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As people spend less time out in the world and more time daydreaming about when a vaccine will arrive, lifestyle shoes are only gaining traction. One obvious beneficiary is Allbirds , the San Francisco-based maker of comfortable, sustainable kicks that launched in 2016 and quickly became a favorite in Silicon Valley circles before taking off elsewhere. Though the company saw its business slow this year because of the pandemic, its products are now available to purchase in 35 countries and its 20 brick-and-mortar stores are sprinkled throughout the U.S. and Europe, with another outpost in Tokyo and several shops in China. Investors clearly see room for more growth. Allbirds just closed on $100 million in Series E funding at roughly the same $1.6 billion valuation it was assigned after closing on $27 million in Series D funding earlier this year, and blank-check companies have been calling, says cofounder and CEO Joey Zwillinger. He talked with us earlier this week in a chat that h...

The Economic Times : Indian startups blame Google for “unfair exploitation” of Play Store's monopoly after Google began to enforce its in-app purchasing policy with 30% commission   —  Tech giant says companies have multiple store options, can also use websites  —  Indian startups are up in arms … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3n31xVM

Google, which reaches more internet users than any other firm in India and commands 99% of the nation’s smartphone market, has stumbled upon an odd challenge in the world’s second largest internet market: Scores of top local entrepreneurs. Dozens of top startups and firms in India are working to form an alliance and toying with the idea of launching an app store to cut their reliance on Google, five people familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. The list of entrepreneurs include high-profile names such as Vijay Shekhar Sharma, co-founder and chief executive of Paytm (India’s most valuable startup ), Deep Kalra of travel ticketing firm MakeMyTrip, and executives from PolicyBazaar, Sharechat and many other firms. The growing list of founders expressed deep concerns about Google’s “monopolistic” hold on India, and discussed what they alleged was unfair and inconsistent enforcement of Play Store’s guidelines in the country. The conversations, which began in recent weeks, escalate...

People should immediately stop using the Hictkon smart plug with dual USB ports, the watchdog warns. from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8290670 https://ift.tt/3ihRBnU

Both Trump and Biden want to take away the US law that protects platforms from being liable for what their users post. from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8290670 https://ift.tt/34aqIx7

The rise of the US tech company has been shadowed by concerns about privacy and surveillance. from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8290670 https://ift.tt/3jihqWf

Enlarge / The Department of Justice seal as seen during a press conference in December 2019. (credit: Samuel Corum | Getty Images ) Federal authorities have accused two men of hacking the email and social media accounts of multiple athletes with the National Football League and the National Basketball Association and either selling or ransoming the credentials for profit. In one case, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Wednesday, the account compromises resulted in explicit photos of one of the NFL players being posted to his Twitter and Instagram accounts. The complaint didn’t identify the athlete except to call him Victim-1 and to say that he lived in New Jersey and the photos appeared on June 4, 2018. Based on the information, the player appeared to be New York Giants defensive end Avery Moss, who, according to ESPN , found naked pictures and videos posted to his Twitter timeline shortly after finishing an OTA practice on June 4. Accounts he followed were blocke...

The Pixel 5 loses several headline features of last year's flagship phone to hit a lower price tag. from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8290670 https://ift.tt/30k9CeW

A reduced service will remain, following a campaign on behalf of people without online access. from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8290670 https://ift.tt/30nissn

Karissa Bell / Engadget : Facebook says, as part of its recent crackdown on QAnon and “militia” movements, it has removed 6,500 groups belonging to 300 organizations   —  Facebook has removed more than 6,500 pages and groups associated with “militarized social movements,” since the company announced … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3n65VU1

Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC : Facebook says it will ban Facebook and Instagram ads that seek to delegitimize the outcome of an election, including calling specific voting methods fraudulent   —  - Facebook on Wednesday announced that it will not allow any ads on its service that seek to delegitimize the outcome of an election … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2SfWS4O

