Techmeme: Zenith: online advertising forecast to grow by 10% globally next year, the lowest level since 2001, as big brands seek risk-free placement in traditional media (Mark Sweney/The Guardian)

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Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:

Microsoft says it will invest $1B in OpenAI, beginning a partnership to jointly develop new AI technologies for the Azure cloud platform — Microsoft today announced that it would invest $1 billion in OpenAI, the San Francisco-based AI research firm cofounded by CTO Greg Brockman …

More: Microsoft, OpenAI, New York Times, Business Insider, Bloomberg, SiliconANGLE, TechCrunch, CNET, ZDNet, BetaNews, The Verge, Windows Central, Thurrott, GeekWire, Crunchbase News, Mashable, DEVCLASS, WinBuzzer, Neowin, CNBC, and OnMSFT.com

Tweets: @epro, @jwangark, @jwangark, @seanmmcdonald, and @benedictevans

Washington Post:

Leaked documents show Huawei secretly helped North Korea build its wireless 3G network, raising the question of whether it violated US export controls — Huawei Technologies Co., the Chinese tech giant embroiled in President Trump's trade war with China and blacklisted as a national security threat …

More: Engadget, GitHub, Digital Trends, Telegraph, TechCrunch, Android Authority, Business Insider, Gizmodo, CNET, The Hill, CNBC, and Android Central

Tweets: @narangvipin, @gerryshih, @kuriko_c, @nktpnd, @paulmozur, @nktpnd, and @isaacstonefish

Stacy Cowley / New York Times:

Equifax will pay at least $650M and potentially significantly more to end an array of state, federal, and consumer claims over the 2017 data breach — The credit bureau Equifax will pay at least $650 million and potentially significantly more to end an array of state, federal and consumer claims …

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:

Profile of Jeff Williams, Tim Cook's heir apparent as CEO, who is broadly regarded as a strong choice for the top job within Apple — Jeff Williams co-created the Apple Watch and runs the company's global operations. Can he also handle design—and everything else?

More: MacRumors, AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, Cult of Mac, iDownloadBlog.com, Appleosophy, iPhone Hacks, and MacDailyNews

Tweets: @benedictevans, @stroughtonsmith, @kkiyer90, @markgurman, @markgurman, @thenickguy, and @markgurman

Tom Warren / The Verge:

Slack updates its desktop app for Windows and macOS, which is still built on Electron, claims it now launches 33% faster and uses 50% less RAM than before — Slack's desktop app has been rebuilt for Windows and macOS — Slack is unveiling a new version of its desktop app for Windows …

More: Medium, Slack, TechCrunch, Thurrott, ZDNet, VentureBeat, Engadget, Windows Central, iPhone Hacks, SlashGear, Neowin, and OnMSFT.com

Tweets: @relsqui, @acemarke, @johnnyrodgersis, @sandofsky, and @hayatohuseman

Jay Greene / Washington Post:

Microsoft settles with the SEC and the DoJ for $26M over potential bribery and corruption related to software sales in Hungary — The deal with the U.S. Justice Department and the SEC resolves claims the software giant violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

More: Microsoft on the Issues, BetaNews, The Hill, Windows Central, and MSPoweruser

Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:

Etsy to acquire Reverb, a marketplace for new and used musical instruments, in a cash deal worth ~$275M; Reverb raised nearly $50M from Max Levchin and others — Etsy has announced plans to acquire Reverb, a marketplace for new and used musical instruments, in a cash deal worth approximately $275 million.

More: PR Newswire, Engadget, The Verge, FinSMEs, TechSpot, and hypebot

Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:

Confiant: two Hong Kong-based firms have been responsible for malicious ads with 100M+ impressions in 2019, including many shown via Microsoft's Windows 10 apps — Security firm tracks down malvertiser who deployed malicious ads in Outlook, Microsoft games, and the Microsoft News app.

More: FinSMEs, Wired, Nikkei Asian Review, Forbes, and blog.confiant.com

Tweets: @adam_k_levin, @jeromesegura, and @campuscodi

Kate Clark / TechCrunch:

Free stock trading app Robinhood raises $323M Series E led by DST Global at a $7.6B valuation — Robinhood, the popular free stock trading app, this morning announced a massive $323 million round led by DST Global. — The Series E financing values the Menlo Park-headquartered business at $7.6 billion …

More: Reuters

Derek Thompson / The Atlantic:

As matchmaking sites surpass friends and family for finding partners, the burden of finding a partner now rests solely on the individual and can be lonesome — My maternal grandparents met through mutual friends at a summer pool party in the suburbs of Detroit shortly after World War II.

More: 9to5Mac. Tweets: @dkthomp, @maggienyt, @theatlantic, @mckennapmoore, @tanayj, and @jaredrsutton

Mark Sweney / The Guardian:

Zenith: online advertising forecast to grow by 10% globally next year, the lowest level since 2001, as big brands seek risk-free placement in traditional media — Sector to be outpaced next year by cinema ads as big companies raise fears over digital scandals

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Tel Aviv-based UVeye, which is building drive-through scanners that use AI for external inspection of vehicles, raises $31M — The race is on for the car of the future, equipped with self-driving capabilities, on-board personalised information and entertainment, and an ever-smaller carbon footprint.

More: FinSMEs and Globes Online. Tweets: @ingridlunden

Robert Burnson / Bloomberg:

Google has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed in 2015 accusing it of age discrimination in hiring, paying out $11M across 227 people who joined the class action — - Company vows to train employees, managers about discrimination — Woman who sued interviewed for job with tech titan four times

More: The Guardian, ZDNet, Fortune, Forbes, and Slashdot

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Sennder, which connects commercial businesses with freight carriers, raises $70M Series C led by Lakestar at a valuation in the region of $300M — Logistics and the movement of freight from point A to B (and C and beyond) is one of the more antiquated, and less-understood aspects of the world of commerce.

More: Tech.eu, PE Hub Blog, and VentureBeat. Tweets: @ingridlunden

Tom Simonite / Wired:

US government tests find even top-performing facial recognition systems misidentify black people at rates 5-10 times higher than they do white people — FRENCH COMPANY IDEMIA'S algorithms scan faces by the million. The company's facial recognition software serves police in the US, Australia, and France.

More: Forrester

Katie Roof / Wall Street Journal:

Thumbtack announces it raised $150M in funding led by existing investor Sequoia Capital, valuing the company at $1.7B — Sequoia Capital led a $150 million investment, which values the local services marketplace at $1.7 billion — Thumbtack Inc.'s latest funding round values the business at $1.7 billion …

More: FinSMEs and The Daily Times. Tweets: @katie_roof

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