Techmeme
July 15, 2021, 7:55 AM

Top News

Bloomberg:
Netflix says it has hired Mike Verdu, Facebook's VP of AR/VR content, to lead its expansion into video games  —  Netflix Inc., marking its first big move beyond TV shows and films, is planning an expansion into video games and has hired a former Electronic Arts Inc. and Facebook Inc. executive …
Alex Heath / The Verge:
Twitter says it will retire Fleets, its Stories-like service, on August 3 after low adoption  —  A fleeting moment for Fleets  —  Say goodbye to Fleets, the row of fullscreen tweets at the top of the Twitter timeline that expire after 24 hours.  The ephemeral tweet format is shutting …
Jackson Palmer / @ummjackson:
[Thread] Jackson Palmer, a Dogecoin co-creator, says crypto primarily amplifies the wealth of its proponents via tax avoidance, limited regulatory oversight  —  I am often asked if I will “return to cryptocurrency” or begin regularly sharing my thoughts on the topic again. My answer is a wholehearted “no”, but to avoid repeating myself I figure it might be worthwhile briefly explaining why here...
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
WhatsApp begins a limited beta for multi-device support, letting users access WhatsApp on up to four non-phone devices without an active smartphone connection  —  WhatsApp is finally pushing an improvement to a key feature that even the Facebook-owned instant messaging service acknowledges has been a top request from users for years.
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Android 12 Beta 3 introduces scrolling screenshots, a faster auto-rotate using face detection to determine the phone's orientation, and more new features  —  Plus, it will finally support scrolling screenshots  —  Google is releasing the latest beta for Android 12 right on schedule.
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Revolut raises $800M Series E from SoftBank's Vision Fund 2 and Tiger Global at a valuation of $33B; Revolut was last valued at $5.5B in 2020  —  The fintech funding continues to roll in at a rapid pace, a result of the huge shift underway in how consumers spend and manage their money.
Taylor Lorenz / New York Times:
Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook will pay $1B to creators by the end of 2022; creators can earn money using Instagram or Facebook tools or by hitting milestones  —  Facebook is setting up a program to pay $1 billion to creators through the end of 2022, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's chief executive …
Kevin Roose / New York Times:
Facebook staff detail the fight over CrowdTangle, which notes top-engaging posts, often showing right-wing sources dominating; in April, its team was reassigned  —  Executives at the social network have clashed over CrowdTangle, a Facebook-owned data tool that revealed users' high engagement levels with right-wing media sources.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft announces Windows 365, letting businesses stream a version of Windows 10 or 11 in a web browser or through its Remote Desktop app, launching August 2  —  Windows 365 is a new service that creates Cloud PCs  —  Microsoft is putting Windows in the cloud.
Wall Street Journal:
Avast says it is in advanced talks to merge with NortonLifeLock in a cash and stock deal; Avast has a market value of ~$7.2B  —  Cybersecurity firm Avast has market value of $7.2 billion  —  NortonLifeLock Inc. is in talks to buy cybersecurity firm Avast Plc in a deal that would expand the U.S. company's focus on consumer software.
More: SiliconANGLE, Reuters, and TelegraphTweets: @campuscodi
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
In macOS Monterey's new developer beta, Apple appears to walk back on its revamp of Safari's tabs, which were set to become more efficient with vertical space  —  In the third developer beta of macOS Monterey, which came out this morning, Apple has overhauled the design of Safari …
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Clubhouse debuts Backchannel, a DM feature supporting group messages and audio chat, on iOS and Android; the ability to send images or video will be added later  —  Never leave the app  —  Now, you can slide into people's Clubhouse DMs.  The social audio company is launching its direct messaging feature …
Tomio Geron / Protocol:
Square acquires Crew, maker of a messaging service for retail and other in-person workers, for an undisclosed amount; Crew had raised ~$58M previously  —  Square has acquired Crew, maker of a messaging service for retail and other in-person workers, in a deal to bolster Square's workforce management products.
Maddie Stone / The Keyword:
Google's Threat Analysis Group breaks down three recent malware campaigns, likely state-backed, and notes a large uptick of in-the-wild 0-day attacks this year  —  Zero-day vulnerabilities are unknown software flaws.  Until they're identified and fixed, they can be exploited by attackers.
Kirsten Korosec / TechCrunch:
Woven Planet Holdings, a Toyota subsidiary that develops and invests in automated driving, has acquired 3D mapping startup Carmera for an undisclosed amount  —  Woven Planet Holdings — an entity created by Toyota to invest in, develop and eventually bring future of transportation technologies …
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
SecurEnds, which uses AI to help companies manage risk and compliance, raises $21M Series A led by Elephant  —  Join executive leaders at the Conversational AI & Intelligent AI Assistants Summit, presented by Five9.  Watch now!  —  Identity governance platform SecurEnds today announced …
Bloomberg:
European Central Bank says it will begin a 24-month “investigation phase” that could lead to the creation of a digital euro by around 2025  —  - Process will take 24 months before decision on adoption taken  — ECB says infrastructure would use far less energy than Bitcoin
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Lambda, which offers AI-optimized hardware and develops a machine learning development framework, raises $24.5M from 1517, Gradient Ventures, and others  —  Join executive leaders at the Conversational AI & Intelligent AI Assistants Summit, presented by Five9.  Watch now!
Tweets: @quinnypig
Christine Hall / TechCrunch:
Miami-based Unybrands, which acquires small e-commerce brands looking to scale their operations on and off Amazon, raises $300M from Crayhill Capital Management  —  Unybrands is the latest e-commerce aggregator to pick up a significant investment, this time closing $300 million in growth capital from Crayhill Capital Management.
Source: PR Newswire

Sponsor Posts

Airtable:
Deep analysis for deep questions  —  Introducing Superagent.  A new research product from Airtable: Subagents deeply interrogate your topic and turn it into boardroom-ready reports, slides, docs, or websites.
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.
Zoho:
Your next great hire is just a tap away  —  You're traveling for a recruitment conference and forgot your work laptop.  You still have to review a C-suite candidate's salary requirements, filter the best candidates …
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce 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 Closes in on $100 Billion, OpenClaw Acquired, AI's Productivity Question — With Aaron Levie
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:
The Pentagon vs. Anthropic + An A.I. Agent Slandered Me + Hot Mess Express
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.
The Upstarts Podcast:
Loyal's Celine Halioua: From Defying Doubters To Pioneering Dog Longevity
Veteran tech reporter Alex Konrad sits down with breakout entrepreneurs taking on the status quo to shake up their fields in AI, design, nuclear energy, space, and more.
Subscribe to The Upstarts Podcast.
Access:
Notion CEO Ivan Zhao on if AI is really killing software companies
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:
Head of Claude Code: What happens after coding is solved | Boris Cherny
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.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
His Excellency Khaldoon Al Mubarak: Investing in an AI-Driven World
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 7:55 AM ET, July 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

Earlier Picks

Priya Anand / Bloomberg:
Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:
Casey Newton / Platformer:
Brent Kendall / Wall Street Journal: