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TikTok stars got a judge to block Trump’s TikTok ban TikTok has won another battle in its fight against the Trump administration’s ban of its video-sharing app in the U.S. — or, more accurately in this case, the TikTok community won a battle. On Friday, a federal judge in Pennsylvania issued an injunction that blocked the restrictions that would have otherwise blocked TikTok from operating […] Social – TechCrunch - TikTok stars got a judge to block Trump’s TikTok ban October 31, 2020 at 12:00PM

Facebook hits pause on algorithmic recommendations for political and social issue groups With just days to go before the U.S. election, Facebook quietly suspended one of its most worrisome features. During Wednesday’s Senate hearing, Senator Ed Markey asked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg about reports that his company has long known its group recommendations push people toward more extreme content. Zuckerberg responded that the company had actually disabled […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook hits pause on algorithmic recommendations for political and social issue groups October 31, 2020 at 09:00AM

Facebook is limiting distribution of ‘save our children’ hashtag over QAnon ties Facebook today confirmed that it will be limiting the distribution of the hashtag “save our children.” Over the past several months, the phrase — and ones like it — have become associated with QAnon. These terms have served to provide a kind of innocuous cover for the popular online conspiracy theory. A spokesperson for the […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook is limiting distribution of ‘save our children’ hashtag over QAnon ties October 31, 2020 at 04:00AM

Cloud infrastructure revenue grows 33% this quarter to almost $33B The cloud infrastructure market kept growing at a brisk pace last quarter, as the pandemic continued to push more companies to the cloud with offices shut down in much of the world. This week the big three — Amazon, Microsoft and Google — all reported their numbers and as expected the news was good with […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Cloud infrastructure revenue grows 33% this quarter to almost $33B October 31, 2020 at 01:00AM

Twitter revenue rises 14%, but user growth fails to impress Twitter continued to see its total traffic rise in the third quarter, thanks to that trifecta of returning sports, the presidential campaign and the COVID-19 pandemic. But there wasn’t nearly enough growth to appease Wall Street.  Twitter beat out analyst expectations on revenue and net income; However, Wall Street was stuck on Twitter’s user user […] Social – TechCrunch - Twitter revenue rises 14%, but user growth fails to impress October 30, 2020 at 07:00AM

Donut launches Watercooler, an easy way to socialize online with coworkers If you miss hanging out with your coworkers but don’t want to spend a single second more on Zoom, the latest product from Donut might be the answer. The startup is launching its new Watercooler product today while also announcing that it has raised $12 million in total funding, led by Accel and with participation from […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Donut launches Watercooler, an easy way to socialize online with coworkers October 30, 2020 at 02:00AM

Intel acquires SigOpt, a specialist in modeling optimization, to boost its AI business Intel has been doubling down on building chips and related architecture for the next generation of computing, and today it announced an acquisition that will bolster its expertise and work specifically in one area of future technology: artificial intelligence. The semiconductor giant today announced that it has acquired SigOpt, a startup out of San Francisco […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Intel acquires SigOpt, a specialist in modeling optimization, to boost its AI business October 30, 2020 at 01:00AM

More chip industry action as Marvell is acquiring Inphi for $10B It’s been quite a time for chip industry consolidation, and today Marvell joined the acquisition parade when it announced it is acquiring Inphi in a combination of stock and cash valued at approximately $10 billion, according to the company. Marvell CEO Matt Murphy believes that by adding Inphi, a chip maker that helps connect internal […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - More chip industry action as Marvell is acquiring Inphi for $10B October 30, 2020 at 12:03AM

Twitter’s API access changes are chasing away third-party developers For a civil society with healthy online discourse, journalists, academics and human rights workers need tools to fact check the platform’s announcements and policies. Social – TechCrunch - Twitter’s API access changes are chasing away third-party developers October 30, 2020 at 12:03AM

Redpoint and Sequoia are backing a startup to copy edit your shit code Code is the lifeblood of the modern world, yet the tooling for some programming environments can be remarkably spartan. While developers have long had access to graphical programming environments (IDEs) and performance profilers and debuggers, advanced products to analyze and improve lines of code have been harder to find. These days, the most typical tool […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Redpoint and Sequoia are backing a startup to copy edit your shit code October 30, 2020 at 12:03AM

Sinch announces Conversation API to bring together multiple messaging tools As communicating with customers across the world grows ever more challenging due to multiple channels, tools and networking providers, companies are looking for a way to simplify it all. Sinch, a company that makes communications APIs, announced a new tool this morning called the Conversation API designed to make it easier to interact with customers […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Sinch announces Conversation API to bring together multiple messaging tools October 29, 2020 at 11:01PM

Microsoft now lets you bring your own data types to Excel Over the course of the last few years, Microsoft started adding the concept of ‘data types’ to Excel, that is, the ability to pull in geography and real-time stock data from the cloud, for example. Thanks to its partnership with Wolfram, Excel now features over 100 of these data types that can flow into a […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Microsoft now lets you bring your own data types to Excel October 29, 2020 at 11:01PM

Trump hints at stopping “powerful” big tech in latest ‘get out the vote’ tweet If there was any doubt that yesterday’s flogging of big tech CEOs by Senate republicans was anything other than an electioneering stunt, president Trump has thumped the point home by tweeting a video message to voters in which he bashes “big tech” as (maybe) too powerful but certainly in need of being “spoken to” and […] Social – TechCrunch - Trump hints at stopping “powerful” big tech in latest ‘get out the vote’ tweet October 29, 2020 at 08:00PM

LinkedIn’s Career Explorer helps you identify new kinds of jobs based on the skills you have One of the key side-effects of the Covid-19 pandemic has been how it has played out in the economy. There are currently 12.6 million people out of work in the U.S. alone, with estimates from the International Labour Organization noting that globally number some 245 million full-time jobs have been impacted. To meet some of […] Social – TechCrunch - LinkedIn’s Career Explorer helps you identify new kinds of jobs based on the skills you have October 29, 2020 at 02:00PM

We need new business models to burst old media filter bubbles It’s time for us to think critically about how we can build business models that reunite information bubbles, so that people consistently get access to all sides of the story. Social – TechCrunch - We need new business models to burst old media filter bubbles October 29, 2020 at 07:00AM

True, the social networking app that promises to ‘protect your privacy,’ exposed private messages and user locations True bills itself as the social networking app that will “protect your privacy.” But a security lapse left one of its servers exposed — and spilling private user data to the internet for anyone to find. The app was launched in 2017 by Hello Mobile, a little-known virtual cell carrier that piggybacks off T-Mobile’s network. […] Social – TechCrunch - True, the social networking app that promises to ‘protect your privacy,’ exposed private messages and user locations October 29, 2020 at 06:03AM

Qualtrics CEO Ryan Smith is buying majority stake in the Utah Jazz for $1.6B The Utah Jazz, an NBA basketball team based in Salt Lake City, announced today that Qualitrics CEO and co-founder Ryan Smith was buying a majority stake in the team along other properties. ESPN is reporting the deal is worth $1.6 billion. Smith can afford it. He sold Qualtrics, which is based in Provo, Utah, in […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Qualtrics CEO Ryan Smith is buying majority stake in the Utah Jazz for $1.6B October 29, 2020 at 03:00AM

Kandji hauls in $21M Series A as Apple device management flourishes during pandemic Kandji, a mobile device management (MDM) startup, launched last October. That means it was trying to build the early stage company just as the pandemic hit earlier this year. But a company that helps manage devices remotely has been in demand in this environment, and today it announced a $21 million Series A. Greycroft led […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Kandji hauls in $21M Series A as Apple device management flourishes during pandemic October 28, 2020 at 11:00PM

That dreadful VPN might finally be dead thanks to Twingate, a new startup built by Dropbox alums VPNs, or virtual private networks, are a mainstay of corporate network security (and also consumers trying to stream Netflix while pretending to be from other countries). VPNs create an encrypted channel between your device (a laptop or a smartphone) and a company’s servers. All of your internet traffic gets routed through the company’s IT infrastructure, […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - That dreadful VPN might finally be dead thanks to Twingate, a new startup built by Dropbox alums October 28, 2020 at 11:00PM

Enso Security raises $6M for its application security management platform Enso Security, a Tel Aviv-based startup that is building a new application security platform, today announced that it has raised a $6 million seed funding round led by YL Ventures, with participation from Jump Capital. Angel investors in this round include HackerOne co-founder and CTO Alex Rice; Sounil Yu, the former chief security scientist at […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Enso Security raises $6M for its application security management platform October 28, 2020 at 11:00PM

MachEye raises $4.6M for its business intelligence platform We’ve seen our fair share of business intelligence (BI) platforms that aim to make data analysis accessible to everybody in a company. Most of them are still fairly complicated, no matter what their marketing copy says. MachEye, which is launching its AI-powered BI platform today, is offering a new twist on this genre. In addition […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - MachEye raises $4.6M for its business intelligence platform October 28, 2020 at 10:00PM

Daily Crunch: Zoom adds end-to-end encryption to free calls Zoom adds a much-requested feature (but with a catch), TikTok partners with Shopify and Jack Dorsey lays out his argument for tomorrow’s Senate hearing. This is your Daily Crunch for October 27, 2020. The big story: Zoom adds end-to-end encryption to free calls Zoom was criticized earlier this year for saying it would only offer […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Daily Crunch: Zoom adds end-to-end encryption to free calls October 28, 2020 at 08:00AM

Instagram extends time limits on live streams to 4 hours, will soon support archiving Instagram is adapting to the way creators have been using its service during the coronavirus pandemic. With individuals and businesses now limited from hosting in-person events — like concerts, classes, meetups, and more — users have turned to Instagram to live stream instead. Today, the company says it’s significantly expanding the time limit for these […] Social – TechCrunch - Instagram extends time limits on live streams to 4 hours, will soon support archiving October 28, 2020 at 04:00AM

Upstream aims to be the new home for your professional social life Last fall, social analytics startup SocialRank sold its product and business to Trufan, allowing the team to focus on something new: a professional social network. Today, they’re officially unveiling Upstream to the public. To be clear, CEO Alex Taub told me that he’s not trying to replace LinkedIn — he acknowledged that thanks to network effects,”If you […] Social – TechCrunch - Upstream aims to be the new home for your professional social life October 28, 2020 at 01:00AM

Rockset announces $40M Series B as data analytics solution gains momentum Rockset, a cloud-native analytics company, announced a $40 million Series B investment today led by Sequoia with help from Greylock, the same two firms that financed its Series A. The startup has now raised a total of $61.5 million, according to the company. As co-founder and CEO Venkat Venkataramani told me at the time of […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Rockset announces $40M Series B as data analytics solution gains momentum October 28, 2020 at 01:00AM

Lightyear scores $3.7M seed to digitize networking infrastructure procurement Lightyear, a New York City startup that wants to make it easier for large companies to procure networking infrastructure like internet and SD-WAN, announced a $3.7 million seed round today. While it was at it, the company announced that it was emerging from stealth and offering its solution in public beta. Amplo led the round […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Lightyear scores $3.7M seed to digitize networking infrastructure procurement October 28, 2020 at 12:01AM

Vimeo introduces free video messaging with Vimeo Record Vimeo Record is a new product that allows teams to communicate through video messages. Vimeo CEO Anjali Sud said that while the pandemic has prompted many offices to embrace digital communication tools like Zoom, “There’s a whole host of work communication that needs asynchronous messaging.” Besides, sometimes a video can get your message across more […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Vimeo introduces free video messaging with Vimeo Record October 28, 2020 at 12:01AM

Top Facebook India executive Ankhi Das leaves the company Ankhi Das, a top Facebook executive in India, is leaving the company on Tuesday months after she was alleged to interfere in the company’s hate speech policy in the country to show favoritism to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Facebook has denied the allegations, and people close to Das (pictured above) said her departure was […] Social – TechCrunch - Top Facebook India executive Ankhi Das leaves the company October 27, 2020 at 11:00PM

TikTok partners with Shopify on social commerce TikTok is further investing in social commerce with today’s announcement of a new global partnership with e-commerce platform Shopify. The deal aims to make it easier for Shopify’s over 1 million merchants to reach TikTok’s younger audience and drive sales. The partnership will eventually expand to include other in-app shopping features, as well, the companies […] Social – TechCrunch - TikTok partners with Shopify on social commerce October 27, 2020 at 11:00PM

SimilarWeb raises $120M for its AI-based market intelligence platform for sites and apps Israeli startup SimilarWeb has made a name for itself with an AI-based platform that lets sites and apps track and understand traffic not just on their own sites, but those of its competitors. Now, it’s taking the next step in its growth. The startup has raised $120 million, funding it will use to continue expanding […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - SimilarWeb raises $120M for its AI-based market intelligence platform for sites and apps October 27, 2020 at 10:00PM

AMD grabs Xilinx for $35 billion as chip industry consolidation continues The chip industry consolidation dance continued this morning as AMD has entered into an agreement to buy Xilinx for $35 billion, giving the company access to a broad set of specialized workloads. AMD sees this deal as combining two companies that complement each other’s strengths without cannibalizing its own markets. CEO Lisa Su believes the […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - AMD grabs Xilinx for $35 billion as chip industry consolidation continues October 27, 2020 at 10:00PM

Face to Face, Tinder’s opt-in video chat feature, is now rolling out globally Tinder, currently the world’s biggest biggest dating app for people to find matches and connect with them, is expanding another feature today to extend the time people spend in the app, and the communications they can have within it. Face to Face, an opt-in-only feature that Tinder launched earlier this year that lets users video […] Social – TechCrunch - Face to Face, Tinder’s opt-in video chat feature, is now rolling out globally October 27, 2020 at 09:00PM

Video creation and editing platform InVideo raises $15 million InVideo, a Mumbai-based startup that has built a video creation and editing platform, has raised $15 million as it looks to court more users and customers worldwide. The startup offers a freemium web-based editing tool that allows users to create videos that are fit to be published on popular social media platforms (such as Twitter, […] Social – TechCrunch - Video creation and editing platform InVideo raises $15 million October 27, 2020 at 06:00PM

Former Facebook and Pinterest exec Tim Kendall traces “extractive business models” to VCs Last month, former Facebook and Pinterest executive Tim Kendall told Congress during a House hearing on the dangers of social media that Facebook made its products so addictive because its ad-driven business model relies on people paying attention to its product longer every day. He said much the same in the Netflix documentary “The Social […] Social – TechCrunch - Former Facebook and Pinterest exec Tim Kendall traces “extractive business models” to VCs October 27, 2020 at 03:00PM

Daily Crunch: Facebook launches cloud gaming service Facebook gets into cloud gaming while continuing its public dispute with Apple, Ant Group prepares for a massive IPO and Pinterest embraces iOS widgets. This is your Daily Crunch for October 26, 2020. The big story: Facebook launches cloud gaming service Facebook is launching a cloud gaming service of its very own, although the focus […] Social – TechCrunch - Daily Crunch: Facebook launches cloud gaming service October 27, 2020 at 03:00PM

Decrypted: How Twitter was hacked, GitHub DMCA backfires One week to the U.S. presidential election and things are getting spicy. It’s not just the rhetoric — hackers are actively working to disrupt the election, officials have said, and last week they came with a concrete example and an unusually quick pointing of blame. On Wednesday night, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe blamed […] Social – TechCrunch - Decrypted: How Twitter was hacked, GitHub DMCA backfires October 27, 2020 at 08:35AM

Twitter starts showing all US users election misinformation warnings Starting today, Twitter users in the U.S. will see two large notices at the top of their feeds that aim to “preemptively debunk” misinformation related to voting. The striking messages are designed to push back against the deluge of false claims about the 2020 election. One notice warns users that they “might encounter misleading information” […] Social – TechCrunch - Twitter starts showing all US users election misinformation warnings October 27, 2020 at 08:35AM

Freshworks (re-)launches its CRM service Freshworks, the customer and employee engagement company that offers a range of products, from call center and customer support software to HR tools and marketing automation services, today announced the launch of its newest product: Freshworks CRM. The new service, which the company built on top of its new Freshworks Neo platform, is meant to […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Freshworks (re-)launches its CRM service October 27, 2020 at 08:35AM

DataFleets keeps private data useful and useful data private with federated learning and $4.5M seed As you may already know, there’s a lot of data out there, and some of it could actually be pretty useful. But privacy and security considerations often put strict limitations on how it can be used or analyzed. DataFleets promises a new approach by which databases can be safely accessed and analyzed without the possibility […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - DataFleets keeps private data useful and useful data private with federated learning and $4.5M seed October 27, 2020 at 08:35AM

The No-Code Generation is arriving In the distant past, there was a proverbial “digital divide” that bifurcated workers into those who knew how to use computers and those who didn’t.[1] Young Gen Xers and their later millennial companions grew up with Power Macs and Wintel boxes, and that experience made them native users on how to make these technologies do […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - The No-Code Generation is arriving October 27, 2020 at 08:35AM

SAP shares fall sharply after COVID-19 cuts revenue, profit forecast at software giant SAP announced its Q3 earnings yesterday, with its aggregate results down across the board. And after missing earnings expectations, the company also revised its 2021 outlook down. The combined bad news spooked investors, crashing its shares by over 20% in pre-market trading and the stock wasn’t showing any signs of improving in early trading. The […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - SAP shares fall sharply after COVID-19 cuts revenue, profit forecast at software giant October 27, 2020 at 08:35AM

Dropbox begins shift to high efficiency Western Digital Shingled Magnetic Recording disks Last year, Dropbox talked about making a shift to Shingled Magnetic Recording or SMR disks for short because of the efficiency they can give a high volume storage platform like theirs. Today, Western Digital announced that Dropbox was one of the first companies to qualify their Ultrastar® DC HC650 20TB, host-managed SMR hard disks. Dropbox’s […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Dropbox begins shift to high efficiency Western Digital Shingled Magnetic Recording disks October 26, 2020 at 11:49PM

Daily Crunch: Facebook Dating comes to Europe Facebook’s dating feature expands after a regulatory delay, we review the new Amazon Echo and President Donald Trump has an on-the-nose Twitter password. This is your Daily Crunch for October 22, 2020. The big story: Facebook Dating comes to Europe Back in February, Facebook had to call off the European launch date of its dating […] Social – TechCrunch - Daily Crunch: Facebook Dating comes to Europe October 23, 2020 at 08:00AM

Extra Crunch Partner Perk: Get 6 months free of Zendesk Support and Sales CRM We’re excited to announce an update to the Extra Crunch Partner Perk from Zendesk. Starting today, annual and two-year Extra Crunch members that are new to Zendesk, and meet their startup qualifications, can now receive six months of free access to Zendesk’s Sales CRM, in addition to Zendesk Support Suite, Zendesk Explore and Zendesk Sunshine. […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Extra Crunch Partner Perk: Get 6 months free of Zendesk Support and Sales CRM October 23, 2020 at 08:00AM

President Trump’s Twitter accessed by security expert who guessed password ‘maga2020!’ A Dutch security researcher says he accessed President Trump’s @realDonaldTrump Twitter account last week by guessing his password: “maga2020!”. Victor Gevers, a security researcher at the GDI Foundation and chair of the Dutch Institute for Vulnerability Disclosure, which finds and reports security vulnerabilities, told TechCrunch he guessed the president’s account password and was successful on […] Social – TechCrunch - President Trump’s Twitter accessed by security expert who guessed password ‘maga2020!’ October 23, 2020 at 07:00AM

3 reforms social media platforms should make in light of ‘The Social Dilemma’ The industry needs to change to create more engaged and genuine spaces for people to connect without preying on human psychology. Social – TechCrunch - 3 reforms social media platforms should make in light of ‘The Social Dilemma’ October 23, 2020 at 04:00AM

Facebook’s controversial Oversight Board starts reviewing content moderation cases Facebook’s external body of decision makers will start reviewing cases about what stays on the platform and what goes beginning today. The new system will elevate some of the platform’s content moderation decisions to a new group called the Facebook Oversight Board, which will make decisions and influence precedents about what kind of content should […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook’s controversial Oversight Board starts reviewing content moderation cases October 23, 2020 at 03:00AM

Customer experience and digital transformation concepts are merging during the pandemic Customer experience and digital transformation are two terms we’ve been hearing about for years, but have often remained nebulous in many organizations — something to aspire to perhaps, but not take completely seriously. Yet the pandemic has been a forcing event for both concepts, thrusting the ideas front and center. Suddenly startups that help with […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Customer experience and digital transformation concepts are merging during the pandemic October 23, 2020 at 02:00AM

Harness delivers enterprise continuous integration on heels of Drone.io acquisition In August, Harness made its first acquisition when it bought open source continuous integration startup Drone.io. The company didn’t waste any time building on that purchase, announcing a new enterprise continuous integration tool today to go alongside the open source project Drone has been building. The Harness software development platform consists of various modules and […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Harness delivers enterprise continuous integration on heels of Drone.io acquisition October 23, 2020 at 02:00AM

Facebook adds hosting, shopping features, and pricing tiers to WhatsApp Business Facebook has been making a big play to be a go-to partner for small and medium businesses that use the internet to interface with the wider world, and its messaging platform WhatsApp, with some 50 million businesses and 175 million people messaging them (and more than 2 billion users overall), has been a central part […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook adds hosting, shopping features, and pricing tiers to WhatsApp Business October 22, 2020 at 11:00PM

Facebook adds hosting, shopping features, and pricing tiers to WhatsApp Business Facebook has been making a big play to be a go-to partner for small and medium businesses that use the internet to interface with the wider world, and its messaging platform WhatsApp, with some 50 million businesses and 175 million people messaging them (and more than 2 billion users overall), has been a central part […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Facebook adds hosting, shopping features, and pricing tiers to WhatsApp Business October 22, 2020 at 11:00PM

Facebook Dating launches in Europe after 9-month+ delay over privacy concerns Facebook’s dating bolt-on to its eponymous social networking service has finally launched in Europe, more than nine months after an earlier launch plan was derailed at the last minute over privacy concerns. From today, European Facebook users in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook Dating launches in Europe after 9-month+ delay over privacy concerns October 22, 2020 at 06:00PM

TikTok details how it’s taking further action against hateful ideologies TikTok said on Wednesday it’s strengthening its enforcement actions against hate speech and hateful ideologies to include “neighboring ideologies,” like white nationalism and others, as well as statements that emerge from those ideologies. In a blog post, TikTok explained that it regularly evaluates its enforcement processes with the help of global experts to determine when […] Social – TechCrunch - TikTok details how it’s taking further action against hateful ideologies October 22, 2020 at 04:00AM

Secureframe raises $4.5M to help businesses speed up their compliance audits While certifications for security management practices like SOC 2 and ISO 27001 have been around for a while, the number of companies that now request that their software vendors go through (and pass) the audits to be in compliance with these continues to increase. For a lot of companies, that’s a harrowing process, so it’s […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Secureframe raises $4.5M to help businesses speed up their compliance audits October 22, 2020 at 03:00AM

Contrast launches its security observability platform Contrast, a developer-centric application security company with customers that include Liberty Mutual Insurance, NTT Data, AXA and Bandwidth, today announced the launch of its security observability platform. The idea here is to offer developers a single pane of glass to manage an application’s security across its lifecycle, combined with real-time analysis and reporting, as well […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Contrast launches its security observability platform October 22, 2020 at 03:00AM

Lessons from Datto’s IPO pricing and revenue multiple Last night Datto priced its IPO at $27 per share, the top end of its range that TechCrunch covered last week. The data and security-focused software company had targeted a $24 to $27 per-share IPO price range, meaning that its final per-share value was at the top of its estimates. The Exchange explores startups, markets […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Lessons from Datto’s IPO pricing and revenue multiple October 22, 2020 at 02:00AM

Wrike launches new AI tools to keep your projects on track Project management service Wrike today announced a major update to its platform at its user conference that includes a lot of new AI smarts for keeping individual projects on track and on time, as well as new solutions for marketers and project management offices in large corporations. In addition, the company also launched a new […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Wrike launches new AI tools to keep your projects on track October 22, 2020 at 02:00AM

Facebook is working on Neighborhoods, a Nextdoor clone based on local groups Using social networks to connect with neighbors and local services has surged during the Covid-19 pandemic, and Facebook — with 2.7 billion users globally — is now looking at how it can tap into that in a more direct way. In the same week that it was reported that Nextdoor is reportedly gearing up to […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook is working on Neighborhoods, a Nextdoor clone based on local groups October 21, 2020 at 09:00PM

Gowalla is being resurrected as an augmented reality social app Gowalla is coming back. The startup, which longtime TechCrunch readers will likely recall, was an ambitious consumer social app that excited Silicon Valley investors but ultimately floundered in its quest to take on Foursquare before an eventual $3 million acqui-hire in 2011 brought the company’s talent to Facebook. The story certainly seemed destined to end […] Social – TechCrunch - Gowalla is being resurrected as an augmented reality social app October 21, 2020 at 07:00AM

Egnyte introduces new features to help deal with security/governance during pandemic The pandemic has put stress on companies dealing with a workforce that is mostly — and sometimes suddenly — working from home. That has led to rising needs for security and governance tooling, something that Egnyte is looking to meet with new features aimed at helping companies cope with file management during the pandemic. Egnyte […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Egnyte introduces new features to help deal with security/governance during pandemic October 21, 2020 at 03:00AM

Google announces slew of Chrome OS features to help extend enterprise usage As companies have moved to work from home this year, working on the internet has become the norm, and it turns out that Chrome OS was an operating system built for cloud-based applications. But most enterprise use cases are a bit more complex, and Google introduced some new features today to make it easier for […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Google announces slew of Chrome OS features to help extend enterprise usage October 21, 2020 at 03:00AM

Call analytics platform Invoca expands into sales, e-commerce and customer experience Invoca, which helps companies extract and use data from customer phone calls, is expanding today with the launch of products for e-commerce, customer experience and sales teams, as well as a new Invoca Exchange, where businesses can find all of the platform’s third-party integrations. The company is making these announcements as part of its virtual […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Call analytics platform Invoca expands into sales, e-commerce and customer experience October 21, 2020 at 02:00AM

Instagram rolls out fan badges for live videos, expands IGTV ads test Instagram is today introducing a new way for creators to make money. The company is now rolling out badges in Instagram Live to an initial group of over 50,000 creators, who will be able to offer their fans the ability to purchase badges during their live videos to stand out in the comments and show […] Social – TechCrunch - Instagram rolls out fan badges for live videos, expands IGTV ads test October 21, 2020 at 12:03AM

