Techmeme: Beyond Identity, which uses certificates to provide passwordless identity management, raises $75M Series B, bringing its total raised to $105M (Kyle Wiggers/VentureBeat)

Top News

Joe Rossignol / MacRumors:

Apple announces AirPods Max, over-ear headphones with noise cancellation, available from December 15 for $549 — Apple today introduced new wireless over-ear headphones called AirPods Max, with key features including high-fidelity audio, Adaptive EQ, Active Noise Cancellation, and spatial audio.

Jessica Bursztynsky / CNBC:

Uber's self-driving unit, Advanced Technologies Group, to be acquired by rival Aurora Innovation in a deal valuing ATG at $4B; source: Aurora now valued at $10B — - Self-driving vehicle start-up Aurora is acquiring Uber's Advanced Technologies Group, which works on self-driving technology.

Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:

Cloudflare and Apple say they have developed a new protocol called Oblivious DNS-over-HTTPS, which decouples DNS queries from internet users for more privacy — Engineers at Cloudflare and Apple say they've developed a new internet protocol that will shore up one of the biggest holes …

More: The Cloudflare Blog, 9to5Mac, The Cloudflare Blog, MacRumors, Computerworld, AppleInsider, Apple Terminal, CyberScoop, iMore, Apple Must, iDownloadBlog.com, and The Mac Observer

Tweets: @grittygrease, @pimterry, @counternotions, and @jgrahamc

BBC:

China bans TripAdvisor from its app store along with 104 apps it said were violating cyber-laws aimed at fighting pornography, gambling, and violence — China has removed 105 apps from its app stores as part of a campaign to get rid of content related to pornography, prostitution, gambling and violence.

More: CNN, AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, iPhone Hacks, and iMore

Tweets: @jedimarkus77 and @cnn

Sean Hollister / The Verge:

Google says Stadia users will be able to live stream directly to YouTube starting December 8 — Finally fulfilling its biggest original promise — From the very beginning, Google Stadia and YouTube were supposed to work together — thanks to the magic of cloud computing …

More: 9to5Google, XDA Developers, Thurrott, Engadget, Input, iPhone in Canada Blog, Neowin, MakeUseOf, and SlashGear

Tweets: @alexhern and @jaycuthrell

Lily Hay Newman / Wired:

Researchers detail vulnerabilities found in four open source TCP/IP stacks used in millions of embedded IoT devices, collectively called Amnesia:33 — Amnesia:33 is the latest in a long line of vulnerabilities that affect countless embedded devices. — YES, AT THIS point it's a cliche that cheap …

More: Threatpost, Associated Press, ZDNet, Forescout, CyberScoop, and SC Media

Nick Statt / The Verge:

Samsung's SmartThings will support Google Nest devices starting in January 2021 — Support for Nest products through the SmartThings app arrives next month — Google and Samsung are bringing their smart home platforms together for the first time. Samsung's SmartThings …

More: The Keyword, XDA Developers, 9to5Google, ZDNet, SlashGear, CNET, MSPoweruser, SamMobile, Neowin, Android Central, and Tom's Guide

Alan Boyle / GeekWire:

SpaceX's Starlink satellite network wins $885M in federal aid for rural broadband, as part of a $9.2B allocation by FCC to be paid across 180 auction bidders — SpaceX's Starlink satellite network — which relies on hundreds of spacecraft built in Redmond, Wash. — has been awarded $885.5 million …

More: Ars Technica, Federal Communications …, CNBC, Digital Trends, Engadget, Reuters, ZDNet, Wall Street Journal, Mashable, Forbes, SlashGear, TechCrunch, CNET, and The Verge

Tweets: @rossataca, @fcc, @ajitpaifcc, and @carolynporco

Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:

Beyond Identity, which uses certificates to provide passwordless identity management, raises $75M Series B, bringing its total raised to $105M — Beyond Identity, a New York-based startup developing passwordless identity management solutions, raised $75 million in venture capital.

More: FinLedger, FinSMEs, SecurityWeek, and hackernoon.com

Gillian Tan / Bloomberg:

Calm, maker of a meditation, sleep, and relaxation app, raises $75M at a $2B valuation, bringing its total raised to $217M — - Insight, Marc Benioff also participated in $75 million round — San Francisco-based firm's app has 4 million paying users

More: GlobeNewswire and Crunchbase News

Tweets: @pkedrosky and @sarthakgh

Khari Johnson / VentureBeat:

Nvidia researchers have created an augmentation method for training generative adversarial networks that they say enables results with 10 to 20 times less data — Nvidia researchers have created an augmentation method for training generative adversarial networks (GANs) that requires less data.

More: The Official NVIDIA Blog, Synced, Engadget, AI News, SlashGear, and Datanami

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

GoHenry, which offers a pre-paid card and finance app for 6-18 year olds, raises $40M led by Edison Partners — Young people have long been a prime, if especially careful, target for financial services companies: find the right and responsible way to connect with them, and you could have a good customer for many years.

Tweets: @ingridlunden

Hartley Charlton / MacRumors:

Apple says Fitness+, its workout class subscription service, will launch on December 14 in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand — Apple has today announced that its fitness subcription service, Apple Fitness+, is set to launch on Monday, December 14.

More: Apple, Gizmodo, Macworld, AppleInsider, Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, The Verge, CNET, Engadget, 9to5Mac, Redmond Pie, MacStories, and Six Colors. Tweets: @lamonicabuzz

Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:

Dragos, which helps secure critical industrial infrastructure like power plants, raises $110M Series C — Cybersecurity firm Dragos has raised $110 million in its Series C, almost triple the amount that it raised two years ago in its last round. — Dragos was founded in 2016 to detect …

More: CyberScoop

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:

Facebook adds carts to WhatsApp, allowing users to add multiple items from a business to the cart then send the order request as a message to the business — WhatsApp said on Tuesday it is adding a new shopping feature to its business app as the Facebook -owned instant messaging service looks …

More: The Verge, About Facebook, Neowin, Android Central, and MSPoweruser

Tweets: @brianroemmele and @ohmdee

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Sundae, which has built a marketplace for distressed properties, raises $36M Series B led by QED Investors — Opendoor has opened the door, so to speak, for startups to apply their technical expertise in search, marketplaces and audience segmentation to rethink the very antiquated and analogue world of property.

Kim Lyons / The Verge:

Airbnb launches Airbnb.org for allowing hosts to provide free and discounted stays to refugees, essential workers, and people affected by natural disasters — Hosts on the platform can provide free and discounted stays as in-kind donations — Airbnb is launching a nonprofit to allow …

More: Airbnb Newsroom, PhocusWire, PYMNTS.com, Engadget, and CNET

Tweets: @baxiabhishek, @chrislehane, and @socialkimly

Connie Chan / Andreessen Horowitz:

In a new era of video ushered in by TikTok, real-time interactivity is baked into viewing experiences, which may lead to shifts in education, shopping, and more — Social Strikes Back is a series exploring the next generation of social networks and how they're shaping the future of consumer tech.

More: Andreessen Horowitz, Beyond Search, Andreessen Horowitz, Andreessen Horowitz, Andreessen Horowitz, and Andreessen Horowitz

Tweets: @conniechan, @ohmdee, @andrewchen, @a16z, and @taylorlorenz

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