Tips and tricks for all

John Herrman / New York Times : After a decade of online identities coming under increasingly centralized control, online anonymity is starting to look like a threatened privilege than a right   —  Reconsidering pseudonymity and what it means to “be yourself” online.  —  In early July, when England's soccer team lost … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2Ve2IZg

Stephen Nellis / Reuters : Qualtrics to acquire Virginia-based Clarabridge, which offers AI-powered customer experience management tools, for $1.125B in stock   —  Qualtrics International Inc on Thursday said it would acquire privately held Clarabridge for $1.1 billion in stock.  —  Qualtrics, which was spun … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3fhsLpr

Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat : SolCyber, which offers endpoint detection and response services, comes out of stealth with $20M Series A led by ForgePoint Capital   —  All the sessions from Transform 2021 are available on-demand now.  Watch now.  —  SolCyber, a managed security service provider, today emerged from stealth … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3fklvJv

Vishal Singh / Silicon Canals : FRISS, which provides automated fraud and risk detection technology for property and casualty insurance companies, raises $65M Series B led by Accel-KKR   —  Dutch and US-based FRISS is a cybersecurity company that focuses completely on automated fraud and risk detection for P&C insurance companies across the world. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3rL7p8Q

Mike Wheatley / SiliconANGLE : Replicated, which sells tools that help software makers create and deploy on-premises versions of their applications, raises $50M Series C led by Owl Rock   —  On-premises software delivery company Replicated Inc. is much richer today after grabbing $50 million in a new round of funding. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2VhxTCN

Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat : Cyolo, which is developing zero trust security tech to enable users to securely access their organization's apps, servers, and files, raises $21M Series A   —  All the sessions from Transform 2021 are available on-demand now.  Watch now.  —  Cyolo, a startup developing a platform … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3id9CXs

Christine Hall / TechCrunch : Medical imaging startup Exo, which aims to commercialize its AI-powered point-of-care workflow software and handheld ultrasound device, raises $220M Series C   —  Exo, pronounced “echo,” raised a fresh cash infusion of $220 million in Series C financing aimed at commercializing … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3legPbP

Joe Burns / FinLedger : Mercury, which offers banking services to startups, raises $120M Series B, including a $5M allotment for crowdfunding, led by Coatue at a $1.62B valuation   —  Mercury, a company which offers software and banking services for scaling startups, announced raising a $120 million Series B led by Coatue, according to a company blog post. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3lhOHoj

Rashi Shrivastava / Forbes : Rey, which uses VR-based tools powered by OxfordVR to provide on-demand mental health care services, raises $26M Series A, three months after launching   —  Technology can, and should, play a pivotal role in bridging the gap between the burgeoning demand for mental health services and limited supply … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3yl4l5R

Molly Wood / The Atlantic : Microsoft is avoiding antitrust scrutiny by rebranding itself as nice and boring, even as it reverts to some of the behaviors that led to prosecution the '90s   —  How has Microsoft escaped the scrutiny of reinvigorated antitrust regulators?  —  About the author: Molly Wood is the host … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3xjm7oN

Tatum Hunter / Washington Post : Many viewers are experiencing the Olympics primarily through TikTok, with some of the most-watched videos coming not from NBC but from athletes themselves   —  The Olympics through the lens of TikTok look widely different than TV  —  When NBC's “Today Show” told viewers that gymnast Simone Biles … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3zVmGGX

Josh Centers / TidBITS : How Apple became an “antifragile” company, by building a diverse portfolio of products and performing even stronger during the pandemic than it did before   —  For over two decades, “APPLE IS DOOMED” was a common refrain in Internet discussions.  Originally, it was meant in a literal sense … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3li7kbq

Jaime Llinares Taboada / MarketWatch : UK's CMA launches an inquiry into Facebook's acquisition of Kustomer, investigating whether the deal violates the UK's Enterprise Act 2002   —  The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority said Friday that it has started a merger investigation into the acquisition by Facebook Inc. of Kustomer Inc. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3idMyrv

Brian Heater / TechCrunch : Google contract workers in Pittsburgh have ratified a three-year deal with their employer HCL, for higher wages and more, nearly two years after unionizing   —  Nearly two years ago, contractors for Google's Pittsburgh operations voted to join the United Steelworkers union in a bid to secure more labor rights representation. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2VqnapS

Nearly two years ago, contractors for Google’s Pittsburgh operations voted to join the United Steelworkers union in a bid to secure more labor rights representation. It was an early example of a building union movement for tech workers across the spectrum. But as other hard-fought battles have been waged among blue and white collar workers alike, both sides have continued hashing out negotiations. This week, those have finally resulted in something more concrete. The contract workers held out for what they believed to be similar treatment as others in the tech industry. At the time, it seemed Google was hoping to stay out of the fray with HCL Technologies, the consulting company that staffed the workers. “We work with lots of partners, many of which have unionized workforces, and many of which don’t,” Google said following the initial union vote. “As with all our partners, whether HCL’s employees unionize or not is between them and their employer. We’ll continue to partner with HCL.”

To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important stories delivered to your inbox every day at 3 p.m. PDT, subscribe here . Hello and welcome to Daily Crunch for July 30, 2021. What a week, my friends. It was packed full of IPOs and earnings and startup news and new venture funds. And today was no exception. Before we get into it, however, I am happy to report that Calendly CEO Tope Awotona is coming to Disrupt . It’s also the last day for early-bird passes , which are cheap. See you there! — Alex Last day to snag early-bird passes to TechCrunch Disrupt 2021 The TechCrunch Top 3 Elon vs. Tim Apple: Earnings season is usually replete with CEOs and other execs saying very few, usually boring things. That’s because there are rules about what CEOs and other corporate leaders can say when their companies are public. Then there’s Elon Musk, who took a poorly veiled potshot at Apple during Tesla’s earnings call, and followed it up by tweeting that Apple’s App Store cut i

Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge : A look at Intel's dismal 2020, which saw the delay of its 7nm architecture, Apple's switch to Arm-based chips, and the departure of Jim Keller and other execs   —  In the summer of 2020 Intel seemed poised for triumph.  Then it all went wrong.  “To put it briefly: Intel blew it,” … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3ygsfQ0

Telegram : Telegram's latest update adds group video calls of up to 1,000 users with 30 simultaneous broadcasts, video messages, screen sharing during video calls, more   —  This update takes video to the next level.  Group video calls now have up to 1000 viewers, video messages record in higher quality … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3zQ3URt

Igor Bosilkovski / Forbes : Modern Animal, a pet care service offering 24/7 telemedicine and a more “intelligent” labor model for veterinarians, raises $40M Series B led by Founders Fund   —  Veterinary company Modern Animal, cofounded and spearheaded by Under 30 honoree Steven Eidelman, announced today that it has raised $75.5 million. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3lsPnHB

Dan Wang / Foreign Affairs : How US sanctions forced Chinese companies to develop key tech themselves, aligning the companies' incentives with China's goal of economic self-sufficiency   —  In 2016, AlphaGo, a computer program developed by machine learning experts in London, beat the world's top players of the classical Chinese board game Go. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3xeUVY8

Argo AI, the autonomous vehicle technology startup backed by Ford and VW, has landed a permit in California that will allow the company to give people free rides in its self-driving vehicles on the state’s public roads. The California Public Utilities Commission issued the so-called Drivered AV pilot permit earlier this month, according to the approved application. It was posted on its website Friday, a little more than a week after Argo and Ford announced plans to launch at least 1,000 self-driving vehicles on Lyft’s ride-hailing network in a number of cities over the next five years, starting with Miami and Austin. The permit, which is part of the state’s Autonomous Vehicle Passenger Service pilot, puts Argo in small and growing group of companies seeking to expand beyond traditional AV testing — a signal that the industry, or at least some companies, are preparing for commercial operations. Argo has been testing its autonomous vehicle technology in Ford vehicles around Palo Alto