Techmeme
September 29, 2020, 7:45 PM

Top News

Jason Del Rey / Vox:
Amazon unveils Amazon One, a biometric technology that lets shoppers pay using their palm, coming first to two Amazon Go stores in Seattle  —  Amazon wants shoppers at its stores — and those of other retailers — to pay by palm with Amazon One.  Amazon  —  And, it hopes, at other retailers' stores in the future.
Will Evans / Reveal:
Investigation into Amazon's warehouse safety, based on data from 150 warehouses between 2016-2019, finds rising injury rates, which Amazon has attempted to hide  —  Robots.  Prime Day.  Holiday peak.  Internal records show Amazon has deceived the public on rising injury rates among its warehouse workers.
Hans Nichols / Axios:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Facebook introduces Accounts Center, a tool for managing the growing number of settings across Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger  —  Despite being under antitrust investigations in U.S. and E.U., Facebook today is rolling out a new feature that highlights the extent to which its suite of apps now interoperate.
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Rally raises $17M from Porsche Ventures, Alexis Ohanian, and others for its service that lets users list and invest in, but not buy, collectibles  —  When people ponder the investment opportunity around collectibles, they probably think about things like wine auctions, sales of very expensive …
Aoife White / Bloomberg:
Microsoft's Bing search app will appear as a download prompt on new Android phones in Germany, UK, and France, after it won slots in a Google auction for rivals  —  Microsoft Corp.'s Bing search app will appear as a download prompt on new Android phones in Germany, the U.K. and France after it won slots in a Google auction for rivals.
Frank Pallotta / CNN:
Disney launches GroupWatch on Disney+, letting up to seven people watch in sync; viewers can react using emoji but can't chat  —  New York (CNN Business)Pandemic lockdowns have given many people the time to binge watch hours of streaming, but not the ability to do so with friends.
Bloomberg:
Facebook promotes longtime growth executive Alex Schultz to take over as chief marketing officer following Antonio Lucio's departure last month  —  - Alex Schultz is taking over as chief marketing officer  — Schultz led Facebook's growth and data analytics efforts
Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:
Sources: EU is set to approve Google's Fitbit acquisition  —  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Alphabet's Google is set to win EU antitrust approval for its $2.1 billion purchase of fitness tracker maker Fitbit to take on Apple and Samsung in the wearable technology market, people familiar with the matter said.
Jeremy Burge / Emojipedia:
A look at the new emojis coming in iOS 14.2, including bubble tea, people bottle-feeding a baby, a transgender flag, a seal, a feather, and more  —  The wait is nearly over for iOS users: bubble tea, a transgender flag, seal, feather and more emojis are included in the latest iOS beta.
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google extends free access to Meet's unlimited call times for Gmail accounts through March 2021  —  Google is trying hard to make Meet a video conferencing competitor by adding a torrent of new features in quick succession.  After making premium features free at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic …
Kara Swisher / New York Times:
Wide-ranging interview with Elon Musk on Neuralink and the future of brain chip implants, his thoughts on AI being an existential threat to humanity, and more  —  (SINGING) When you walk in the room, do you have sway?  —  [MUSIC PLAYING]  —  I'm Kara Swisher and this is Sway.  [MUSIC PLAYING]
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Online learning company, Thinkific, which lets anyone list courses and serve them from their own site, raises $22M led by Rhino Ventures  —  It's been a big year for online learning companies — and it sounds like Thinkific is no exception.  The Vancouver-based startup is announcing that it has raised $22 million in new funding.
Monica Chin / The Verge:
Lenovo debuts foldable ThinkPad X1 Fold with a 13-inch OLED screen, 11th-gen Intel processors, and 8GB RAM, available for pre-order now, starting at $2,499  —  Plus, a bunch of ThinkBooks  —  Lenovo has announced a ThinkPad like no ThinkPad you've ever seen before: the ThinkPad X1 Fold.
Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:
D-Wave launches Advantage, a cloud service that offers access to 5,000+ qubit quantum computing and a hybrid solver service that can handle 1M variables  —  D-Wave today launched its next-generation quantum computing platform available via its Leap quantum cloud service.
Jeanne Whalen / Washington Post:
Sources: CFIUS is stepping up scrutiny of past Chinese tech investments in US startups, sending inquiries to some companies about years-old deals  —  The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has contacted dozens of U.S. companies to screen shareholders for national-security risks.
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Smart intercom manufacturer ButterflyMX raises $35M led by Volition Capital, bringing its total raised to $58M+, as its products raise privacy concerns  —  Smart intercom maker ButterflyMX today raised $35 million in a growth equity round led by Volition Capital that brings its total raised to date to over $58 million.
More: FinSMEs
Steve O'Hear / TechCrunch:
UK-based Huboo, which offers an end-to-end fulfillment service for online retailers, raises £14M Series A led by Stride.VC  —  Huboo, the U.K.-headquartered startup that offers an end-to-end fulfilment service for online retailers of all sizes, has raised £14 million in Series A funding.
Brian Armstrong / The Coinbase Blog:
Coinbase publishes a “clarification” of its mission, stating it won't take on activism outside of its focus or debate causes or political candidates internally  —  There have been a lot of difficult events in the world this year: a global pandemic, shelter in place, social unrest …

Sponsor Posts

Tribe AI:
Is AI just hype?  —  Find out how top enterprises use Tribe to get real business results.
Techmeme Leaderboards:
Discover the top reporters on AI, VR, policy, and much more  —  We've analyzed Techmeme's news crawl to identify the most influential and prolific writers on 48 news topics.  Download reports immediately for just $100.
Zoho:
Authy killed their desktop apps.  Time to switch to a reliable authenticator.  Time to switch to Zoho OneAuth.  —  Twilio's Authy recently announced end of life (EOL) for their desktop apps on March 19, 2024—five months ahead of schedule.
Comprehensive.io:
Browse salary data from 3,000 startups for free  —  Click for FREE, immediate access to real-time compensation benchmarking data.  Paid version helps HR automate comp reviews and communicate total compensation to employees.
The Kevin Rose Show:
Henry Shukman, Lessons from an Authentic Zen Master
Gain unconventional wisdom and insights through conversations with top expert in AI, investing, wellness, technology, and culture.
Techmeme Ride Home:
Mon. 03/18 - Apple To Partner With Google For AI On iOS?
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or RSS.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 7:45 PM ET, September 29, 2020.

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

Leigh Cuen / CoinDesk:
Billy Perrigo / TIME:

Earlier Picks

Chris Duckett / ZDNet:
Malcolm Owen / AppleInsider:
Channel 4 News: