Latest and Hotest Technology Updates

Amazon makes a big podcast acquisition, a Chinese robot maker raises $100 million and we review a robotic cat pillow. This is your Daily Crunch for December 30, 2020.

Oh, and it’s my last newsletter of the week and the year. See you all in 2021!

The big story: Amazon acquires Wondery

Amazon is the latest company to make a big acquisition in the podcast market — it’s buying Wondery, the podcast network behind shows like “Dirty John” and “Doctor Death.”

Although Wondery is becoming part of Amazon Music (which added podcast support in September), the company also says that "nothing will change for listeners" and that Wondery’s podcasts will continue to be available from "a variety of providers."

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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Startups, funding and venture capital

China's adaptive robot maker Flexiv raises over $100M — Wang Shiquan, an alumnus of Stanford's Biomimetics and Dexterous Manipulation Lab, founded Flexiv with a focus on building adaptive robots for the manufacturing industry.

Biteable raises a $7M Series A for its template-based online video builder — The product is designed for creating video assets that have more staying power than temporary social videos.

An earnest review of a robotic cat pillow — It’s cute!

Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch

On the diversity front, 2020 may prove a tipping point — VCs have talked about diversity for eons without doing much about it.

2020 will change the way we look at robotics — From logistics to food prep, robots are custom-built to help mankind survive a pandemic.

Dear Sophie: Tips for getting a National Interest green card by myself? — The latest edition of Dear Sophie, attorney Sophie Alcorn’s advice column answering immigration-related questions about working at technology companies.

(Extra Crunch is our membership program, which aims to democratize information about startups. You can sign up here for a holiday deal good through January 3. Read more about the deal here.)

Everything else

Section 230 is threatened in new bill tying liability shield repeal to $2,000 checks — The move seems more like a political maneuver than a real stab at tech regulation.

NSO used real people's location data to pitch its contact-tracing tech, researchers say — Researchers say NSO’s use of real data “violated the privacy” of thousands of unwitting people.

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Apple faces a major setback in one of its legal fights, VMware sues a former executive and Google tests a new short-form video feature. This is your Daily Crunch for December 29, 2020.

The big story: Judge dismisses Apple copyright claims against Corellium

Apple filed a lawsuit last year against Corellium, a company that allows security researchers to create virtualized iOS devices in the browser in order to discover potential security flaws.

Apple argued that Corellium’s product both infringes its copyright and, by circumventing built-in authentications and security checks, violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Today, Judge Rodney Smith dismissed Apple’s copyright claims and wrote that “Corellium has met its burden of establishing fair use.”

Smith did not rule on Apple’s DMCA claims, so this legal battle isn’t over.

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Built for main stage keynotes. Not karaoke sing-a-longs.

Sponsored by Brightcove

Transform your big-time event into a virtual experience by creating customized, flawless video that helps deliver big-time results for your brand. Brightcove is video that means business.

Read more

The tech giants

VMware files suit against former exec for moving to rival company — The company is claiming that former COO Rajiv Ramaswami had inside knowledge of the key plans at VMware and that he should have told the company that he was interviewing for a job at a rival organization.

Google pilots a search feature that aggregates short-form videos from TikTok and Instagram — This could help Google retain users in search of social video entertainment.

Startups, funding and venture capital

23andMe raises $82.5M in new funding — The company's work this year around COVID-19 has, perhaps, put the value of its platform in a new light.

CommonGround raises $19M to rethink online communication — The goal is to build online collaboration software that more fully captures the nuances of in-person communication.

Seattle-based Madrona raises $320M for its eighth fund — That's up slightly from the firm's past two funds, which were both $300 million vehicles.

Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch

As launch market matures, space opportunities on the ground take off — If you thought the launch boom was big, just wait for to see what happens when it combines with the private satellite boom.

Streaming services face their real test in 2021 — While media/telecom executives and Wall Street investors have been willing to make big investments for a streaming-centric future, they'll expect to see actual profits soon.

What's behind this year's boom in climate tech SPACs? — There's no denying that 2020 has been the year of the special purpose acquisition company.

(Extra Crunch is our membership program, which aims to democratize information about startups. You can sign up here for a holiday deal good through January 3. Read more about the deal here.)

Everything else

From the US to China, Korea, India and Europe, antitrust action against tech is gaining serious momentum — Antitrust is now a headline issue for the tech industry across the world.

Attending CES 2021? TechCrunch wants to meet your startup — Virtually, of course.

• Senior Integration Specialist at Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (Middletown, PA, United States)
• CTO Co-Founder at Launch Factory (San Diego, CA, USA)
• .Net Application Architect at Talentquest (Atlanta, GA, USA)
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The Chinese government could reshape Ant Group’s business, Tesla plans to launch in India next year and the FAA announces a new ID requirement for drones. This is your Daily Crunch for December 28, 2020.

The big story: China presents 'rectification' plan for Ant Group

Less than two months ago, Chinese authorities halted the planned IPO of Ant Group, the payments and fintech company that spun out of Alibaba nearly a decade earlier.

Now the government has laid out a plan for how Ant Group can become compliant and presumably go public, with steps including a renewed focus on payments, obtaining necessary licenses for its credit business, establishing a financial holding company, revamping several of its other business lines (credit, insurance, wealth management) and increasing compliance for its securities business.

Meanwhile, Chinese authorities are also investigating Alibaba over antitrust concerns. The crackdown is prompting global investors to unload their Chinese tech stocks.

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The tech giants

Tesla to make India debut 'early' next year — Tesla will begin operating in India in "early" 2021, a top Indian minister said today.

Samsung hasn't announced the Galaxy S21 yet, but you can already reserve one — If you're on the Samsung Mobile mailing list, you may have received an email compelling you to "Get ready to jump to the next Galaxy."

US government appeals the injunction against its TikTok ban — Earlier this month, Judge Carl Nichols in Washington became the second U.S. judge to block the Commerce Department's attempt to stop the TikTok app from being downloaded from U.S. app stores.

Startups, funding and venture capital

Chinese online education app Zuoyebang raises $1.6B from investors including Alibaba — The rivalry between China's top online learning apps has become even more intense this year.

Indian startups raised $9.3B in 2020 — This is the first time since 2016 that startups in India have raised less than $10 billion in a year.

Equity Monday: No, tech news doesn't stop over the holidays — Alex Wilhelm discusses the latest startup and venture capital headlines, including some of the stories in this very newsletter.

Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch

How Niantic evolved Pokémon GO for the year no one could go anywhere — Analysts estimate that 2020 was Pokémon GO's highest-earning year yet.

Four keys to international expansion — Levin Bunz watched more than a hundred of Rocket Internet's incubated companies attempt to internationalize.

2021 will be a calmer year for semiconductors and chips (except for Intel) — Four trends to watch for, from VC funding of silicon startups to US-China trade.

(Extra Crunch is our membership program, which aims to democratize information about startups. You can sign up here for a holiday deal good through January 3. Read more about the deal here.)

Everything else

New FAA rule requires Remote ID for drones — Remote ID effectively works as a kind of digital license plate for unmanned aircraft.

Music made 2020 better, but we failed to make 2020 better for musicians — In a year where music was our lifeline, why didn’t we return the favor?

Original Content podcast: 'The Mandalorian' season two goes deep into Star Wars mythology — "The Mandalorian" just wrapped up its second season on Disney+.

• Senior Integration Specialist at Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (Middletown, PA, United States)
• CTO Co-Founder at Launch Factory (San Diego, CA, USA)
• .Net Application Architect at Talentquest (Atlanta, GA, USA)
• Technical Program/Product Managers at D. E. Shaw Research (New York, New York, USA)
• Systems Administrator at Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (Middletown, PA, United States)

See more jobs on CrunchBoard

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