Techmeme
November 15, 2020, 12:30 AM

Top News

Wall Street Journal:
A look at Parler, a social network with little moderation, which is backed by Robert and Rebekah Mercer and saw its user base double to 10M in under a week  —  The libertarian-minded platform aims to challenge tech giants through a focus on free speech; surge in users since the election
Stephen Nellis / Reuters:
Qualcomm has received a US license to sell some 4G smartphone chips to Huawei  —  (Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc on Friday received a license from the U.S. government to sell 4G mobile phone chips to China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, an exemption to U.S. trade restrictions imposed amid rising tensions with China.
Max Weinbach / Android Police:
Lisa Stiffler / GeekWire:
Profile of Tom Alberg, an early investor in Amazon, the founder of Madrona Venture Group, and a key figure in shaping the Pacific Northwest's tech economy  —  It was the mid 1990s, and Tom Alberg had a decision to make.  —  Jeff Bezos had arrived in Seattle and was looking for investors for his nascent virtual bookstore.
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
Microsoft says it detected three APTs, from N. Korea and Russia, that launched attacks on at least seven companies developing a COVID-19 vaccine or treatments  —  The three state-sponsored hacker groups (APTs) are Russia's Strontium (Fancy Bear) and North Korea's Zinc (Lazarus Group) and Cerium.
Yogita Khatri / The Block:
US regulators have levied $198M in fines against crypto firms to date, of which $175M came from SEC and $23M from CFTC  —  The top two U.S. market regulators — the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) — have hit crypto firms and founders …
Chibuike Oguh / Reuters:
Pharmapacks, an e-commerce company focused on health, personal care, and beauty products, raises $250M from Carlyle Group at a valuation of ~$1.1B  —  (Reuters) - Private equity firm Carlyle Group Inc said on Thursday it had invested more than $250 million in Pharmapacks …
Brandon Russell / XDA Developers:
Amazon announces the GameOn app for Android, which lets mobile gamers record and share gameplay clips  —  Amazon has unveiled another gaming service, this time aimed at mobile users.  Dubbed Amazon GameOn, the service makes it easy for users to capture and share mobile gameplay.
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
DoorDash files for IPO, says it had revenue of $1.9B and loss of $149M in the first nine months of 2020, vs. revenue of $587M and loss of $533M a year ago  —  - DoorDash, the leading food delivery app in the U.S., filed its IPO prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.
Ars Technica:
Many Mac users experienced app slowdowns during the launch of Big Sur, possibly due to issues with Apple's OCSP service being unable to validate certificates  —  Even Macs that didn't upgrade to Big Sur had problems.  —  Mac users today began experiencing unexpected issues …
Andrew Cunningham / Ars Technica:
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Unity posted a net loss of $144.7M, up 218% YoY, on revenue of $200.8M, up 53.3% YoY, in its first earnings report since the company went public in September  —  - Video game software developer Unity Software's stock fell more than 6% in after-hours trading on Thursday as the company posted …

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Try Gemini 3 Pro  —  Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Shopify:
Shopify: Revolutionizing Commerce with Winter Edition '26  —  Over 150+ new features transform how merchants build, design, and grow—with technology that amplifies creative vision.
Zoho:
Email fatigue is real: Here's how smart email tools help you regain control  —  Picture this: It's Monday morning.  You walk into the office feeling energized and ready to take on the week.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Acquired:
10 Years of Acquired (with Michael Lewis)
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.
Lenny's Podcast:
Why humans are AI's biggest bottleneck (and what's coming in 2026) | Alexander Embiricos (OpenAI Codex Product Lead)
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:
OpenAI's 2026 Priority, Disney's AI Play, Datacenter Buildout Trouble
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.
Hard Fork:
Australia Kicks Kids Off Social Media + Is the A.I. Water Issue Fake? + Hard Fork Wrapped
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
Access:
Why the next AI frontier is phone calls, with Beside CEO Maxime Germain
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling
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 12:30 AM ET, November 15, 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

Will Douglas Heaven / MIT Technology Review:
Ken Shirriff / @kenshirriff:
Dan Levin / New York Times:

Earlier Picks

Cameron Faulkner / The Verge:
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Tim Hardwick / MacRumors: