Techmeme
May 6, 2015, 10:10 AM

Top News

Ryan Mac / Forbes:
A profile of Frank Wang Tao, founder of the world's biggest drone company DJI, who is worth $4.5B  —  Bow To Your Billionaire Drone Overlord: Frank Wang's Quest To Put DJI Robots Into The Sky  —  Frank Wang Tao has never been arrested.  He pays his taxes on time.  And he rarely drinks.
Thanks:@bupbin
Douglas MacMillan / Wall Street Journal:
Zenefits raises $500M round led by Fidelity Management and TPG at a valuation of $4.5B  —  Zenefits Tagged With $4.5 Billion Valuation After Just Two Years  —  The latest software company valued at over $1 billion doesn't make a dime selling software.  —  Rather, San Francisco startup Zenefits …
New York Times:
Google Ventures' Bill Maris likens the $6M cash-out by founders of portfolio company Secret to a “bank heist” in interview  —  The Lessons Google Ventures Learned From Secret  —  For many in Silicon Valley, the rapid rise and precipitous fall of Secret, the prominent start …
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Google Launches Cloud Bigtable, A Very Fast NoSQL Database For The Enterprise  —  With Cloud Bigtable, Google is launching a new NoSQL database service today that, as the name implies, is powered by the company's Bigtable data storage system.  —  The added twist here is that the new service …
Stuart Dredge / Guardian:
First consumer version of Facebook's Oculus Rift VR headset to ship Q1 2016, pre-orders to start later in 2015  —  Facebook's Oculus Rift virtual reality headset will ship in early 2016  —  After months of rumours that the first commercial model of VR headset would slip beyond 2015, company confirms the news
Antonio Regalado / MIT Technology Review:
Sources: Apple working with US researchers to offer DNA testing via ResearchKit  —  Apple Has Plans for Your DNA  —  The iPhone could become a new tool in genetic studies.  —  Of all the rumors ever to swirl around the world's most valuable company, this may be the first that could involve spitting in a plastic cup.
BBC:
EU court rules Skype's name is too similar to Britain's Sky broadcasting, preventing Microsoft from registering trademark  —  Court says Skype's name is too similar to Sky's  —  The court said Skype's logo resembled a cloud  —  Video chat software Skype's name is so similar …
Bloomberg Business:
Microsoft evaluates possible bid for Salesforce though companies are not in talks  —  Microsoft Is Said to Evaluate Possible Bid for Salesforce.com  —  Microsoft Corp. is evaluating a bid for Salesforce.com Inc., after the cloud software provider was approached by another would-be buyer, people with knowledge of the matter said.
Matt Townsend / Bloomberg Business:
Home Depot announces it will accept Apple Pay after equipment upgrade, making it the biggest retailer to do so with more than 2K stores  —  Home Depot to Become Largest Retailer to Accept Apple Pay  —  Home Depot Inc. plans to enable Apple Inc.'s mobile-payment platform at its more than 2,000 stores …
Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:
Sources: Apple to announce new Beats at WWDC on June 8 with consumer non-beta launch late June  —  Beats revamp still debuting at WWDC, global release late-June, iOS 9 details revealed  —  According to a report today from Billboard, Apple does not have the deals in place to launch …
Ben Popper / The Verge:
Reddit launches a video division to create original content  —  The AMA is about to get a major upgrade  —  The social news service Reddit has grown to a truly massive size, garnering 170 million monthly visitors and 6.7 billion pages view this January, while maintaining a fairly bare-bones service.
Ryan Lawler / TechCrunch:
Automated Savings Startup Digit Raises $11.3M From General Catalyst  —  It's only been a few short months since automated savings startup Digit opened to the public, but it's already garnered serious interest from consumers who want more money in their bank accounts, as well as investors …
More: iamWire and FortuneTweets: @adamnash and @bonatsos
Ina Fried / Re/code:
App Annie buys app data provider Mobidia to combine app download and usage analytics in 60 countries  —  Data Vendor App Annie Buys Mobidia, Looking to Grow, Stay Independent  —  Mobile analytics company App Annie said Wednesday it is buying Vancouver-based app data provider Mobidia in a cash and stock deal.
POLITICO:
EU's digital single market initiative doesn't take a strong stand on some essential issues, such as the need for a single telecom and digital regulator  —  EU digital single market: Death by compromise  —  The long-awaited, much-ballyhooed Digital Single Market strategy is set to be published …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft's Outlook.com will be powered by Office 365, but the name will remain the same  —  Microsoft's Outlook.com will be powered by Office 365  —  Microsoft is planning to replace the technology and interface of Outlook.com with Office 365.  Sources familiar with Microsoft's plans tell …
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: SunGard Data Systems prepares for IPO, seeks to raise $750M, targets $7B market valuation  —  SunGard Prepares IPO, Aims to Raise Around $750 Million  —  Software developer also plans to consider a sale  —  SunGard Data Systems Inc. is preparing for an initial public offering nearly …
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Mophie's H2PRO, a $130 battery case for iPhone, protects in shallow water for up to 30 minutes  —  Mophie's latest iPhone battery case is also waterproof  —  Battery cases can prove to be a must-have for iPhone 6 owners, and the same goes for ruggedized cases that protect Apple's smartphone against the elements.
Sharon Begley / Reuters:
IBM's Watson to guide cancer therapies at 14 centers, analyzing tumors' genetic make-up with the findings of scientific papers and clinical trials  —  IBM's Watson to guide cancer therapies at 14 centers  —  (Reuters) - Fourteen U.S. and Canadian cancer institutes will use International …

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