Techmeme: 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 (Anita Ramaswamy/TechCrunch)

Top News

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

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 …

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 Privacy Center to some people using Facebook on desktop in the US, putting the onus on the users to learn about 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, Adweek, Engadget, and iPhone in Canada Blog

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, Google Nest Community, iPhone in Canada Blog, PhoneArena, 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, The Verge, TechCrunch, TechRadar, Protocol, Wired, ZDNet, SlashGear, Bloomberg, iPhone in Canada Blog, Phandroid, CNET, Thurrott, Android Headlines, XDA Developers, Pocket-lint, Android Police, The Logic, Politico, 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

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

Bloomberg:

Sources: Reddit could go public as soon as March at a valuation of as much as $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

Tweets: @katie_roof

See also Mediagazer

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

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

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, KnowTechie, The Verge, PCMag, PhoneArena, iMore, Fossbytes, BGR India, and Engadget

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

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

Ry Crist / CNET:

Amazon debuts Sidewalk Bridge Pro by Ring for farms, factories, and other nonresidential settings, capable of sending and receiving device data up to five miles — A new, dedicated Sidewalk bridge will bring farms, factories and other nonresidential zones online with Amazon's long-range, low-power IoT network.

More: The Verge, About Amazon, TechRadar, Internet of Things News, GeekWire, SiliconANGLE, and Thingy IOT

Tweets: @benwood, @quinnypig, and @rycrist

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

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

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

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

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

Crystal Kim / Bloomberg:

Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, which experienced meteoric rises as meme coins, are down 80% and 65% from their peaks in May and October respectively — - Dogecoin, Shiba, other meme inspired tokens are near lows — Advocates wonder if a Shib price of one cent is still feasible

Tweets: @russellbrandom

Sponsor Posts

Soxton:

Fast, affordable 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!

F5:

Accelerate AI Adoption at F5's AI Virtual Summit — Learn how to architect, secure, and scale AI for production with real-world insights from industry leaders on June 23. Register now to save your spot.

Zoho:

Fixing collaboration friction : Why collaboration feels hard and how Zoho Workplace fixes it — It's never been easier to work together. Right now, your team can co-edit a document in real time …

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.

Sponsor Techmeme

Featured Podcasts

Access:

The billionaire paying AI researchers to stay out of Big Tech

A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.

Subscribe to Access.

The Nick, Dick and Paul Show:

The Race to the Middle

Nick Bilton, Dick Costolo, and Paul Kedrosky pull back the curtain on AI, startups, and the future rushing toward us, all with healthy dose of irreverence.

Subscribe to The Nick, Dick and Paul Show.

Great Chat:

After you ring the bell

A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.

Subscribe to Great Chat.

Big Technology Podcast:

AI Fact or Fiction: The Fable Ban, Tokenmaxxing, Saaspocolypse — With Ara Kharazian

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:

'Hard Fork' Live Part 2: Dylan Field on Standing Out in the A.I. Era

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.

Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:

AI's Mythos Moment: Rishi Sunak on preparing governments for AI

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.

Add your podcast here

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 5:05 PM ET, January 7, 2022.

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.