Techmeme
December 16, 2021, 3:15 PM

Top News

Reddit:
Reddit confidentially files its S-1 with the SEC for an IPO; the number of shares to be offered and the price range have yet to be determined  —  Reddit, Inc. today announced that it has confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission …
Henry Mance / Financial Times:
Interview with Meta's VP of Global Affairs Nick Clegg on leaving politics, the impact of Haugen's leaks, and his leading role in the decision to ban Trump  —  Nick Clegg may be available in Berlin.  He has a slot in Paris.  He'll make time for lunch in Brussels.
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Job listings show Apple is hiring engineers for a new office in Irvine, California to develop wireless chips that could replace Broadcom and Skyworks components  —  - Company seeks engineers for location in Irvine, California  — Apple is poised to attract employees from Broadcom, Skyworks
Tanya Basu / MIT Technology Review:
Meta says a woman was groped in Horizon Worlds on November 26; an internal review found she should have used the VR platform's Safe Zone tool  —  Last week, Meta (the umbrella company formerly known as Facebook) opened up access to its virtual-reality social media platform, Horizon Worlds.
Orla McCaffrey / Wall Street Journal:
Tax preparation company H&R Block sues Block, formerly Square, for trademark infringement, claiming Block's name and logo are “nearly identical” to its own  —  Square changed name to Block earlier this month, a nod to CEO Jack Dorsey's blockchain ambitions
Liza Lin / Wall Street Journal:
TikTok says it will adjust its recommendation algorithm to avoid negative reinforcement and let users pick words and hashtags to remove videos from their feed  —  The app says it is working to diversify the content it pushes to individual users in order to protect their mental well-being
Kris Holt / Engadget:
Sidewalk Labs plans to shut down, fold its products into Google, and spin out Canopy Buildings; CEO Dan Doctoroff says he is stepping down for health reasons  —  Alphabet's smart city project is winding down and Google will take over its products.  Sidewalk Labs CEO Dan Doctoroff announced …
Chainalysis:
Analysis: cryptocurrency scams cost victims $7.7B in 2021, up 81% from 2020, driven by DeFi-based “rug pulls” wherein developers unexpectedly abandon projects  —  This blog is a preview of our 2022 Crypto Crime Report.  Sign up here to reserve your copy and we'll email you the full report when it comes out in February!
Bloomberg:
Sources: Indian edtech company Byju's is in advanced talks to go public via a SPAC on the NYSE, raising around $4B and seeking a $48B valuation  —  - Education startup is discussing deal with Churchill Capital  — SPAC merger could value Byju's at more than $40 billion
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Apple releases Swift Playgrounds 4, which lets users develop iPhone and iPad apps on their iPads, preview apps in real time, and upload them to the App Store  —  Apple announced that it has officially released Swift Playgrounds 4.  The tech giant first announced the upcoming launch of the new software at WWDC earlier this year.
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Memo: Apple delays its return to corporate offices to a “date yet to be determined”, after previously setting a February 1 return date  —  - Company had planned to bring corporate workers back by Feb. 1  — Delay comes in response to rising Covid-19 cases, new variant
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Washington Post:
An in-depth look at the four-minute tornado in Illinois, with the only deaths coming at an Amazon warehouse, where workers sheltered in restrooms  —  A woman told 911 that one of the people sheltering with her had been ‘bent in half’ by rubble.  A driver detailed his frantic flight to safety.
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Spotify acquires Australian company Whooshkaa, which helps radio broadcasters turn existing content into podcasts and sell ads around them  —  Spotify on Thursday said it acquired Whooshkaa, a podcast technology platform that specializes in technology for radio broadcasters to turn existing content into podcasts.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Spotify rolls out a podcast ratings system that will let users rate a show from one to five stars only after listening to it  —  Spotify is borrowing a page from rival Apple with the addition of a five-star user ratings system for podcasts — a new tool for sorting through …
Henry Meyer / Bloomberg:
Google loses a court appeal in Russia and faces daily fines following a lawsuit to unblock a YouTube account of a TV channel owned by a sanctioned Putin ally  —  - Google lost an appeal over suit to unblock a YouTube account  — U.S. technology giant says it's complying with U.S. sanctions
Jackie Davalos / Bloomberg:
Uber plans to pilot driverless food-delivery in Santa Monica next year with partner Motional, a Hyundai and Aptiv joint venture that also has a Lyft deal  —  Uber Technologies Inc. plans to launch a driverless food-delivery pilot program in the U.S. next year, the company announced on Thursday.
More: Engadget
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Elementary, which uses AI to automate product inspections in factories, raises a $30M Series B led by Tiger Global, bringing its total funding to $47.5M+  —  While it might not be the first example that comes to mind when thinking of AI applications, AI systems are increasingly being used in the manufacturing sector.
More: TechCrunch
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Google's in-house incubator Area 120 launches Qaya, which helps US creators set up online storefronts to sell products and services directly to customers  —  A team at Google is today launching a new service called Qaya, which will allow creators to easily set up new web storefronts …
Mary Ann Azevedo / TechCrunch:
Weight care management app Found raises a $100M Series B led by WestCap at a $600M valuation  —  Just two and a half months after emerging from stealth, weight care management startup Found announced today that it has raised $100 million in a Series B funding round that values the company at $600 million.

Sponsor Posts

Command Line:
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Featured Podcasts

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Robinhood's CEO on letting AI trade your money
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Cheeky Pint:
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Stripe cofounder John Collison interviews founders, builders, and leaders over a pint.
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Lenny's Podcast:
Why every company now needs to think and operate like a lab team | Josh Woodward (Google Labs, Gemini, AI Studio)
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