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Techmeme
June 17, 2021, 8:55 PM
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Top News

Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / VICE:
Researchers: encryption algorithm GEA-1, used in GPRS data in 2G networks, was deliberately weakened by its designers; ETSI blames export regulations  —  A new paper shows that two old encryption algorithms still used in mobile networks can be exploited to spy on phones' internet traffic.
Bobby Allyn / NPR:
Snap eliminates Snapchat's speed filter, which let users show how fast they were moving, after a US court ruled that Snap could be sued for a fatal car crash  —  The maker of the Snapchat app is eliminating a feature known as the “speed filter” that lets users capture how fast they are moving …
Casey Newton / Platformer:
By acquiring promising VR games and software companies, Facebook seems to be cornering the VR market, reminiscent of its Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions  —  A recent shopping spree is giving some folks Instagram-in-2012 vibes  —  Imagine that, over the past year, Facebook had managed …
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Facebook says it will begin testing ads on Oculus headsets, starting with the shooter game Blaston, and won't use data stored on devices to target ads
Bloomberg:
Wise, previously known as TransferWise, plans to go public on the LSE via a direct listing, the first company to choose an alternative listing in the UK  —  - Founders, employees get extra voting rights for limited time  — Direct listings are becoming more popular among U.S. startups
Jack Nicas / New York Times:
Profile of Doug Guthrie, an advocate for doing business in China who advised Apple from 2014-2019, as he now warns of the risks of China's nationalist turn  —  Doug Guthrie, once one of America's leading China bulls, rang the alarm on doing business there.  He spoke about his time at Apple.
Johana Bhuiyan / Los Angeles Times:
Emails from 2016 show Ring provided ~100 LAPD officers with free devices or discount codes and encouraged them to promote its devices to fellow LAPD, the public  —  In a bid to bolster its claims as a crime-fighting tool, Ring deployed a tactic popular in the business world: influencer marketing.
Joe Weisenthal / Bloomberg:
Mark Cuban calls for stablecoin regulation, after trading Iron Finance's algorithmic stablecoin DeFi Titanium, which then crashed from $60 to $0 in a day  —  Here's a chart you never want to see.  It's of the DeFi Titanium token, which in one day went from being valued around $60 to $0.
Mary Ann Azevedo / TechCrunch:
Unit, which helps companies build financial and banking products, raises $51M Series B led by Accel, bringing its total raises to ~$70M  —  We've all heard the phrase, “Every company is a fintech.”  —  But these days, that's becoming more and more true as an increasing number of companies …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Instagram launches ads in Reels worldwide; the ads can be up to 30 seconds and vertical in format  —  Instagram Reels are getting ads.  The company announced today it's launching ads in its short-form video platform and TikTok rival, Reels, to businesses and advertisers worldwide.
Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch:
Spotify has acquired Podz, a podcast discovery startup whose tech helps podcasters promote their show using ML to select 60-second clips of key moments  —  Podcasts are all the rage, but podcast discovery is a challenge.  Today, Spotify announced its acquisition of Podz …
Stephen Shankland / CNET:
Google says it is funding a project to increase Linux security by writing parts of the operating system's core in Rust  —  Google said Thursday it's funding a project to increase Linux security by writing parts of the operating system's core in the Rust programming language …
More: Phoronix, OSnews, and TechRadar
Tweets: @stshank, @jeskillings, @stshank, and @stshank.  Thanks:@stshank
Danny Crichton / TechCrunch:
Neo4j, which offers a graph-centric database and related products, raises $325M Series F led by Eurazeo at a $2B+ valuation  —  Databases run the world, but database products are often some of the most mature and venerable software in the modern tech stack.
John Koblin / New York Times:
Nielsen announces a new metric, The Gauge, to measure streaming viewing in ~14,000 US homes via hardware that watches internet traffic passing through a router  —  The company known for measuring television ratings said Netflix and YouTube are far ahead of their digital competitors in time watched on TVs …
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Transform, which develops tools for businesses to query and build metrics from data troves, comes out of stealth with $20M Series A, after $4.5M seed in 2020  —  The biggest tech companies have put a lot of time and money into building tools and platforms for their data science teams …
More: FinSMEs
Stephanie Condon / ZDNet:
Adobe beats in Q2 with revenue of $3.84B, up 23% YoY, vs est. of $3.73B, with YoY revenues of Digital Media up 25%, Creative up 24%, and Document Cloud up 30%  —  Adobe beat top and bottom-line expectations for the quarter, with cash flows from operations hitting a record $1.99 billion.
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
UserLeap, which builds AI tools to give product managers user insights in real time, raises $38M Series B from a16z and others  —  UserLeap, a platform for AI-powered, continuous research for product teams, today announced that it raised $38 million in a series B round contributed by a16z.
Strategy Analytics:
In Q1 2021, global 5G smartphone shipments grew 6% QoQ, with Samsung up 79% QoQ and Vivo up 62% QoQ, while Apple maintained its lead despite a 23% dip  —  BOSTON—(BUSINESS WIRE)— According to new research from Strategy Analytics, Samsung and Vivo were the world's fastest growing 5G smartphone vendors in the first quarter of 2021.

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About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 8:55 PM ET, June 17, 2021.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

From Mediagazer

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
Memo: CBS News President and CEO Wendy McMahon is stepping down from the network, saying “it's become clear the company and I do not agree on the path forward”

Andrew Webster / The Verge:
Netflix says Season 56 of Sesame Street will be available on Netflix “later this year”; Sesame Street had searched for a streamer since Max dropped it in 2024

New York Times:
Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway re-sign their Vox Media deal using a novel revenue-sharing contract with no guaranteed payments, potentially earning them ~$70M

More News

Earlier Picks

Liza Lin / Wall Street Journal:
Leaked memo: ByteDance says its annual revenue in 2020 grew 111% YoY to $34.3B, while gross profit rose 93% YoY to $19B
Nilesh Christopher / Rest of World:
Experts say India's courts, not India's government, have power to decide whether Twitter should keep its safe harbor protections in India under new IT rules
Elias Saba / AFTVnews:
Amazon Appstore unveils a new program that reduces its share of developer revenue from 30% to 20% for developers earning less than $1M per year, starting in Q4
Jordan Novet / CNBC:
Microsoft has named CEO Satya Nadella as chair of its board, replacing independent director John Thompson, who succeeded Bill Gates as chair in 2014
James Vincent / The Verge:
Facebook launches a new suite of tools for admins of Groups, including AI-powered Conflict Alerts that identify “contentious or unhealthy conversations”
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
After years of pop-up experiments, Google says its first retail store, located in the Chelsea neighborhood of NYC, will open on June 17
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