[Thread] Via iRobot, Amazon, one of the most powerful data collection companies on earth, will get another vast and intrusive set of data about people's homes  —  1. Hello. Amazon today announced it would pay $1.7 billion to acquire iRobot, the company behind the Roomba robotic vacuum. It may be the most dangerous, threatening acquisition in the company's history. A thread.

[Thread] How Apple's App Tracking Transparency blew up the digital ad ecosystem, bolstering Apple's ads business while positioning it as a privacy champion  —  APPLE ROBBED THE MOB'S BANK: How Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) policy blew up the digital advertising ecosystem, bolstering its ads business while positioning itself as a champion of consumer privacy. A masterclass in corporate strategy. (1/X) https://mobiledevmemo.com/...

On its Q2 2022 earnings call, Warner Bros. Discovery announced plans to launch a combined HBO Max and Discovery+ streaming service in the US in summer 2023  —  The media company announced a timeline for the two services to be fused together: HBO Max and Discovery+ will launch in the U.S …

The California DMV accuses Tesla of falsely advertising its Autopilot and FSD features in two July 28 filings with the state's Office of Administrative Hearings  —  The California Department of Motor Vehicles has accused Tesla of false advertising in its promotion of the company's signature Autopilot and Full Self-Driving technologies.

Researchers detail Dark Utilities, a new service that provides an inexpensive way for cybercriminals to set up a command and control center for their operations  —  Security researchers found a new service called Dark Utilities that provides an easy and inexpensive way for cybercriminals …

Tom Alberg, an early Amazon investor and Madrona Venture Group co-founder, who was a key figure in shaping the Pacific Northwest's tech economy, dies at 82  —  Tom Alberg, co-founder of the venture capital firm Madrona Venture Group and an early investor in Amazon.com Inc., has died.  He was 82.

How Coinbase went from a triumphant IPO to facing challenges with international expansion, global competition, revenue diversification, and staffing adjustments  —  In just over a year, the United States' largest cryptocurrency exchange went from a triumphant public offering to a “crypto winter” of cost cutting and layoffs.

Inside the cottage industry around “YouTube automation” that is dubiously persuading people to spend thousands of dollars to create video businesses on YouTube  —  A cottage industry is persuading people to spend thousands to create video businesses on YouTube.  Disclaimer: It is harder than it looks.

A look at Netflix scrambling to build an ad business and revive its subscriber growth; sources: Reed Hastings expects Netflix could charge ~$80 per 1,000 views  —  Reed Hastings insisted on focusing on subscriptions until competitors started nibbling away at his business model

Seamless, which provides cross-border digital remittances and cashless payments services, agrees to go public via a SPAC merger at an implied $400M valuation  —  Global FinTech platform Seamless Group will become publicly traded through a combination with special purpose acquisition company …

UK-based Cera, whose app uses data analytics and AI to manage at-home health care, has raised $320M split equally between debt and equity led by Kairos HQ  —  Cera, a UK provider of healthcare inside people's homes augmented by a platform that allows carers to monitor a patient's health …