Techmeme
August 2, 2021, 3:40 AM

Top News

Reuters:
Square says it's buying Australia-based buy now, pay later service Afterpay for $29B in an all-stock deal, paying a 30% premium on Afterpay's last closing  —  U.S. fintech company Square Inc (SQ.N) said on Monday it had agreed to purchase Australian buy now/pay later giant Afterpay Ltd …
Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:
Zoom agrees to pay $85M and bolster its security practices to settle a class action lawsuit over alleged user privacy violations and Zoombombing  —  Zoom Video Communications Inc (ZM.O) agreed to pay $85 million and bolster its security practices to settle a lawsuit claiming …
Francis Agustin / Insider:
Filings: Starlink has secured a license to build a satellite ground station on the Isle of Man, aiming to provide “blanket coverage” across Great Britain  —  - Elon Musk's Starlink will seek to provide high-speed internet across Great Britain, the Telegraph first reported.
Source: Telegraph
Stitch / The Verge:
Some K-pop stars are bypassing Twitter and Facebook to create platforms for fans, like Universe, which features AI-generated voice calls with the idols  —  Fandom has changed a lot since I was a kid.  As a tween, I had no hope of getting in touch with celebrities I adored like Britney Spears and Whitney Houston.
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Bangalore-based online learning startup Unacademy raises $440M round led by Temasek at a $3.44B valuation  —  Unacademy has raised $440 million in a new financing round as the Indian online learning startup looks to expand into multiple additional categories.
Brent Lang / Variety:
Profile of Netflix's head of movies Scott Stuber, who has grown original film output from 21 in 2016 to 70+ in 2021, as it makes deals with Spielberg and others  —  Two years ago, the legendary director reportedly opposed the idea that streaming films should qualify for Oscars.
Daniela Hernandez / Wall Street Journal:
A look at technology's role in professional surfing, as ML-based wave forecasting and biomechanics data help improve riders' performance and prevent injuries  —  As surfing completes its first-ever Olympic ride, the sport is poised for another sea change thanks to artificial intelligence and big data
Kyle Chayka / New Yorker:
Profile of Bored Ape Yacht Club, an NFT collection that sold for $2M+ in April, spawned a collector community, and has since seen ~$100M in trading activity  —  N.F.T. clubs are all the rage among cryptocurrency enthusiasts.  Are they a get-rich-quick scheme or the future of culture?
Maya Wolfe-Robinson / The Guardian:
Report: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok failed to act on 84% of posts spreading anti-Semitism reported via their own complaint systems  —  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube and TikTok failing to act on most reported anti-Jewish posts, says study

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Earlier Picks

Molly Wood / The Atlantic:
Associated Press: