Techmeme
December 11, 2017, 8:05 PM

Top News

TechCrunch:
Apple confirms Shazam acquisition; sources say deal was for about $400M, and Snap and Spotify also expressed interest  —  Dec 11, 2017, 3:59 pmDec 12, 2017, 12:38 am  —  After we broke the story last week that Apple was acquiring London-based music and image recognition service Shazam, Apple confirmed the news today.
James Vincent / The Verge:
Ex-Facebook VP of user growth and Social Capital CEO says social media is “destroying how society works” and leads to “no civil discourse, no cooperation”  —  ‘No civil discourse, no cooperation; misinformation, mistruth.’  —  Another former Facebook executive …
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission:
SEC chairman Jay Clayton releases statement on cryptocurrencies, says ICOs effective for raising funds “whether they represent offerings of securities or not”  —  SEC Chairman Jay Clayton  —  The world's social media platforms and financial markets are abuzz about cryptocurrencies and “initial coin offerings” (ICOs).
Bloomberg:
Microsoft releases a free preview of its Quantum Computing Development Kit, which includes the Q# programming language, compiler, and simulator  —  Software giant releases a quantum programming language and simulator, but still has no working computer  —  In the race to commercialize …
Stan Higgins / CoinDesk:
Restaurant review startup Munchee halts ICO after SEC investigation, which said in cease-and-desist order that the firm's tokens were unregistered securities  —  A California-based company has refunded a $15 million initial coin offering following an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Serena Saitto / The Information:
Sources: neighborhood social network Nextdoor has raised $75M in new funding at a valuation higher than previous round's $1.1B valuation in 2015  —  Nextdoor, the social media platform for city neighborhoods, has raised $75 million at a valuation above the $1.1 billion level it reached …
Peter Rudegeair / Wall Street Journal:
Financial-tech startup Affirm says it's raised $200M led by Singaporean sovereign-wealth fund GIC; source says at a valuation between $1.5B and $2B  —  Battling larger players getting into its core business of lending to consumers for retail purchases  —  Financial-technology startup Affirm Inc …
More: TechCrunch
TechCrunch:
An unofficial, knockoff version of the MyEtherWallet digital wallet app became the third most popular paid app in the finance category on the iOS App Store  —  An app masquerading as MyEtherWallet.com, one of the internet's most popular services for storing ETH and other crypto coins …

Sponsor Posts

Clay:
Turn any GTM idea into reality  —  Clay helps GTM teams combine AI agents, enrichment, and intent data to move faster and turn insights into action.
Soxton:
AI-powered law for startups  —  Soxton automates startup legal so founders can move faster and sleep better.  We handle incorporation, advisor, employment and commercial contracts.  Join the waitlist for early access!
Zoho:
Event-driven document automation using webhooks in Zoho Writer  —  Instantly generate and send documents based on triggers from any form builder, business app, or automation workflow.We are excited …
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Access:
OpenAI's Fidji Simo on why ads are coming to ChatGPT
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Invest Like the Best:
Alex Behring and Daniel Schwartz - Inside 3G Capital
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
Grit:
The Truth Behind Automation Claims in Customer Support | Cresta CEO Ping Wu
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Lenny's Podcast:
The rise of the professional vibe coder (a new AI-era job) | Lazar Jovanovic (Professional Vibe Coder)
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
Big Technology Podcast:
Software In Shambles, OpenAI vs. Anthropic Super Brawl, Amazon's Struggles
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Special Edition: Key findings from the Microsoft AI Diffusion Report
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 8:05 PM ET, December 11, 2017.

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.

More News

Ron Amadeo / Ars Technica:

Earlier Picks

Wall Street Journal: