FTC, in coalition with 46 state AGs, plus Guam and DC, sues Facebook, alleging Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions were used to stifle competition
Agency challenges Facebook's multi-year course of unlawful conduct — The Federal Trade Commission today sued Facebook …
Facebook responds to the FTC and state AGs, saying the lawsuits they've brought forth are “revisionist history” and their antitrust case is unprecedented
Billions of people use Facebook's products every day. To earn their time and attention, we compete fiercely against many other services across the world.
FTC's antitrust lawsuit against Facebook seeks to unwind Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions, force Facebook to seek approval for future acquisitions, and more
The Verge :
Legal experts say FTC and state AGs will find it challenging to prove their allegations against Facebook because the standards of proof are formidable
The U.S. and states cases against the social network are far from a slam dunk because the standards of proof are formidable.
Adobe has released its final scheduled Flash Player update for all regions outside of mainland China and will block Flash content from January 12
Adobe releases final Flash update with stronger language asking users to uninstall the app before its EOL. — Adobe has released on Tuesday …
Airbnb raises $3.5B in its IPO at $68 per share, up from a previous $56-$60 range, giving it a fully diluted valuation of $47.3B
Airbnb on Wednesday raised $3.5 billion in its IPO at a fully diluted valuation of around $47.3 billion, and will begin trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol ABNB.
AT&T has agreed to sell Japanese anime streaming service Crunchyroll to Sony's Funimation Global Group for $1.18B
The move consolidates the anime industry in a major way — On Wednesday, Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. announced that AT&T and WarnerMedia agreed to sell Crunchyroll to Funimation.
New York AG Letitia James leads a coalition of 48 AGs in suing Facebook, alleging the company uses a “buy or bury” approach toward its competitors
AG James Leads Bipartisan Coalition of 48 Attorneys General Charging Anticompetitive Conduct — Facebook Thwarted Competition, Reduced Consumer Privacy for Profits
Internal memo: Sundar Pichai apologizes over the handling of AI ethics researcher Timnit Gebru's departure and says he will investigate
Google CEO Sundar Pichai apologized Wednesday for the company's handling of the departure of AI ethics researcher Timnit Gebru and said he would investigate …
Google launches knowledge panels in search results to show accurate information about coronavirus vaccines, starting with the UK
- Google has launched new knowledge panels to show people accurate information about coronavirus vaccines. — The feature is only available in the U.K …
Users report issues sending messages on Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and Facebook's workplace collaboration platform, primarily in Europe
Can't use Messenger right now? It's not just you. — Users reported issues using Facebook and Instagram on Thursday morning, particularly regarding the messaging services of each platform.
Germany launches an antitrust probe into Facebook tying Oculus use to possession of a Facebook account
Facebook's bad week just got worse: It's being investigated in Germany for linking usage of its VR product, Oculus, to having a Facebook account. — The tech giant raised the hackles …
Report: Hyundai Motor Group has agreed to purchase Boston Dynamics, maker of the Spot quadruped robot, from SoftBank for around $921M
The acquisition has been expected since early November. … Hey, remember those deeply unsettling robot dogs that have been creeping out the internet for years and recently went into production?
A look at Facebook's plans to monetize WhatsApp, which makes virtually no money at present, by facilitating business transactions, a shift away from ads
Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg :
National Weather Service says it has an Internet bandwidth problem and proposes limiting users to 60 connections/minute, which could hurt weather apps and sites
Agency floats a solution to problems that could hobble private companies and affect popular weather apps. Tweets: @ron_miller , @raju , @afreedma , @weather_west , @davidbernardtv , @capitalweather , ...
French data protection agency CNIL fines Google $120M and Amazon $42M for placing tracking cookies without consent
France's data protection agency, the CNIL, has slapped Google and Amazon with fines for dropping tracking cookies without consent. — Google has been hit with a total …
Facebook launches Shopping in Instagram Reels, rolling out globally starting today, letting businesses and creators tag products when they create Reels
Instagram today is launching Shopping in Reels, its TikTok competitor. The new feature was announced in October as something the company …
Apple and Google to ban mobile apps that use location trackers from data broker X-Mode, after it was revealed X-Mode provided data to US government contractors
After the data broker came under scrutiny for national-security work, tech giants tell app developers to remove trackers or lose access to their operating systems
Inside Ovarit, an invite-only Reddit-like site founded by members of the “trans-exclusionary radical feminists” subreddit r/GenderCritical that Reddit banned
Mary Kate Fain, a 27-year-old engineer and writer living in Houston, has always considered herself a feminist. Tweets: @sullydish , @elongreen , @sullydish , @fake_minnesotan , @katymontgomerie , @ali...
Profile of eBird, a database created in 2002 that is now the global go-to platform for anyone logging bird sightings, with over 120M observations per year
In July 1992, two Danish birders visiting Patagonia, Arizona reported the first-ever, mega-rare cinnamon hummingbird in the United States. Tweets: @jdflynn , @outsidemagazine , @outsidemagazine , @out...
Fairmarkit, which provides enterprise procurement software for clients like Boston's mass transit system, raises $30M Series B, bringing total raised to $42M
As the pandemic has raged on, it has shined a spotlight on the importance of procurement, especially in certain sectors.
Hibob, which provides cloud-based HR management software, raises $70M Series B led by Seek and Israel Growth Partners, sources say at a ~$500M valuation
Productivity software has been getting a major re-examination this year, and human resources platforms — used for hiring, firing …
Boast.ai, which develops software that automates the process of claiming R&D tax credits, raises $23M Series A led by Radian Capital
Boast.ai, a startup developing software that automates the process of claiming R&D tax credits, today raised $23 million in venture capital.
