Techmeme
December 8, 2020, 10:00 AM

Top News

Joe Rossignol / MacRumors:
Apple announces AirPods Max, over-ear headphones with noise cancellation, available from December 15 for $549  —  Apple today introduced new wireless over-ear headphones called AirPods Max, with key features including high-fidelity audio, Adaptive EQ, Active Noise Cancellation, and spatial audio.
Jessica Bursztynsky / CNBC:
Uber's self-driving unit, Advanced Technologies Group, to be acquired by rival Aurora Innovation in a deal valuing ATG at $4B; source: Aurora now valued at $10B  —  - Self-driving vehicle start-up Aurora is acquiring Uber's Advanced Technologies Group, which works on self-driving technology.
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
Cloudflare and Apple say they have developed a new protocol called Oblivious DNS-over-HTTPS, which decouples DNS queries from internet users for more privacy  —  Engineers at Cloudflare and Apple say they've developed a new internet protocol that will shore up one of the biggest holes …
Alan Boyle / GeekWire:
SpaceX's Starlink satellite network wins $885M in federal aid for rural broadband, as part of a $9.2B allocation by FCC to be paid across 180 auction bidders  —  SpaceX's Starlink satellite network — which relies on hundreds of spacecraft built in Redmond, Wash. — has been awarded $885.5 million …
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
GoHenry, which offers a pre-paid card and finance app for 6-18 year olds, raises $40M led by Edison Partners  —  Young people have long been a prime, if especially careful, target for financial services companies: find the right and responsible way to connect with them, and you could have a good customer for many years.
Tweets: @ingridlunden
Connie Chan / Andreessen Horowitz:
In a new era of video ushered in by TikTok, real-time interactivity is baked into viewing experiences, which may lead to shifts in education, shopping, and more  —  Social Strikes Back is a series exploring the next generation of social networks and how they're shaping the future of consumer tech.
Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:
After Google's announcement in May that it would start blocking “heavy” ads in Chrome, it is now blocking some ads that publishers sell if they hog resources  —  On some recent business day, The New York Times sold an ad to a company.  I can't tell you the name of the company …
Kim Lyons / The Verge:
Airbnb launches Airbnb.org for allowing hosts to provide free and discounted stays to refugees, essential workers, and people affected by natural disasters  —  Hosts on the platform can provide free and discounted stays as in-kind donations  —  Airbnb is launching a nonprofit to allow …
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
Dragos, which helps secure critical industrial infrastructure like power plants, raises $110M Series C  —  Cybersecurity firm Dragos has raised $110 million in its Series C, almost triple the amount that it raised two years ago in its last round.  —  Dragos was founded in 2016 to detect …
More: CyberScoop
Steve O'Hear / TechCrunch:
Outfund, which provides revenue-based financing to online businesses to fund growth without giving away equity, raises £37M led by Fuel Ventures  —  Outfund, the revenue-based finance startup that wants to help online businesses fund growth without giving away equity, has raised £37 million in a “late seed” investment.

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More News

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