Facebook Alexa goes back to its college roots, gets a print job and we dive deep into Unity’s business. This is your daily crisis for September 10, 2020.
The big story: Facebook is launching a college network
If you’re old and decrepit like me, remember when Facebook was only for students and a college email address was required to become a member. Well, it seems like everything old is new again as the company is testing a new feature called Facebook Campus, which is only for students and requires a college email address to join.
Facebook’s Charmaine Hung argued that the product is particularly relevant now: “With COVID-19 we are seeing a lot of students not returning to campus in the fall. Now classes are taking place online and students are trying to respond to this new normal of what it is like to connect with clubs and organizations that matter to you when you are not together. “
This could of course also be a way for Facebook to try and stay relevant to a younger demographic before switching to other apps.
The technology giants
Amazon launches Alexa Print, a way to print lists, recipes, games, and learning content with your voice. The feature works with any second generation or newer Echo device, as well as a range of printers.
Google Says It Eliminates Autocomplete Proposals That Target Candidates Or Votes – The company says it is now removing any autocomplete predictions that appear to support or disapprove of a candidate or political party, or that have a right to vote or the Electoral process.
Microsoft Surface Duo Review – Brian Heater calls it a nice, expensive piece of work in progress.
Startups, Financing and Venture Capital
Orchard real estate platform brings in $ 69 million, led by Revolution Growth – Orchard (formerly Perch), which launched in 2017 with the goal of digitizing the entire home buying and selling experience.
How Unity Built a Gaming Engine for the Future – Eric Peckham provides an in-depth look at the company’s financials as it prepares for its IPO.
India’s Zomato is raising $ 100 million from Tiger Global and plans to file for an IPO next year. In an email to employees, CEO Deepinder Goyal said the food delivery startup had around $ 250 million in cash in the bank, along with several other “big names”. Investors preparing for the current round.
Advice and analysis of extra crunch
Use “productive paranoia” to build cybersecurity culture in your startup. We asked Casey Ellis, Founder, Chairman and Chief Technology Officer at Bugcrowd, to share his ideas on how startups can improve their security posture.
What will be driving API-based startups in 2020? – It’s not difficult to find startups with API-based deployment models that are doing well this year.
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Everything else
Startup Battlefield Companies Announcement at ProWellTech Disrupt 2020 – This is our most competitive batch to date.
The $ 3 million breakthrough award goes to scientists developing molecules to fight COVID-19. David Baker’s work over the past 20 years has helped validate the idea that computers can help us understand and create complex molecules like proteins.
Income from recorded music is increasing due to streaming growth as physical sales decrease. With far more people looking for new ways to entertain, paid subscriptions are up 24% year over year.
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