Techmeme
May 3, 2018, 12:40 PM

Top News

Peggy Sito / South China Morning Post:
Xiaomi files for an IPO in Hong Kong; sources say the Beijing-based company is seeking to raise $10B at a valuation of $100B  —  Xiaomi's 2017 sales jumped by two-thirds to 114.6 billion yuan, while operating profit tripled and adjusted net profit soared from a year earlier
Andrew Gebhart / CNET:
Google Assistant now works with 5,000 smart home devices, up from 1,500 in January, and adds support for Dish Hopper, Logitech Harmony remotes, and more  —  With Google's developer conference right around the corner, the search giant wants you to know that its digital assistant is quite proficient at controlling the smart home.
Thuy Ong / The Verge:
Monica Nickelsburg / GeekWire:
Amazon abruptly halts construction of new office in Seattle as it escalates fight over proposed city council tax on large companies to build affordable housing  —  Amazon is pausing construction on a new office tower at its Seattle headquarters and may put one of its biggest future office spaces …
Harry McCracken / Fast Company:
Amazon says there are now 40K Alexa Skills, up from 25K in December and 10K in February 2017, and makes in-skill purchases generally available in the US  —  [Photos: Rahul Chakraborty/Unsplash; geralt/Pixabay]  —  Just six months after Amazon revealed the AI-infused Alexa service …
New York Times:
Filing shows executives at Cambridge Analytica and SCL Group, along with the Mercer family, have moved to create a new firm, Emerdata, possibly for “rebranding”  —  The embattled political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica announced on Wednesday that it would cease most operations …
Wall Street Journal:
Wall Street Journal:
Some of the 200+ cities Amazon rejected for its HQ2 have begun to make changes based on feedback given by Amazon during rejection phone calls  —  After the retail giant told cities why they didn't become finalists for its second headquarters, some started making changes
Spencer Soper / Bloomberg:
Amazon launches Wag, its own brand of pet products, starting with dry dog food, only available to Prime subscribers  —  Amazon.com Inc. has started its own brand of pet products, called Wag, expanding on existing private-label efforts that include batteries, baby products, clothing and household goods.
More: PYMNTS.com and BetaNews
Matthew Lynley / TechCrunch:
SoundHound raises $100M from strategic investors including Tencent, Daimler, Hyundai, and others to grow its Houndify voice AI platform  —  As SoundHound looks to leverage its ten-plus years of experience and data to create a voice recognition tool that companies can bake into any platform …
Nathaniel Popper / New York Times:
Goldman Sachs to open a Bitcoin trading operation, will begin using its own money to trade Bitcoin futures contracts on behalf of clients in the next few weeks  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Most big banks have tried to stay far away from the scandal-tainted virtual currency Bitcoin.
Spotify Investor Relations:
Spotify reports first financial results after its IPO with Q1 revenue of €1.139B, up 26% YoY, on operating loss of €41M; MAUs up 30% YoY to 170M  —  Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE:SPOT) today reported financial results for the first fiscal quarter of 2018 ending March 31, 2018.

Sponsor Posts

Command Line:
Copilot to autopilot: Why no single safeguard is enough  —  Microsoft designed a layered model that lets an AI agent resolve network incidents on its own within defined boundaries.
Will Reed:
The best sales leaders aren't job hunting.  Here's how to reach them without months of cold outreach.  —  Our team came from Box, Square, and Brex, so we already know the GTM leaders worth meeting.
Zoho:
UK tax compliance with Zoho Books  —  The evolving tax landscape in the UK has added an additional responsibility to business owners, accountants, and bookkeepers to ensure their choice of accounting software supports compliance …
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

Big Technology Podcast:
Google CEO Sundar Pichai: AI's Infinite Possibilities, Compute Scarcity Dilemmas, Future AI Products
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.
Cheeky Pint:
How Toto Wolff built the most valuable team in F1
Stripe cofounder John Collison interviews founders, builders, and leaders over a pint.
Subscribe to Cheeky Pint.
Training Data:
Inside the Robot Data Factory: Mecka's Josh Gao on Sensorizing Humans to Train Robots
Sequoia Capital partners host conversations with leading AI builders and researchers to develop a deeper understanding of the evolving technologies and their implications.
Subscribe to Training Data.
Invest Like the Best:
Christina Cacioppo - Building an Enduring Software Company in the Age of AI
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 20-Year Bet to Make Fusion Energy Work | Jeff Lawson
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Acquired:
Seinfeld
Learn the playbooks that built the world's greatest companies - and how you can apply them as a founder, operator, or investor.
Subscribe to Acquired.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 12:40 PM ET, May 3, 2018.

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

Earlier Picks

Kara Swisher / Recode:
Bloomberg:
Paul Vigna / Wall Street Journal: