of AI-type work are the phones each of us have set on the table. Yet we are always hearing about how AI is so accessible now, so flexible, so ubiquitous.

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Apple’s iOS update makes it easier to get to your subscriptions Feb 14, 2019

Apple has made a small but important change to iOS that will allow users an easier way to manage their app subscriptions. In the latest release of the mobile operating system (iOS 12.1.4 and 12.2 beta), the company has relocated the “Manage Subscriptions” setting so it’s only one click away when you tap on your profile in the App Store, instead of being buried more deeply within the settings. This may seem like a minor change, but it was a much-needed one.

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Someone could scoop up Slack before it IPOs Feb 13, 2019

Earlier this week, Slack announced that it has filed the paperwork to go public at some point later this year. The big question is, will the company exit into the public markets as expected, or will one of the technology giants swoop in at the last minute with buckets of cash and take them off the market? Slack, which raised over $1 billion on an other worldly $7 billion valuation, is an interesting property.

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How to prepare for an investment apocalypse Feb 12, 2019

Micah Rosenbloom Contributor Micah Rosenbloom is a venture partner at Founder Collective. More posts by this contributor Business school grads and quants are winning the battle to create the next P&G Startups need to respect the laws of retail physics Unlike 2000 and 2008, everyone in the startup world is expecting a crash to come at any moment, but few are taking concrete steps to prepare for it.

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Waymo CTO on the company’s past, present and what comes next Feb 12, 2019

A decade ago, about a dozen or so engineers gathered at Google’s main Mountain View campus on Charleston Road to work on Project Chauffeur, a secret endeavor housed under the tech giant’s moonshot factory X. Project Chauffeur — popularly know as the “Google self-driving car project” — kicked off in January 2009. It would eventually graduate from its project status to become a standalone company called Waymo in 2016.

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What to expect from Mobile World Congress 2019 Feb 11, 2019

What to expect from Mobile World Congress 2019 Foldables and 5G all the way down I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: 2019 just might be the year that smartphones get fun again. After years of similar form factors and slight upgrades, the mobile industry’s back is against the wall. For the first time ever, sales are down, owning to economic factors and slower upgrade cycles.

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Spotify Feb 11, 2019

Hello, and welcome back toEquity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week Kate Clark and I sat down to get through the biggest news in the venture and startup world. This is our regular episode of the week after a shot focused on the Slack IPO, and an interview concerning Facebook. So, back to our roots. And as has been the case for months and months now, there was a lot to get through.

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Instagram thinks you want IGTV previews in your home feed Feb 08, 2019

If you can’t beat or join them…force feed ’em? That appears to be Instagram’s latest strategy for IGTV, which is now being shoved right into Instagram’s main feed, the company announced today. Instagram says that it will now add one-minute IGTV previews to the feed, making it “even easier” to discover and watch content from IGTV. Uh. IGTV, you may recall, was launched last year as a way for Instagram to woo creators.

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Uber competitor Chauffeur-Privé rebrands to Kapten Feb 08, 2019

French company Chauffeur-Privé is going to expand aggressively over the next couple of years. That’s why the company is changing its name to Kapten — a name that sounds less French. “We wanted to share with you a very important piece of news,” Kapten co-founder and CEO Yan Hascoet said in a press conference. “We changed our name while keeping the same positioning.

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Tesla has opened an Amazon store to spread its swag far and wide Feb 07, 2019

Tesla has opened an Amazon store to spread its swag far and wide Tesla has had a brisk merch business for years now, thanks to its fervent owner base and fans, who are enthusiastic supporters of the company and its CEO Elon Musk. But until now, those Tesla-branded items — everything from water bottles and hats to jackets, chargers and once a surfboard — have been sold through the automaker’s own website. Tesla has now expanded it merch ambitions and opened a store on Amazon.

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Vice Media will lay off 10 percent of its staff Feb 06, 2019

Vice Media plans to cut 250 jobs — about 10 percent of its total workforce. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news. When contacted by TechCrunch, a Vice spokesperson confirmed the story but declined to comment further. This comes after a brutal couple of weeks in the media business, as companies began the year with major cuts. BuzzFeed is trimming its staff by 15 percent. Verizon Media Group (which owns TechCrunch) laid off 10 percent of its workforce.

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Twitter bug makes it look like random retweets are appearing in your timeline Feb 06, 2019

A number of Twitter users have been complaining that tweets that were retweeted by people they don’t follow are now showing in their timeline. The issue, thankfully, is not related to a new Twitter algorithm or recommendation system, as some had feared. Instead, the company confirmed that a bug affecting Android users was mislabeling the “social proof” tag on Retweets.

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Lowe’s is killing off and bricking its Iris smart home products at the end of March Feb 05, 2019

Lowe’s is killing off and bricking its Iris smart home products at the end of March If you’ve got any gear from Lowe’s Iris line of smart home products, it’s time to start looking for alternatives. Lowes has announced that the line is toast, with plans to flip the switch on “the platform and related services” at the end of March. In other words: much of this once smart connected gear is about to get bricked.

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Snopes and AP leave Facebook fact-checking partnership Feb 04, 2019

Two of Facebook’s four fact-checking partners in the U.S. have left the program as of the beginning of this year: Snopes, which recently rebuffed reports that its relationship with Facebook was strained, and the Associated Press. Both confirmed they are leaving the program, but left the possibility of future collaboration open.

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How to recover quickly if you get locked out of Google Feb 04, 2019

I know first-hand how frustrating it is to get locked out of your Google accountand to lose access to much of your online life. I’m hoping this simple work-around will help get you get through the account recovery process much faster than the manual method, which takes a minimum of 3-5 days (and in my case ended up taking weeks). This week, a colleague who remembered my article on my lock-out experience, asked me for advice after she was locked out of her account.

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Nintendo is making Dr. Mario for iOS and Android Feb 01, 2019

Nintendo held off on building smartphone games for years, but now they just can’t stop. They started with a little stumble with the short-lived Miitomo, but then found an audience with Super Mario Run. Then came Fire Emblem Heroes. Then Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, and Dragalia Lost. Next up? Dr. Mario. Nintendo announced this afternoon that it’s working on a title called Dr. Mario World, built in collaboration with LINE (as in the company that makes the LINE chat app.

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Daily Crunch: Facebook beats Wall Street estimates Feb 01, 2019

The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here: 1. Facebook shares shoot up after strong Q4 earnings despite data breach Facebook managed to beat Wall Street’s estimates in its Q4 earnings despite a seemingly constant beatdown in the press. The company said it hit 2.32 billion monthly users, up 2.2 percent from 2.

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Many Xbox Ones aren’t working right now due to Xbox Live outage Jan 31, 2019

If you just tried to turn on your Xbox One and were met with nothing but a black screen: you’re not alone. A particularly bad outage in Xbox Live’s core services is causing the console to get stuck at boot. Microsoft is aware of the outage, and says they’ve “identified the cause”. We are aware of reports of Xbox One console startup, title update and sign-in errors. We will keep everyone informed once we have more information to share. Thank you all for your patience.

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It’s time to pay serious attention to TikTok Jan 30, 2019

If you haven’t been paying attention to TikTok, you haven’t been paying attention. The short-form video app hailing from Beijing’s ByteDance just had its biggest month ever with the addition of 75 million new users in December — a 275 percent increase from the 20 million it added in December 2017, according a recent report from Sensor Tower.

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StarCraft II-playing AI AlphaStar takes out pros undefeated Jan 30, 2019

Losing to the computer in StarCraft has been a tradition of mine since the first game came out in 1998. Of course, the built-in “AI” is trivial for serious players to beat, and for years researchers have attempted to replicate human strategy and skill in the latest version of the game. They’ve just made a huge leap with AlphaStar, which recently beat two leading pros 5-0.

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Jobs platform Vangst just raised $10 million to plug more people into the fast-growing cannabis industry Jan 29, 2019

People are increasingly interested in finding a way to participate in the cannabis industry, and for good reason. It’s growing like a weed (yes, we said it). According to a San Francisco-based research company, Grand View Research, the global legal marijuana market is expected to reach $146.4 billion by end of 2025.

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Scooters 2.0, Munchery ghosts, and solving contraceptive deserts Jan 28, 2019

Hello and welcome back toEquity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week we had the gang back together with our own Connie Loizos at the helm, Kate Clark in the studio as well, Alex on the phone, and Ed Sim from Boldstart Ventures onboard as well. A good crew for a busy week. Now that 2019 is fully underway, the news is back to its usual firehose-pace which means we had a lot to get through.

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Smartphones are about to get more interesting, but is it enough to drive growth? Jan 25, 2019

Smartphones are about to get more interesting, but is it enough to drive growth? As sales stagnate, will foldable phones and 5G be enough to save the day? Smartphone numbers are down. In 2018, global shipments dropped 3 percent, and while the long-promised arrival of 5G will help numbers get back into the black, IDC predicts that even then growth will be in the low-single digits.

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and that meme life Jan 25, 2019

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mixtape, the podcast that goes a bit behind the headlines to bring tech to culture. This week Megan Rose Dickey and I welcome Tiana Kara, the head of partnerships and growth at #builtbygirls (which, like TechCrunch, is owned by Verizon Media Group). The organization connects girls and women between the ages of 15 and 22 with mentors of all stripes in the tech industry based on their interests.

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A former Bessemer Venture Partners principal just closed his own $30 million fund, and here’s how Jan 24, 2019

Sunil Nagaraj, who’d studied computer science as an undergrad at UNC Chapel Hill, landed two pretty nice gigs after deciding to pursue an MBA at Harvard Business School. First, he founded a venture-backed company called Triangulate — though he recognized when it was time to shut it down two years later. He then wound up working as a principal for Bessemer Venture Partners, a top-tier venture firm with locations around the world.

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Fresh tickets and New VC partners for the TechCrunch Winter Party Jan 24, 2019

We’ve got a double dose of exciting news for you, startup fans. First, we’re thrilled to announce that investment firms August Capital, SV Angel and Uncork Capital have partnered with us for the 2nd Annual TechCrunch Winter Party at Galvanize on February 8. And second, today we released into the wild another fresh, though limited, batch of tickets. If you haven’t snagged a ticket to this Silicon Valley shindig, take heed.

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Is your time worth more than $0.30 an hour? Jan 23, 2019

Most of us believe our time is extremely valuable, certainly worth more than thirty cents. But then you read about human decision-making, and you have to wonder what goes through people’s heads. This time, it is Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg at The Wall Street Journal, who wrote a review of Amazon Publishing, the printing house (if you will) of the ecommerce giant. Amazon published more than one thousand titles in 2017, and now commands roughly a majority of all book purchases made in the U.S.

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Twitter bug revealed some Android users’ private tweets Jan 22, 2019

Twitter accidentally revealed some users’ “protected” (aka, private) tweets, the company disclosed this afternoon. The “Protect your Tweets” settingtypically allows people to use Twitter in a non-public fashion. These users get to approve who can follow them and who can view their content. For some Android users over a period of several years, that may not have been the case – their tweets were actually made public as a result of this bug.

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SaaS stocks are coming back to life Jan 21, 2019

Nasdaq’s BVP Emerging Cloud Index measures the performance of a portfolio of 45 SaaS stocks. Like much of the tech world, and the stock market in general, the final quarter of 2018 was not terribly kind. The good news is that there are signs of life lately. On November 19th, SaaS stocks had a noteworthy bad day. Everything was down, way down. As we reported, some examples included: Salesforce was down 8.7 percent to $121.01. Box was down 6.93 percent to $16.66 Workday was down 7.57 percent to $124.

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More scooter dollars, Slack’s revenue projections, and the IPO traffic jam Jan 21, 2019

Hello and welcome back toEquity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. We’re back! After what I think was our first-ever break, Kate Clark and I sat down to dig into the latest startup venture news. There was a lot. We had to skip a few rounds to squeeze the show down to size, but we still hit the biggest stories. First, Lime and Bird are raising again.

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Redpoint Ventures is raising another $400M to invest in Chinese companies Jan 18, 2019

Redpoint Ventures is doubling down on China. The firm, headquartered in Menlo Park, has filed documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to raise $400 million across two new China-focused funds. The firm has set a $300 million target for its second flagship China fund, a significant increase from the $180 million it garnered for its debut China fund in 2016. Redpoint is also raising a $100 million opportunityfund that will also focus on the Chinese tech startup market.

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Spotify launches Car View on Android to make using its app less dangerous behind the wheel Jan 18, 2019

Spotify launches Car View on Android to make using its app less dangerous behind the wheel Spotify is making it easier to use its streaming app in the car, when the phone is connected to the vehicle over Bluetooth. The company today confirmed the launch of a new feature called “Car View,” which is a simplified version of the service’s Now Playing screen that includes larger fonts, bigger buttons, and no distractions from album art.

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Researcher shows how popular app ES File Explorer exposes Android device data Jan 17, 2019

Why is one of the most popular Android apps running a hidden web server in the background? ES File Explorer claims it has over 500 million downloads under its belt since 2014, making it one of the most used apps to date. It’s simplicity makes it what it is: a simple file explorer that lets you browse through your Android phone or tablet’s file system for files, data, documents and more. But behind the scenes, the app is running a slimmed-down web server on the device.

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China accounted for nearly half of app downloads in 2018, 40% of consumer spend Jan 17, 2019

China accounted for nearly half of app downloads in 2018, 40% of consumer spend Global app downloads topped 194 billion in 2018, up 35 percent from 2016, according to App Annie’s annual “State of Mobile 2019” report released today. Consumer spending across app stores was up 75 percent to reach $101 billion.

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How the new VR screen could end the smartphone Jan 16, 2019

Philip Rosedale Contributor Philip Rosedale is co-founder and CEO of High Fidelity. A smartphone screen is a wonder of the world. It’s not just that it’s bright and colorful and sharp. In some ways, it’s as good as human biology allows. We’ve packed so many pixels into such a small space that any more would be lost on us. We can’t make the screens themselves bigger, because then they’d become too large to hold.

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VLC prepares to add AirPlay support as it crosses 3 billion downloads Jan 16, 2019

VLC, the hugely popular media playing service, is filing one of its gaps with the addition ofAirPlay support as its just crossed an incredible three billion users. The new feature was revealed byJean-Baptiste Kempf, one of the service’s lead developers, in an interview with Variety at CESand it will give users a chance to beam content from their Android or iOS device to an Apple TV.

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Global VC market sees highest-ever concentration of supergiant dollar volume in Q4 2018 Jan 15, 2019

Jason Rowley Contributor Jason Rowley is a venture capital and technology reporter for Crunchbase News. More posts by this contributor SoftBank’s Vision Fund inches closer to $100B The top 10 cities for $100M VC rounds in 2018 so far For the global VC industry, 2018 was asupergiantyear. Crunchbase projects that 2018 deal and dollar volume surpassed even the high-water mark left by the dot-com deluge and the drought that followed.

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Gartner finds PC sales doldrums continued in 2018 Jan 14, 2019

Gartner has released its quarterly PC sales survey for the fourth quarter of 2018, and it was the same old story. PC sales plunged in the fourth quarter and were down 1.3 percent for the year. The three top players — HP, Dell and Lenovo — accounted for 63 percent of sales worldwide in the quarter. The company found in their preliminary sales research that worldwide sales totaled 68.6 million units in the fourth quarter. That may sound like a big number, but it’s down 4.

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Halo’s second-gen brain stimulating headphones run $399 Jan 14, 2019

Two and a half years after doing pushups onstage at Disrupt New York, Bay Area-based sports health company Halo Neuroscience is back with the second generation of its brain stimulating headphones. The biggest update to the spiky wearable this time around is a newfound focus on the headphone aspect of the product. The Halo Sport 2 adds Bluetooth audio — a nice change from its hardwired predecessor. After all, no one wants to be tethered while working out. Co-founder Dr.

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These baby concrete speakers aren’t as heavy as they look Jan 11, 2019

To paraphrase P. T. Barnum, “there’s a Bluetooth speaker born every minute.” At no time of year is that more true than at CES in Las Vegas, where they are bountiful beyond belief. But very few — nay, only one that I found — are made of concrete. And it’s French! The speakers immediately attracted my attention because of their simplicity and of course material.

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More tickets released for TechCrunch Winter Party at Galvanize Jan 11, 2019

Silicon Valley loves a party, and we’re ready to help you get your swerve on. We’ve just released a fresh batch of tickets to the 2nd Annual TechCrunch Winter Party. Our fabulous midwinter fete takes place on Friday, February 8 atGalvanizein San Francisco. Here’s a hot tip: buy your ticket now, because they won’t sit around for long. Last year, nearly 1,000 people came to the party and — as cliché as it sounds — a good time was had by all.

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This extra-large handheld Nintendo works (and feels) like the real thing Jan 10, 2019

Handheld retro gaming machines come and go, but few go so simply and effectively to the point as My Arcade’s Retro Champ. You stick in your NES cartridge, hit the power button, and assuming you blew on it beforehand, it powers up. This one sets itself apart with a big ol’ screen, Famicom compatibility, and a whopping 35-hour battery life.

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This strange cedar egg wants to help you breathe deep and calm down Jan 09, 2019

In moments of stress and anxiety, there are those of us who find it difficult to breathe — and paradoxically, many reach for a cigarette or vape as a way to manage that. But what if instead of nicotine or smoke, the device you grabbed put fresh air in your lungs and helped you calm down? That’s the idea behind the Kitoki. Looking a bit like an oversized bean with a sippy cup tip on the end, the Kitoki is a striking but not immediately attractive device.

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Daily Crunch: AR Startups face an uneasy future in 2019 Jan 09, 2019

The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here: 1. Magic Leap and other AR startups have a rough 2019 ahead of them 2018 was supposed to be the year where the foundation of AR was set to expand, but now it looks like momentum has been sucked out of the industry’s heavy hitters. 2.

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Marc Andreessen: audio will be “titanically important” and VR will be “1,000” times bigger than AR Jan 08, 2019

In a new a16z podcast with the venture firm’s founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, there’s a lot to enjoy, from Andreessen’s TV show recommendations to Horowitz’s secret to excellent barbecue. (It’s pretty much just “time,” as you might imagine.

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PSA: File your US tax return before scammers steal your refund Jan 08, 2019

It’s tax season! You know what that means? It’s scamming season, too. You might have heard this story before.

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Disney’s Star Wars Land could open in June, says CEO Bob Iger Jan 07, 2019

We know Disney’s Star Wars Land (or “Galaxy’s Edge”, if we’re being formal) is opening sometime in summer 2019. But thats about as exact as anyone at Disney would get. The rumors said June. Now, it seems, so does Disney CEO Bob Iger. Iger casually dropped the June target in an interview with Barron’s (as spotted by the OC Register). You can read the full interview here, but the key bit comes in a question about the strategic impact of Galaxy’s Edge.

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Zelda has a minus world Jan 07, 2019

Listen, everyone. It’s not every day that a new fact comes to light regarding a game that came out more than 30 years ago. And I happen to love it when retro games get broken in fabulous and entertaining ways. So the news that The Legend of Zelda for NES has a minus world like Super Mario Bros and others hit me like like a freight train. The phenomenon was discovered by Youtuber SKELUX, who starts off his video with a quick explanation of how minus worlds work.

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Samsung’s Space Monitor is practical and minimal Jan 04, 2019

Samsung always has a huge presence at CES, but it isn’t the giant TVs and flashy next-generation gadgets that have my attention this year; it’s this simple, flexible monitor that looks like it would be right at home in any workspace. It’s called the Space Monitor, presumably because it gives you space, not because it’s meant for use in space. I don’t see why you couldn’t, though.

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Hey look, it’s the Samsung Galaxy S10 Jan 04, 2019

Well, what have we here? If it isn’t the Samsung Galaxy S10, courtesy of perennial smartphone outer, EVLeaks. This marks one the first good looks we’ve got at the phone, which is likely due out in a couple of months at Mobile World Congress. It’s a pretty rough photo — the icons are all blurred out and the cropping job isn’t great, likely in an effort to conceal the source.

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Soulja Boy’s game consoles pulled from store weeks after launch Jan 03, 2019

As anyone from the Gizmondo to the Virtual Boy can tell you, it’s tough to launch a console. Of course, it’s helps when your device apparently comes pre-loaded with thousands of games from big name companies like Nintendo, Sony, Square and Bandai. It was clear the moment they were launched that Soulja Boy’s SouljaGame console and handhelds were too good to be true, in spite of his insistence that he’d struck deals with game publishers.

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Shine brings its female-focused self-care app to Android Jan 03, 2019

Shine, one of the many apps capitalizing on the growing self-care trend, has now brought its app used by 3 million people to Android devices. Originally launched as a simple messaging bot that doled out life advice and motivation, Shine has grown over the years to become a larger self-help platform aimed largely at the millennial crowd – and in particular, millennial women.

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What to expect from CES 2019 Jan 02, 2019

The timing is… less than ideal. Just as the industry is recovering from a holiday-induced hangover, we’re thrust into the country’s largest consumer electronics show. The timing, of course, is not coincidental. The show is intended to offer a preview for the tech year to come. Many companies thrive on CES’s pace. It’s a five-day deluge of tech news, and, for many, it’s the largest platform they’ll get all year.

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Polite Fortnite Society Jan 02, 2019

My parents are approaching 60. When they were young, they hung out at diners, or drove around in their cars. My generation hung out in the parking lot after school, or at the mall. My colleague John Biggs often talks of hanging out with his nerd buddies in his basement, playing games and making crank calls. Today, young people are hanging out on a virtual island plagued by an ever-closing fatal storm. It’s called Fortnite .

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Netflix stops paying the ‘Apple tax’ on its $853M in annual iOS revenue Jan 02, 2019

Earlier this year, Netflix was seen testing a bypass of iTunes billing across dozens of markets worldwide. As 2018 draws to a close, Netflix – the App Store’s top grossing app –has ditched the ability for new users to sign up and subscribe to the streaming service within its iOS app across all global markets.

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Test your tech knowledge in TechCrunch’s 2018 Year In Tech Quiz Dec 31, 2018

Think you know tech? Square off against TechCrunch editors with 2018’s year in tech quiz. TechCrunch’s 2018 Year In Tech Quiz Square off against TechCrunch’s reporters and editors in this year’s annual quiz, covering the major stories of the past twelve months.

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Gfycat’s ‘GIFs’ can now keep the sound on Dec 31, 2018

Gfycat, a home for GIF-making tools and an online community, is rolling out a new way to create GIFs — it will now let you keep the sound on. With “Gfycat Sound,” as the feature is called, GIF makers will have the option to retain the audio from the video file they’re using to create their “GIF” — something Gfycat believes will be especially popular among gamers.

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Nyca Partners’ Hans Morris hunts for great fintech investments amid volatility Dec 28, 2018

Hans Morris is a name to know in fintech, and as finance and tech sectors prepare for tougher time next year, he has some incisive thoughts to share about the kinds of companies that will succeed (or not) in a financial downturn. The managing partner of investment firm Nyca Partners, Morris also serves as the chairman of the board of Lending Club and is a director of other start-ups including AvidXchange, Boomtown, Payoneer and SigFig.

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Fortnite players report queue issues as Epic experiences a ‘minor service outage’ Dec 28, 2018

Epic Games is having its own Christmas hangover. On Wednesday, a number of Fortnite players reported long queues that time out and problems logging in to Fortnite’s servers. The company is aware of the issue and tweeted that it’s investigating the cause behind the outage that some users are running into when they try to log in. We are investigating an issue causing some players to encounter a problem with game services and when attempting to log in. https://t.

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UK airport restarts some flights after drone shutdown chaos Dec 27, 2018

The UK’s second busiest airport, Gatwick, reopened its runway early this morning after a day of shutdown triggered after drones were repeatedly spotting flying nearby. Drones ground flights at UK’s second largest airport In a media statement issued at 08:00 GMT this morning, the airport said it reopened the runway at 06:00 and that a “limited number” of aircraft are now taking off and landing.

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You can now connect to WireGuard VPN servers on your iPhone Dec 26, 2018

WireGuard is a new VPN protocol that promises to be faster and more secure at the same time. And you can now connect to a WireGuard server on iOS thanks to the official open source app. Compared to other VPN protocols, such as OpenVPN and IPsec, it can maintain a VPN connection even if you change from one network to another. Let’s say you’re in a hotel and you’re heading to a busy conference center.

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French data protection watchdog fines Uber $460,000 for data breach Dec 25, 2018

One by one, European countries are slapping Uber with a penalty for the way it handled its 2016 data breach. Today, France’s data protection watchdog, the CNIL, announced it was fining Uber $460,000 (€400,000). This event was a combination of bad security with bad reaction and good timing. Back in 2016, Uber faced a data breach that affected 57 million users, including 1.4 million users in France.

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Alexa gets access to Wolfram Alpha’s knowledge engine Dec 24, 2018

Knowledge base is one of the departments where Alexa has lagged Assistant. After all, it’s pretty tough to compete with Google when comes to a sheer breadth of knowledge. Wolfram Alpha is a pretty good place to start. The answer engine offers a wide cross section of curated data, with a heavy focus on math and sciences. Starting this week, U.S.-based Alexa users will get access to that information, with roll out completing over the coming weeks and months.

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A startup’s guide to CES Dec 24, 2018

The Consumer Electronics Show, like Burning Man, is a massive event in the middle of the desert. Also like Burning Man it is populated by some of the greatest minds in technology. But, unlike Burning Man, these people are all dressed and only a few of them are on hard psychotropic drugs. Also CES is mostly inside.

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Some iPad Pros could come bent out of the box Dec 21, 2018

Some iPad Pros could come bent out of the box Apple has confirmed to The Verge that some iPad Pro models come slightly bent out of the box due to a manufacturing process. According to Apple, it shouldn’t impact your iPad in any way. But if you buy a new iPad Pro, please make sure that it’s not bent in case you want to exchange it within the first couple of weeks. It’s still unclear if Apple plans to repair bent iPads once you’ve passed the return window.

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The 5G wars have entered the petty stage Dec 20, 2018

If you’re reading this the year it was written, you’re almost certainly not getting it over 5G. If you’re reading this in the future, congrats, you made it. And hey, remember polar bears? 5G is the latest buzzword to send the mobile industry into a tizzy. This one’s got a particular weight to it, too, given that smartphone sales have started flagging for the first time ever.

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Help TechCrunch find the best lawyers for startups Dec 20, 2018

TechCrunch is working on a new project to help you build a better company. We’re looking for the great service providers in the startup world: the lawyers, accountants, recruiters, human resource managers, project managers and other experts you need to help you succeed.

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Five rockets are set to launch within 24 hours starting later today Dec 19, 2018

Today was supposed to be a historic day with four rocket launches by four different companies. But that’s not going to happen. As of publication, three of the four rocket launches are canceled. The flights were pushed until tomorrow, setting up another and more significant historical event. If all the rockets currently scheduled launch as planned, there could be five launches within a 24 hour period. Tuesday, 8:57pm ET ULADelta IV Heavy Wednesday 5:40am ET India’sGSLV Mk.

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This fake package covers porch thieves in glitter and fart spray Dec 18, 2018

Having a package stolen off your front porch sucks. No matter what’s inside the box, it just feels… violating. Someone came into your space and took your stuff just because they could probably get away with it. And even if you go to the cops with license plates and high-res face photos, they’ll often respond with a big, apathetic shrug (particularly around Christmas when package thefts skyrocket).

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Ten pieces of friendly VC advice for when someone wants to buy your company Dec 18, 2018

David Frankel Contributor David Frankel is a managing partner at Founder Collective.

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HQ Trivia and Vine co-founder Colin Kroll found dead of suspected overdose Dec 17, 2018

Colin Kroll, the 34-year-old co-founder and CEO of the HQ Trivia app, has been found dead of an apparent drug overdose in his apartment, TechCrunch has confirmed. A spokesman for the NYPD told us that a female called 911 for a wellness check on Kroll’s apartment and he was found dead inside at 08:00 hours today. The police department said the investigation is ongoing but added that the cause of deathis “allegedly a drug overdose”.

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Ridesharing IPOs and $850M for Luckin, Plaid and Zymergen Dec 17, 2018

Hello and welcome back toEquity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week we had the regular crew back together which was good fun. Connie took point, we had Danny mic’dup in New York, and I was onsite to help the crew natter along with BubbaMurarka, a former VC and founder who now cuts checks on his own. Thematically, this was a week of mega rounds so we had little choice but to go over more than a few.

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Buy your tickets to the 2nd Annual TechCrunch Winter Party Dec 14, 2018

We love parties almost as much as we love startups, but we go absolutely bonkers for a hot startup-party mashup. That’s why we’re returning to host our 2nd Annual TechCrunch Winter Party in San Francisco on Friday, February 8. Even better news, party-goers — the first batch of coveted tickets to this wild winter romp are available now. Better get your tickets while you can.

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Puma reissues its nerdiest shoe ever, the RS-Computer Dec 14, 2018

No one has any trouble tracking their steps today. But how can you make sure people know you’re doing it? Ostentatiously checking your phone or watch every five minutes is a pain. What if I told you there was a shoe with a step-tracking computer sticking out of it where everyone could see? It’s a Puma . It was born in 1986, and will be reborn in 2018 — briefly.

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Pokémon GO trainer battles are now live (for some players) Dec 13, 2018

Last week we did a deep dive on how Pokémon GO’s new (and long overdue) player-versus-player battle system would work. The only thing we didn’t know at the time was when, exactly, it would actually start rolling out. The answer: tonight. Just a few days ago, Niantic started shipping an update to the app that contained everything required for PvP, but they’d yet to actually flip the switch to turn it on.

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Wellness giant Life Time targets co-working, shopping malls for next act Dec 13, 2018

Founded in 1990 by CEO Bahram Akradi, Minnesota-based Life Time used to be known as a premier health club that operated large gyms mainly in affluent suburbs in Midwestern and Southern states. Its success was memorialized in 2015 when two leading private equity firms, Leonard Green & Partners and TPG Capital, led a $4-billion deal to take the company private.

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Gift Guide: the 16 best board games for holiday family fun Dec 12, 2018

Ah, holiday board gaming. A roaring fire. A glass of nog. And a raging debate over whether the blue guy was next to the red square or vice versa. Buying a gift for a board game fan? Just need something new to bring along to the get together? In this roundup we highlight some of what we’ve been playing lately – from the easy to the immensely complex – and give you and your family fodder for your next bout of holiday fun. Some new, some old, all great.

