Techmeme
February 21, 2020, 3:20 PM

Top News

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Shopify says it will join the Libra Association, contributing financially and operating a node that processes transactions of Facebook's stablecoin  —  After eBay, Visa, Stripe, and other high-profile departures, the Libra Association scored a win today with the addition of Shopify.
Joseph Cox / VICE:
WhatsApp lets some invite links for group chats, that the members may want to keep private, to be indexed by search engines like Google, allowing anyone to join  —  Google is indexing invite links to WhatsApp group chats whose administrators may want to be private.
Jon Porter / The Verge:
Google says that from August 3 all new Google Play apps that access background location will need to pass review, expanding to all existing apps on November 3  —  Apps will face a new review process to enable the feature  —  Google is placing new restrictions on which Android apps can track …
John D. McKinnon / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Google is resisting efforts to surrender emails, texts, and other documents sought by state investigators probing anticompetitive digital-ad practices  —  Company is reluctant to surrender some documents in investigation of possible anticompetitive practices
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip review: the best hinge on a folding phone so far but the screen's plastic covering scratches easily and the cameras are disappointing  —  Even with a glass screen, it's just a curiosity  —  Samsung's brand-new Galaxy Z Flip is the third folding screen phone that I've reviewed.
Madhumita Murgia / Financial Times:
MIT researchers say they used AI to discover new potent antibiotics that treat drug-resistant diseases  —  Machine learning uncovers potent new drug able to kill 35 powerful bacteria  —  Artificial intelligence has been used to discover new antibiotics effective against untreatable diseases …
Kia Kokalitcheva / Axios:
Lyft has acquired Halo Cars, a small startup that lets ride-hailing drivers earn money via ad displays mounted atop their cars  —  Lyft has acquired Halo Cars, a small startup that lets ride-hailing drivers earn money via ad displays mounted atop their cars.  Lyft confirmed the deal but declined to share any details.
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Facebook will pay users up to $5 for voice recordings via its Viewpoints app to improve its speech recognition tech; recordings won't be tied to user profiles  —  But it won't pay much  —  Facebook will offer to pay some users for voice recordings that will be used to help improve …
FinSMEs:
Feather, an NY-based furniture subscription service, raises $30M Series B led by Cobalt Capital with Kleiner Perkins, YC, SV Angel, and others participating  —  Feather, a New York, NY - based next-generation furniture rental service, closed a $30M Series B funding.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft announces Defender ATP for Linux, will offer the antivirus software for Android and iOS later this year as part of its enterprise security platform  —  New Defender mobile apps will be available later this year  —  Microsoft is planning to bring its Defender antivirus software to Android and iOS later this year.
Steve O'Hear / TechCrunch:
Tier Mobility, an e-scooter rental service operating in 55 cities across 11 countries, extends its Series B to $100M+, up from $60M disclosed in October  —  Tier, the European e-scooter rentals startup that operates in 55 cities across 11 countries, has topped up its funding for the second time in four months.
Nico Grant / Bloomberg:
Sources: around 300 workers at Oracle offices around the world walked out on Thursday to protest Larry Ellison's fundraiser for Trump on Wednesday  —  - Chairman's fundraiser for Trump re-election sparked anger  — Activism more muted than at tech companies like Google

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More News

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