Techmeme
November 4, 2021, 9:20 AM

Top News

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Instagram brings back support for Twitter Card previews after removing the feature in 2012  —  Instagram is bringing back support for Twitter Card previews starting today.  Now when users share an Instagram link on Twitter, a preview of the post will be shown in the tweet.
Alex Heath / The Verge:
Meta announces new Facebook creator tools, including custom subscription links that use its native payments system to bypass Apple and Google's IAP cut  —  The change is specifically about circumventing Apple's 30 percent tax, according to Zuckerberg  —  Facebook has found a way to skirt Apple's 30 percent tax on in-app transactions.
New York Times:
Google is aggressively pursuing a major cloud computing and AI contract with the Pentagon, three years after employee outcry ended similar work on Project Maven  —  Three years ago, the company walked away from a Defense Department project after employees objected to it.
Michael Kan / PCMag:
FCC approves Boeing's application to deploy and operate satellites providing broadband internet to US consumers and business; application was filed in 2017  —  According to the FCC, Boeing plans on using the satellite internet system to supply broadband to residential, commercial, and government customers.
Biz Carson / Protocol:
PitchBook: female-founded startups raised a record $40.4B across 2,661 VC deals in the first three quarters of 2021, with the value of exits reaching $59B  —  The pandemic took a toll on female founders in 2020: Funding to their companies fell 3% even in a bullish startup climate that saw overall venture funding rise by 16%.
Vlad Savov / Bloomberg:
Google says it will let Android app developers use alternative billing systems in the Google Play store in South Korea, complying with a new law  —  Alphabet Inc.'s Google said it will add the option for developers to offer alternative billing systems on its Android app store in South Korea …
Rebecca Heilweil / Vox:
Meta will retain some of its facial recognition systems, including its DeepFace model, and plans to incorporate biometrics into its metaverse products  —  The social network is scaling back facial recognition, but similar technology could show up in the metaverse.
Catalin Cimpanu / The Record:
US sanctions four companies, including NSO Group, that sell spyware or hacking tools, adding them to a list of entities engaging in “malicious cyber activities”  —  The US government has sanctioned today four companies that develop and sell spyware and other hacking tools, the US Department of Commerce announced today.
James Batchelor / GamesIndustry.biz:
US-based game publisher Devolver Digital raises around $261M in a London IPO, at a valuation of about $950M  —  Fall Guys publisher is biggest US firm to trade on AIM, Sony Interactive Entertainment makes 5% investment in Devolver  —  Devolver Digital has begun trading on AIM …
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
PubNub, which provides messaging, presence, and other data-based APIs for apps, raises a $65M Series E led by Raine Group, bringing its total funding to $130M+  —  Data streams with continual, real-time updates of information are a critical building block of how apps and sites function today …
Alexander Osipovich / Wall Street Journal:
Google strikes a cloud deal with CME and invests $1B in the futures exchange  —  Alphabet Inc.'s Google has invested $1 billion in futures-exchange giant CME Group Inc. and struck a deal to move the company's core trading systems to the cloud.  —  Under the deal, the technology giant's Google Cloud unit …
Christine Hall / TechCrunch:
Cloudbeds, which makes management software for the hospitality industry, raises a $150M Series D led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, bringing total funding to $253M  —  As U.S. hotel occupancy hit pre-pandemic levels this summer, the hospitality industry is bracing for what is expected to be a rush of activity as people resume travel.
More: Skift and FinSMEsTweets: @rafat
Takashi Mochizuki / Bloomberg:
Nintendo says it doesn't see “component shortages recovering” at the moment as it cuts Switch sales target from 25.5M to 24M for FY 2021  —  - Company upgrades operating profit outlook citing FX rates  — Sustaining sales momentum will depend heavily on OLED model
Chunying Zhang / Bloomberg:
Chinese self-driving startup Momenta raises $200M from investors including SAIC and Jack Ma's Yunfeng Capital, bringing its total raised this year to ~$1.2B  —  - Latest funding takes total raised this year to $1.2 billion  — Investors include auto giants GM, Toyota; Singapore's Temasek
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Take-Two Interactive Q2: revenue of $858.2M, up 2% YoY, net bookings of $984.9M, up 3%; GTA V has sold 155M+ copies and generated $6B+ in revenue since 2013  —  Join gaming leaders online at GamesBeat Summit Next this upcoming November 9-10.  Learn more about what comes next.

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Earlier Picks

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Catalin Cimpanu / The Record:
Catalin Cimpanu / The Record:
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Taylor Soper / GeekWire:
Tom Warren / The Verge: