10 things in tech you need to know today
1. Stripe has taken a new round of funding led by Visa that values the payments startup at £3.2 billion ($5 billion). Visa's investment comes as a partnership, with the two companies sharing expertise.
2. Google just gutted Google+, its struggling social network. A Google+ account will no longer be needed to use YouTube or other Google sites - undermining the company's original goal of users having just one identity across all its services.
3. Chinese police have busted a £12.2 million ($19 million) iPhone counterfeiting factory run by a middle-aged married couple. The facility had produced more than 41,000 fake devices.
4. Some Google salespeople selling Google's cloud have had their salaries cut by up to £32,100 ($50,000). The cloud computing market is highly competitive right now, and the search giant is introducing quotas and commissions.
5. Apple Music is coming under continued heavy criticism. Fortune reports that iOS developer Marco Arment says iTunes has become a "toxic hellstew," following earlier criticism of the service from staunch Apple supporter Jim Dalrymple.
6. Google reportedly tried to buy a veggie cheeseburger startup for over £128 million ($200 million). Impossible Foods is trying to make "fake meat" using plant material, and has previously raised £47.5 million ($74 million).
7. The sequel to one of the best Android phones of 2014 is official, and it looks amazing. The OnePlus 2 will launch on August 11.
8. Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking, and thousands of AI researchers have co-signed a letter calling for a pre-emptive ban on killer robots. The letter warns that the technology will be achievable within years, and risks creating a dangerous "arms race."
9. Security researchers have discovered a bug that leaves 95% of all Android smartphones users open to attack. It affects more than 950 million devices.
10. Meal delivery startup service Deliveroo has raised £44.96 million ($70 million). The Series C funding round was led by Greenoaks Capital and Index Ventures.