Stampli, an invoice management software startup, launches a payments product Stampli, a collaborative invoice management software company, introduced a payments product today called Stampli Direct Pay. The startup launched back in 2015 with a mission to simplify invoice management through collaboration (and a dash of AI). Interestingly, Stampli said it was uninterested at the time in providing a payments product alongside its collaborative suite, focusing […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Stampli, an invoice management software startup, launches a payments product October 21, 2020 at 12:03AM

Microsoft debuts Azure Space to cater to the space industry, partners with SpaceX for Starlink datacenter broadband Microsoft is taking its Azure cloud computing platform to the final frontier – space. It now has a dedicated business unit called Azure Space for that purpose, made up of industry heavyweights and engineers who are focused on space-sector services including simulation of space missions, gathering and interpreting satellite data to provide insights, and providing […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Microsoft debuts Azure Space to cater to the space industry, partners with SpaceX for Starlink datacenter broadband October 20, 2020 at 11:00PM

Handshake raises $80M more to build a more diversity-focused LinkedIn for college students College graduates this year (and perhaps in the near-term) have been looking for work in what is one of the most challenging job markets in a decade due to the coronavirus and its impacts on the economy and how people can interact with each other. Today, a startup that’s helping them with that job hunting […] Social – TechCrunch - Handshake raises $80M more to build a more diversity-focused LinkedIn for college students October 20, 2020 at 10:00PM

Splunk acquires Plumbr and Rigor to build out its observability platform Data platform Splunk today announced that it has acquired two startups, Plumbr and Rigor, to build out its new Observability Suite, which is also launching today. Plumbr is an application performance monitoring service, while Rigor focuses on digital experience monitoring, using synthetic monitoring and optimization tools to help businesses optimize their end-user experiences. Both of […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Splunk acquires Plumbr and Rigor to build out its observability platform October 20, 2020 at 10:00PM

Vectary, a design platform for 3D and AR, raises $7.3M from EQT and Blueyard Vectary, a design platform for 3D and Augmented Reality (AR), has raised a $7.3 million round led by European fund EQT Ventures. Existing investor BlueYard (Berlin) also participated. Vectary makes high-quality 3D design more accessible for consumers, garnering over one million creators worldwide, and has more than a thousand digital agencies and creative studios as […] Social – TechCrunch - Vectary, a design platform for 3D and AR, raises $7.3M from EQT and Blueyard October 20, 2020 at 09:00PM

Dublin’s LearnUpon raises $56M for its online learning management system for enterprises One big technology by-product of the Covid-19 pandemic has been a much stronger focus on online education solutions — providing the tools for students to continue learning when the public health situation is preventing them from going into physical classrooms. As it happens, that paradigm also applies to the business world. Today, a startup out […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Dublin’s LearnUpon raises $56M for its online learning management system for enterprises October 20, 2020 at 08:00PM

Intel agrees to sell its NAND business to SK Hynix for $9 billion SK Hynix, one of the world’s largest chip makers, announced today it will pay $9 billion for Intel’s flash memory business. Intel said it will use proceeds from the deal to focus on artificial intelligence, 5G and edge computing. “For Intel, this transaction will allow us to to further prioritize our investments in differentiated technology […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Intel agrees to sell its NAND business to SK Hynix for $9 billion October 20, 2020 at 03:00PM

Daily Crunch: Pakistan un-bans TikTok TikTok returns to Pakistan, Apple launches a music-focused streaming station and SpaceX launches more Starlink satellites. This is your Daily Crunch for October 19, 2020. The big story: Pakistan un-bans TikTok The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority blocked the video app 11 days ago, over what it described as “immoral,” “obscene” and “vulgar” videos. The authority said […] Social – TechCrunch - Daily Crunch: Pakistan un-bans TikTok October 20, 2020 at 08:00AM

Who regulates social media? Social media platforms have repeatedly found themselves in the United States government’s crosshairs over the last few years, as it has been progressively revealed just how much power they really wield, and to what purposes they’ve chosen to wield it. But unlike, say, a firearm or drug manufacturer, there is no designated authority who says […] Social – TechCrunch - Who regulates social media? October 20, 2020 at 06:03AM

Juniper Networks acquires Boston-area AI SD-WAN startup 128 Technology for $450M Today Juniper Networks announced it was acquiring smart wide area networking startup 128 Technology for $450 million. This marks the second AI-fueled networking company Juniper has acquired in the last year and a half after purchasing Mist Systems in March 2019 for $405 million. With 128 Technology, the company gets more AI SD-WAN technology. SD-WAN […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Juniper Networks acquires Boston-area AI SD-WAN startup 128 Technology for $450M October 20, 2020 at 05:00AM

The OpenStack Foundation becomes the Open Infrastructure Foundation This has been a long time coming, but the OpenStack foundation today announced that it is changing its name to ‘Open Infrastructure Foundation,” starting in 2021. The announcement, which the foundation made at its virtual developer conference, doesn’t exactly come as a surprise. Over the course of the last few years, the organization started adding […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - The OpenStack Foundation becomes the Open Infrastructure Foundation October 20, 2020 at 01:00AM

Facebook introduces a new Messenger API with support for Instagram Following the updates to Instagram and Messenger that delivered cross-app communication and other features, Facebook today announced its Messenger API has also been updated to allow businesses to manage their communications across Instagram, in addition to Messenger . Before today, businesses could only respond to customer inquiries through the Instagram app and through Facebook’s unified […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook introduces a new Messenger API with support for Instagram October 20, 2020 at 12:02AM

Pakistan lifts ban on TikTok Pakistan Telecommunication Authority said on Monday it has lifted the ban on TikTok, 11 days after the South Asian nation’s telecom authority blocked the popular short video app in the country over problematic videos on the platform. The authority, however, warned that TikTok needs to actively moderate content on its app or else it will […] Social – TechCrunch - Pakistan lifts ban on TikTok October 19, 2020 at 10:00PM

Instagram’s handling of kids’ data is now being probed in the EU Facebook’s lead data regulator in Europe has opened another two probes into its business empire — both focused on how the Instagram platform processes children’s information. The action by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC), reported earlier by the Telegraph, comes more than a year after a US data scientist reported concerns to Instagram that its […] Social – TechCrunch - Instagram’s handling of kids’ data is now being probed in the EU October 19, 2020 at 08:00PM

Daily Crunch: Twitter walks back New York Post decision A New York Post story forces social platforms to make (and in Twitter’s case, reverse) some difficult choices, Sony announces a new 3D display and fitness startup Future raises $24 million. This is your Daily Crunch for October 16, 2020. The big story: Twitter walks back New York Post decision A recent New York Post […] Social – TechCrunch - Daily Crunch: Twitter walks back New York Post decision October 17, 2020 at 08:00AM

Twitter is now allowing users to share that controversial New York Post story Twitter has taken another step back from its initial decision to block users from sharing links to or images of a New York Post story reporting on emails and other data supposedly originating on a laptop belonging to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s son Hunter. The story, which alleged that Hunter Biden had set up […] Social – TechCrunch - Twitter is now allowing users to share that controversial New York Post story October 17, 2020 at 07:00AM

Lawmatics raises $2.5M to help lawyers market themselves Lawmatics, a San Diego startup that’s building marketing and CRM software for lawyers, is announcing that it has raised $2.5 million in seed funding. CEO Matt Spiegel used to practice law himself, and he told me that even though tech companies have a wide range of marketing tools to choose from, “lawyers have not been […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Lawmatics raises $2.5M to help lawyers market themselves October 17, 2020 at 06:02AM

Private equity firms can offer enterprise startups a viable exit option Four years ago, Ping Identity was at a crossroads. A venerable player in the single sign-on market, its product was not a market leader, and after 14 years and $128 million in venture capital, it needed to find a new path. While the company had once discussed an IPO, by 2016 it began putting out […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Private equity firms can offer enterprise startups a viable exit option October 17, 2020 at 04:00AM

We need universal digital ad transparency now We propose a new standard for universal ad disclosure that should be met by every platform that publishes digital ads. Social – TechCrunch - We need universal digital ad transparency now October 17, 2020 at 02:00AM

Twitter changes its hacked materials policy in wake of New York Post controversy Twitter has announced an update to its hacked materials policy — saying it will no longer remove hacked content unless it’s directly shared by hackers or those “acting in concert with them”. Instead of blocking such content/links from being shared on its service it says it will label tweets to “provide context”. Wider Twitter rules […] Social – TechCrunch - Twitter changes its hacked materials policy in wake of New York Post controversy October 16, 2020 at 07:00PM

YouTube bans videos promoting conspiracy theories like QAnon that target individuals YouTube today joined social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter in taking more direct action to prohibit the distribution of conspiracy theories like QAnon. The company announced that it is expanding its hate and harassment policies to ban videos “that [target] an individual or group with conspiracy theories that have been used to justify real-world violence,” according to […] Social – TechCrunch - YouTube bans videos promoting conspiracy theories like QAnon that target individuals October 16, 2020 at 07:00AM

Temporal raises $18.75M for its microservices orchestration platform Temporal, a Seattle-based startup that is building an open-source, stateful microservices orchestration platform, today announced that it has raised an $18.75 million Series A round led by Sequoia Ventures. Existing investors Addition Ventures and Amplify Partners also joined, together with new investor Madrona Venture Group. With this, the company has now raised a total of […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Temporal raises $18.75M for its microservices orchestration platform October 16, 2020 at 02:00AM

Pew: Most prolific Twitter users tend to be Democrats, but majority of users still rarely tweet A new study from Pew Research Center, released today, digs into the different ways that U.S. Democrats and Republicans use Twitter. Based on data collected between Nov. 11, 2019 and Sept. 14, 2020, the study finds that members of both parties tweet fairly infrequently, but a majority of Twitter’s most prolific users tend to swing […] Social – TechCrunch - Pew: Most prolific Twitter users tend to be Democrats, but majority of users still rarely tweet October 16, 2020 at 01:00AM

Snapchat launches its TikTok rival, Sounds on Snapchat Snapchat this summer announced it would soon release a new music-powered feature that would allow users to set their Snaps to music. Today, the company made good on that promise with the launch of “Sounds on Snapchat” on iOS, a feature that lets users enhance their Snaps with music from curated catalog of both emerging […] Social – TechCrunch - Snapchat launches its TikTok rival, Sounds on Snapchat October 16, 2020 at 12:03AM

Application security platform NeuraLegion raises $4.7 million seed led by DNX Ventures Application security platform NeuraLegion announced today it has raised a $4.7 million seed round led by DNX Ventures, an enterprise-focused investment firm. The funding included participation from Fusion Fund, J-Ventures and Incubate Fund. The startup also announced the launch of a new self-serve, community version that allows developers to sign up on their own for […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Application security platform NeuraLegion raises $4.7 million seed led by DNX Ventures October 16, 2020 at 12:03AM

France and the Netherlands signal support for EU body to clip the wings of big tech The French and Dutch governments have signalled support for EU rules that can proactively intervene against so-called gatekeepers, aka “structuring platforms” or “large digital platforms with significant network effects acting as gatekeepers” — or, more colloquially, ‘big tech’. They have also called for a single European body with enforcement powers over such platforms — and […] Social – TechCrunch - France and the Netherlands signal support for EU body to clip the wings of big tech October 15, 2020 at 11:00PM

Armory nabs $40M Series C as commercial biz on top of open source Spinnaker project takes off As companies continue to shift more quickly to the cloud, pushed by the pandemic, startups like Armory that work in the cloud native space are seeing an uptick in interest. Armory is a company built to be commercial layer on top of the open source continuous delivery project Spinnaker. Today, it announced a $40 million […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Armory nabs $40M Series C as commercial biz on top of open source Spinnaker project takes off October 14, 2020 at 12:02AM

If data is labor, can collective bargaining limit big tech? What if consumer platforms had to do business with large coalitions representing ordinary peoples to get the right to exploit their data? Social – TechCrunch - If data is labor, can collective bargaining limit big tech? October 13, 2020 at 04:00AM

Facebook, in a reversal, will now ban Holocaust denial content under its hate-speech policy Facebook this morning announced a significant change in how it approaches Holocaust denial content on its social network. For years, the company has been criticized for not taking down this extremely offensive form of content in favor of allowing free speech and distancing itself from taking on the responsibilities of a traditional publisher. Today, it’s […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook, in a reversal, will now ban Holocaust denial content under its hate-speech policy October 13, 2020 at 02:00AM

Facebook EU-US data transfer complaint: Schrems gets a judicial review of the Irish DPC’s procedure Another twist in a multi-year complaint saga related to the legality of Facebook’s data transfers: European privacy campaigner Max Schrems has today been granted a judicial review of the Irish regulator’s handling of his complaint. He’s expecting the hearing to take place before the end of the year — and is hoping the action will, […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook EU-US data transfer complaint: Schrems gets a judicial review of the Irish DPC’s procedure October 13, 2020 at 02:00AM

Pakistan bans TikTok over ‘immoral and indecent’ videos Pakistan has banned popular short video app TikTok in the nation, citing circulation of videos that it deemed “immoral and indecent.” The move comes months after the South Asian country raised serious concerns about the nature of some videos on ByteDance’s app and the impact they posed on society. Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, the country’s telecommunication […] Social – TechCrunch - Pakistan bans TikTok over ‘immoral and indecent’ videos October 9, 2020 at 11:00PM

8 Common SwiftUI Mistakes - and how to fix them Write less code and get more done Hacking with Swift - 8 Common SwiftUI Mistakes - and how to fix them October 9, 2020 at 11:00PM

High-profile startup execs back Indian influencers platform CreatorOS The advent of low-cost Android smartphones and the world’s cheapest mobile data has paved the way for millions of social media influencers in India to amass a following of tens of millions of users in recent years. These influencers, also known as creators, share their daily vlogs, thoughts on a wide range of issues, and […] Social – TechCrunch - High-profile startup execs back Indian influencers platform CreatorOS October 9, 2020 at 10:00PM

Headroom, which uses AI to supercharge videoconferencing, raises $5M Videoconferencing has become a cornerstone of how many of us work these days — so much so that one leading service, Zoom, has graduated into verb status because of how much it’s getting used. But does that mean videoconferencing works as well as it should? Today, a new startup called Headroom is coming out of […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Headroom, which uses AI to supercharge videoconferencing, raises $5M October 9, 2020 at 01:00AM

IBM plans to spin off infrastructure services as a separate $19B business IBM, a company that originally made its name out of its leadership in building a myriad of enterprise hardware (quite literally: its name is an abbreviation for International Business Machines), is taking one more step away from that legacy and deeper into the world of cloud services. The company today announced that it plans to […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - IBM plans to spin off infrastructure services as a separate $19B business October 8, 2020 at 10:00PM

Grid AI raises $18.6M Series A to help AI researchers and engineers bring their models to production Grid AI, a startup founded by the inventor of the popular open-source PyTorch Lightning project, William Falcon, that aims to help machine learning engineers more efficiently, today announced that it has raised an $18.6 million Series A funding round, which closed earlier this summer. The round was led by Index Ventures, with participation from Bain […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Grid AI raises $18.6M Series A to help AI researchers and engineers bring their models to production October 8, 2020 at 10:00PM

Facebook: Trump can’t recruit ‘army’ of poll watchers under new voter intimidation rules In a blog post Wednesday, Facebook said it will no longer allow content that encourages poll watching that uses “militarized” language or intends to “intimidate, exert control, or display power over election officials or voters.” Facebook credited the update to its platform rules to civil rights experts who it worked with to create the policy. […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook: Trump can’t recruit ‘army’ of poll watchers under new voter intimidation rules October 8, 2020 at 09:00AM

Decrypted: The major ransomware attack you probably didn’t hear about Watching the news this past week was like drinking from a firehose. Speaking of which, you probably missed a busy week in cybersecurity, so here are the big stories from the past week. THE BIG PICTURE Blackbaud hack gets worse, as bank account data stolen Blackbaud, a cloud technology company used by colleges, universities, nonprofits […] Social – TechCrunch - Decrypted: The major ransomware attack you probably didn’t hear about October 8, 2020 at 05:00AM