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Doom is 25 and co-creator John Romero is putting out a giant expansion for it Dec 11, 2018

25 years ago, anyone old enough to navigate DOS was likely playing Doom every spare minute, assuming their parents weren’t around. A quarter century after its release, the game’s legacy is unquestionable — but it could always use a few new levels. So co-creator John Romero made some. They come with a silver statue of his head impaled on a spike.

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Pew: Social media for the first time tops newspapers as a news source for US adults Dec 11, 2018

It’s not true that everyone gets their news from Facebook and Twitter. But it is now true that more U.S. adults get their news from social media than from print newspapers. According to a new report from Pew Research Center out today, social media has for the first time surpassed newspapers as a preferred source of news for American adults. However, social media is still far behind other traditional news sources, like TV and radio, for example.

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TransferWise keeps growing money transfers despite global turbulence Dec 10, 2018

You don’t have to follow the financial technology industry or work with developers in faraway lands to know TransferWise, arguably the world’s leading peer-to-peer money-transferring startup.

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Join TechCrunch for our 2nd Annual Winter Party Dec 07, 2018

After last year’s stellar turn out of almost 1,000 Silicon Valley shakers and movers at our inaugural Winter Party, TechCrunch is returning with the 2nd Annual Winter Party in San Francisco on February 8. The party will feature tasty cocktails and canapés, party games and activities, plenty of photo ops, giveaways and some fun surprises.

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Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is good, clean, butt-kicking fun Dec 06, 2018

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is good, clean, butt-kicking fun The Switch game is fan service in the best possible sense of the term After a few days with the game, I’m no expert. Hell, I’m not even entirely sure I’m confident enough to take on all comers. I am, however, most definitely hooked. This scrappy little gaming upstart just might have a future ahead of it, after all. I admit that I’ve not played a Smash Bros.

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You can now once again flip the camera during FaceTime calls with just one tap Dec 06, 2018

You can now once again flip the camera during FaceTime calls with just one tap With the release of iOS 12, Apple hid the button that lets you jump from front camera to rear camera (or vice versa) during a FaceTime call. Previously a one-click thing, it was suddenly shoved away into a menu as if it wasn’t something you might use a half-dozen times per call. Don’t like the change? Good news! Apple is undoing it. As of iOS 12.1.

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Don’t miss out on free tickets to Startup Battlefield Africa 2018 Dec 05, 2018

Sorry folks. If you wanted to buy a ticket to Startup Battlefield Africa 2018you’re out of luck. We’re sold out. However, you could be one of the lucky few to score a free ticket to our day-long startup-pitch extravaganza in Lagos, Nigeria on 11 December. We have a limited number of tickets available, so apply for your free ticket here — before they’re all gone.

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AWS wants to rule the world Dec 04, 2018

AWS, once a nice little side hustle for Amazon’s eCommerce business, has grown over the years into a behemoth that’s on a $27 billion run rate, one that’s still growing at around 45 percent a year. That’s a highly successful business by any measure, but as I listened to AWS executives last week at their AWS re:Invent conference in Las Vegas, I didn’t hear a group that was content to sit still and let the growth speak for itself.

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The battle over the driving experience is heating up and will be won in software Dec 04, 2018

Lou Shipley Contributor More posts by this contributor Why The Future Of Digital Security Is Open Sirius XM’s recent all-stock $3.5-billion purchase of the music-streaming service Pandora raised a lot of eyebrows. A big question was why Sirius paid so much. Is Pandora’s music library and customer base really worth that amount? The answer is that this was a strategic move by Sirius in a battle that is far bigger than radio.

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Asana raises $50M, Airbnb gets a new CFO, and a 2019 IPO preview Dec 03, 2018

Hello and welcome back toEquity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week as TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin came to life, Kate Clark and I snagged some mics and dug through the biggest news of the week (a $50 million check), and talked through who may go public next year, and what thoseIPOs might look like. Our usual fare, if you will. (If you are missing Danny and Connie, fear not, they will be back next week.

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Rolling, hopping robots explore Earthly analogs of distant planets Nov 30, 2018

Before we send any planet-trotting robot to explore the landscape of Mars or Venus, we need to test it here on Earth. Two such robotic platforms being developed for future missions are undergoing testing at European Space Agency facilities: one that rolls, and one that hops. The rolling one is actually on the books to head to the Red Planet as part of the ESA’s Mars 2020 program.

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Users Guide to Disrupt Berin 2018 Nov 29, 2018

Disrupt Berlin approaches with just a few days until things kick things off. We have an all-star lineup that only TechCrunch can assemble, and we’re expecting our largest number of attendees yet. Check out our star-packed agenda here. Here are all the deets you need to make for a stellar conference experience. Location TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin will be taking place on 29-30 November at Arena Berlin (Eichenstraße 4, 12435 Berlin).

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Audi’s e-tron GT concept is an all-electric sedan with some Porsche DNA Nov 29, 2018

Audi is making room in its electric future for more than SUVs or crossovers. After a string of teasers, the German automaker finally unveiled the Audi e-tron GT concept, a four-door all-electric coupe that has some Porsche DNA sprinkled in and that looks a lot like the A7. Audi introduced the concept Wednesday during the press days of the LA Auto Show.

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Thanksgiving e-commerce spend to top $3.5B, mobile accounting for one-third of sales Nov 27, 2018

The 2018 holiday season is predicted to be a bumper year for e-commerce, helped by economic forces like lower unemployment and underlying trends like an ever-growing proportion of shoppers opting to spend their money online, and specifically on mobile devices. Thanksgiving, a day when brick-and-mortar stores tend to be closed, is a big one for online spending, and so far it’s off to a flying start.

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Bitcoin sinks below $4,000 as the crypto market takes another hefty beating Nov 27, 2018

As we hang out with family and friends this holiday season, it’s interesting to look back on the Bitcoin mania that we endured one Thanksgiving ago. Aunts and uncles asking about internet money as you passed the mashed potatoes while trying to explain the concept of decentralization in a way that made it seem like you knew your stuff.

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They’re making a real HAL 9000, and it’s called CASE Nov 26, 2018

Don’t panic! Life imitates art, to be sure, but hopefully the researchers in charge of the Cognitive Architecture for Space Exploration, or CASE, have taken the right lessons from 2001: A Space Odyssey, and their AI won’t kill us all and/or expose us to alien artifacts so we enter a state of cosmic nirvana. (I think that’s what happened.

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Be a Thanksgiving security hero with these family-friendly tips Nov 23, 2018

If you’re reading this, chances are you’re: Pretty good at tech stuff Spending time with your family for Thanksgiving Bored because you’re reading this article right now You may not celebrate Thanksgiving where you live, but most of our readers are American. So let’s use this opportunity to review the tech setup of your family.

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Internal Facebook memo sees outgoing VP of comms Schrage take blame for hiring Definers Nov 22, 2018

TechCrunch has obtained an internal memo published by Facebook’s outgoing head of public policy Elliot Schrage in which he blames himself for hiring PR firm Definers. He admits to having the company push negative narratives about competitors, but says Facebook did not ask or pay Definers to publish fake news. COO Sheryl Sandberg left a comment on the memo, saying it was never Facebook’s intention to play into anti-semitic theories about George Soros.

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Thanksgiving travel nightmare projected to hit these US cities the worst Nov 22, 2018

The latest data from Inrix paints a dismal picture for folks traveling Wednesday (that’s today!) ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Drivers in Boston, New York City and San Francisco will see the largest delays with drive times nearly quadruple the norm, according to AAA and Inrix,whichaggregates and analyzes traffic data collected from vehicles and highway infrastructure. AAA is projecting 54.3 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more away from home this Thanksgiving, a 4.

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Kindred’s robots help retailers handle fulfillment centers — and take on Amazon Nov 21, 2018

Since taking the reins as chief executive of Kindred at the beginning of the year, Jim Liefer has been focused on commercializing his company’s autonomous robots. But unlike forward-projecting use-cases for robots that may (or may not) one day take over for human beings in a wide swath of functions, Kindred’s current robots are purpose-built for the floor of retail fulfillment centers.

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Walmart passes Apple to become No. 3 online retailer in U.S. Nov 20, 2018

Walmart passes Apple to become No. 3 online retailer in U.S. Walmart has overtaken Apple to become the No. 3 online retailer in the U.S., according to a report this week from eMarketer. While Amazon still leads by a wide margin, accounting for 48 percent of e-commerce sales in 2018, Walmart – including also Sam’s Club and Jet.com – is poised to capture 4 percent of all online retail spending in the U.S. by year-end, totaling $20.91 billion.

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MailChimp teams up with Square to launch shoppable landing pages Nov 20, 2018

MailChimp, the popular email newsletter service and marketing platform, today announced a partnership with Square that will allow its users to create landing pages with built-in e-commercefeatures. These shoppable landing pages are meant to give businesses a new sales channel to sell things like limited edition good or run targeted promotions. MailChimp’s landing pages have been around for a few years now.

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Lyft launches default tipping, rating protections and more to keep drivers happy Nov 19, 2018

Until autonomous vehicles are here, ride-hailing companies like Lyft and Uber have to attract and retain human drivers if they hope to sustain their businesses. Lyft announced Thursday a half dozen new driver-friendly features, from default tipping and in-trip tipping to ways to protect their ratings and an events planner. Lyft also committed to rolling out at least one new feature or enhancement from its driver community each month.

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Uber’s financials, Qualtric’s $8B exit and what’s going on at WeWork Nov 19, 2018

Hello and welcome back toEquity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week we had the excellent Connie Loizos on the air, we had Danny Crichton on the horn from New York, I was in the studio mostly hacking up one lung or the other, and we hadMatt Howard of Norwest Venture Partners. And so, with smoke in the Bay and snow in the Big Apple, we dug into what we love. Namely, dollars.

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Wonder Ventures aims to dazzle L.A. startups with its new seed-stage fund Nov 16, 2018

Dustin Rosen thinks L.A. has a problem, aside from its famously car-choked highways. There aren’t enough investors willing to write small checks. Why not? The way he sees it, most of the so-called micro venture funds have grown their funds to the size of traditional venture firms, and are making bigger bets as a result.

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48-hours only: Early-bird prices for Disrupt Berlin 2018 Nov 15, 2018

Das ist super geil — this is awesome! Early-bird prices for Disrupt Berlin 2018 passes have returned to the roost. But you need to act fast, because our time-sensitive offer expires in just 48 hours. This opportunity translates to serious savings in any language — up to €500. Here’s even more good news. During this sale, anyone who buys a Startup Alley Exhibitor pass will receive three Founder passes instead of two. The sale clock starts on 15 November at 12:00 a.m.

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We tried Amazon’s bizarre Alexa microwave and weren’t convinced Nov 15, 2018

I’m a fan of Alexa and of voice computing in general. But when Amazon said it was putting Alexa into a microwave, I wasn’t so sure. The value in voice computing is being able to get to news, information, music hands-free, as well as perform simple tasks, including those for the smart home – like changing the thermostat from downstairs, or taking a peek at your security camera video from your Echo Show.

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This $199 PS4 and ‘Spider-Man’ Black Friday bundle has my bargain-sense tingling Nov 14, 2018

I’m calling it — this is the best deal of this year’s Black Friday season, for gamers anyway. It’s amazing. It’s spectacular. Sony is selling a PlayStation 4 Slim with the new Spider-Man game for $199. That’s way too little money. The 1TB PS4 slim currently retails for $300, and that used to be the cost of the 500 GB one. So a $199 price for the improved, terabyte-capacity console would already be a great deal.

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Former Beats Music CEO is back with an electric scooter startup Nov 14, 2018

About a year ago, David Hyman, former Beats Music CEO and co-founder of music startup Mog that eventually sold to Beats Music, did something that was “very abnormal for me — career-wise,” he told TechCrunch. Hyman was an entrepreneur in residence at a giant real estate company. Because the music industry has changed so much, he said he didn’t want to do another music company.

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Chinese WeWork rival Ucommune raises $200M to go after international growth Nov 13, 2018

China’s Ucommune, the country’s largest rival to WeWork, has been on a busy acquisition spree to build out its domestic business and now it is looking at overseas opportunities after it closed a $200 million Series D funding round. The new round was led by Hong Kong-based All-Stars Investment with participation from Chinese investment bank CEC Capital and other investors.

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The top 10 cities for $100M VC rounds in 2018 so far Nov 13, 2018

Jason Rowley Contributor Jason Rowley is a venture capital and technology reporter for Crunchbase News. More posts by this contributor Early-stage SaaS VC slip snaps recovery as public software stocks soar International growth, primarily in China, fuels the VC market today Crunchbase News recently profileda selection of U.S. companies’ largest VC raised in 2018, and no surprise here: the 10 largest rounds all topped out well north of $100 million.

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Cloudflare rolls out its 1.1.1.1 privacy service to iOS, Android Nov 12, 2018

Months after announcing its privacy-focused DNS service, Cloudflare is bringing 1.1.1.1 to mobile users. Granted, nothing ever stopped anyone from using 1.1.1.1 on their phones or tablets already. But now the app, now available for iPhones, iPads and Android devices, aims to make it easier for anyone to use its free consumer DNS service. The app is a one-button push to switch on and off again. That’s it. Cloudflare rolled out 1.1.1.

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Rocket Lab’s big ‘It’s Business Time’ launch targets this weekend for takeoff Nov 12, 2018

Upstart launch provider Rocket Lab aims to finally launch its first fully commercial payload to orbit this weekend after months of delays. The small Electron rocket will take six satellites from four companies to orbit as early as tomorrow evening Pacific time — Sunday afternoon at the company’s launch site in New Zealand.

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So I sent my mom that newfangled Facebook Portal Nov 09, 2018

“Who am I going to be worried about? Oh Facebook seeing? No, I’m not worried about Facebook seeing. They’re going to look at my great art collection and say they want to come steal it? No, I never really thought about it.” That’s my 72-year-old mother Sally Constine’s response to whether she’s worried about her privacy now that she has a Facebook Portal video chat device. The gadgetgoes on sale and starts shipping today at $349 for the 15.

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Vine co-founder plans to launch successor Byte in Spring 2019 Nov 09, 2018

Vine — the much loved and mourned short video hosting platform — will return, kind of, sort of. Co-creator Dom Hofmann announced on Twitter today that its spiritual success is set to arrive next spring. Details? We don’t have many. Though Hofmann did give us a name — Byte — and logo to match. From the sound out of, things will operate similarly to Vine, with short, looping videos. So far it’s got a domain and a couple of admittedly clunky social media handles.

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Sling TV’s growth further slows in Q3, but still leads rivals in terms of subscribers Nov 08, 2018

Sling TV’s growth further slows in Q3, but still leads rivals in terms of subscribers It appears Dish’s live TV streaming service, Sling TV, has been impacted by the increased competition from rivals like YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, AT&T’s DirecTV Now, and others. Sling TV still leads the market with 2.37 million subscribers for its TV service aimed at cord cutters, Dish reported in its Q3 2018 earnings, but its momentum is slowing.

