THE NEWS WRAP: Yahoo! and Microsoft renew search agreement, but with added flexibility

Yahoo! and Microsoft have put to bed rumours the duo might not renew their current search agreement, announcing a new deal overnight.

In a statement announcing the move, Yahoo! said it will continue to serve Bing ads and search results for a majority of its desktop search traffic. However, Yahoo! will also have increased flexibility to “enhance the search experience on any platform” as its deal with Microsoft is non-exclusive on mobile or desktop.

Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer says the agreement opens up significant opportunities for both companies.

“Over the past few months, Satya (Nadella) and I have worked closely together to establish a revised search agreement that allows us to enhance our user experience and innovate more in our search business,” she says.

Snapchat’s sneaky recruiting tactics

Snapchat has been trying to poach workers from fellow startup Uber using a geolocation filter built into its own app.

A source who works in Uber’s headquarter buildings in San Francisco told Forbes that when using Snapchat in the vicinity of Uber HQ, a new filter pops up which reads, “This place driving you mad?”

The filter also shows a web address to Snapchat’s jobs page and drawings of Snapchat’s ghost mascot driving a taxi while looking frustrated and sad.

Slack confirms $160m funding round

San Francisco-based startup Slack, a workplace collaboration tool, has announced it has officially raised $160 million in new funding at a valuation of $2.8 billion, Venture Beat reports.

The raise follows a $120 million round in October that valued the startup at $1.12 billion.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 6.84 to 18,105.77. The Australian Dollar is currently trading at US78 cents.

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