Techmeme
March 27, 2021, 2:00 AM

Top News

Nick Statt / The Verge:
Amazon is waging an increasingly aggressive PR strategy, picking fights with Democratic politicians such as Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders on Twitter  —  Who is Amazon trying to convince?  —  SHARE All sharing options  —  Amazon is intensifying its bizarre online public relations strategy …
Ken Klippenstein / The Intercept:
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is working on a rugged “Explorer Edition” Watch aimed at athletes and to be used in more extreme environments, for a late 2021 or 2022 launch  —  - Company discusses new model to target different watch buyers  — Device may debut later in 2021 or 2022 at the earliest
Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac:
Apple releases iOS 14.4.2 and iOS 12.5.2 to fix a critical cross-site scripting vulnerability in WebKit that “may have been actively exploited”  —  Apple today released iOS 14.4.2 for iPhone and iPad, and watchOS 7.3.3 for Apple Watch.  The updates includes an important security fix for WebKit …
Roland Li / San Francisco Chronicle:
Facebook to reopen Menlo Park HQ and other Bay Area sites at 10% capacity starting May 10, and allow remote work until a month after offices reach 50% capacity  —  Facebook has set a Bay Area office reopening date: May 10.  —  The social media giant will open at 10% capacity starting …
Patrick Howell O'Neill / MIT Technology Review:
Google said it has shut down a hacking operation in January but, sources say, didn't disclose that it was an active counter-terrorism operation by a US ally  —  The decision to block an “expert” level cyberattack has caused controversy inside Google after it emerged that the hackers in question were working for a US ally.
Catherine Shu / TechCrunch:
Linktree, which creates simple “link in bio” landing pages for people and companies, raises $45M Series B, and says it has 12M users  —  If you browse Instagram, you are probably familiar with the term “link in bio.”  Links aren't allowed in post captions, and users are only allowed …
Ron Amadeo / Ars Technica:
Fairphone, which produces sustainable, modular Android smartphones, says the biggest barrier to ongoing Android support is Qualcomm support of chipsets  —  Qualcomm ended support for the phone after Android 6, but Fairphone is still going.  —  Fairphone—the sustainable, modular smartphone company …
FinSMEs:
Fishbrain, a Stockholm-based sport fishing app, social network, and digital marketplace with ~12M users, raises $31M from Consensus, Adrigo Asset, and SoftBank  —  Fishbrain, a Stockholm, Sweden-based sport fishing app, social network, and digital marketplace, raised $31M in funding.
Alex Konrad / Forbes:
ServiceTitan, a SoCal-based firm which offers a SaaS product for tradespeople, raises $500M Series F led by Tiger Global and Sequoia at a $8.3B valuation  —  Covering venture capital, software and startups  —  It's no new live audio app, crypto company or remote-work tool.
Maureen Farrell / Wall Street Journal:
WeWork to merge with a SPAC in a deal that would raise $1.3B and values the company at $9B  —  Planned merger with the BowX Acquisition would value WeWork at $9 billion including debt  —  WeWork has agreed to merge with a special-purpose acquisition company, according to people familiar with the matter …
Kate Rooney / CNBC:
Pilot, which helps SMBs outsource accounting tasks like payroll, raises $100M Series C led by Bezos Expeditions and Whale Rock Capital, at a valuation of $1.2B  —  - Pilot raised a $100 million funding round led by Jeff Bezos's venture capital firm Bezos Expeditions and hedge fund Whale Rock Capital …

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