Grammarly, the company behind the popular AI-powered writing assistant, has raised $90 million to provide more services for business writing. The company would not share its new valuation, but claims it's now a "unicorn" — a privately-held company worth over $1 billion.
Why it matters: That's a lot of money for an announcement without any new product launches, but Grammarly CEO Brad Hoover says the company doesn't face much competition, which could be attractive to investors.
Confronted with evidence of danger to police and citizens, Apple removed an app Wednesday night that "has been used in ways that endanger law enforcement and residents in Hong Kong," an Apple statement said.
Why it matters: With pro-democracy riots in their 18th week, the app — HKmap.live — has allowed users to track police movements, then target and ambush officers. Apple determined that those uses violate both App Store policy and Hong Kong law.
Hong Kong authorities, who had complained about the app, said it also was being used to victimize residents in areas where police weren’t present.
The alleged shooter who killed 2 people outside a synagogue in Halle, Germany, on Wednesday morning used the platform Twitch to livestream the attack, Amazon confirmed to CNBC.
Why it matters: 2,200 people viewed the recording of the killings, and the video was accessible on the platform for 30 minutes before Twitch flagged and removed it, according to the New York Times.
As congestion cripples the world's cities, transportation officials and city planners are trying to figure out how automated vehicles can help alleviate traffic and address climate change.
Why it matters: Robotaxis and delivery AVs running non-stop won't stop anything if they're merely replacing existing cars on the road. Instead, AVs need to be thoughtfully woven into reinvigorated public transportation systems so they become a desirable alternative to personal cars.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify before the House Financial Services Committee on Oct. 23 as part of a hearing titled, "An Examination of Facebook and Its Impact on the Financial Services and Housing Sectors."
Why it matters:Libra, Facebook's cryptocurrency project, faces headwinds from lawmakers and regulators. In July, House Financial Services Chair Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) called for a moratorium on the project. Zuckerberg's decision to testify about Libra personally rather than sending a subordinate is a sign of the effort's importance to Facebook.
The tech industry spent the last two decades connecting the world and getting computers into every home and hand — but that's turning out to have been the easy part. Now, every problem tech companies face is fiendishly hard.
Driving the news: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) unloaded on Facebook Monday:
"Facebook has incredible power to affect elections and our national debate. Mark Zuckerberg is telling employees that he views a Warren administration as an “existential” threat to Facebook. The public deserves to know how Facebook intends to use their influence in this election."
