Techmeme
December 1, 2020, 7:25 AM

Top News

Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Amazon launches EC2 Mac instances bringing the Intel-based Mac mini to its cloud for $1.083 per hour billed by the second  —  AWS today opened its re:Invent conference with a surprise announcement: the company is bringing the Mac mini to its cloud.  These new EC2 Mac instances, as AWS calls them, are now available in preview.
Cade Metz / New York Times:
Alphabet's DeepMind says it has solved the key “protein folding problem”, cutting the job down from months to hours, which could speed up drug discovery  —  Researchers at DeepMind say they have solved “the protein folding problem,” a task that has bedeviled scientists for more than 50 years.
Eric Geller / Politico:
SCOTUS worries about CFAA's sweeping nature, with Justice Gorsuch saying that the US government's view of the law risks “making a federal criminal of us all”  —  The Supreme Court on Monday indicated serious reservations about the ambiguity and scope of the nation's only major cybercrime law …
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
Facebook to launch Facebook News in the UK in Jan. 2021, says it will pay publishers for news not already on its platform; most big UK publishers have signed up  —  Facebook is to pay mainstream UK news outlets millions of pounds a year to license their articles, as the social network faces …
Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:
Facebook says it has agreed to acquire Kustomer, which specializes in customer service tools and chatbots, reportedly for $1B+  —  Facebook Inc. has acquired Kustomer Inc., a New York-based software company that helps businesses manage customer conversations from multiple services on one dashboard.
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Apple hires Josh Elman, former VC at Greylock Partners and ex-VP of product at Robinhood, to work on app discovery at the App Store  —  Apple Inc. hired Josh Elman, a former venture capitalist at Greylock Partners who led early investments in Discord and the precursor to TikTok, to work on the App Store.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Ajit Pai, the Trump-appointed Republican chairman of the FCC, announces he will leave the agency on Jan. 20, when president-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office  —  Aji Pai, the Trump-appointed Republican chairman of the FCC, announced that he will leave the agency on Jan. 20, 2021, when president-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office.
Ana Swanson / New York Times:
Sources: Apple suggested edits to a draft of Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, extending some deadlines, limiting release of some info to the public, and more  —  Business groups and major companies like Apple have been pressing Congress to alter legislation cracking down on imports of goods …
Jordan Novet / CNBC:
Zoom reports Q3 revenue of $777.2M, up 367% YoY, vs. $694M est., and customers with 10+ employees rose to ~433,700, up 485% YoY, higher than Q2's 355% growth  —  - Zoom beat expectations for third-quarter earnings and guidance for the quarter ahead.  — The company now sees 329% …
Surojit Chatterjee / The Coinbase Blog:
Coinbase says that, starting in early 2021, it will begin supporting Ethereum 2.0, letting users convert ETH into ETH2 and earn staking rewards  —  On December 1, the Ethereum Beacon Chain will launch, beginning a multi-year upgrade to Ethereum 2.0 (ETH2).  Coinbase intends to support ETH2 through staking and trading.
Romain Dillet / TechCrunch:
French startup Ankorstore, which is building a wholesale marketplace connecting independent shop owners with brands, raises $29.9M Series A  —  French startup Ankorstore has raised a $29.9 million Series A round (€25 million) with Index Ventures leading the round.
More: Tech.eu
Nathaniel Popper / New York Times:
Bitcoin price sets a record, passing $19,783, with more investors seemingly in it for the long haul, unlike 2017's boom driven by Asian investors new to crypto  —  The crazy cousin of traditional currencies, which fell below $4,000 in March, passed $19,783.  More investors now are buying it for the long term.

Sponsor Posts

Meta:
Open Source AI: Available to all, not just the few  —  Meta's open source AI enables small businesses, start-ups, students, researchers and more to download and build with our models at no cost.
Zoho:
How remote support can make your Christmas stress-free  —  As Christmas approaches, the air fills with the anticipation of joy, family gatherings, and gift-giving.  While the season brings immense happiness …
Genesys:
Executive Insights: The Era of Contact Center AI Copilots  —  How AI copilots are transforming customer experience and agent performance.
Tribe AI:
Build AI products that matter  —  Tribe AI helps organizations rapidly deploy AI solutions that have real business impact.  We bring together world class AI talent and tooling to drive differentiated results.
Techmeme Ride Home:
(BNS) Calvin And Hobbes - With Daniel Kibblesmith
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or RSS.

More News

Wall Street Journal:

Earlier Picks

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
Tim Hardwick / MacRumors:
Scott Pelley / CBS News: