Verkada, a security-focused IoT devices maker that has faced lax data security and toxic workplace allegations, raised a $205M Series D at a $3.2B valuation (Connie Loizos/TechCrunch)

Connie Loizos / TechCrunch:
Cloudflare says Greylock, Bessemer, and other VC firms have collectively offered to invest up to $1.25B in startups that use its serverless computing platform  —  Cloudflare, the security, performance and reliability company that went public three years ago, said this morning …

Connie Loizos / TechCrunch:
Q&A with outgoing Y Combinator President Geoff Ralston on his decision to leave the accelerator, its investing capital sources, the market slowdown, and more  —  Last week at Web Summit, we were asked to interview outgoing Y Combinator President Geoff Ralston about the past, present, and future of the popular accelerator program.

Jon Porter / The Verge:
Roku partners with Wyze to release smart home products, including lighting, plugs, and cameras, sold exclusively at Walmart starting October 17  —  Roku has officially announced a lineup of smart home gadgets that includes lighting, plugs, and cameras.  The devices, which were …

Thomas Brewster / Forbes:
Police and other sources say Block’s Cash App has become one of the primary payment tools for sex traffickers, including due to lax user ID rules  —  The Twitter and Block billionaire made Cash App into a $700 million monster.  Now police officers, nonprofit critics and current and former employees …

Devin Coldewey / TechCrunch:
Metalenz, which makes metasurface optics for 3D imaging and sensing, raised a $30M Series B led by Neotribe Ventures, and says it is shipping millions of orders  —  The cameras in our phones, laptops, and increasingly home robots and the like are about as small as they can get unless …

Edward Ongweso Jr / VICE:
Report: customers are using doorbell cameras like Amazon’s Ring to monitor, control, and punish delivery drivers, such as sharing footage online to shame them  —  A Data & Society report interviewed doorbell camera users and delivery drivers to understand how surveillance is affecting both, for the worse.