Techmeme: Sources: Reddit could go public as soon as March 2022 at a valuation of up to $15B; the company was last valued at $10B in August 2021 (Bloomberg)

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Andreessen Horowitz raises $9B across three funds: a $1.5B Bio fund, a $5B Growth fund, and a $2.5B Venture fund — I am excited to announce that Andreessen Horowitz just raised a fresh $9B to invest via our Venture, Growth, and Bio Funds. We are grateful to our Limited Partners …

Jiyoung Sohn / Wall Street Journal:

Samsung expects Q4 operating profit of $11.4B, up 52% YoY, on revenue of $63B, up ~24%, thanks to demand for memory chips and its contract chip-making business — South Korean company benefits from continued strength of the semiconductor business — SEOUL— Samsung Electronics Co …

More: Samsung Newsroom, BBC, Financial Times, Bloomberg, The Economic Times, Android Headlines, Telecoms.com, iPhone in Canada Blog, PhoneArena, TechCircle, SamMobile, ZDNet, and CNET. Tweets: @business

Abner Li / 9to5Google:

Following the US ITC's ruling in favor of Sonos, Google changes Assistant device setup and Speaker Groups, which now require adjusting speakers individually — Following the US ITC ruling in favor of Sonos, Google this afternoon announced a series of changes to how Speaker Groups and its Assistant devices work.

More: Android Police, The Verge, Google Nest Community, PhoneArena, iPhone in Canada Blog, TechHive, Android Central, OnMSFT.com, MSPoweruser, MobileSyrup, and Wall Street Journal

Tweets: @artemr and @fheinz

Daisuke Wakabayashi / New York Times:

The US ITC issues a final ruling declaring Google infringed on five Sonos audio tech patents and is banned from importing products that violate Sonos' IP

Source: ITC. More: PCMag, Ars Technica, TechCrunch, TechRadar, Protocol, Wired, ZDNet, SlashGear, Bloomberg, iPhone in Canada Blog, Phandroid, CNET, Thurrott, Android Headlines, XDA Developers, Pocket-lint, Android Police, Politico, The Logic, PhoneArena, Gizmodo, TechCircle, AppleInsider, Digital Trends, SiliconANGLE, MarketWatch, Washington Post, Android Central, and 9to5Google

Tweets: @mishaalrahman, @mishaalrahman, @charlesarthur, @rachelbovard, @rdrv3, @daiwaka, @ow, @reckless, @mishaalrahman, @mishaalrahman, @ow, @rdrv3, and @mishaalrahman

Iris Deng / South China Morning Post:

Shenzhen police send Walmart a warning for not quickly fixing 19 cybersecurity loopholes, days after China slammed Walmart for removing Xinjiang-made products — Public security authorities in Shenzhen found 19 cybersecurity loopholes in November in the online network of Walmart's China …

More: Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Tech in Asia, and TechRadar

Tweets: @thedragonfeeder and @danharris

Mitchell Clark / The Verge:

Meta rolls out a new version of Facebook's Privacy Center to some US desktop users, putting the onus on users to learn about its security and privacy controls — The new Privacy Center includes guides and controls — Meta (the company formerly known as Facebook) has announced a new version …

More: Meta, TechCrunch, CNET, MacRumors, Engadget, Adweek, and iPhone in Canada Blog

Bloomberg:

Sources: Reddit could go public as soon as March 2022 at a valuation of up to $15B; the company was last valued at $10B in August 2021 — - Social media company could go public as soon as March — Reddit could be valued at as much as $15 billion in listing

More: Protocol. Tweets: @katie_roof

Sarah E. Needleman / Wall Street Journal:

Sources: GameStop has hired more than 20 people to run a new division developing an NFT marketplace and establishing cryptocurrency partnerships — The retailer is launching a division dedicated to the buzzy new technologies amid a push to turn a profit — GameStop Corp. is launching …

Patrick McGee / Financial Times:

How Tim Cook's supply chain expertise and diplomacy helped grow Apple's annual revenue from $108B in 2011 to $365B in 2021, and profits up 3.7x to $95B — Two years after the death of Steve Jobs, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison claimed it was inevitable Apple would struggle under Tim Cook.

