Examining the NYC footprints of global tech titansNew York City has emerged as a technology powerhouse over the past few years. The City’s namesake companies like WeWork,Tumblr, and BuzzFeed have catalyzed startup activity and inspired the next-generation of New York natives including Oscar, Warby Parker, Squarespace, Blue Apron, Rent the Runway — the list goes on. Since 2014, VCs have invested about $1.2 billion in seed funding in New York-based startups. [ Tech Crunch ] Alabbar buys key stake in top venture capital firmMohamed Alabbar, founder and chairman of Dubai-based Emaar Properties, has acquired a non-controlling stake in Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), a leading venture capital firm in the region. The move is aimed at creating one of the leading venture capital investment platforms in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region. [ Trade Arabia] Netflix is hiring a new VP of global policy as part of its big expansion in EuropeMeet America's 10 Most Successful Women EntrepreneursUber is looking for a new general counsel amid increasingly dicey legal issuesUber has picked an interesting time to be without a general counsel. The ride-hailing company — which is facing a federal Department of Justice probe, as well as a major lawsuit from Alphabet — has just moved its longtime general counsel, Salle Yoo, out of that role. Yoo will now become the company’s chief legal officer, according to an email the company sent out. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick wrote that the company plans to search for an external hire to fill the now vacant role. The new general counsel will report to Yoo, company said. [ Re/Code ] Fig CEO Justin Bailey offers the cure for ‘sequelitis’Here are some pretty awful things you can (and cannot) say on FacebookNew Zealand telehealth startup Firstcheck wants to help fight skin cancerAustralia and New Zealand have the highest rates of melanoma in the world, according to the Melanoma Institute Australia. An aggressive form of skin cancer, melanoma kills more young Australians aged 20 to 39 years old than any other single cancer, with stats estimating 1 in 14 men and 1 in 24 women in Australia will be diagnosed with melanoma in their life. Twitter Founder Apologizes for Giving President Trump a Platform: ‘It’s a Very Bad Thing’A co-founder of Twitter said he feels guilty for providing a platform for President Donald Trump, who has credited the social media network with helping him win the election. Evan Williams, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who was once CEO and chairman of Twitter, apologized in an interview with the New York Times about Twitter's role in Trump's presidency. "It's a very bad thing, Twitter's role in that," Williams said. "If it's true that he wouldn't be president if it weren't for Twitter, then yeah, I'm sorry." [ Fortune ] A more cuddly Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has returned to social mediaFor most of 2016, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick stopped tweeting. Save for an occasional update of what city he was in, the once vocal entrepreneur — who often used Twitter in the past to respond to consumers, articles and even disparage local authorities in cities where the ride-hailing startup wasn’t legal — was relatively silent. [ Re/Code ] Inside Facebook's plan to eat another $350 billion IT marketOn an ordinary work day in mid-2016, a handful of Facebook engineers were sitting on the couches in a corner of the company's Menlo Park, California, headquarters when one of them tossed out a wacky idea. He suggested doing something that had never been done before and could potentially upend the $350 billion telecom market. [ Business Insider ] U.S. Charges Virginia Man in Fitbit Stock HoaxA Virginia man who orchestrated a hoax takeover bid that drove up Fitbit 's stock price last November, yet made only about $3,000 for his efforts, has been arrested and charged with fraud, U.S. prosecutors said on Friday. Robert Walter Murray, 24, of Chesapeake, was accused of submitting a sham regulatory filing in which the nonexistent, Shanghai-based ABM Capital offered to buy Fitbit for $12.50 per share, roughly a 46% premium. [ Fortune ] Princeville Global Invests €75 Million in AUTO1 GroupSilicon Valley DNA vs. NDAs |