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Jaquet Droz’s “Sports Watch” is a high-end, heavy-duty chrono Nov 07, 2018

Watchmaker Jaquet Droz makes luxury watches that cost more than some San Francisco apartments. Now, however, they’ve decided to go “downmarket” with their Sports Watch chronograph, a handmade watch that is designed for both work and play. The watch is a standard chronograph with big date, a complication that displays the date as two digits instead of on a rotating dial.

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Folding screens are here, and they look crappy Nov 06, 2018

I dunno, man. Maybe it’s 2018 getting me down. Maybe I’ve just been at this for too long. Maybe it’s the flu shot I just got. Whatever the case, count me among the unsurprised when some long awaited finally hits the market and, well, it looks rough. The Royole Corporation (What they call the Quarter-Pounder Corporation in France) looks like a strong contender to be the first to market with a foldable display phone. And if these demos are to be believed, it’s not pretty.

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Thomas Reardon and CTRL-Labs are building an API for the brain Nov 05, 2018

Alice Lloyd George Contributor Alice Lloyd George is an investor at RRE Ventures and the host of Flux, a series of podcast conversations with leaders in frontier technology.

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Elon Musk says Tesla won’t make e-scooters, but might consider electric bikes Nov 05, 2018

Elon Musk says Tesla won’t make e-scooters, but might consider electric bikes Tesla won’t be joining the scooter wars. But electric bikes? Yeah, maybe. During a lengthy podcast with Recode’s Kara Swisher, Tesla CEO Elon Musk talked about everything from AI and his fights on Twitter with journalists to Saudi Arabia and Mars. Even scooters. Of course, scooters. But don’t get your hopes up for a Tesla scooter. According to Musk, they lack dignity.

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The Autoblow A.I. brings machine learning to your lap Nov 02, 2018

Dearest Martha, I write to you from the cold wastes of Earth on the first day of the New Year, 2023, the third year of war, and so close to your own child’s decanting date that it pains me to think on thee. The machines have been unkind to this planet and I hope you are well situated on Mars where it is safe. The men in the platoon – Dutch, Brooklyn, Dandy, and French – all send a cheerful “Hello.” I think they are jealous that you are human.

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How to build STEM toys Nov 02, 2018

On chilly Saturday mornings my father would fire up the kerosene heater and get the back of our garage warm. He’d turn on the old radio, constantly tuned to the local public radio station, and Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me or Harry Shearer would come on, clearing away the static like gust of wind through cobwebs. “Get your old clothes on,” he’d say, sticking his head into the warm kitchen. I’d still be in my pajamas. I’d grunt and grumble.

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Three days left to save big on Disrupt Berlin 2018 tickets Nov 01, 2018

The early-bird clock is winding down, and you have just three days left to save up to €500 on passes toDisrupt Berlin 2018.You’d be cuckoo to miss this deal (pun intended). The early-bird price flies away on 2 November, and your savings fly with it. Don’t miss out on the best possible price. Buy your ticket today.

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The Tissot Seastar 1000 is a low-cost and high-quality Swiss diver Oct 31, 2018

In the pantheon of watches there are a few that stand out. Looking for your first automatic watch? Pick up a Seiko Orange Monster. Looking for a piece with a little history? The Omega Speedmaster is your man. Looking for an entry-level Swiss diver that won’t break the bank? Tissot’s Seastar has always had you covered. The latest version of the Seastar is an interesting catch.

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The Venture Twins Oct 31, 2018

Justine and Olivia Moore like to introduce themselves together, otherwise, it can be a little confusing. They live together in an apartment in Menlo Park. They share clothes. They both wear Rothy’s sustainable ballet flats and are big fans of Glossier. Their desks are only inches apart, because yes, they work together too — and because they share a space heater.

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Xiaomi opts for sliding camera and no notch for new bezel-less Mi Mix phone Oct 30, 2018

Xiaomi has announced the newest version of its bezel-less Mi Mix family, and it doesn’t sport a notch like its Mi 8 flagship.Indeed, unlike the Mi 8 — which I called one of Xiaomi’s most brazen Apple clones — there’s a lot more to get excited about. The Mi Mix 3 was unveiled at an event in Beijing and, like its predecessor, Xiaomi boasts that it offers a full front screen.

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Google rolls out ‘.new’ links for instantly creating new Docs, Slides, Sheets and Forms Oct 30, 2018

Google Docs just rolled out a time-saving trick that’s sure to be welcomed by heavy users of Docs, or any of Google’s other productivity tools like Sheets, Slides, Sites, or Forms. The company this week introduced its “.new” domain, which can be used to instantly create a new file across any of these services, it says. For example, instead of going to Google Drive, clicking the “new” button, then the service you want to use, you can just type “doc.

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The SaaS VC gap: China & other markets trail the US Oct 29, 2018

Jason Rowley Contributor Jason Rowley is a venture capital and technology reporter for Crunchbase News. More posts by this contributor International growth, primarily in China, fuels the VC market today Corporate venture investment climbs higher throughout 2018 Chinese startups rule the roost when it comes to total reported venture dollars raised so far in 2018. That is, mostly.

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Market turmoil, billion dollar funds, and the Qualtrics IPO Oct 29, 2018

Hello and welcome back toEquity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week the normal band was together, with Connie Loizos, Danny Crichton, and myself on hand along with IVP investor Jules Maltz. We had yet another episode of market turmoil, that was again reversed to some extent before we could even talk about it.

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Ex-GoPro exec launches clothing startup that does away with sizes Oct 26, 2018

Finding clothes that are the right fit can be a laborious, psychologically challenging experience. RedThread, a custom clothing startup founded by former GoPro VP of Direct to Consumer, E-commerce and Digital Meghan Litchfield, aims to do away with sizes and instead focus on actual fit.

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Red Dead Redemption 2 sets the bar high for the next generation of open world games Oct 26, 2018

It’s been nearly a decade since Rockstar Games introduced Red Dead Redemption, a massive open world game with a story about as reflective of American culture as the Grand Theft Auto franchise. Tomorrow, Red Dead Redemption II goes live after months of breathless speculation. And yes, it’s as good as you dreamed it. That’s not to say that the layers of interactivity, which are a huge step forward for the next generation of open world games, are not without their faults.

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Oracle’s Larry Ellison keeps poking AWS because he has no choice Oct 25, 2018

Larry Ellison gave his Oracle Openworld keynote on Monday and of course he took several shots sat AWS. In his view, his company’s cloud products were cheaper, better and faster than AWS, but then what would you expect him to say? He rolled out a slide with all the facts and figures in case you doubted it. He wrapped it up in a neat little marketing package for the world to see. Oracle has an autonomous self-healing database. AWS? Nope. That much he’s right.

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Google just upgraded a bunch of movies to 4K for free Oct 24, 2018

If you’ve ever bought a movie on Google Play and decided to save a few bucks by buying it in standard definition, you might’ve just lucked out. Google has just announced that it’s upgrading all previously purchased movies to 4K (if a 4K version is available) free of charge. Even if you bought SD instead of HD when the latter was available, they’re bumping it all the way up to 4K.

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Simone Giertz, the “Queen of Shitty Robots”, just launched a Kickstarter Oct 24, 2018

Maybe it was her lipstick applying robot. Or her terrifying vegetable-chopping death machine. Or the robot that tried its best (and failed wonderfully) to feed her breakfast. Chances are good you’ve seen one of Simone Giertz’s ridiculous creations, be it on the Colbert show or GIF’d into your newsfeed.

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Early-stage SaaS VC slip snaps recovery as public software stocks soar Oct 23, 2018

Jason Rowley Contributor Jason Rowley is a venture capital and technology reporter for Crunchbase News. More posts by this contributor International growth, primarily in China, fuels the VC market today Corporate venture investment climbs higher throughout 2018 A few months ago, Crunchbase Newsreportedthat a longstanding period of SaaS investment stagnation had come to an end.

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Gearing up to step into virtual reality Oct 23, 2018

Makula Dunbar Contributor Makula Dunbar is a writer with Wirecutter. More posts by this contributor The best gear for starting a small business The best games and gear for game night Editor’s note: This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter’s independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and TechCrunch may earn affiliate commissions.

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Convene uses landlord partnership model to outclass WeWork Oct 22, 2018

Recent reports that Softbank may take a majority stake in WeWork has added fuel to the already hot market for start-ups in the workspace and property tech sectors. One of the more compelling companies that stands to benefit from this trend is New York-based Convene. Started by co-founders Ryan Simonetti (CEO) and Chris Kelly (President), 500-person strong Convene has distinguished itself as a top-tier provider of meeting, event and flexible workspace offerings in its 21 locations.

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The 7 great features that will hopefully return to the MacBook Pro Oct 22, 2018

I miss the old MacBook Pro. Remember when the MacBook Pro had a good keyboard? Or an SD Card slot? Or an escape key? I miss the time when the MacBook Pro was 2mm thicker than the current version but had a full-size USB port.

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Discord’s new game store rolls out to the rest of the world today Oct 19, 2018

When Discord first launched its new built-in game store just a few weeks back, there was one big caveat: it was available to only a tiny, tiny slice of its 150M users. 50,000 of them, to be exact — all of them in Canada. Today it’s going global. Discord says that access to its store should be rolling out to the rest of the world throughout the day. Discord’s move to become a store comes just weeks after Valve overhauled the chat system in Steam.

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The new Kindle Paperwhite is thinner and waterproof Oct 19, 2018

The Voyage may be dead, but the Kindle line still has some life left in it. This time last year, Amazon upgraded the high-end Oasis model, and now the mid-range Paperwhite is getting a little love.The workhorse of the company’s devoted e-reader line just got a handful of upgrades that will give users a more premium experience, while keeping the device’s starting price at $130. Waterproofing is the most exciting among the upgrades here.

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How to download your data from Apple Oct 18, 2018

Good news! Apple now allows U.S. customers to download a copy of their data, months after rolling out the feature to EU customers. But don’t be disappointed when you get your download and find there’s almost nothing in there. Earlier this year when I requested my own data (before the portal feature rolled out), Apple sent me a dozen spreadsheets with my purchase and order history, a few iCloud logs, and some of my account information.

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No, your Twitter was not hacked Oct 17, 2018

Twitter users on iOS were hit with a strange bug today. Instead of receiving notifications that included the tweet itself, they received a string of alphanumeric characters. The issue only affected iOS users, we confirmed with the company, and has since been resolved. Twitter was quick to address the problem, following complaints from Twitter users about the weird notifications. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey posted at 12:42 PM ET today that Twitter was aware of the issue and was working on a fix.

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Winamp returns in 2019 to whip the llama’s ass harder than ever Oct 16, 2018

The charmingly outdated media player Winamp is being reinvented as a platform-agnostic mobile audio app that brings together all your music, podcasts and streaming services to a single location. It’s an ambitious relaunch, but the company behind it says it’s still all about the millions-strong global Winamp community — and as proof, the original desktop app is getting an official update as well.

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Snapchat now has cat lenses. (Yes, for your cat.) Oct 15, 2018

It’s 8:00 PM on Friday night and you’re home alone and already drunk. Oh, is that just me? Well no matter. Snapchat has made lenses for your cat now. Yes, that’s right. Your cat! This is what the internet is made for, friends. Not all that fake news and trolling. Not having to read tweets where people use words like “woke” unironically.

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The Pixel 3’s best new features Oct 15, 2018

Google unveiled a number of new products Tuesday at its big hardware event, including the Google Home Hub and Google Pixel Slate. But the Pixel 3, the company’s new smartphone was the real star. The Pixel 3, which is available in two sizes and starts at $799, comes in three colors and has a rear 12.2 megapixel camera as well as a dual front camera. What’s inside the phone is a host of new apps and features.

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Dyson’s got a $500 air-powered curling iron Oct 12, 2018

Moving air — that’s the through line across most of Dyson’s products. The vacuums, fans, hand dryers, hair driers — at their heart, they all the do the same thing. Same goes for the new Dyson Airwrap, which has figured out a way to leverage vacuum power into hair curling. Here’s how Dyson describes it, At the heart of this story comes a radical idea: harness Dyson’s digital motor to create a phenomenon known as the Coanda effect.

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Tech stocks (and the stock market) are tanking thanks to rising interest rates Oct 12, 2018

Tech stocks tanked today amid a broader stock market slide as nervous investors worried that the ten year bull run in public stocks may be coming to an end. The S&P 500 dropped 3.3 percent while Nasdaq composite index (which is the market where many of the largest U.S. tech companies are traded) lost 4% of its value, falling 315.97 points. The net result is that the hand of the market is crushing stocks and high growth technology companies are bearing the brunt of the beating.

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Apple needs a feature like Google’s Call Screen Oct 11, 2018

Google just one-upped Apple in a significant way by addressing a problem that’s plaguing U.S. cellphone owners: spam calls. The company’s new Pixel 3 flagship Android smartphone is first to introduce a new call screening feature that leverages the built-in Google Assistant. The screening service transcribes the caller’s request in real-time, allowing you to decide whether or not to pick up, and gives you a way to respond.

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Google’s latest hardware innovation: Price Oct 10, 2018

With its latest consumer hardware products, Google’s prices are undercutting Apple, Samsung, and Amazon. The search giant just unveiled its latest flagship smartphone, tablet, and smart home device and all available at prices well below their direct competitors. Where Apple and Samsung are pushing prices of its latest products even higher, Google is seemingly happy to keep prices low and this is creating a distinct advantage for the company’s products.

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Google’s Pixel phones will soon get mobile Smart Compose in Gmail Oct 10, 2018

Google today announced that its Pixel phones will soon get support for Smart Compose in Gmail. Smart Compose automatically finishes your sentences for you as you type, based on what Google knows about how you and others write similar sentences. Smart Compose can also auto-complete addresses for you. Google first launched this feature with its redesigned Gmail for the web, but it’s now bringing this to mobile, too.

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Someone recreated Apple’s new campus with 85,000 LEGO bricks and it’s excellent Oct 09, 2018

2018 has been a good year for ridiculous, gargantuan LEGO builds. Just weeks ago, there was that life size, driveable LEGO Bugatti. Now someone has gone and built a mega-sized recreation of Apple’s new Cupertino “spaceship” campus – otherwise known as Apple Park. Coming in at roughly 85,000 pieces, the build took designer Spencer_R a little over two years to complete, with many of those hours spent poring over drone footage of the campus’ construction. At 6.8×4.

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Most iOS devices now run iOS 12 according to Mixpanel’s data Oct 09, 2018

Analytics company Mixpanel is currently tracking the install base of iOS 12. And the latest version of iOS is quite popular as it’s already installed on roughly 47.6 percent of all iOS devices. 45.6 percent of devices still run iOS 11, and 6.9 percent of iOS users run an older version. Adoption rate is an important metric for app developers. With major iOS releases, Apple also releases new frameworks.

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Banksy piece immediately shreds itself after being sold for $1.25M Oct 08, 2018

In what might be the most ridiculous stunt ever pulled in the art world, a Banksy piece has, in a sense, self-destructed. Right in front of an audience of would-be buyers. A framed canvas version of Banksy’s Girl with Balloon was set to be auctioned at Sothebys in London. As the auction came to a close with a final bid of £953,829 (a little over $1.25 million), the print’s frame began… beeping. Then, whirring.

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Elon’s sick burn, Coinbase funding rumors, and VC hiring trends Oct 08, 2018

Hello and welcome back toEquity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week was a treat. We had Danny Crichton in the studio. We had Connie Loizos in the studio. I was in the studio. And our guest, the excellentAndy McLoughlin, a partner at UnCork Capital, was in the studio as well.

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Elon Musk is trolling the SEC on Twitter Oct 05, 2018

Tesla CEO Elon Musk trolled the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in a tweet Thursday afternoon, poking the bear that just days before had agreed to settle securities fraud charges against the billionaire entrepreneur. The tweet, sent out at 1:16 pm PT Thursday, says: “Just want to that the Shortseller Enrichment Commission is doing incredible work. And the name change is so on point!” The SEC declined to comment. Tesla has not yet responded to a request for comment.

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Jon Favreau’s new Star Wars streaming series will be called “The Mandalorian” Oct 05, 2018

We’ve known for a few months now that Jon Favreau was working on a live-action Star Wars series for Disney’s upcoming (but as of yet unnamed) streaming service. But that’s about all we knew. Until now! Favreau just dropped a few huge details out of nowhere. In a surprise Instagram post, Favreau mentioned: It’s at least tentatively called “The Mandalorian”. For the unfamiliar, Mandalorians are a group of warriors in the Star Wars universe.

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MasterClass, the education platform featuring all-star instructors, will soon teach you how to run for office, too Oct 04, 2018

In 2015, the San Francisco-based education platform MasterClass was founded with an express mission to provide everyone access to “genius,” whether it be in filmmaking, directing, book writing, cooking, tennis, basketball, comedy, acting, screenwriting, photography — even producing electronic music.

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Here are the newest additions to Microsoft’s Surface line Oct 03, 2018

Want excitement? Here’s something approaching that. Today’s Microsoft October event wasn’t exactly a blockbuster, but product lead Panos Panay did mention that this is the most new Surface products the company has crammed into one event. There was a lot of stuff to get through in the hour or so — though the majority of the announcements were spec bumps to existing products.

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The 2019 BMW i3 now has 153 miles of range thanks to a bigger battery Oct 03, 2018

The 2019 BMW i3 now has 153 miles of range thanks to a bigger battery The BMW i3 is getting an upgraded battery — plus a bunch of other improvements —that will give the 2019 model about 153 miles of range. That’s roughly a 30% improvement from the previous model. The boost in range is noteworthy, yet it still lags behind theChevy Bolt and the Tesla Model S, Model X and Model 3 vehicles. And it’s only a smidge better than the much cheaper Nissan Leaf.

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Best Buy stocked an unannounced Chromecast ahead of Google’s hardware event Oct 02, 2018

Google’s big hardware event, scheduled for October 9, is expected to feature the newPixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL phones. But now we know that Google will probably reveal a third-generation model of Chromecast, thanks to one recent Best Buy customer who discovered the device on store shelves. Whoops. “GroveStreetHomie” detailed his experience on a Reddit post entitled “I think I bought the 3rd gen Chromecast too early.

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SoftBank pays big, SurveyMonkey goes public and JUUL’s next step Oct 02, 2018

Hello and welcome back toEquity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week on Equity, the gang was back together. We had the ever-excellent Connie Loizos on hand, along with TechCrunch’s Danny Crichton, and myself, on loan from Crunchbase News. Even better we had Iris Choi on the show. When she’s not hanging out with us for the pod, she’s a partner at Floodgate.

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Betterment keeps growing as fintech competitors rise Oct 01, 2018

Betterment, which Barron’s recently declared the largest independent online financial adviser, is betting that the future of online investing includes a blend of robot and human advisers. And the plan is working, according to chief executive Jon Stein. However, incumbents like Vanguard have leveraged existing strengths to move in to the market, and other startups like Robinhood have carved out swathes of the fast-growing market.

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This is the Razer Phone 2 Oct 01, 2018

Remember phone reveals? Once upon a time, companies were able to save a little for the event. These days, however, we nearly always know exactly what we’re getting ourselves into. Due to be announced next month, the second iteration of Razer’s gaming-centric handset is no different. Bits and pieces of the forthcoming phone have already surfaced, but today’s latest leaks give us the clearest picture thus far. From an aesthetic standpoint, not a lot has changed.

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Juul, the popular e-cig startup under growing FDA scrutiny, says removing flavors is “on the table” among other things Sep 28, 2018

Juul has been on an incredible, and in some ways, nightmarish, ride this year. The three-year-old, San Francisco-based company has handily won 75 percent of the e-cigarette market in the U.S., thanks in large part to the sleek design of its nicotine vaporizer. It is reportedly on track to see at least $1 billion in revenue this year. And the company — which now employs 1,100 people, up from 225 at the start of the year — has capital to invest in its business, having sealed up a $1.

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Coinbase now lets users buy ‘bundles’ and launches its own index for the top 50 coins Sep 28, 2018

Coinbase is shaking things up quite a bit lately and its latest tools are geared toward cryptocurrency traders just getting their toes wet. On Thursday, the company announced that it would add a feature called Coinbase Bundle. The new offering lets users purchase a market-weighted sampling of Coinbase’s five available cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ethereum Classic.

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Star Wars: Vader Immortal is a virtual reality game coming in 2019 Sep 27, 2018

Few properties seem better suited to tap VR than Star Wars, if only because… you know, lightsabers. And Lucasfilm knows it. They’ve just announced Star Wars: Vader Immortal — a three part, at-home experience that’ll launch on Oculus’ just announced standalone Quest headset. Alas, there’s not much to go on besides the name, a quick teaser trailer, and that it’s launching sometime in 2019.

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Product Hunt Radio: Finding the world’s lost Einsteins and putting an end to aging Sep 27, 2018

In this episode of Product Hunt Radio I’m joined by two incredible people, Laura Deming and Daniel Gross, that have accomplished more before the age of 30 than most people have realized in a lifetime. Laura grew up in New Zealand and came to San Francisco when she was only 12 years old to join a lab studying aging. She was accepted to MIT at 14 before leaving to form Longevity Fund, a venture capital firm investing in companies aimed to help us all live longer and healthier lives.

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Google launches its group planning feature for Maps Sep 26, 2018

Earlier this year, Google announced its revamped Google Maps, which puts a stronger emphasis on discovery. Some of the features the company announced back then have already launched, including many of the promiseddiscovery and exploration tools, but the one feature that was still missing was group planning. But you won’t have to wait much longer to collaboratively plan your outings with friends in Google Maps because today, these collaboration tools are finally launching.

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GoPro shakes up its entire camera line Sep 26, 2018

GoPro delivered a big refresh of its cameras today with a lot of new product names but not quite as many hardware updates as we’ve seen in past updates. The new lineup from GoPro is definitely less confusing from a branding perspective. The Hero7 White, Silver and Black will cost $199, $299 and $399 respectively. Unlike past years, the company will be discontinuing the previous generations rather than just dropping the price.

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Amazon’s Fire TV Recast will let you record live TV, stream it anywhere Sep 25, 2018

Amazon’s Fire TV Recast will let you record live TV, stream it anywhere Amazon this morning introduced a new device called the Fire TV Recast that works with Fire TV and other devices to allow you to record live TV through a connected digital antenna.

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Mithril Capital Management, cofounded by Ajay Royan and Peter Thiel, is leaving the Bay Area Sep 25, 2018

From its glass-lined offices in San Francisco’s leafy Presidio national park, six-year-old Mithril Capital Management has happily flown under the radar. Now it’s leaving altogether and relocating its team to Austin, a spot that has “enough critical mass of a technical culture, an artisanal culture, an artistic culture, and [is] not necessarily looking to Silicon Valley for validation,” says firm cofounder Ajay Royan. The move isn’t a complete surprise.

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Eventbrite goes public, and everyone else is raising hella money Sep 24, 2018

Hello and welcome back toEquity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week we worked with an (excellent) skeleton crew. Our own Connie Loizos held down the fort with a guest that knew quite a lot: March Capital’sJamie Montgomery. There was a healthy blizzard of news to get through, so Connie and Jamie plowed ahead. Up top, the Eventbrite IPO was big news.

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Jamie Burke to explain why you should still bet on the blockchain at Disrupt Berlin Sep 21, 2018

Jamie Burke to explain why you should still bet on the blockchain at Disrupt Berlin Now that your cousin doesn’t ask you questions about bitcoin anymore, is it the end of all things blockchain? Maybe it just means that it’s time to think about innovating at the protocol level and come up with new use cases. That’s why I’m excited to announce that Outlier Ventures CEO and founder Jamie Burke will join us at TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin.

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Nintendo is offering an exclusive Fortnite bundle with the Switch Sep 21, 2018

Fortnite has taken the world by storm. In fact, the game is so popular that Epic has released versions for PC, Xbox, PS4, iOS, Android and the Nintendo Switch, making the game about as accessible as possible. The popularity of the game stems from the general popularity of the Battle Royale genre and popular streamers like Ninja, who have made the game so much fun to watch. But it also comes from the fun, and often fleeting, skins, dances and pick axes the game offers in its Item Shop.

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The Punkt MP02 inches closer to what a minimalist phone ought to be Sep 20, 2018

There’s an empty space in my heart for a minimalist phone with only the most basic functions. Bad for my heart, but good for a handful of companies putting out devices aiming to fill it. Punkt’s latest, the MP02, goes a little ways to making the device I desire, but it isn’t quite there yet. Punkt’s first device included just texting and calling, which would likely have worked as intended if not for the inconvenient choice to have it connect only to 2G networks.

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Solving the mystery of sleep Sep 20, 2018

Alice Lloyd George Contributor Alice Lloyd George is an investor at RRE Ventures and the host of Flux, a series of podcast conversations with leaders in frontier technology. More posts by this contributor A conversation with Dean Kamen on the myth of “Eureka!” Behind the scenes with Tezos, a new blockchain upstart Below are excerpts from the most recent episode of the Flux podcast hosted by RRE Ventures principal Alice Lloyd George.

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Kayak’s new AR feature will tell you if your carry-on bag fits the overhead bin Sep 19, 2018

Kayak’s new AR feature will tell you if your carry-on bag fits the overhead bin Popular travel app Kayak has put augmented reality to clever use with a new feature that lets you measure the size of your carry-on bag using just your smartphone. Its updated iOS app now takes advantage of Apple’s ARKit technology to introduce a new Bag Measurement tool that will help you calculate your bag’s size so you can find out if it fits in the overhead bin – you know, before your trip.

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How the Audi e-tron compares to the Tesla Model X and Jaguar I-Pace Sep 18, 2018

Audi just announced its first production electric vehicle. Called the e-tron, the EV is a mid-size SUV loaded with technology with an unofficial range of over 300 miles. It’s nicely equipped, and with a starting price of $74,800, it sits between the Jaguar I-Pace and the Tesla Model X. The e-tron is most similar to the Jaguar I-Pace though the Audi is slightly better equipped. The e-tron packs a 95 kWh battery over the Jaguar’s 90 kWh battery.

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In VC fund creation, have we passed the peak? Sep 18, 2018

Jason Rowley Contributor Jason Rowley is a venture capital and technology reporter for Crunchbase News. More posts by this contributor Supergiant VC rounds aren’t just raised in China July sets a record for number of $100M+ venture capital rounds In venture capital, a variant on the Glengarry Glen Ross mandate is most fund managers’ modus operandi: Always. Be. Raising. And it seems like VCs have picked up on that.

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The new iPhone’s here, so Google wants to talk Pixel 3 Sep 17, 2018

The new iPhone’s here, so Google wants to talk Pixel 3 In the off-chance you haven’t already had your fill of phone news for the week, Google just offered up a few friendly reminders that it’s got its own handset coming out in the not so distant future. The company’s event isn’t happening until early next month, but Google’s started with the teasers.

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Former Uber exec alleges ex-PR chief ‘destroyed his reputation’ Sep 14, 2018

A nasty legal battle is set to play out between two former Uber executives. Eric Alexander, the ride-hailing company’s formerpresident of business in Asia-Pacific, has filed suitagainst former Uber PR chief Rachel Whetstone . Alexander blames Whetstone for his firing from Uber in June 2017, claiming her “grossly misleading statements” both internally at Uber and to the media, “destroyed his reputation.

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iPhone XS Max up close and hands-on Sep 14, 2018

The most remarkable thing about the iPhone XS Max is that it doesn’t feel huge. It’s all relative, of course. And surely Apple’s old guard would have scoffed at the notion of a 6.5-inch display. But time marches on. Seasons change and so do minds. Temperatures increase, superhero movies pile up and screen sizes increase, unabated. Much of the perception no doubt comes from the rest of the industry pushing the limits of human hands and pants pockets.

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Apple is releasing iOS 12 on September 17th Sep 13, 2018

Even if you don’t plan on buying a new iPhone, you’ll be able to get a bunch of new features next week. Apple plans on releasing iOS 12, the next major version of iOS, on Tuesday, September 17th. As always, iOS 12 will be available as a free download. If your iPhone or iPad runs iOS 11, you’ll be able to update to iOS 12 as Apple plans to keep supporting all existing iOS 11 devices. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s new in iOS 12.

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Here are the prices of the iPhone XS, XS Max and XR Sep 13, 2018

Apple just unveiled brand new phones. The iPhone XS and XS Max are the two new flagship devices, replacing the iPhone X. The iPhone XR is replacing the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus with Face ID and an edge-to-edge design. And maybe you were waiting for this press conference to buy a new smartphone. So here’s a quick rundown of how much you’re going to pay for those devices. The iPhone XS is are available with 64GB, 256GB or 512GB of storage for $999, $1,149 or $1,349.

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A top-tier app in Apple’s Mac App Store will steal your browser history Sep 12, 2018

A popular top-tier app in Apple’s Mac App Store was found pilfering browser histories from anyone who downloads it. Yet still, at the time of writing, the rogue app — the number one grossing paid app in one of the app store’s most popular categories — remains, which TechCrunch confirmed. But Apple was warned weeks ago and did nothing to pull the app offline.

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High-lights from Elon Musk’s interview with Joe Rogan Sep 12, 2018

Elon Musk made an appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience, a podcast hosted by the eponymous comedian, where the pair smoked a blunt and pondered the flat-Earth movement, the future of AI, “inventing shit” and several other of the eccentric billionaire’s favorite topics. The now-viral interview, which was live-streamed to thousands of viewers, was immediately followed by two high-profile executive departures at Tesla.

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Unbound makes pleasure fashionable Sep 11, 2018

Unboundfounders Polly Rodriguez and Sarah Jayne Kinney have long and varied careers. Rodriguez worked for U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill on Capitol Hill before heading to Deloitte Consulting and dating startup Grouper. Kinney was a graduate of University of Cincinnati worked at Puma and then at Esquire and O, Oprah’s magazine. She worked shooting products for fashion houses in New York. The duo met in 2014. Now they make fashion-forward vibrators.

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What to expect from next week’s big iPhone event Sep 11, 2018

It’s been a slow year for Apple hardware. The company has traditionally done a good job spreading announcements throughout the calendar, but aside from an iPad event in Chicago and a MacBook refresh a few months back, there’s been little news out of the company. Even this summer’s WWDC was utterly devoid of hardware news. All that’s about to change at the big show being held next week at Steve Jobs Theater on the company’s new space-age Cupertino campus.

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Slack is having connection issues again (Update: It’s back) Sep 10, 2018

This is officially a trend. This afternoon, Slack reported connectivity issues through its official status channel. We can confirm. Roughly half of our messages are going through. And yes, it’s super duper annoying. We're very sorry for the interruption. We're currently investigating connectivity problems, and we're working as quickly as we can to get everything back to normal. Thanks for bearing with us. https://t.

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Eventbrite sets IPO range of $19 to $21, valuing it at $1.8B Sep 10, 2018

Eventbrite sets IPO range of $19 to $21, valuing it at $1.8B Eventbrite has taken its final step toward becoming a publicly traded company. In an updated S-1 filing this morning, the ticketing and events company announced plans to sell 10 million Class A shares on the New York Stock Exchange at a price range of $19 to $21 under the ticker symbol EB. At a midpoint price, Eventbrite will raise $200 million at a $1.8 billion valuation.

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Twitter brings Bookmarks to the web with a new design, now in testing Sep 07, 2018

Twitter is testing a new experience for web users, the company announced in a tweet on Thursday. A small number of Twitter users will see the updated version of Twitter for web, which will include access to Twitter’s Bookmarks feature, and scrolling through Twitter’s Explore section, the tweet said and a spokesperson confirmed.

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The JBL Eon One Pro is a powered sound system for speakers and performers Sep 07, 2018

As a speaker I often find myself mumbling into a microphone with little thought about the sound system powering it. While most PAs are massive affairs requiring a soundboard operator and lots of wiring, I’ve also had to hoot into portable PAs, a practice I rarely relish.

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Girlboss’ and Nasty Gal’s Sophia Amoruso on picking yourself up after failure Sep 06, 2018

At Disrupt SF 2018, Girlboss CEO Sophia Amoruso sat down with former TechCrunch co-editor Alexia Bonatsos to talk about the success of Girlboss and the failure of Nasty Gal, Amoruso’s failed retail startup. Nasty Gal shut down in 2016 — and even without that, it would’ve been a hard year for Amoruso. “So in 2016, in a six-month period, I was on the cover of Forbes and then a month later, my husband of a year left me,” she said.

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Skype rolls back its redesign by ditching stories, squiggles and over-the-top color Sep 06, 2018

Just over a year after Skype introduced a colorful, Snapchat-inspired makeover which included its own version of “stories,” the company says it’s now going to refocus on simplicity – and it’s ditching stories along the way. The redesign had been met with a lot of backlash. Skype had clearly wanted to appeal to a more youthful demographic with its update, but in doing so, it cluttered the user experience with features no one had asked for or needed.

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Mercedes-Benz unveils the EQC to kick off $12 billion electric offensive Sep 05, 2018

Mercedes-Benz unveiled Tuesday the EQC, an all-electric crossover that kicks off the German automaker’s plans to invest more than $12 billion to produce a line of battery-powered models under its new EQ brand. The automaker plans to invest another $1.2 billion in global battery production, Daimler AG Chairman and Mercedes-Benz CEO Dieter Zetsche said. The Mercedes EQC, which is expected to go on sale in the U.S.

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DJI Mavic 2 review Sep 05, 2018

The Mavic Pro was a revelation. It wasn’t a perfect product, to be sure, but it represented a new paradigm for DJI and the consumer drone industry in general. It was compact, folding up into a nice, portable package, while still being portable enough to shove into a backpack. It was also the beginning of a new line for the company, paving the way for the Mavic Airand Spark — both even more portable than their predecessor.

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User’s Guide to Disrupt SF 2018 Sep 04, 2018

Disrupt SF (Sept 5-7) approaches with just a few days until things kick off. We have an all-star lineup that only TechCrunch can assemble, and we’re expecting our largest number of attendees yet. Check out our star-packed agenda here, and keep reading to find out everything you need to make for a stellar conference experience.

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Box builds a digital hub to help fight content fragmentation Sep 03, 2018

The interconnectedness of the cloud has allowed us to share content widely with people inside and outside the organization and across different applications, but that ability has created a problem of its own, a kind of digital fragmentation. How do you track how that piece of content is being used across a range of cloud services? It’s a problem Box wants to solve with its latest features, Activity Stream and Recommended Apps.

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This is Google’s Titan security key Aug 31, 2018

Googleisn’t one to shy away from bold claims. “We have had no reported or confirmed account takeovers since implementing security keys at Google,” a spokesperson told TechCrunch. And it’s probably true. Think of a security key as like a two-factor authentication code that’ssent to your phone — but instead a USB stick in your pocket.

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SurveyMonkey files for NASDAQ IPO Aug 30, 2018

SurveyMonkey, which helps businesses gather feedback through its survey platform, has submitted paperwork to the SEC for its upcoming NASDAQ public offering. The company plans to raise $100 million in the IPO, per the filing, though that’s likely a placeholder amount. The company, which will list under the symbol SVMK, has yet to price its shares. Most recently, SurveyMonkey brought in $250 million from Tiger Global, ICONIQ Capital and Social+Capital Partnership.

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WeTransfer is getting weird… Aug 30, 2018

What do you do if you’re a European startup competing against the likes of Box and Dropbox, and are looking to make a splash in international markets like the U.S.? Well, if you’re the Dutch startup WeTransfer (which raised a cool $25 million about three years ago to take the U.S. market by storm), you get weird. Really, really, avant garde-level weird. WeTransfer, Funky Dutch Cousin Of Dropbox And Box, Gets $25M To Go Large In The U.S.

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Nest’s door lock will soon play nice with Google Home Aug 29, 2018

Back in March, Nest and Yale teamed up to release a smart door lock to complement Nest’s then brand-new video doorbell. It’s a solid piece of hardware, but it had a curious quirk for something made under Google’s watch: it didn’t work with Google Home or Google Assistant. That’ll change later this week. On August 29th, the lock will be getting an update that adds Google Assistant and Home support to bring a handful of voice-powered tricks into the mix.

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Yes, Slack is having connectivity issues again (Update: It’s back) Aug 29, 2018

No, it’s not just you. Yes, Slack is having connectivity issues yet again. Though this time, they seem a bit less pronounced. I know we’re having some problems off and on, with different channels appearing offline. For the most part, however, communication is still up, so you probably won’t be able to convince your boss to take the rest of the day off. Sorry. We're investigating the cause of connectivity issues affecting all users. Thanks for your patience. https://t.

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The filmmakers behind ‘Searching’ know why you’re skeptical about computer screen movies Aug 28, 2018

If you’re not sure about watching a whole movie where your point-of-view is limited to computer and smartphone screens, you’re not alone — “Searching” filmmakers Aneesh Chaganty and Sev Ohanian told me they had very similar reservations.

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Mass shooting at Madden Championship Series event in Florida leaves several dead Aug 27, 2018

At least eleven people have been shot and four people were killed in a mass shooting attack at a livestream event debuting the new “Madden NFL 19” game at an arcade in Jacksonville, Fla., according to local news reports. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s office confirmed on Twitter that one suspect was dead at the scene and the police were still investigating.

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Zoox loses its CEO, Eventbrite is going public, and megarounds for Slack, One Medical, and Getaround Aug 27, 2018

Hello and welcome back toEquity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week we had a full house which was super great. TechCrunch’s Connie Loizos and Sarah Buhr held down the fort in San Francisco along with our guest, Susan Mac Cormac, a partner at Morrison Foerster where she works on some of the most interesting deals in the private capital space. I dialed in from the home office in Providence.

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AWS cuts in half the price of most of its Lightsail virtual private servers Aug 24, 2018

AWS cuts in half the price of most of its Lightsail virtual private servers AWS Lightsail, which launched in 2016, is Amazon’s answer to the rise of Digital Ocean, OVH and other affordable virtual private server (VPS) players. Lightsail started as a pretty basic service, but over the course of the last two years, AWS added features like block storage, Windows support and additional regions.

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Zoox CEO and co-founder Tim Kentley-Klay is out Aug 24, 2018

Tim Kentley-Klay, the co-founder and CEO of secretive self-driving vehicle company Zoox, was fired suddenly Wednesday by the company’s board. Kentley-Klay’s departure was firstreported by The Information, which cited an unnamed source. Kentley-Klay later tweeted a statement confirming that he had been fired by the board. Kentley-Klay and Zoox could not be reached for comment. TechCrunch will update the story as it develops. Cheers to the most legendary crew, ever. pic.twitter.

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The Palette 2 lets any 3D printer output color Aug 23, 2018

The Mosaic Manufacturing Palette 2 – an upgrade the original Palette – is a self-contained system for full color 3D printing. It works by cutting and splicing multiple filament colors and then feeding them through as the object is printed. The system uses a unique and internal cutter called the Splice Core that measures and cuts filament as it prints, ensuring the incoming filament can change colors quickly and easily.

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HI, TECHCRUNCH HERE WITH AN AMAZING NEW PRODUCT, BRIZZLY Aug 22, 2018

Are you trying to stay off social media, but just can’t seem to stop yourself from posting? When random thoughts pop into your head, do you find yourself launching Twitter and typing before you remember you’re trying to quit? Well, now there’s a better way. Hello, Brizzly. Brizzly is a revolutionary new app designed just for social media quitters. With Brizzly, you can satisfy your over-sharing urges with its all-natural social media substitute.

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Streaming TV services now reach 5% of U.S. Wi-Fi households, up 58% since last year Aug 22, 2018

Streaming TV services now reach 5% of U.S. Wi-Fi households, up 58% since last year The number of U.S. households watching streaming TV services – those that deliver cable TV-like programming over the internet – has grown a remarkable 58% over last year, according to new data from comScore. However, these services still account for a small portion of the overall market, as only 5 percent (4.9 million) of U.S. households with Wi-Fi streamed TV over one of these services in April 2018.

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Global unicorn exits hit multi-year high in 2018 Aug 21, 2018

Joanna Glasner Contributor More posts by this contributor Boston-area startups are on pace to overtake NYC venture totals While tech waffles on going public, biotech IPOs boom Unicorn exits are taking flight. With the IPO window wide open, an apparent record number of venture-backed companies privately valued over $1 billion have launched public offerings this year.

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6 million users had installed third-party Twitter clients Aug 21, 2018

Twitter tried to downplay the impact deactivating its legacy APIs would have on its community and the third-party Twitter clients preferred by many power users by saying that “less than 1%” of Twitter developers were using these old APIs. Twitter is correct in its characterization of the size of this developer base, but it’s overlooking millions of third-party app users in the process.

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Kiiroo launches an adventure in bi-directional teledildonics Aug 20, 2018

In the future everyone will be naked for fifteen minutes. It’s with this novel thought in mind that I connect with a model named Nazanin who will walk me through the new world of bi-directional teledildonic cam life. I was there to test a new device from Kiiroo called the Kiiroo Launch. This novel sex jar connects with a Flashlight – essentially a masturbator – and can send and receive signals from a remote dildo.

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Taking Tesla private, WeWork and Uber earnings, and what happened to crypto Aug 20, 2018

Hello and welcome back toEquity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week was a corker. We had Alex Wilhelm in-studio with ourguest Minal Hasan, founder of K2 Global, and TechCrunch’s Danny Chriton jumped in from New York to help the crew dig through the biggest and best stuff from the last seven days. It’s been busy, to say the least.

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What AR/VR/XR needs to go big Aug 17, 2018

Tim Merel Contributor Tim Merel is managing director of Digi-Capital. More posts by this contributor China could beat America in AR/VR long-term Ubiquitous AR to dominate focused VR by 2022 AR/VR/XR are going to be big, but not everyone will win. Today’s market is a collection of related point solutions to specific problems, but not a fully functioning ecosystem. Not yet.

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Twitter company email addresses why it’s #BreakingMyTwitter Aug 17, 2018

It’s hard to be a fan of Twitter right now. The company is sticking up for conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, when nearly all other platforms have given him the boot, it’s overrun with bots, and now it’s breaking users’ favorite third-party Twitter clients like Tweetbot and Twitterificby shutting off APIs these apps relied on. Worse still, is that Twitter isn’t taking full responsibility for its decisions.

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Y Combinator is launching a startup program in China Aug 16, 2018

U.S. accelerator Y Combinator is expandingto China after it announced the hiring of former Microsoft and Baidu executive Qi Lu who will develop a standalone startup program that runs on Chinese soil. Shanghai-born Lu spent 11 years with Yahoo and eight years with Microsoft before a short spell with Baidu, where he was COO and head of the firm’s AI research division. Now he becomes founding CEO of YC China while he’s also stepping into the role of Head of YC Research.

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Black Ops 4 Battle Royale beta to go live on September 10 Aug 16, 2018

As summer comes to a close and the leaves begin to brown, the gaming world goes through its own sort of transition. A handful of new titles prep for launch, including Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. But unlike previous CoD titles, Black Ops 4 represents a counter-attack on the world’s biggest game, Fortnite Battle Royale. For the first time, Call of Duty is ditching a campaign and opting to introduce a new Battle Royale mode to the first-person shooter.

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Gaming star Ninja sparks outrage by refusing to stream with women Aug 15, 2018

At a Samsung event last week, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins explained why he doesn’t stream with female gamers. “If I have one conversation with one female streamer where we’re playing with one another, and even if there’s a hint of flirting, that is going to be taken and going to be put on every single video and be clickbait forever,” said Ninja, who is married, in an interview with Polygon. As you might expect, this stance was met with plenty of backlash.

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Trulia crowdsources neighborhood reviews so you won’t regret your move Aug 15, 2018

Trulia, the online real estate site owned by its former rival Zillow, wants to give you a better idea of what a certain neighborhood feels like before you move there.

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Voatz: a tale of a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad idea Aug 14, 2018

Let’s get the fish in the barrel out of the way. Voatz are a tech startup whose bright idea was to disrupt democracy by having people vote on their phone, and store the votes on, you guessed it, a blockchain. Does this sound like a bad idea? Welp. It turned out that they seemed awfully casual about basic principles of software security, such as not hard-coding your AWS credentials. It turned out that their blockchain was an eight-node Hyperledger install, i.e.

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NASA’s Parker Solar Probe launches tonight to “touch the sun” Aug 14, 2018

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe launches tonight to “touch the sun” If you think it's hot on Earth right now... NASA’s ambitious mission to go closer to the Sun than ever before is set to launch in the small hours between Friday and Saturday — at 3:33 AM Eastern from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, to be precise.

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Grand Seiko is an homage to watchmaking’s past Aug 13, 2018

The 1960s were a beautiful time for watches. Horlogy was in its prime and the great names we know and love today – Rolex, Omega, Cartier – were just one of many watchmakers churning out commodity products to a world that needed to tell the time. Their watches – simple, elegant, and mechanically complex – were the ultimate in mechanical efficiency and design and no one did it quite as well as Seiko.

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Slack raises, Dropbox and Snap report earnings, and Magic Leap is real Aug 13, 2018

Hello and welcome back toEquity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week Matthew Lynley and Alex Wilhelm were joined by 500 Startups CEOChristine Tsaifor what turned out to be a super packed episode. We kicked off with the latest from Slack: $400 million new dollars at a shiny, new $7 billion valuation,according to TechCrunch.

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Sony’s 10â€³ Digital Paper Tablet is an ultra-light reading companion that needs to do more Aug 10, 2018

Last year I had a good time comparing Sony’s DPT-RP1 with the home-grown reMarkable. They both had their strengths and weaknesses, and one of the Sony’s was that the thing was just plain big. They’ve remedied that with a much smaller sibling, the DPT-CP1, and it’s just as useful as I expected. Which is to say: in a very specific way. Sony’s e-paper tablets are single-minded little gadgets: all they do is let you read and lightly mark up PDFs.

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Samsung’s 512GB Galaxy Note 9 costs $1,250 Aug 10, 2018

Remember those rumors that Samsung would be working to keep costs of its new flagships at reasonable levels? Yeah, no such luck, bucko. The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 starts at $999.95. That will get you the base-level model, with an admittedly generous 128GB of storage and 6GB of RAM. The next SKU up will really make the eyeballs pop out of your head like a Tex Avery cartoon, however.

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Elon Musk tweets he’s thinking about taking Tesla private Aug 09, 2018

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is thinking about taking the company private, he said in a Tweet this morning. More specifically, he said he may buy back the company for $82 billion (at a share price of $420 plus debt), and already has the funding to do so. Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 7, 2018 I’ve reached out to Tesla — given that this could just be Musk trolling all of us — and will update this story if I hear back.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 review Aug 09, 2018

IDC’s latest tablet numbers tell a familiar story. Shipments are down yet again, a trend that shows no sign of abating. There is, however, one clear bright spot in all of this, bucking the trend. Quarter after quarter, convertibles have continued to grow, as users have demanded more productivity than is traditionally possible with slates. It’s no surprise, then, that Apple, Microsoft, Google and Samsung are all vying for mindshare.

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Edifier’s S350DB speakers: modern sound with an old-school style Aug 08, 2018

Let’s be honest, if you use a receiver as the hub of your home entertainment system, you probably only use about a quarter of the buttons, dials and inputs on it, at most. Not everyone needs all the bells and whistles of a receiver-driven surround sound system. For those looking to get their sound with a considerably smaller footprint, 2.1 powered systems consisting of a pair of bookshelf speakers and a subwoofer are just the ticket, and Edifier‘s $300 S350DB is solid option.

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Clear for beer: Biometrics provider now enables alcohol purchases at Seahawks and Mariners games Aug 07, 2018

Clear, the biometrics company you’ve probably seen at airports and at a few other prominent queues, is rolling out the capability to simultaneously verify your ID and pay for an alcoholic drink with your fingerprint. It’s only at Seattle’s CenturyLink and Safeco Fields (and only a handful of concessions stands at those) but if it’s successful you can bet we’ll be seeing more of it. That makes it the first time in the U.S.

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15 names that would have been better than Android Pie Aug 07, 2018

15 names that would have been better than Android Pie Let’s say, hypothetically, that you make a mobile operating system, and somewhere along the line, you decided whimsically to name major updates after alphabetical dessert foods. What a fun idea! Sure, some letters will prove harder than others. “K” and “O” are admittedly tough, but that’s nothing that little bit of clever cross-branding can’t fix.

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The greedy ways Apple got to $1 trillion Aug 06, 2018

For being the richest company ever with $243 billion in cash, Apple sure cuts corners in the stingiest ways. The hardware giant became the first trillion-dollar company week. Yet it’s tough to reconcile Apple earning $11 billion in profit per quarter with it still screwing us over on cords and keyboards. The “it just works” philosophy has slipped through the cracks of the money-printing machine.

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Cisco buys Duo, Brandless raises $240M, and Apple broaches $1T Aug 06, 2018

Hello and welcome back toEquity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week TechCrunch’s Matthew Lynley and Crunchbase News’s Alex Wilhelm were joined byJyoti Bansal, the founder of AppDynamics and a partner at Unusual Ventures, among other startupwork. Our own Connie Loizos was off this week. This episode was effectively a news grab-bag.

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Tim Cook to Apple staff: $1TR in shareholder value isn’t what drives us Aug 03, 2018

How should you feel to know your employer is far, far richer than Croesus? As Apple CEO Tim Cook tells it — in a memo to staff, obtained by BuzzFeed News, re: yesterday’s news that the computer company Steve Jobs founded back in 1976 is now worth more than $1,000,000,000,000 — you should feel A) pretty stoked that your labor has helped achieve a significant financial milestone but also B) know it’s not a success metric to get hung up about because it’s the passion for innovation and creation (not the towering mounds of gold) that really counts and so C) please,...

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Can Electronauts help make VR more social? Aug 02, 2018

Virtual reality is an isolating experience. You power it up, strap the headset on and just sort of drift off into your own world. But maybe that doesn’t have to be the case. Maybe there’s a way to slip into a virtual world and still interact with your surroundings. Electronauts presents an interesting example.

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iOS beta hints at dual SIM iPhone Aug 02, 2018

Apple released the fifth beta of iOS 12 a few days ago. 9to5mac discovered strings in configuration files that reference dual SIM devices. You should expect at least one new iPhone model with two SIM trays. Apple is said to unveil three new iPhone models in September. In addition to an updated iPhone X, the company should announce a bigger second generation “iPhone X Plus”. Apple also plans to bring the notch to more devices with a replacement to the iPhone 8.

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Sorry guys, even Elon Musk can’t fix MoviePass… Aug 01, 2018

Well, Elon Musk sure had a good run at fixing the world’s pressing problems. Stuff like climate change — with those fancy electric sports cars, built in a fancy tent. Or those fancysolar roof tiles. (Fancy rockets aren’t really a ‘fix’ at this point but he’s thinking about the extraterrestrial future of humanity, okay.

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Google’s Clock app can now wake you up with music from Spotify Aug 01, 2018

You probably never think about the Google Clock app on your Android phone. And unless you are one of those happy early risers, it’s not exactly an app that brings you joy. But every day, it wakes you right on time, with either some annoying chirps or other sounds that, over time, will stress you out. But stress no more. Google today launched an update to the Clock app that now lets you choose any song or playlist from Spotify to wake you up. This works for any Android phone running Android 5.

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This is what the next iPhone could look like Jul 31, 2018

Several dummy units of future iPhone models have leaked over the weekend. It gives a good idea of what you should expect to see in September when Apple introduces the next iPhone. Most likely, the iPhones on these photos aren’t actual iPhones. They are just dummy units. Every year, a few manufacturers create objects that look exactly like future iPhones. They are based on leaked design schematics and usually look just like the real thing.

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Google Assistant can now do things automatically at a scheduled time Jul 31, 2018

Back at Google I/O, Google announced two new features for Google Assistant: custom routines, and schedules. Both focusing on automating things you do regularly, but in different ways. The first lets you trigger multiple commands with a single custom phrase — like saying “Hey Google, I’m awake” to unsilence your phone, turn on the lights, and read the news.

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Tesla is making a $1500… surfboard? Jul 30, 2018

Tesla is no stranger to branded merch. Its got the standard company swag — the hats, the shirts, and the mugs. It’s got quirkier stuff, like miniature Teslas for kids and USB chargers shaped like the Superchargers that juice up their vehicles.

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Almost sold out — buy a ticket to TechCrunch Summer Party at August Capital Jul 30, 2018

Tickets to theTechCrunch Summer Party at August Capitalare on the verge of selling out. If you want to attend our 13th annual summer fete on July 27, there’s no time to waste. Reserve your ticket right now. This event draws an incredible mix of Silicon Valley’s startup community — a who’s who of founders, investors, tech makers, movers and shakers.

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Facebook officially loses $123 billion in value Jul 27, 2018

In what could be the biggest one-day drop of all time, Facebook shares opened at $174.89, down 19.6 percent compared to yesterday’s closing price of $217.50 (NASDAQ:FB). When it comes to market capitalization, Facebook was worth $629.6 billion yesterday. The company is now worth $506.2. In other words, Facebook has lost $123.4 billion in value overnight. Today’s performance isn’t due to yet another data misuse or election interfering scandal.

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The Traeger Timberline 850 turns BBQ from art to science Jul 26, 2018

This review took a lot of pork. Over the last few months, I’ve used the Traeger Timberline 850 several times a week. Cooking on this grill is easier than using an oven. With a little bit of planning, a person can simultaneously grill a flock of chickens, a couple of pork butts and a load of veggies and have them turn out perfectly. I did, and it was the best Mother’s Day ever. First the good. It’s simple: This grill can cook the perfect brisket every time.

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SpaceX lands Falcon 9 booster on Just Read The Instructions drone ship Jul 25, 2018

SpaceX confirmed on Twitter this morning that it recovered the booster from the latest Falcon 9 launch. Shortly after launchingfrom Vandenberg Air Force Base in Southern California at 7:39AM ET this morning, the booster stage landed on theJust Read The Instructions drone ship. The company will now try to catch the rocket’s fairing with a giant net attached to the ship Mr. Stevens.

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Xiaomi goes after global markets with two new Android One phones Jul 25, 2018

Xiaomi gave Google’s well-intentioned but somewhat-stalled Android One project a major boost last year when it unveiled its first device under the program, Mi A1. That’s now joined by not one but two sequel devices, after the Chinese phone maker unveiled the Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite at an event in Spain today. Xiaomi in Spain? Yes, that’s right.

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Pokémon GO gets ‘Lucky’ Pokémon obtainable only by trading Jul 24, 2018

Pokémon GO just got a little surprise update, complete with a curious new feature: “Lucky” Pokémon. Most things in Pokémon GO are adapted from things that already exist in the Pokémon universe. Items like incense, lucky eggs and the like all exist in the main Pokémon series (though what these items actually do tends to be a bit different in GO). Lucky Pokémon, as far as I know, is a new concept altogether.

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Peak Design goes back to Kickstarter to launch $299 travel backpack Jul 24, 2018

Meet the Travel Backpack 45L. It’s Peak Design’s latest creation and the company just launched a Kickstarter campaign to bring it to life. This product marks the eighth Kickstarter campaign for Peak Design — all of which have been wildly successful. Peak Design turned to Kickstarter in 2014 to launch the first generation of its Capture camera clip. Over 5,200 people pledged support to bring that product to life.

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Niantic explains how and why it bans players in Pokémon GO Jul 23, 2018

Niantic explains how and why it bans players in Pokémon GO Getting banned for cheating is nothing new in Pokémon GO. There’ve been big ol’ ban waves every few weeks for ages now. The policies have never been totally set in stone, however — at least not publicly. Like many of the game’s mechanics, the player base has had to share info amongst themselves to figure out the offenses and their relative punishments, from slaps on the wrist to lifetime bans.

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Now this… this is an ultra-wide monitor Jul 23, 2018

I’ve been working with an ugly but functional lopsided two-monitor setup for years, and while it has served me well, I can’t say the new generation of ultra-wide monitors hasn’t tempted me. But the truth is they just aren’t wide enough. Or rather, they weren’t. Samsung has just blown my mind with a monitor so wide it will serve as a ramp that you can trick off of in the summer. It’s so wide that when it puts on a pair of BVDs they read BOULEVARD.

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Last call for tickets to TechCrunch Summer Party at August Capital Jul 20, 2018

TheTechCrunch Summer Party at August Capitalis the stuff of Silicon Valley legend. We’re celebrating 13 years of libations and convivial conversation while toasting the entrepreneurial spirit on the deck at August Capital in Menlo Park on July 27. And we want you to join us. If you have not yet secured your ticket to this summer soiree, heed our call. We’ve just released the last round of tickets. Once they go — and go quickly they will — that’s it.

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The Galaxy Note 9 is leaking out all over the place Jul 20, 2018

The Galaxy Note 9 won’t be announced until August. You wouldn’t know it by reading the internet, however. Every nook and cranny of the upcoming phablet has been bared for the world, in a series of leaks over the past several weeks. Sure, not all of them will pan out, but plenty have come from leakers with established track records, and enough of the details line up so as to paint a wholly believable portrait of the phone we’ll finally get an official look at early next month.

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Worried about a slowdown? It already happened in 2016, says one new venture study Jul 19, 2018

Worried about a slowdown? It already happened in 2016, says one new venture study In today’s market, it’s hard to make sense of what’s what. Deals have grown incestuous for the first time, with outfits like GV investing alongside Uber last week — just months after its parent company, Alphabet, was at Uber’s throat. A $10 million-plus round of seed funding is no longer a joke.

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Apple releases third iOS 12 beta to everyone Jul 19, 2018

Apple just released the third version of the iOS 12 beta as part of the public beta program. It means that everyone can now install a development build of iOS 12, the next major version of the operating system for iPhone and iPad. Don’t forget this is still a beta version. Things will crash, things won’t work. Don’t be surprised if you lose data in your Photos, Notes or Messages apps for instance.

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Bitcoin price passes $7K bringing all 100 top coins up with it Jul 18, 2018

Bitcoin is moving up, and it’s taking 99 of its best friends along for the ride. In the last 24 hours, every one of the top 100 coins by market cap was in the green with 84 of them posting gains of over 5 percent. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was sitting at $7,310, up 14 percent in the last 7 days and up almost 10 percent in the last 24 hours.

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Founder and investor Elad Gil has a new book that aims to help startups with their later-stage challenges — before they get to that point Jul 18, 2018

Founder and investor Elad Gil has a new book that aims to help startups with their later-stage challenges — before they get to that point Serial entrepreneur and angel investor Elad Gil has become renowned in Silicon Valley startup circles, largely because he not only funds startups but he advises many, too. Some of the tech companies he has logged time with include Airbnb, Twitter, Google, Instacart, Coinbase, Stripe, and Square.

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Amazon puts its own devices on sale early for Prime Day Jul 17, 2018

Amazon is kicking off today’s Prime Day a bit early. Although its annual sale technically begins at 12 PM PT / 3 PM ET this afternoon, it put its own devices on sale 12 hours early. The company is marking down its Alexa-enabled products like Echo, Fire TV, and Fire tablets, as well as its home security products like the Cloud Cam and more recently acquired Ring Video Doorbell.

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Living with the new 15-inch MacBook Pro Jul 17, 2018

When reviewing hardware, it’s important to integrate it into your life as much as possible. If you can, swap it in for your existing devices for a few days or a week, to really get an idea of what it’s like to use it day to day. There are certain nuances you can only discover through this approach. Of course, that’s easier said than done in most cases.

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How much quieter are the new MacBook Pro keyboards? Hear for yourself Jul 16, 2018

Specs? We’ll talk specs later. Right now we’re focused on something far more important: keyboard noise. It’s been a common complaint among MacBook users since the company shifted to the butterfly switch. Some of that can no doubt be chalked up to the fact that people really hate change when it comes to something as fundamental as a keyboard. Even so, there’s no mistaking the fact that, in the right hands, this thing can cause a ruckus.

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YouTube TV subscribers get a free week after World Cup meltdown Jul 16, 2018

When one of the main selling points for your service is the ability to stream live sports, the last thing you want is a full-on service meltdown during a huge game. Alas, that’s exactly what happened on Wednesday to YouTube TV. Just as the World Cup semi-finals game between Croatia and England started heating up, .

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For the first time, Netflix tops HBO for most Emmy nominations Jul 13, 2018

For the first time, Netflix tops HBO for most Emmy nominations Netflix has broken HBO’s 17-year streak as the most nominated network at the Emmy Awards. In the nominations released this afternoon, Netflix came out slightly ahead, with 112 nominations compared to HBO’s 108. Those include Best Comedy nods for GLOW and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, as well as Best Drama nominations for The Crown and Stranger Things. Other Netflix shows got some love as well.

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Catch the next wave of tickets to the TechCrunch Summer Party at August Capital Jul 13, 2018

Our 13th annual TechCrunch Summer Party at August Capital takes place on July 27, and we’re happy to announce we’ve just released a fourth batch of tickets to this fun Silicon Valley tradition. These tickets have been moving at a brisk pace, so if you’d like to join us in Menlo Park, be sure to buy your ticket today. Come and spend a relaxing evening of cocktails and conversation with your peers.

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YouTube TV goes down during the World Cup Jul 12, 2018

Croatia scored and the score is now 1-1 against England. If you’re a YouTube TV subscriber, you might not know that because YouTube TV has been down for around 40 minutes. Update: It’s back just in time for extra time. People who pay $40 a month to subscribe to live TV on YouTube are arguably mad. One of the main reasons YouTube TV makes sense is that it lets you watch live sports. You won’t find any soccer match on Netflix or HBO Now after all.

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With Lockbox and Notes, Mozilla launches its first set of mobile Test Pilot experiments Jul 11, 2018

Mozilla’s Test Pilot program for Firefox has long been the organization’s way to trial some of its more experimental ideas for new browser features. Now it’s expanding this program to include mobile apps, too, with the launch Firefox Lockbox, of a password manager for iOS, and Notes by Firefox, a note-taking app for Android. Both apps have a connection to Firefox (hence their names), but we’re not talking about Firefox plugins here.

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My favorite summer toy is the GDP XD emulator Jul 11, 2018

People ask me all the time about my favorite gadgets and I rarely have any answers. I’ve been playing with stuff since 2004 and I’m pretty gadget-ed out. But this year I’ve finally found something that I really enjoy: the GPD XD, an Android-based gaming handheld that lets you play multiple emulators including an endless array homebrew and classic ROMS.

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‘Spider-Man,’ ‘Dr. Strange’ co-creator Steve Ditko has died Jul 10, 2018

Toward the end of his life, it became somewhat common practice to post a picture of his door. It was an otherwise unremarkable thing, with a mail slot and a metal plate at the bottom. Up top, a large plate read simply, “S. Ditko.” Most wouldn’t venture beyond that, respectful of not disturbing the legendary cartoonist who’d become something akin to a comic book version of J.D Salinger, or maybe Thomas Pynchon.

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New Microsoft Surface hardware is probably arriving tomorrow Jul 10, 2018

Microsoft all but announced as much via the official Surface account. The company tweeted out the leading question “Where will Surface go next?” along with a image of the full lineup — the Pro, Laptop, Book 2 and swiveling all-in-one Studio. The desktops each displaying 6:00 on Tuesday, July 10 is the other key hint here. The big news will probably drop tomorrow, most likely in the A.M.

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MoviePass offers ticket refund after Friday Night outage Jul 09, 2018

After a rapid ascent, it’s been a rough couple of months for MoviePass. And while last night’s outage isn’t exactly the end of the world for the theater subscription service, Friday night is the least the opportune moment for your service to crap the proverbial bed. That goes double now that competitors like AMC and Sinemia is pushing back hard. The company says it had the situation fully taken care of as of 9:30 ET last night.

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Lyft goes biking, Airbnb is going public (eventually), big money for software robots, and Juul Jul 09, 2018

ï»¿ Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week we were back in the studio withConnie Loizos and myself hanging out with Jai Das, a managing director at Sapphire Ventures. Our beloved Matthew Lynley was off this week, but he’ll be back for the next episode. This week we had an excellent list of things to get to, first of which was Lyft’s latest shopping run.

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Deliveroo opens its first shared kitchen in Paris Jul 05, 2018

Food delivery startup Deliveroo opened its first shared kitchen in Paris earlier today. Deliveroo first launched this concept of shared kitchens called Deliveroo Editions in London last year. As the AFP reports, the company is starting with 12 kitchens in a warehouse in Saint-Ouen, right next to the north-western part of Paris. So far, 8 restaurants have agreed to make a deal with Deliveroo. You’ll find top restaurants on Deliveroo, such as Blend, Petit Cambodge, Tripletta and Santosha.

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The five best reasons you don’t want to miss Disrupt SF this September Jul 04, 2018

TechCrunch’s Disrupt SF (Sept. 5-7) is our most ambitious event ever. And if we’re sure of one thing, it’s that people in the startup scene will extract more insights and inspiration from this Disrupt than any before. Here’s why… More, better programming. For the first time ever at Disrupt, we have two stages, plus two additional off-stage “Q&A” areas where Disrupt attendees can ask questions directly to speakers.

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Airwallex raises $80M for its international payment service for businesses Jul 03, 2018

Airwallex, a three-year-old fintech startup focused on international payments for SMEs and businesses, is putting itself on the map after it raised an $80 million Series B round. Based of out of Melbourne, but with six offices in Asia and other parts of the world, Airwallex’s new funding round is the second largest financing deal for an Australian startup in history. The round was led by existing investors Tencent, the $500 billion Chinese internet giant, and Sequoia China.

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Twitter gets a re-org and new product head Jul 03, 2018

Twitter has a new product manager, the wake of a large re-org of the company announced this week. The changes will see Twitter dividing its business into groups including engineering, product, revenue product, design and research, and more, while also bringing on Kayvon Beykpour, the GM of video and former Periscope CEO, as product head. Beykpour will replaceEd Ho, vice president of product and engineering, as Ho steps down into a part-time role.

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Bird and Lyft raise $900M, a16z launches a crytpo fund, and $6B more for Sequoia Jul 02, 2018

Hello and welcome back toEquity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week Connie Loizos and I were joined by Norwest’s Scott Beechuk. Sadly, Matthew Lynley was reading slam poetry to ambivalent cacti in the Sonora Desert and thus couldn’t join us. He’ll be back soon, we promise. But we had a good crew on deck and a grip of news to sift, so let’s get to what we got into.

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Questions about Apple’s new Maps, answered Jul 02, 2018

Earlier today we revealed that Apple was re-building maps from the ground up. These are some questions from readers that came up when we went live. You can ask more questions here and I’ll try to add them. What part of Maps will be new? The actual map. Apple is building them from scratch, with its own data rather than relying on external partners. What does that mean in terms of what I’ll see? New foliage markers, showing you where ground cover like grass and trees exists more accurately.

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The Sonos Beam is the soundbar evolved Jun 29, 2018

Sonos has always gone its own way. The speaker manufacturer dedicated itself to network-connected speakers before there were home networks and they sold a tablet-like remote control before there were tablets. Their surround sound systems install quickly and run seamlessly. You can buy a few speakers, tap a few buttons, and have 5.1 sound in less time than it takes to pull a traditional home audio system out of its shipping box.

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The Rock and Under Armour teamed up for some ridiculous headphones Jun 29, 2018

The Rock and Under Armour teamed up for some ridiculous headphones Five years ago, you weren’t a proper celebrity unless you had your own line of branded headphones. Times change, of course, and now every famous person worth their salt has their own cryptocurrency or kombucha line. But Dwayne Johnson isn’t just any celebrity. He’s the freaking Rock.

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Oh BiBi raises $21 million for its mobile gaming studio Jun 28, 2018

French startup Oh BiBi raised $21 million from Atomico with Korelya Capital also participating. Oh BiBi is a team of mobile gaming veterans trying to build the next big thing when it comes to mobile gaming. The company has already released a handful of games, such as LoL Kart, Motor World Car Factory, Dino Factory and SUP Multiplayer Racing. But the company’s next big bet is Frag. Frag is an online first-person shooter. You’ll fight against other players in one-on-one matches.

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Andreessen Horowitz has a new crypto fund — and its first female general partner is running it with Chris Dixon Jun 28, 2018

Andreessen Horowitz has a new crypto fund — and its first female general partner is running it with Chris Dixon Silicon Valley powerhouse Andreessen Horowitz has some big, and bigger, news today. First, it closed a dedicated crypto fund late last week from a subset of its limited partners, who’ve provided the firm with $300 million in capital commitments.

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Apple just released the first iOS 12 beta to everyone Jun 27, 2018

This is your opportunity to get a glimpse of the future of iOS. Apple just released the very first public beta of iOS 12, the next major version of the operating system for iPhone and iPad. Unlike developer betas, everyone can download it without a $99 developer account. But don’t forget it’s a beta. The company still plans to release the final version of iOS 12.0 this fall (usually September). But Apple is going to release betas every few weeks over the summer.

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iOS 12 is all about making your phone work better Jun 27, 2018

The pace of iOS innovation has been so intense that even Apple couldn’t keep up. In some ways, iOS 11’s main feature was that it was packed with bugs, with autocorrect bugs, messages arriving out of order and the Calculator app not calculating properly. iOS 12 is a nice change of pace. “For iOS 12, we’re doubling down on performance,” Apple’s SVP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi said at WWDC.

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Oh, the things I would do to get this cardboard-style Nintendo Switch Jun 26, 2018

Oh, the things I would do to get this cardboard-style Nintendo Switch Nintendo is building on its strange but wonderful cardboard Labo platform with some sweet Mario Kart integration and a truly fabulous limited edition Switch with a faux-cardboard finish. It really is just the greatest thing and I would do terrible things to have it. Unfortunately some smart kid will probably get it, because you have to win it by designing something cool with Labo. So, first the Mario Kart stuff.

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Fortnite Battle Royale is getting a Playground mode, and other Week 9 rumors… Jun 26, 2018

Whether it’s through changes in the map itself or the introduction of new weapons like the Stink Bomb and the Thermal-Scoped AR, Fortnite Battle Royale continues to evolve with each passing week. So it’s no surprise that more changes are afoot for the world’s biggest video game. First and foremost, a new Playground mode will be coming to Fortnite Battle Royale.

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Bag Week 2018: Mission Workshop’s Radian rolltop starts simple but grows piece by piece Jun 22, 2018

Welcome to Bag Week 2018. Every year your faithful friends at TechCrunch spend an entire week looking at bags. Why? Because bags — often ignored but full of our important electronics — are the outward representations of our techie styles, and we put far too little thought into where we keep our most prized possessions. I’ve always been wary of modular, rail-based bag systems. They’ve always struck me as rather military and imposing, which I suppose is kind of the point.

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A Tesla telenovela Jun 22, 2018

Tesla’s lawsuit against a former employee was filed just 24 hours ago and it’s already ripe fodder for Hollywood. As CEO Elon Musk has noted in the past, Tesla is a real drama magnet. Get ready, it’s exhausting.

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Official near-earth object plan will look into nuking asteroids and other ‘planetary defense missions’ Jun 21, 2018

Space is a big place, and mostly empty — but there’s no shortage of objects which, should they float our direction, could end life as we know it. A new national plan for detecting and handling such objects was proposed today, and it includes the possibility of nuclear strikes on the incoming asteroids and other “planetary defense missions.

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AMC’s MoviePass competitor arrives June 26 Jun 21, 2018

It was just a matter of time before AMC went head to head withMoviePass. After all, the two companies have been at odds for some time. Back in January, MoviePass dropped out of 10 of the theater chain’s highest traffic theaters in what was seen as a negotiating tactic. But AMC had no interest in playing ball.

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You aren’t alone; U.S. adults broadly think around 40 percent of the news is misinformation Jun 20, 2018

You aren’t alone; U.S. adults broadly think around 40 percent of the news is misinformation A new survey underscores what you already know. People don’t trust traditional media as they once did. They trust social media even less. And certain groups in particular, including Republicans and people with a high school education or less, are the most suspicious that what they read isn’t accurate.

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Using tech and $100m, Dr Consulta transforms healthcare for the poorest Jun 20, 2018

Healthcare delivery is an incredibly complex topic, but one that has a simple truth: health security is key to living a good life, and ultimately, for developing a strong economy. Unfortunately, billions worldwide suffer from lack of access to even the most basic of medical diagnostics and treatments, since doctors often aren’t available and the costs when they are can be exorbitant. That’s the world that Thomaz Srougi grew up with in his native Brazil.

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Bet money on yourself with Proveit, the 1-vs-1 trivia app Jun 19, 2018

Pick a category, wager a few dollars, and double your money in 60 seconds if you’re smarter and faster than your opponent. Proveitoffers a fresh take on trivia and game show apps by letting you win or lose cash on quick 10-question, multiple choice quizzes.

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Gmail proves that some people hate smart suggestions Jun 18, 2018

Gmail has recently introduced a brand new redesign. While you can disable or ignore most of the new features, Gmail has started resurfacing old unanswered emails with a suggestion that you should reply. And this is what it looks like: The orange text immediately grabs your attention. By bumping the email thread to the top of your inbox, Gmails also breaks the chronological order of your inbox.

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Scooters go mad, Opendoor wants to buy your house, and Meituan’s IPO Jun 18, 2018

Hello and welcome back toEquity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week was something of a first for the crew, twice. First, we had two guests on the show, and, also, we only made it through two and a half topics. The former is good, the latter is, well, we’ll see.

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Get your ticket to the TechCrunch Summer Party at August Capital Jun 15, 2018

We’re sentimental softies when it comes to tradition, and one of our favorites is the TechCrunch Summer Party at August Capital. This marks the thirteenthyear of this Silicon Valley soiree, and we’d love to see you there. Tickets are released in batches, and the first round is available now on a first-come, first-served basis. They always sell out quickly, so buy your ticket today.

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Reflections on E3 2018 Jun 15, 2018

After taking a year off, I returned to E3 this week. It’s always a fun show, in spite of the fact that the show floor has come to rival Comic-Con in terms of the mass of people the show’s organizers are able to cram into the aisles of the convention center floor. We’ve been filing stories all week, but here is a very much incomplete collection of my thoughts on this year’s show.

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After botched IPO, Asian streaming startup M17 gets a $35M lifeline from investors Jun 14, 2018

Asian tech company M17, which operates a live-streaming platform and data app business, has confirmed that it has canceled its proposed U.S. public listing and raised private funding to keep its business alive. The Taiwan-based company dramatically halted its NYSE listing last Friday despite pricing its IPO, and now it has clarified the situation. Well, sort of.

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Democrats introduce an election security bill that proposes paper trails and mandatory audits Jun 14, 2018

As primaries ramp up in states across the U.S., concerns about election cybersecurity are mounting too. This week, a group of Democratic senators introduced a bill to mitigate some of the well-established risks that the nation’s uneven mix of voting machines and election systems poses. The new bill, known as the Protecting American Votes and Elections Act, proposes two significant measures.

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The messy, musical process behind the web’s new security standard Jun 13, 2018

The web is a big place, and changing the way it works isn’t a simple process. But it has to happen somehow or we’d all still be using Mosaic and transmitting our private data in cleartext. A new security standard called TLS 1.3 is the latest big change to how our browsers communicate, but the process by which it was created is a little weirder and less structured than you might think. “Anyone can participate from anywhere.

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Tesla lays off roughly nine percent of workforce Jun 13, 2018

Tesla has laid off about nine percent of its employees, Electrek first reported. This is part of the reorganization Musk talked about in May on the company’s quarterly earnings call.The layoffs reportedly started on Monday and will be made official at some point today. Tesla, which also operates SolarCity, is only laying off salaried employees. Tesla isn’t letting go any production associates, as the company is trying to ramp up Model 3 production.

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