GadgetFreak

Brendan Sinclair / GamesIndustry.biz : Sony Interactive Entertainment announces it is buying Bungie, which makes Destiny and other games, for $3.6B; Bungie will become an independent subsidiary   —  Destiny studio will remain multiplatform, able “to self-publish and reach players wherever they choose to play” from Techmeme https://ift.tt/iTqpouNJx via IFTTT

Private equity firms Vista Equity Partners and Evergreen Coast Capital have finally found a suitable match for Tibco: the firms will buy Citrix for $16.5 billion. The deal, which represents a roughly 30% premium on Citrix’s value, aims to combine the two companies to create a legacy enterprise tech powerhouse. But will the combination produce something more useful for customers, or a conglomeration that doesn’t really fit well together? Citrix is best known for its desktop virtualization products, and it’d be fair to presume it did pretty well when the pandemic hit and companies had to shift employees to remote work. Having the ability to deliver work desktops in one package to at-home workers would seem to be a good feature to have these past couple of years. It will be all about execution, and we will see in a few months if Vista and Elliott are undertaking a go-forward and growth strategy, or if they will save costs and ‘milk’ the install base. Holger Mueller But it’s not bee

Nathan Beckord Contributor Share on Twitter Nathan Beckord is CEO of Foundersuite.com , a software platform for raising capital and managing investors that has helped entrepreneurs raise over $2 billion since 2016. He is also the host of Foundersuite’s How I Raised It podcast. More posts by this contributor How to break into Silicon Valley as an outsider The lightning-fast Series A (that was 3 years in the making) Momentum is the single most important factor that helps startup founders raise capital. In 20+ years of working to connect founders with potential investors, I’ve learned that there’s a direct correlation between the speed of your fundraising process and the probability of actually getting funded. Startup investors are incredibly smart people who eat, sleep and breathe these kinds of investments. The best investors are pros at sensing whether a deal has momentum or not — or worse, whether a deal has gone stale. When you’re raising venture capital for yo

Wei Lien Dang Contributor Share on Twitter Wei Lien Dang is a general partner at Unusual Ventures , leading investments in security, infrastructure software and developer tools. He was previously co-founder of StackRox, a cloud-native security company acquired by Red Hat. In both Web 1.0 and Web 2.0, security models changed in tandem with application architectures to help unlock entirely new economies. In Web 1.0, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) was pioneered by Netscape to provide secure communication between user browsers and those servers. Trusted Web 2.0 intermediaries such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon and certificate authorities played a central role in driving implementation of Transport Layer Security (TLS), the successor to SSL. The same will happen for web3. This is the key reason why investment in new web3 security companies increased last year more than 10x to over $1 billion . The success of web3 hinges on innovation to solve new security challenges created by di

In the crypto ecosystem, wallets are perhaps the most critical user touchpoint serving as a gateway to exchanges and smart contracts. This positions the startups building popular wallet apps closest to the firehose of consumer crypto opportunities, while also leaving them to take charge in tackling many of web3’s unsolved problems including steep onboarding challenges and a hostile fraud environment. Phantom , one of the premiere wallet apps for the Solana ecosystem, has seen plenty of momentum as the result of investor and developer attention being paid to the Ethereum competitor which has seen its value explode over the past year — though the relative newcomer is also proving to be a more volatile bet with the token taking a particularly rough hit during the most recent crypto crash. The San Francisco crypto startup is turning this Solana attention into a fat $109 million funding round led by Paradigm on a $1.2 billion valuation. The monster unicorn round comes six months after the

A lawsuit over App Store abuses has been given the green light to proceed, at least on some fronts. The case, filed in California’s Superior Court in Santa Clara County last March , hails from app developer and former Pinterest engineer, Kosta Eleftheriou, who claims his keyboard app FlickType was initially unfairly rejected from Apple’s App Store, then later targeted by scammers once approved, leading to lost revenues. The judge has ruled that at least half the claims can proceed to trial and is giving Eleftheriou the opportunity to amend the remaining items. Eleftheriou has become known as an outspoken App Store critic in recent months, often serving as the source for stories about App Store scams like a crypto wallet app that scammed a user out of his life savings (~$600,000) in bitcoin; a kids game that actually contained a hidden online casino ; and a VPN app  scamming users out of $5 million per year, among others. His findings even became the subject of a line of questionin

Credit: Oliver Cragg / Android Authority The iPad is almost certainly the first name you think of when you’re looking for a tablet, and it comes in all shapes and sizes. We’ve rounded up the best iPad, and iPad accessory deals right here to help you make your next purchase. So whether you want a top-of-the-line iPad Pro or maximize your portability with the iPad Mini, something should suit your needs. Featured deals: $99 off the latest iPad Air from Android Authority https://ift.tt/aAvN04B2h via IFTTT

Bungie, the studio responsible for the creation of Halo and Destiny , two of the gaming world’s biggest franchises, has been acquired by Sony. It’s part of a consolidation and turf war being waged as the next generation of gaming (and the metaverse, whatever that is) builds up steam. The news was announced by both companies Monday morning (with industry sleuth Jason Schreier reporting early ) and the deal valued at $3.6 billion . That may be just a fraction of Microsoft’s recent $60B Activision Blizzard acquisition, but Bungie is no less a legend in gaming. Beginning as a Mac-focused studio in the ’90s with forgotten classic FPS Pathways Into Darkness and the influential Marathon , Bungie threatened to change the balance in power in the gaming world with Halo, which was intended to serve as the moment Apple took gaming seriously. Even Steve Jobs got in on the hype. But then Microsoft announced it was buying Bungie and making Halo an exclusive to its new Xbox console — seemingly

French startup Pennylane has raised a $57 million Series B round (€50 million) from existing investors, such as Sequoia Capital, Global Founders Capital and Partech. The startup wants to replace legacy accounting solutions in France — and in Europe. If you’re an accountant, you might be familiar with tools like Cegid and Sage. Essentially, Pennylane wants to overhaul these tools and modernize the tech stack of accounting firms. Pennylane connects directly with third-party services that hold valuable information. For instance, you can get banking statements in the Pennylane interface, import receipts from Dropbox and get billing information from Stripe. And because it’s an online platform, accounting firms can use Pennylane collaboratively. Clients can also access the platform to centralize receipts, create invoices and automate some tasks. Instead of sending information back and forth with spreadsheets and photo attachments, both clients and accounting firms can interact directly

Credit: Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority According to a leaker, the OnePlus Nord 2T might be a few months away even though its specs have already leaked. The leaker has also tipped pricing information for the rumored OnePlus Nord 2 CE/Nord CE 2. Information about OnePlus’ upcoming mid-range model — the OnePlus Nord 2T — emerged last week thanks to a leak that spilled the beans about its specs. But if you were expecting the incremental successor to the Nord 2 to launch anytime soon, you might be disappointed. from Android Authority https://ift.tt/emOFpi04C via IFTTT

Wall Street Journal : Gartner: global chip sales rose 25% YoY in 2021 to a record $583.5B and are projected to grow by 9% this year; capital expenditures grew to at least $146B   —  After posting record sales in 2021, semiconductor makers prepare for historic expansion to boost capacity from Techmeme https://ift.tt/IW02sdy3e via IFTTT

Credit: David Imel / Android Authority The Samsung Galaxy S21 series has been out for almost a year. Samsung has done a great job fixing any bugs and kinks in that time, but a few issues tend to pop up from time to time, especially after major software updates. We look at some common Samsung Galaxy S21 series problems and how to fix them! Our verdict: Galaxy S21 review | Galaxy S21 Plus review | Galaxy S21 Ultra review from Android Authority https://ift.tt/Kr2MqV8kl via IFTTT

Niklas Adalberth ‘s Norrsken Foundation is in the news again barely two months after opening its Norrsken House in Kigali , Rwanda, which plans to accommodate thousands of entrepreneurs by next year. This time, the foundation has teamed up with thirty unicorn founders and a couple of seasoned venture capital and private equity investors to launch a $200 million fund targeted at African startups. The fund, dubbed the Norrsken22 African Tech Growth Fund , has reached its first close of $110 million, per a statement seen by TechCrunch. It’s the latest fund launched by Norrsken after closing €125 million impact fund for European startups last March. Hans Otterling , a partner at Northzone, a U.K.-based early VC firm that led the investment in Adalberth’s previous company Klarna, is Norrsken’s founding partner alongside the Klarna co-founder. Making up the firm’s investment are the general partners which include Natalie Kolbe , the ex-global head of private equity at Actis, a private

Daniel Ek / Spotify : Spotify publishes its long-standing Platform Rules and says it is working to add a content advisory to podcast episodes that include a discussion about COVID-19   —  A decade ago, we created Spotify to enable the work of creators around the world to be heard and enjoyed by listeners around the world. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/nvdChG8us via IFTTT

Credit: Adam Molina / Android Authority Today’s smart speakers owe a lot to the original Amazon Echo, so every new flagship Echo model is hotly anticipated by industry watchers — it tends to set the bar for whatever follows. The fourth-generation Echo, released in 2020, has largely kept up that track record. Over a year later, it’s time to ask what we’d want from an Amazon Echo 5th gen model, especially with pressure mounting from companies like Apple, Google, and Sonos. Matter over Thread from Android Authority https://ift.tt/2fADBNYOb via IFTTT

Andrew Hayward / Decrypt : NFT marketplace LooksRare, which launched on Jan. 10, had $9.5B+ in trading volume, $8.3B+ of which seems to be users “wash trading” between their own wallets   —  CryptoSlam says the vast majority of the hot NFT marketplace's sales are illegitimate trades made to manipulate the token rewards model. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/mpV7GKN6n via IFTTT

Emma Roth / The Verge : FCC announces $1.2B in funding through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund to expand broadband services across 32 states, provided by 23 telecom companies   —  The FCC plans to deploy broadband service in one million new areas  —  The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/CTJXAVZSn via IFTTT

There are a surprising number of ways to add text to photos on your phone. There are also a lot of reasons to do so. People enjoy making their own memes and motivational posters. You can even use it for advertising for small businesses. In any case, you have plenty of options here. It’s a pretty simple topic so let’s jump right in. Here are the best Android apps to add text to photos. The best Android apps to add text to photos Add Text by Gabo Apps Bazaart Canva Inshot Photo Editor Pro Inverse.AI Text On Photo Photoshop Express PicLab PixelLab Pixlr ZomboDroid Meme Generator Add Text by Gabo Apps Price: Free / $4.99 from Android Authority https://ift.tt/WzfvoDeKi via IFTTT

Christopher Mims / Wall Street Journal : How Lina Khan's FTC is using the concept of “monopsony”, a market where one buyer is pre-eminent, to push for Big Tech antitrust regulation   —  Federal Trade Commission chief Lina Khan has developed an innovative way to frame the issue.  Whether she has the tools to see it through remains to be seen. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/hkKy1QCg8 via IFTTT

Spotify’s Joe Rogan headache is about to get a lot worse. Earlier this week, musician Neil Young announced that he would pull his music from the streaming service to protest Spotify’s relationship with Joe Rogan , who the company brought under its wing in an exclusive $100 million deal two years ago . In a post to her website on Friday, Joni Mitchell announced that she would “stand with Neil Young” and remove her catalogue from the streaming platform. “I’ve decided to remove all my music from Spotify. Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives,” Mitchell wrote. “I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.” As one of the world’s most famous and most well-respected living musicians, Mitchell’s decision to abandon Spotify over Rogan is bound to turn some heads. And unlike Young, she didn’t have an existing beef with the service over its stream quality. Rogan’s podcast, the Joe Rogan Experie

Frank Holland / CNBC : Visa says customers made $2.5B in payments with its crypto-linked cards in its fiscal Q1 of 2022, which was 70% of its crypto volume for all of FY 2021   —  - Visa said during its recent earnings call that customers made $2.5 billion in payments with its crypto-linked cards in its fiscal first quarter of 2022. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/kcilG5NSo via IFTTT

Welcome to Startups Weekly, a fresh human-first take on this week’s startup news and trends. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here. The market is down. The party is over. And Peloton of X startups aren’t too happy right now. As tech stocks take a hit, the big question on my mind is how a dip in market performance impacts early-stage startups. There’s the obvious argument here that startups have been preparing for a re-correction, and that market highs were knowingly unsustainable, but just because expectations exist doesn’t mean that ripple effects float away. Despite investor’s outward rationalization, the red, or millennial pink , flags are not going unnoticed, with some firms lowering revenue expectations even at the earliest stages . On Equity this week, Alex and I interviewed Bessemer growth partner Mary D’Onofrio , who admitted that her expectations for exit multiples have changed, and that the IPO window is mostly closed. The stocks may be sane, but that’s still kind

Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy. The app industry continues to grow, with a record number of downloads and consumer spending across both the iOS and Google Play stores combined in 2021, according to the latest year-end reports . App Annie says global spending across iOS, Google Play and third-party Android app stores in China grew 19% in 2021 to reach $170 billion. Downloads of apps also grew by 5% reaching 230 billion in 2021 and mobile ad spend grew 23% year-over-year to reach $295 billion. In addition, consumers are spending more time in apps than ever before — even topping the time they spend watching TV, in some cases. The average American watches 3.1 hours of TV per day, for example, but in 2021, they spent 4.1 hours on their mobile device. And they’re not even the world’s heaviest mobile users. In markets like Brazil, Indonesia and South Korea, users su