Techmeme
February 25, 2021, 11:20 AM

Top News

Alex Leary / Wall Street Journal:
Biden signs an EO mandating a 100-day review of supply chains, including for semiconductors and rare-earth metals, amid chip shortages  —  The president signed an executive order with the aim of eventually increasing domestic production of critical materials
Daniel Van Boom / CNET:
Australia passes news bargaining code that requires Facebook, Google, and other digital platforms pay local media outlets and publishers for their content  —  Australia on Wednesday passed a new media law that had generated noisy pushback from internet giants Google and Facebook …
Jeff John Roberts / Decrypt:
Coinbase files its S-1, reveals profit of $322M in 2020 on $1.2B in revenue, up from a loss of $30M in 2019 on $533M in revenue  —  The recent Bitcoin bull run helped Coinbase pull in a profit of $322 million on revenues of over $1.2 billion in 2020, putting the cryptocurrency giant …
Richard Lawler / Engadget:
ViacomCBS says Paramount+ will cost $5/month with ads and $10/month without ads; the ad tier will be available in June while the ad-free tier starts on March 4  —  ViacomCBS has a ‘mountain of content’ on the way to streaming, including a ‘Halo’ series and ‘Beavis and Butthead.’
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
India issues tougher rules for tech firms and streaming services like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and Netflix over resolving user complaints and more  —  India announced sweeping rules to regulate social media firms, streaming services, and digital news outlets, joining a handful of other nations …
Megan Graham / CNBC:
Facebook launches a TV, radio, and digital ad campaign in support of personalized ads called Good Ideas Deserve to be Found, ahead of Apple's IDFA changes  —  - Facebook is launching a new ad campaign called “Good Ideas Deserve to be Found,” which makes a case for personalized advertising.
Sean Hollister / The Verge:
Tech retailer Fry's Electronics announces it will cease operations effective immediately, blaming industry changes and the pandemic  —  Your best buys are no longer at Fry's, guaranteed  —  Fry's Electronics, one of the last big brick-and-mortar electronics store chains in the United States …
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Otter.ai, which offers an AI-based transcription service, raises $50M Series B, including $10M in convertible notes, led by Spectrum Equity  —  AI transcription startup Otter.ai today announced it has raised $50 million in a series B round that includes $10 million in convertible notes and was led by Spectrum Equity.
More: TechCrunch
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Terminus, a B2B marketing service that combines sales and marketing functions, raises $90M Series C, sources say at a valuation of around $400M  —  Sales and marketing are often considered a single category on a business plan, but ironically, when it comes to building apps and services to help with them …
Yogita Khatri / The Block:
Sorare, an ethereum-powered marketplace for creating and trading football NFTs, raises $50M Series A led by Benchmark  —  Quick Take  — NFT marketplace Sorare has raised $50 million in Series A.  — The round was led by Benchmark, with participation from Accel, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian …
Lauren Kaori Gurley / VICE:
Amazon is sending postal mail to warehouse workers in Bessemer, Alabama urging them to “VOTE NO” on unionization, and has also pushed anti-union ads on Twitch  —  A mysterious new USPS mailbox has appeared on Amazon property amid a historic union drive in Bessemer, Alabama.
Maggie Fitzgerald / CNBC:
GameStop shares closed up nearly 104% on Wednesday, halting twice for volatility; GameStop said on Tuesday its CFO will resign  —  - GameStop announced Tuesday that its chief financial officer Jim Bell will resign on March 26.  — Sources familiar with the matter told Business Insider …
Rafael Frankel / About Facebook:
Facebook says it is banning all Myanmar military and military-controlled entities from Facebook and Instagram, and ads from military-linked commercial entities  —  Myanmar military banned from Facebook and Instagram with immediate effect.  —  Today, we are banning the remaining Myanmar military …
Bloomberg:
FCC says Verizon spent the most during its 5G licenses auction, bidding $45.5B, followed by AT&T with $23.4B, and T-Mobile with $9.3B  —  - AT&T is second at $23 billion in bids, followed by T-Mobile  — FCC releases results of so-called C-band airwaves sale
Katie Roof / Bloomberg:
BetterUp, which helps clients provide employees with career coaches and mental health counseling, raises $125M Series D at a $1.73B valuation  —  - $125 million Series D funding round led by Iconiq Growth  — BetterUp offers coaching, counseling as well as mentorship
More: Reuters
Michael McSweeney / The Block:
Optimism, which plans to help scale the Ethereum blockchain with a Layer 2 protocol, raises $25M Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz  —  Optimism, a startup focused on the scalability of the Ethereum blockchain network, has raised a $25 million Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz.
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Stockholm-based Memmo.me, which allows users to pay celebrities for personalized video messages, raises $10M Series A  —  Memmo.me, a startup allowing users to pay celebrities for personalized video messages, is announcing that it has raised $10 million in Series A funding.
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Armorblox, which protects enterprise communications using AI, raises $30M Series B led by Next47, bringing its total raised to $46.5M  —  Armorblox, a cybersecurity startup using natural language understanding to protect enterprise communications, today announced that it raised $30 million in series B venture capital funding.

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:
Zoho People in 2025: A year in review  —  As we wrap up 2025, we're taking a moment to look back on a year filled with progress and transformation at Zoho People.  Our team has been constantly pushing boundaries …
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:
OpenAI's Potential, Google's Speedy Model, Copilot Hits Turbulence
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.
Hard Fork:
Why Roomba Died + Tech Predictions for 2026 + A Hard Forkin' Xmas Song
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
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.
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 11:20 AM ET, February 25, 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

Stephanie Condon / ZDNet:

Earlier Picks

Jeff Cox / CNBC:
Mitchell Clark / The Verge:
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Taylor Lyles / The Verge:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Sean Hollister / The Verge: