Facebook Escalates Criticism of Apple

Facebook challenges Apple’s policies, Texas initiates legal action against Google, and we feature an interview with the Chief Executive Officer of Boston Dynamics. This is your Daily Crunch for December 16, 2020.

Leading news: Facebook intensifies criticism of Apple

Facebook responded strongly to Apple’s forthcoming app tracking limitations by publishing full-page advertisements in prominent newspapers, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. These ads conveyed that the social media company is “advocating for small businesses against Apple’s actions.”

Essentially, while Facebook itself will experience consequences from Apple’s modifications (applications will be required to obtain user consent before tracking their IDFA, likely resulting in a significant decrease in ad targeting effectiveness), the company asserts that smaller businesses that depend on targeted advertising will be disproportionately impacted.

Furthermore, a separate effort opposing Apple is also gaining momentum, as several major U.S. news organizations have joined the Coalition for App Fairness, an organization dedicated to challenging app store fees.

Major technology companies

A new antitrust lawsuit filed by multiple states focuses on Google’s advertising operations — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton alleges that Google is illegally maintaining a monopoly within the online advertising market.

The CEO of Boston Dynamics discusses the robotics company’s future following its acquisition by Hyundai — Rob Playter provides insights into the company’s new ownership, the future development of Handle, and Spot’s deployment with the NYPD.

Amazon’s Project Kuiper intends to utilize a variety of launch providers to deliver its satellites into orbit — David Limp of Amazon revealed additional details regarding the company’s Project Kuiper broadband satellite network.

Startups, funding, and venture capital

StockX secures $275M in Series E funding, achieving a valuation of $2.8B — Based in downtown Detroit, Michigan, this funding round represents the largest venture capital investment in Michigan’s history.

BigID continues its growth trajectory with a $70M Series D round at a $1B valuation — Salesforce Ventures and Tiger Global jointly led this investment.

New Wave launches as a new European seed fund led by former Accel VC Pia d’Iribarne — The firm successfully raised its initial fund of $56 million within just three months.

Insights and analysis from Extra Crunch

Guidance on selecting an investor during favorable or unfavorable market conditions — Quiq CEO Mike Myer emphasizes the importance of trusting your intuition.

The CEO of ClickUp discusses hiring practices, fundraising, and scaling within the highly competitive productivity software sector — The company, which develops business productivity tools for task management, goal setting, and document creation, has attained a valuation of $1 billion.

Dear Sophie: An overview of changes to immigration policies for startup founders in 2020 — Another installment of immigration lawyer Sophie Alcorn’s advice column, addressing immigration-related questions pertaining to employment at technology companies.

(Extra Crunch is our subscription service, designed to broaden access to information about startups. You can register here.)

Other news

Bitcoin surpasses $20,000 and reaches a record high — The value of Bitcoin has experienced rapid growth over the last two months.

Privacy is becoming a key area of competition — New regulations present companies with opportunities to distinguish themselves.

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