Author: Jason
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Google rolls out user choice billing on Google Play in the UK
Google said today that it will start offering user choice billing in the U.K., giving Google Play developers the ability to use other billing options instead of Google’s own system. The change kicks in on March 29, initially only to non-game developers. If developers opt for it, they cannot replace Google Play billing altogether. Instead,… Read more
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Krafton acquires controlling stake in Indian gaming studio Nautilus Mobile for $14M
Krafton, known for its titles PUBG and BGMI, has acquired a controlling stake in 12-year-old Indian mobile gaming studio Nautilus Mobile. Read more
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Open source devs are fighting AI crawlers with cleverness and vengeance
AI web crawling bots are the cockroaches of the internet, many developers believe. FOSS devs are fighting back in ingenuous, humorous ways. Read more
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Certification platform Certiverse nabs $11M Series A led by Cherryrock
Certification platform Certiverse raised an $11 million Series A led by Cherryrock Capital, it announced this week. The company was founded by Ruben Garcia, Pablo Meyer, and Federico Lopez in 2023. It lets organizations develop certification exams at, its founders say, far less cost than traditional methods. Certifications are an age-old method to gain technical… Read more
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Trump’s auto tariffs are a gift to Tesla
President Trump is slapping 25% tariffs on all cars imported to the United States, including from our immediate North American neighbors. He’s also placed a 25% tariff on certain parts used to build cars. It’s a decision that will likely supercharge the cost of new and used cars, but it’s also a gift to Tesla,… Read more
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Why HoneyBook’s $140M in ARR may finally justify its $2.4B ZIRP-era valuation
HoneyBook, a startup last valued in late 2021 at $2.4 billion, told TechCrunch that it hit $140 million in annualized recurring revenue (ARR). This makes HoneyBook one of the few startups with peak-VC-era valuations to report their financials after the market cooled. Many startups that raised in 2021 and have not since remain under pressure… Read more
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Instagram now lets you speed up reels just like on TikTok
Meta-owned Instagram is copying yet another feature from TikTok. This time, it’s the ability for users to play a reel at 2x speed by long pressing on the right or left side of their screen. When TikTok first launched, videos could only be 15 seconds long. As the years passed and TikTok rose in popularity,… Read more
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Facebook debuts a revamped Friends tab as part of its return to ‘OG’ Facebook
After teasing a return to “OG Facebook” earlier this year, the social network on Thursday announced an update that will give users a simple way to connect with friends. The company is introducing a new Facebook Friends tab that will only showcase updates from friends, without any other recommended content. Meta explains in a blog… Read more
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Twin’s first AI agent is an invoice retrieval agent for Qonto customers
When Twin came out of stealth in January 2024, AI agents were more of a theoretical concept than a reality. Today, the Paris-based is releasing an automation agent in partnership with Qonto, the fintech startup that offers business bank accounts to more than 500,000 customers across Europe. If you want to automate repetitive tasks, there… Read more
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TikTok to launch TikTok Shop in France, Germany, and Italy
TikTok is set to expand its TikTok Shop e-commerce platform to users in France, Germany, and Italy on Monday, Reuters reports. TikTok Shop has been available in the United Kingdom since 2021, and now the company is ready to expand further into Europe. While TikTok Shop is also available in the United States and saw… Read more