Techmeme: MIT, Princeton, Microsoft, and others form a consortium to launch the C3.ai Digital Transformation Institute to investigate big issues, like pandemics, using AI (William J. Broad/New York Times)

Top News

Todd Haselton / CNBC:

On Twitter, Slack CEO discussed some of the dramatic changes Slack has seen over the last few weeks, like quickly adding 9K net new customers; stock up 10%+ — - Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield posted a thread to Twitter telling a story of how wild things have been for Slack this month.

More: SiliconANGLE, TechCrunch, ZDNet, Business Wire, Business Insider, Slack, MarketWatch, Mashable, and Seeking Alpha

Tweets: @stewart, @reformedbroker, @rkrigney, @mkobach, @profgalloway, @lyssaslounge, and @stevesi

Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer:

Researcher: a vulnerability affecting iOS 13.3.1 and later prevents VPNs from encrypting all traffic, potentially exposing user data or leaking IP addresses — A currently unpatched security vulnerability affecting iOS 13.3.1 or later prevents virtual private network (VPNs) …

More: ProtonVPN Blog, MacRumors, 9to5Mac, and iDownloadBlog.com. Tweets: @protonvpn

Andrew Webster / The Verge:

Epic Games launches Epic Games Publishing, a label that will cover up to 100% of development costs while game creators retain 100% of IP and creative control — ‘The publishing model we always wanted’ — Fortnite maker Epic Games is getting into publishing in a big way.

More: Epic Games Store, Remedy investors, Forbes, Ars Technica, Windows Central, GamingBolt, Game Rant, GameSpot, VentureBeat, Rock, Paper, Shotgun, CCN.com, IGN, TechSpot, Polygon, USgamer.net, Neowin, Kotaku, TrueAchievements, PC Games Insider, Gamasutra, Destructoid, and Blue's News

Tweets: @benjisales, @epicgames, @tha_rami, @mikebithell, @samlakermd, @ballmatthew, and @timsoret

Andy / TorrentFreak:

AMD confirms someone claimed in December to have “test files” related to current and future graphics products; some files recently posted online were removed — Graphics cards are big business and AMD is one of the leading brands with an estimated 32% share of the discrete desktop market.

More: The Register, The Next Web, The Verge, Engadget, LaptopMag, IGN, HackRead, Tom's Hardware, The Daily Dot, Neowin, SecurityWeek, TechSpot, Plagiarism Today, Thurrott, OnMSFT.com, Game Rant, VG247, Wccftech, TrueAchievements, SlashGear, TechRadar.com, and Windows Central

Tweets: @xcloudtimdog and @campuscodi

Airbnb Newsroom:

Airbnb says it wants to provide free or subsidized housing to 100K healthcare professionals, relief workers, and first responders around the world — - New global initiative will provide free or subsidized housing for healthcare professionals, relief workers, and first responders, typically closer to where they are working

More: TechCrunch, USA Today, Slashdot, CNET, and PYMNTS.com

Tweets: @bchesky and @airbnb

Annie Palmer / CNBC:

Interviews with 12 Amazon warehouse workers: limited options from Amazon are forcing them to work in crowded warehouses with few essentials, like sanitizers — - A dozen Amazon workers told CNBC they're terrified to go to work during the pandemic, while others have expressed frustration …

More: Forbes, CNET, and Business Insider

Tweets: @lauren_feiner, @eamonjavers, @robotodd, @stevekovach, and @kifleswing. Thanks:@mattrosoff

Matt Day / Bloomberg:

Amazon says a returns warehouse in Kentucky where three workers tested positive for COVID-19 has been closed by the order of the state's governor until April 1

More: The Next Web and Business Insider

Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:

Google says it will resume Chrome and Chrome OS releases after pausing them last week due to the adjusted employee work schedules during the pandemic — Google Chrome 81 to be released next month, on April 7. — Google paused Chrome updates last week when it canceled the Chrome 81 release …

More: Google Chrome Releases, Forbes, Computerworld, Thurrott, BetaNews, BleepingComputer, and TechRadar.com

Tweets: @chromiumdev, @techcrunch, and @campuscodi

William J. Broad / New York Times:

MIT, Princeton, Microsoft, and others form a consortium to launch the C3.ai Digital Transformation Institute to investigate big issues, like pandemics, using AI — A new consortium of top scientists will be able to use some of the world's most advanced supercomputers to look for solutions.

More: Berkeley News, AiThority, and Forbes

Tweets: @corytv and @2morrowknight

Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:

Microsoft acquires Affirmed Networks, which provides fully virtualized, cloud-native networking tech to telecom operators, with a focus on 5G and edge computing — Microsoft today announced that it has acquired Affirmed Networks, a company that specializes in fully virtualized, cloud-native networking solutions for telecom operators.

More: The Official Microsoft Blog, Affirmed Networks, SiliconANGLE, Windows Central, Thurrott, GeekWire, ZDNet, VentureBeat, Light Reading, WinBuzzer, SDxCentral, Telecoms.com, and Computer Business Review

Tweets: @greengart, @yousefkazure, and @dmavrakis

Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:

Huawei rolls out Celia, its multilingual AI assistant for phones outside China, initially on P40 in UK, France, Spain, Chile, Mexico, and Colombia — Huawei has officially announced its own voice-activated virtual assistant outside of China, as the Chinese technology titan continues to push its own versions of Google's services.

More: Android Authority, Android Authority, The Next Web, Android Headlines, and Engadget

Sam Byford / The Verge:

Preview of Huawei's P40 flagship, which doesn't include any Google services: the hardware is really terrific but is not enough to overcome Google's absence

More: ZDNet, The Irish Times, 9to5Google, Thurrott, CNET, The Next Web, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Android Police, Mashable, Digital Trends, The Register, KnowTechie, and 9to5Google

Tweets: @greengart and @_vancajun

Maura Church / Patreon Blog:

Patreon says 30,000+ creators signed up in the first three weeks of March; average new patron growth in 6 countries, including US and Italy, was 36.2% over Feb. — Right now is a stressful time to be a creator. In a time when so many around the world are deeply affected …

More: TechCrunch and The Verge

Tweets: @nwquah, @om, and @ranimolla

Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:

Cybersecurity insurance provider Chubb confirms it is investigating a “security incident” involving the unauthorized access of data belonging to a third-party — Chubb, a major cybersecurity insurance provider for businesses hit by data breaches, has itself become a target of a data breach.

More: BleepingComputer. Tweets: @zackwhittaker

Alex Wilhelm / TechCrunch:

Fast, which is building platform-agnostic login and checkout services for e-commerce, raises $20M Series A led by Stripe — Early this morning, Fast, a startup building platform-agnostic login and checkout services, announced that Stripe has led a $20 million investment into its business.

More: PYMNTS.com, The Irish Times, Crowdfund Insider, and FinSMEs

Tweets: @tylertringas and @julien. Thanks:@dstickler_01

David Carnoy / CNET:

Qualcomm introduces ultra-low power Bluetooth audio SoCs for wireless earbuds, with support for hybrid active noise cancellation and voice assistants — Qualcomm introduced two new Bluetooth audio systems-on-a-chip that will power upgraded true wireless headphones hitting stores in the coming months.

More: Android Police, Qualcomm, 9to5Google, The Irish Times, Digital Trends, Qualcomm, International Business Times, The Verge, XDA Developers, SlashGear, and Engadget

Tweets: @greengart and @brianroemmele

Celia Wan / The Block:

Blockchain startup Block.one invests $150M in its social media app Voice, to kickstart its independent operations; Voice lets users post for token rewards — Block.one, the publisher of the EOS blockchain protocol, has invested $150 million in Voice, a social media platform launched in June last year.

More: The Capital

Bloomberg:

US CFTC publishes guidance on the “actual delivery” of a digital asset, which could impact margin loans where no actual cryptocurrencies change hands — - CFTC explains what ‘actual delivery’ of digital currency means — Guidance distinguishes spot trades from futures contracts

More: CoinGeek, Finextra, and CFTC

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

A self-reporting COVID-19 symptom app developed by Boston-based startup Zoe had 750k downloads in 24 hours in the UK; Zoe is working to bring the app to the US — One of the big challenges (among many) with the coronavirus pandemic is that overwhelmed health services do not always know how best …

More: Cult of Mac, 9to5Mac, iPhone Hacks, VentureBeat, Pocket-lint, EURACTIV.com, Neowin, and TwinsUK. Thanks:@ingridlunden

WRAL TechWire:

CData, a Chapel Hill, NC-based provider of cloud data access and connectivity software, raises $20M Series A from Updata Partners — CHAPEL HILL - CData Software is getting ready to scale thanks to a $20 million injection from a Washington D.C.-based growth equity firm.

Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:

Dremio, which offers a virtualization toolkit to streamline and curate data, raises $70M Series C led by Insight Partners, bringing its total raised to ~$115M — Dremio, which offers tools that help to streamline and curate data, today announced that it has raised $70 million in equity growth financing.

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