Techmeme: A look at technology's role in professional surfing, as ML-based wave forecasting and biomechanics data help improve riders' performance and prevent injuries (Daniela Hernandez/Wall Street Journal)

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August 2, 2021, 8:20 AM

Top News

Greg Ahlstrand / CoinDesk:

Square reports Q2 revenue of $4.88B, up 143% YoY, while its Cash App service's bitcoin yearly revenue was $2.72B, up 200% — Cash App's bitcoin gross profit rose to $55 million, Square said in its Q2 letter to shareholders. — Jack Dorsey's Square said its Cash App service's bitcoin …

More: Square, Decrypt, altfi.com, Benzinga, The Block, Finextra, Coinspeaker, Bitcoin Magazine, blockchain.news, Cointelegraph, NewsBTC, and Reuters

Tweets: @firstgenwealth and @arturo_p_a

Reuters:

Square says it's buying Australia-based buy now, pay later service Afterpay for $29B in an all-stock deal, paying a 30% premium on Afterpay's last closing — U.S. fintech company Square Inc (SQ.N) said on Monday it had agreed to purchase Australian buy now/pay later giant Afterpay Ltd …

More: Wall Street Journal, The Verge, iTnews, TechCrunch, TNW, The Economic Times, Australian Financial Review, CNBC, PYMNTS.com, Gizmodo, Engadget, Cointelegraph, TechRadar, Fortune, Neowin, SiliconANGLE, Cryptonews, ABC, BBC, ZDNet, CNN, Insider, and Tech in Asia

Tweets: @jack, @square, @gokulr, @pitdesi, @magyer, @jonrussell, @magyer, @rstephens, @mengxilu, @fintechfrank, @jendudley, @valwagoner, @rrhoover, @packym, @bengrubb, @alexh_johnson, and @carnage4life

Jon Porter / The Verge:

YouTube trials Premium Lite subscription for €6.99/month, offering ad-free viewing across all major platforms, currently available in Europe — Currently being piloted in parts of Europe — Google is piloting a more affordable premium subscription tier for YouTube …

More: ResetEra, Android Authority, XDA Developers, PCMag, Engadget, Android Police, MacRumors, 9to5Google, iMore, phonearena.com, and Cult of Mac

Tweets: @chunvn8888, @danishkh4n, @tomwarren, and @martinsfp

Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:

Zoom agrees to pay $85M and bolster its security practices to settle a class action lawsuit over alleged user privacy violations and Zoombombing — Zoom Video Communications Inc (ZM.O) agreed to pay $85 million and bolster its security practices to settle a lawsuit claiming …

More: Engadget, BBC, ZDNet, CNN, Bloomberg, The Register, SiliconANGLE, Digital Trends, New York Times, Agence France-Presse, Axios, iTnews, The Hill, NPR, TheStreet, Mercury News, AppleInsider, and Slashdot. Tweets: @pernillet

Olivia Solon / NBC News:

Female journalists and activists share how they were targeted and harassed by authoritarian regimes through hack-and-leak attacks using the Pegasus spyware — Ghada Oueiss, a Lebanese broadcast journalist at Al-Jazeera, was eating dinner at home with her husband last June when she received …

Tweets: @memeghnad, @lalehkhalili, @k8em0, @drewharwell, @kimzetter, @trycatchhcf, @shadow0pz, @evan_greer, and @oliviasolon

See also Mediagazer

Heather Somerville / Wall Street Journal:

Non-VC funds invested in a record 42% of tech startup funding deals in Q2 2021; H1 '21 US startup funding was $150B, with FY 2021 on pace to double 2020's total — Hedge, mutual and pension funds are investing heavily, leading to higher valuations and more leverage for company founders

Tweets: @sarahponczek, @notamitalegend, @jontreble, @amyssorrells, @dngusev, @mv11151, @heathersomervil, @timcohn, and @mdudas

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:

Bangalore-based online learning startup Unacademy raises $440M led by Temasek at a $3.44B valuation — Unacademy has raised $440 million in a new financing round as the Indian online learning startup looks to expand into multiple additional categories. — Temasek led the Bangalore-based startup's …

More: The Economic Times, Moneycontrol, KrASIA, Bloomberg, Tech in Asia, Entrackr, Business Standard, and Keeping Up With India

Tweets: @samidhas, @prasannavishy, @gauravmunjal, and @gauravmunjal

Carly Page / TechCrunch:

Nozomi Networks, which aims to shield critical infrastructure from cyberattacks, raises $100M Series D led by Triangle Peak Partners as it prepares for an IPO — Nozomi Networks, an industry cybersecurity startup that aims to shield critical infrastructure from cyberattacks, has raised $100 million in pre-IPO funding.

More: VentureBeat, Reuters, and Nozomi Networks

Emmanuel Akinwotu / The Guardian:

Analysis: Nigeria is second only to the US in bitcoin trading volume, hitting $2.4B in May from $684M in Dec. 2020, as the government tries to curb its use — As leaders around the world grapple with cryptocurrencies, what happened when the African country tried to ban them?

More: Cointelegraph. Tweets: @yme, @anthonydessauer, @nic__carter, @lynaldencontact, and @gladstein

Zheping Huang / Bloomberg:

Matrixport, led by Bitmain founder Wu Jihan, which offers crypto financial services, raises $100M+ Series C, and says a second tranche is to come — - DST, Tiger are among the latest backers of Wu Jihan's firm — Matrixport has raised $129 million since its 2019 founding

More: Decrypt, The Block, Forkast, PR Newswire, blockchain.news, Coinspeaker, Cointelegraph, CoinDesk, and Tech in Asia. Tweets: @pingroma

Francis Agustin / Insider:

Filings: Starlink has secured a license to build a satellite ground station on the Isle of Man, aiming to provide “blanket coverage” across Great Britain — - Elon Musk's Starlink will seek to provide high-speed internet across Great Britain, the Telegraph first reported.

Source: Telegraph. More: TechRadar

Tweets: @jd and @rezahashemi

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

London-based Kuda, which offers mobile-first banking services in Nigeria, raises $55M Series B at a $500M valuation co-led by Valar Ventures and Target Global — Kuda Bank, the London-based, Nigerian-operating startup that is taking on incumbents in the country with a mobile-first …

More: TechCabal, Techpoint Africa, and WeeTracker

Tweets: @babsogundeyi, @oba_kinbo, @pkisadha, @iatalkspace, and @oluwatosinraji_

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About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 8:20 AM ET, August 2, 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.

From Mediagazer

April Rubin / Axios:

Journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort were arrested by federal agents on Jan. 29 and Jan. 30, respectively, for their coverage of a Minnesota church protest

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Bob Iger has told associates that he plans to step down as Disney CEO before December 31; the board plans to vote on his replacement next week

Andrew Marchand / The Athletic:

ESPN closes the deal to acquire multiple NFL Media assets after receiving US regulatory approval; NFL will get a 10% stake in ESPN as part of the agreement

More News

Jennifer Elias / CNBC:

Filings: Larry Page and Sergey Brin have sold a combined $1B+ in Google stock since May 2021, the most since 2017; Google's share price has since tripled

Christine Hall / TechCrunch:

Mixlab, which lets veterinarians prescribe and deliver medications to pet owners, raises $20M Series A led by Sonoma Brands

More: Yahoo Finance and VatorNews

Dan Taylor / Tech.eu:

Snoop, which uses open banking and analytics to help customers manage their money, raises £15M Series A at a post-money valuation of £47M

More: Finextra

Ryan Browne / CNBC:

Estonian ride hailing startup Bolt, formerly known as Taxify, raises $713M at a ~$4.75B valuation, led by Sequoia, Tekne, and Ghisallo

More: Bloomberg, Forbes, Reuters, and blog.bolt.eu

Tweets: @ryan_browne_, @pvesterbacka, @e_estonia, and @ryan_browne_

Daniela Hernandez / Wall Street Journal:

A look at technology's role in professional surfing, as ML-based wave forecasting and biomechanics data help improve riders' performance and prevent injuries

Tweets: @asayed, @danielas_bot, and @richardattiasas

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:

Indian online insurance aggregator Policybazaar files for IPO, seeks to raise $809M and says it may raise about $100M in a pre-IPO round

More: The Economic Times, Moneycontrol, Moneycontrol, and Tech in Asia. Tweets: @digbijaymishra1

Brent Lang / Variety:

Profile of Netflix's head of movies Scott Stuber, who has grown original film output from 21 in 2016 to 70+ in 2021, as it makes deals with Spielberg and others

Tweets: @erikdavis, @getfandom, @ljwr_, @cavillclarke, @variety, @adequateemily, @2old2guard, @raminsetoodeh, @dfriend, and @discussingfilm

Earlier Picks

Maya Wolfe-Robinson / The Guardian:

Report: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok failed to act on 84% of posts spreading anti-Semitism reported via their own complaint systems

Stitch / The Verge:

Some K-pop stars are bypassing Twitter and Facebook to create platforms for fans, like Universe, which features AI-generated voice calls with the idols

Tweets: @roburaibu, @stitchmediamix, @marshawright, @researchbts, @fansumption, @pauljholden, and @verge