Over the next four years, Microsoft is committing $5 billion to Internet of Things (IoT) research, products, services, and new programs, ZDNet reports. To date, “Microsoft has looked to IoT to help drive its Azure business for the past several years,” it notes. Meanwhile, “Microsoft already has a number of IoT products and services in its line-up.”

Facebook is now inviting users to send 360-degree photos in Messenger. “It's now available all over the world for both iOS and Android,” Mashable notes. “As Facebook product managers Sean Kelly and Hagen Green wrote in a company blog post, ‘the world is your oyster now in Messenger.’”

Mozilla just unveiled Firefox Reality -- a new browser that will work on a variety of VR, AR and “mixed reality” hardware. “There’s no word on a release date, though, or what the experience will look like,” Engadget writes. Yet, “It will be open-source … and truly cross platform, unlike some of its rivals.”

In honor of Spotify’s first day as a public company, Recode considers the company’s business prospects. Sources tell Recodethat Spotify plans to eventually reshape its relationship with the music labels. “The idea … isn’t to cut out the big music labels or compete directly with them,” it writes. “Spotify does imagine, however, that over time, a growing tier of music acts, or small independent labels, won’t use the big labels for distribution … Instead they’ll work directly with the streaming service.”  

Spotify’s stock appears to be performing well on its first day of public trading. “The $165.90 opening price of the stock valued Spotify at around $29.5 billion, well above its most recent valuation of $19 billion,” Venture Beat reports. "The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) issued a reference share price yesterday of $132, translating into a valuation of $23.5 billion.”

ESPN is set to launch its over-the-top streaming app, next week, Axios reports. “ESPN+ will feature live programming, live sports events and a library of other programming like ESPN's popular 30 for 30 series,” it notes. Big picture, “ESPN is looking to migrate its linear TV audience to streaming in response to the rapid succession of its audience on linear TV.”

Gay dating app Grindr has been giving users’ HIV status to two separate companies, BuzzFeed News reports. “The two companies -- Apptimize and Localytics, which help optimize apps -- receive some of the information that Grindr users choose to include in their profiles, including their HIV status and ‘last tested date,’” BuzzFeed reports, citing data analysis conducted by an outside research firm.

Mark Zuckerberg is calling Tim Cook’s recent assessment of Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica controversy “extremely glib.” Facebook’s embattled CEO made the comment during an interview with Vox’s Ezra Klein. Zuckerberg takes issue with Cook’s contention that companies using consumer data in exchange for free services are misguided. “The reality here is that if you want to build a service that helps connect everyone in the world, then there are a lot of people who can’t afford to pay,” Zuckerberg said.

Messaging app Telegram just raised another $850 million for its “initial coin offering,” Cheddar reports, citing newly-filed documents with the SEC. “The funding means that Telegram has raised a total of $1.7 billion so far for what will likely be the largest ICO in history,” Cheddar writes. “Telegram last raised $850 million in February for its first round of funding.”

A new business marketing startup named Nift just raised $16.5 million in Series A funding from Spark Capital, Foundry, and Accomplice. “The businesses that work with Nift … can give special gift cards to their best customers,” TechCrunch explains. “Those customers enter their codes on the Nift website, answer a few questions and can then choose from two free gifts from other local businesses.”