Techmeme
February 3, 2021, 9:25 PM

Top News

Brian Flood / Fox Business:
In an internal memo, John Matze says he has been terminated as Parler's CEO by its board of directors  —  “The future of Parler is no longer in my hands,” Matze wrote  —  EXCLUSIVE - Parler has terminated CEO John Matze, according to a memo Matze sent to staffers that has been obtained by Fox News.
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
Jeff Bezos departs as perhaps the best CEO in tech history, having created three huge businesses: Amazon.com, AWS, and Amazon's marketplace/fulfillment services  —  It's the refunds that blow my mind.  —  You may be surprised to know that, despite the fact I live in Taiwan, I have an Amazon Prime account.
Brad Stone / Bloomberg:
Jeff Bezos's surprise resignation feels natural and even inevitable; the walls of his highly compartmentalized empire have been crumbling for some time  —  Jeff Bezos has a formulation about one-way doors and two-way doors—decisions that are irreversible and permanent and those that can always be unwound.
Amazon Investor Relations:
CNBC:
BuzzFeed News:
Facebook says it will try to protect posts that criticized Myanmar's military and its coup and will remove content that praises or supports the coup  —  After failing to stem the hate speech and misinformation that fueled a genocide in Myanmar, Facebook now says it plans …
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Myanmar's new military government has ordered local telecoms to block Facebook and its family of apps within the country until February 7  —  Myanmar's new military government has ordered local telecom firms to temporarily block Facebook in the Southeast Asian nation days after the military seized power …
Sara Fischer / Axios:
TikTok will prompt users to seek credible information if they try to share videos flagged as misleading, and disincentivize creators from uploading such content  —  TikTok will begin asking users to seek credible information about a topic if they try to share a video that carries …
Robert McMillan / Wall Street Journal:
SolarWinds CEO says hackers had breached the company's Office 365 email system for at least nine months starting December 2019  —  Investigators still don't know how the company was breached in attack that will cost millions  —  The newly appointed chief executive of SolarWinds Corp …
Annie Palmer / CNBC:
Amazon has started deploying AI-powered Netradyne cameras, which are always on and automatically upload footage, in its US delivery vehicles to monitor drivers  —  - Amazon has begun rolling out AI-enabled cameras from Netradyne in vehicles at a handful of contracted delivery partners across the U.S., CNBC has learned.
Bloomberg:
In an email to staff on February 1, Andy Jassy reaffirmed his commitment to making video games, following a scathing Bloomberg profile of Amazon Game Studios  —  One day before he was named the next chief executive officer of Amazon.com Inc., Andy Jassy reaffirmed his commitment to making video games …
CNBC:
Sources: Apple and Hyundai-Kia close to a car manufacturing deal; first “Apple Cars” will be “designed to operate without a driver and focused on the last mile”  —  - Apple is close to finalizing a deal with Hyundai-Kia to manufacture an Apple-branded autonomous electric vehicle …
Bloomberg:
Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:
Box says it intends to acquire Dutch cloud-based e-signature startup SignRequest for $55M and plans to launch Box Sign in summer 2021  —  Cloud storage and collaboration giant Box has announced plans to acquire SignRequest, a cloud-based electronic signature (e-signature) startup based in the Netherlands, in a deal worth $55 million.
Marc Andreessen / Andreessen Horowitz:
a16z names Sriram Krishnan as its newest GP, after roles at Facebook, Snap, Twitter; Krishnan has been consulting for nine months on an a16z “community project”  —  Welcome, Sriram Krishnan, our newest general partner, to Andreessen Horowitz!  —  Sriram is a well-known …
Pranav Dixit / BuzzFeed News:
India's IT ministry orders Twitter to block the recently restored accounts of dissidents and The Caravan magazine, or Twitter staff could face fines or jail  —  India's government has threatened to punish employees at Twitter with fines and jail terms of up to seven years for restoring hundreds …
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Anne Steele / Wall Street Journal:
Spotify reports Q4 results: 345M MAUs, up 27% YoY, as paying subscribers grew to 155M, up 24% YoY, topping expectations; revenue was up 17% YoY to €2.17B  —  But streaming giant offers conservative outlook for the current year as new sign-ups could ebb
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Google rolls out an update for Android TV with a refreshed UI that is similar to Google TV on Chromecast  —  A fresh look for Google's (other) smart TV software  —  Google is rolling out a new update for Android TV that gives its smart TV OS a fresh new look — one that's almost identical …
Sam Byford / The Verge:
Sony says it shipped 4.5M PlayStation 5 units worldwide in 2020, and reports revenue of $8.4B in Q3, up 40% YoY, operating profit of $763.3M, up 50%  —  A similar figure to the PS4 launch  —  Sony shipped 4.5 million PlayStation 5 units worldwide in 2020, as revealed by information published alongside …

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's new AI commerce stack  —  Their VP of Product digs into just-launched products to help entrepreneurs and developers build with the latest AI and tech.
Zoho:
Zoho People in 2025: A year in review  —  As we wrap up 2025, we're taking a moment to look back on a year filled with progress and transformation at Zoho People.  Our team has been constantly pushing boundaries …
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

Big Technology Podcast:
OpenAI's Potential, Google's Speedy Model, Copilot Hits Turbulence
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:
Why Roomba Died + Tech Predictions for 2026 + A Hard Forkin' Xmas Song
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:
Betting on reality with Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Lenny's Podcast:
The new AI growth playbook for 2026: How Lovable hit $200M ARR in one year | Elena Verna (Head of Growth)
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.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
"Neither Side Is Used to Losing." Lucas Shaw on What's Next for Netflix and Paramount in the Battle for Warner Bros.
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
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 9:25 PM ET, February 3, 2021.

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

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Earlier Picks

Matthew Ball / MatthewBall.vc:
Jesse Pound / CNBC: