Snapchat is the latest social media company to take on the president, Fitbit gets approval for its emergency ventilator and we review the new Sonos soundbar.
Here’s your Daily Crunch for June 4, 2020.
1. Snapchat is no longer promoting Trump’s posts
Snap announced that it will not be promoting content from President Donald Trump’s Snapchat account in its Discover tab, following statements from Trump last week on Twitter threatening that protestors could be met with “vicious dogs” and “ominous weapons.”
The move is particularly interesting because social media platforms tend to only discipline popular accounts when they’ve violated the rules on their own platform. In a statement, a Snapchat spokesperson said, “We will not amplify voices who incite racial violence and injustice by giving them free promotion on Discover.”
2. Fitbit gains FDA authorization for its low-cost emergency ventilator
Ventilators like Fitbit’s Flow aren’t designed to replace existing, traditional medical ventilators. Instead, they’re intended as stopgaps, to be used only when that hardware isn’t available in quantities needed to treat patients.
3. The Sonos Arc is an outstanding soundbar, on its own or with friends
Darrell Etherington says the Arc is the company’s best-ever home theater sound device. It’s designed to integrate wirelessly with your Sonos home audio system, as well as accepting audio from your TV or A/V receiver via HDMI Audio Return Channel.
4. Top cybersecurity VCs share how COVID-19 has changed investing
The cybersecurity industry remains largely unscathed. In fact, some cybersecurity businesses are doing better than ever because the industry has emerged as one of the few constants we all need — even during a pandemic. (Extra Crunch membership required.)
5. Amazon reportedly considering $2 billion stake in Indian telecom operator Bharti Airtel
Amazon may follow Facebook’s footsteps in securing a slice of India’s booming telecom market. The e-commerce giant is in early-stage talks to buy a 5% stake worth at least $2 billion in Bharti Airtel, the third-largest telecom operator in India, according to Reuters.
6. Unpacking ZoomInfo’s IPO as the firm starts to trade
What makes ZoomInfo worth $8 billion? Alex Wilhelm looks at the company’s IPO document and tries to make sense of what he calls “a goat rodeo of differing relationships and voting rights and debts.” (Extra Crunch membership required.)
7. Andreessen Horowitz launches $2.2M fund to invest in underserved founders
The Talent x Opportunity fund, which a16z says was in the works for six months, starts with $2.2 million in donations from the firm’s partners. TxO will be invested in a small group of seed-stage startups the first year and expand in size going forward.
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