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What does a pandemic say about the tech we’ve built? There’s a joke* being reshared on chat apps that takes the form of a multiple-choice question — asking who’s the leading force in workplace digital transformation? The red-lined punchline is not the CEO or CTO, but: C) COVID-19. There’s likely more than a grain of truth underpinning the quip. The novel coronavirus is pushing a […] Social – TechCrunch - What does a pandemic say about the tech we’ve built? April 1, 2020 at 08:00AM

Xerox drops $34B HP take-over bid amid COVID-19 uncertainty Xerox announced today that it would be dropping its hostile takeover bid of HP. The drama began last fall with a flurry of increasingly angry letters between the two companies, and confrontational actions from Xerox including an attempt to take over the HP board that had rejected its takeover overtures. All that came crashing to […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Xerox drops $34B HP take-over bid amid COVID-19 uncertainty April 1, 2020 at 08:00AM

No proof of a Houseparty breach, but its privacy policy is still gatecrashing your data Houseparty has been a smashing success with people staying home during the coronavirus pandemic who still want to connect with friends. The group video chat app, interspersed with games and other bells and whistles, raises it above the more mundane Zooms and Hangouts (fun only in their names, otherwise pretty serious tools used by companies, […] Social – TechCrunch - No proof of a Houseparty breach, but its privacy policy is still gatecrashing your data April 1, 2020 at 05:00AM

Facebook launches a global version of its Community Help feature in response to the COVID-19 pandemic Facebook first launched its Community Help feature in 2017, to give users a way to offer assistance, search for and receive help in the wake of a crisis. The feature has since been used to connect Facebook users after man-made, accidental, and natural disasters, like terrorist attacks or weather events, for example. Today, Facebook is […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook launches a global version of its Community Help feature in response to the COVID-19 pandemic April 1, 2020 at 05:00AM

Palo Alto Networks to acquire CloudGenix for $420M Palo Alto Networks announced today that it has an agreement in place to acquire CloudGenix for $420 million. CloudGenix delivers a software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) that helps customers stay secure by setting policies to enforce compliance with company security protocols across distributed locations. This is especially useful for companies with a lot of branch […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Palo Alto Networks to acquire CloudGenix for $420M April 1, 2020 at 01:00AM

Microsoft launches Edge Zones for Azure Microsoft today announced the launch of Azure Edge Zones, which will allow Azure users to bring their applications to the company’s edge locations. The focus here is on enabling real-time low-latency 5G applications. The company is also launching a version of Edge Zones with carriers (starting with AT&T) in preview, which connects these zones directly […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Microsoft launches Edge Zones for Azure April 1, 2020 at 01:00AM

Xage adds full-stack data protection to blockchain security platform Xage, a startup that has been taking an unusual path to secure legacy companies like oil and gas and utilities with help from the blockchain, announced a new data protection service today. Xage CEO Duncan Greatwood, says that up until this point, the company has concentrated on protecting customers at the machine layer, but today’s […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Xage adds full-stack data protection to blockchain security platform April 1, 2020 at 12:02AM

Amid shift to remote work, application performance monitoring is IT’s big moment In recent weeks, millions have started working from home, putting unheard-of pressure on services like video conferencing, online learning, food delivery and e-commerce platforms. While some verticals have seen a marked reduction in traffic, others are being asked to scale to new heights. Services that were previously nice to have are now necessities, but how […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Amid shift to remote work, application performance monitoring is IT’s big moment April 1, 2020 at 12:02AM

Axonius nabs $58M for its cybersecurity-focused network asset management platform As companies get to grips with a wider (and, lately, more enforced) model of remote working, a startup that provides a platform to help track and manage all the devices that are accessing networked services — an essential component of cybersecurity policy — has raised a large round of growth funding. Axonius, a New York-based […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Axonius nabs $58M for its cybersecurity-focused network asset management platform April 1, 2020 at 12:02AM

Snapchat preempts clones, syndicates Stories to other apps If you can’t stop them, power them. That’s the strategy behind Snapchat App Stories, which launches today to let users show off their ephemeral content in other apps too. The first partners will let you post Stories to your dating profile in Hily, share them alongside [music] videos in Triller, watch them while screensharing in […] Social – TechCrunch - Snapchat preempts clones, syndicates Stories to other apps March 31, 2020 at 10:00PM

DataStax launches Kubernetes operator for open source Cassandra database Today, DataStax, the commercial company behind the open source Apache Cassandra project, announced an open source Kubernetes operator developed by the company to run a cloud native version of the database. When Sam Ramji, chief strategy officer at DataStax, came over from Google last year, the first thing he did was take the pulse of […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - DataStax launches Kubernetes operator for open source Cassandra database March 31, 2020 at 10:00PM

Facebook deletes Brazil President’s coronavirus misinfo post Facebook has diverted from its policy of not fact-checking politicians in order to prevent the spread of potentially harmful coronavirus misinformation from Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Facebook made the decisive choice to remove a video shared by Bolsonaro on Sunday where he claimed that “hydroxychloroquine is working in all places.” That’s despite the drug still […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook deletes Brazil President’s coronavirus misinfo post March 31, 2020 at 10:00AM

Facebook Messenger preps Auto Status location type sharing Facebook Messenger could soon automatically tell your closest friends you’re at the gym, driving, or in Tokyo. Messenger has been spotted prototyping a ported version of the Instagram close friends-only Threads app’s Auto Status option that launched in October. The unreleased Messenger feature would use your location, accelerometer, and battery life to determine what you’re […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook Messenger preps Auto Status location type sharing March 31, 2020 at 06:00AM

WeWork sells off social network Meetup to AlleyCorp and other investors Meetup, the social networking platform designed to connect people in person, is being spun out from shared office space provider WeWork, the company confirmed on Monday. The site is being sold to AlleyCorp and other private investors for an undisclosed sum, but one that’s reportedly far less than the $156 million acquisition price WeWork paid […] Social – TechCrunch - WeWork sells off social network Meetup to AlleyCorp and other investors March 31, 2020 at 04:01AM

Muzmatch adds a button to video chat with a match’s dad Muslim matchmaking app Muzmatch is getting (slightly) involved with video: It’s adding a button to enable users to request a video chat with a prospective match’s father. If the user impresses on camera, the dad can grant a ‘Dad Verified’ badge to add to their profile — as an added layer of parental vetting for […] Social – TechCrunch - Muzmatch adds a button to video chat with a match’s dad March 31, 2020 at 04:01AM

Atlassian’s Confluence gets a new template gallery Confluence, Atlassian’s content-centric collaboration tool for teams, is making it easier for new users to get started with the launch of an updated template gallery and 75 new templates. They incorporate what the company has learned from its customers and partners since it first launched the service back in 2004. About a year ago, Atlassian […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Atlassian’s Confluence gets a new template gallery March 31, 2020 at 03:00AM

SMB loans platform Kabbage to furlough a ‘significant’ number of staff, close office in Bangalore Another tech unicorn is feeling the pinch of doing business during the coronavirus pandemic. Today, Kabbage, the Softbank-backed lending startup that uses machine learning to provide speedy and more accurate evaluations of loan applications for small and medium businesses, is furloughing a “significant number” of its US team of 500 employees, according to a memo […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - SMB loans platform Kabbage to furlough a ‘significant’ number of staff, close office in Bangalore March 31, 2020 at 02:01AM

8 essential apps for iOS developers Make iOS and macOS do more work for you Swift Developer News - Hacking with Swift - 8 essential apps for iOS developers March 31, 2020 at 01:00AM

Turbo Systems hires former Looker CMO Jen Grant as CEO Turbo Systems, a three-year old, no-code mobile app startup, announced today it has brought on industry veteran Jen Grant to be CEO. Grant, who was previously vice president of marketing at Box and chief marketing officer at Elastic and Looker, brings more than 15 years of tech company experience to the young startup. She says […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Turbo Systems hires former Looker CMO Jen Grant as CEO March 31, 2020 at 12:00AM

This Week in Apps: Apple launches a COVID-19 app, the outbreak’s impact on social and video apps and more Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the Extra Crunch series that recaps the latest OS news, the applications they support and the money that flows through it all. The app industry saw a record 204 billion downloads and $120 billion in consumer spending in 2019, according to App Annie’s “State of Mobile” annual report. […] Social – TechCrunch - This Week in Apps: Apple launches a COVID-19 app, the outbreak’s impact on social and video apps and more March 29, 2020 at 01:00AM

Social Bluebook was hacked, exposing 217,000 influencers’ accounts A social media platform used to match advertisers with thousands of influencers has been hacked. Social Bluebook, a Los Angeles-based company, allows advertisers to pay social media “influencers” for posts that promote their products and services. The company claims it has some 300,000 influencers on its books. But in October 2019, the company’s entire backend […] Social – TechCrunch - Social Bluebook was hacked, exposing 217,000 influencers’ accounts March 27, 2020 at 11:00PM

Facebook launches Community Hub for Messenger users to fight coronavirus rumors Facebook today unveiled Coronavirus Community Hub on Messenger that offers tips, authoritative information and other resources to help people stay connected and informed about the coronavirus outbreak, weeks after launching a similar information hub on WhatsApp, its other messaging service. The launch of the coronavirus hub on Messenger, used by more than a billion people, comes […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook launches Community Hub for Messenger users to fight coronavirus rumors March 27, 2020 at 08:01AM

Facebook appoints Treasury’s Kimmitt as lead independent board director Facebook has filled the lead independent board director role with former Deputy Secretary of the Treasury and U.S. Ambassador to Germany Robert M. Kimmitt. His job will be to serve as the go-between connecting Facebook CEO and controlling shareholder Mark Zuckerberg with the rest of the board. Meanwhile, the CEO of The Cranemere Group Limited […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook appoints Treasury’s Kimmitt as lead independent board director March 27, 2020 at 06:00AM

It’s still easy to find coronavirus mask ads on Facebook Ads for face masks are still appearing on Facebook, Instagram and Google, according to a review of the platforms carried out by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP). This despite pledges by the platforms that they would stamp out ads which seek to profit from the coronavirus pandemic. Facebook said on March 6 that it would […] Social – TechCrunch - It’s still easy to find coronavirus mask ads on Facebook March 27, 2020 at 03:00AM

Tech giants should let startups defer cloud payments Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are the landlords. Amidst the Coronavirus economic crisis, startups need a break from paying rent. They’re in a cash crunch. Revenue has stopped flowing in, capital markets like venture debt are hesitant, and startups and small-to-medium sized businessesf are at risk of either having to lay off huge numbers of employees […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Tech giants should let startups defer cloud payments March 27, 2020 at 03:00AM

Salesforce’s Benioff pledges no ‘significant’ layoffs for 90 days In a Twitter thread on Tuesday, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff outlined an eight-step plan to keep people safe and find treatments and a vaccine for the COVID-19 virus, all while working to find a way to get people back to work safely. He also asked that all CEOs take a 90-day “no lay off” pledge […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Salesforce’s Benioff pledges no ‘significant’ layoffs for 90 days March 27, 2020 at 03:00AM

Microsoft acquires 5G specialist Affirmed Networks Microsoft today announced that it has acquired Affirmed Networks, a company that specializes in fully virtualized, cloud-native networking solutions for telecom operators. With its focus on 5G and edge computing, Affirmed looks like the ideal acquisition target for a large cloud provider looking to get deeper into the telco business. According to Crunchbase, Affirmed raised […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Microsoft acquires 5G specialist Affirmed Networks March 27, 2020 at 02:00AM

Kaizo raises $3M for its AI-based tools to improve customer service support teams CRM has for years been primarily a story of software to manage customer contacts, data to help agents do their jobs, and tools to manage incoming requests and outreach strategies. Now to add to that we’re starting to see a new theme: apps to help agents track how they work and to work better. Today […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Kaizo raises $3M for its AI-based tools to improve customer service support teams March 27, 2020 at 01:00AM

Yaguara nabs $7.2M seed to help e-commerce companies understand customers better Yaguara, a Denver-based startup that wants to help e-commerce companies understand their customers better to deliver more meaningful experiences, announced a $7.2 million seed investment today. The round was led by Foundation Capital with participation from Gradient Ventures, Rainfall Ventures and Zelkova. It also had help from some e-commerce heavy hitters including Warby Parker, Harry’s […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Yaguara nabs $7.2M seed to help e-commerce companies understand customers better March 27, 2020 at 12:01AM

People who mostly get news from social networks have some COVID-19 misconceptions A new survey conducted by the Pew Research Center shows a COVID-19 information divide between people who mostly get their news from social networks and those who rely on more traditional news sources. Pew surveyed 8,914 adults in the U.S. during the week of March 10, dividing survey respondents by the main means they use […] Social – TechCrunch - People who mostly get news from social networks have some COVID-19 misconceptions March 26, 2020 at 10:00AM

The future of collectibles is digital Digital collectibles have taken a foothold and are well on their way to increase their presence in our daily lives Social – TechCrunch - The future of collectibles is digital March 26, 2020 at 09:00AM

Spotinst rebrands as Spot and announces new cloud spend dashboard Spotinst, the startup that helps companies find lower cost spot instances in the cloud, announced today that it was rebranding as Spot. It also announced a brand new cloud usage dashboard to help companies get a detailed view of their cloud spend. Amiram Shachar, co-founder and CEO at Spot, says the new product is designed […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Spotinst rebrands as Spot and announces new cloud spend dashboard March 26, 2020 at 01:00AM

Humio announces $20M Series B to advance unlimited logging tool Humio, a startup that has built a modern unlimited logging solution, announced a $20 million Series B investment today. Dell Technologies Capital led the round with participation from previous investor Accel. Today’s investment brings the total raised to $32 million, according to the company. Humio co-founder and CEO Geeta Schmidt says the startup wanted to […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Humio announces $20M Series B to advance unlimited logging tool March 26, 2020 at 12:01AM

Espressive lands $30M Series B to build better help chatbots Espressive, a four-year-old startup from former ServiceNow employees, is working to build a better chatbot to reduce calls to company help desks. Today, the company announced a $30 million Series B investment. Insight Partners led the round with help from Series A lead investor General Catalyst along with Wing Venture Capital. Under the terms of […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Espressive lands $30M Series B to build better help chatbots March 25, 2020 at 11:01PM

TripActions reportedly lays off hundreds amid COVID-19 travel freeze The coronavirus demand crunch has taken another bite: Palo Alto-based corporate travel-focused unicorn, TripActions, reportedly laid off hundreds of staff yesterday. Per this post on Blind — written by someone with a verified TripActions email address — the company fired 350 people. Business Insider reported the same figure yesterday. While the Wall Street Journal said […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - TripActions reportedly lays off hundreds amid COVID-19 travel freeze March 25, 2020 at 09:00PM

Control each other’s apps with new screensharing tool Screen It’s like Google Docs for everything. Screen is a free interactive multiplayer screensharing app that gives everyone a cursor so they can navigate, draw on, and even code within the apps of their co-workers while voice or video chatting. Screen makes it easy and fun to co-design content, pair program, code review or debug together, […] Social – TechCrunch - Control each other’s apps with new screensharing tool Screen March 25, 2020 at 06:00AM

Control each other’s apps with new screensharing tool Screen It’s like Google Docs for everything. Screen is a free interactive multiplayer screensharing app that gives everyone a cursor so they can navigate, draw on, and even code within the apps of their co-workers while voice or video chatting. Screen makes it easy and fun to co-design content, pair program, code review or debug together, […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Control each other’s apps with new screensharing tool Screen March 25, 2020 at 06:00AM

Twitter is donating $1M across two foundations to support journalism during the coronavirus pandemic Social media companies have been hard at work to make sure they play a helpful rather than harmful role in disseminating news and information about the coronavirus pandemic. Today, Twitter took an extra step beyond its own platform to put its efforts into the wider, already under-pressure world of journalism. Twitter announced that it would […] Social – TechCrunch - Twitter is donating $1M across two foundations to support journalism during the coronavirus pandemic March 25, 2020 at 04:00AM

Snapchat’s Zenly launches coronavirus Stay Home leaderboard Snapchat’s location sharing app acquisition Zenly has gamified shelter-in-place during the COVID-19 outbreak. Today the app launched its Stay At Home challenge that shows a leaderboard of which friends have spent the most percentage of the last three days in their homes. Users can see who’s social distancing the best and share stickers of the […] Social – TechCrunch - Snapchat’s Zenly launches coronavirus Stay Home leaderboard March 25, 2020 at 04:00AM

Pinterest launches a ‘Today’ tab featuring daily recommendations and trending topics The COVID-19 outbreak has led to record Pinterest usage as people stuck at home increased their searches for things like lesson plans, kids’ crafts, new recipes, and gardening ideas. Last weekend, for example, Pinterest saw more searches and saves globally than any other weekend in its history. And in the U.S., it saw record numbers […] Social – TechCrunch - Pinterest launches a ‘Today’ tab featuring daily recommendations and trending topics March 25, 2020 at 03:00AM

Facebook in talks to acquire stake in top Indian telco Reliance Jio, report says Reliance Jio, a three-and-a-half-year-old subsidiary of India’s most valued firm Reliance Industries, may have attracted the attention of an American giant: Facebook. The social conglomerate is in talks to acquire a 10% stake in the Indian telecom operator, the Financial Times reported Tuesday. The size of the deal, the paper said, was in “multi-billion dollars.” […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook in talks to acquire stake in top Indian telco Reliance Jio, report says March 25, 2020 at 02:00AM

Instagram launches Co-Watching of posts during video chat Now you can scroll Instagram together with friends, turning a typically isolating, passive experience into something more social and active. Today Instagram launched Co-Watching, which lets friends on a video chat or group video chat browse through feed posts one user has Liked or Saved, or that Instagram recommends. Co-Watching could let people ooh, ahh, […] Social – TechCrunch - Instagram launches Co-Watching of posts during video chat March 25, 2020 at 01:01AM

GitLab offers key lessons in running an all-remote workforce in new e-book As companies that used to having workers in the same building struggle to find ways to work from home, one company that has been remote from Day One is GitLab . It recently published a handbook to help other companies who are facing the work-from-home challenge for the first time. Lest you think GitLab is […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - GitLab offers key lessons in running an all-remote workforce in new e-book March 24, 2020 at 11:01PM

The best video chat apps to turn social distancing into distant socializing The vicissitudes of social distancing have taken many people by surprise, making video calls a new necessity for distant socializing. But which of the two dozen apps out there should you and your (perhaps not as tech-savvy) friends and family use? Here are our recommendations, whether it's for a coffee meeting, a family get-together, or a late night gaming hangout. Social – TechCrunch - The best video chat apps to turn social distancing into distant socializing March 24, 2020 at 07:00AM

Startups are helping cloud infrastructure customers avoid vendor lock-in For much of the history of enterprise technology, companies tended to buy from a single vendor because it made managing the entire affair much easier while giving them a “single throat to choke” when something went wrong. On the flip side, it also put customers at the mercy of said vendor — and it wasn’t […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Startups are helping cloud infrastructure customers avoid vendor lock-in March 24, 2020 at 07:00AM

Ceros launches MarkUp, a design collaboration tool for live websites When designers need to collaborate with other teams, they can currently turn to products like InVision and Zeplin. But Ceros creative director Jack Dixon said there’s a “pretty interesting gap in the market” — once you move beyond prototypes and start working with websites that are either live or in staging, the process starts to […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Ceros launches MarkUp, a design collaboration tool for live websites March 24, 2020 at 01:01AM

Facebook Messenger provides governments, agencies with free developer tools to combat Covid-19 Big tech has been making a huge effort to mobilize its power to help people work better together to battle the ongoing coronavirus pandemic — whether it’s creating search and information portals or making sure the most authoritative voices are surfacing above the noise, or gathering compute power to supercharge research efforts to find vaccines. […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook Messenger provides governments, agencies with free developer tools to combat Covid-19 March 23, 2020 at 11:00PM

Activist investor Starboard Value taking three Box board seats as involvement deepens When activist investors Starboard Value took a 7.5% stake in Box last September, there was reasonable speculation that it would begin to try and push an agenda, as activist investors tend to do. While the firm has been quiet to this point, today Box announced that Starboard was adding three members to the 9 member […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Activist investor Starboard Value taking three Box board seats as involvement deepens March 23, 2020 at 11:00PM

Box’s Aaron Levie says it will take creativity and focus to get through this crisis The COVID-19 virus is touching every aspect of our lives and having a profound impact on individuals, businesses and society at large. Box’s Aaron Levie has built a successful business from dorm room to IPO and beyond. He spoke to TechCrunch today about the level of creativity and focus that it’s going to take to […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Box’s Aaron Levie says it will take creativity and focus to get through this crisis March 23, 2020 at 06:02AM

With kids and adults staying at home, are virtual worlds ready for primetime? We’ve been diligently following the development of virtual worlds, also known as the “metaverse,” on TechCrunch. Hanging out within the virtual worlds of games has become more popular in recent years with the growth of platforms like Roblox and open-world games like Fortnite, but it still isn’t a mainstream way to socialize outside of the […] Social – TechCrunch - With kids and adults staying at home, are virtual worlds ready for primetime? March 23, 2020 at 02:02AM

Under quarantine, media is actually social The flood of status symbol content into Instagram Stories has run dry. No one is going out and doing anything cool right now, and if they are, they should be shamed for it. Beyond sharing video chat happy hour screenshots and quarantine dinner concoctions, our piece-by-piece biographies have ground to a halt. Oddly, what remains […] Social – TechCrunch - Under quarantine, media is actually social March 22, 2020 at 05:00AM

Twitter prioritizes blue-check verifications to confirm experts on Covid-19 and the novel coronavirus At long last, here’s an actually useful purpose for Twitter’s blue-check verification mark: Twitter last night announced that it is mobilising the badge system to help surface and signal more authoritative and verified voices that can provide “credible updates” on the topic of the coronavirus, and made a general call out for people that are […] Social – TechCrunch - Twitter prioritizes blue-check verifications to confirm experts on Covid-19 and the novel coronavirus March 21, 2020 at 11:01PM

