Techmeme
May 16, 2019, 9:25 PM

Top News

Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft and Sony announce a strategic partnership to explore development of future cloud solutions in Microsoft Azure for game and content-streaming services  —  An unusual partnership  —  Microsoft and Sony are announcing an unusual partnership today, allowing the two rivals to partner on cloud-based gaming services.
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Sources: acceptance rates for Facebook job offers among graduates of top US schools like Stanford fell from nearly 90% in late 2016 to around 50% in early 2019  —  KEY POINTS  — Among top schools, Facebook's acceptance rate for full-time positions offered to new graduates has fallen …
Sean Lyngaas / CyberScoop:
DOJ says that it has indicted 10 members of the criminal network that used the GozNym malware to attempt to steal an estimated $100M from 41,000+ victims  —  Law enforcement officials from the U.S. and some European allies say they have broken up a criminal network that used banking malware …
Julian Chokkattu / Digital Trends:
Tests of Verizon's 5G in Chicago on the Galaxy S10 5G show download speeds of up to 1.35 Gbps, but speeds were inconsistent, though never fell below 550 Mbps  —  I'm in Chicago.  Again.  It's my second trip to the windy city in the past month, and I don't expect it to be my last.  —  Why?  5G!
Jeremy Horwitz / VentureBeat:
Theodore Schleifer / Vox:
Sources: Quora, which has 300M+ MAUs, is raising a $60M round led by Valor Equity Partners at a valuation of $2B, and told investors it had $20M in 2018 revenue  —  According to some, the financing round for the question-and-answer platform speaks to the high valuation for virtually everything these days in the tech sector.
Russell Brandom / The Verge:
Researchers: NYPD used edited suspects' photos and photos of celebs, when witnesses said the suspects looked like them, to generate facial recognition matches  —  In one case, a photo of the actor Woody Harrelson was used to locate a suspect  —  A new report from Georgetown Law's Center …
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Google to add the ability to save transcriptions in Live Transcribe and will include indicators for sounds like door knocks, dog barks, and phones ringing  —  [Clapping]  —  When Google released Live Transcribe this past February, it was a hugely important accessibility feature for people …
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook is updating the News Feed algorithm to include data from user surveys about which links users find most worthwhile and who their closest friends are  —  Facebook is updating the News Feed ranking algorithm to incorporate data from surveys about who you say are your closest friends and which links you find most worthwhile.
Dan Seifert / The Verge:
Google clarifies Works with Nest shutdown, says connections will continue to work beyond Aug. 31 until they are replicated in new Works with Assistant program  —  Works with Nest moves from fully dead to on life support  —  Google has issued a response to the criticisms of its recent announcement …
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Instagram is shutting down Instagram Direct, its standalone direct messaging app that it was testing to rival Snapchat, on iOS and Android  —  As Facebook pushes ahead with its strategy to consolidate more of the backend of its various apps on to a single platform, it's also doing a little simplifying and housekeeping.
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
Pinterest reports Q1 2019 revenue of $202M, up 54% YoY, net loss of 41.4M, down 21% YoY, global MAUs were up 22% YoY to 291M; stock down 16%+ after hours  —  KEY POINTS  — Pinterest shares fell 15% Thursday after the company released its first-quarter 2019 earnings report, its first report as a public company.
Larry Cermak / The Block:
Sources: Coinbase is in advanced talks to acquire the Bitcoin custody provider Xapo for around $50M  —  Regulated U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is in advanced talks to buy custody provider Xapo for about $50 million to boost its custody business, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
Makena Kelly / The Verge:
White House launches tool to solicit information from people who had social media accounts suspended or banned and who suspect political bias behind the actions  —  'If you suspect political bias caused such an action to be taken against you, share your story with President Trump'
Washington Post:
Trump issues order blocking US companies from doing business with information and communications technology companies owned or controlled by a foreign adversary  —  Amid a deepening trade war with China, President Trump on Wednesday declared a “national emergency” to protect U.S. communications networks …
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Revenue Analytics, which uses AI to help clients like Toyota, Best Buy, and Marriott instantly adjust prices to drive sales, raises $11M Series A  —  Imagine you're a retailer with a diverse clientele.  To whom should you extend a promotion when a product isn't flying off the shelves, and how steep should the discount be?
More: FinSMEs

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Nat Levy / GeekWire: