Techmeme
February 23, 2020, 1:40 AM

Top News

Mon(IoT)r Research Group:
Study: smart speakers accidentally activate to random words between 1.5 and 19 times per day on average, with HomePod and Cortana devices activating the most  —  WHEN SPEAKERS ARE ALL EARS  —  Understanding when smart speakers mistakenly record conversations
Los Angeles Times:
Twitter is suspending 70 accounts linked to Michael Bloomberg's campaign for violating its policies, citing platform manipulation and duplicative content  —  Michael R. Bloomberg's presidential campaign has been experimenting with novel tactics to cultivate an online following, or at least the appearance of one.
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Intuit is nearing a deal to buy personal finance portal Credit Karma for about $7B in cash and stock; the deal could be announced as soon as Monday  —  Acquisition would be Intuit's largest ever and the first sizable transaction under CEO Sasan Goodarzi
Johannes Hellstrom / Reuters:
Swedish game developer Embracer to buy US-based Saber Interactive, maker of the game World War Z, for up to $525M in cash and stock, most of which is deferred  —  STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Swedish video game group Embracer is buying U.S. game developer Saber Interactive for up to $525 million, the Swedish company said on Wednesday.
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
CB Insights: fintech startups across the world raised $33.9B across 1,912 deals in 2019, which is down from $40.8B raised across 2,049 deals in 2018  —  Financial services startups raised less money in 2019 than they did in 2018 as VC firms looked to back late stage firms and focused on developing markets, a new report has revealed.
FinSMEs:
Reggora, a residential appraisal software platform, raises $10M Series A, led by Spark Capital with Boston Seed Capital participating  —  Reggora, a Boston, MA-based residential appraisal software platform provider, raised $10m in Series A funding.  —  The round was led by Spark Capital, with participation from Boston Seed Capital.
Lily Hay Newman / Wired:
Researchers detail “SweynTooth” bugs, which could allow hackers in radio range to crash Bluetooth Low Energy-based devices like pacemakers and fitness trackers  —  Hundreds of smart devices—including pacemakers—are exposed thanks to a series of vulnerabilities in the Bluetooth Low Energy protocol.
FinSMEs:
iMerit raises $20M Series B for its platform that helps enrich and annotate large datasets that power advanced algorithms in fields such as machine learning  —  iMerit, a Los Gatos, CA-based data annotation and enrichment company, raised $20m in Series B funding.

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Featured Podcasts

The Nick, Dick and Paul Show:
The Billionaire Button w/ Tim Wu
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.
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Great Chat:
No one won the AI Bowl
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Big Technology Podcast:
Who's Winning The AI Race? + Software's Future — With Sridhar Ramaswamy
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
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Channels with Peter Kafka:
How Odd Lots' Joe Weisenthal Turned Curiosity Into a Career, and a Hit Podcast
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
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Access:
OpenAI's Fidji Simo on why ads are coming to ChatGPT
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
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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.
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More News

Leila McNeill / BBC Future:
Bloomberg:

Earlier Picks

Tom Warren / The Verge:
Madhumita Murgia / Financial Times:
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Joseph Cox / VICE:
Jon Porter / The Verge: