Techmeme
March 8, 2021, 11:40 PM

Top News

Igor Bonifacic / Engadget:
Apple releases iOS 14.4.1 and macOS 11.2.3 to address a WebKit flaw that could allow hackers to run arbitrary code on devices via malicious web content  —  Apple has released a set of updates it recommends all iPhone, iPad and Mac users download as soon as possible.  No,  —  iOS 14.5 and
Kif Leswing / CNBC:
In an interview, Mark Zuckerberg discusses AR/VR and says that by 2030, he expects people with smart glasses to “teleport” to locations for in-person meetings  —  - Mark Zuckerberg said on Monday that by 2030, people could use advanced smart glasses to “teleport” to other people's homes …
Alex Konrad / Forbes:
Interview with Zapier CEO on Sequoia and Steadfast Financial's January investment via secondary market, acquiring no-code education business Makerpad, and more  —  Zapier CEO Wade Foster avoids thinking about fundraising as much as possible.  Profitable for years, his startup …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
EU approves Microsoft's $7.5B deal to acquire ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks, without conditions  —  Microsoft will have 23 first-party game studios  —  The European Commission has approved Microsoft's $7.5 billion deal to acquire ZeniMax Media …
Catalin Cimpanu / The Record:
Secureworks: a second threat actor targeting SolarWinds flaws, by adding backdoors via Orion bugs, has characteristics that suggest the group is based in China  —  Back in December 2020, days after the massive SolarWinds supply chain attack came to light, Microsoft warned …
Dr. Ian Cutress / AnandTech:
Intel, Microsoft, DARPA announce the DPRIVE program, which aims to make fully homomorphic encryption fast enough for practical use, via custom silicon on Azure  —  When considering data privacy and protections, there is no data more important than personal data, whether that's medical, financial, or even social.
Sarah E. Needleman / Wall Street Journal:
Source: Discord generated $130M in revenue in 2020, up from $45M in 2019, but isn't profitable; CEO Jason Citron says its focus will be subscriptions, not ads  —  The chat startup is leaning on its millions of passionate users to fuel growth after nearly tripling revenue last year
Monica Chin / The Verge:
Leaks suggest Microsoft will release Surface Laptop 4 in both AMD and Intel variants; AMD models will come with Ryzen 4000 and Intel models with 11th-gen chips  —  You can choose your CPU fighter  —  For a while, Microsoft's Surface Laptop 3 was one of the best laptops you could buy.
Marty Swant / Forbes:
Neeva, which is developing an ad-free search engine to be funded by subscriptions, raises $40M, valuing it at $300M and bringing the total raised to $77.5M  —  It wasn't long ago that Sridhar Ramaswamy was the king of Google advertising.  —  During his 15-year career at the search startup …
Jeff John Roberts / Decrypt:
PayPal says it acquired Tel Aviv-based Curv, which facilitates secure storage of cryptocurrency, source says for nearly $200M  —  PayPal announced on Monday it has acquired Curv, a Tel Aviv-based startup that uses a novel form of cryptography to safeguard customers' stashes of Bitcoin and other digital assets.
Nate Lanxon / Bloomberg:
GSMA says Mobile World Congress Barcelona will go ahead in June, with plans for up to 50,000 in-person attendees  —  - MWC Barcelona is industry body's main source of revenue  — Gathering was among first major Covid-related cancelations  —  The global mobile industry is planning …
Alex Wilhelm / TechCrunch:
Vendr, which helps companies manage SaaS purchasing, raises $60M Series A led by Tiger Global, says it charges customers from 1% to 5% of the spend it manages  —  This morning Vendr announced a $60 million Series A round, a huge funding event led by Tiger Global, with participation from Y Combinator …
Vikas SN / The Economic Times:
Facebook is testing a new opt-in feature for select users in India that will promote their Instagram Reels on Facebook  —  India is the first market where this feature is being piloted with select creators  —  Facebook is doubling down on short-form videos by launching the ability to create …
More: Bloomberg
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Apple partners with Common Sense Media, which specializes in age-based content reviews, to curate collections of podcasts for kids in the US  —  Coming to Apple Podcasts in the US  —  Apple is making it easier for parents to find podcasts to listen to with their kids.

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