Sources: Chinese officials are evaluating an option involving Elon Musk acquiring TikTok US; X would take control of TikTok US and run the businesses together
- ByteDance's preferred strategy is to fight ban, people say — Trump has said he would like to delay ban to seek resolution
Biden signs an EO that directs the DOD and DOE to lease land to companies building gigawatt-scale AI data centers and clean power facilities, and more
President Biden issued an executive order today aimed at speeding the development of AI data centers in the US.
The UK CMA opens an investigation into whether Google has “strategic market status” in search and how it impacts consumers, advertisers, publishers, and rivals
LONDON — Britain's competition watchdog on Tuesday said that it's opening a formal antitrust investigation into Google's search and search advertising services.
Texas sues Allstate and its subsidiary Arity, accusing the insurer of illegally collecting and selling data about people's driving behavior through mobile apps
The lawsuit accuses Arity, an Allstate subsidiary, of collecting data about people's driving behavior through mobile phone apps …
Sources: the EU is reviewing its DMA probes into US tech giants from March 2024, as US groups urge Trump to intervene; the EU says “there is no such review”
Tech groups have urged Donald Trump to intervene against overzealous European regulation
The Biden admin finalizes a rule banning the import or sale of connected vehicles with hardware or software that have a “sufficient nexus” to China or Russia
- Biden finalizes ban on Chinese vehicles and moves to widen it — US to lease federal land to AI companies to build data centers
TikTok denies a report that China is looking at potentially facilitating a sale of the app to Elon Musk to keep it operating the US, calling it “pure fiction”
TikTok denied a report that China is looking at potentially facilitating a sale of the app to tech billionaire Elon Musk …
The US' new chip export rule enters a 120-day consultation period, requiring the Trump admin to listen to input, perhaps modify the rule, and then enforce it
The US government has announced a radical plan to control exports of cutting-edge AI technology to most nations.
Meta plans to cut about 5% of its lowest performers with the intent of backfilling their roles this year, according to an internal memo sent to employees
Meta Platforms Inc. is planning to cut about 5% of its lowest performers with the intent of backfilling their roles this year, according to an internal memo sent to employees.
The Biden admin unveils a new chip export rule that gives 18 key allies full AI chips access while requiring licenses from most other countries, including China
now the EU has shown concerns about the U.S. limits on how much AI chips certain EU states can buy. — ec.europa.eu/commission/p... Sung Kim / @sungkim : Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo stated “Hold...
DirecTV launches MySports, a sports streamer featuring games from NFL and other major leagues, and access to 40 channels, in 24 US metro areas for $70/month
- $70 package will offer content from ESPN, Fox Sports and NBC — The Venu sports streaming service was scrapped last week
Zurich- and Singapore-based Sygnum, a crypto-focused bank and trading platform for institutional users, raised $58M led by Fulgur Ventures at a $1B valuation
Crypto-focused bank Sygnum secured a valuation of $1 billion after raising $58 million in its latest funding round, it said on Tuesday.
How Cleo AI and Bright, personalized AI chatbots offering financial advice, often function as a way to sell high-interest loans and cash advances to young users
AI finance apps are reaching Gen Z and millennial users with personalized chatbots that offer money advice—and upsell them big-time. Bluesky: @carnage4life , @sylonzero , @sylonzero , @andycarr , @thi...
Sources: Apple is in the final stage of verifying its first cutting-edge chips from TSMC's Arizona plant, with the first batch expected as early as this quarter
TAIPEI — Apple is in the final stage of verifying its first “made in America” cutting-edge processor chips from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s plant in Arizona.
Sony launches its Soneium Ethereum L2 platform for creators, after a four-month test that drew 14M+ users; Blockscout: the testnet processed ~47M transactions
Sony says it plans to explore ways for protecting creator rights and mechanisms for equitable value distribution between creators and fans.
Amazon's AGI team lead Rohit Prasad says Alexa will relaunch as an AI agent, as Amazon works to address the challenges that have dogged the system's AI overhaul
Rollout of upgraded voice assistant hit by delays as Big Tech group toils to overcome technical hurdles
Sources and business records detail how Barcelona has emerged as an unlikely hub for spyware companies, raising concerns from digital rights groups
Toward the end of 2023, an Israeli security researcher from Tel Aviv said that he was approached on LinkedIn with an opportunity to work abroad with “good pay.” Bluesky: @zackwhittaker , @rondeibert ,...
Ahead of a likely US TikTok ban, users flee to Chinese apps Xiaohongshu, aka RedNote, and ByteDance's Lemon8, currently the top two apps in the US App Store
and how to prepare Koh Ewe / BBC : TikTok users flock to Chinese app RedNote as US ban looms New York Times : ‘Red Note,’ a Chinese App, Is Dominating Downloads, Thanks to TikTok Users Emily Hallas / ...
The US, Japan, and South Korea issue a joint statement saying North Korean-backed hackers stole $659M+ in crypto heists in 2024 and were behind the $235M WazirX
North Korean-backed hackers stole at least $659 million through multiple cryptocurrency heists in 2024, while also deploying …
The TON Foundation names board member Manuel Stotz as president, as its blockchain with close ties to Telegram plans to expand in the US
- TON Foundation names Kingsway's Stotz as its new president — Development is part of a strategic shift to focus on US growth
Israel-based Orchid Security, which uses LLMs to identify clients' security requirements, emerges from stealth with a $36M seed led by Team 8 and Intel Capital
- Each of those applications require different identity management configurations—such as multi-factor authentication …
The US SEC says that two Robinhood broker-dealers agreed to pay $45M in combined penalties to settle charges that they violated 10+ securities law provisions
Dan Mangan / CNBC :
Bellevue, WA-based Truveta, which aggregates medical data from 30 partner institutions, raised $320M from Regeneron, Illumina, and others at a $1B+ valuation
Truveta aggregates 120M+ de-identified patient records daily, aiming to link medical outcomes to genetics by building the largest dataset of genetic and medical data. X: @truveta : Introducing the #Tr...
Microsoft is creating a new “CoreAI - Platform and Tools” unit led by Jay Parikh, the ex-Lacework CEO and Meta engineering executive who joined in October 2024
Todd Bishop / GeekWire :
India's IT outsourcing industry, which gets over half of its revenue from the US, expects Trump's promised deregulation to spur growth by boosting tech spending
After years of anaemic growth in largest market, sector expects promised deregulation to encourage tech spending Bluesky: @vivekr Bluesky: Vivek Ravishanker / @vivekr : If y'all think American executi...
A profile of Dubai property tycoon Hussain Sajwani, who, alongside Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, pledged a $20B investment in US data centers, drawing skepticism
- Hussain Sajwani has seen big wins from Dubai's property boom — Sajwani has pledged to invest $20 billion in US data centers Bluesky: @sararose007 Bluesky: @sararose007 : more trouble
Free Our Feeds, backed by Jimmy Wales and others, aims to raise $30M by 2028 to billionaire-proof the AT Protocol by making it easier for Bluesky users to leave
The non-profit social media foundation space is really heating up. Ciarán Mather / Silicon Republic : Campaign aims to protect Bluesky's tech from billionaires Thomas Claburn / The Register : Hulk sma...
Sources: Databricks secures $5B+ in its largest debt raise to date, from lenders including Blackstone and Apollo, after raising $10B in equity in December 2024
- Blackstone, Apollo, Blue Owl among lenders in private loan — Financing also includes a $2.5 billion credit line from banks
Paris-based Bioptimus, which is developing a foundational AI model for biology, raised $41M led by Cathay Innovation, bringing its total raised to $76M
After leading their seed round les than a year ago, we're doubling down as they redefine biology with AI. …
Belgium-based Vertical Compute, a memory chip firm spun out of European VC firm Imec.xpand, raised a €20M seed led by Imec.xpand
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat :
Klarna partners with Stripe to make its BNPL service available as an option to merchants using Stripe's payment tools in 26 countries, ahead of Klarna's US IPO
Ryan Browne / CNBC :
Sources: China tightens scrutiny of Apple and other US tech firms' exports under its dual-use export controls, slowing production expansion in SE Asia and India
Lauly Li / Nikkei Asia :
IAC board approves the spinoff of home improvement marketplace Angi; IAC has previously spun off companies like Expedia, Ticketmaster, and LendingTree
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC :
An investigation finds 15 police departments across 12 US states have arrested suspects identified through facial recognition without having any other evidence
“law enforcement agencies across the nation are using the [AI] tools in a way they were never intended to be used: as a shortcut to finding and arresting suspects without other evidence.” — www.wash...
Docs: Arm was working on a strategy in 2019 to hike prices to boost annual smartphone revenue by ~$1B over 10 years, and has discussed designing its own chips
mulls designing own chips to rival competitors Paul Thurrott / Thurrott : Report: Arm Holdings Plans Sweeping Price Hikes Adam Levine / Barron's Online : Qualcomm's New Hire Suggest New Interest in Da...
A look at European tech firms Idemia, SITA, Travizory, and WCC, that offer AI tools to help governments surveil cross-border travelers and predict threats
Caitlin Chandler / Wired : Bluesky: @couts . LinkedIn: Frank van der Linde . Forums: r/cybersecurity and r/technews Bluesky: Andrew Couts / @couts : NEW: Companies and governments are using opaque AI...
A US court rules the SEC must “explain itself” on why, when pressed by Coinbase, it failed to clarify its rules or offer clear new rules for crypto securities
Jesse Hamilton / CoinDesk :
Chainalysis buys AI-agent security startup Alterya, sources say for ~$150M; Alterya is still in stealth mode but has clients including Coinbase, Square, Binance
Leena Rao / Business Insider :
Sources: Zuckerberg met Trump on January 10, in part to mediate a 2021 lawsuit Trump brought against Meta over his account suspension after the January 6 riot
Wall Street Journal : Bluesky: @brendannyhan , @andisheh.com , and @fishecon . Forums: r/samharris Bluesky: Brendan Nyhan / @brendannyhan : Nothing to worry about, just another billionaire potentiall...
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