Twitch unveils new guidelines to crack down on hateful conduct and sexual harassment, which take effect in January, following a yearlong review
DoorDash closes at $189.51, up 85% from its $102 pricing, after popping to $182 as the shares began trading, giving a valuation of $60.2B
turning $680m to $11.5b based on today's opening price. https://www.cnbc.com/... Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life : What I like most about the DoorDash founding story is that it bucks the entrepreneurial...
YouTube says it will remove any content published from today that alleges widespread fraud or errors changed the 2020 US Presidential election outcome
YouTube Official Blog :
Biden staffers say their experiences in dealing with Facebook during the election left them concerned that the company is a threat to the electoral process
Inside the battle between Biden and Facebook. — Opinion Writer at Large — In the days after the election … Tweets: @cwarzel , @ethannichtern , @brendannyhan , @whotargetsme , @nytopinion , @anandw...
Nintendo Switch, distributed in China by Tencent, has sold an estimated 1.3M+ units in 2020, almost 2x the combined 2020 sales of PS4 and Xbox One in China
Bloomberg : Tweets: @gibbogame , @cvxfreak , @arjunkharpal , and @stealth40k Tweets: David Gibson / @gibbogame : China 1.3m estimated by Niko versus 2.5m for Asia total in 9 months in 2020. Social ap...
Uber says it is rolling out Uber Connect, its same-day, no-contact local package delivery service introduced in April, to 2,400+ new cities and towns in the US
Sasha Lekach / Mashable :
Cleo, creator of an AI-powered financial assistance app and chatbot, raises $44M Series B led by EQT Ventures
Cleo, the London founded “financial assistant” that takes the form of an app and chatbot and now counts the U.S. as its largest market, has raised $44 million in Series B funding.
Google, Dell, Intel, Slack, Zoom, and others form The Modern Computing Alliance to tackle security, remote work, and other enterprise issues
The Modern Computing Alliance also includes Slack, Zoom, and others — Google, Dell, Intel and a handful of other major tech companies … Tweets: @backlon Tweets: Dieter Bohn / @backlon : I have long ...
LeanTaaS, which uses AI to minimize appointment wait times in hospitals and clinics, raises $130M Series D, bringing its total raised to over $250M
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat :
Amazon begins rolling out a new Fire TV UI with user profiles, a simpler design, and more
Solactive, which provides tailor-made indexing services for ETFs and other index-linked investments, raise €50M from Summit Partners
Mike Butcher / TechCrunch :
France unveils sweeping know-your-customer rules for cryptocurrency firms operating in and servicing the country and plans more rules on crypto transactions
Seoul-based CHAI, whose API helps e-commerce companies accept over 20 payment options, has raised $60M Series B, following a $15M Series A in February
Catherine Shu / TechCrunch : Tweets: @d0h0k1 Tweets: Do Kwon / @d0h0k1 : 2/ First, next steps: @terra_money flagship e-wallet CHAI has raised $70M in Series B financing on the merits of growing to 2....
Taiwan's GlobalWafers has agreed to acquire German silicon wafer manufacturer Siltronic for ~$4.5B, creating the world's largest silicon wafer maker by revenue
Debby Wu / Bloomberg :
Kubernetes cloud management startup Weaveworks raises $36.6M Series C led by AWS with participation from GV, Accel, and others, bringing total raised to $60M
Mark Haranas / CRN : Tweets: @crn and @quinnypig Tweets: @crn : AWS Leads $36M Funding For Kubernetes Startup Weaveworks Growing at a triple-digit clip, Kubernetes #CloudManagement startup @weavework...
Latin American crypto exchange Bitso raises $62M Series B led by QED Investors and Kaszek Ventures, following a $15M Series A in October 2019
AI services provider C3.ai closes up 120.2% on its first day of trading, valuing the company at ~$8.9B, after raising $651M in its IPO
Bloomberg :
Semiconductor software design startup X-Epic raises $30.6M Series A, its third round in three months as China seeks self-reliance in the semiconductor industry
Che Pan / South China Morning Post :
Sources: Altimeter Capital invested $150M-$200M in Cockroach Labs at a $2B valuation and $150M-$200M in workflow automation company Workato at a $1.7B valuation
Eric Newcomer / Newcomer : Tweets: @ericnewcomer Tweets: Eric Newcomer / @ericnewcomer : @modestproposal1 well put. touched on that theme in my latest newsletter. private markets are working to catch...
App Annie: consumers will have downloaded 130B apps globally in 2020, up 10% YoY, as spending rose 25% YoY to $112B; 65¢ of every $1 was spent on iOS
Facebook removed at least nine Pages, including one with 16M+ followers, that spread coordinated health misinformation, after being flagged by a think tank
Cat Zakrzewski / Washington Post :
Adtech company PubMatic, which develops infrastructure for programmatic ads, raises $118M in its IPO and hits a high of $33.16 after pricing shares at $20
Luisa Beltran / Barron's Online : Tweets: @madhavchanchani See also Mediagazer Tweets: Madhav Chanchani / @madhavchanchani : Pubmatic IPO is a big win for founder-brothers Rajeev & Amar Goel who own ...
Parallel Domain, which is developing a synthetic data generation tool for accelerating the development of computer vision tech, raises $11M Series A
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat :
WorkRamp, which offers digital workplace training tools, raises $17M Series B led by OMERS Ventures and will focus on European and Indian growth
Squire, which develops software for barbershops, raises $59M Series C led by Iconiq Capital at a $250M valuation, just months after raising a $34M Series B
Natasha Mascarenhas / TechCrunch :
Shopify's new AI commerce stack
Their VP of Product digs into just-launched products to help entrepreneurs and developers build with the latest AI and tech.
Email fatigue is real: Here's how smart email tools help you regain control
Picture this: It's Monday morning. You walk into the office feeling energized and ready to take on the week.
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data
Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.