| Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC: |
Facebook says it will begin testing ads on Oculus headsets, starting with the shooter game Blaston, and won't use data stored on devices to target ads — - Facebook on Wednesday announced that it will begin testing advertisements that will appear within the company's Oculus virtual reality headsets.| Casey Newton / Platformer: |
By acquiring promising VR games and software companies, Facebook seems to be cornering the VR market, reminiscent of its Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions — A recent shopping spree is giving some folks Instagram-in-2012 vibes — Imagine that, over the past year, Facebook had managed … | Bloomberg: |
Wise, previously known as TransferWise, plans to go public on the LSE via a direct listing, the first company to choose an alternative listing in the UK — - Founders, employees get extra voting rights for limited time — Direct listings are becoming more popular among U.S. startups| Joe Weisenthal / Bloomberg: |
Mark Cuban calls for stablecoin regulation, after trading Iron Finance's algorithmic stablecoin DeFi Titanium, which then crashed from $60 to $0 in a day — Here's a chart you never want to see. It's of the DeFi Titanium token, which in one day went from being valued around $60 to $0.| Sarah Perez / TechCrunch: |
Instagram launches ads in Reels worldwide; the ads can be up to 30 seconds and vertical in format — Instagram Reels are getting ads. The company announced today it's launching ads in its short-form video platform and TikTok rival, Reels, to businesses and advertisers worldwide.| Mary Ann Azevedo / TechCrunch: |
Unit, which helps companies build financial and banking products, raises $51M Series B led by Accel, bringing its total raises to ~$70M — We've all heard the phrase, “Every company is a fintech.” — But these days, that's becoming more and more true as an increasing number of companies … | Bobby Allyn / NPR: |
Snap eliminates Snapchat's speed filter, which let users show how fast they were moving, after a US court ruled that Snap could be sued for a fatal car crash — The maker of the Snapchat app is eliminating a feature known as the “speed filter” that lets users capture how fast they are moving … | Elias Saba / AFTVnews: |
Amazon Appstore unveils a new program that reduces its share of developer revenue from 30% to 20% for developers earning less than $1M per year, starting in Q4 — The Amazon Appstore has announced that it will be reducing its cut of developer revenue from 30% to 20% for developers that earn less than $1 million in revenue per year.| Jack Nicas / New York Times: |
Profile of Doug Guthrie, an advocate for doing business in China who advised Apple from 2014-2019, as he now warns of the risks of China's nationalist turn — Doug Guthrie, once one of America's leading China bulls, rang the alarm on doing business there. He spoke about his time at Apple.| Strategy Analytics: |
In Q1 2021, global 5G smartphone shipments grew 6% QoQ, with Samsung up 79% QoQ and Vivo up 62% QoQ, while Apple maintained its lead despite a 23% dip — BOSTON—(BUSINESS WIRE)— According to new research from Strategy Analytics, Samsung and Vivo were the world's fastest growing 5G smartphone vendors in the first quarter of 2021.| Jordan Novet / CNBC: |
Microsoft has named CEO Satya Nadella as chair of its board, replacing independent director John Thompson who succeeded Bill Gates as chair in 2014 — - Satya Nadella, Microsoft's CEO, is becoming the software company's chair, after running the company for seven years, when he replaced Steve Ballmer.| Insider: |
Sources: Google is downsizing its health team, which was working on sensors and health records, and moving them to Fitbit as part of a major reorganization — - Google's young health division is splintering, according to employees and an email seen by Insider.| Danny Crichton / TechCrunch: |
Neo4j, which offers a graph-centric database and related products, raises $325M Series F led by Eurazeo at a $2B+ valuation — Databases run the world, but database products are often some of the most mature and venerable software in the modern tech stack.| Mike Butcher / TechCrunch: |
Akur8, which uses AI to automate insurance claims, raises $30M Series B, bringing its total raised to $42M — Automating insurance claims is a big business, and the world of AI is coming at it ‘full pelt’. The latest is Akur8, an insurtech automating insurance platform whose ‘Transparent AI’ product … | Reuters: |
Russian lawmakers pass legislation that would force US tech giants to open offices in Russia by January 2022 or face punitive measures — Russian lawmakers passed legislation on Thursday that would oblige U.S. tech giants to open offices in Russia by January 2022 or face punitive measures … | Washington Post: |
The recent surge in ransomware attacks has upended the cyber insurance industry, increasing costs and requirements just as more companies need it — Cyber insurance carriers are raising premiums and limiting coverage in the face of severe ransomware attacks, just as organizations are clamoring for more protection| Joseph F. Kovar / CRN: |
Claroty, which develops security tech for industrial companies, raises $140M Series D, bringing its total raised to $235M, ahead of an IPO — 'We are able to reverse-engineer OT protocols and use them thanks to help from Schneider Electric, Rockwell Automation, and Siemens.| Ashley Carman / The Verge: |
Snap launches Creative Kit for Spotlight, which will let developers put their apps inside Snapchat's TikTok rival Spotlight — Ride the wave of virality for downloads — Snapchat is making it easier for developers to use viral content to directly promote their apps.| Stephen Shankland / CNET: |
Google says it is funding a project to increase Linux security by writing parts of the operating system's core in Rust — Google said Thursday it's funding a project to increase Linux security by writing parts of the operating system's core in the Rust programming language … | Igor Bonifacic / Engadget: |
In Xbox's June update, Microsoft adds a Stories-like feature to the Xbox mobile app and rolls out text-to-speech and speech-to-text accessibility features — June update is here, and Microsoft has — detailed the latest software tweaks Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S users can look forward to trying out on their consoles.| Liza Lin / Wall Street Journal: |
Leaked memo: ByteDance says its annual revenue in 2020 grew 111% YoY to $34.3B, while gross profit rose 93% YoY to $19B — ByteDance's gross profit rose 93% to $19 billion last year, according to a memo to staff — ByteDance Ltd., the owner of popular short-video app TikTok … | Sarah Krouse / The Information: |
Sources: Google is developing a conversational AI product, known internally as Tivoli, which aims to teach foreign languages through Google Search — Google CEO Sundar Pichai last month previewed an artificial intelligence model that he said would enable people to have open-ended conversations with technology.| Reuters: |
At the summit, Biden told Putin that certain critical infrastructure should be “off-limits” to cyberattacks; Putin agreed to “begin consultations” on the issue — U.S. President Joe Biden told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday that certain critical infrastructure … | Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch: |
Beamery, which develops software to manage hiring and retaining staff, raises $138M, sources say at a $800M valuation — Online job listings were one of the first things to catch on in the first generation of the internet. But that has, ironically, also meant that some of the most-used …
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| Nilesh Christopher / Rest of World: |
| Ben Sisario / New York Times: |
| Mathew Olson / The Information: |
| James Vincent / The Verge: |
| Dieter Bohn / The Verge: |
| Lauren Feiner / CNBC: |