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch : Google introduces a new Android feature called Hold for Me, which uses Assistant to monitor held phone calls and notify the user when taken off hold   —  Google has been pushing forward the capabilities of what a smartphone can do when it comes to one of the device's most basic — if these days often overlooked — features: phone calls. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2HOxi4Z

In what began as a kind of funny, savvy marketing stunt that has since gained traction, a nearly three-year-old, Santa Monica-based startup that sells water from the Austrian Alps under the brand Liquid Death , has raised $23 million in Series B funding. Backers in the round include an unnamed family office; Convivialité Ventures, which is Pernod Ricard Group’s venture arm; the musician known as Fat Mike; and earlier backer Velvet Sea Ventures. The company, originally incubated with the help of the L.A.-based startup studio Science, has now raised a little more than $34 million altogether. We talked with Liquid Death founder Mike Cessario, who was formerly a West Coast agency exec, not long after he launched the company to the public, and he argued at the time that canned water could give sugary energy drinks like Rockstar, Monster and Red Bull a run for their money if it was also named like a heavy metal act. Indeed, our favorite part of the product has long been its promise to ...

Arjun Kharpal / CNBC : Baidu's Smart Living Group division, which focuses on voice assistants and smart devices, raises an undisclosed sum at a $2.9B valuation   —  - Chinese internet giant Baidu has raised an undisclosed sum of money for its business division focused on voice assistants and smart devices. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3kWnHak

Customers of a service for rural areas say they have been unable to join video meetings. from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8290670 https://ift.tt/2ScIESe

In what began as a kind of funny, savvy marketing stunt that has since gained traction, a nearly three-year-old, Santa Monica-based startup that sells water from the Austrian Alps under the brand Liquid Death , has raised $23 million in Series B funding. Backers in the round include an unnamed family office; Convivialité Ventures, which is Pernod Ricard Group’s venture arm; the musician known as Fat Mike; and earlier backer Velvet Sea Ventures. The company, originally incubated with the help of the L.A.-based startup studio Science, has now raised a little more than $34 million altogether. We talked with Liquid Death founder Mike Cessario, who was formerly a West Coast agency exec, not long after he launched the company to the public, and he argued at the time that canned water could give sugary energy drinks like Rockstar, Monster and Red Bull a run for their money if it was also named like a heavy metal act. Indeed, our favorite part of the product has long been its promise to ...

Debby Wu / Bloomberg : Taipei-based travel startup KKday raises $75M Series C, says a pivot to domestic package tours has helped after sales plunged 90% in March   —  - KKday closes $75 million Series C funding despite Covid-19  — Sales from domestic travel in Taiwan grew five times in summer from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3igfoVh

DataBreaches.net : Yevgeniy Nikulin, a Russian national convicted by a San Francisco federal jury in July for hacking LinkedIn and Dropbox in 2012, sentenced to 7+ years in prison   —  More than two years after he was extradited from Czechoslovakia where he was arrested in 2016 for hacking LinkedIn, Dropbox … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2EL4IAd

Frank Chaparro / The Block : Coinbase offers an exit package with four to six months severance pay and six months COBRA for employees who are not comfortable with its apolitical mission   —  Coinbase is offering a package for employees seeking an exit after the release of a blog post from its CEO outlining … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2HF8SdT

Neuron Mobility , a Singapore-based e-scooter rental startup, announced today that it has added $12 million to its Series A. Led by Square Peg, an Australian venture capital firm and GSR Ventures, this increases the round’s new total to $30.5 million. The company, which operates in Australia and New Zealand in addition to Southeast Asian markets, first announced its Series A in December 2019. Singapore’s Neuron Mobility raises $18.5M to bring its electric scooters to more international markets Part of Neuron Mobility’s growth plans hinges on the increased adoption of electric scooters and bikes during the COVID-19 pandemic . Many people are using their cars less frequently because they are working remotely or there are movement restrictions where they live. When they do go out, electric bikes and scooters offer an alternative to public transportation and ride-hailing services for short trips. Neuron Mobility’s chief executive Zachary Wang said the company raised a Series A+ i...