Microsoft agrees to a 10-year deal to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo Switch for the first time, pending FTC approval of its Activision deal, but offers no date
Microsoft has signed a deal to bring the Activision Blizzard-published Call of Duty franchise to Nintendo for the first time …
Apple, AMD, and Nvidia indicate they plan to buy chips from TSMC's two future Arizona fabs, expected to open in 2024 and 2026
Kif Leswing / CNBC :
Despite Joe Biden and Tim Cook celebrating TSMC's long-planned Arizona fabs, the tech will be old and the capacity small, a far cry from US chip independence
President Joe Biden is so proud of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s new facility that he went to Arizona to celebrate it.
Sources: FTX reached late stage negotiations with Taylor Swift for a $100M+ sponsorship deal, supported by Swift fan SBF but opposed by some FTX executives
Negotiations between singer-songwriter and Sam Bankman-Fried's crytpo group collapsed this spring
OpenAI's ChatGPT could be a serious threat for Google, offering quick, clear, and comprehensive answers to difficult questions that require no further searches
A new chatbot from OpenAI took the internet by storm this week, dashing off poems, screenplays and essay answers that were plastered …
WhatsApp begins rolling out customizable avatars, already available on Facebook and Instagram, letting users set a profile picture or send one of 36 stickers
Avatars, the customizable characters that are already available across Meta services like Facebook and Instagram, are officially launching on WhatsApp.
Elon Musk says Twitter Deputy General Counsel Jim Baker was “exited” over his possible role in the “suppression of information” related to the “Twitter Files”
Jim Baker, Twitter Inc.'s deputy general counsel, was pushed out of the company over his handling …
Auditing firm Mazars says Binance's bitcoin reserves have a 101% collateralization ratio, after doing a proof-of-reserves and proof-of-liabilities verification
- Mazars concluded that Binance's bitcoin reserves are fully collateralized, following a proof-of-reserves and proof-of-liabilities verification.
Sources: seeking to capitalize on the Twitter chaos, Meta brainstormed product ideas in November like expanding Instagram Notes and building a text-focused app
New start-ups and other social platforms sense opportunity as Twitter grapples with changes from Elon Musk, its new owner.
Twitter ads from ~40 major brands including Amazon, Snap, and Uber appeared on the pages of at least two white nationalists, whose accounts Elon Musk restored
Ads from dozens of major brands were appearing on white nationalist and extremist accounts — Ads for more than three dozen …
Telegram partners with Fragment to let users create an anonymous phone number to join the service, removing the need for a SIM card, and adds security features
For years, apps like Telegram and Whatsapp have restricted access to users who could sign up using a SIM card and phone number.
Facing a large deficit in its treasury, DeFi protocol Sushi proposes diverting fees from the Kanpai protocol and reduces its runway requirement from $9M to $5M
Developers proposed to divert 100% of fees generated on the platform to Sushi's multisig for one year or until new tokenomics are implemented.
Microsoft launches Discord-like communities in Teams for Android and iOS, letting users organize groups with its calendar, meeting, and chat features for free
Microsoft is launching a new communities feature for Microsoft Teams today, designed for consumers to use the best parts of Teams free …
Geneva-based Proton launches iOS and Android apps for its E2EE cloud storage service, offering 1GB for free, 200GB for $4 per month, or 500GB for $10 per month
Proton, a privacy startup best known for its Proton Mail encrypted email service, has just announced that its end …
SpaceX announces Starshield, expanding Starlink into military and government applications, initially focusing on imagery, communications, and “hosted payloads”
- Elon Musk's SpaceX is expanding its Starlink satellite technology into military applications with a new business line called Starshield.
A look at the digital asset diehards at Art Basel Miami Beach, who tried to ignore the fallout from FTX's collapse while FTX merch was hidden away in storage
At a dazzling new hotspot in the center of Miami's crypto scene, the remains of Sam Bankman-Fried's collapsed empire are stuffed in trash bags. Tweets: @ampressman , @solanaspaces , @crypto , @crypto ...
US senators scale back a measure that would have prohibited the government and its contractors from using some China-made chips after pressure from trade groups
U.S. senators scaled back a proposal that placed new curbs on the use of Chinese-made chips by the U.S. government and its contractors … Tweets: @robertcobrien , @davidshepardson , and @jchengwsj Twee...
A spreadsheet SBF used in November lists nearly 500 alleged VC investments by Alameda, including in Circle, Genesis, Sky Mavis, Paxos, StarkWare, and Anchorage
Sources: The Washington Post explores a spinoff or sale of its Arc XP publishing tool, which has 250 staff globally and could generate $200M+ in ARR by 2027
Company has embraced digital experimentation under tech-billionaire owner; spinoff of ‘Arc’ business also possible
The White House says Beijing relented and let US officials inspect YMTC and 30 other Chinese tech companies that were facing “entity list” sanctions this week
Financial Times :
Thoma Bravo raised $32.4B for three tech-focused funds: $24.3B for its main buyout fund, up 36% on its predecessor, $6.2B for mid-market, and $1.8B for low-end
Thoma Bravo LLC raised $32.4 billion for three new tech-focused funds in one of the biggest hauls by a private-equity firm …
How Geneva-based VPN startup Proton's ~25 engineers are fighting Russian censorship, a back-and-forth battle since the government blocked Proton in March 2022
The cat-and-mouse experience of Proton, a Swiss company, shows what it's like to be targeted by Russian censors — and what it takes to fight back. Tweets: @satariano , @hatr , @protonvpn , @kenroth , ...
Sources: Apple reins in its ambitious self-driving plans for its electric vehicle, delayed to 2026, now with a steering wheel, pedals, and highway-only autonomy
what do you think? the same way in 2006 we were like, “an apple phone?” we'll see how this plays out see you in 2026 https://twitter.com/... Michael Gartenberg / @gartenberg : I'm confident in saying ...
Congress leaves out the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act from the US defense spending bill, after intense pushback from industry and advocacy groups
but this version of the legislation was a total trash fire. Good riddance. https://twitter.com/... @evan_greer : BREAKING: Bloomberg, NBC & others reporting that #JCPA is now OUT of the #NDAA. That's ...
Sources: Microsoft recently considered building a “super app” that would combine shopping, messaging, search, news, and other services, inspired by WeChat
Sources: India tells Nick Clegg and other Meta executives to complete takedown requests within an hour and says Google has a higher rate of compliance than Meta
Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also told Meta that it needs more fact-checkers in India in proportion to the country's population … Tweets: @chandrarsrikant , @moneycontrolcom , @deepsekharc , @de...
Apple changes the App Store's pricing range from $0.49-$999.99 to $0.29-$10,000, starting with subscription apps; the top 100 prices require Apple's approval
why is Apple dictating pricing steps at all? If I want to charge $.63 and then jump to $.84 why is that an issue? https://www.apple.com/... @film_girl : I Am Rich 2.0, now $10,000, is now an option! h...
As the FTC prepares to use a novel, untested argument to challenge Meta's Within acquisition, officials say a loss could spur Congress to rewrite antitrust laws
As the Federal Trade Commission prepares to face off in court against Meta over a V.R. start-up deal, the agency is testing … Tweets: @adamkovac , @florianederer , @tonyromm , and @fbbagholder Tweets:...
Stockholm-based autonomous and electric truck company Einride raised a $200M Series C from Northzone, EQT, Temasek, and others and $300M in debt from Barclays
Paul Sawers / TechCrunch :
Nigeria's central bank slashes the daily ATM withdrawal limit from ~$337/day to ~$45/day in a bid to boost digital payments and eNaira digital currency adoption
Bloomberg :
Researchers find industrial robot exposure in China leads to a 7.5% decline in employment probability, 9% drop in hourly wages, and 14% increase in hours worked
indicating that #automation is forcing workers to accept unfair conditions. This is further backed by the fact that robot exposure *increased* the number of hours worked by 14 percent’ https://www.iot...
Hedge fund Fir Tree Capital sues Grayscale Investments for info on potential mismanagement, as GBTC, down ~74% YTD, trades at a ~43% discount to its BTC's value
the conglomerate Silbert founded seven years ago. https://twitter.com/... @tier10k : [DB] Fir Tree Sues Grayscale for Details on Gbtc: BBG Fir Tree Wants Grayscale to Resume Redemptions, Cut Fees @bit...
A survey of 19 developed nations: 57% say social media has been good for democracy, 35% say it has been bad; in the US, 34% think it has been good for democracy
Pew Research Center : Tweets: @aedwardslevy , @carrolldoherty , @pewglobal , @richardwike , @monicaranders , @richardwike , and @johngramlich Tweets: Ariel Edwards-Levy / @aedwardslevy : This is a pr...
Signature Bank plans to cut its crypto-tied deposits by $8B-$10B, or to under 15%; as of September 2022, ~23.5% of the bank's $103B deposits came from crypto
Helene Braun / CoinDesk :
Pinterest adds Elliott Management's Marc Steinberg to its board as part of an agreement with the activist investor; Elliott has a 9%+ stake in Pinterest
Sarah E. Needleman / Wall Street Journal :
Washington DC AG Karl Racine sues Amazon, alleging the company previously withheld user tips from its Amazon Flex delivery drivers, citing a 2021 FTC settlement
Matt Day / Bloomberg :
Atomico: European startups are on track to raise $85B in 2022, down from $100B+ in 2021; the European tech industry's value dropped by ~$400B to $2.7T in 2022
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch :
Mobileye reports Q3 revenue up 38% YoY to $450M, narrowly beating analyst estimates, and a $45M net loss, up from $26M YoY, in its first post-IPO earnings
Yuvraj Malik / Reuters :
A look at Silvergate, one of the few US banks that let customers move dollars onto crypto exchanges, now drawing congressional scrutiny following FTX's collapse
Gretchen Morgenson / NBC News :
Analysis: of 19 publicly traded crypto miners, 16 disclosed significant internal control weaknesses since 2018, including Riot Blockchain and Marathon Digital
Weak controls and related-party transactions appear in disclosures across industry — Where Did the Missing Money Go? Tweets: @cfobp , @jasonzweigwsj , and @davidamichaels Tweets: Barrett Peterson / ...
Russia's second-largest bank, VTB, is hit with a large DDoS attack causing its apps and website to go offline; “IT Army of Ukraine” claims credit for the attack
How, in two years, JioMart grew to fulfill 600K grocery deliveries per day in 260 Indian cities, via WhatsApp integration and using Dunzo for last-mile delivery
An Australian court fines Uber AU$21M for threatening cancellation fees it never charged and overestimating fares on some rides; the ACCC sought a AU$26M fine
Byron Kaye / Reuters :
Zurich-based Loft Dynamics, which makes a VR training simulator for helicopter pilots, raised a $20M Series A led by Craft Ventures, Sky Dayton, and Up Partners
A survey finds that while 50% of businesses are using AI in 2022, 2.5x higher than in 2017, AI adoption has plateaued between 50% and 60% for the past few years
McKinsey & Company :
GameOn, which develops the AI chatbot ChatOS, used by major sports brands to connect with fans, raised a $35M Series B, bringing its total funding to $56M
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.