inFotouch

Riley de León / CNBC : Online mortgage service Better.com to go public via a SPAC merger with Aurora Acquisition Corp. at $7.7B valuation; deal includes $1.5B SoftBank-led investment   —  - Digital mortgage lender Better will make its market debut by merging with Aurora Acquisition Corp., valuing the company at $7.7 billion. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2Qb0cAB

Mike Butcher / TechCrunch : Panaseer, whose platform helps companies correlate data from all available security tools to check assets, control gaps, and more, raises $26M Series B   —  Panaseer, which takes a data science approach to cybersecurity, has raised $26.5 million in a Series B funding led by AllegisCyber Capital. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2SEemel

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch : UK-based Huma, which uses AI and biomarkers to monitor patients at home and for medical research, raises $130M Series C that it can extend with a $70M debt line   —  While much of the world eagerly watches to see if the vaccination rollout helps curb and eventually stamp out Covid-19 … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2SLETGP

Stephen Nellis / Reuters : Big chip buyers, including Apple and Google, are joining top chip-makers like Intel to create a lobbying group for chip manufacturing subsidies   —  (Reuters) - Some of the world's biggest chip buyers, including Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp and Alphabet Inc's Google, are joining top chip-makers … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3w23vJR

Eric Benjamin Seufert / Mobile Dev Memo : Apple's ATT privacy policy is a commercial land grab dressed up as a moral crusade and it will ultimately subvert the open web and the freemium business model   —  Last week, Apple introduced a new ad unit to the App Store: a paid placement on its Search page.  —  Rumors of this new unit had circulated previously from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3eAMZdD

Paul Sawers / VentureBeat : Copenhagen-based contract automation service Contractbook raises $30M Series B led by Tiger Global   —  Join Transform 2021 this July 12-16.  Register fo r the AI event of the year.  —  Contractbook, a contract automation platform that claims users from companies such as Domino's, KPMG … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3bli5nQ

Karin Matussek / Bloomberg : Facebook ordered to stop collecting German users' WhatsApp data by regulator, starting with a three-month emergency ban on the data collection   —  - Hamburg regulator issues a three-month emergency order  — Watchdog calls new terms intransparent and overly broad from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3hiFN80

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch : Engageli, which develops collaborative video-based teaching software, raises $33M Series A, bringing its total raised to $47M+   —  As schools move more widely into reopening their doors for in-person learning, many educational institutions have also learned a critical lesson in the last year. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3tEqOrg

Reuters : Sources: Foxconn's iPhone output in India has dropped by more than 50% because of COVID-19 infections among workers   —  Production of the Apple iPhone 12 (AAPL.O) at a Foxconn (2317.TW) factory in India has slumped by more than 50% because workers infected with COVID-19 have had to leave their posts, two sources told Reuters. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3bkUGCZ

Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge : Dell upgrades the XPS 15 and XPS 17 laptops with Intel's 11th-Gen H-series processors and Nvidia's RTX 30-series laptop GPUs, starting at $1,200 and $1,400   —  10nm chips have come to Dell's most powerful laptops  —  Intel has just announced its new 11th Gen processors for more powerful laptops … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2RG6sAM

Devindra Hardawar / Engadget : Nvidia unveils the RTX 3050 and 3050 Ti laptop GPUs that bring ray tracing and AI features to affordable laptops for 1080p gaming, starting at ~$799   —  spoiled the surprise last month, it was only a matter of time until NVIDIA confirmed the existence of its new mainstream laptop GPUs. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3vP35Gy

Dr. Ian Cutress / AnandTech : Intel unveils 11th-gen Core Tiger Lake-H 10nm mobile processors for high-performance desktop and gaming, with five consumer chips and five commercial ones   —  Ever since the launch of the first series of Intel Core 11th Generation Tiger Lake processors aimed at the ‘U-series’ 15 W market … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3tEWIEd

@fbnewsroom : Starting today, we're testing a way to promote more informed sharing of news articles. If you go to share a news article link you haven't opened, we'll show a prompt encouraging you to open it and read it, before sharing it with others. https://twitter.com/... from Techmeme https://ift.tt/33ALENH

Manish Singh / TechCrunch : Google Pay users in the US can now send money to GPay users in India and Singapore; Google has partnered with Western Union and Wise to enable this feature   —  Google Pay users in the U.S. can now send money to GPay users in India and Singapore, Google said on Tuesday, making its first push into the remittances market. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3ob1QPd

Bloomberg : Uber and Lyft, which have set a 2030 deadline to transition entirely to EVs in the US, are providing little to no capital to help drivers transition to EVs   —  When Curt Kinder bought a new electric Chevy Bolt three years ago, he wanted an excuse to drive it as often as possible. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3bAqzaT

Ken Dilanian / NBC News : Officials say the DHS has started building a warning system to gather and analyze intelligence about domestic terrorism threats from public social media posts   —  WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security has begun implementing a strategy to gather and analyze intelligence … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2SC4HF7

The Verge : A county-by-county map of the broadband gap in the US shows how lack of fiber stifles economic activity in poor counties which in turn results in disinvestment   —  A county-by-county look at the broadband gap  —  If broadband access was a problem before 2020, the pandemic turned it into a crisis. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3hhdqa1

Eric Lipton / New York Times : Overview of the major uptick in spending on lobbying in the US by crypto organizations like Coinbase, Ripple, and trade groups like the Blockchain Association   —  Companies behind digital currencies are rushing to hire well-connected lobbyists, lawyers and consultants as the battle over how to regulate them intensifies. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3f8hTJz

Joyce Lee / Reuters : South Korea's Kakao Entertainment acquires US-based online comic app Tapas for $510M and serialized fiction app Radish for $440M   —  SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's Kakao Entertainment Corp said on Tuesday it was acquiring U.S.-based online comic app Tapas and serialized fiction app Radish … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3o3cGa6

Corinne Reichert / CNET : FCC approves $7.17B fund for schools and libraries to buy laptops, tablets, Wi-Fi hotspots, and broadband connections to help facilitate online learning   —  The funding will help schools and libraries pay for devices and broadband services. … The US Federal Communications Commission … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3bdTS2A

Todd Spangler / Variety : Radish, a serialized fiction app that has raised about $72M, is being acquired by South Korea's Kakao Entertainment for $440M   —  Serialized fiction app Radish is being acquired by Kakao Entertainment, the entertainment arm of Korean internet giant Kakao, in a transaction valued at $440 million. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3bk70mZ

Sophia Kunthara / Crunchbase News : Kin, which uses thousands of data points to provide personalized home insurance in natural disaster-prone US states like FL, CA, and LA, raises $63.9M Series C   —  Home insurance startup Kin has raised $63.9 million in a Series C round, the company told Crunchbase News. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2R8gtqx

Bloomberg : Ethos, whose platform allows customers to shop for and secure life insurance policies online, raises $200M led by General Catalyst at a $2B+ valuation   —  - $200 million round by General Catalyst, Sequoia, Accel, GV  — Jay-Z, Will Smith, Robert Downey Jr. also invest in Ethos from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3y5r8TI

Ben Bergman / dot.LA : Docs show that Bird is preparing to go public via a SPAC merger at $2.3B valuation; Bird expects to trim adjusted EBITDA loss to $96M in 2021 vs. $183M in 2020   —  Bird Rides, the Santa-Monica e-scooter company that was once a startup darling but saw ridership plunge during the pandemic … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2SByLAJ

Rita Liao / TechCrunch : Innovusion, which develops lidar tech for autonomous vehicles, raises $64M Series B led by Temasek, bringing its total raised to over $100M   —  More investors are joining the wave to bet on lidar, the remote sensing method that uses laser light to measure distances and has garnered ample interest from automakers in recent times. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2R0WsST

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch : Zencargo, which helps companies organize and track movements of their SKUs via its freight forwarding platform, raises $42M Series B led by Digital+ Partners   —  While consumers and businesses continue to use their purchasing power to spin the wheels of the globalized economy … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2SHC2yH