Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy.

The app industry continues to grow, with a record number of downloads and consumer spending across both the iOS and Google Play stores combined in 2021, according to the latest year-end reports. App Annie says global spending across iOS and Google Play is up to $135 billion in 2021, and that figure will likely be higher when its annual report, including third-party app stores in China, is released next year. Consumers also downloaded 10 billion more apps this year than in 2020, reaching nearly 140 billion in new installs, it found.

Apps aren’t just a way to pass idle hours — they’re also a big business. In 2019, mobile-first companies had a combined $544 billion valuation, 6.5x higher than those without a mobile focus. In 2020, investors poured $73 billion in capital into mobile companies — a figure that was up 27% year-over-year.

This Week in Apps offers a way to keep up with this fast-moving industry in one place with the latest from the world of apps, including news, updates, startup fundings, mergers and acquisitions, and much more.

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WWDC Wrap-up

This week, Apple wrapped up its first in-person WWDC since the pandemic began, and while there were no big surprises — like the first look at Apple’s AR smartglasses, for example — the company did announce a solid lineup of new products, services and software. It introduced new MacBook Airs and Pros, its M2 CPU, updated operating systems, Xcode Cloud and tons more developer tools.

Blurred lines

Image Credits: Apple

One theme that jumped out was how Apple is continuing to blur the lines between its different platforms. In macOS Ventura, it’s turning the System Preferences app into a new System Settings app, which looks just like the Settings app you’d find on the iPhone. Meanwhile, Apple’s new iOS 16 Lock Screen is gaining widgets that are inspired by Apple Watch’s complications — and in fact, developers can use the latest version of WidgetKit to build for both the Lock Screen and Watch using the same code.

M1 iPads running iPadOS 16 can take advantage of external displays and the clever multitasking feature, Stage Manager — one of the more exciting software developments to emerge from the event. Stage Manager offers resizable, floating and overlapping windows, plus a way to organize other apps’ windows off to the left side of the screen. It represents one of the biggest pushes yet to make the iPad more of a replacement for a computer, and less of a big-screened iPhone — hence the increased demand for processing power. But now the question users must ask is whether they need a computer at all, or would an iPad and an extra screen do?

Image Credits: Apple

And though Apple didn’t show off any big new projects in terms of hardware, there were suggestions that it’s working toward an AR future when it announced the new ability to integrate ARKit with its Nearby Interaction framework, allowing developers to build more directionally aware AR-powered apps that seem to lay the groundwork for its rumored AR smartglasses.

Plus, for everyone who still dreams of an Apple Car reveal, Apple instead gifted us an updated version of CarPlay that sees Apple working with automakers to integrate a new version of CarPlay that extends to the vehicle’s entire instrument cluster, instead of just the infotainment system. Hopefully, this is not what the rumors meant by an Apple Car! Of course, it will be years before this is actually available to consumers in their vehicles.

Image Credits: Apple

iOS 16 gets messy updated

As for iOS 16, Apple’s Lock Screen update and personalization features are the stars of the latest release. On the one hand, it’s great to have easier access to glanceable information that doesn’t require you to first unlock your iPhone. The new “Live Activities” will be useful too, as they can telegraph real-time information — like an approaching Uber or the latest sports scores — directly to your Lock Screen. This could minimize the need to launch apps for quick updates.

Access to this new screen real estate could inspire a new category of apps, too — the way that the launch of Home Screen widgets drove new apps like Widgetsmith and Brass to the top charts.

But on the other hand, I have this nagging feeling that the iPhone’s user interface is starting to get a little too messy and overcomplicated, while other parts of the experience are undercooked.

Image Credits: Apple

For starters, you can now customize your iOS 16 Lock Screen with a long press that pops you into a new editor interface where you can pick from Apple’s own photos and live wallpapers or your own images, then select your Lock Screen’s widgets, fonts and colors.

Given this new feature is all about redesigning your iPhone’s main interface, it’s disappointing to see Apple failed to deliver a variety of options for beautiful, built-in wallpapers. By comparison, the latest Android release includes some dozen-plus themed wallpaper collections, each with numerous images, as well as a large collection of animated wallpapers. Apple’s default options are embarrassing by comparison. Live weather and space wallpapers? Emojis? A single Pride rainbow option? Those same bouncing bubbles we’ve had for years? Even the options that are new don’t feel very inspired.

Considering Apple is asking us to think about our iPhone’s interface design with this feature, it missed the chance to blow us away with new imagery as the centerpiece for our custom designs which then coordinate with all the new widgets, fonts and colors as fully fleshed-out themes. (And don’t even get me started on how Apple’s app icons don’t match our new themes!)

Image Credits: Apple

Then there are the notifications that now scroll up from the bottom — but only on the Lock Screen. If your phone is unlocked, you still pull down from the top. Frankly, I’ve never liked that there are two different screens to see based on which side of the iPhone notch you pull down from at the top of the screen. It’s personal preference, of course — but I think Android does this better with its own control center that sits above the notifications, all in one view that’s pulled down from the top.

It’s not that we can’t learn to adapt to all these changes and new gestures; it’s just that it feels like it’s time to simplify these things.

For instance, now that we have Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, it’s probably time to ask if the right-swipe gesture to unlock the “Today View” is something that still needs to exist? It feels like unnecessary clutter at this point. (Sorry Today View fans.)

It’s also much more confusing than it should be to set a different background for your Lock Screen than for the Home Screen, since doing so isn’t a function of the new Lock Screen editor. Instead, you have to return to Settings to adjust the Home Screen’s wallpaper.

In other words, Apple seems to have approached the Lock Screen makeover as if it’s some standalone entity to customize instead of part of a larger iPhone theme and design system. That needs to change. And yes, I am going to point out that by the time the new iOS 16 Lock Screen launches, Android’s theming system and design language Material You will be a year old. You know, the one that lets you personalize the entire Android interface including the lock screen, notifications, settings, widgets, interface elements and even apps. We are not going to talk about how long Android has had widgets.

But yay, new Lock Screen I guess!

Image Credits: Apple

New APIs and developer tools

As for the new developer tools, there were some interesting updates emerging from this year’s WWDC.

Notable new APIs included RoomPlan — to tap into lidar for scanning indoor spaces; WeatherKit — a Dark Sky replacement that offers 500,000 calls/mo free with your Apple developer membership, then pricing that starts at $49.99/mo; LiveText to grab text from photos and paused video frames (video!!!); Focus filters — to show users relevant information based on the Focus mode they’re in; PassKeys to replace passwords with Face ID or Touch ID; ARKit 6, now with 4K video; Metal 3, WidgetKit; App Intents and others.

Image Credits: Apple

What’s great about these tools is that they offer the ability to not just build better apps, but build different types of apps, in some cases. That’s needed, because the App Store doesn’t feel as fresh and exciting as it did in earlier years when we were excited about the concept of running apps on a phone. APIs unlock developer innovation and we’re looking forward to seeing what these new APIs inspire.

Another interesting addition was Developer Mode, which could be laying the groundwork for sideloading if Apple is forced to allow this against its will — though today that’s not the case. Keep an eye on this one.

Image Credits: Apple

There was a lot more from WWDC, including useful updates to Apple’s own apps like being able to unsend messages, schedule emails, pay for purchases later with Apple Pay, track weather natively on iPad, keep up with your medication in the Apple Health app, use the Fitness app without an Apple Watch, better control your smart home and other updates — including little iOS 16 features Apple didn’t even tell us about.

And it teased a forthcoming app, Freeform, that’s an open, collaborative notetaking app that works with Apple Pencil.

One more thing…

But before we go, can we talk about this downright magical new iOS 16 Photo cutout feature? With this new feature, a part of Visual Lookup, you can now isolate the subject of the photo from the background, then copy and paste it into another app or a text. If you’ve ever tried to do this using photo-editing tools, you’re going to be surprised not only how easy this is, but also how well it turns out.

On the Lock Screen, this capability can separate the photo subject from the background of the wallpaper too, which makes for a layered look where the date and time and other elements can be behind the subject but in front of the photo’s background. Apple really undersold this one during the keynote.

You’ve got to try it yourself. This is the best new thing.

Image Credits: Apple

Weekly News

Platforms: Google

• Just ahead of Apple’s WWDC keynote, Google announced its latest Pixel feature drop. The release included Conversation Mode in Sound Amplifier to help the hard of hearing; air quality alerts; support for Nest Doorbell video feeds on the lock screen; a flashlight reminder (when it’s left on); a music and video editing app called Pocket Operator (created in partnership with Teenage Engineering and available for download on the Play Store); and other features.

• Google released Android 13, beta 3 for Pixel devices, and announced Android 13 had reached platform stability. That means the developer APIs and app updates are now final. Android 13 brings a bevy of new features, including more personalization options with themed icons, permission-based changes to push notifications, more granular file system controls, a new photo/video picker, better support for tablets and foldables and much more.
• Google also announced the launch of its initial developer previews for Privacy Sandbox on Android and said it will have more developer previews coming soon, as well as a beta later this year.

E-commerce

Image Credits: Amazon

• Amazon tapped into augmented reality in an attempt to appeal to sneakerheads shopping its site. The retailer announced a new feature called “Virtual Try-On for Shoes” that allows customers to visualize how a pair of new shoes will look on themselves from multiple angles using their mobile phone’s camera and AR technology. Participating brands include New Balance, Adidas, Reebok, Puma, Saucony, Lacoste, Asics and Superga.
• TikTok e-commerce efforts in the U.K., TikTok Shop, are reportedly in turmoil after losing half the staff (20 people) since its October 2021 launch because of a toxic workplace culture, The FT reported.
• In hopes of prompting creator adoption of its short-form Shorts service, YouTube announced its first-ever “Shoppable Shorts Challenge” alongside its second annual YouTube Beauty Festival. The challenge will have creators making videos about Glossier’s Cloud Paint product.

