Techmeme: Roku says it settled its carriage dispute with Fox ahead of the Super Bowl, to distribute Fox channels on the Roku platform (Jason Gurwin/The Streamable)

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February 2, 2020, 8:05 PM

Top News

Sam Byford / The Verge:

Alleged leaked video shows off Samsung's folding Galaxy Z Flip — Samsung's next foldable should be coming this month — Samsung's next folding phone is likely to be announced this month, and what appears to be the first hands-on video with the device has just appeared online.

More: Gizmodo, Input, CNET, Android Central, SamMobile, Yahoo Finance, Tom's Guide, Gizchina, 9to5Google, Mashable, Android Authority, BGR India, Tom's Guide, SlashGear, Android Police, and TechRadar.com

Tweets: @bengeskin, @stevesi, @tomwarren, @gtamen, and @pierce

Benedict Evans:

Now that tech has connected most of the world, a look at the opportunities and issues this creates for the 2020s — We connected (almost) everyone There are 5.5bn adults on earth, 5bn have a phone and 4bn have a smartphone

More: Benedict Evans and Kinjal Shah

Tweets: @jamescrabtree, @johnrentoul, @benedictevans, @caro_milanesi, @meedabyte, @ggarvin, @ricmac, @ruskin147, @samruchlewicz, @mohamed, @competitionprof, @dr_roedel, and @sebprovencher

Brian Barrett / Wired:

Profile of the popular password management app Dashlane, which has raised $110M last spring and is airing its first ever Super Bowl ad — A company you've never heard of is spending millions of dollars to let you know it can make your online life easier. — This year's crop …

More: IGN. Tweets: @martinsfp

Justin Villamil / Bloomberg:

Uber suspends 240 accounts of users in Mexico who came into contact with two drivers who possibly had the coronavirus, to help contain its potential spread — Uber Technologies Inc. has suspended 240 user accounts in Mexico to contain the potential spread of coronavirus.

More: Gizmodo and Los Angeles Times. Tweets: @uber_mex

Rebecca Heilweil / Vox:

UK startup Exscientia and a Japanese pharmaceutical firm claim to have created the first human trial-ready drug using AI, which took under a year to develop — An OCD drug created via AI will be tested on humans. — The British startup Exscientia claims it has developed …

More: TechSpot, BBC, Exscientia, and DigitalKoans

Tweets: @hadip, @zina_chatzidim, @rossdawson, @exscientialtd, and @mdudas

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Whip Media Group, the parent company of TV and movie tracking app TV Time, raises $50M Series D, bringing its total raised to $115M — In the streaming era, data on a show's viewership and popularity is harder to come by. It's no longer as simple as setting up a Nielsen box to get data …

Tweets: @tinch

Mike Wheatley / SiliconANGLE:

Israel-based serverless computing startup Nuweba raises $10.2M in an expanded seed round, bringing its total raised to $15M — Serverless computing startup Nuweba Labs Ltd. said today it has raised $10.2 million in an expanded seed funding round. — Blumberg Capital led the latest investment …

More: PR Newswire. Tweets: @blumbergcapital

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:

Doubtnut, an India-based startup which wants to teach math and science concepts through short videos, raises $15M Series A led by Tencent, says it has 13M MAU — Doubtnut, a Gurgaon-based startup that operates an app to help students learn and master concepts from math and science using short videos …

More: Livemint, MENAFN.COM, Entrackr, YourStory.com, The Economic Times, DealStreetAsia, VCCircle, and Inc42 Media

Joe Rossignol / MacRumors:

As Apple closes its offices, stores, and contact centers in China, Ming-Chi Kuo lowers Q1 iPhone shipment forecasts by 10% due to Wuhan coronavirus outbreak — Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has lowered his iPhone shipment forecast by 10 percent to 36-40 million units in the first quarter of 2020 …

More: AppleInsider, iAfrikan, and Face the Facts

Kevin Collier / NBC News:

West Virginia governor to sign a bill that would allow voters with physical disabilities to vote via smartphone in 2020, becoming the first US state to do so — Cybersecurity experts have long railed against voting apps, saying that any kind of online voting unnecessarily increases security risks.

More: Yahoo Finance, New York Post, and Gizmodo

Tweets: @schestowitz and @campuscodi

Peter Eavis / New York Times:

WeWork names commercial real estate veteran Sandeep Mathrani as its new CEO; SoftBank's Marcelo Claure will continue as WeWork's executive chairman — Sandeep Mathrani, a senior real estate executive, will take over the operator of shared office space, which was on the brink of financial collapse last year.

