Microsoft plans to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7B in cash, or $95/share, in FY 2023; Activision's stock, which closed last week at $65.39, jumps 25%+
Legendary games, immersive interactive entertainment and publishing expertise accelerate growth in Microsoft's Gaming business across mobile, PC, console and cloud.
Sony's shares fell 13% on Wednesday, its biggest drop since October 2008, wiping $20B off its valuation, after Microsoft announced its Activision deal
Sony Group Corp. shares fell 13% in Tokyo on Wednesday, their biggest drop since October 2008, after PlayStation rival Microsoft Corp. announced …
Sources: in recent weeks, CEO Bobby Kotick suggested Activision Blizzard make an acquisition, including of trade publications like Kotaku and PC Gamer
After a lawsuit and a Journal report, the company's stock was falling, board members were getting anxious—and the tech giant was ready to take a gamble
Apple and Google warn of harmful consequences to user privacy and security from two proposed Senate antitrust bills scheduled to be considered this week
- Apple warned in a letter on Tuesday that antitrust bills being considered in the Senate would increase the risk of security breaches to iPhone users.
AT&T and Verizon temporarily restrict 5G expansion near US airports, but a few airlines will still suspend some flights on Wednesday amid Boeing's guidance
Flight suspensions occur even as AT&T and Verizon agree to limit signals within 2 miles of runways to address air-safety concerns
Following several game studio acquisitions, Microsoft's Activision Blizzard deal faces a big regulatory hurdle with Lina Khan's antitrust-focused FTC
Peter Kafka / Vox :
Democratic lawmakers unveil the Banning Surveillance Advertising Act, which would ban targeted ads but allow broad location-based and contextual ads
It could reshape the entire tech industry — On Tuesday, Democrats introduced a new bill that would ban nearly all use …
Sources: Activision Blizzard tried to find other buyers, including Meta, while weighing a potential Microsoft takeover after the WSJ's exposé in November
Bloomberg :
Snapchat's friend recommendation feature will no longer suggest users under 18, unless they have a certain number of friends in common, to curb drug dealing
Exclusive: Snapchat executive on company's efforts to stop sale of counterfeit pills — Snapchat's parent company announced Tuesday …
YouTube says it's winding down YouTube Originals after six years and will only fund programs that are part of its Black Voices and YouTube Kids Funds
YouTube is getting out of the business of originals: The Google-owned video giant said it is winding down its original productions team after more than six years.
Opera unveils Crypto Browser Project, with a beta browser for Windows, Mac, and Android, with a crypto wallet, access to crypto/NFT exchanges, dApps, and more
Opera has launched its Web3 “Crypto Browser” into beta with features like a built-in crypto wallet, easy access to cryptocurrency/NFT exchanges …
Crypto.com halted withdrawals on Monday and required users to sign back in and reset 2FA; research shows it lost 4,600+ ETH, worth ~$15M, in a presumed hack
The crypto exchange has reportedly lost at least $15 million in Ethereum, and security experts believe the true losses could be much higher.
Internal memo: Better.com CEO Vishal Garg resumes full-time duties over a month after taking time off following his controversial firing of ~900 staff on Zoom
The volatile founder had laid off hundreds of workers in an emotionless webinar, triggering widespread scorn online.
Password management service 1Password raises a $620M Series C led by Iconiq Growth at a $6.8B valuation and says it now has a paying customer base of 100K+
Password management platform 1Password has closed a massive $620 million Series C funding round that raises the company's valuation to $6.8 billion.
The US OCC and Federal Reserve approve SoFi's bid to become a bank holding company via its Golden Pacific Bancorp acquisition; SoFi stock jumps 16%+ after hours
- San Francisco-based SoFi got approval from its two key regulators to become a bank holding company.
Sources: China will require large internet companies that have 100M+ users or $1.58B+ in revenue to obtain an approval before undertaking any investment deals
China's cyberspace regulator has drafted new guidelines that will require the country's large internet companies to obtain …
The Royal Society finds social media sites banning misleading content is ineffective and can drive misinformation to “harder-to-address corners of the internet”
Risks of removing information rejected by the mainstream outweigh benefits, according to the Royal Society
Revolut launches commission-free stock trading in the US, allowing users to trade shares of 1,100+ securities listed on NYSE and Nasdaq
Britain-based digital banking app Revolut launched commission-free stock trading in the United States on Wednesday, a move that will see it compete …
Israeli startup Personetics, which helps incumbent banks compete with neobanks by personalizing their customer offerings, raises $85M led by Thoma Bravo
Big banks are under a lot of pressure to modernize their services to meet demands of consumers who now view things like mobile apps …
Parallel Systems, which builds autonomous battery-electric rail vehicles, comes out of stealth, with a $49.55M Series A, bringing its total funding to $53.15M
Parallel Systems, a company founded by three former SpaceX engineers to build autonomous battery-electric rail vehicles …
Gale Healthcare, which matches nurses with available work shifts at hospitals or clinics, raises $60M from FTV Capital and says 40K nurses use its service
If there was ever a rubber-meets road moment for six-year-old app Gale Healthcare Solutions, it's probably right now.
South Africa-based mobile games publisher Carry1st raises a $20M Series A extension led by a16z, the firm's first investment in an Africa-headquartered company
Carry1st has raised $20 million in funding from marquee investors for its mobile game publishing platform targeted at unlocking demand in the African market.
AI tools can generate an optimal poker strategy, balancing bluffing and playing it straight, which some professional players are using to augment their play
Good poker players have always known that they need to maintain a balance between bluffing and playing it straight. Now they can do so perfectly. Tweets: @marloscmachado , @nytimes , @octonion , @ele...
iTrustCapital, which lets users of an individual retirement account(IRA) invest in cryptocurrencies, raises a $125M Series A at a post-money valuation of $1.3B+
The round, led by Left Lane Capital, will help iTrustCapital explore potential acquisitions.
Lattice, which builds workforce people management tools including for performance reviews and tracking career goals, raises a $175M Series F at a $3B valuation
Lattice, a platform that helps with workforce people management — the ability to carry out performance reviews, employee feedback …
Coinbase partners with Mastercard to let users pay with a credit card in its upcoming NFT marketplace, solve “pain points”, and classify NFTs as “digital goods”
Stephen Graves / Decrypt :
A look at Tonga's internet blackout following the volcano blast, which initial investigations suggest destroyed the country's single undersea internet cable
a volcanic eruption broke it Isobel Asher Hamilton / Insider : Tonga's volcanic eruption ruptured a giant undersea internet cable and knocked the country's internet offline João Tomé / The Cloudflare ...
The FTC and DOJ seek public comment on how to rewrite “the antitrust laws regarding mergers”, signaling a potentially tougher stance toward Big Tech deals
Chinese government data shows domestic smartphone shipments grew 15.9% YoY to 342.8M units in 2021, below the 371.7M smartphones shipped in 2019
- China domestic smartphone shipments jumped 15.9% year-on-year in 2021 to 342.8 million units, according to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT).
Ericsson sues Apple over 5G and other patents, following the expiration of the cross-license agreement between the two companies and no renewal deal
Florian Mueller / FOSS Patents :
Ambient.ai, which uses AI to process live video footage from security cameras and alert users about any breaches, raises $52M led by a16z
Security — as in “hey you, you can't go in there” — quickly becomes a complex, arguably impossible job once you get past a few buildings and cameras.
OpenSea acquires crypto lending APIs startup Dharma Labs, which will shutter its wallet in 30 days; source says the deal was valued between $110M and $130M
Frank Chaparro / The Block :
A look at crowdsourced juries in China, like Meituan's “kangaroo jury” made up of volunteers who adjudicate disputes between buyers and sellers on its platform
Jennifer Conrad / Wired : Tweets: @wired and @scottthurm Tweets: @wired : When ecommerce took off in China, the country lacked structures like widespread credit scores and effective consumer protecti...
The Metaplex Foundation, developer of an NFT protocol behind 5.7M+ minted Solana NFTs, raises $46M with Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson among 90+ investors
Andrew Hayward / Decrypt :
Filmhub, which lets filmmakers distribute their work to over 100 streaming channels, including Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV, raises a $6.8M seed led by a16z
As the streaming market grows, so has the demand for content. But even though it's now easier than ever for filmmakers to create … See also Mediagazer
Survey finds that 76% of Chinese citizens and 68% of Indians say they trust AI companies compared to only 35% in France, the UK, and the US
Madhumita Murgia / Financial Times : Tweets: @reema__patel , @ethicsinai , and @ftweekend Tweets: Reema Patel / @reema__patel : I comment on the implications of a new @IpsosMORI survey on #AI for the...
BukuKas, an e-commerce enabler for SMBs that also makes a bookkeeping app, raises a $80M Series C led by Tiger Global and Sequoia India, rebrands as Lummo
Aditya Hadi Pratama / Tech in Asia :
Ironclad, which helps companies create and manage business contracts, raises a $150M Series E entirely from existing investors at a $3.2B valuation
Kenrick Cai / Forbes :
Wheel, which provides tools enabling health providers or employers to offer telehealth services, raises a $150M Series C, bringing its total funding to $216M
When Michelle Davey was first building Wheel, a healthcare platform that helps staff clinical workforces, she had to convince investors …
Reliance buys a majority stake in Indian startup Addverb, which uses robots to make e-commerce warehouses and energy production more efficient, for $132M
Saritha Rai / Bloomberg :
Kenya-based Copia Global, which uses proprietary logistics for a mobile-first e-commerce service aimed at unbanked customers in Africa, raises a $50M Series C
Tage Kene-Okafor / TechCrunch : Tweets: @firstcheckhq Tweets: FirstCheck Africa / @firstcheckhq : Congrats @copiakenya! 🔥 Scaling a company is a long game and later-stage African startups with female...
As Intel pushes ahead with its IDM 2.0 strategy, a look at the motivations behind its TSMC partnership that is giving its competitor better scale and economics
Walnut, a personalized product demo and analytics service, raises a $35M Series B and says its ARR has grown 700% since its $21M Series A in August 2021
Indonesia's Moladin, which pivoted to a used car and motorbike marketplace in mid-2021, raises a $42M Series A led by Northstar Group and Sequoia Capital India
Aastha Maheshwari / DealStreetAsia :
Pyxis One, which offers no-code AI models to companies for targeted marketing, raises a $100M Series C led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and renames itself to Pixis
Christine Hall / TechCrunch :
Financial data and analytics startup Canalyst raises a $70M Series C led by Dragoneer Investment Group, bringing its total funding to over $100M
Charlize Alcaraz / BetaKit :
Banyan Security, which offers a zero trust remote access client and saw a 300% increase in users in 2021, raises a $30M Series B led by Third Point Ventures
Kyle Alspach / VentureBeat :
Proton.ai, which offers AI-powered tools for wholesale distributors to help sales reps and customers manage products across channels, raises a $20M Series A
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat :
Shopify's new AI commerce stack
Their VP of Product digs into just-launched products to help entrepreneurs and developers build with the latest AI.
Email fatigue is real: Here's how smart email tools help you regain control
Picture this: It's Monday morning. You walk into the office feeling energized and ready to take on the week.
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data
Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.