Techmeme
February 1, 2021, 8:25 PM

Top News

Stephen Totilo / Kotaku:
Google says it will close its two Stadia game studios, in LA and Montreal, and Stadia head Jade Raymond is leaving; the closure will affect ~150 developers  —  Google Stadia, the late 2019 streaming platform that promised to revolutionize gaming by letting users stream games without needing …
Chris Velazco / Engadget:
Apple releases the first iOS 14.5 beta, which lets users unlock their iPhones with Face ID while wearing a mask if they are also wearing an Apple Watch  —  The feature debuts in a new developer beta, available now  —  While the full release won't arrive for some time …
Peter Rudegeair / Wall Street Journal:
Robinhood says it has raised $2.4B from shareholders, just days after raising ~$1B  —  The $3.4 billion raised since last Thursday is more than the company has raised in its entire prior existence  —  Robinhood Markets Inc. raised another $2.4 billion from shareholders …
Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge:
Ford says “millions” of its vehicles will run on Android starting in 2023, as it signs a six-year deal for Google Cloud to provide connected vehicle services  —  Google bags its latest automotive partner  —  Ford is the latest automaker to turn its vehicle operating systems over to Google.
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Facebook is testing a notification for Facebook and Instagram iOS app users globally that encourages opting in to tracking for a “better ads experience”  —  Facebook is testing a notification that notifies Apple iOS users about ways the tech giant uses their data to target personalized ads to them.
Alex Heath / The Information:
Source: Sriram Krishnan, known for holding product leadership roles at Facebook, Twitter, and Snap, has joined Andreessen Horowitz as a general partner  —  Sriram Krishnan, a well-known tech investor and former product leader at Twitter, has joined the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz …
Ian Allison / CoinDesk:
Sources: IBM has drastically downsized its blockchain team after missing revenue targets by 90%; IBM says the unit is “doing well”  —  “There is not really going to be a blockchain team any longer,” said a source.  —  IBM has cut its blockchain team down to almost nothing …
Mike Butcher / TechCrunch:
A recap of Elon Musk's Clubhouse appearance, which broke the 5,000 participant limit, pushing some to YouTube, and included an interview with Robinhood's CEO  —  Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, SpaceX, and many other companies, has mastered the art of using Twitter to harness fans …
Kellen Browning / New York Times:
Microsoft's head of IR says Xbox will be in short supply through at least June, after it sold every unit it had last quarter and topped $5B in gaming revenue  —  A month after the holiday season, gamers are still contending with scalpers, bots and immense demand as they hunt for elusive devices.
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Twitter quietly restored a number of high-profile accounts in India it banned earlier, citing a “legal demand”, including Caravan and two politicians  —  Twitter blocked access to dozens of accounts in India, including some that belonged to high-profile individuals in the country …
Yuri Kageyama / Associated Press:
Nintendo reports April-December results: ~$3.6B profit on revenue of $13B, 24M Switches sold, and forecasts $3.8B profit for the fiscal year ending March 2021  —  TOKYO (AP) — Nintendo Co. reported Monday that its profit for the first three fiscal quarters nearly doubled as people around …
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Democrats have complained to companies, including Google, that have suspended campaign donations, say they are being penalized for Republicans' actions  —  Lawmakers say companies' suspension of campaign donations puts business priorities at risk  —  Lawmakers from both parties …

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: Revolutionizing Commerce with Winter Edition '26  —  Over 150+ new features transform how merchants build, design, and grow—with technology that amplifies creative vision.
Zoho:
Zoho Billing Enterprise Edition: A platform for strategic revenue operations  —  Today's enterprises are adopting more flexible pricing models, charging customers based on actual consumption.
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:
AI Is Upending Law. Is That A Sign For The Rest Of Us? — With Melia Russell
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.
[trading places]:
Ben Black Akkadian Ventures🏆 | Secondaries Secrets 💎 | RAISE Conf 🎯 | Vercel $9B 🚀
a very bad podcast about broken unicorns & busted carry hosted by dave mcclure and aman verjee
Subscribe to [trading places].
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Lachlan Cartwright Started in Tabloids. Now He's a Must-Read Media Gossip.
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.
Invest Like the Best:
Gavin Baker - Nvidia v. Google, Scaling Laws, and the Economics of AI
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
Uncapped with Jack Altman:
Pat Grady & Alfred Lin from Sequoia
Conversations with people I admire about things I'm genuinely interested in.
Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 8:25 PM ET, February 1, 2021.

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

Byron Kaye / Reuters:
Maryclaire Dale / Associated Press:

Earlier Picks

Abner Li / 9to5Google:
NetBlocks: