Techmeme
March 22, 2021, 2:15 PM

Top News

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple's HomePod mini has a sensor, currently disabled, that measures temperature and humidity; Apple is working on speakers with screens and cameras  —  Apple Inc.'s HomePod mini speaker launched last November with new features such as a home intercom system.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft says it will begin a limited reopening of its Redmond HQ on March 29 and plans a future focus on hybrid workplaces  —  Microsoft is letting some employees back into the office  —  Microsoft is planning to start reopening its Redmond, Seattle headquarters later this month.
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Judge certifies a class action suit against Apple that claims it knew for years that MacBooks' butterfly keyboards were flawed and small fixes were insufficient  —  The suit says Apple knew its thinner keyboard was rotten  —  A judge has certified a class action suit against Apple for its fragile butterfly keyboard design.
Natasha Mascarenhas / TechCrunch:
Spark Capital decides to “sever all ties” with Dispo after claims of sexual assault against a former Vlog Squad member; David Dobrik departs from Dispo  —  Dobrik departs from Dispo board and leaves company  —  Venture capital firm Spark Capital has decided to ‘sever all ties’ with Dispo …
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Long time Google VP Caesar Sengupta, who was in charge of Next Billion Users, Google Pay, and oversaw Chrome OS, is leaving the company after 15 years  —  One big focus for Google today is making products for what it dubs the Next Billion Users in countries just coming online.
Andy Day / Fstoppers:
Instead of convincing people merely to buy things that they don't need, NFTs are convincing them to buy imaginary optimism based on a mass enchantment and FOMO  —  Photographers, filmmakers, and digital artists are falling over themselves to mint NFTs in a get-rich-quick scheme …
Ronn Blitzer / Fox News:
Trump adviser Jason Miller says Trump is having meetings with “numerous companies” to return to social media with his own platform in two to three months  —  Jason Miller tells Fox News' ‘#MediaBuzz’ the platform will ‘completely redefine the game’
Reuters:
Sources: Box is exploring a sale, discussing a potential deal with other companies and PE firms, amid pressure from hedge fund Starboard over stock performance  —  (Reuters) - U.S. cloud services provide Box Inc is exploring a sale amid pressure from hedge fund Starboard Value LP over its stock performance …
Yang Jie / Wall Street Journal:
Japanese chip maker Renesas says a fire at one its plants has halted production for at least a month, impacting automakers, and estimates losses at $160M/month  —  Shares of Toyota, Nissan and Honda fell Monday  —  TOKYO—A fire at a factory of one of the world's leading auto chip makers …
Mary Ann Azevedo / TechCrunch:
Side, a real estate brokerage whose end-to-end software helps agents with branding, marketing, and more, raises $150M Series D and is now valued at $1B  —  Side, a real estate technology company that works to turn agents and independent brokerages into boutique brands and businesses …
Reuters:
ByteDance says its Nuverse video game unit has acquired Shanghai-based gaming studio Moonton Technology, sources say for around $4B  —  (Reuters) - ByteDance said on Monday its video games unit Nuverse has agreed to acquire Shanghai-based gaming studio Moonton Technology, as it seeks to further expand into the video games business.
Miriam Gottfried / Wall Street Journal:
Blackstone, with a goal of managing $1T in assets by 2026, is increasingly investing in fast-growing tech companies and has opened a San Francisco office  —  Jonathan Gray is guiding shift at investment firm that made its name buying into undervalued companies

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Benedict Evans:
Axios:
Joe Williams / Protocol: