Techmeme
April 29, 2019, 6:30 PM

Top News

Alphabet:
Alphabet Q1: revenue of $36.3B, up 17% YoY, net income of $6.66B with EC fine, CPC down 19%, and paid clicks on Google properties up 39% YoY; stock drops 7%+  —  MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - April 29, 2019 - Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG, GOOGL) today announced financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2019.
Theodore Schleifer / Recode:
Sources: Anki, the robotics startup that raised $200M+ from investors including a16z, is shuttering and laying off its staff of 200 with one week's severance  —  It's a hard, hard fall.  —  Anki, the robotics company that has raised over $200 million in venture capital …
Spotify:
Spotify reports Q1 revenue of €1.5B, up 33% YoY, reduces net loss to €142M, says it has 217M MAUs, up 26% YoY, with 100M premium subscribers, up 32% YoY  —  Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE:SPOT) today reported financial results for the first fiscal quarter of 2019 ending March 31, 2019.
Hannah Murphy / Financial Times:
Facebook to give 60+ academics around the world access to its data from January 2017 to February 2019, which excludes run-up to the 2016 US election and Brexit  —  Facebook is opening up its data for the first time to more than 60 academics from around the world, who will be able to look …
Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:
Facebook's Ad Archive API is criticized for lacking info on ad targeting criteria and being limited to keyword searches, preventing a comprehensive look at ads  —  Facebook has been accused of blocking the ability of independent researchers to effectively study how political disinformation flows across its ad platform.
CNBC:
The We Company, better known as WeWork, announces it has filed confidentially for IPO; the company has said its 2018 revenue was $1.8B with a net loss of $1.9B  —  KEY POINTS  — The We Company, better known as WeWork, filed confidentially for an IPO.  — The company did not reveal …
Laura Hautala / CNET:
Researchers find the addresses and demographic details of more than 80M US households listed on an unsecured database, now offline, on a Microsoft cloud service  —  In a blow to consumers' privacy, the addresses and demographic details of more than 80 million US households were exposed …
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Apple says $250 Powerbeats Pro wireless earbuds will be available to preorder on May 3 and ship on May 10 in black with three other colors coming in the summer  —  Preorders start just a few days from now on May 3rd  —  There was a ton of reader interest in the new Powerbeats Pro …
Deanna Ting / Skift:
Marriott launches Homes & Villas, an Airbnb competitor, in more than 100 markets around the world, following an year-long pilot program with 200 homes in London  —  This news will trigger responses from elated to downright furious, whether you're a Bonvoy member, Marriott hotel owner …
Brian Crecente / Variety:
Microsoft says Minecraft creator Markus Persson won't be part of 10-year anniversary plans for the game because of his “comments and opinions”  —  “Minecraft” creator Marcus “Notch" Persson, who sold the title to Microsoft for $2.5 billion in 2014, won't be part of 10-year anniversary plans …
Jeff John Roberts / Fortune:
ICE's Bakkt, which has faced regulatory delays, says it has acquired the Digital Asset Custody Company and has applied with NY to become a registered trust  —  Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which owns the New York Stock Exchange, made a splash last August with big plans to get into the Bitcoin business.
BBC:
Consent forms to access the phones of victims of crime, including those alleging rape, have been rolled out across England and Wales  —  Victims of crimes, including those alleging rape, are to be asked to hand their phones over to police - or risk prosecutions not going ahead.
Ginny Marvin / Search Engine Land:
Microsoft rebrands Bing Ads as Microsoft Advertising, says it will introduce more advertising products with built-in AI over the next year  —  The new name reflects a broader focus on ad inventory, data and targeting capabilities.  —  First there was Microsoft adCenter.  Then there was Bing Ads.
Roger Parloff / Yahoo Finance:
Profile of Chris Cox, who, despite being chief product officer for years, never drew the attention for Facebook's scandals that Zuckerberg and Sandberg did  —  In late 2003, during his senior year at Stanford, Chris Cox, the future Chief Product Officer at Facebook (
Jessica Davies / Digiday:
El Pais-owner Prisa Media made a tool that uses machine learning to identify articles that evoke positive feelings, in a bid to sell brand-safe ads at a premium  —  Monetizing hard news has always been a thorn in the side of general-news publishers.  For some advertisers …
Ron Miller / TechCrunch:
Tray.io raises $37M Series B led by Spark Capital for its enterprise automation platform, says it has over 200 customers including Lyft, Intercom, IBM, and SAP  —  Tray.io, the startup that wants to put automated workflows within reach of line of business users, announced a $37 million Series B investment today.

Sponsor Posts

Okara:
Meet Okara, the AI platform that doesn't train on your data  —  Chat with 30+ open-source models (Llama, Kimi, Qwen, DeepSeek) through encrypted infrastructure.  Used by teams handling proprietary code and strategy.
Soxton:
AI-powered law for startups  —  Soxton automates startup legal so founders can move faster and sleep better.  We handle incorporation, advisor, employment and commercial contracts.  Join the waitlist for early access!
Zoho:
Saudi Arabia's data localisation era: Why compliance-ready clouds are now essential  —  Saudi Arabia is in a key phase in its digital transformation, where data governance, cybersecurity, and digital sovereignty are as vital as innovation.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Hard Fork:
Jonathan Haidt Strikes Again + What You Vibecoded + An Update on the Forkiverse
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
Access:
Building an autonomous car utopia with Rivian's RJ Scaringe
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Lenny's Podcast:
How to show up in any room with a low heart rate: Silicon Valley's missing etiquette playbook | Sam Lessin
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
The Nick, Dick and Paul Show:
Three New Influencers
Nick Bilton, Dick Costolo, and Paul Kedrosky pull back the curtain on AI, startups, and the future rushing toward us, all with healthy dose of irreverence.
Subscribe to The Nick, Dick and Paul Show.
Big Technology Podcast:
Who Wins if AI Models Commoditize? — With Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Special Edition: Key findings from the Microsoft AI Diffusion Report
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 6:30 PM ET, April 29, 2019.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

More News

Earlier Picks

Kieren McCarthy / The Register:
New York Times:
Mike Isaac / New York Times:
Eric Slivka / MacRumors: