Techmeme
May 21, 2021, 2:35 PM

Top News

Joseph Cox / VICE:
Leaked emails show that Citizen app is testing an on-demand private security service that will respond to “incidents” as requested by app users  —  Citizen would deploy private security forces at the request of app users, according to documents and sources.  —  Joseph Cox
The Information:
Sources: Netflix is looking to hire an executive to oversee an expansion into video games, as it considers options including an Apple Arcade-like games bundle  —  Netflix is looking to hire an executive to oversee an expansion into videogames, a sign it is stepping up its efforts …
Alex Heath / The Verge:
Snap has agreed to acquire WaveOptics, the supplier of the AR displays used in its new Spectacles glasses, for more than $500M  —  WaveOptics made the display in Snap's new Spectacles glasses  —  Snap has agreed to acquire WaveOptics, the supplier of the augmented reality displays that power …
Alex Heath / The Verge:
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Twitter will soon let US users with 1,000+ followers who've hosted three Spaces in the past 30 days apply to host Ticketed Spaces, with Twitter taking a 20% cut  —  After Apple and Google's cut  —  Twitter's getting ready for the launch of its Ticketed Spaces feature, and today …
Kim Lyons / The Verge:
Spotify adds offline playback for playlists, albums, and podcasts on Apple Watch for Premium subscribers; available on Watch Series 3 running WatchOS 6 and up  —  The announcement comes a few days after a similar feature was announced for Wear devices  —  Spotify is adding the ability …
Annie Palmer / CNBC:
Amazon is shutting down its standalone Prime Now app and website by the end of the year and moving the fast delivery service to the Amazon app and website  —  - Amazon will discontinue its standalone Prime Now app and website by the end of this year, the company announced Friday.
Mark Bergen / Bloomberg:
How Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are lobbying to kill “right to repair” bills, with half of all bills in 27 US states already voted down or dismissed  —  Justin Millman has always fixed things.  He tinkered with gadgets growing up before opening a repair shop in Westbury …
Parmy Olson / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: DeepMind sought autonomy from Google, aiming to keep its AI from being controlled by a single corporate entity, but Google nixed those plans last month  —  Alphabet cuts off yearslong push by founders of the artificial-intelligence company to secure more independence
Engadget:
Facebook's wav2vec Unsupervised, a way to build speech recognition systems that require no transcribed data, may bring automatic translations to more countries  —  Big Tech's AI machinery.  The tech powers the digital assistants on our  —  phones, in  —  cars and in the  —  smart speakers in our homes.
Reuters:
Federal Reserve Chair Powell discusses the risks of cryptocurrencies and sets a timeline for a Fed discussion paper on a possible central bank digital currency  —  Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell flagged the risks of cryptocurrencies in an unusual video message on Thursday that also laid …
Bloomberg:
Sources: CNA Financial, one of the largest insurance companies in the US, paid $40M in late March to regain control of its network after a ransomware attack  —  CNA Financial Corp., among the largest insurance companies in the U.S., paid $40 million in late March to regain control of its network …
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Apple implies that Epic may be serving as a stalking horse for Microsoft, seeks an adverse credibility finding for Xbox exec Lori Wright, in Wednesday's filing  —  - Company says 5 Epic Games witnesses have ties to Microsoft  — Apple and Microsoft rivalrly has gathered steam due to trial
The Verge:
Twitter is rolling out its new verification program, with revamped categories that include activists and journalists, and previews upcoming changes to profiles  —  It also previewed potential changes coming to profiles  —  Twitter is relaunching its public verification program, allowing anyone to apply for a coveted blue check mark.
Alun John / Reuters:
Hong Kong's FSTB says all crypto exchanges operating in HK should be licensed and can only serve professional investors, and promises to propose new regulations  —  HONG KONG (Reuters) -Cryptocurrency exchanges operating in Hong Kong will have to be licenced by the city's markets regulator …
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Luxembourg-based factory14, which consolidates Amazon Marketplace brands, comes out of stealth with $200M in funding  —  It doesn't feel like a week goes by at the moment that another startup doesn't emerge armed with a huge wallet of cash to pursue a strategy of consolidating …
More: FinSMEs

Sponsor Posts

TELUS Digital:
Are you ready for the era of agentic AI?  —  Tech leaders are always talking about what's next, and right now, agentic AI is dominating the discourse.  Equip yourself with the info you need in this recorded webinar.
Tribe AI:
State of AI: Adoption, Challenges and Recommendations  —  Examining the current state of AI, the key challenges organizations face, and practical recommendations for utilizing AI integration alongside other best practices.
Zoho:
The power of WhatsApp marketing for ecommerce businesses  —  More than a decade ago, WhatApp arrived on the scene as a free messaging app for smartphones, featuring groups and never-ending conversations.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

The Talk Show With John Gruber:
'The Best Hatched Plan', With Glenn Fleishman
The director's commentary track for Daring Fireball. Long digressions on Apple, technology, design, movies, and more.
Subscribe to The Talk Show With John Gruber.
Lenny's Podcast:
Building a magical AI code editor used by over 1 million developers in four months: The untold story of Windsurf | Varun Mohan (co-founder & CEO)
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
Techmeme Ride Home:
The Google Antitrust Snowball
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe to Techmeme Ride Home.
Uncapped with Jack Altman:
Garry Tan from Y Combinator
Conversations with people I admire about things I'm genuinely interested in.
Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 2:35 PM ET, May 21, 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.

More News

Issie Lapowsky / Protocol:

Earlier Picks

Thomas Franck / CNBC:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch: