Source: Trump meets with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew at Mar-a-Lago, the same day that the company asks the Supreme Court to block the law that could ban the app
President-elect Donald Trump tried to ban TikTok in 2020 but was blocked by the courts. He has since changed his position on the issue.
Google debuts Whisk, an image generator that takes other images as prompts to suggest the subject, scene, and style, and uses the new, “latest” Imagen 3 version
Google has announced a new AI tool called Whisk that lets you generate images using other images as prompts instead of requiring a long text prompt.
ByteDance asks SCOTUS to block the US law that could ban TikTok on January 19; when asked about the law, Trump says he has a “warm spot” in his heart for TikTok
Small business owners love TikTok for marketing and sales. Stella Martorana / Research Live : TikTok appeals to supreme court against US ban Fox Business : TikTok calls on Supreme Court to issue emerg...
The European Commission opens a formal DSA investigation into TikTok over concerns foreign actors used it to interfere in the Romanian presidential elections
The probe comes after judges in the country annulled the outcome of the first round of presidential elections, citing concerns of Russian interference
Databricks raised $10B from a16z, Thrive, and others at a $62B valuation, among the largest VC raises in history; documents show Databricks has $2.6B in revenue
As CEO of Databricks, Ali Ghodsi has performed a series of ‘strategic surgeries’ to make his company one of the fastest-growing startups in Silicon Valley
The US FTC issues long-awaited rules requiring companies to display the full price of hotels, concert tickets, and more up front, rather than hiding “junk fees”
The industries must display the full price of a hotel room, concert ticket or sporting event upfront to customers or face potential federal punishment.
Interpol says calling online scams “pig butchering”, a widely used phrase, is unhelpful as gangs “appear to have” created the phrase to describe victims
Experts say the catchall term for online fraud furthers harm against victims and could dissuade people …
Google DeepMind unveils Veo 2, a video generation model that can create clips over two minutes long at resolutions up to 4K, available in VideoFX via a waitlist
Our state-of-the-art video generation model — Veo creates videos with realistic motion … Emilia David / VentureBeat : Google debuts new AI video generator Veo 2 claiming better audience scores than ...
Framework releases a $39 modular component to add two extra M.2 slots to the Laptop 16, letting users have 26TB+ of storage, and updates the Laptop 16's cooling
The most ambitious laptop ever made just got a long-promised modular upgrade. … At launch, you only had two options …
Mark Zuckerberg says Threads now has 100M+ DAUs, revealing its DAU figure for the first time, and 300M+ MAUs, up from 275M+ MAUs in November 2024
It's a notable milestone not just because it's a big number; it's also the first time Meta has a daily active user figure publicly.
The UK opens a consultation on AI and copyright, and aims to offer an “opt out” copyright exception, force companies to open models to scrutiny, and more
Consultation could see easier access to copyrighted works but require tech groups to be clearer on what they have used
Waymo plans to test its robotaxis in Tokyo in early 2025, its first international expansion, partnering with taxi operator Nihon Kotsu and taxi hailing app GO
Alphabet-owned Waymo announced Monday that it will start testing its autonomous vehicles in Tokyo in early 2025, the company's first step toward international expansion.
The Irish Data Protection Commission fines Meta €251M over a Facebook breach that affected ~29M users globally and ~3M in the EU and EEA in September 2018
Meta has been fined €251 million (around $263 million) in the European Union for a Facebook security breach that affected millions of users …
Australia's privacy watchdog says Meta agreed to a AU$50M settlement over a 2020 Cambridge Analytica lawsuit alleging 300K+ Facebook users' data was exposed
The Australian Information Commissioner said on Tuesday it has withdrawn civil penalty proceedings against Meta Platforms (META.O) …
Congo files criminal complaints against Apple subsidiaries in France and Belgium, accusing the tech firm of using conflict minerals in its supply chain
The Democratic Republic of Congo has filed criminal complaints against Apple (AAPL.O) subsidiaries in France and Belgium …
Nigeria arrests 792 suspects, including 148 Chinese and 40 Filipino nationals, in a raid on a building believed to be a crypto romance scam call center
Nigeria's anti-graft agency said it had arrested 792 suspects in a raid on a building believed to be a hub for fraudsters who lured victims …
OpenAI makes ChatGPT Search available to logged-in users, not just subscribers, and says users can set ChatGPT Search as their browser's default search engine
12 Days of OpenAI: Day 8 Alan Velasco / HotHardware : OpenAI Gift Wraps ChatGPT's AI Search For Everyone, Check Out The Demo Jibin Joseph / PCMag : ChatGPT Now Lets You Search the Web With Your Voice ...
