Techmeme
December 3, 2021, 5:55 AM

Top News

Wall Street Journal:
The FTC sues to block Nvidia's acquisition of Arm, arguing the chip deal is anticompetitive; the $40B deal has risen to ~$75B due to Nvidia's share price  —  The agency alleges the semiconductor deal is anticompetitive  —  WASHINGTON—The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday sued …
The Verge:
Report: Google's Pixel hardware group is working on the company's first smartwatch, internally codenamed “Rohan”, which it plans to launch next year  —  A Pixel Watch is finally in the works  —  Google is finally making its own in-house smartwatch that's set to launch in 2022 …
Reuters:
Didi Global says it will begin the process of delisting from the NYSE and listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange  —  Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Global (DIDI.N) said on Friday it will start work on delisting from the New York stock exchange and begin pursuing a listing in Hong Kong after obtaining the approval of its board.
Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac:
In a filing in the Epic lawsuit, Apple says it “could charge a commission” if developers use a competing payments platform, following a similar Google policy  —  Although the appeal of the Apple-Epic lawsuit is ongoing, Apple is currently subject to the judge's decision …
Tom Simonite / Wired:
AI researcher Timnit Gebru, who left Google last year, launches Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research, an institute focused on the responsible use of AI  —  The researcher, who says Google fired her a year ago, wants to ask questions about responsible use of artificial intelligence.
Zoe Schiffer / The Verge:
Interviews with 16 current and former Apple retail, support, and sales employees detail harsh working conditions, poor pay, and little interest from HR  —  The company's hourly workers say conditions are untenable.  Does Apple care?  —  Illustrations by Jesse Zhang
Hristina Yordanova / DappRadar:
The four leading virtual worlds recorded over $100M in NFT land sales in the past week, with The Sandbox alone seeing trading volumes of over $86M  —  The Sandbox alone attracted more than $86 million in land sales  —  Metaverse land is the new big hit in the crypto community …
Tim Copeland / The Block:
DeFi protocol BadgerDAO is investigating after security researchers say $120.3M was stolen from users via its compromised front end  —  Quick Take  — DeFi protocol BadgerDAO was exploited earlier today for $120 million.  — It appears that its front end was compromised and users were tricked into making unwanted transactions.
New York Times:
A look at the Xbox Series X and PS5 markets, as holiday shoppers navigate a world of “purchase bot” resellers, retail memberships, and social media tips  —  New gaming consoles remain in short supply this holiday season, spawning cottage industries of tipsters and scalpers making money off their scarcity.
Simon Jessop / Reuters:
Clarity AI, which uses AI to assess the environmental impact of companies, raised $50M in August, from Vision Fund 2, Jony Ive, and others, at a $450M valuation  —  Softbank Group Corp's (9984.T) Vision Fund 2 has led the latest funding round for sustainability data technology platform Clarity AI …
Carly Page / TechCrunch:
Facebook makes 2FA mandatory for high-risk accounts, an expansion of Facebook Protect, which covers 1.5M accounts and will be in 50 countries by the end of 2021  —  Facebook, a recently added subsidiary of Meta, said it will make two-factor authentication (2FA) mandatory for high-risk accounts likely …
Tina Bellon / Reuters:
Uber says it is launching an optional audio recording pilot program to enhance safety in three US cities this month, following a Latin America rollout in 2019  —  Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) on Thursday said it will launch an optional audio recording pilot program in three U.S. cities to enhance safety …
More: PCMag and Engadget
Kate Rooney / CNBC:
Square is changing its name to Block, effective December 10, and renaming Square Crypto to Spiral, as its business shifts toward technologies like blockchain  —  - Payments giant Square will change its corporate name to Block, effective Dec. 10.  — The move comes as Square expands beyond …
Mary Ann Azevedo / TechCrunch:
Mexico City-based buy now, pay later service and online consumer lender Kueski raises $102M in equity and $100M in debt, bringing its total funding to $300M+  —  Kueski, a Mexico City-based “buy now, pay later” and online consumer lender, announced today it has secured $202 million in equity and debt funding.

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