Techmeme
May 17, 2016, 3:00 PM

Top News

Mark Harris / Backchannel:
Otto, founded by ex-Google engineers, exits stealth to sell self-driving kits for retrofitting semi-trailers  —  A group of ex-Google engineers have just launched Otto, an autonomous trucking startup  —  Otto's first vehicle is twice as long and six times as heavy as Google's cute prototype car …
Jordan Novet / VentureBeat:
Microsoft and SAP expand partnership: Office 365 integrations, HANA on Azure  —  Microsoft is announcing today that it has deepened its partnership with fellow enterprise software vendor SAP.  The HANA in-memory database from SAP will become available on top of Microsoft's Azure public cloud on top of machines packed densely with RAM.
New York Times:
China is quietly requiring foreign tech companies to submit their products to security reviews  —  HONG KONG — Chinese authorities are quietly scrutinizing technology products sold in China by Apple and other big foreign companies, focusing on whether they pose potential security threats …
Shaun Walker / Guardian:
Russian FindFace app compares photos to profile pictures on social network Vkontakte and works out identities with 70% reliability  —  FindFace compares photos to profile pictures on social network Vkontakte and works out identities with 70% reliability  —  If the founders of a new face recognition app …
Romain Dillet / TechCrunch:
Blockchain announces Thunder, an alternative network for enabling fast off-blockchain transactions that settle against the bitcoin blockchain at a later date  —  Blockchain, the company behind the world's most popular bitcoin wallet, has been quietly working on an interesting project called Thunder.
Lucas Mearian / Computerworld:
HP is now taking orders for its first 3D printer, the Jet Fusion 3D, which starts at $130K and HP says is 10X faster than rivals; orders will ship in late 2016  —  ORLANDO — Hewlett-Packard today began taking orders for its first 3D printer, the HP Jet Fusion printer, which it said will be …
Brian Heater / TechCrunch:
Fire TV gets new Alexa voice features, including app launching and restaurant searches  —  Amazon is giving TV viewers a few more, not-crazy reasons to talk back to their TVs.  After bringing the functionality to various properties, opening it to third-party hardware and letting developers get a crack at it …
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
MCX postpones rollout of Apple Pay rival CurrentC, lays off 30, will focus on bank deals  —  As merchants like Walmart move aheadon their own mobile payment strategies, a consortium that once counted Walmart — along with a number of other big retailers and brands — behind it, has taken a step back.
Romain Dillet / TechCrunch:
Sketchfab now supports all VR headsets for its 3D model sharing platform  —  You saw it coming, right?  3D model repository Sketchfab just added support for all major virtual reality headsets out there.  You can now view your pretty 3D models in your VR headset.
Wall Street Journal:
Inside the Final Days of LendingClub CEO Renaud Laplanche  —  The allegations around Mr. Laplanche also raise tough questions for the fast-growing fintech industry  —  On April 22, LendingClub Corp. founder and Chief Executive Renaud Laplanche took the stage at a New York ceremony …

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Earlier Picks

Casey Newton / The Verge:
Connie Loizos / TechCrunch:
Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
The Intercept: