Techmeme
May 7, 2020, 8:50 PM

Top News

Ari Levy / CNBC:
Zoom is acquiring Keybase, a 25-person startup, to add end-to-end encryption to video calls, the first acquisition in the company's nine-year history  —  - Zoom is acquiring Keybase, a 25-person start-up in New York, to add end-to-end encryption to video calls.
Isabelle Kirkwood / BetaKit:
Alphabet's Sidewalk Labs says it will no longer pursue its smart city project at Quayside in Toronto due to “unprecedented economic uncertainty”  —  Sidewalk Labs has announced it will no longer pursue its project at Quayside in Toronto.  The company noted the decision was due to the current …
Nick Statt / The Verge:
A Facebook SDK crash caused iOS apps like TikTok and Venmo to crash on Wednesday, showing the need for Apple to sandbox third-party SDKs from an app's own code  —  Facebook's near-ubiquitous SDK broke yesterday, taking major mobile apps with it  —  Sometime around 6:30PM ET on May 6th …
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Google brings all of its messaging and communication apps under a single team to be led by Javier Soltero, who is VP and GM of G Suite  —  Integration isn't on the roadmap, but coherency may be  —  In October of last year, Google hired Javier Soltero to be the VP and GM of G Suite …
James Vincent / The Verge:
Google updates its Lens app for iOS and Android to let users copy and paste some handwritten text to Chrome, read text aloud, and provide information on words  —  If you handwriting is neat enough  —  Google has added a very useful feature to Google Lens, its multipurpose object recognition tool.
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Google expands Read Along, its Android app that uses AI to help children read via verbal and visual feedback in nine languages, from India to 180+ countries  —  Google today launched Read Along, an Android app that taps AI and machine learning to help children learn to read by providing verbal and visual feedback.
Frank X. Shaw / Microsoft on the Issues:
Microsoft communications VP, Frank Shaw, says Amazon has filed another protest against Microsoft's JEDI deal, this time out of public view, directly with DoD  —  Many years ago when I was on active duty as a Marine officer in the 1980s, I went through cold weather training carrying …
Owen Churchill / South China Morning Post:
Citizen Lab: WeChat screens overseas users for sensitive content, which it then bars from being viewed by Chinese accounts  —  Research group Citizen Lab finds WeChat screens overseas users for sensitive content, which it then bars from being received by Chinese accounts Findings are likely …
Dana Wollman / Engadget:
Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch review: nice display, lovely keyboard, and great performance, but models with 10th-gen Intel CPUs are pricey and it can get hot  —  I had a feeling I'd be reviewing a new 13-inch MacBook Pro sooner rather than later.  When Apple refreshed the MacBook Air back in March …
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
Uber leads a $170M investment in Lime, with Bain Capital Ventures, Alphabet, and GV participating, and will transfer its Jump scooter division to Lime  —  - Uber is leading a $170 million investment round in Lime, the companies announced Thursday.  — Uber will transfer its own electric bike …
Lora Kolodny / CNBC:
Uber reports Q1 revenue of $3.54B, up 14% YoY, gross bookings of $15.8B, up 8%, net loss of $2.9B; rides gross bookings fell 5%, Eats bookings were up 52% YoY  —  - Ride-hailing giant Uber reports first-quarter results Thursday after the bell.  — This week, Uber laid off about 14% …
Brittany A. Roston / SlashGear:
Smart home company Wink to require users pay a $4.99 monthly subscription fee starting May 13, or device automations and accessibility via app will be disabled  —  Smart home company Wink has made a surprising and heavily criticized announcement: it will soon charge a monthly subscription fee.
Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:
Square launches Online Checkout to let sellers accept card payments without having to build an entire online store  —  Square is introducing a new payment tool designed for small businesses looking to rapidly transition to ecommerce.  —  With billions of people around the world forced …
More: PYMNTS.com
New York Times:
Israeli security company says hackers linked to the Chinese military have used Aria-body, a cyberattack tool, on governments and firms in Australia and SE Asia  —  An Israeli security company said the hacking software, called Aria-body, had been deployed against governments and state-owned companies in Australia and Southeast Asia.
Apple:
Apple awards $10M from its Advanced Manufacturing Fund to COPAN Diagnostics, a leader in COVID-19 sample collection kit production  —  Cupertino, California — Apple today announced it is awarding $10 million from its Advanced Manufacturing Fund to COPAN Diagnostics, a market leader …
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Groove, which provides customer service software for SMBs, raises $12M Series A led by Level Equity  —  Sales engagement solutions provider Groove today announced that it raised $12 million, which CEO Chris Rothstein says will be used to expand awareness and acceleration adoption of the company's platform.

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Try Gemini 3 Pro  —  Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Shopify:
Shopify's new AI commerce stack  —  Their VP of Product digs into just-launched products to help entrepreneurs and developers build with the latest AI and tech.
Zoho:
Why eIDAS 2.0 might be the EU's boldest digital move yet  —  eIDAS: The first building block of digital trust More than a decade ago, the EU introduced the eIDAS regulation (Regulation [EU] No 910/2014) …
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Big Technology Podcast:
Sam Altman: How OpenAI Wins, AI Buildout Logic, IPO in 2026?
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Access:
Betting on reality with Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Lenny's Podcast:
The new AI growth playbook for 2026: How Lovable hit $200M ARR in one year | Elena Verna (Head of Growth)
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
"Neither Side Is Used to Losing." Lucas Shaw on What's Next for Netflix and Paramount in the Battle for Warner Bros.
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.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
Uncapped with Jack Altman:
Saam Motamedi from Greylock Partners
Conversations with people I admire about things I'm genuinely interested in.
Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling
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.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 8:50 PM ET, May 7, 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

Kevin Collier / NBC News:
Kate Conger / New York Times:

Earlier Picks

Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Matt Brian / Engadget:
David Kaye / Just Security: