Amazon Acquires Wondery - Daily Crunch

Amazon completes a significant podcast purchase, a Chinese robotics company secures $100 million in funding, and we present a review of a robotic cat pillow. This is your Daily Crunch for December 30, 2020.

Key news: Amazon’s acquisition of Wondery

Amazon has joined other companies in expanding its presence in the podcasting space through the acquisition of Wondery, the podcast network responsible for popular series such as “Dirty John” and “Doctor Death.”

While Wondery will now operate as part of Amazon Music (which began offering podcast support in September), the company assures listeners that “no changes will occur” and Wondery’s podcasts will remain accessible through “various platforms.”

The specifics of the financial agreement have not been made public.

Startup activity, funding rounds, and venture capital news

Flexiv, a Chinese company specializing in adaptive robotics, has raised over $100 million — Wang Shiquan, a former student of Stanford’s Biomimetics and Dexterous Manipulation Lab, established Flexiv with the intention of developing adaptive robots for use in manufacturing environments.

Biteable obtains $7M Series A funding for its online video builder utilizing pre-designed templates — The platform is geared towards the creation of video content intended for long-term use, beyond the scope of fleeting social media videos.

A detailed assessment of a robotic cat pillow — It is appealing!

Insights and analysis from Extra Crunch

Progress on diversity may be reaching a critical point in 2020 — Venture capitalists have frequently discussed diversity without substantial action.

The year 2020 will reshape our understanding of robotics — Robots are being specifically designed to assist humanity in navigating challenges like a pandemic, with applications ranging from logistics to food preparation.

Dear Sophie: Guidance on independently obtaining a National Interest green card? — The newest installment of Dear Sophie, an advice column by attorney Sophie Alcorn addressing immigration questions related to employment in the technology sector.

(Extra Crunch is our subscription service, dedicated to making information about startups more widely available. A special holiday offer is available until January 3. Further details about the offer can be found here.)

Other noteworthy developments

Section 230 faces potential changes in a new bill linking the removal of liability protection to $2,000 stimulus checks — This action appears to be primarily a political tactic rather than a genuine attempt at technology regulation.

Researchers allege NSO utilized real-world location data to promote its contact-tracing technology — The researchers contend that NSO’s use of this data “compromised the privacy” of numerous individuals without their knowledge.

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