Self-driving startup Zoox has raised $200 million in new convertible note funding, which will be folded into a Series C round that's expected to close later this year or at the beginning of 2020.
Why it matters: Zoox is more ambitious than most other autonomous tech startups, seeking to develop the entire car instead of just the software or sensors.
In its bid to take on Microsoft Office, Google has hired someone who knows the product well: former Outlook boss Javier Soltero.
Why it matters: Google and Microsoft are in a tough battle to win the hearts, minds and email accounts of business customers. While G Suite has gained share, especially for email, Microsoft has pivoted Office from a desktop software to a subscription service.
Facebook announced Monday that it had removed a network of "coordinated inauthentic behavior" originating in Russia, as well as three others originating in Iran, bringing the total number of such "information operations" it has acted against in the last year to more than 50.
Why it matters: Some of the activity was linked to Russia's Internet Research Agency, the government-backed operation that flooded social media with propaganda during the 2016 election, creating networks of fake accounts and, per CNN, targeting Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's campaign.
A newly discovered variation of an old technique might make it easier for hackers to convince inattentive users of Google Voice and Alexa smart speakers to cough up their passwords.
The big picture: The security flaw was discovered by SRLabs and was first reported by ZDNet, but it has not been witnessed in use by actual hackers. Google has already announced closing the flaw.
TikTok overtook YouTube and Instagram in U.S. downloads last year, and news organizations are now trying to cash in on its audience. Dan digs in with Dave Jorgenson, who runs the Washington Post's TikTok channel.
One of the things I've always liked about the Pixel line is that, for an iPhone user, it's always the easiest of the major Android offerings to adapt to.That continues with the latest model, the Pixel 4. I've only had my review unit for a couple days, but as with past models, there's virtually no learning curve.
What's to like: For journalists, students and others that have to take meeting notes, the Pixel 4 has one heck of a selling point: The new recorder app is capable of automatically transcribing voice recordings.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan sent Pete Buttigieg's 2020 presidential campaign staff recommendations earlier this year, reports Bloomberg.
The big picture: Zuckerberg and Chan made the recommendations as the social media platform faces bipartisan scrutiny on issues like misinformation, privacy, election meddling and bias.
Over the past week, Facebook and Twitter have codified a dual-class system for free speech: one set of rules for politicians or "world leaders," another for the rest of us.
Why it matters: Social media platforms are privately owned spaces that have absorbed a huge chunk of our public sphere, and the rules they're now hashing out will shape the information climate around elections for years to come.