Tweets: @patrickmcgee_, @trippmickle, @thomas_m_wilson, @patrickmcgee_, @patrickmcgee_, @patrickmcgee_, @joemillerjr, and @alexeheath

Bloomberg:

PayPal confirms it is exploring launching its own stablecoin, after code in its iOS app showed it is working on a “PayPal Coin” backed by USD — PayPal Holdings Inc. is exploring the launch of its own stablecoin as part of its cryptocurrency push, according to the company …

More: Protocol. Tweets: @markgurman

Gabriel Araujo / Reuters:

Uber to shut down Uber Eats in Brazil on March 7; report: the move is part of a global repositioning strategy wherein the company closes unprofitable operations — Uber (UBER.N) said on Thursday it will end its Uber Eats restaurant delivery service in Brazil from March 7 and focus instead …

More: Protocol, PYMNTS.com, and The Economic Times

Tweets: @richggall and @urbannathalia

Mike Masnick / Techdirt:

A California court orders Twitter to reveal the identity of a user who tweeted photos mocking a billionaire, after the user didn't respond to a copyright claim — from the not-how-it's-supposed-to-work dept — Back in November we wrote about a very bizarre attempt to abuse copyright law …

More: CourtListener. Tweets: @mmasnick, @mmasnick, @mmasnick, and @mmasnick

See also Mediagazer

Filipe Espósito / 9to5Mac:

Twitter says it is testing “Quote Tweet with reaction”, an option to let iOS users retweet and attach a video reaction — Twitter on Thursday launched a new feature in its iOS app for a small group of users. With this option, it's now possible to retweet someone's post and add your own video reaction using your camera.

More: iThinkDifferent, The Hill, The Verge, KnowTechie, Search Engine Journal, PCMag, PhoneArena, iMore, Fossbytes, BGR India, and Engadget

Tweets: @twittersupport, @mikesuszek, @carnage4life, @pierce, @ooccouchgags, @yeaitstrill, @imranzomg, @quinnypig, @angryblacklady, @jackgrimse, @onthedownlotho, and @desdakon

Kenrick Cai / Forbes:

Labelbox, which offers data annotation and labeling software, raises a $110M Series D led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2; CEO says Labelbox is “basically a unicorn” — With funding for data startups in a frenzy, data annotation company Labelbox found itself fielding offers …

Tweets: @kenrickcai, @glenrdixon, @glenrdixon, @glenrdixon, and @firstround

Eleanor Olcott / Financial Times:

Roblox says it will rebuild its platform in China after taking down LuoBuLeSi in December, just five months after launching the app in partnership with Tencent — Gaming company plans relaunch after facing stiff competition and regulatory barriers — Roblox, the $50bn online gaming company …

Tweets: @niubi and @kylebrussell

Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:

RoadRunner, which uses AI to help enterprises manage and recycle waste across multiple locations, raises a $70M Series D from General Atlantic's BeyondNetZero — RoadRunner Recycling, a data-driven waste management platform that helps businesses divert their junk away from landfill sites …

More: SiliconANGLE and Beyond Net Zero

Axios:

Filing: Parler, the social media app that was temporarily booted from app stores in the aftermath of the January 6 Capitol riot, raises $20M — Parler, the social media app that was temporarily booted from app stores in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, has raised $20 million in new funding …

More: TechCrunch, TheStreet, Newser, and Bloomberg

Tweets: @getongab and @ryanlawler

Ionut Ilascu / BleepingComputer:

Online appointment scheduling service FlexBooker discloses a breach that saw info stolen from 3.7M+ accounts, including partial credit card info, on December 23 — Accounts of more than three million users of the U.S.-based FlexBooker appointment scheduling service have been stolen in an attack …

More: ZDNet, Gizmodo, Security Affairs, Threatpost, VPNoverview.com, Engadget, and Have I Been Pwned …. Tweets: @haveibeenpwned

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:

Avataar, which makes 3D renditions of products for e-commerce sites and direct-to-consumer brands, raises a $45M Series B led by Tiger Global — The vast majority of e-commerce customers prefer to preview the product before making the purchase. That's the reason why the likes of Amazon …

More: FinSMEs, YourStory.com, Business Standard, Tech in Asia, and The Economic Times

Anita Ramaswamy / TechCrunch:

Draftea, a fantasy sports app focused on Latin America, raises $13.2M led by Kaszek with participation from Sequoia, Bullpen, and FanDuel founder Nigel Eccles — Founder Alán Jaime Misrahi grew up devoted to soccer, eventually playing in Mexico's third division.

Tweets: @anitaramaswamy

Yogita Khatri / The Block:

The Incentive Ecosystem Foundation, led by the community of the Solana-based exchange Project Serum, raises $75M in a token sale from Tiger Global and others — Quick Take — A community-led foundation of Project Serum has raised $75 million in a token sale.

More: PR Newswire, Crypto Briefing, CoinDesk, and Reuters

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