After Trump's win, a look at what the crypto industry could do next, including weakening financial rules that might protect consumers from the next crypto crash
The industry is now in a position to weaken financial rules that might protect consumers from the next crypto crash.
Meta rolls out three new Ray-Ban Meta features: “live AI” for videos and live translations for Early Access Program members, and Shazam for US and Canada users
What's Next, Therapist? Markus Kasanmascheff / WinBuzzer : Meta Ray-Ban Smart Glasses Add Live AI and Translation Alan Martin / Tom's Guide : Meta is putting Shazam and AI into its Ray-Ban smart glass...
UK-based BVNK, a stablecoin infra startup with ~$40M in annualized revenue, raised a $50M Series B led by Haun Ventures; a source said it values BVNK at ~$750M
As crypto prices soar to all-time highs, venture investors are pouring capital into a red-hot corner of the blockchain industry …
Chinese shopping app Temu was 2024's top free app in the US iOS App Store, same as 2023, followed by Threads, TikTok, ChatGPT, Google, Instagram, and WhatsApp
https://www.macstories.net/... [images] Forums: r/apple : Apple reveals 2024's most downloaded apps and games on the App Store MacRumors Forums : Apple Reveals Most Downloaded Apps and Games of 2024
Alibaba agrees to sell its Intime department store business, part of a plan to unify online and offline retailing in 2017, for ~$1B, taking a record $1.3B loss
Bloomberg :
Toronto-based Hostaway, which offers vacation rental management tools, raised $365M led by General Atlantic at a $925M valuation, after raising $175M in 2023
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch :
Sources: OpenAI is working to sever the nonprofit's control while compensating its board, possibly in the billions, and promised investors a two-year schedule
As the maker of ChatGPT battles Google and Meta for A.I. supremacy, it's also fighting to end control by a nonprofit board.
Sources: Character.AI rival Talkie, one of the most-downloaded AI apps in the US and made by China's MiniMax, prepares an AI video feature to reignite growth
Many of you may not have heard of Talkie, a competitor to Character.AI in providing personalized artificial intelligence chatbots.
Taiwanese silicon wafer maker GlobalWafers finalizes $406M in CHIPS Act funding, part of a plan to invest nearly $4B to help build plants in Texas and Missouri
Bloomberg :
After probing an open-and-shut SEC violation for two years, it's nearly too late for the SEC to do anything over how Musk acquired Twitter before Trump moves in
www.wsj.com/tech/musk-sp... Forums: r/MarchAgainstNazis : Elon Musk will not receive highest-level government security clearance due to drug use and ‘foreign contacts’ r/Law_and_Politics : Elon Musk w...
Copenhagen-based Keepit, which offers SaaS data protection and backup services, raised $50M led by One Peak and Denmark's EIFO, taking its total raised to $90M
Eduard Kovacs / SecurityWeek :
Sources: Tesla received a high number of complaints about HW4 self-driving hardware in recent Teslas; source: Tesla service was told to downplay safety concerns
Fred Lambert / Electrek :
A Taiwanese official says the country is in talks with Amazon's Kuiper over satellite internet as its current OneWeb deal does not offer sufficient capacity
Kathrin Hille / Financial Times :
Digital bank Tyme Group, which operates in South Africa and the Philippines, raised a $250M Series D led by Brazilian digital bank Nubank at a $1.5B valuation
Bloomberg :
YouTube adds a tool to let creators authorize third parties, including Amazon, Anthropic, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI to train AI models on their videos
Here's How It Works Chandraveer Mathur / Android Police : YouTubers can now choose if their videos are used to train AI Bluesky: @eshumarneedi.com : As if those third parties weren't already training ...
Grammarly buys productivity startup Coda, set to close in January, and names Coda co-founder and CEO Shishir Mehrotra as CEO; Coda had a $1.4B valuation in 2021
Paayal Zaveri / Bloomberg :
Pune, India-based industrial AI startup Haber raised a $44M Series C, including $38M in equity and $6M in debt, led by Creaegis, BEENEXT, and Accel
Turkish startup Agave Games, developer of Find the Cat, which has 10M+ downloads since its August 2024 release, raised an $18M Series A at a $100M valuation
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch :
Beijing-based AI startup Zhipu, which aims to make services tailored to the China market, raised $412M, after raising $400M at a ~$3B valuation in May 2024
Bloomberg :
Shopify: Revolutionizing Commerce with Winter Edition '26
Over 150+ new features transform how merchants build, design, and grow—with technology that amplifies creative vision.
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.