Fintech

• PayPal announced it will begin allowing users to transfer cryptocurrency from their PayPal accounts to other wallets and exchanges. The feature will allow users to move crypto to external crypto addresses, including exchanges and hardware wallets, and send crypto to other PayPal users “in seconds.”
• Investments app Public introduced Public Premium, a new $10/mo membership tier that offers research, data and insights to help inform investment decisions. This includes access to deeper company metrics, research from expert analysts and more . The service is free to members with an account balance of $20,000+.

Social

Image Credits: TikTok

• TikTok rolled out new screen time “take a break” reminders designed to put users in better control of their TikTok usage. In addition its daily screen time limits tool, the new feature will allow users to have the app remind them to take a break from the app during a single session. By default, the tool suggests reminder options of alerts at 10, 20 or 30 minutes, in addition to allowing users to set their own times. The reminders can be snoozed or turned off at any time. The app also added a new screen time dashboard as well as reminders for minors (13-17) to enable TikTok’s screen time tools if they’ve used the app for more than 100 minutes per day.
• Pinterest launched applications for its Creator Fund in the U.K. Accepted creators get to join a five-week program of events, gain access to educational talks and equipment, and get a cash grant of £20,000.
• Twitter said it would give would-be acquirer Elon Musk access to its full firehose after his complaints that it wasn’t sharing data to prove that less than 5% of its service was made up of bots. The news came as a new study reported that Twitter could be around 10% bots and the Texas AG’s office began its own investigation into Twitter bots.
• Instagram expanded its in-app “sensitive content” controls to allow users turn off sensitive content in recommendations throughout the app, including search, Reels, hashtag pages, “accounts you might follow” and in-feed suggested posts, instead of just the Explore tab, as before. The app defines sensitive content as permitted but possibly upsetting content such as posts including violence (like people fighting; graphic violence is banned); posts that promote regulated products (tobacco, vaping, pharmaceuticals, adult products/services); posts that promote or depict cosmetic procedures; posts that attempt to sell products or services based on health-related claims (like supplements); and more.
• Instagram also added a TikTok-like feature that allows users to pin up to three posts to their profile in the app.
• TikTok launched TikTok Avatars, a new feature similar to Snap’s Bitmoji and Apple’s Memoji that lets users customize their appearance, add voice effects and more.

Image Credits: TikTok

• Link-in-bio service Linktree, popular among social media apps users and creators, launched Link Apps. The new feature lets creators embed services from Cameo, OpenSea, PayPal, SoundCloud and others via a new marketplace.
• Facebook is killing off its consumer-facing Portal video-calling device to instead focus on business users. The smart screen device had allowed access to apps like Messenger and WhatsApp and integrated with users’ Facebook accounts. The company is also scaling back plans for AR glasses.

Photos

• Photo editing app maker Picsart launched a new AI-powered image-enhancement tool that improves the overall quality of an image and resolution for printing or sharing online. The tool uses advanced AI models to remove or blur pixelated effects, add pixels and sharpen and restore scenes and objects, including faces. It’s being made available via the app’s API and on iOS, where it’s called “HD Portrait.”

Messaging

• WhatsApp was warned by European regulators it has just one more month to address the remaining concerns around its terms of service and privacy policy updates to clearly inform consumers about the changes. The company is being asked to clarify if it generates revenue from commercial policies related to user data, as well.
• Telegram is launching a subscription service later this month that will offer premium extra, like the ability to view “extra large” documents, media and stickers sent by Premium users, or add premium reactions if they’ve already been pinned to a message.

Streaming & Entertainment

• AT&T removed the HBO Max bundle from its new, premium tier unlimited wireless plan, Unlimited Premium, which replaced Unlimited Elite. The bundle deal had helped drive new subscriptions to the streaming app in prior years.
• Amazon simplified the pricing for its Amazon Kids+ entertainment bundle by making it $4.99/mo for Prime members and $7.99/mo for others. The changes will allow the service to be used for up to four child profiles, which increases the cost for those who had previously only paid for a single child, but decreases the cost for others. The service offers a kid-friendly selection of books, videos, apps and games, among other things.
• At Spotify’s Investor Day, the company reported on the financial health of its business with a big focus on podcasts, noting this area brought in nearly €200 million in 2021 revenue, up 300% from the prior year. The company said its overall gross margin was 28.5%, dragged down by its continued investments in podcasts, but it’s on track to a GM of 30-35%, and that podcasts have 40-50% GM potential, and audiobooks could soon follow suit.

Gaming

Image Credits: Netflix

• Netflix announced a number of new gaming titles during its annual Geeked Week event, some of which are tied to popular Netflix shows, including “The Queen’s Gambit,” “Shadow and Bone,” and “Too Hot To Handle.” The streaming service currently has 22 games available and plans to have 50 titles by the end of this year.
• Tencent is rolling out a new international version of one of the world’s largest mobile games, Honor of Kings, by year-end. The game had racked up $10 billion in worldwide revenue by 2021. The overseas version will be published by Level Infinite for TiMiStudio.
• Game studio HiDef announced it’s teaming up with Snap to develop an off-platform Bitmoji-based dance and music social game that will also leverage Snap’s AR tech. The game will launch in 2023.
• Apple’s new iOS 16 will allow iPhones to support pairing with Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons and Pro Controllers to give users more control while playing mobile games.
• No Man’s Sky is coming to iPad — well, the Apple silicon-powered ones, that is.

Health & Fitness

• Meta rolled out the ability for users to track their Meta Quest fitness stats from VR to their phone. The feature involves the Move app — Meta Quest’s built-in fitness tracker that lets you set goals for how many calories you’ve burned and how many minutes you’ve spent working out in VR. This will now sync to the Oculus Mobile app and Apple’s Health app.

Travel & Transportation

• Delivery company Uber said its food delivery business Uber Eats is launching a new product that will provide shipping of select specialty food items across the continental U.S.; 15 merchants from NY, LA and Miami are involved to start.
• Singaporean taxi operator ComfortDelGro partnered with Alipay+ to allow tourists in Malaysia and South Korea to use their mobile wallet apps (Touch ‘n Go eWallet and Kakao Pay) to pay for cab fare in Singapore.
• Travel app Hopper launched “Leave for Any Reason,” a $30 product that lets customers leave their hotel for any reason and rebook with another hotel of the same star category, with rebooking costs covered by Hopper.
• Traveling to the beach? Don’t forget to download the new shark-spotting app. The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy and New England Aquarium teamed up to encourage consumers to report shark sightings off Cape Cod in Massachusetts through an app called Sharktivity.

Government & Policy

• Wired reports on how Ukrainian civilians are using apps to help the army, which blurs the lines between civilians and soldiers and raises questions related to international humanitarian laws.
• Russian tech giant Yandex removed national borders between Ukraine and Russia from its maps app. Users still see the country names displayed — but lines depicting exact borders between countries like Ukraine and Russia are no longer visible.
• Nasdaq-listed language learning app Duolingo is back in China’s Apple App Store and Android stores nearly a year after its disappearance due to China’s regulatory crackdowns. The company had been told at the time of its removal to strengthen its “content compliance mechanism.”
• The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published its final report on its year-long mobile ecosystem market study. The report found there are substantial concerns about Apple and Google’s market power which require regulatory intervention. Among the concerns are in-app payments and commissions, Apple’s ban on cloud gaming providers and non-WebKit-based browsers on iOS, switching costs between ecosystems, and more.

Funding and M&A

Hourly, an app that helps businesses track hours and payroll for hourly wage workers, raised $27 million in Series A funding led by Glilot Capital Partners. Hourly has around 1,000 customers in California, in areas like construction, home services, accounting and retail.

India fintech CRED raised $140 million in a fourth round of funding led by GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, valuing the startup at $6.4 billion, up from $2.2 billion in April 2021. Among other things, CRED allows users to manage credit cards, check their credit score and earn rewards.

Fintech app Fruitful announced a total of $33 million in equity funding raised across a seed and Series A round over the past 18 months. Emigrant Bank led the company’s $8 million seed round and 8VC led its $25 million Series A. The app will launch this fall to offer consumers financial guidance from experts via a $98/mo subscription service.

Mexico City-based neobank app Klar raised $70 million in Series B funding led by General Atlantic, valuing the startup at $500 million. The company added 1.4 million customers over the past 12 months and more than $100 million worth of loans.

Indonesia cryptocurrency-focused app Pintu raised a $113 million Series B from Intudo Ventures, Lightspeed, Northstar Group and Pantera Capital. The app offers 66 tokens and has more than 4 million installs.

Note-taking app maker Notion announced it’s acquiring the calendar app Cron. Notion already synced with Google Calendar, but this deal suggests the company wants to expand further into the productivity space. Cron had raised $3.5 million in seed funding. Deal terms weren’t disclosed.

Mobile app marketing solution Airship acquired Gummicube, an App Store Optimization service. The deal will see Gummicube’s ASO technology linked to Airship’s App Experience Platform. Terms were not disclosed.

Downloads

Brickit (update)

Image Credits: Brickit

Brickit, the clever mobile app that uses AI to identify which LEGO bricks you own and then suggest projects, rolled out a new version of its app that includes several new features that help people do more with their LEGO collections.

The updated app now includes a Finder feature that will identify the precise location of bricks within a pile of bricks. Its AI and ML capabilities have also been improved, the company says. Brickit’s AI has gotten better at identification, with a success rate as high as 92%, it claims. The app will also use machine learning to help it get better over time. If it gets something wrong, it asks the users to help correct the problem, then uses that information to improve its LEGO brick knowledge. A final new feature may be the best as it makes Brickit not just a tool, but a community. Brickit now lets users submit their own creations to the app which Brickit then transforms into instructions and share with other Brickit users worldwide.

Tweets

Hey, it’s a new HIG!

Good News, weather app devs

Graceful response to being sherlocked

It didn’t have to be this way, Apple…

Want to see something cool?

Wait, what now?

We’re obsessed too, this thing is wild!

The UK’s competition watchdog has published its final report on a comprehensive, year-long mobile ecosystem market study — cementing its view that there are substantial concerns about the market power of Apple and Google which require regulatory intervention.

Back in December, its preliminary report on the market study also identified concerns and discussed potential remedies for tackling lock-in and opening up the pair’s “largely self-contained ecosystems”, such as by making it easier for consumers to switch and reducing barriers for app developers.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)’s 356-page final report goes into greater depth and detail on all fronts, analyzing a smorgasbord of competition concerns attached to how Apple and Google operate their respective, dominant mobile ecosystems, iOS and Android — and digging into topics as varied as Apple’s App Tracking Transparency feature; a Google developer revenue-sharing agreement codenamed ‘Project Hug’; and the merits of developing web apps that features a chat with the maker of popular puzzle game, Wordle, to pull out a few highlights — but with the regulator pointing to the pair’s sustained profitability, and profits it assess as “high in absolute terms”, as an indelible, top-line signal that market distortion is afoot.

In a press release accompanying the report, the CMA sums up its conclusions by asserting that Apple and Google “hold all the cards” in the mobile ecosystems market — and that interventions are needed “to give innovators and competitors a fair chance to compete”.

While there’s likely to be a fair degree of déjà vu for industry watchers — given the CMA’s preliminary report last year also flagged some of the same problems and discussed potential remedies — this time the UK regulator is taking action. Albeit, the processes this will entail are not quick so it could be years before it’s in a position to actually intervene and order changes to how the tech giants operate in relation to concerns its report has identified. But, well, the train is now starting to leave the station at least.

Specifically, the CMA is now proposing to open an in-depth probe with two points of focus: One on Apple and Google’s market power in mobile browsers; and another on Apple’s restrictions on cloud gaming through its App Store. (NB: The regulator has a duty to consult before it opens what’s called a market investigation reference, or MIR, relying on its existing competition powers.)

On mobile browsing, the CMA is concerned about Apple’s ban on non WebKit-based browsers on iOS — which it suspects severely limits rival browsers from being able to differentiate vs Apple’s Safari, as well as suggesting the restriction limits Apple’s incentive to further develop its own browser.

The CMA is further worried about how Apple’s ban on non WebKit-based browsers on iOS limits the capabilities of web apps on its platform — hampering their ability to compete with native apps (which Apple of course monetizes via its App Store fees).

Mobile browser defaults also appear to be in scope of the proposed MIR, with the CMA noting that mobile devices typically have either Google’s Chrome or Apple’s Safari pre-installed and set as default at purchase — “giving them a key advantage over other rival browsers”.

On cloud gaming, the CMA says it wants to look into Apple blocking these services on its App Store and how that might be harming consumers, such as if its action is hampering the sector from growing. It further notes that gaming apps are a key source of revenue for the iPhone maker, suggesting the tech could also pose a threat to Apple’s strong position in app distribution.

Its consultation on the proposed MIR will run until July 22.

In parallel, the regulator is also announcing that it’s taking enforcement action against Google in relation to its app store payment practices — where it says it suspects the adtech giant of anti-competitive practices.

This competition law investigation will focus on Google’s rules governing apps’ access to listing on its Play Store — looking at conditions it sets for how users can make in-app payments for certain digital products. (NB: The CMA has an open investigation into Apple’s App Store, announced in March last year — so this looks like a mirror action to address Google’s practices but one that’s likely to lag the more advanced investigation into Apple’s mobile app store terms.)

According to its report, the CMA has decided to step up a gear now because mobile developers have been complaining to it in the months since its preliminary report also flagged a grab-bag of competition concerns.

But the regulator is also acting now using its existing powers because it’s essentially being forced to as a result of the UK government’s decision to decelerate a planned ex ante reboot of digital competition rules (which the CMA had previously envisaged as the best vehicle to address antitrust concerns linked to Big Tech market power, including in mobile) — hence its report acknowledging (with quasi regret) “we now understand this [legislation to empower the Digital Markets Unit] will not be in the current parliamentary session (ie within the next year)”, adding: “Based on these developments, we now consider it to be the right time to consult on making a market investigation reference [MIR] into mobile browsers and cloud gaming.”

So the bottom line is that the UK’s competition regulator is having to make do with its current (ex post) competition powers to address substantial and sustained antitrust concerns attached to fast-moving digital giants — because the UK government has failed to prioritize the necessary ex ante reforms.

The CMA’s report acknowledges that European Union regulation could, therefore, end up having a first mover impact on strategic digital market power — since the bloc has already agreed its own ex ante competition reform (the Digital Markets Act; DMA), which is likely to come into force early next year.  So, er, so much for Brexit taking back regulatory control then!

“[T]he DMA will be one starting point for Apple and Google when deciding how to address these international competition concerns, many of which are similar to ours,” the CMA writes in a chapter of the report discussing international developments. “As a result, Apple and Google may make changes to the mobile ecosystem that will address some of the current restrictions on effective competition on a global basis, which could resolve the competition concerns that have been raised in a number of jurisdictions, including the UK.”

One slight potential upside of the UK’s legislative delay on digital competition reform is that the CMA has at least used this interim period to undertake detailed scrutiny of the mobile market — the consequences of which are likely to be long and deep, as the regulator suggests its conclusions will feed future interventions by the DMU, aka the dedicated unit established inside the regulator last year to oversee a “pro-competition” regime in digital markets that’s intended to target the most powerful platforms (but sill lacks the necessary legislation).

“We expect the findings of this market study to be an input into any DMU assessment of whether Apple and Google should be designated with SMS in particular activities,” the CMA writes, making a reference to Strategic Market Status; aka the status in the planned reform that would mean they are in-scope of the future ex ante code of conduct (and also able to be subject to so-called ‘pro-competition interventions’ which are set to be tailored per entity, not one-sized fits all). “The study will also inform the appropriate range and design of potential interventions that the DMU could put in place, were it to find either Apple or Google to have SMS.”

“Our expectation based on the findings in this study and the evidence to date, is that Apple and Google would meet the criteria (as currently outlined in the government’s consultation response) to be found to have SMS in respect of the following activities within their ecosystems; mobile operating systems (and for Apple, together with the mobile device on which it is installed, to the extent these are inextricably linked), native app distribution, and mobile browsers and browser engines. As a result, we expect that the interventions which we have considered in this study would generally be in scope of the new regime,” it adds.

The UK regulator will surely be hoping that time spent waiting for the government to empower the DMU can — eventually — turn into future enforcement gains, i.e. once the DMU is on a proper legal footing, and as a result of it undertaking all this comprehensive market analysis in the meanwhile. (The CMA has previously done a deep dive into the digital advertising market — where it also concluded there are major structural problems with Google but, similarly, opted to wait for the government to legislate.)

But there’s no doubt the government’s decision to kick the reform down the road means tech giants like Apple and Google have bought themselves a lot more time to keep extracting UK rents.

Commenting on the mobile market study in a statement, the CMA’s CEO, Andrea Coscelli, said:

“When it comes to how people use mobile phones, Apple and Google hold all the cards. As good as many of their services and products are, their strong grip on mobile ecosystems allows them to shut out competitors, holding back the British tech sector and limiting choice.

“We all rely on browsers to use the internet on our phones, and the engines that make them work have a huge bearing on what we can see and do. Right now, choice in this space is severely limited and that has real impacts – preventing innovation and reducing competition from web apps. We need to give innovative tech firms, many of which are ambitious start-ups, a fair chance to compete.

“We have always been clear that we will maximise the use of our current tools while we await legislation for the new digital regime. Today’s announcements — alongside the eight cases currently open against major players in the tech industry, ranging from tackling fake reviews to addressing problems in online advertising — are proof of that in action.”

Apple and Google were contacted for a response to the CMA’s findings.

Both tech giants sought to play down the idea that their stewardship of their respective mobile ecosystems has any negative impacts for consumers or other businesses.

Here’s Apple’s statement: 

“We believe in thriving and competitive markets where innovation can flourish. Through the Apple ecosystem we have created a safe and trusted experience users love and a great business opportunity for developers. In the UK alone, the iOS app economy supports hundreds of thousands of jobs and makes it possible for developers big and small to reach customers around the world.

“We respectfully disagree with a number of conclusions reached in the report, which discount our investments in innovation, privacy and user performance — all of which contribute to why users love iPhone and iPad and create a level playing field for small developers to compete on a trusted platform. We will continue to engage constructively with the Competition and Markets Authority to explain how our approach promotes competition and choice, while ensuring consumers’ privacy and security are always protected.”

A Google spokesperson also sent us this statement:

“Android phones offer people and businesses more choice than any other mobile platform. Google Play has been the launchpad for millions of apps, helping developers create global businesses that support a quarter of a million jobs in the UK alone. We regularly review how we can best support developers and have reacted quickly to CMA feedback in the past. We will review the report and continue to engage with the CMA.”

For a hint of what (more) may be to come, finally — if/when the DMU finally gets empowered and a new UK competition regime is up and running — Chapter 8 of the CMA’s report discusses a broad range of potential remedies for addressing competition concerns attached to the Apple-Google mobile duopoly, from making switching ecosystems easier for consumers; to lowering barriers for new OSes; to making interventions to aid native app distribution, or at the level of app store commission, or to support competition between app developers.

The report also touches on a number of potential separation remedies — namely data separation; operational separation; and structural separation — but the CMA sounds wary of going that far, without entirely ruling it out. “Given the significant costs, business disruptions, and risks of unintended consequences associated with these forms of intervention, we consider there are alternatives available with the potential to deliver many of the benefits with significantly lower cost and risks,” it writes on that. 

“In particular, we envisage that at this stage the interventions proposed above to level the playing field between Apple’s and Google’s own apps and third parties, would have the potential to deliver many of the benefits with comparably lower costs,” it goes on, before adding: “However, should Apple and Google act against consumers interests by making it unreasonably difficult for competing apps to successfully enter and expand, then separation could be reconsidered as an alternative which directly addresses their incentives to favour their own businesses.”

Returning to the immediately proposed interventions, if the MIR goes ahead as the CMA is proposing, it will have 18 months from the date the reference is made to conclude the investigation of Apple and Google’s market power in mobile browsers and Apple’s approach to cloud gaming — with the possibility of an extension of a further 6 months in exceptional circumstances. So it could be spending two full years digging into this.

The aim of a market investigation is to consider whether there are features of a market that have an adverse effect on competition (aka AEC).

If the CMA finds there is an AEC, it has a range of (existing) powers to impose its own remedies, such as being able to enforce behavioral requirements or even order the sale of parts of a business, as well as being able to make recommendations to other bodies (such as sectoral regulators or the government) for other appropriate interventions to support improving competition.

But, again, such interventions aren’t likely to deliver overnight results as they can also take time to implement, plus there’s the high possibility that enforcement orders would be appealed. So, again, any UK fix for the Apple-Google duopoly won’t be quick. 

Google today announced a set of new and updated security features for Chrome, almost all of which rely on machine learning (ML) models, as well as a couple of nifty new ML-based features that aim to make browsing the web a bit easier, including a new feature that will suppress notification permission prompts when its algorithm thinks you’re unlikely to accept them.

Starting with the next version of Chrome, Google will introduce a new ML model that will silence many of these notification permission prompts. And the sooner the better. At this point, they have mostly become a nuisance. Even if there are some sites — and those are mostly news sites — that may offer some value in their notifications, I can’t remember the last time I accepted one on purpose. Also, while legitimate sites love to push web notifications to remind readers of their existence, attackers can also use them to send phishing attacks or prompt users to download malware if they get users to give them permission.

“On the one hand, page notifications help deliver updates from sites you care about; on the other hand, notification permission prompts can become a nuisance,” Google admits in its blog post today. The company’s new ML model will now look for prompts that users are likely to ignore and block them automatically. And as a bonus, all of that is happening on your local machine, so none of your browsing data makes it onto Google’s servers.

On the security side, Google today announced that earlier this year, it quietly rolled out an update to the ML model that powers its Safe Browsing service. This new model identifies 2.5x more malicious sites and phishing attacks than the previous model.

Left: What you will see if a phishing attempt is detected – Right: Chrome shows permission requests quietly when the user is unlikely to grant them

As for other new ML-driven features, Chrome is also getting a new language identification model that is better at figuring out what language a given page is in and whether it needs to be translated based on your personal preferences.

Meanwhile, in the near future, Chrome will adjust its toolbar based on your current needs. It’ll learn that you usually share a lot of links in the morning, for example, and highlight the share prompt then, while later in the day, while you are using transit, it’ll show the voice prompt icon because it has learned that you often use this feature then (by the way, did you know that you can long-tap the shortcut in Chrome mobile to manually change it?)

“Our goal is to build a browser that’s genuinely and continuously helpful, and we’re excited about the possibilities that ML provides,” Google explains.

Image Credits: Google

Jailed Kremlin critic, Alexey Navalny, has hit out at adtech giants Meta and Google for shutting off advertising inside Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine which he argues has been a huge boon to Putin’s regime by making it harder for the opposition to get out anti-war messaging.

The remarks came after Navalny was asked to address a conference on democracy. Not in person of course as he remains incarcerated in Russia — rather he posted the comments on his website.

“It would be downright banal to say that the new information world can be both a boon for democracy and a huge bane. Nevertheless, it is so,” he writes. “Our organization has built all its activities on information technology and has achieved serious success with it, even when it was practically outlawed. And information technology is being actively used by the Kremlin to arrest participants in protest rallies. It is proudly claimed that all of them will be recognized even with their faces covered.

“The Internet gives us the ability to circumvent censorship. Yet, at the same time, Google and Meta, by shutting down their advertising in Russia, have deprived the opposition of the opportunity to conduct anti-war campaigns, giving a grandiose gift to Putin.”

Navalny has previously called for Meta and Google to allow their adtech to be weaponized against Putin’s propaganda machine — arguing that highly scalable ad targeting tools could be used to circumvent restrictions on access to free information imposed by the regime as a way to show Russian citizens the bloody reality of the “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Now, in thinly veiled criticism of the tech giants — which would presumably be delivered in a sarcastic tone if his address were being given in person — Navalny writes: “Should the Internet giants continue to pretend that they it’s ‘just business’ for them and act like ‘neutral platforms’? Should they continue to claim that social network users in the United States and Eritrea, in Denmark and Russia, should operate under the same rules? How should the internet treat government directives, given that Norway and Uganda seem to have slightly different ideas about the role of the internet and democracy?

“It’s all very complicated and very controversial, and it all needs to be discussed while keeping in mind that the discussion should also lead to solutions.”

“We love technology. We love social networks. We want to live in a free informational society. So let’s figure out how to keep the bad guys from using the information society to drive their nations and all of us into the dark ages,” he adds.

Meta and Google were contacted for a response to the criticism but at the time of writing neither had sent comment.

The tech industry’s response to the war in Ukraine remains patchy, with Western companies increasingly closing down services inside Russia — but not all their services.

For example, despite shuttering advertising inside Russia, Meta and Google have not shut down access to their social platforms, Facebook and YouTube — likely as they would argue these services help Russians access independent information vs the state-controlled propaganda that fills traditional broadcast media channels in the country.

In Facebook’s case, it’s an argument that was bolstered when Russia’s Internet regulator targeted the service soon after the invasion of Ukraine — initially restricting access; and then, in early March, announcing that Facebook would be blocked after the company had restricted access to a number of state-linked media outlets.

Interestingly, though, Google owned YouTube appears to have escaped a direct state block — although it has received plenty of warnings from Russia’s Internet regulator in recent months, including for distributing “anti-Russian ads“.

This discrepancy suggests the Kremlin continues (for now) to view YouTube as an important conduit for its own propaganda — likely owing to the platform’s huge popularity in Russia, where use of YouTube outstrips locally developed alternatives (like GazProm Media-owned Rutube), which would be far easier for Putin’s regime to censor.

This is not the case for Facebook — where the leading local alternative, VK.com, has been massively popular for years — making it easier for the Kremlin to block access to the Western equivalent since Russians have less incentive to try to circumvent a block by using a VPN.

However if the Kremlin is intent on shaping citizens’ access to digital information over the long haul it may not be content to let YouTube’s popularity stand — and could opt to use technical means to degrade access while actively promoting local alternatives, as a strategy to drive usage of local rivals until they’re big enough to supplant the influence of the foreign giant. (And, indeed, reports have suggested the Kremlin is sinking money into Rutube.)

Given YouTube’s ongoing influence in Russia — coupled with rising threats from Russia’s state regulator that YouTube remove ‘banned content’ or face fines and/or a slowdown of the service — Navalny may have, at least, an overarching point that Google risks playing right into Putin’s hands.

The jailed opposition politician has also been even more critical of local search giant, Yandex — over its equivalent service to Google News which operates in a regulatory regime that requires it aggregate only state-approved media sources, allowing the Kremlin to shape the narrative it presents to the millions of Russians who visit a search portal homepage where this News feed is displayed.

Back in April, Yandex announced that it had signed a deal to sell News and another media property, called Zen, to VK — but it remains to be seen how, or indeed whether, this ownership change will make any difference to the state-controlled news narrative Russians are routinely exposed to when they visit popular local services.

Amazon is tapping into augmented reality in an attempt to appeal to sneakerheads shopping its site. The retailer this morning announced a new feature called Virtual Try-On for Shoes that will allow customers to visualize how a pair of new shoes will look on themselves from multiple angles using their mobile phone’s camera.

The company says the feature will help brands to better showcase their products while also informing customers’ purchasing decisions. The launch follows the rollout of other virtual try-on technology for athletic shirts this past April, as part of an update to its “Made for You” custom clothing service. In that case, however, the technology was rendering the shirt on an avatar that represents the customer’s body, based on their actual measurements, and doesn’t use AR.

The new AR try-on feature for shoes will initially launch in the U.S. and Canada in the Amazon shopping app on iOS. To use the feature, customers will tap on the new “Virtual Try-On” button below the product image on supported styles to get started.

At launch, try-on will be available across thousands of styles from brands including New Balance, Adidas, Reebok, Puma, Saucony, Lacoste, Asics, and Superga, Amazon says.

To try on the shoes, customers will point their phone’s camera at their feet and the AR shoes will appear. They can then use the included carousel to swap out colors of the same style of shoe without having to exit the experience. From here, shoppers can also snap a photo of their virtual try-on experience by tapping the “Share” icon. This lets them save the photo to their device and post to social media.

“Amazon Fashion’s goal is to create innovative experiences that make shopping for fashion online easier and more delightful for customers,” said Muge Erdirik Dogan, president of Amazon Fashion, in a statement about the new feature. “We’re excited to introduce Virtual Try-On for Shoes, so customers can virtually try on thousands of styles from brands they know and love at their convenience, wherever they are. We look forward to listening and learning from customer feedback as we continue to enhance the experience and expand to more brands and styles,” Dogan added.

The feature was previously in testing with select customers, Amazon notes, so some users may have access before now.

Image Credits: Amazon

Amazon has been fairly slow to embrace AR technology for online apparel shopping, despite increased competition from competitors in this space. In the past, it’s seen AR as more of a tool or toy. In years past, it has experimented with AR for furniture shopping, and has used AR for inconsequential features, like AR Stickers or to add AR features to seasonal shipping boxes.

Meanwhile, Big Tech rivals including Pinterest, Google and Snapchat have leveraged AR to allow shoppers to try on makeup, apparel and accessories. Snap recently expanded its investment in AR shopping with the introduction of tools that turn retailers’ photos into 3D assets and the launch of an in-app destination for AR fashion and virtual try-on called “Dress Up.” The company said that more than 250 million Snapchat users have engaged with AR shopping Lenses more than 5 billion times since January 2021.

Amazon’s top U.S. competitor Walmart also recently turned to virtual try-on with its March 2022 debut of an A.I.-powered try-on feature, “Choose My Model,” which was based on technology it acquired the prior year from the startup Zeekit. Here, Walmart shoppers can try on clothes in sizes XS through XXXL across virtual models ranging in height from 5’2″ and 6’0″. While that’s a more complex use of technology than Amazon’s virtual try-on of shoes, it does not leverage AR.

Asked if Amazon had any data that suggested virtual try-on actually increased conversions, an Amazon spokesperson didn’t have much to offer. They didn’t share any specific metrics and spoke only of how the feature was an “experiment” in making shopping easier. They also noted Amazon was experimenting in other areas, including virtually trying on eyewear and virtually trying on outfits on a personal avatar.

Google is expanding a verification program for financial services ads that it launched in the UK last summer after seeing what it describes as a “pronounced decline” in reports of ads promoting financial scams.

First in line to get the requirement, as part of a phased expansion of the policy, are Australia, Singapore and Taiwan. But Google says it plans to further expand the verification requirements to advertisers in additional countries and regions “in the coming months”.

The verification layer sits atop Google’s financial products and services policy — looping in a local financial regulator which advertisers must demonstrate they are authorized by in order to have their financial services ads accepted by Google — thereby adding a layer of security against the adtech giant accepting and running ads for crypto investment scams and the like.

In the UK the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the regulatory body that financial services advertisers must demonstrate they are authorized by. Equivalent oversight bodies will come into play in the three new markets.

Google said advertisers wanting to promote financial products and services in these markets will be able to apply for verification at the end of June — with the policy slated to go into effect on August 30, 2022.

“Advertisers that have not completed the new verification process by this date will no longer be allowed to promote financial services,” it warns in a blog post penned by Alejandro Borgia, a Google director of ads privacy and safety.

“We work tirelessly to make sure the ads we serve are safe and trustworthy, and we know that partnering and collaborating with government regulators is critical to our success. That’s why we’re closely coordinating with regulators in these three markets to make sure this program is effective at scale,” he added.

Google hasn’t offered any data to back up its claim that the policy change has led to a substantial decline in reports of financial scam ads in the UK market — offering only an overall (global) figure for ads that it blocked or removed in 2021 (58.9 million) for violating its financial services policies, culled from its 2021 Ads Safety Report.

Prior to launching the financial ads verification policy in the UK, Google had been under pressure from the FCA to tackle scams — with the regulator threatening legal action if Google continued to accept unscreened financial ads.

In its second Investor Day, streaming service Spotify updated the financial community about its potential for further growth and monetization, despite the overall economic downturn impacting the tech sector. The company spent a good portion of its presentation specifically focused on podcasts, which it said had been “largely unchanged” for years before its entry into the market, due to the limitations of RSS.

Spotify cited how unbundling podcasts from RSS technology has paved the way for Spotify to generate revenue through these popular audio programs — a sentiment that’s not universally beloved by those who support an open podcast ecosystem. Spotify has disrupted that market by bringing some podcasts in-house, where they can only be heard on its service, and competitors have followed. This has fractured the ecosystem and left consumers at a disadvantage as some shows are no longer broadly available.

“We’ve been able to replace RSS for on-platform distribution, which means that podcasts created on our platform are no longer held back by this outdated technology,” Maya Prohovnik, Spotify’s Head of Talk, told investors.

The company also highlighted the growth of podcasts on its service, noting that Spotify today has over 4 million podcasts, up from 500,000 in 2019. 1,000 of these are either operated or licensed as exclusives by the company. It noted, too, that its podcast creation tool Anchor has helped to contribute to this growth, saying that the app powers 75% of the podcasts on Spotify and each new show created on Anchor brings in an additional 2.5 million monthly active users to the service.

Combined with its other hosting platform, Megaphone, Spotify says that shows powered by its tools account for 45% of all podcast consumption on the platform.

But beyond the sheer number of available shows, Spotify highlighted the revenue-generating potential of its investments in this medium — investments which are over $1 billion when considering its acquisitions of tools, ad tech, and studios, as well as internal development efforts. Those efforts have also put Spotify in a complicated position with regard to which creators it chooses to platform and to what extent the content is moderated, as the Joe Rogan PR crisis demonstrated. But Spotify largely weathered that storm, as its hosting of the controversial podcaster didn’t impact its ability to grow paid subscribers.

Spotify believes its long-term revenue goals with podcasts will be achieved as it further develops its advertising technology, grows its podcast subscriptions business, and invests in new creator monetization tools.

In prepared remarks published just ahead of the start of Investory Day, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek spoke to the revenue possibilities ahead for podcasts, and noted that its continued investments in this area of its business are what’s been pulling down its gross margin.

He said that Spotify’s overall gross margin is roughly 28.5%, which is behind the company’s longer-term stated target of a 30-35% gross margin.

“What’s been dragging it down is our move into podcasting,” Ek said. “We saw such a significant opportunity to expand our platform and our audience, so we decided to go aggressively after podcasting. And this meant making a significant investment, which clearly has brought more listeners to Spotify and deepened the engagement, but it also has impacted our overall gross margin.”

Ek then noted that Spotify’s podcast vertical is “still largely in investment mode and not yet profitable,” but he believes the market has a “40-50% gross margin potential.”

This is not only related to Spotify’s ability to monetize podcasts with ads, but also new initiatives like its podcast subscriptions. The company told investors it’s now offering podcast subscriptions — essentially, paid podcasts — across 34 markets. Its on-platform subscriber retention rate for these is 90% since its 2021 launch. It said it’s partnered with over 100 publishers and platforms on subscriptions to date and is expanding.

Another newer area of non-music-related audio investment outside podcasts could then follow, Spotify said, speaking to its more recent entry into the audiobook market, now led by other service providers, like Apple, Audible (Amazon), Google, Scribd, Audiobooks.com and others.

“Today, the global size of the book market is estimated to be around $140 billion dollars. That’s inclusive of printed books, e-books, and audiobooks, with audiobooks having only about a 6-7% market share,” said Ek. “But when you look at the most penetrated audiobook markets, it’s actually closer to 50% of the market. So call that an annual opportunity of $70 billion dollars for us to expand and eventually compete for,” he added.

“We believe this presents a really unique opportunity to introduce music and podcast listeners around the world to audiobooks and drastically expand that market,” added Nir Zicherman, Spotify’s Head of Audiobooks & Gated Content Vertical, speaking to investors. “Our platform will soon be a place where consumers can purchase and listen to their favorite audiobooks, right in Spotify.” The offering would reach Spotify’s global audience of over 422 listeners, he said.

The company also suggested it could leverage its existing machine learning models to grow the audiobooks category on the service by way of personalized recommendations, as it has done with music and podcasts. It expects this new vertical to contribute to the increase of its user base’s lifetime value, or LTV — a metric it says is now more important to measuring the health of its business than in earlier days when it focused more on user growth.

Like many other tech businesses recently, Spotify has seen its share price tumble in 2022. The stock is down over 50% year-to-date, and down 70% from all-time highs. However, the company surpassed its own monthly active user guidance by 4 million in Q1, when it reported that 422 million people used its service during the quarter. Still, it only added 2 million new Premium subscribers, short of the expected 3 million, when it reached the 182 million total paying customers, in line with estimates. And it pulled in €2.66 billion ($2.81 billion) in revenue, up 24% year-over-year — but this had fallen short of analyst expectations. 

Despite the current economic downturn, Spotify’s key message to investors today was that its business has growth potential not only because its investments in podcasts are still early and have yet to pay off, but because it’s still finding new markets to expand into, as it has now with audiobooks.

The company said it’s on track to top 1 billion users by 2030.

Ek concluded the presentation with the long-term forecast, saying the company will achieve $100 billion in revenue over the next decade, a 40% gross margin, and a 20% operating margin.

Among the stats highlighted during the event: 

General

• 89% of Spotify Premium subscribers use Spotify on multiple devices, up from 75% in 2018
• Compounded annual growth rates of 26% for monthly active users, 26% for subscribers, and 26% for revenue on a currency-adjusted basis
• Over 2,000 partners, up from 250 in 2018; 28% of all of the new registrations come from partners, up from 14% in 2018
• More than 81% of listeners cite personalization as best feature
• Monthly subscriber churn create declined 40% over last 4 years
• Gross margin is roughly 28.5%, on track to goal of 30-35%
• Number of markets reached is 183 markets and territories, which tripled over past 4 years
• Number of new customers doubled from Q4 2021 to Q1 2022; 85% retention rate from existing customers; user base on track to 1 billion listeners
• Q1 2022 revenue up 224% year-over-year
• Spotify Wrapped 2021 was the “most successful” Wrapped to date; was No. 1 trending topic on TikTok and Twitter
• Terms of Google payment deal undisclosed but “beneficial to Spotify”
• U.S. advertising revenue in 2021 was now almost a quarter of revenue, compared to 1/10th globally
• 100 million users in Latin America
• On track to hit over 1 billion users globally by 2030

Music

• 83% of platform streams come from artists using Spotify’s creator tools at least monthly
• Discovery mode program, powered by algorithmic promotion, had 98% customer retention and used by over 50 labels/distributors
• Artists using Discovery mode increased listenership by over 40%
• Concert ticket integrations has generated $300 million for the music industry
• Spotify now reaches nearly a third of all addressable consumers in Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand

Podcasts

• More than 4 million podcasts, up from 500K in 2019; “increasing number” of audiobooks
• Belief is podcasts could ultimately have GM of 40-50%; audiobooks could have above 40% GM
• Spotify-owned Anchor powers 75% of podcasts
• Every new anchor show brings 2.5 additional MAUs to Spotify
• Between Anchor and our hosting platform Megaphone, Spotify-powered shows account for 45% of all consumption on the platform
• On-platform podcast subscription platform average subscriber retention rate is 90% since 2021 launch
• Spotify’s original and exclusive shows accounted for 18 of the top 100 podcasts on the service
• Spotify produces or licenses 1,000 podcasts
• Top podcasts are (in order): Joe Rogan Experience, Armchair Expert, Call Her Daddy

Google Cloud today announced the launch of its new cloud region in Dallas, Texas, as it continues to expand its data center footprint around the world. The new region marks the company’s 11th region in North America. Globally, the company now offers 34 regions, all of which feature three zones for additional redundancy.

With this, Google now offers a local region for the expanding tech ecosystem in Texas and, as always, existing Google Cloud users can now offer lower latency access to their users in the region. The company also noted that the Dallas region will offer existing users additional capacity and flexibility to reach users across the U.S.

The new region will offer access to all of the standard Google Cloud products, including Compute Engine, Google Kubernetes Engine, Cloud Storage, Persistent Disk, CloudSQL and Cloud Identity.

As of now, Google has three additional regions in the works: Tel Aviv, Israel; Damman, Saudi Arabia, and Doha, Qatar.

Image Credits: Google

This spring, Google updated its Messages app to support handling iMessage reactions. That is, instead of spamming a group chat with separate messages whenever someone responded to a text using one of iMessage’s emoji reactions known as Tapbacks, the app would now display the emoji attached to the side of the message, where it belongs. With the launch of iOS 16, Apple appears to be fixing this longstanding annoyance from its side as well.

First spotted by 9to5Mac, the feature was also tweeted out by an Apple employee on Monday as one of the many Messages updates arriving with iOS 16 and macOS Ventura. While the highlights — including message editing, mark unread, and retractions — were detailed during Apple’s WWDC keynote address on Monday, the new feature “SMS Tapback Inference” was not among them.

By design, when iMessage users are chatting with Android users, the conversation becomes an SMS chat. Even one Android user in a group chat will kill the blue bubbles — a design choice that’s helped Apple lock iPhone users into its platform, particularly U.S. teens who find the green bubble “uncool.” But the reality is that all iPhone users will end up in a chat with an Android user at some point, and in those cases, Tapback emoji reactions are turned into spam texts.

Instead of displaying the emoji alongside the message, as intended, users get separate (and very annoying!) additional texts that someone liked, loved, or otherwise reacted to a given message when the chat is taking place across mobile platforms. This clutters up group chats, leads to excessive notifications, and just generally makes for a poor user experience.

Apple is thankfully addressing this issue, as it will now better interoperate with Android on this emoji reaction feature. Instead of getting an extra text, the emoji reaction will appear alongside the message the user is reacting to — but in green to indicate its Android origins.

Although the newer communication standard RCS supports emoji reactions natively, Apple has yet to roll out RCS support — perhaps because RCS is too similar to iMessage with its features like typing indicators, read receipts, higher quality picture messages, and more.

But this feature at least allows cross-platform messaging to be less problematic.

Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy.

The app industry continues to grow, with a record number of downloads and consumer spending across both the iOS and Google Play stores combined in 2021, according to the latest year-end reports. App Annie says global spending across iOS and Google Play is up to $135 billion in 2021, and that figure will likely be higher when its annual report, including third-party app stores in China, is released next year. Consumers also downloaded 10 billion more apps this year than in 2020, reaching nearly 140 billion in new installs, it found.

Apps aren’t just a way to pass idle hours — they’re also a big business. In 2019, mobile-first companies had a combined $544 billion valuation, 6.5x higher than those without a mobile focus. In 2020, investors poured $73 billion in capital into mobile companies — a figure that was up 27% year-over-year.

This Week in Apps offers a way to keep up with this fast-moving industry in one place with the latest from the world of apps, including news, updates, startup fundings, mergers and acquisitions, and much more.

Do you want This Week in Apps in your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here: techcrunch.com/newsletters

Top Stories

WWDC 2022 Preview

It’s that time again. Google I/O has come and gone, which means it’s now WWDC season. Apple’s big developer conference is back this year as a hybrid event with invites sent to some developers (and press), and a keynote that airs Monday, June 6 at 10 a.m. PT. Amid the possibility of new Macs (or maybe even the rumored AR headset?), app developers are most interested in the coming updates to Apple’s development platforms and what’s ahead for its mobile operating systems, including the big new release of iOS 16.

Thanks to leaks largely from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, iOS 16 — code-named “Sydney” — could be a fairly big upgrade. Rumored changes include an updated lockscreen that features the Today View widgets, perhaps — more real estate for app developers to capture users’ attention — as well as the chance that an iPhone 14/iOS 16 combo will include an always-on display. Other updates could see first-party apps like Messages and Health getting updates, the former with enhancements to its audio features, the leaks claim.

Elsewhere, we’re expecting multitasking improvements for iPadOS, plus updates to macOS, watchOS and tvOS, including other first-party app updates (Settings, Mail, Safari, Podcasts and Notes, potentially), new watch faces and more.

If Apple wanted to surprise us, it could announce the rumored homeOS or its smartglasses, but for the time being, we’re not betting on those releases.

Daily downloads to reach top of the App Store have increased 37% since 2019

Image Credits: Sensor Tower

New analysis indicates it’s gotten harder to get an app to the top of the App Store, in terms of downloads, over the past several years. According to new data from app intelligence firm Sensor Tower, the number of downloads needed for an app to break into the No. 1 position on Apple’s iPhone App Store in the U.S. has climbed by 37% since 2019. Specifically, it estimates an app now requires approximately 156,000 downloads on a given day to hit the top spot on the U.S. App Store, up from 114,000 daily downloads back in 2019.

Meanwhile, Android apps only need 56,000 daily downloads, down from 83,000 in 2019.

Image Credits: Sensor Tower

Of course, developers know that downloads alone don’t move an app to the top of the charts. It’s only one of several factors that Apple’s ranking algorithm takes into account for managing its Top Charts. Still, it’s an interesting metric to track as it does matter — and Sensor Tower has done the work to analyze the median needed per marketplace, by categories, and even among select markets. You can read our write-up here.

Weekly News

Platforms: Apple

• Apple updated its Apple Developer App in advance of WWDC. The app will allow developers to browse the WWDC tab to watch the complete schedule of each day’s session videos, as well as access Digital Lounge activities and the Coding and Design Challenges. The app also now supports SharePlay so developers can watch videos together with colleagues or friends.
• Apple also launched a new webpage, Beyond WWDC, devoted to listing a number of other events and gatherings related to WWDC, many of which are sponsored by or led by developer organizations.
• Ahead of next week’s reveal of iOS 16, Apple released the latest iOS 15.6 beta 2, as well as the second developer betas for iPadOS 15.6, tvOS 15.6 and watchOS 8.7. Notably, the update fixed the bug that saw the Apple Music app pushing other apps out of the iPhone’s dock.
• Mixpanel noted that Apple’s iOS 15 is now installed on 85% of active iPhones as we head toward the reveal of iOS 16.
• Apple featured a selection of its WWDC22 Swift Student Challenge Winners, which this year total 350 students from 40 countries and regions. Among the apps that Apple highlighted were Ivy, an app for gardeners; an app that teaches CPR; and an app that lets people try out different pronouns using sample texts.

Platforms: Google

• Google said Android users will soon be able to apply their Play Points to in-app purchases for apps published on Google Play. The points will be available right in the checkout flow.
• Google announced the General Availability (GA) of App Actions using shortcuts.xml, part of the Android shortcuts framework. By using the Shortcuts API, developers can add a layer of voice interaction to their apps, by using the Android tooling, platform and features they already know, Google said.
• Google’s latest Android update included new Gboard stickers, 1,600 Emoji Kitchen combos, new Play Points features and accessibility app improvements. Most notably, the company is bringing custom text stickers to all Android devices, after first launching them on Pixel phones in March.
• A number of South Korean app developers and content providers upped their paid subscription and service fees on Google’s Play marketplace due to the 15-30% commissions now required following Google’s policy changes that force apps to use its first-party billings and payments system. While South Korean law permits app developers to use a third-party payment option, this only reduces Google’s commission by 4% — and that’s not enough, developers believe.
• Google is said to be shutting down Android Auto for phone screens, according to messages users are seeing in the app.

E-commerce

• Amazon added an invite-only ordering option to its website and app designed to limit bots’ ability to score high-demand, low-supply products. The system launches in the U.S. with the PS 5 and Xbox Series X console preorders.
• Kohl’s is the latest retailer to sign on for Apple’s Business Chat, which allows customers to talk to live chat customer service agents through Apple’s Messages app.

Fintech

• SEC filings indicated banking app Varo, the first U.S. neobank to receive a bank charter, had $263 million equity, an $84 million burn rate and 98% of its income came from interchange and fees, according to an analysis by Fintech Business Weekly. The report suggested Varo could be out of money by year-end if it doesn’t cut costs and raise more capital.
• Visa and East Africa’s biggest telecom, Safaricom, the operator of the M-Pesa mobile money product, launched a virtual card that will allow M-Pesa users to make digital payments globally.
• Square said it would roll out support for Apple’s new Tap to Pay on iPhone feature inside its Square Point of Sale app later this year, and it launched an Early Access Program for select merchants.
• Coinbase said it will extend its hiring freeze for “as long as this macro environment requires” and said it would also rescind a number of accepted offers.

Social

Image Credits: Instagram

• Instagram launched AMBER Alerts on its app to tap into its wide user base to help find missing children. The alert will appear if you’re in the designated search area and will include information about the missing child, including an image, description, location of the abduction and other details.
• Twitter is said to be restructuring to focus on user growth and personalization, which is impacting staffing for other features like Spaces, newsletters and Communities, Bloomberg said.
• After 14 years, Meta announced COO Sheryl Sandberg is leaving the company. The resignation follows reports that the exec used Meta’s resources for personal interests, like wedding planning, and used Facebook resources to pressure Daily Mail to kill a story about then-boyfriend Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick.
• Meta announced a series of updates and new features for its Reels products across both Facebook and Instagram, including a Sound Sync feature on Facebook Reels and support for longer Instagram Reels of up to 90 seconds, instead of 60 seconds. It also rolled out more creative tools, including bringing Instagram’s Story stickers to Reels.

Image Credits: Meta

• Snapchat launched a new “Shared Stories” feature that makes it easier for users to collaborate and share memories. It also partnered with restaurant review website The Infatuation to help users to find local eats on its Snap Map.
• The Uvalde shooter used the Gen Z social app Yubo to meet people who he would then follow on Instagram and with whom he discussed buying a gun in private chats, The Washington Post reported. Yubo additionally announced new age estimating features to separate minors from adults on its app.
• Twitter said it’s shutting down TweetDeck for Mac, the social media dashboard app aimed at power users who want to view multiple columns within a single screen. The app will sunset on July 1 after which users will be directed to the web version, which is being updated.
• TikTok is testing a new feature, “clear mode,” that allows for a distraction-free scrolling experience on the app. The feature is in limited testing with select users and removes all clutter on-screen, like captions and buttons.
• Tumblr rolled out a way to gift ad-free browsing to friends at a rate of $4.99/mo or $39.99/year. It also introduced a way to turn off the ability for users to limit reblogs on their posts.
• Discord said it will give voice channels their own text-based chat rooms where users can share links and other texts without having to channel hop. The feature will roll out across platforms by June 29.
• Social events app IRL is laying off 25% of its team, or around 25 people, citing market dynamics. The cut comes around a year after the startup landed a $170 million SoftBank-led Series C and reached unicorn status.

Messaging & Calling

• Google announced plans to combine its Google Duo and Google Meet calling apps into a single app that uses Duo’s tech as the foundation but leverages the Google Meet branding. The Duo app will gain all of Meet’s features, including scheduled meetings, but users will also be able to use the new app for ad hoc calls. Google had previously sunset Duo’s chat-based sister app Allo ahead of this move.
• The Jonas Brothers-backed startup Scriber forgoes a standalone app to connect fans with exclusive celeb content over SMS updates to their preferred messaging app. The Jonas Brothers charge $4.99/mo for their fan subscription but plan to donate half the earnings to charity.

Streaming & Entertainment

Image Credits: YouTube

• YouTube announced its mobile app can now sync to your TV without using casting, for a “second screen’ experience.” The app will instead ask users if they want to sync to their TV, which will then allow the users to interact with the video, by liking, commenting and supporting the creator, as well as shop the products being featured.
• Google launched the Google TV for iOS app after moving the Movies and TV section from the Play Store to the Google TV app. The new app replaces the Play Movies & TV app for iOS and lets TV viewers use their phone as a remote control.
• A top streaming service in China, iQiyi, majority owned by Baidu, reported its first quarterly profit of $26.7 million in Q1 2022, after spending cuts.
• Apple is now injecting first-party ads for its own radio shows within the premium Apple Music service, to the anger of some users.
• Spotify faced a streaming outage on Monday and Tuesday when podcasts on Spotify-owned Megaphone were unavailable for more than eight hours from Monday night through early Tuesday morning due to an expired SSL certificate.
• Singapore-based TIYA, a Clubhouse-like social audio networking platform, launched a Spotify integration that lets its users listen to music and podcasts with friends. The app is a subsidiary of Chinese app maker LIZHI.
• TikTok is launching a live subscription comedy series in partnership with social media collaboration company Pearpop and creator Jericho Mencke. Episodes of the show, “Finding Jericho,” will air twice a week in June on TikTok LIVE, with eight 30-minute episodes in total. It will cost $4.99 to watch the series.

Gaming

• Google announced the return of the Indie Game Accelerator program for 2022. It said selected game studios from 78 eligible countries will be invited to take part in the 10-week acceleration program starting in September 2022 as the Accelerator Class of 2022. The program includes a series of online classes, talks and game development workshops. Develoeprs also get the chance to meet and connect with others from around the world.
• Epic Games is hosting its first major in-person competitive Fortnite event since the Fortnite World Cup in 2019. The upcoming FNCS Invitational 2022 will take place November 12-13 at the Raleigh Convention Center and will feature a $1 million prize pool.
• Popular iOS mobile games from Ustwo, the developer behind Monument Valley, will come to the PC with a launch on Steam on July 12.

Travel & Transportation

• The world’s second most frequently downloaded ride-hailing app after Uber, inDriver, was profiled by Rest of World this week. The Siberia-based app, which lets drivers haggle over prices, hit unicorn status last year with a valuation of $1.23 billion. It now serves 42 countries worldwide.

News & Reading

• Amazon removed in-app purchases from its Kindle and Amazon Music apps for Android, as well as direct audiobook purchases from its Audible app for Android, following Google Play’s policy change that forces developers to use its own first-party billing and payments service.
• Substack’s latest updates included the ability to embed TikToks into posts, a new reactions section at the bottom of posts, a new profile section that shows your recent likes and several updates to its mobile app. For the latter, readers can now change the font, text size and background color to enhance their reading experience, as well as for better collapsing and threading of comments.

Utilities

• Apple Maps began testing its more-detailed maps in more countries including France, Monaco and New Zealand. Users in these areas spotted updated maps with better renders of 3D objects, like the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame Cathedral and Mont Saint-Michel in France.

Security & Privacy

• Canada’s privacy regulator found that coffee shop chain Tim Hortons had illegally collected customer location data through its mobile app without adequate user consent. An investigation found the app was tracking customers’ locations even when it was not in use.

Funding and M&A

Indian short video app ShareChat’s parent company Mohalla Tech raised nearly $300 million from Google, Times Group and Temasek Holdings at an approximately $5 billion valuation, according to Reuters sources. Google had previously backed rival short-form video app Josh.

Indonesian delivery app Astro, which offers 15-minute grocery delivery, raised $60 million in a Series B led by Accel, Citius and Tiger Global, bringing its total raise to date to $90 million. The app offers delivery within a range of 2-3 km through a network of dark stores and operates around 50 locations across Greater Jakarta.

LA-based metaverse startup TRIPP raised $11.2 million in a Series A extension led by gaming-focused investment firm BITKRAFT, and acquired world-building platform Eden. TRIPP’s vision for the metaverse includes AR smartglasses, VR headsets as well as smartphone apps, as it expects AR, VR and mobile to ultimately converge.

Latin American local on-demand delivery and transportation super app Yummy raised $47 million in new funding led by Anthos Capital. The app offers delivery of items, ridesharing and grocery delivery in less than 20 minutes, and the purchase of experiences like concerts and sporting events.

Sanlo, a San Francisco-based fintech startup that offers small to medium-sized game and app companies access to tools to manage their finances and capital to fuel their growth, raised $10 million in Series A funding led by Konvoy.

Super, an Indonesian social commerce app that focuses on small towns and rural areas, raised $70 million in Series C funding led by NEA, bringing its total funding to $106 million. The startup plans to use its funding to expand into Kalimantan, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, Maluka and Papua over the next few years.

Railway, a startup offering a dashboard for building, deploying and monitoring apps and services, raised $20 million in Series A funding led by Redpoint Ventures.

Poparazzi, the anti-Instagram social app that hit the top of the App Store last year, announced its Benchmark-led Series A round, reported last year but not confirmed by the company until now. The company said it raised $15 million in funding, a bit under the $20 million being reported.

Pinterest acquired the AI-powered shopping service for fashion known as The Yes, founded by e-commerce veteran and former Stitch Fix COO Julie Bornstein and technical co-founder, Amit Aggarwal. Deal terms were not disclosed. The service will be used to help Pinterest personalize the shopping experience on its platform.

TechCrunch is more than just a site with words. We’re also building a growing stable of podcasts focused on the most critical topics relating to the startup and venture capital worlds. To help you find the right show for your interests, we’ve compiled our audio output from the week.

Embedded below is the latest from Chain Reaction, our new and stellar crypto-focused podcast hosted by Lucas and Anita. You will also find Found, a long-form bit of work that goes deep on the real saga of company formation, from Jordan and Darrell. There’s an audio-only version of TechCrunch Live hosted by Matt that features founders and investors discussing successful pitch decks. Finally, there’s Equity, TechCrunch’s long-running, Webby-award-winning podcast focused on venture capital and the latest startup news, hosted by Natasha, Mary Ann and Alex.

And if you are more into the written over the spoken word, well we have newsletters on the above topics as well.

TechCrunch Podcast

Episode 3: Why do people keep giving Adam Neumann money? And other TechCrunch news

Welcome back to The TechCrunch Podcast where you’ll hear everything you need to know about the week’s top stories in tech from the people who wrote them. This week our host, Managing Editor Darrell Etherington, talks with Natasha Mascarenhas about the ongoing tech layoffs, Anita Ramaswamy about WeWork founder Adam Neumann moving into the crypto space with backing from a16z, And Devin Caldewey about AI-generated images.  Plus a rundown of the week’s top news on TechCrunch.

Articles from the episode:

• A third straight week of tech layoffs in the books
• Latch, a proptech meets SaaS play, conducts two consecutive weeks of layoffs
• Adam Neumann’s blockchain-based redemption story now sponsored by a16z
• OpenAI: Look at our awesome image generator! Google: Hold my Shiba Inu

Other news from the week:

•   It’s official: Broadcom to acquire VMware in massive $61B deal
• Jack Dorsey steps down from Twitter’s board
• Twitter investors sue Elon Musk over acquisition shenanigans

Extras:

• Hana Mohan’s Twitter thread on the YC advice to founders
• Hana Mohan’s episode of Found
• Equity’s episode: We think founders need a quick Heart to Heart about the market

The TechCrunch Live Podcast

Episode 6: How Olive pivoted 27 times on its way to be worth $4 billion

Olive is a homegrown Columbus, Ohio unicorn; hear from the CEO and lead investor how the company was founded and grew into an industry leader.

Sean Lane co-founded Olive in 2012, and signed on Chris Olsen from Drive Capital as the company’s first investors. Now, nearly 10 years later, Olive has raised $856.3 million on its way to being a driving force in using artificial intelligence in the healthcare industry. But the company’s path to success wasn’t a straight line. As CEO Sean Lane explains on this special TechCrunch Live event, the company pivoted 27 times before finding its current product market fit.

Lane explains the strategy behind changing a company’s direction and the emotional toil it takes on everyone involved — from employees to executives to the investors.

Want to watch the panel: Here’s the YouTube video.

Chain Reaction

Episode 8: Outdoor Voices’ founder on scaling a new crypto startup in a downturn (with Ty Haney)

Welcome back, this week Lucas and Anita argue about Coinbase’s latest management strategies, whether Do Kwon being called the new Bernie Madoff is a fair comparison, and why the OnlyFans founder is the latest web2 entrepreneur pivoting to crypto.

In their interview this week, Anita and Lucas chat with Ty Haney. Haney is the founder of athleisure empire Outdoor Voices, though she’s recently departed the company to start a new effort around getting brands to embrace NFTs. We chatted with her about founding a crypto startup in a downturn, keeping her company well-capitalized and how she pivoted from yoga pants to non-fungible tokens.

Subscribe to the Chain Reaction newsletter to dive deeper: https://techcrunch.com/newsletters

Helpful links:

• https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/28/coinbase-real-time-feedback-dot-collector-ray-dalio/
• https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/26/onlyfans-founder-crypto-debut-influencer-trading-cards/
• https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/26/longtime-bitcoiner-dan-held-says-this-crypto-winter-wont-be-as-harsh-as-others/

Found

Episode 60: Claire Coder, Aunt Flow

Claire Coder, founder and CEO of Aunt Flow joined us on Found Live. Darrell, Jordan, and Claire got into how she landed on a B2B model for Aunt Flow and the importance of free, accessible period products– which is something she often has to educate prospective investors or customers on. Claire also opened up about how she has grown as a leader, learned to listen to feedback from her team, and improve the culture at Aunt Flow.  And don’t forget to hear from more founders from Columbus, Ohio tun into the TC City Spotlight on June 1 at 12pm PT/ 3pm ET. RSVP here.

Connect with us:

• On Twitter
• On Instagram
• Via email: found@techcrunch.com
• Call us and leave a voicemail at (510) 936-1618

Equity

Episode 524: Sheryl Sandberg, Substack and the art of still raising money for groceries

This was another live week from the Equity crew, meaning that the towering Mary Ann, the inimitable Natasha, and the somewhat fungible Alex were all chatting in real time, thanks to Grace and Julio having the script and tech in place to allow for it. And as we were live, we also wound up taking a little bit more time per story than usual, which was good fun.

What did we get into? A lot:

• The end of an era: Sandberg steps down from Meta COO role.
• Deals of the Week: Affirm ties up with Stripe, Felt raises $15 million for maps, and Astro proves that quick grocery delivery is still a thing.
• A new fund is coming from an alum of Precursor Ventures, a firm that we have covered extensively on the podcast.
• The latest from Substack, a startup that we nearly all use, but wonder about from a valuations perspective.
• And we wrapped with notes from our recent spotlight on Columbus, Ohio!

Equity is mostly off next week, meaning no Monday show, and some pre-taped stuff the rest of the week. We’re going to breathe, and come back recharged. Hugs, and chat soon!

Episode 523: How investors are playing offense right now (their words, our two cents)

Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.

This is our Wednesday show, where we niche down to a single topic, think about a question and unpack the rest. This week, we’re trying something new. Natasha spent a good chunk of last week at the All Raise VC summit, an annual off-the-record event that brings together some of the best and brightest in the investment community. After the summit, she sat down with Mandela SH Dixon — All Raise’s new CEO — to unpack what happened, and discuss how today’s changing venture capital market will impact diverse founders.

The first half of this episode is a conversation between Natasha and Mandela, and then we’ll bring on Alex and turn to some on-the-ground clips from the summit. Sound bytes from Freestyle’s Jenny Lefcourt, January Ventures’ Jennifer Neundorfer, Rethink Impact’s Heidi Patel and Union Square Ventures’ Rebecca Kaden will get the classic Equity treatment. Or, put differently, Alex and Natasha will react to top investors talking about their game plans for the next market cycle. It’s fun!

Episode 522: Faster ML models, crypto M&A, and what’s ahead for on-demand pricing

It’s Monday, which means that Alex and Grace were back as a team to cover the biggest, boldest and baddest technology news. We are once again back with your weekly kickoff! Here’s what we got into:

• More on the potential M&A boom this week, in light of this recent CNBC piece that got my mind turning. Sure, this is kinda like the CVC story we’ve been tracking but a bit more focused.
• China’s venture capital market is taking body-blows, albeit from recent highs. Still, it is more than easy to track the country’s regulatory crackdown to falling venture capital activity.
• Strong Compute raised money, highlighting the fact that early-stage companies can still raise, and that there could be huge unlocks coming in ML model training. Which would be good for all of us.
• And is on-demand pricing on the way out? Things aren’t looking good for the model that once challenged the incumbency of SaaS.

Woo! Equity is live this Thursday, so come hang with us on Twitter Spaces or Hopin, yeah? Chat then!

Chainguard, a startup that focuses on securing software supply chains, announced today that it has raised a $50 million Series A funding round led by Sequoia Capital. Amplify, the Chainsmokers’ Mantis VC, LiveOak Venture Partners, Banana Capital, K5/JPMC and CISOs from Google and Square, among others, also participated in this round.

In addition to the new funding, the company, which is only 8 months old at this point, also launched its first set of container base images today, which Chainguard promises to have zero known vulnerabilities and which will be continuously updated. These images will be fully signed and will feature a software bill of materials (SBOM).

“Security engineers are used to reasoning with roots of trust by using two-factor authentication and identification systems and establishing trust with hardware by using encryption keys. But we don’t have that for source code and software artifacts today,” said Dan Lorenc, co-founder and CEO at Chainguard. “Our vision is to connect these roots of trust throughout the development lifecycle and across the software supply chain and give developers and CISOs alike confidence in the code they’re running in production and the integrity of their systems.”

In addition to these new base images, Chainguard already offered its Enforce service for containerized workloads. Built on top of the sigstore, the open source tools for cryptographically signing code, verifying those signatures and making all of this data auditable, as well as other open source tools like Knative and other cloud-native services, Enforce allows businesses to enforce their supply chain policies based on the SLSA framework and NIST’s Secure Software Development Framework. With this they can, for example, enforce which code can run where and ensure that developers and security teams know what’s being used to build software inside a company.

Since few developers want to add more tools to their repertoire (you can only shift so far left, after all), the team aimed to make installing its service as easy as running a single command and also offers support for automation systems like CloudFormation and Terraform.

The fact that Chainguard puts an emphasis on protecting cloud-native technologies is no surprise. Among its co-founders are Ville Aikas, Kim Lewandowski, Matt Moore (CTO) and Scott Nichol, who were all previously at Google and heavily involved in the open source community.

I met with Aikas, who was part of the early Kubernetes team at Google and the tech lead for Knative Eventing, at the KubeCon/CloudNativeCon event in Spain last month. He noted that Enforce is very much the first piece of the puzzle for Chainguard.

“Enforce comes with the mindset that we understand that the chain is long and we are going to start tackling it, not with the mindset of ‘oh yeah, cool, here’s the ‘secure-my-shit flag.’ We don’t build snake oil. The idea is that we build a solid technology platform that we can then use and come in and add features and start plugging holes in different chains. Enforce is the first piece of this and the second is the images.”

He also noted that Chainguard’s overall mission is to improve the developer experience — all while securing software supply chains.

Unsurprisingly, the company plans to use the new funding to accelerate its product development. But in addition to that, Chainguard also plans to invest heavily in open source projects like Sigstore, SLSA and OpenSSF, as well as a new developer education program that focuses on supply chain security.

“High profile software supply chain attacks like Log4j have flashed a spotlight on the need to establish a foundation of trust in the software that companies put in production,” said Bogomil Balkansky, partner at Sequoia Capital. “Chainguard gives companies confidence in the critical open source software they deploy by providing a low-friction, developer-friendly way of signing and verifying software artifacts so they have a trail to trace if a breach does occur. The Chainguard team are the thought leaders in this space, and it is the right team at the right time in history to tackle this problem.”