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Techmeme
April 6, 2020, 11:00 PM

Top News

Sahil Patel / Wall Street Journal:
Foursquare says it's merging with location data company Factual in an all-stock deal; the two companies say they brought in $150M+ in combined 2019 revenue  —  The all-stock deal is aimed at sharpening Foursquare's location-data offerings, from audience-targeting and ad measurement to app developer tools
CNBC:
Airbnb raises $1B in debt and equity from Silver Lake and Sixth Street Partners; source: the funding doesn't depend on its performance or a target date for IPO  —  - Airbnb raised $1 billion in a new round of funding led by Silver Lake and Sixth Street Partners.
New York Times:
Interviews with over 30 sources highlight Amazon's struggle to combat COVID-19, under pressure as orders rise, as the virus spreads to more than 50 warehouses  —  Shifting sick-leave policy and communication issues are causing employees to assert themselves after they stayed on the job.
Jason Del Rey / Vox:
New York Times:
A look at law firm Keller Lenkner and startup FairShake, which file arbitration lawsuits against companies en masse, including 2K+ against DoorDash in one day  —  Lawyers and a Silicon Valley start-up have found ways to flood the system with claims, so companies are looking to thwart a process they created.
Christina Farr / CNBC:
Facebook says it's releasing new Data for Good tools including Disease Prevention Maps to help public health researchers track social distancing efforts  —  - Facebook's Data for Good team is working on tools for public health researchers to help them figure out if preventative measures …
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Quibi app review: works reliably, auto-flips between landscape and portrait, but no tablet-optimized mode, no family member profiles, and lacks a TV experience  —  A mobile-only video app was always going to be a hard sell  —  After months of publicity, Quibi — the mobile phone app that's centered …
Nicole Sperling / New York Times:
Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:
Tim Cook says Apple has now sourced 20M+ masks for healthcare workers from its supply chain and has designed and will ship face shields at a rate of 1M/week  —  Tim Cook is back with another update on Apple's ongoing efforts to help healthcare professionals amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
Jonathan Shieber / TechCrunch:
SonderMind, a marketplace to find mental health services, raises $27M as demand grows during the pandemic  —  “Our real focus is on democratizing mental healthcare,” says SonderMind co-founder chief executive, Mark Frank.  —  His company, founded back in 2017, is having a moment.
Seth Stephens-Davidowitz / New York Times:
Researchers: Google searches about symptoms, like loss of smell, can help find places where positive COVID-19 cases were missed and reveal undetected symptoms  —  They can also reveal symptoms that at first went undetected.  I may have found a new one.  —  Mr. Stephens-Davidowitz is the author of …

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Earlier Picks

Joseph Bernstein / BuzzFeed News:
Nathan Ingraham / Engadget:
Harriet Sherwood / The Guardian:
Valerie Strauss / Washington Post: