Techmeme
June 15, 2021, 2:35 PM

Top News

New York Times:
Interviews with ~200 people show how Amazon's warehouse employment system, under strain before the pandemic, burned through workers and created huge confusion  —  Each year, hundreds of thousands of workers churn through a vast mechanism that hires and monitors, disciplines and fires.
Jason Del Rey / Vox:
Interviews with 30+ current and former Amazon employees detail allegations of racial bias and discrimination; many say its HR department was part of the problem  —  In interviews with Recode, dozens of Amazon employees detailed allegations of racial bias and discrimination on the job …
Olivia Carville / Bloomberg:
Interviews with 53 people shed light on Airbnb's secretive safety team, made up of ~100 agents, some with military backgrounds, who handle emergency situations  —  The first-floor apartment on West 37th Street, a few blocks south of Times Square, was popular with tourists …
Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac:
UK's CMA says it will launch an investigation into Apple and Google's mobile ecosystems over whether their market power is harming users  —  Today, the UK's competition watchdog (the Competition and Markets Authority) announced an official investigation into the mobile device ecosystem, citing Apple and Google's effective duopoly.
The Verge:
The Senate votes 69-28 to confirm Lina Khan, an antitrust expert who wrote the “Amazon Antitrust Paradox”, to the FTC, giving Democrats a majority  —  Congress is preparing to take drastic action against tech monopolies  —  The Senate confirmed Lina Khan as commissioner …
Fight for the Future:
Investigation finds Apple has removed LGBTQ+ apps in 152 countries, many which have poor human rights records; Saudi Arabia and China are missing the most apps  —  As LGBTQ+ people around the world celebrate Pride Month, new report from Fight for the Future and GreatFire shows …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
IRL, which is building a messaging-based social network, raises $170M Series C led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2, at a $1.17B valuation  —  Social calendar app IRL has been busy building a messaging-based social network, or what founder and CEO Abraham Shafi calls a “WeChat of the West.”
Stephanie Bodoni / Bloomberg:
EU's top court says Facebook can't avoid potential EU-wide privacy orders from data protection authorities beyond its legal watchdog in Ireland  —  - EU top court rules on scope of so-called one-stop-shop system  — Dispute stems from Belgian data order over Facebook cookies
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Ahead of Microsoft's event to unveil the next gen of Windows, a Windows 11 build leaks, showing a revamped UI, like a new taskbar with centered app icons, more  —  Screenshots have leaked online  —  Screenshots of Microsoft's upcoming Windows 11 operating system have appeared online today.
Matthew Panzarino / TechCrunch:
Andreessen Horowitz launches Future, a media property that will focus on informational and editorial content created by full-time staff and outside contributors  —  Today, venture firm Andreessen Horowitz is officially launching its media property, called Future.
Tim Bradshaw / Financial Times:
Sir Tim Berners-Lee is auctioning his original source code for the web as an NFT, the first time he would be able to raise money directly from his invention  —  Sotheby's sale will be first time creator has been able to raise money directly from invention  —  Sir Tim Berners-Lee is auctioning …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Automattic acquires Day One, a popular journaling app for Apple devices with 15M+ downloads on the Mac and iOS App Store; terms of the deal were not disclosed  —  Automattic is expanding its lineup of online writing platforms with its acquisition of Day One, a popular journaling app for Mac and Apple mobile devices.
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Iterable, which offers AI-powered cross-channel sales and marketing tools, raises $200M Series E, giving the company a $2B post-money valuation  —  Elevate your enterprise data technology and strategy at Transform 2021.  —  Iterable, a cross-channel platform for customer experiences …
Christine Hall / Crunchbase News:
PayCargo, which develops cloud-based payment and financing services for the cargo industry, raises $125M Series B, following a $35M Series A last September  —  When products exit a cargo carrier and payment isn't immediately available for all of the entities that touched it, those products are generally hauled to a warehouse to sit.
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Duda, which helps large businesses to build websites, raises $50M Series D led by Claridge IL, bringing its total raised to $100M  —  Self-expression for many consumers today comes in the form of social media and apps.  But if you're a larger business, even if you can't ignore platforms like Facebook …

Sponsor Posts

Clay:
Turn any GTM idea into reality  —  Clay helps GTM teams combine AI agents, enrichment, and intent data to move faster and turn insights into action.
Soxton:
AI-powered law for startups  —  Soxton automates startup legal so founders can move faster and sleep better.  We handle incorporation, advisor, employment and commercial contracts.  Join the waitlist for early access!
Zoho:
Your website, your brand: A website building guide for tech partners  —  In a competitive market, trust is what makes businesses choose you and stay with you.  As a tech partner, you can take steps to build …
IDrive:
Geometric Grand Unification — Solving the Hubble Tension & Proton Mass  —  Physics solved?  AI verifies model unifying gravity & particles by deriving constants from vacuum geometry.  Identifies void-driven topology.

Featured Podcasts

Grit:
The Truth Behind Automation Claims in Customer Support | Cresta CEO Ping Wu
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Lenny's Podcast:
Getting paid to vibe code: Inside the new AI-era job | Lazar Jovanovic (Professional Vibe Coder)
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:
Software In Shambles, OpenAI vs. Anthropic Super Brawl, Amazon's Struggles
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:
Elon Musk's Mega-Merger + We Test Google's Project Genie + What's Next for Moltbook Creator
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.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Jeff Bezos Used To Be In Love with The Washington Post. What Happened?
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:
Special Edition: Key findings from the Microsoft AI Diffusion Report
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 2:35 PM ET, June 15, 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

Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:

Earlier Picks

Monica Chin / The Verge:
NBC News:
Jonathan Ponciano / Forbes:
Andrew Chung / Reuters:
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Dieter Bohn / The Verge: