Techmeme: Despite China's scrutiny of online credit, smaller services have spread; iResearch: the microlending penetration rate grew from 0.4% in 2014 to 69.2% in 2021 (Yaling Jiang/South China Morning Post)

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July 18, 2022, 9:05 AM

Top News

Wall Street Journal:

The linchpin in Microsoft's Netflix deal was Xandr, the ad tech firm it recently acquired from AT&T that's helping fuel Microsoft's online advertising ambitions — Tech company, embracing underdog role, reignites its ambitions in online advertising — Microsoft Corp. MSFT 1.04%▲ …

More: IT Management. Tweets: @wsj

See also Mediagazer

Financial Times:

Chinese grocery delivery firm Missfresh, which had raised $1B+ in VC funding from Tiger, Goldman, others, falls in market cap on Nasdaq from $3B in 2021 to $88M — Chinese grocery delivery group valued at $3bn a year ago is now worth just $88mn — Tiger Global-backed grocery delivery start …

More: Produce Report, GlobeNewswire News Room, Business Wire, Market Munch, and Pandaily

Tweets: @muradahmed, @carnage4life, and @donweinland

Yaling Jiang / South China Morning Post:

Despite China's scrutiny of online credit, smaller services have spread; iResearch: the microlending penetration rate grew from 0.4% in 2014 to 69.2% in 2021 — Trams and cast-iron postboxes speak to the history of the city, while delicacies such as fishballs and egg waffles are street food essentials …

Tweets: @chinabeigebook and @michaelxpettis

Wall Street Journal:

Adam Neumann's Flowcarbon and some other startups offering cryptocurrencies backed by carbon-offset credits have slowed product rollouts amid the crypto crash — Investors rushed to startups offering cryptocurrencies backed by carbon-offset credits, then the markets tanked

More: Decrypt and The Block

Tweets: @coinbureau, @wsj, @smdiehl, @donnaredel, @pt, @natbaker, @mayazi, @pt, @pefrase, and @smtuffy

Nathan Grayson / Washington Post:

A look at YouTube's strategy, started in 2019, of signing Twitch streamers with a network of creators that can simulate community and build its own game culture — Listen — Gift Article — Where once the departure of Twitch stars for YouTube Gaming elicited shock and awe …

More: The Jacob Wolf Report. Tweets: @zoeglatt, @imaginemod, @tarawlevy, @vahn16, @vahn16, and @vahn16

Nikkei Asia:

Tracxn: ~$8.5B in VC funding was raised by Indian education startups from 2014 to 2021, with about half of that in 2021 alone, as they vie for US marketshare — Grab for market share takes on extra urgency as valuation woes and job cuts bite — AKITO TANAKA, Nikkei Asia chief business news correspondent …

Karen Hao / Wall Street Journal:

Researchers say Alibaba's cloud platform that hosted Shanghai's now-leaked police database used outdated systems that didn't offer the ability to set a password — Cybersecurity companies say Alibaba's cloud platform that hosted Shanghai's police database used outdated systems that didn't offer ability to set a password

More: TechRadar, The Register, Bloomberg, Reuters, Nikkei Asia, Bloomberg, Bloomberg, Bloomberg, iTnews, and Barron's Online

Tweets: @sofiahcbbg, @joshchin, and @_karenhao

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:

Sydney-based Hivery, whose software helps retailers select the right mix of products to stock on store shelves, has raised a $30M Series B led by Tiger Global — Hivery, a startup that bills itself as an “optimization platform” for retailers, today announced that it raised $30 million …

More: Business Wire, Digital Nation, and PitchBook

Joseph Menn / Washington Post:

After Apple notified Thai activists and human rights supporters in November they had been hacked, Citizen Lab confirms 30+ have been hacked by NSO's Pegasus — Listen — Gift Article — More than 30 Thai activists and supporters have been hacked with NSO Group's potent Pegasus spyware …

More: The Citizen Lab and Associated Press

Tweets: @hneumannmep, @kittiwat, @washingtonpost, @connellyal, @jsrailton, @nicoleperlroth, @citizenlab, @josephmenn, @natynettle, @meidas_laurena, and @shanehuntley

Moneycontrol:

Report: in emails sent to three creators, Coinbase says it is “temporarily shutting down” its US affiliate program on July 19 and plans to relaunch it in 2023 — According to a Business Insider article, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase will “temporarily shut down” its US affiliate-marketing programme on July 19.

Source: Insider. More: CryptoSlate, Bitcoinist.com, Benzinga, Inside Bitcoins, Web3 is going just great, Coinpedia, and CoinGape

Tweets: @bitboy_crypto, @mattthequick, @doobzdoobz, @simonyusea, @nickdrakon, @cryptoslate, @zguz, @ahcastor, @nateobrienn, @brian_armstrong, @nateobrienn, @lukebk, @paul__armstrong, @ianrborthwick, @therealtblake, @greybtc, @niallohiggins, and @waywardwinifred

Mark Bergen / Bloomberg:

Seattle-based Phaidra, whose AI software automates building controls for industrial facilities like power plants, raised a $25M Series A led by Starshot Capital — Industrial production is one of the dirtiest corners of the corporate world. A startup from former Google engineers thinks …

More: goSkagit. Tweets: @andrewfielding and @mhbergen

Sabah Gurmat / Rest of World:

An app for India's largest public employment program is jeopardizing the livelihood of 82M+ due to technical glitches, an English-only UI, and poor connectivity — Poor connectivity and an English-only interface make the app unusable for many who rely on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

Tweets: @restofworld, @vickiturk, @restofworld, @restofworld, and @_sabahgurmat

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Why eIDAS 2.0 might be the EU's boldest digital move yet — eIDAS: The first building block of digital trust More than a decade ago, the EU introduced the eIDAS regulation (Regulation [EU] No 910/2014) …

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This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 9:05 AM ET, July 18, 2022.

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

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) agree to buy WildBrain's 41% stake in Peanuts Holdings for ~$457M, raising Sony's slice to 80%

Shane O'Neill / Washington Post:

Q&A with Christopher Anderson, who photographed Trump's inner circle for VF: “My job is to ... draw on my experience as a journalist and photograph what I see”

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

CBS News and The Free Press announce Things That Matter, a series of town halls and debates, starting in early 2026, with Sam Altman, J.D. Vance, and others

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More News

Christopher Mims / Wall Street Journal:

MakeMyMove: at least 71 US cities and towns now offer cash grants and other perks to attract remote workers, mostly in tech, up from at least 24 in October 2021

More: Slashdot. Tweets: @wsj, @hunterwalk, @adamkovac, @folletto, @tunguz, @philsimon, and @adamkovac

FinSMEs:

Oakland-based Mayvenn, which offers an e-commerce tool and a marketplace for salon services, has raised a $40M Series C led by Cleveland Avenue

More: FashionUnited, Global Cosmetic Industry, BeautyMatter, Forbes, and PR Newswire

CNBC:

The 2022 “crypto winter” differs from previous crashes, in part due to the macro environment, the TerraUSD collapse, excess leverage, and contagion from 3AC

Tweets: @arjunkharpal

Financial Times:

India steps up its crackdown on Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi, which control ~60% of the country's smartphone market, by claiming tax evasion and unlawful remittances

Alastair McCready / VICE:

Industrial-scale online scam centers in Southeast Asia have perfected “pig butchering”, a romance-meets-investment fraud increasingly centered on cryptocurrency

Tweets: @viceworldnews, @softwarnet, @geraldrflynn, @caseynewton, @ryan_knutson, @bitfinexed, and @almccready1

Christopher Mathias / HuffPost:

New Gab accounts seem to automatically follow the GOP nominee for Pennsylvania governor Doug Mastriano, after he paid Gab $5K in April for “campaign consulting”

More: Slate, Rolling Stone, and 90.5 WESA

Tweets: @letsgomathias, @pt, @jonbjohns, @letsgomathias, and @alkapdc

Earlier Picks

Maxwell Strachan / VICE:

An interview with MetaMask co-founders who say “we can't stop people from making Ponzis on blockchains” and “putting your money in cryptocurrencies is gambling”

More: Tech.co and Inside Bitcoins

Tweets: @maxwellstrachan, @sameer_singh17, @danfinlay, @someday_deane, @iansherr, @jaymavs, @ummjackson, @danfinlay, @flynnjamm, @mathewi, and @maxwellstrachan

Arielle Pardes / Wired:

Rapid delivery startups, which surged during the pandemic, have either retreated from some cities or shut down after struggling to make the economics work

More: Financial Times. Tweets: @solsona, @victoria_agago, @harrymccracken, and @carnage4life

Vittoria Elliott / Wired:

Experts say a ruling against Twitter in its lawsuit against content removal orders in India could let the government censor a wide swath of platforms and sites

Tweets: @carnage4life, @aaschapiro, and @aspi_icpc

New York Times:

As China builds up its vast surveillance and security apparatus, it is running up against growing public unease about data security and privacy in the country

Tweets: @frankpasquale, @maytechummia, and @amyyqin

Jef Feeley / Bloomberg:

Filing: Elon Musk's lawyers say Twitter is unfairly pushing for a “warp speed” September 2022 four-day trial and ask for a court date in February 2023 or later