More: Wall Street Journal, Reuters, WeWork, Business Insider, Financial Times, CNBC, and CNN

Tweets: @ellenhuet, @drorpoleg, @uwsgeezer, @vincentorleck, @brandonhoffmanc, @briansozzi, @eliotwb, @miriamgottfried, @kerrymflynn, and @stevekopack

VICE:

Ajit Pai says FCC has concluded “that one or more wireless carriers apparently violated federal law” by selling user location data and will consider fines — More than a year after a Motherboard investigation revealed that wireless carriers were collecting and selling user location data …

More: The Verge, Ars Technica, Federal Communications …, Mashable, iMore, Engadget, Bloomberg, Reuters, Gizmodo, Yahoo Finance, Axios, Input, The Daily Dot, 9to5Mac, The Hill, iDownloadBlog.com, MacRumors, and Yahoo Finance

Tweets: @mdudas, @mcmillen, @josephfcox, @dangillmor, @vice, @josephfcox, @josephfcox, @dellcam, @dellcam, @dellcam, @karlbode, and @karlbode

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From Mediagazer

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Source: Bari Weiss is planning to create a masthead for CBS News as part of a broader overhaul of standards and procedures

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Comcast extends Mike Cavanagh's contract through January 1, 2029, and grants a ~$35M performance-based stock package; he's set to become co-CEO in January 2026

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

WBD's board says it will “carefully review and consider” Paramount's revised offer, which includes a full backstop personally guaranteed by Larry Ellison

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Sanam Yar / New York Times:

A look at MSCHF, a group behind viral stunts like an astrology app to pick stocks or “holy water” sneakers, which has raised ~$11.5M in funding since fall

Tweets: @dgisserious, @nytstyles, @mikkipedia, and @jenn_rtr

Ilya Khrennikov / Bloomberg:

Yandex launches a new online service in Moscow called Lavka, which delivers orders in 15 minutes using bike couriers and small warehouses spread across the city

Tweets: @cristinagberta, @csertoglu, @evangershkovich, @leonidragozin, and @matt_townsend

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:

India-based InterviewBit, which offers an online computer science program and lets its students pay part of the fee after getting a job, raises $20M Series A

More: Entrackr, Livemint, Business Standard, BW Disrupt, Deccan Herald, YourStory.com, ThePrint, The Hindu BusinessLine, Inc42 Media, and VCCircle

Tom Simonite / Wired:

A look at a secretive team of quantum researchers at Alphabet's X, who are focused on creating new algorithms and applications to run on quantum computers

Tweets: @glenngabe, @scottthurm, @tsimonite, @gregoryjbarber, and @nxthompson

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Behind the revival of Dubsmash, an app that lets users post lip sync and dance videos that now has 27% of the US short-form video market share by installs

More: NBC News. Tweets: @dennishegstad, @sacca, and @joshconstine

Jason Snell / Six Colors:

Apple's performance in 2019 across hardware, software, and services is rated and critiqued by a 65-person panel, including writers, developers, and podcasters

More: Philip Elmer‑DeWitt, MacStories, 9to5Mac, and The Loop

Tweets: @mostman1043, @marcoarment, @rgriff, @marcoarment, @jsnell, and @backlon

Earlier Picks

IDC:

Global tablet shipments declined 1.5% YoY to 144.1M units in 2019; Apple's shipments grew 15.2% YoY to 49.9M units during the year

More: Philip Elmer‑DeWitt, Yahoo Finance, WebProNews, Thurrott, Times Now, Mobile World Live, Gizchina, Cult of Mac, and PhoneArena

Andrea Noble / Route Fifty:

FCC approves $20.4B Rural Digital Opportunity Fund to deploy rural broadband but Democratic FCC commissioners warn it won't help many areas that need internet

More: CNET, Federal Communications …, Ars Technica, Engadget, Public Knowledge, and Telecompetitor

Tweets: @routefifty and @fcc

Jason Gurwin / The Streamable:

Roku says it settled its carriage dispute with Fox ahead of the Super Bowl, to distribute Fox channels on the Roku platform

More: The Daily Dot, CNET, Engadget, Mashable, Adweek, Engadget, The Verge, Hollywood Reporter, Reuters, Yahoo Finance, FOX 11 Los Angeles, CMLviz, and New Jersey Online

Tweets: @roku and @ophirgottlieb