Dispo, maker of a photo-sharing app inspired by disposable cameras, has raised $20 million in Series A funding, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: That's the same amount investors had committed until some got cold feet over controversies involving co-founder and YouTube star David Dobrik, which led to his resignation.
The startup publicly announced the round on Tuesday, but without disclosing a dollar amount.
The Senate voted 68-32 on Tuesday to approve a sweeping China-focused global competition bill, overcoming Republican objections that had threatened to derail the $200 billion+ bipartisan package.
Why it matters: The bill's supporters cite the measure as evidence that the deeply divided Senate can still function on a bipartisan basis, despite the last-minute chaos that forced Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to delay final passage for weeks.
Senate Democrats and Republicans today are expected to overwhelmingly pass a $247 billion spending package focused on competing with China on technology.
Axios Re:Cap is joined by California Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna, who cosponsored the bill and who has been concerned about the issue since he first campaigned for office.
Playdate, a small gaming device that's more or less a Game Boy built for modern times, will cost $179, with pre-orders starting in July, the system's creators at Panic announced Tuesday.
Why it matters: Dedicated portable gaming devices have faded away as mobile phone gaming has grown, but Playdate's makers hope that a retro black-and-white handheld with some modern quirks can find an audience.
The character creator built into the official E3 portal for this year's event is a reminder of how important it is to be able to personalize avatars in the gaming space.
Why it matters: The biggest gaming show of the year is going all-digital, and registered participants are being asked to identify themselves through a very narrow set of criteria.
Morning Consult, the Washington, D.C.-based research and polling firm, has raised a $60 million Series B round that values the company at over $1 billion.
Why it matters: It's a rare tech success story coming out of D.C.
Colonial Pipeline CEO Joseph Blount defended his decision Tuesday to pay the hackers that launched a ransomware attack against the crucial fuel line, telling a Senate panel it was "the right choice" and that he put "the interests of the country first."
Why it matters: Federal investigators for years have recommended that companies do not pay hacking groups to decrypt their computer systems over fears that the transactions would encourage more groups to conduct future attacks.
With Apple's slew ofsoftware announcements Monday, what stood out was just how many new features are coming simultaneously across different types of devices.
Why it matters: Apple continues to maintain some distinctions between iOS — the operating system for iPhones and iPads — and the Mac, but more features are being shared across the two.
A new type of housing initiative kicking off in New York City seeks to address two major problems facing the U.S. today: The lack of widespread, high-speed broadband access for low-income residents, and the need to more widely deploy clean energy technologies.
Why it matters: The project is a unique marriage between two of the Biden administration's top infrastructure policy goals, except on a local level.
Dozens of major websites — including The New York Times, CNN, Reddit, Spotify, Twitch, GitHub, gov.uk, Hulu, HBO Max, PayPal, Vimeo, Shopify — were beginning to return online Tuesday morning after crashing in an apparent internet outage.
What's happening: The cause of the massive outage was not immediately clear. Fastly, a popular content delivery network (CDN), confirmed it was experiencing an outage on its website and said around 7 a.m. ET that a fix had been implemented.
iConstituent, a tech vendor that provides constituent outreach services to many House offices, is the latest major target of a ransomware attack, Punchbowl News reports.
Why it matters: For several weeks, nearly 60 House offices have been unable to receive constituent information as a result of the attack, according to Punchbowl.
Rivals circling Apple and Google are courting developers and creators who are growing increasingly frustrated with the fees those tech giants charge in their app stores.
Why it matters: In-app purchases have emerged as a key way for developers looking to make money from their apps, and Apple and Google tightly control the payment mechanism for such transactions.
An FBI-led sting using an encrypted messaging app has resulted in the arrests of hundreds of suspected organized crime figures around the world, authorities in Australia announced Tuesday.
Driving the news: Authorities decided to use the AN0M messaging app to track suspects globally in an investigation after Aussie police officers and FBI agents came up with the idea to run the platform while having some after-work beers in 2018, according to Australian police.