AWS, IBM launch programs to encourage developers solving COVID-19 problems As society comes to grips with the growing worldwide crisis related to the COVID-19 virus, many companies are stepping up in different ways. Today, two major tech companies — Amazon and IBM — each announced programs to encourage developers find solutions to a variety of problems related to the pandemic. For starters, AWS, Amazon’s cloud […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - AWS, IBM launch programs to encourage developers solving COVID-19 problems March 21, 2020 at 07:00AM

Google cancels I/O developer conference in light of COVID-19 crisis Google announced on Twitter today that it was cancelling its annual I/O developer conference out of concern for the health and safety of all involved. It will not be holding any online conference in its place either. “Out of concern for the health and safety of our developers, employees, and local communities — and in […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Google cancels I/O developer conference in light of COVID-19 crisis March 21, 2020 at 07:00AM

Instagram founder launches gift card site for quarantined restaurants Coronavirus quarantines are hurting local businesses, but Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger wants to help them keep revenue rolling in. Krieger and his wife Kaitlyn this week launched SaveOurFaves, a directory of Bay Area restaurants selling gift certificates to offset lost income amidst ‘shelter in place’ orders across the region. Users can search for restaurants or […] Social – TechCrunch - Instagram founder launches gift card site for quarantined restaurants March 21, 2020 at 03:00AM

Tinder waives Passport fee to help users connect virtually around the world Dating may be proving next to impossible for many during this era of mass social distancing, but Tinder’s hoping to leverage an existing feature to help bring people closer together. Virtually, at least. The dating app is waving fees for Passport, a feature designed to let premium users connect with people outside of their dating […] Social – TechCrunch - Tinder waives Passport fee to help users connect virtually around the world March 21, 2020 at 03:00AM

Instagram prototypes Snapchat-style disappearing text messages Instagram is finally preparing to copy Snapchat’s most popular feature, and one of the few it hasn’t already cloned. Instagram has prototyped an unreleased ephemeral text messaging feature that clears the chat thread whenever you leave it, a Facebook spokesperson confirms to TechCrunch. That could make users more comfortable with having rapid-fire, silly, vulnerable, or […] Social – TechCrunch - Instagram prototypes Snapchat-style disappearing text messages March 20, 2020 at 08:00AM

Facebook now lets most users opt-in to dark mode & desktop redesign Facebook today officially rolled out its sweeping desktop redesign that offers dark mode, tabbed homescreen, and a cleaner profile. Facebook tells TechCrunch that “starting today, the majority of people on Facebook will have access to the new desktop design” which it announced at last year’s F8 conference. Users can opt-in to turn on the redesign […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook now lets most users opt-in to dark mode & desktop redesign March 20, 2020 at 03:00AM

Daily Crunch: Facebook and Twitter fight coronavirus misinformation The big social networks take steps to ensure that they’re providing accurate information for public health, Charter refuses to allow employees to work from home and Microsoft Teams sees a big spike in popularity. Here’s your Daily Crunch for March 19, 2020. 1. Facebook will put a new coronavirus info center on top of the […] Social – TechCrunch - Daily Crunch: Facebook and Twitter fight coronavirus misinformation March 20, 2020 at 03:00AM

Even in the age of COVID-19, you need to stay focused on the customer It’s easy to think, as we find ourselves in the midst of a truly unprecedented situation, that the rules of building a successful business have suddenly changed. While the world may be topsy-turvy at the moment, keeping your customer at the center of your business strategy is more important than ever. That means finding creative […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Even in the age of COVID-19, you need to stay focused on the customer March 20, 2020 at 03:00AM

Storj brings low-cost decentralized cloud storage to the enterprise Storj, a startup that developed a low-cost, decentralized cloud storage solution, announced a new version today called Tardigrade Decentralized Cloud Storage Service. The new service comes with an enterprise service level agreement (SLA) that promises 99.9999999% file durability and over 99.95 percent availability, which it claims is on par with Amazon S3. The company has […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Storj brings low-cost decentralized cloud storage to the enterprise March 19, 2020 at 11:00PM

Twitter broadly bans any COVID-19 tweets that could help the virus spread You don’t have to go far to find someone online downplaying the severity of a global pandemic that’s shut down entire economies and ground everyday life to a halt. Knowing that, Twitter will take extra steps to remove tweets that put people at risk of contracting the novel coronavirus as it rapidly sweeps through communities […] Social – TechCrunch - Twitter broadly bans any COVID-19 tweets that could help the virus spread March 19, 2020 at 12:00PM

Facebook will put a new coronavirus info center on top of the News Feed In an effort to disseminate trustworthy health information on COVID-19, Facebook will roll out its own coronavirus information center, a central hub on the vast social network where the company will collect information from sources like the CDC and WHO. “We’re going to be putting at the top of everyone’s Facebook feed,” Zuckerberg said in […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook will put a new coronavirus info center on top of the News Feed March 19, 2020 at 04:01AM

Big opening for startups that help move entrenched on-prem workloads to the cloud AWS CEO Andy Jassy showed signs of frustration at his AWS re:Invent keynote address in December. Customers weren’t moving to the cloud nearly fast enough for his taste, and he prodded them to move along. Some of their hesitation, as Jassy pointed out, was due to institutional inertia, but some of it also was due […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Big opening for startups that help move entrenched on-prem workloads to the cloud March 19, 2020 at 04:00AM

Chinese cloud infrastructure market generated $3.3B in Q42019 Research firm Canalys reports that the Chinese cloud infrastructure market grew 66.9% to $3.3 billion in the last quarter of 2019, right before the COVID-19 virus hit the country. China is the second largest cloud infrastructure market in the world with 10.8% share. The quarter puts the Chinese market on a $13.2 billion run rate. […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Chinese cloud infrastructure market generated $3.3B in Q42019 March 19, 2020 at 03:00AM

Around is the new floating head video chat multitasking app You have to actually get work done, not just video call all day, but apps like Zoom want to take over your screen. Remote workers who need to stay in touch while staying productive are forced to juggle tabs. Meanwhile, call participants often look and sound far away, dwarfed by their background and drowned in […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Around is the new floating head video chat multitasking app March 19, 2020 at 01:00AM

Around is the new floating head video chat multitasking app You have to actually get work done, not just video call all day, but apps like Zoom want to take over your screen. Remote workers who need to stay in touch while staying productive are forced to juggle tabs. Meanwhile, call participants often look and sound far away, dwarfed by their background and drowned in […] Social – TechCrunch - Around is the new floating head video chat multitasking app March 19, 2020 at 12:02AM

Slack introduces simplified interface as usage moves deeper into companies When Slack first launched in 2013, the product was quickly embraced by developers, and the early product reflected that. To get at advanced tools, you used a slash (/) command, but the company recognizes that as it moves deeper into the enterprise, it needed to simplify the interface. Today, the company introduced a newly designed […] Social – TechCrunch - Slack introduces simplified interface as usage moves deeper into companies March 18, 2020 at 11:01PM

Slack introduces simplified interface as usage moves deeper into companies When Slack first launched in 2013, the product was quickly embraced by developers, and the early product reflected that. To get at advanced tools, you used a slash (/) command, but the company recognizes that as it moves deeper into the enterprise, it needed to simplify the interface. Today, the company introduced a newly designed […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Slack introduces simplified interface as usage moves deeper into companies March 18, 2020 at 11:01PM

Salesforce hires former banker Arundhati Bhattacharya as chairperson and CEO of India business Salesforce, the global giant in CRM, said on Wednesday that former banker Arundhati Bhattacharya will be joining the company on April 20 as chairperson and chief executive of its India division. The San Francisco-headquartered firm said Bhattacharya, who served as the chairperson of the state-run State Bank of India for nearly four decades and oversees […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Salesforce hires former banker Arundhati Bhattacharya as chairperson and CEO of India business March 18, 2020 at 03:00PM

Beware of “ZoomBombing”: screensharing filth to video calls The world is vulnerable to a new type of trolling as people turn to Zoom video calls to feel connected amidst quarantines. Jerks are using Zoom’s screensharing feature to blast other viewers with the most awful videos from across the internet, from violence to shocking pornography. That’s just what happened today on the WFH Happy […] Social – TechCrunch - Beware of “ZoomBombing”: screensharing filth to video calls March 18, 2020 at 11:00AM

Facebook is wrongly blocking some links, including coronavirus info Facebook is suffering from a massive bug in its News Feed spam filter, causing URLs to legitimate websites including Medium, Buzzfeed, and USA Today to be blocked from being shared as posts or comments. The issue is blocking shares of some but not all coronavirus-related content, while some unrelated links are allowed through and others […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook is wrongly blocking some links, including coronavirus info March 18, 2020 at 10:01AM

Spectro Cloud launches with $7.5M investment to help developers build Kubernetes clusters their way By now, we know that Kubernetes is a wildly popular container management platform, but if you want to use it, you pretty much have to choose between having someone manage it for you or building it yourself. Spectro Cloud emerged from stealth today with a $7.5 million investment to give you a third choice which […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Spectro Cloud launches with $7.5M investment to help developers build Kubernetes clusters their way March 18, 2020 at 01:00AM

Addapptation snares $1.3M seed to build a better UX for Salesforce Addapptation, a startup that wants to build a practical design layer on top of Salesforce and other enterprise tools, announced a $1.3 million seed investment today. 2048 Ventures led the round with participation from East Coast Angles, The Millworks II Fund and additional angel investors from New Hampshire, where the firm is located Co-founder Sumner […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Addapptation snares $1.3M seed to build a better UX for Salesforce March 18, 2020 at 12:02AM

Torch & Everwise merge into affordable exec coaching for all While companies might pay for a CEO coach, lower level employees often get stuck with lame skill-building worksheets or no mentorship at all. Not only does that limit their potential productivity, but it also makes them feel stagnated and undervalued, leading them to jump ship. Therapy…err…executive coaching is finally becoming destigmatized as entrepreneurs and their […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Torch & Everwise merge into affordable exec coaching for all March 17, 2020 at 01:01PM

Hashicorp soars above $5B valuation in new $175M venture round The rise of the cloud over the past decade has forced software developers and DevOps engineers to completely rearchitect the modern web application, ensuring scalability, performance, and security. That’s a really painful proposition when done manually, which is where Hashicorp comes in to play. The company’s suite of products helps everyone in the tech workforce […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Hashicorp soars above $5B valuation in new $175M venture round March 17, 2020 at 10:00AM

To make locks touchless, Proxy bluetooth ID raises $42M We need to go hands-off in the age of coronavirus. That means touching fewer doors, elevators, and sign-in iPads. But once a building is using phone-based identity for security, there’s opportunities to speed up access to WIFI networks and printers, or personalize conference rooms and video call set-ups. Keyless office entry startup Proxy wants to […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - To make locks touchless, Proxy bluetooth ID raises $42M March 17, 2020 at 04:00AM

This startup got a meeting with Mark Suster by getting clever with Google ads Startups have done some wild things to get the attention of VCs. In fact, Instacart founder Apoorva Mehta sent YC partner (at the time) Garry Tan a six-pack of beer through the service after missing the deadline for Y Combinator by two months. Yesterday, the ingenuity of startups struck again. Tadabase.io, an enterprise startup that […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - This startup got a meeting with Mark Suster by getting clever with Google ads March 15, 2020 at 03:00AM

Instagram uses its power to put Coronavirus tips atop feed Instagram is embracing its potential as a news source, employing its ubiquity to distribute Coronavirus prevention techniques through a new call-out at the top of its homescreen feed. In some countries, Instagram will show a link to information from the World Health Organization and local health ministries along with a message like this: “Help Prevent […] Social – TechCrunch - Instagram uses its power to put Coronavirus tips atop feed March 14, 2020 at 05:01AM

Pentagon asks court for time to reconsider JEDI award to Microsoft The JEDI contract award process might never be done. Following legal challenges from Amazon after the Pentagon’s massive, $10 billion cloud contract was awarded to Microsoft in October, the Pentagon indicated in court documents last night that it wishes to reconsider the award. It’s just the latest plot twist in an epic government procurement saga. […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Pentagon asks court for time to reconsider JEDI award to Microsoft March 14, 2020 at 12:02AM

Russian trolls are outsourcing to Africa to stoke US racial tensions With tech companies wise to many of the tactics that Russia’s now-infamous troll farms used to seed disinformation during the 2016 election, those campaigns are getting creative. According to a pair of reports out from Facebook and Twitter, a disinformation campaign run by individuals with links to Russia’s Internet Research Agency (IRA) is back and […] Social – TechCrunch - Russian trolls are outsourcing to Africa to stoke US racial tensions March 13, 2020 at 08:00AM

Yext aims to deliver more coronavirus-related answers by making its site search free Yext says that in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s making its Yext Answers site search product free for 90 days. You might not see an obvious connection between site search and a worldwide pandemic. You might even think this sounds like a marketing gimmick. But Yext CEO Howard Lerman said that for the past […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Yext aims to deliver more coronavirus-related answers by making its site search free March 13, 2020 at 05:01AM

New Twitter client Brizzly+ lets you ‘edit’ and auto-delete your tweets Brizzly, the name associated with a long-gone Twitter client, and later, a goofy project highlighting our addiction to social media, is coming back. And this time, it’s focused on serving the needs of Twitter power users in search of features Twitter itself has failed to build — like an Edit button and an auto-deletion option […] Social – TechCrunch - New Twitter client Brizzly+ lets you ‘edit’ and auto-delete your tweets March 13, 2020 at 03:00AM

Senate bill seeks to ban Chinese app TikTok from government work phones On Thursday, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) introduced legislation to further restrict the use of the popular viral video app TikTok on government devices. The bill seeks to expand existing federal guidance prohibiting use of TikTok to encompass any U.S. government-issued device. The legislation is the most recent effort by U.S. […] Social – TechCrunch - Senate bill seeks to ban Chinese app TikTok from government work phones March 13, 2020 at 03:00AM

TikTok to open a ‘Transparency Center’ where outside experts can examine its moderation practices TikTok, the popular social media app owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, has been under a national security investigation by U.S. lawmakers who have raised concerns about the company’s access to U.S. user data and whether it was censoring content at the behest of the Chinese government. Today, TikTok tries to combat these concerns with […] Social – TechCrunch - TikTok to open a ‘Transparency Center’ where outside experts can examine its moderation practices March 12, 2020 at 02:00AM

Assembled raises $3.1M led by Stripe to build ‘the operating system for support teams’ CRM software accounts for one-quarter of all enterprise IT spend. But ironically, while a lot of money is spent on platforms like Salesforce or SAP to manage incoming calls and outgoing marketing and sales activity, not a lot of attention is given to the issue of how to help the teams using all that software work […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Assembled raises $3.1M led by Stripe to build ‘the operating system for support teams’ March 12, 2020 at 02:00AM

AWS launches Bottlerocket, a Linux-based OS for container hosting AWS has launched its own open-source operating system for running containers on both virtual machines and bare metal hosts. Bottlerocket, as the new OS is called, is basically a stripped-down Linux distribution that’s akin to projects like CoreOS’s now-defunct Container Linux and Google’s container-optimized OS. The OS is currently in its developer preview phase, but […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - AWS launches Bottlerocket, a Linux-based OS for container hosting March 12, 2020 at 02:00AM

Hitachi Vantara acquires what’s left of Containership Hitachi Vantara, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Hitachi that focuses on building hardware and software to help companies manage their data, today announced that it has acquired the assets of Containership, one of the earlier players in the container ecosystem, which shut down its operations last October. Containership, which launched as part of our 2015 Disrupt […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Hitachi Vantara acquires what’s left of Containership March 11, 2020 at 08:00AM

Dell spent $67B buying EMC — more than 3 years later, was it worth the debt? Dell’s 2015 decision to buy EMC for $67 billion remains the largest pure tech deal in history, but a transaction of such magnitude created a mountain of debt for the Texas-based company and its primary backer, Silver Lake. Dell would eventually take on close to $50 billion in debt. Years later, where are they in […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Dell spent $67B buying EMC — more than 3 years later, was it worth the debt? March 11, 2020 at 06:00AM

Twitter rewrites Developer Policy to better support academic research and use of ‘good’ bots Twitter today updated its Developer Policy to clarify rules around data usage, including in academic research, as well as its position on bots, among other things. The policy has also been entirely rewritten in an effort to simplify the language used and make it more conversational, Twitter says. The new policy has been shortened from […] Social – TechCrunch - Twitter rewrites Developer Policy to better support academic research and use of ‘good’ bots March 11, 2020 at 05:00AM

Facebook’s photo transfer tool opens to more users in Europe, LatAm and Africa Facebook is continuing to open up access to a data porting tool it launched in Ireland in December. The tool lets users of its network transfer photos and videos they have stored on its servers directly to another photo storage service, such as Google Photos, via encrypted transfer. A Facebook spokesman confirmed to TechCrunch that […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook’s photo transfer tool opens to more users in Europe, LatAm and Africa March 11, 2020 at 01:00AM

YC-backed Snapboard is a no-code platform for building internal tools No code tools are on the rise, and a YC-backed company called Snapboard is looking to join the fight. Snapboard, led by solo founder Calum Moore, started when Moore decided to build one product a week for a year as a personal challenge. In the second week, he realized just how many apps and services […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - YC-backed Snapboard is a no-code platform for building internal tools March 11, 2020 at 12:01AM

Electric reopens Series B to make room for Dick Costolo and Adam Bain Electric, the platform that delivers IT services to small and medium businesses, has today announced that it has raised an additional $14.5 million on its Series B from 01 Advisors, the fund led by Twitter alums Dick Costolo and Adam Bain. Though the funding is a part of the company’s Series B financing, founder Ryan […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Electric reopens Series B to make room for Dick Costolo and Adam Bain March 11, 2020 at 12:01AM

MessageBird launches Inbox.ai to ‘disrupt’ the customer service market MessageBird, the Amsterdam-headquartered cloud communications platform backed by Accel in the U.S. and Europe’s Atomico, is unveiling another new product today, this time taking aim at the $350 billion customer service market. Dubbed Inbox.ai and positioned as “Slack for external communications,” the new product — which is to be offered largely for free — enables […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - MessageBird launches Inbox.ai to ‘disrupt’ the customer service market March 11, 2020 at 12:01AM

BackboneAI scores $4.7M seed to bring order to intercompany data sharing BackboneAI, an early-stage startup that wants to help companies dealing with lots of data, particularly coming from a variety of external sources, announced a $4.7 million seed investment today. The round was led by Fika Ventures with participation from Boldstart Ventures, Dynamo Ventures, GGV Capital, MetaProp, Spider VC and several other unnamed investors. Company founder […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - BackboneAI scores $4.7M seed to bring order to intercompany data sharing March 10, 2020 at 11:01PM

Facebook’s board is its most gender-balanced yet with two new additions On Monday, Facebook announced the addition of two new names to its board of directors, Nancy Killefer and Tracey T. Travis. Killefer brings potentially valuable government insight to Facebook, as she served in the U.S. Department of the Treasury during the Obama administration. With last year’s departure of former Clinton administration chief of staff Erskine […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook’s board is its most gender-balanced yet with two new additions March 10, 2020 at 07:00AM

TV advertising didn’t die, it just moved online The tradition of sitting through a barrage of ads in exchange for being entertained began with radio, flourished with the arrival of television and followed the mass migration online. As the massive $35 billion in advertising revenue captured by YouTube and Instagram in the last quarter indicated, online advertising around social media, influencers and streamers […] Social – TechCrunch - TV advertising didn’t die, it just moved online March 10, 2020 at 05:00AM

Facebook Stories tests cross-posting to its pet, Instagram Facebook’s latest colonization of Instagram has begun. Facebook is testing the option to cross-post Stories to Instagram, instead of just vice-versa. Hopefully, that means the two apps will finally sync up the ‘already viewed’ status of cross-posted Stories so we don’t have to watch re-runs any more, as I harped about in January. If fully […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook Stories tests cross-posting to its pet, Instagram March 10, 2020 at 05:00AM

Silver Lake makes $1B investment into Twitter; Twitter, Elliott call truce as Dorsey remains CEO After a week in which it looked like activist investor Elliott Management might try to force out Jack Dorsey as CEO of Twitter to help boost the social platform’s flagging growth, it looks like we have a truce of sorts between the two. Today, Twitter announced has received a $1 billion investment from Silver Lake, […] Social – TechCrunch - Silver Lake makes $1B investment into Twitter; Twitter, Elliott call truce as Dorsey remains CEO March 10, 2020 at 03:00AM

Google’s Vint Cerf voices support for common criteria for political ad targeting Google VP Vint Cerf has voiced support for a single set of standards for Internet platforms to apply around political advertising. Speaking to the UK parliament’s Democracy and Digital Technologies Committee today, the long time Googler — who has been chief Internet evangelist at the tech giant since 2005 — was asked about the targeting […] Social – TechCrunch - Google’s Vint Cerf voices support for common criteria for political ad targeting March 10, 2020 at 02:00AM

TFLiving, with $4.8M in seed funding, wants to be the Uber for amenities TFLiving, looking to bring amenities to residential and commercial spaces, has today announced the close of a $4.8 million seed financing led by Camber Creek. Courtside Ventures, and other strategic investors, also participated in the round. TFLiving uses technology to connect service providers, like massage therapists, yoga instructors and dog walkers, with property managers and […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - TFLiving, with $4.8M in seed funding, wants to be the Uber for amenities March 10, 2020 at 12:01AM

Australia sues Facebook over Cambridge Analytica, fine could scale to $529BN Australia’s privacy watchdog is suing Facebook over the Cambridge Analytica data breach — which, back in 2018, became a global scandal that wiped billions off the tech giant’s share price yet only led to Facebook picking up a $5BN FTC fine. Should Australia prevail in its suit against the tech giant the monetary penalty could […] Social – TechCrunch - Australia sues Facebook over Cambridge Analytica, fine could scale to $529BN March 9, 2020 at 10:00PM