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Techmeme
March 6, 2018, 10:15 PM
Mediagazer memeorandum WeSmirch
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Top News

Gizmodo:
Google says it provides TensorFlow APIs to US Dept of Defense to help interpret drone footage, is working on policies and safeguards for use of machine learning  —  Google has partnered with the United States Department of Defense to help the agency develop artificial intelligence …
Cale Guthrie Weissman / Fast Company:
Techmeme announces Techmeme Ride Home podcast hosted by Internet History Podcast's Brian McCullough, summarizing tech news every weekday at 5pm ET  —  It's hosted by Brian McCullough, creator of the Internet History Podcast.  —  The favorite website of many a techie is jumping on the podcasting bandwagon.
Sara Salinas / CNBC:
BlackBerry suing Facebook, alleging that many of Facebook's messaging services infringe on BlackBerry patents, seeks injunctive relief and damages  —  BlackBerry is suing Facebook for patent infringement on its legacy messaging service, the company said Tuesday.
New York Times:
US national security panel, CFIUS, calls for full investigation of Broadcom's bid for Qualcomm as tech companies are increasingly caught in US-China rivalry  —  WASHINGTON — As the United States and China look to protect their national security needs and economic interests …
Richard Chirgwin / The Register:
Google unveils 72-qubit Bristlecone processor as a new research testbed, which isn't yet faster than a classical chip, as it races to claim “quantum supremacy”  —  Don't panic: ‘supremacy’ is the point at which quantum kit trumps classical computers
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Google says it's bringing Lens, its Assistant-powered image recognition tool, to all Android phones with Google Photos installed; timeline for iOS debut unknown  —  It's coming to iOS soon  —  Google is officially rolling its Lens out to Android phones that have Google Photos installed.
Fitz Tepper / TechCrunch:
Coinbase's new asset management unit unveils market cap-weighted index fund for all digital assets on GDAX, available to accredited US investors in a few months  —  When you're the runaway leader in a growing industry, you typically have two opinions: A) Stay in your lane and let other companies pop …
Jeff Engel / Xconomy:
Whoop, a Boston-based biometrics-monitoring wristband startup, raises $25M Series C led by UAE71 Capital, has raised ~$50M total to date  —  Whoop took a different approach to try and break into the crowded wearable device market: Start by winning over professional athletes, then gradually expand sales to a wider array of consumers.
Dani Deahl / The Verge:
Apple confirms it will stop taking submissions for iTunes LPs, with bundled items like videos or bonus tracks, as of this month; existing LPs will be available  —  Existing iTunes LPs will still be available going forward  —  Apple has confirmed to The Verge that it will stop taking new iTunes LP submissions as of this month.
Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge:
Uber begins using its self-driving trucks for some long haul cargo trips in Arizona as part of Uber Freight service, leaving the last stretch to human drivers  —  Via Uber Freight, the company's standalone trucking app  —  Uber's big push to dominate the trucking industry took a leap forward today …
Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:
Gboard adds supports for 20 new languages including traditional and simplified Chinese and Korean, bringing total to 300+ languages for 74% of world population  —  Google is adding more than 20 new languages to its Gboard virtual keyboard app, including Chinese (traditional and simplified) and Korean.
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
WeWork says it's acquiring SEO and marketing company Conductor to build a “marketing cloud” for enterprise customers  —  WeWork is acquiring Conductor.  —  The two businesses might not seem like an obvious fit.  Why would a coworking giant buy a company that's best known for search engine optimization?
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
ELSA, a SF-based startup whose AI language learning platform teaches how to speak English and has a few million users in 100+ countries, raises $3.2M pre-A  —  ELSA, an app whose name stands for “English Language Speech Assistant” (and not the popular Disney character!) …
Nikhilesh De / CoinDesk:
US Treasury's FinCEN says in letter that its rules apply to those who sell convertible virtual currency including developers and exchanges running ICOs  —  The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) published a letter Tuesday that indicates the U.S. agency will apply its regulations …
New York Times:
Right-wing journalist Peter Schweizer plans to release a documentary on tech companies' role in filtering the news, casting them as censorious and oppressive  —  Conservatives are zeroing in on a new enemy in the political culture wars: Big Tech.  —  Arguing that Silicon Valley is stifling …
Dan Primack / Axios:
HQ Trivia says it has raised $15M at a $100M post-money valuation, led by Founders Fund, to grow out its engineering team  —  HQ, the live trivia game-show app, tells Axios that it has raised $15 million in new VC funding at a $100 million post-money valuation.

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UiPath Unveils 10 Innovations that Will Shape the Agentic Future  —  Orchestration engine, API workflows and agentic testing among key features of new UiPath Platform™ for agentic automation, launched at UiPath DevCon 2025
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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

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Memo: Business Insider is cutting staff by 21% to “endure extreme traffic drops outside of our control” and “exiting the majority of our Commerce business”

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Paramount offers $15M to settle with President Trump, whose team wants $25M+, is seeking an apology from CBS News, and threatened another lawsuit

Ben Johansen / Politico:
Sources: all 800 full-time VOA staff are expected to receive reduction-in-force notices this week, after ~600 VOA contractors were dismissed earlier in May

More News

Alex Kantrowitz / BuzzFeed:
Lawmakers and experts worry Facebook will suffer the same problems with disinformation and “dark” ads during 2018 US midterms as it did during 2016 election

Earlier Picks

Dan Seifert / The Verge:
Microsoft Surface Pro LTE review: seamless connectivity, light and portable design, and satisfactory battery life, but its 7th-generation Intel CPU is outdated
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