Techmeme
- Sources: Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is investing $700M in ride hailing giant Grab, intends to market its financial services to Grab's user (Taiga Uranaka/Bloomberg)
- Aisera, which uses AI to help with customer service and internal operations, raises $20M Series B led by Norwest Venture Partners (Ingrid Lunden/TechCrunch)
- Consumer insights provider Hitwise is shutting down after 24 years, following allegations that it purchased sensitive user data from Avast's Jumpshot (George P. Slefo/Ad Age)
- Huntress, a SaaS cybersecurity provider, raises $18M Series A led by ForgePoint Capital as it expands into additional market segments and geographies (Kyle Wiggers/VentureBeat)
- Facebook is internally testing a tabbed version of News Feed for mobile that includes the Most Relevant feed, the Most Recent feed, and an Already Seen feed (Josh Constine/TechCrunch)
- Indonesia-based Eureka, which provides consumer intelligence to mobile carriers and enterprises by using AI and mobile data analytics, raises $20M Series B (Doris Yu/Tech in Asia)
- Atomico announces its fifth fund has closed at $820M, bringing their total assets to $2.7B; Atomico will mostly fund European startups at Series A (Steve O'Hear/TechCrunch)
- LendingClub is acquiring Boston-based online bank Radius Bancorp in a deal valued at $185M, making it the first US fintech company to acquire a bank (Hugh Son/CNBC)
- Twitter acquires Chroma Labs, which makes tools for video and photo creation, will split team across product, design, and engineering, shut down Chroma Stories (Kurt Wagner/Bloomberg)
- Sources: Uber shuts down its customer support office in LA, laying off ~80 employees and outsourcing their jobs to a support office in Manila (Johana Bhuiyan/Los Angeles Times)
- Mozilla releases its VPN service Firefox Private Network on Android in a closed beta for $4.99/month (Corbin Davenport/Android Police)
- London-based Concirrus, which builds an AI-based predictive analytics platform to help insurance providers rate customers, raises $20M Series B led by AlbionVC (Annie Musgrove/Tech.eu)
- UltraSense Systems, maker of ultrasound technology to sense movement and gestures through a range of materials like metal, glass, and wood, raises $20M Series B (Kyle Wiggers/VentureBeat)
- Judge rules that Huawei does not have grounds to sue the US government over a law banning federal agencies and their contractors from buying Huawei products (Steven Overly/Politico)
- India opens cases against hundreds of VPN users in Kashmir; those found guilty of promoting "unlawful activities and secessionist ideology" face up to 7 years (Manish Singh/TechCrunch)
TechCrunch
Silicon Alley Insider
- Twitter acquired a startup founded by ex-Facebook and Instagram employees, and it could be a sign it's working on its own Stories feature
- Hackers stuck a 2-inch strip of tape on a 35mph speed sign and successfully tricked 2 Teslas into accelerating to 85mph
- THE SMART SPEAKER REPORT: Smart speakers could be the fastest-growing digital platform ever ? here's how to engage with customers through the devices
- Uber shuts its LA office and reportedly lays off around 80 people
- 10 things in tech you need to know today
- THE GLOBAL 5G LANDSCAPE: An inside look at leading 5G markets, key players, and how they are defining the future of connectivity
- A Facebook employee reportedly blow-dried Mark Zuckerberg's armpits before he gave speeches to get rid of his anxiety sweat (FB, TWTR)
- THE TELECOMS & TECHNOLOGY FORECAST BOOK 2019: How to navigate the quickly evolving mobile, communications, and technology space (AMZN, BABA, TCEHY, AAPL, GOOGL, SNAP, TMUS, UPS, S, VZ, ROKU, SSNLF, MSI)
- Google's parent company is shutting down power-generating kite subsidiary Makani: 'The road to commercialization is longer and riskier than hoped' (GOOG, GOOGL)
- Apple's plans to launch a new iPad Pro model early this year could be delayed thanks to the coronavirus, according to one report (AAPL)
- The best 4K Blu-ray players
- IoT 101: Your Essential Guide to the Internet of Things
- 3 red flags Uber whistleblower Susan Fowler said she noticed early on
- YouTuber Jake Paul is trying to cash in on teaching fans how to become influencers ? two years after his first project failed
- 42 movies you can watch on Netflix from Hollywood's hottest indie studio, A24
- 'Tough pill to swallow for the bulls': Here's what 4 Wall Street analysts are saying about Apple's coronavirus-stricken sales forecast (AAPL)
- SpaceX plans to send a small number of tourists into space
- LAST TOWN BEFORE MARS: SpaceX's crucial plan to buy a village in South Texas is on the brink of failure
- Leaked memo: A key Google Cloud president is leaving his role amid a reorganization that will see 'a small number' of positions eliminated (GOOG, GOOGL)
- Kickstarter's historic vote doesn't mean unions are coming back. Here's what the future of labor looks like instead.
Mashable
- Here's 15 minutes of Trevor Noah cracking Joe Biden jokes
- The Samsung Galaxy Tab A can keep everyone happy
- Catch all the action with a Now TV smart stick
- British rapper Dave calls UK prime minister racist in powerful BRIT Awards performance
- The 5 relationship stages of online snooping, and how to know if you've gone too far
- At $17 for a 5-pack, these lids are a genius way to cut back on waste
- Car bans: Your city could be next
- 'If you have a crush on me, tell me now' tweets never get old
- How to create engaging social media videos with zero experience (or talent)
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip is very vulnerable to dust, teardown shows
- 6 of the best humidifiers for a healthier home in the UK
- First reactions to 'Onward': Emotional and sweet, but missing some Pixar magic
- Watch Justin Bieber and James Corden sing 'Smelly Cat' and arm wrestle for Carpool Karaoke
- Here's why BTS fans are flooding Twitter with tiny 7s
- Ring belatedly makes 2FA mandatory
- 'The Matrix' deepfaked with 'Office Space' makes for some very bleak fanfiction
- Top translation apps for filling your passport (and your home screen)
- The tech product that made Bloomberg rich is a perfect metaphor for his candidacy
- Hands-on with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
- The cast of "To All The Boys" talks about their high school days
- Oakland A's become first MLB team to ditch local radio for streaming
- The greatest gift machine learning ever gave us is this archive of Mark Zuckerberg haircuts
- The best travel apps you don't already know about: Plan, eat, navigate, and find activities
- This all-metal wallet protects your cards — Future Blink
- This jacket is actually a portable shelter for homeless people
- Martin Scorsese fans clap back at viral tweet about his movies
- The best camping gear for people new to the great outdoors
- 'Diablo' and 'Overwatch' TV series are reportedly coming, Blizzard executive reveals on LinkedIn
- HQ Trivia will 'live on' after all, CEO says
- Biting into string cheese is fine, actually