Techmeme
September 19, 2019, 2:10 PM

Top News

Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Apple brings the release date of iOS 13.1 and iPadOS forward by six days to September 24  —  Six days ahead of schedule  —  iOS 13.0 has just arrived, but Apple is already bumping up the release date for its first big update — both iOS 13.1 and iPadOS will now release on September 24th …
Romain Dillet / TechCrunch:
Automattic raises $300M Series D from Salesforce Ventures at a post-money valuation of $3B  —  Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, WooCommerce and soon Tumblr, has closed a $300 million funding round at a $3 billion post-money valuation.  The Series D round has a single investor, Salesforce Ventures.
Damien Wilde / 9to5Google:
Huawei unveils flagship 6.53-inch Mate 30 Pro with Kirin 990 chipset, 8GB RAM, 4,500mAh battery, fast 27W wireless charging, and no Google-licensed apps  —  The Huawei Mate 30 Pro has now gone official with the troubled handset coming with a serious spec sheet that includes the Kirin 990 chipset …
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
A day before global climate strikes, Jeff Bezos announces the Climate Pledge for businesses to commit to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2040  —  During a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington this morning, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos alongside former United Nations climate leaders unveiled …
Official Google India Blog:
Google says Google Pay in India has 67M monthly active users and has processed transactions worth $110B+ in the last 12 months and unveils Pay for Business  —  Rama Devi has taught more than a thousand women how to use the internet in her role as a Saathi—now she's helping farmers become more productive.
Robert Iger / Vanity Fair:
Book excerpt: as he exits Apple's board, Disney's Bob Iger recounts talks with Steve Jobs before Disney bought Pixar, and how their friendship grew  —  As he exits Apple's board, the Disney chief reminisces about his relationship with its mercurial founder—and how their radical visions aligned to save two companies.
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Roku unveils smaller $29.99 Express, a faster $99.99 Ultra with a customizable remote, and Roku OS 9.2 with new content discovery tools and voice capabilities  —  The Ultra's remote can open whatever app you want with a single button press  —  Roku is unveiling its fall 2019 lineup …
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
GitHub buys code analysis tool Semmle, which helps identify security vulnerabilities and has Microsoft, Google among clients; Semmle raised $31M in VC funding  —  Microsoft's GitHub today announced that it has acquired Semmle, a code analysis tool that helps developers and security researchers …
Zac Hall / 9to5Mac:
Apple releases watchOS 6 with new watch faces and built-in app including Calculator, Noise, Cycle Tracking, and Audiobooks  —  Apple Watch has a major new software update out today that brings loads of new features to existing models.  Look for the watchOS 6 update inside the Apple Watch app …
More: MacRumors
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Crystal Tse / Bloomberg:
Datadog, an app performance monitoring and analytics platform, raises $648M in US IPO, valuing the company at $7.83B, after rejecting Cisco's acquisition offer  —  Datadog Inc. raised $648 million in its U.S. initial public offering, pricing its shares above an already increased target range.
Biz Carson / Forbes:
Checkr, which runs background checks for companies that use gig economy workers, raises $160M Series D at a $2.2B valuation, bringing its total raised to $310M  —  As Uber and Lyft have grown, their rise has helped buoy another business: Checkr, a startup that runs background checks on gig economy workers.
Greg Kumparak / TechCrunch:
Alphabet's Wing says it will test drone delivery in Christiansburg, Virginia with Walgreens, FedEx, and local retailer Sugar Magnolia  —  Wing, the drone delivery company that started its life within the Google X lab before spinning out into its own thing under the Alphabet umbrella, is prepping for takeoff.
More: CNET
Julia Alexander / The Verge:
YouTube tightens its verification program for creators, now emphasizes verifying prominent channels with a “clear need for proof of authenticity”  —  In a continued effort to better the site  —  YouTube is rolling out changes to its verification program for creators …
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook debuts Portal TV, a TV accessory for video calling, streaming, AR gaming, and co-viewing Facebook Watch shows, shipping November 5 for $149  —  Facebook wants to take over your television with a clip-on camera for video calling, AR gaming, and content co-watching.
Nick Statt / The Verge:

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