Techmeme
April 16, 2020, 2:30 PM

Top News

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. …
Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is developing at least two over-ear wireless headphone variants, with swappable magnetic ear cups and headbands, to augment its AirPods business  —  - Over-ear headphones customizable via magnetic attachments  — Entering a category led by own Beats brand, Bose and Sony
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
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. …
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.
Jason Snell / Six Colors:
Apple says macOS 10.15.5 will include a battery management tool for MacBooks with Thunderbolt 3 that manages battery life by analyzing the battery's temperature  —  The way MacBook batteries charge is about to change.  Apple has released a new developer preview of macOS Catalina 10.15.5 …
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 …
Queenie Wong / CNET:
Facebook is no longer planning to host local events in place of its F8 developer conference and cancels physical events with 50 or more people through June 2021  —  Facebook said Thursday that it's no longer planning to host local events in place of its F8 developer conference …
Dan Primack / Axios:
Stripe adds $600M extension to its $250M Series G at a $36B valuation from existing investors, including a16z, GV, and Sequoia, in its largest funding to date  —  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.
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 …
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
Jon Porter / The Verge:
Google will tighten Play Store rules from June 16 to stop Android app subscription scams, requiring clear information on free trials and ways to cancel them  —  Clearer information about free trials and subscription costs  —  Google has announced a series of new policies to make Android's …
Jon Porter / The Verge:
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
Sudip Kar-Gupta / Reuters:
Free Now, the ride-hailing service run by Daimler and BMW, announces a restructuring, with possible job cuts, and says it plans to merge with French app Kapten  —  PARIS (Reuters) - The ‘FREE NOW’ taxi ride-hailing service run by Daimler and BMW announced on Thursday a corporate restructuring …
More: TechCrunch
Ron Miller / TechCrunch:
Bridgecrew, which makes automated cloud security tools for engineers, raises $14M Series A led by Battery Ventures  —  In today's grim economic climate, companies are looking for ways to automate wherever they can.  Bridgecrew, an early-stage startup that makes automated cloud security tooling aimed …
Jordan Novet / CNBC:
NBA to use Microsoft's Azure cloud to add new features to its website and apps, like showing games in fans' native languages and letting them chat during games  —  - The NBA will tap Microsoft's Azure public cloud and use its Surface devices.  — The league envisions delivering highlight reels …
Ron Miller / TechCrunch:
Anodot, which offers a service that helps companies monitor performance against key indicators, raises $35M Series C led by Intel Capital  —  Anodot, a startup that helps customers monitor business operations against a set of KPIs, announced a $35 million Series C investment today.
More: FinSMEs and Anodot
Alex Wilhelm / TechCrunch:
Utah-based Everee, which develops a worker-friendly payroll software service, raises $10M Series A led by Origin Ventures and Signal Peak Ventures  —  This morning Everee, a Utah-based software as a service (SaaS) startup focused on payroll, announced that it has closed a $10 million Series …
More: FinSMEs and Everee

Sponsor Posts

Tribe AI:
Build AI that works  —  Tribe builds tech for top AI companies.  Get in touch to learn how our bench of 500+ engineers and researchers can accelerate your roadmap.
Kulkan Security:
Hire Kulkan as your penetration testing partner  —  Kulkan prioritizes deep-dive manual security reviews, dissecting your software and infrastructure to find issues that once remediated can truly reduce security risk.
Zoho:
Environmental impact of remote support: Reducing carbon footprints in IT  —  Information technology is essential for powering core business processes and facilitating communication.
Mastodon:
Donate to Mastodon  —  Mastodon gGmbH, the non-profit behind the open-source software powering the social web, relies entirely on support from users like you.  Donate directly with a credit card or through Patreon.
The Kevin Rose Show:
Magatte Wade, Unlocking Prosperity in Africa (#53)
Gain unconventional wisdom and insights through conversations with top expert in AI, investing, wellness, technology, and culture.
Techmeme Ride Home:
Fri. 04/19 - All The News About Llama 3
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or RSS.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 2:30 PM ET, April 16, 2020.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

More News

Earlier Picks

Katie Roof / Bloomberg:
Jacqueline Feldscher / Politico:
Dieter Bohn / The Verge: