Techmeme: Bluecore, which develops AI-based marketing automation tools, raises $50M Series D led by Georgian Partners, bringing its total raised to $110M (Ingrid Lunden/TechCrunch)

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The worst of the pandemic may have passed in China, but officials are eager to find new uses for the virus monitoring software that's now on many phones — With the disease there mostly under control, officials are looking for new uses for the government software that's now on many phones.

More: The Next Web, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and VICE

Tweets: @arjunkharpal, @cnbc, @amandadeibert, @counternotions, @gladstein, @emilyzfeng, @joshchin, @faineg, @pt0kes, @jemilahmahmood, @neerajka, and @mdudas

Richard Lai / Engadget:

Ex-HTC CEO Peter Chou unveils XRSpace Mova, a $599 5G VR headset with a virtual world called Manova, with a focus on intuitiveness and a social-first approach — Even though Peter Chou had long parted ways with the VR business he created at HTC, the former CEO continued to work in the industry …

More: VentureBeat, The Verge, CNET, Android Authority, VentureBeat, Bloomberg, Road to VR, SlashGear, VRFocus, and ZDNet

Tweets: @cnet, @rogerwcheng, @bdsams, and @richardlai

Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:

ARM announces high-end mobile designs of Cortex-A78 CPU and Mali-G78 GPU, which will power flagship Android phones of 2021 for better performance and efficiency — An early look at the future of mobile devices — ARM has announced its latest high-end mobile designs …

More: Android Authority, Android Police, SemiAccurate, ZDNet, AnandTech, AnandTech, PCWorld, CNET, and Bloomberg. Tweets: @whatthebit

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Bluecore, which develops AI-based marketing automation tools, raises $50M Series D led by Georgian Partners, bringing its total raised to $110M — As more online brands look for ways to move beyond third-party cookies as a way of gaining more direct insights about their users and customers …

Will Heaven / MIT Technology Review:

Smaller American retailers are turning to robots to automate warehouse work, techniques long used by Amazon and others, spurred on by the pandemic — Big online stores are based around vast automated warehouses. Smaller and cheaper versions of this tech will be key if smaller stores are to survive through a series of lockdowns.

Christopher Mims / Wall Street Journal:

The biggest tech companies have the resources to out-innovate their competitors and further solidify their dominance as smaller rivals struggle — The only thing better than being essential to the global economy during a crisis? Having the cash to continue to out-innovate your suddenly impoverished competitors.

Tweets: @hkanji, @mims, @mims, and @vardi

Ryan Browne / CNBC:

Estonia-based on-demand transport startup Bolt raises €100M in a convertible note from Naya Capital Management at a €1.7B valuation — - Bolt said it raised 100 million euros from Naya Capital, lifting the ride-hailing app's valuation to 1.7 billion euros.

More: TechCrunch, Reuters, EU-Startups, Bloomberg, Forbes, and CNBC

Tweets: @ryan_browne_ and @hkanji. Thanks:@ryan_browne_

Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:

Zurich-based Scandit, which develops software for barcode scanning, OCR, and AR, raises $80M series C led by G2VP, bringing its total raised to $123M — Enterprise barcode scanner company Scandit has closed an $80 million Series C round, led by Silicon Valley VC firm G2VP.

More: VentureBeat, FinSMEs, Tech.eu, Scandit, and Scandit

Bloomberg:

Japan-based Lasertec, which makes semiconductor testing machines for ultraviolet lithography manufacturing at $40M+/machine, saw its stock rise 550% in 2019 — - Up About 550% since start of 2019, Lasertec is key supplier — Company sells semiconductor testing machines to Samsung, TSMC

Rita Liao / TechCrunch:

Medwing, which develops an automatic job matching system connecting workers with hospitals and nursing homes, raises €28M Series B led by Cathay Innovation — Medwing, a German startup with an ambition to tackle Europe's shortage of healthcare workers, said on Tuesday …

More: UKTN, EU-Startups, and Tech.eu. Tweets: @filipdames

Zheping Huang / Bloomberg:

Chinese food delivery service Meituan Dianping beats estimates with sales of $2.4B, net loss of $221M; Meituan stock rose 9.7%, taking its market cap to $100B+ — - CEO Wang Xing warns of persistent pressure over 2020 — Hotel and travel services hit by virus fears, travel curbs

More: TechCrunch. Tweets: @pingroma

Mark Scott / Politico:

With GDPR's two-year anniversary today, the Irish Data Protection Commission is under pressure to act, amid doubts about the agency's enforcement ability — Ireland's Data Protection Commission is under pressure to act, and act soon. — Facebook's European headquarters in Dublin.

More: Noyb, CNET, CdrInfo.com, Reuters, TechSpot, and EURACTIV.com

Tweets: @maxschrems, @maxschrems, @maxschrems, @rossjanderson, @markets, and @kaminskimk

Stephanie Bodoni / Bloomberg:

Privacy advocate Max Schrems criticizes Irish data protection authority in an open letter for the slow pace of its probes into Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp

More: noyb, TechRadar.com, EURACTIV.com, The Irish Times, Politico, beuc.eu, Telecoms.com, The Irish Times, Silicon Republic, and Computer Business Review

Tweets: @siliconbarry, @maxschrems, @nicholasvinocur, @dataethicseu, @malteengeler, and @jason_kint

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