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April 16, 2020, 11:45 AM
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| Sarah Krouse / Wall Street Journal: |
Verizon says it will buy videoconferencing company Blue Jeans Network, source says for less than $500M — Acquisition comes as the coronavirus spurs unprecedented work-from-home arrangements — Verizon Communications Inc. has agreed to buy videoconferencing company Blue Jeans Network Inc. …
More:
Verizon, CNBC, ZDNet, TechCrunch, The Verge, Forbes, CNET, Crunchbase News, Light Reading, Engadget, MSPoweruser, PYMNTS.com, and Seeking Alpha
| Bloomberg: |
Sources: Apple is developing at least two over-ear wireless headphone variants, with swappable magnetic ear cups and headband, to augment its AirPods range — - Over-ear headphones customizable via magnetic attachments — Entering a category led by own Beats brand, Bose and Sony
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Gizmodo, Android Authority, LaptopMag, Macworld, Thurrott, Digital Trends, TechCrunch, MacRumors, Business Insider, Input, AppleInsider, KnowTechie, TechSpot, CNET, Mashable, MacDailyNews, iMore, The Verge, 9to5Mac, Wccftech, SlashGear, iDownloadBlog.com, Tom's Guide, Patently Apple, Yahoo Finance, Neowin, and iPhone Hacks
Tweets: @martinsfp and @markgurman
| Sara Fischer / Axios: |
Facebook will notify users who have liked, commented, or reacted to coronavirus misinformation and guide them to WHO resources — Facebook will begin informing people who have engaged with coronavirus misinformation on its main Facebook app, the company announced Thursday.
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About Facebook, NBC News, Avaaz, VentureBeat, Engadget, Forbes, Digital Trends, TIME, CNET, The Irish Times, TechCrunch, The Verge, BetaNews, The Guardian, BuzzFeed News, CNBC, Bloomberg, VICE, Politico, and SlashGear
Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg. Tweets: @guyro, @rowlsmanthorpe, @ruskin147, @geoffrobinson, @marietjeschaake, @cfarivar, @rowlsmanthorpe, @kgoldshlager, @dpfunke, @jencyjac, @journalismfest, @doney, @sarafischer, and @mattnavarra
| Bloomberg: |
Sources: Sony plans to limit its initial PlayStation 5 production run in its first year partly because it expects lower demand due to a higher launch price — - Console still on track for year-end launch despite Covid-19 — Biggest impact from virus so far seen on unveiling timeline
More:
Forbes, CNET, LaptopMag, Thurrott, SlashGear, GameSpot, Polygon, OnMSFT.com, USgamer.net, The Verge, Android Central, iPhone in Canada Blog, IGN, Tom's Guide, Wccftech, Game Rant, MSPoweruser, GamingBolt, GamesIndustry.biz, TechSpot, Kotaku, Destructoid, and 9to5Toys
Tweets: @domsplaying and @toadsanime
| New York Times: |
Libra scales back ambitions of launching a global currency and will now focus on creating a traditional payment network with coins tied to local currencies — After months of criticism, the cryptocurrency is moving ahead with significant revisions. — OAKLAND, Calif. …
More:
Financial Times, CoinDesk, TechCrunch, Decrypt, Cointelegraph, Bloomberg, Channel NewsAsia, today.rtl.lu, and The Block
Tweets: @davidmarcus, @davidmarcus, @brianroemmele, @mike_orcutt, @zachary, @davidmarcus, @jamestitcomb, @davidmarcus, and @neerajka
| Dana Mattioli / Wall Street Journal: |
Sources: Amazon is redesigning its website to get customers to put fewer items in their carts while it contends with an immense surge in order volumes — Retailer cancels Mother's Day promotions, uses other tools to limit strain of order surge — Amazon.com Inc. is retooling its website … | Dan Primack / Axios: |
Stripe raises $600M in an extension of its $250M Series G that closed last fall, says it is now valued at nearly $36B — Digital payments platform Stripe has raised $600 million in new funding and is now valued at nearly $36 billion, co-founder and president John Collison tells Axios.| Mark Bergen / Bloomberg: |
In an internal email, Sundar Pichai tells Alphabet employees that the company will slow the pace of hiring for the rest of 2020 as it re-evaluates investments — - Company is ‘recalibrating’ spending on data centers, servers — Covid-19 crisis is affecting richest Silicon Valley businesses
More:
Forbes, CNBC, Neowin, Telecoms.com, and Firstpost Tech
Tweets: @mylesudland, @thekenyeung, @milenarodban, @sushubh, @mhbergen, @gerritd, and @mhbergen
| Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge: |
TikTok lets parents set restrictions on their kids' accounts like limiting screen time, disabling DMs, and restricting content, and disables DMs for under-16s — They can set screen time limits, disable DMs, and restrict content — TikTok is amping up its parental controls today …
More:
Newsroom | TikTok, TechCrunch, 9to5Mac, iMore, BetaNews, BBC, and Yahoo Finance
Tweets: @yoda and @mattnavarra
| Steve Dent / Engadget: |
GoPro says it's laying off 200 employees, or ~20% of its staff, and aims to reduce expenses by ~$100M by switching mostly to a direct-to-consumer model — GoPro has announced that it will lay off 200 employees or around 20 percent of its workforce due to the coronavirus pandemic.
More:
GoPro Inc., Bloomberg, TechCrunch, Silicon Valley Business …, TechSpot, and The Verge
| Matt Day / Bloomberg: |
In his annual letter to shareholders, Jeff Bezos outlined the steps Amazon is taking to curb the coronavirus, including regular testing for all staff globally — Amazon.com Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos said the online retail giant is developing Covid-19 testing capabilities …
More:
The Amazon Blog, TechCrunch, CNET, Business Insider, VICE, PYMNTS.com, and The Guardian
Tweets: @spencerjakab, @jkrisch, @werner, @luisgarciaalv, and @bloombergasia
| Natalia Drozdiak / Bloomberg: |
EU issues guidelines to make COVID-19 contact tracing apps interoperable and says it will scrutinize Google and Apple's proposed APIs to ensure compatibility — - Bloc set common approach on tracking apps to exit lockdowns — Apple, Google announced new contact-tracing tech last week
More:
9to5Mac, EURACTIV.com, and Yahoo Finance
| Dieter Bohn / The Verge: |
Apple announces a new iPhone SE with a 4.7" display, A13, Touch ID, 12MP camera with portrait mode, 64GB, 128GB, or 256GB storage from $399, shipping April 24 — It looks like an iPhone 8, but it has more modern specs — Apple has officially announced the new iPhone SE …
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Halide, 9to5Mac, Philip Elmer‑DeWitt, The Verge, 9to5Mac, IndiaShopps, Mashable, 9to5Toys, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, Popular Science, International Business Times, Macworld, Associated Press, Daring Fireball, South China Morning Post, iMore, Forbes, iDownloadBlog.com, Gotta Be Mobile, BetaNews, iMore, Mercury News, TidBITS, Softpedia News, iPhone in Canada Blog, Yahoo Finance, The Verge, Pocketnow, The Edge Newsletter, coinspeaker.com, BGR India, cnTechPost, DigiTimes, YouTube, CNET, MacDailyNews, O'Grady's PowerPage, The Mac Observer, Ubergizmo, The Next Web, and Apple Newsroom
Tweets: @tim_cook, @shaneisiconic, @halidecamera, @joannastern, @mkbhd, @tldtoday, @tldtoday, @mkbhd, @zacksjerryrig, @panzer, @llsethj, @reneritchie, @faluwu, @sdw, @backlon, @ijustine, @1obefiend, @detroitborg, and @rdrv3
| Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat: |
Samsung to use Xilinx's Versal ACAP chips, which optimize beamforming tech, for its 5G commercial deployments, with first Versal ACAP devices available in Q4 — Samsung Electronics and programmable chip maker Xilinx have teamed up to make chips that can serve as the key processing technology …
More:
ZDNet, SemiAccurate, Xilinx, and SDxCentral
| Charlotte Tucker / EU-Startups: |
Swiss startup Crypto Finance AG, which provides blockchain-related asset management, brokerage, and storage services, raises €13.3M Series B — Swiss startup Crypto Finance AG, a blockchain-centered fintech, has successfully completed a Series B investment round, raising around €13.3 million.| Bloomberg: |
US DOD inspector general finds the Pentagon's controversial decision to award $10B JEDI contract to Microsoft was “consistent” with acquisition standards — - Inquiry didn't find evidence that Trump swayed the decision — Inspector general added that White House limited cooperation| Jacqueline Feldscher / Politico: |
| Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch: |
Gousto, a London-based meal-kit service which uses AI for personalized recommendations of what to cook and eat, raises $41M led by investment firm Perwyn — Food delivery — be it ready-made restaurant meals, groceries, or anything in between — has seen a huge surge of activity … | Ron Miller / TechCrunch: |
VAST Data, maker of high-capacity flash storage for enterprises, raises $100M Series C led by Siemens at a $1.2B valuation, bringing its total raised to $180M — VAST Data, a startup that has come up with a cost-effective way to deliver flash storage, announced a $100 million Series C investment today … | Alex Wilhelm / TechCrunch: |
Lucid Software, which develops data visualization and marketing software, raises $52M Series D led by ICONIQ, says it has crossed the $100M ARR mark — Continuing our coverage of Utah-based startups, this morning we have our second big round of the year from the state.| Jon Porter / The Verge: |
Google says it is launching a new Kids section on Google Play, featuring “Teacher Approved” apps, rolling out in the US in the coming days — ‘Everything here is teacher approved’ — Google is launching a new Kids section for the Google Play Store, which will offer a selection of so-called “Teacher Approved” apps.
More:
The Keyword, TechSpot, Silicon Republic, TechCrunch, MSPoweruser, and Android Headlines
Tweets: @fosi and @jeremarketer
| Foreign Policy: |
UN backs down on Tencent partnership for 75th anniversary after complaints from US officials and human rights groups that the company aids Chinese surveillance — The decision comes after U.S. officials and human rights advocates complained that Tencent aids Beijing in surveillance.
Tweets: @lokmantsui and @sophiehrw
| Manish Singh / TechCrunch: |
India says e-commerce companies can resume accepting customers orders for non-essential items, including smartphones and laptops, starting April 20 — Flipkart, Amazon, Snapdeal and other online shopping firms will resume selling “non-essential” items to customers in India starting April 20 …
More:
The Next Web
| Katie Roof / Bloomberg: |
Sources: Robinhood is raising $250M led by Sequoia Capital at a pre-money valuation of about $8B — Robinhood Markets Inc., the online brokerage that's suffered repeated outages during recent market turmoil, is close to raising new funding at valuation of about $8 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
More:
CNBC, Fortune, Business Insider, The Next Web, and Howard Lindzon
Tweets: @katie_roof, @cap_zay, @bloombergasia, @patio11, and @rajnijjer
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