Techmeme
February 13, 2021, 9:45 AM

Top News

The Information:
Sources: Facebook is building an Android-based smartwatch with health and fitness capabilities, which it aims to launch in 2022  —  Facebook is building a smartwatch it hopes to start selling next year, according to people with direct knowledge of the device.
Wall Street Journal:
Sources shed light on the increasingly personal battle between Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg, who in private reportedly said “we need to inflict pain” on Apple  —  Animosity between CEOs Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook erupts over privacy and dueling visions of internet
Stanford Internet Observatory:
After researchers raised data privacy concerns, Clubhouse says it is taking steps “to prevent Clubhouse clients from ever transmitting pings to Chinese servers”  —  The audio chat app “Clubhouse” went viral among Chinese-speaking audiences.  Stanford Internet Observatory examines …
TechCrunch:
Jack Dorsey and Jay-Z create ₿trust endowment with 500 bitcoin, worth $23M+, to fund teams working on Bitcoin development, initially in Africa and India  —  Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey and rapper Jay Z have created an endowment to fund bitcoin development initially in Africa and India, Dorsey said Friday.
David McCabe / New York Times:
Maryland approves the Digital Advertising Gross Revenues Tax, the first tax in US on digital ads revenue, creating a 10% tax on firms with $15B+ global revenues  —  Analysts estimate that the tax will generate up to $250 million for schools in the state in the first year.
Sara Fischer / Axios:
LinkedIn announces the formation of a global creator management team, led by its EIC Dan Roth, aiming to support and grow content creators on the platform  —  LinkedIn is building a creator management team to help grow its community of content creators on the platform, according to an announcement from the company's editor in chief.
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
AT&T installs fiber for a 90-year-old after his WSJ print ad complaining of slow AT&T Internet service speeds goes viral  —  From 3Mbps DSL to 300Mbps fiber: Aaron Epstein's newspaper ad gets amazing result.  —  When 90-year-old Aaron Epstein bought a Wall Street Journal print ad …
Bloomberg:
Sources: Google, Microsoft, and Qualcomm are among companies asking US to intervene in Nvidia's Arm acquisition, and at least one company wants the deal killed  —  Some of the world's largest technology companies are complaining to U.S. antitrust regulators about Nvidia Corp.'s acquisition …
Sam Shead / CNBC:
Michelai Graham / Technical.ly DC:
Data privacy management company WireWheel raises $20M Series B led by ForgePoint Capital, bringing its total raised to $45M  —  Led by ForgePoint Capital, this new financing will go toward expanding the data protection company's SaaS platform and adding to its product engineering, sales and marketing teams.
Bloomberg:
Report: African startups raised $1.43B in 2020, down 29% YoY, declining for the first time in almost a decade  —  - Pandemic related slowdowns make investors wary of big deals  — Funding rounds increased in Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa  —  Funding for African startups slowed …

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Reimagine your photos with a prompt  —  Our new native image generation and editing is state-of-the-art, and ranked #1 in the world.  Try it for free in the Gemini app.
Zoho:
Ask an Expert: How to get business messaging right today  —  SMS has long remained one of the most preferred forms of business communication across the globe.  To keep it relevant and effective …
Sevalla:
Sevalla - PaaS from the future  —  Deploy your app before your coffee gets cold.  It's that simple.  Application, database, object storage and free static site hosting.  Start with $50 free credit!
Bitrix24:
Bitrix24 powers the next generation of high-performing businesses  —  Chat, projects, CRM, and automation — all in one place.  Replace dozens of tools so your team moves faster, collaborates smarter, and grows effortlessly.
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

Decoder with Nilay Patel:
The company at the heart of the AI bubble
A show from the Verge about big ideas - and other problems.
Subscribe to Decoder with Nilay Patel.
Lenny's Podcast:
"Dumbest idea I've heard" to $100M ARR: Inside the rise of Gamma | Grant Lee (CEO)
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.
Great Chat:
Turns out, there's still a line (don't mock the pope)
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
Big Technology Podcast:
Could LLMs Be The Route To Superintelligence? — With Mustafa Suleyman
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.
Uncapped with Jack Altman:
Kyle Vogt from The Bot Company
Conversations with people I admire about things I'm genuinely interested in.
Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
What the Disney-YouTube Battle Tells Us About the End of Cable
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.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 9:45 AM ET, February 13, 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

Annie Palmer / CNBC:
Matt Day / Bloomberg:

Earlier Picks

Jessica Bursztynsky / CNBC:
Kate Klonick / New Yorker:
Mariella Moon / Engadget:
Bloomberg:
Zac Hall / 9to5Mac:
Jessica Bursztynsky / CNBC:
Sara Fischer / Axios: