Techmeme
May 6, 2015, 12:40 PM

Top News

Douglas MacMillan / Wall Street Journal:
Zenefits raises $500M round led by Fidelity Management and TPG at a valuation of $4.5B  —  Zenefits Tagged With $4.5 Billion Valuation After Just Two Years  —  The latest software company valued at over $1 billion doesn't make a dime selling software.  —  Rather, San Francisco startup Zenefits …
Ryan Mac / Forbes:
A profile of Frank Wang Tao, founder of the world's biggest drone company DJI, who is worth $4.5B  —  Bow To Your Billionaire Drone Overlord: Frank Wang's Quest To Put DJI Robots Into The Sky  —  Frank Wang Tao has never been arrested.  He pays his taxes on time.  And he rarely drinks.
Thanks:@bupbin
Stuart Dredge / Guardian:
First consumer version of Facebook's Oculus Rift VR headset to ship Q1 2016, pre-orders to start later in 2015  —  Facebook's Oculus Rift virtual reality headset will ship in early 2016  —  After months of rumours that the first commercial model of VR headset would slip beyond 2015, company confirms the news
Antonio Regalado / MIT Technology Review:
Sources: Apple working with US researchers to offer DNA testing via ResearchKit  —  Apple Has Plans for Your DNA  —  The iPhone could become a new tool in genetic studies.  —  Of all the rumors ever to swirl around the world's most valuable company, this may be the first that could involve spitting in a plastic cup.
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Google Launches Cloud Bigtable, A Very Fast NoSQL Database For The Enterprise  —  With Cloud Bigtable, Google is launching a new NoSQL database service today that, as the name implies, is powered by the company's Bigtable data storage system.  —  The added twist here is that the new service …
BBC:
EU court rules Skype's name is too similar to Britain's Sky broadcasting, preventing Microsoft from registering trademark  —  Court says Skype's name is too similar to Sky's  —  The court said Skype's logo resembled a cloud  —  Video chat software Skype's name is so similar …
Ryan Lawler / TechCrunch:
Automated Savings Startup Digit Raises $11.3M From General Catalyst  —  It's only been a few short months since automated savings startup Digit opened to the public, but it's already garnered serious interest from consumers who want more money in their bank accounts, as well as investors …
More: iamWire and FortuneTweets: @adamnash and @bonatsos
New York Times:
Google Ventures' Bill Maris likens the $6M cash-out by founders of portfolio company Secret to a “bank heist” in interview  —  The Lessons Google Ventures Learned From Secret  —  For many in Silicon Valley, the rapid rise and precipitous fall of Secret, the prominent start …
Rachel King / ZDNet:
NetSuite launches new e-commerce platform, inks cloud deal with Microsoft  —  Summary:NetSuite is making considerable use of Microsoft's cloud portfolio, both internally with its workforce and externally with its developer community.  —  Building off years of development and millions …
More: Fortune
Shalini Ramachandran / Wall Street Journal:
As part of a $300M multi-year plan, Comcast will hire 5,500 new customer service employees, credit customers $20 if technicians are late for appointments  —  Comcast to Pay Customers $20 If Technicians Are Late as Part of Customer Service Revamp  —  Comcast is going to pay you $20 …
Matt Townsend / Bloomberg Business:
Home Depot announces it will accept Apple Pay after equipment upgrade, making it the biggest retailer to do so with more than 2K stores  —  Home Depot to Become Largest Retailer to Accept Apple Pay  —  Home Depot Inc. plans to enable Apple Inc.'s mobile-payment platform at its more than 2,000 stores …
Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:
Peruse launches natural language search tool, works with all file types, but only available for Dropbox and Box for now  —  Peruse Reads Your Spreadsheets So You Don't Have To  —  The time-consuming tedium of file search is San Francisco-based startup Peruse's jumping-off point.
Ina Fried / Re/code:
App Annie buys app data provider Mobidia to combine app download and usage analytics in 60 countries  —  Data Vendor App Annie Buys Mobidia, Looking to Grow, Stay Independent  —  Mobile analytics company App Annie said Wednesday it is buying Vancouver-based app data provider Mobidia in a cash and stock deal.
Greg Bensinger / Wall Street Journal:
Ex-Apple retail boss Ron Johnson launches Enjoy e-commerce site, with personal delivery and in-home setup service at no cost  —  Former Apple Retail Boss Ron Johnson Unwraps New Web Startup ‘Enjoy’  —  Ron Johnson, the former Apple retail chief who was ousted as J.C. Penney's boss two years ago …
Stacey Higginbotham / Fortune:
Comcast expands home automation platform with nine new partners including Nest, August, and Automatic, plans SDK later this year  —  Comcast's Xfinity home platform adds Nest, August, and more  —  Comcast has expanded its home automation lineup by adding support for devices …
Tweets: @gigastacey
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Mophie's H2PRO, a $130 battery case for iPhone, protects in shallow water for up to 30 minutes  —  Mophie's latest iPhone battery case is also waterproof  —  Battery cases can prove to be a must-have for iPhone 6 owners, and the same goes for ruggedized cases that protect Apple's smartphone against the elements.

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