Techmeme: An overview of Chinese tech companies rushing to match generative AI tools like DALL-E 2 despite tighter regulations, censorship, US chip sanctions, and more (Rita Liao/TechCrunch)

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January 2, 2023, 9:55 PM

Top News

Olga Kharif / Bloomberg:

In an open letter, Cameron Winklevoss says Digital Currency Group CEO Barry Silbert has engaged in “bad faith stall tactics” since halting Genesis withdrawals — The fallout from the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto empire just got messier, with digital-asset entrepreneur …

More: The Block, Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, Zero Ex, Inside Bitcoins, CoinGape, Slashdot, Trustnodes, Bitcoinist.com, CoinDesk, Watcher Guru, crypto.news, LinkedIn, The Daily Hodl, Reuters, Decrypt, CryptoPotato, CryptoSlate, and Cointelegraph

Mastodon: @web3isgreat@indieweb.social. Tweets: @cameron, @barrysilbert, @cameron, @tier10k, @tier10k, @basedkarbon, @mikeburgersburg, @adamscochran, @ap_abacus, @ramahluwalia, @cameron, @coloradotravis, @alistairmilne, @edzitron, @mayazi, @tree_of_alpha, @bowtiednightowl, @iamdcinvestor, @frances_coppola, @tier10k, @mikeburgersburg, @dylanleclair_, @natbrunell, @alistairmilne, @tier10k, @silvermanjacob, @tier10k, @patio11, @snowden, @tree_of_alpha, @levie, @imnotthewolf, @pierre_crypt0, @sell9000, @bradmillscan, @toptickcrypto, @caspiancey, @cryptoncoffeee, @lowstrife, @arthur_0x, @dshollers, @amuse, @loopifyyy, @riddle245, @hsakatrades, @jcoviedo6, @219_eth, @sss4321_s, @koeppelmann, @basedkarbon, @levie, @kgreifeld, @btc_jacksparrow, @basedkarbon, @fintechfrank, @ap_abacus, @mhonkasalo, @scottmelker, @convertbond, @sassal0x, @leeorshimron, @ap_abacus, @edzitron, @ramahluwalia, and @wublockchain

Heather Somerville / Wall Street Journal:

A look back at a tough year for startups, from plummeting investment to scarce public listings, as 2023 shapes up to be even more difficult — Founders and investors face potential further declines before venture-capital market recovers — Startups had a dismal year by nearly every measurement in 2022 …

More: Moneycontrol, Inc42 Media, Feed Me, The Economic Times, TechCrunch, Sifted, Cointelegraph, and Forbes

Tweets: @dannygroner, @todd_yancey, and @grhyasen

Christopher Mims / Wall Street Journal:

A look at the longest tech boom so far, including crypto's rise and fall, VR falling short of its hype, the marketplace economy's growth, pizza robots, and more — From pizza robots to the crypto meltdown, the long bubble has shown us the hilarious, the regrettable, and the unexpectedly triumphant

More: CNN. Tweets: @henkjeebee and @wsj

Stephen Katte / Cointelegraph:

Luke Dashjr, one of the original core BTC developers, says someone stole “basically all” his BTC by compromising his PGP key; a wallet shows ~217 BTC were moved — A Bitcoin OG and core developer Luke Dashjr claims his PGP key was compromised, resulting in virtually all his Bitcoin being stolen from him on Dec. 31.

Ax Sharma / BleepingComputer:

PyTorch identifies a malicious dependency that uses its “torchtriton” library name, warning users to uninstall the framework; the hacker claims ethical research — PyTorch has identified a malicious dependency with the same name as the framework's ‘torchtriton’ library.

More: The Hacker News, SiliconANGLE, PyTorch Website, Naked Security, Neowin, and Security Affairs

Mastodon: @ax@c.im, @ax@c.im, and @campuscodi@mastodon.social

Tweets: @pytorch, @vxunderground, @the_eddieknight, @ax_sharma, @infernosec, @vxunderground, @milescranmer, @evaristegal0is, @mark_riedl, @ax_sharma, @ax_sharma, @hepfeickert, @soumithchintala, @bradgeesaman, and @amitaico

Daniel Gilbert / Washington Post:

A look at a growing wave of US doctors and telehealth startups prescribing ketamine online, aided by looser federal rules on prescribing controlled substances — People can take the drug at home, thanks to federal action during the pandemic. Some experts worry it's now too easy to get.

More: Bad Crow Review. Tweets: @loriamontgomery, @bydanielgilbert, and @anammostarac

Evelyn Cheng / CNBC:

A look at China's growing, Beijing-endorsed “virtual people” industry, including scandal-free influencers, performers, and customer service representatives — - Tech company Baidu said the number of virtual people projects it's worked on for clients has doubled since last year …

More: Beyond Search

Mastodon: @MikeElgan@mastodon.social. Tweets: @balajis, @balajis, and @balajis

Nikhilesh De / CoinDesk:

A look at what 2023 may bring for crypto regulation in the US and globally, as bankruptcies stretch into the new year, attracting lawmakers and criminal probes — CoinDesk's policy team predicts the issues and topics that may take center stage over the next 12 months.

More: CoinDesk, Cointelegraph, Trakx's Newsletter, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times

Mastodon: @ev@fosstodon.org. Tweets: @nikhileshde, @nikhileshde, @nikhileshde, @nikhileshde, and @coindesk

Tim Bradshaw / Financial Times:

Shopify President Harley Finkelstein says the company's Audiences marketing tool, which uploads customer data to Meta and Google's ad platforms, is a key focus — Canadian ecommerce group touts new tool that allows retailers to pool customer data and better target ads

More: PYMNTS.com. Tweets: @eric_seufert, @eric_seufert, @burcaw, @eric_seufert, and @eric_seufert

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About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 9:55 PM ET, January 2, 2023.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

From Mediagazer

Washington Post:

More than 500 Voice of America contractors are expected to lose their jobs by June 30; Kari Lake says 584 total employees were terminated across USAGM

Mike Scarcella / Reuters:

Filing: advertisers ask a US judge to dismiss X's lawsuit accusing them of boycotting the company, arguing X failed to show that they acted with any common plan

Oliver Darcy / Status:

Sources: Puck has hired an AI tech reporter after it tried unsuccessfully to buy Casey Newton's Platformer for seven figures and hire Alex Heath from The Verge

More News

New York Times:

Research: 35+ companies have pledged ~$200B for chip-related manufacturing projects in the US since spring 2020 across 16 states and 23 new chip factories

More: Slashdot, Financial Times, and MarketWatch

Tweets: @secraimondo, @veroderugy, @briandeesenec, and @dealbook

Tim Bradshaw / Financial Times:

Berlin-based Flink, one of the last independent grocery delivery startups, hit €400M in 2022 sales and expects to be profitable in 2023; Flink has raised $700M+

Matthew Smith / Wired:

A look at the use of AI to design and test games, such as to tune difficulty, find world geometry flaws, and sniff out situations that make it impossible to win

Tweets: @mcdreamyai and @wired

Chris Velazco / Washington Post:

Hands-on with the Pixel 7 Pro's Real Tone, which claims to render skin tones more accurately in photos, compared to the Galaxy S22 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro Max

Tweets: @mindofsamliao, @onlyjust30ya, @gpanger, @tressiemcphd, @hartoutwest, @gettingsome, @silkyd67, @washingtonpost, @cpassariello, and @thelilynews

Chloe Cornish / Financial Times:

A look at the impact of the funding crunch on India's tech startups, which raised $24.7B from January to November 2022, down 35% YoY, per data provider Tracxn

Tweets: @parijatjha47, @copperlife, @catcheronthesly, @johnreedwrites, @sushantsin, @financialtimes, and @financialtimes

Mitchell Clark / The Verge:

Verizon decommissioned its 3G network on December 31, the last major US carrier to do so after AT&T and T-Mobile turned off their services in February and March

More: Slashdot. Tweets: @civex, @sturmen, @natoa, @moseskemibaro, @ants000, and @aadetugbo

Earlier Picks

Wall Street Journal:

A look at the rise and fall of Alameda Research, whose troubles began well before the crypto crash as the firm took big gambles, winning some and losing plenty

More: Coinpedia Fintech News, Cointelegraph, Bitcoin News, CryptoPotato, Cryptonews, and Inside Bitcoins

Tweets: @lars0x, @bitfinexed, @stackersatoshi, @tomgara, @ceostroff, @tomgara, @btc_archive, @thecompoundnews, @realjonbovi, @wsj, @ryder_ripps, @pauly0x, @misruleoflaw, and @eliotwb

Hannah Murphy / Financial Times:

Experts weigh in on Meta's decision on whether to lift Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram bans; a source says the announcement will be made after January 7

More: WinBuzzer, Firstpost Tech, City A.M., SiliconANGLE, and Reuters

Tweets: @news_by_nick, @accountabletech, and @accountabletech

Jared Gans / The Hill:

Google agrees to pay $29.5M to settle lawsuits with Washington DC and Indiana over its location tracking practices, after paying nearly $392M to 40 US states

Alexandra Alper / Reuters:

A judge sets the first pre-trial hearing in the FTC's case against Microsoft's $69B bid to take over Activision Blizzard for January 3, 2023

More: Engadget, Gameranx, Game Rant, WinBuzzer, MSPoweruser, Thurrott, Appuals.com, and Wccftech

New York Times:

Employment in tech occupations grew 12% YoY to a record 6.39M in November 2022, as workers eye banking, retail, health care, and manufacturing amid tech layoffs

Tweets: @hadip, @carnage4life, @dealbook, @andrenaleen, @dialogcrm, @stevelohr, @scottlincicome, @nytimestech, @nytimestech, @nytimestech, @chiefmartec, and @stevelohr

Jenni Reid / CNBC:

A look at ABBA Voyage, the hit London concert performed by 3D digital avatars of the band created from motion capture, as its producers plan a global expansion