S|W: The SaaS Weekly – BlackBerry selloff, Google antitrust

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The SaaS Weekly is a weekly newsletter covering major SaaS news from Canada and around the globe.

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Nasdaq acquires St. John’s based Verafin for $2.75 billion USD (BETAKIT)

Nasdaq has acquired St. John’s-based Verafin for $2.75 billion USD, combining Verafin’s anti-financial crime products with Nasdaq’s regulatory technology.


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How to Beat Silicon Valley at its Own Game with Expensify CEO David Barrett

On the #CIBCInnovationEconomy podcast series, CEO David Barrett admits he never planned to get into the expense management space. But by saying yes to opportunities, he built Expensify into a successful innovation economy.


BlackBerry looks to sell majority of its patents as it refocuses (THE GLOBE AND MAIL)

The selloff could mark another turning point for the fallen former smartphone giant.


Airbnb executive resigned last year over Chinese request for more data sharing (WALL STREET JOURNAL)

When it filed to go public this week, Airbnb Inc. said that its ability to continue doing business in China is a risk factor for its brand and profitability.


Aquatic Informatics CEO Ed Quilty on why entrepreneurs should fake it till they make it (BETAKIT)

On the #CIBCInnovationEconomy series podcast, CEO Ed Quilty shares Aquatic Informatics’ growth story and what he has learned about entrepreneurship.


Roblox goes public so that it can build a bigger metaverse (THE VERGE)

The company behind the hit kids game Roblox is going public after soaring use during the pandemic.


State, federal antitrust lawsuits likely to challenge Facebook for buying rivals and weaponizing data (WASHINGTON POST)

Anticipating the legal barrage, Facebook has lobbied fiercely — in public and in private — against the claims.


Airbnb reveals falling revenue, with travel hit by pandemic (NEW YORK TIMES)

The drop was $1.2 billion for the first nine months of 2020, in the first comprehensive look at the company’s finances as it moves to go public.


Senate passes new rent relief program, June extension of wage subsidy (BETAKIT)

Changes to the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy and the introduction of the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy program were passed into law today by the Senate.


Facebook moderators say company has risked their lives by forcing them back to the office (CNBC)

More than 200 Facebook content moderators have urged Mark Zuckerberg to let them work from home during the pandemic.


PingCAP, the open-source developer behind TiDB, closes $270 million Series D (TECHCRUNCH)

PingCAP, the open-source software developer best known for NewSQL database TiDB, has raised a $270 million Series D.


As antitrust pressure mounts, Google to pull back benefit to news sites that adopted its preferred mobile technology (THE MARKUP)

Four years after offering special placement in a “top stories carousel” in search results to entice publishers to use a format it created for mobile pages, called AMP, Google announced last week that it will end that preferential treatment in the spring.


Apple drops its cut of App Store revenues from 30% to 15% for some developers (ARS TECHNICA)

The cut benefits only developers who pull in less than $1 million annually.


Caitlin Hotchkiss

Caitlin Hotchkiss

Content coordinator, social media smartypants, wordsmith, Human Workflow™. Exists primarily on coffee, cat pictures, German dance metal, and pro wrestling. I will fight for your right to the Oxford comma.

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