Microsoft says it has acquired speech tech company Nuance for $19.7B in cash, a 23% premium on its Friday closing price, as it boosts its healthcare offerings
Acquisition will combine solutions and expertise to deliver new cloud and AI capabilities across healthcare and other industries
Sources: Apple is in early stages of developing a product that combines an Apple TV with a HomePod speaker and has a FaceTime camera and smart home functions
- Company also exploring Amazon-like speaker with iPad as screen — Apple has trailed Amazon, Google in the connected home market
Sources: Apple faces supply constraints due to issues with MiniLED display production, but still plans to debut two iPad Pros later this month
- New iPads planned for introduction in latter half of April — MiniLED display is key part of Apple's upgrade proposition
Substack strikes deals with trans writers, amid claims it supports allegedly anti-trans writers and is a kind of lucrative off ramp for “cancel culture” victims
A company that makes it easy to charge for newsletters has captivated an anxious industry because it embodies larger forces and contradictions.
Apple and Google block an update to NHS COVID-19 app that uploads logs of venue check-ins, citing API terms on collecting location data
An update to England and Wales's contact tracing app has been blocked for breaking the terms of an agreement made with Apple and Google.
Under intense pressure from China, Ant Group will become a financial holding company that is regulated more like a bank, among other changes
- Chinese regulators summoned Ant for meeting on April 12 — Ant to fold all financial operations into holding firm
Sources detail how Facebook allowed state-backed political manipulation in small countries, prioritizing abuses considered PR risks in countries like the US
A Guardian investigation exposes the breadth of state-backed manipulation of the platform — Facebook has repeatedly allowed world leaders …
Biden administration announces the nominations of ex-NSA deputy director Chris Inglis as first national cyber director and Jen Easterly as CISA head
The Biden administration plans on Monday to name a former senior National Security Agency official as the first national cyber director …
Google is rolling out “Heads Up”, a Digital Wellbeing feature that tells users to raise their head when walking while on Pixel devices
In November last year, XDA's Mishaal Rahman spotted an upcoming feature, called Heads Up, in a teardown of the Digital Wellbeing app.
Reporting on tech from India “feels like having a front-row seat to the country's rapid slide into authoritarianism”, as Big Tech companies remain silent
I love writing about tech. But covering how a Hindu nationalist government is using it to destroy a secular democracy isn't what I signed up for.
Database containing 1.3M Clubhouse profiles was posted to a hacker forum; Clubhouse says it hasn't been breached, and the data is public info from its app
CyberNews :
After a $2.8B fine, Alibaba says it is unaware of other investigations under China's anti-monopoly law, besides inquiries into M&A that span the entire industry
Coco Liu / Bloomberg :
Filing: Uber says its mobility unit passed $30B in annualized gross bookings in March and its delivery unit passed a $52B annualized run rate, up 150% YoY
- Uber's mobility unit was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic last year as lockdowns reduced demand for ride-sharing.
Google urges Biden admin to join a US-EU technology council to prevent further barriers to trade and data flows, citing an “explosion in national policies”
Google is worried that an “explosion in national policies” is harming technology trade between the US and Europe …
Employees at Tencent Music, Meituan, and other Chinese tech giants are expecting increased antitrust scrutiny and penalties after Alibaba's record $2.8B fine
Yuan Yang / Financial Times : Tweets: @davidinglestv and @yuanfenyang See also Mediagazer Tweets: David Ingles / @davidinglestv : Alibaba's record fine in context. $2.8 billion is large but not large...
Adding crypto to IndiaStack, a set of national APIs for payments and identity, could allow India to build an OSS stack for domestic and foreign transactions
and as iSPIRT details, the rapidly growing cryptoeconomy may be one of the key ways: https://pn.ispirt.in/... @balajis : How do we connect the trillion dollar cryptoeconomy to the billion person India...
Sources: White House chip shortage meeting with Alphabet, Intel, TSMC, GM, and others is to air grievances and isn't expected to produce substantive outcomes
- More than a dozen CEOs to discuss semiconductor shortage — Automakers want Biden team to prioritize chips for cars Tweets: @jendeben and @thestalwart Tweets: Jenny Leonard / @jendeben : Top Biden...
Austin-based insurance comparison service The Zebra raises $150M Series D at a $1B+ valuation, bringing its total raised to $251.5M
Christine Hall / Crunchbase News :
Google confirms it is ending support for Google Shopping apps on Android and iOS, as it expands shopping functionality in Search and apps like YouTube
Abner Li / 9to5Google :
Erroneously unredacted court docs in Texas antitrust case expand on Facebook and Google's Jedi Blue deal, detail Google's secret “Project Bernanke” program
Estonia-based identity verification startup Veriff raises $69M Series B led by IVP and Accel, bringing its total raised to $92.8M
Bruce Rogers / Forbes :
Tiger Global is aggressively investing in Indian startups, including 20+ of 47 Indian unicorns; Indian has 10 unicorns this year already, up from 11 last year
Hey folks, Anmol with the update today. Tweets: Amit Ranjan / @amitranjan : When hedge funds start investing in “months-old, idea stage startups” :)👇 Q: “Tiger Global is exploring investment opportuni...
Apple Support docs show that unusual mid-production hardware changes were made to its A12, A13, and S5 chips last fall, to update the Secure Storage Component
Hartley Charlton / MacRumors : Tweets: @pandrewhk Tweets: Andrew Pantyukhin / @pandrewhk : Apparently, there was a security reason serious enough to change the production of all A12 and A13 devices i...
British cybersecurity company Darktrace announces plans for a London IPO; one source says it could value the company at around $3B to $4B
Bloomberg :
Apple should stop saying the App Store adds meaningful security, which seeds cynicism among devs, and focus more on macOS-style system-level protections for iOS
David Heinemeier Hansson :
Responding to Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee, Apple says it will make Chief Compliance Officer Kyle Andeer available at an upcoming hearing on app stores
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg :
A look at eLocust3m, an app that uses AI and GPS to combat locust swarms in East Africa, replacing an antiquated tablet-based program
Rachel Nuwer / New York Times : Tweets: @richardattiasas , @pocketnow , and @technology Tweets: @richardattiasas : This technology-driven approach in Kenya, Ethiopia & Somalia has proved so effective...
How startups like Blockchain.com, banks, exchanges, and states like Wyoming are expanding crypto trading infrastructure to traditional capital markets
nearly instant, 24/7, with no gatekeepers or middlemen? We might soon find out. #bitcoin https://www.wsj.com/...
A look at Tencent's TJ Sports, which surpassed $152M in total revenue since 2019 and runs the League of Legends Pro League, the largest esports league by size
Zheping Huang / Bloomberg : Tweets: @quicktake Tweets: Bloomberg Quicktake / @quicktake : “The goal is to make esports just as popular as the NBA or the NFL.” Tencent has placed pro gaming at the hea...
Russian e-commerce company Ozon says it will apply for a banking license to expand its fintech services, and plans to offer loans to merchants
Max Seddon / Financial Times :
Israel-based Talon Cyber Security, which is developing software to protect distributed work forces as enterprises shift to hybrid work models, raises $26M seed
Nevo Trabelsy / Globes Online :
Huawei says it will invest $1B in researching self-driving and EV tech this year, following Xiaomi's similar $10B investment over a decade
Bloomberg :
Game streaming services like Xbox Game Pass allow disabled gamers to try new games without wasting money on potentially inaccessible games
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.