Techmeme
May 17, 2023, 6:15 PM

Top News

Yogita Khatri / The Block:
Tether plans to invest up to 15% of its profits in bitcoin, as the stablecoin developer shifts its reserves toward crypto and away from US government debt  —  - Tether is set to purchase bitcoin on a regular basis from its profits.  — It held $1.5 billion in bitcoin as of the end of the first quarter …
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Logitech partners with iFixit to help with DIY repairs, supplying spare parts, batteries, and guides for select Logitech hardware starting this summer in the US  —  / Official spare parts, batteries, and repair guides for select Logitech hardware will be available through iFixit starting ‘this summer.’
Ryan Weeks / The Block:
Ripple acquires Switzerland-based digital asset custody startup Metaco for $250M in cash and stock and plans to keep the brand and founder Adrien Treccani  —  David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images  — Crypto payments firm Ripple shelled out $250 million for Swiss custody startup Metaco.
Nikhilesh De / CoinDesk:
Jennifer Elias / CNBC:
Docs: Google plans to use its AI models for ads, customer service, and to help YouTube creators, and it is working on an internal Stable Diffusion-like product  —  - Google has approved several ad-related artificial intelligence projects to help advertisers and YouTube creators, internal documents show.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Amazon announces the new $40 semi-circle design Echo Pop, updates the $90 Echo Show 5, $100 Echo Show 5 Kids Edition, $50 Echo Buds, expands Echo Auto, and more  —  After last fall's Amazon hardware event which brought us a handful of new Echo devices, like the Dot with the clock and other minor updates …
Lawrence Abrams / BleepingComputer:
Cybersecurity researchers and IT admins raise concerns over Google's new .zip and .mov TLDs, warning that threat actors could use them for phishing and malware  —  Cybersecurity researchers and IT admins have raised concerns over Google's new ZIP and MOV Internet domains …
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Beats Studio Buds+ review: better sound, ANC, battery, and calls, but ANC lags AirPods Pro 2, no wireless charging, and lacks some of Apple's ecosystem tricks  —  With better sound, improved noise cancellation, and a standout translucent design, these are everything the original Beats Studio Buds should've been.
Laura Cooper / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: private equity firms Francisco Partners and TPG are working together on a $5B+ bid to acquire observability software company New Relic  —  Buyout firms Francisco Partners, TPG team up in $5 billion-plus bid  —  Private-equity firms Francisco Partners and TPG are working together …
More: iTnews and Reuters
The Information:
Sources: Snowflake is in advanced talks to buy Neeva and aims to offer AI tools to help companies search internal data; Neeva also shopped itself to Databricks  —  Database software provider Snowflake has been in advanced talks to acquire Neeva, a search startup founded by former top Google …
Jonathan Greig / The Record:
Symantec says the advanced persistent threat Lancefly used custom malware to attack Asian governments, telcos, and other organizations from mid-2022 to Q1 2023  —  A government-backed hacking group known as “Lancefly” has been seen using custom-made malware to attack governments, telecoms and other organizations across Asia.
Stephanie Bodoni / Bloomberg:
Sources: the Irish DPC is set to hand Meta a record EU privacy fine and order the company to stop all data transfers to the US that rely on certain clauses  —  Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc. is set to be handed a record European Union privacy fine eclipsing a €746 million ($809 million) penalty doled out to Amazon.com Inc..
Peter Landers / Wall Street Journal:
IBM plans to give $100M and Google plans to give $50M for quantum computing research to the University of Chicago and the University of Tokyo  —  Deal to be announced at Hiroshima G-7 summit seeks to preserve American lead in critical technology  —  TOKYO—IBM and Google are giving $150 million …
Kyle Bradshaw / 9to5Google:
An update to Google's Personal Safety app for Android suggests the company plans to offer a Dashcam recording feature for Pixel phones and other select devices  —  Rather than needing to buy a (sometimes pricey) dedicated gadget, you should soon be able to use your Pixel (and select other Android devices) …
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Instagram adds support for GIFs in comments on posts and Reels, plans to launch a lyrics feature for Reels, and will roll out Instagram Gifts in India  —  On Tuesday, Mark Zuckerberg held a chat with Instagram head Adam Mosseri as part of the company launching collaboration feature on broadcast channels.
Tech Transparency Project:
Researchers find that YouTube recommends videos on guns and school shootings to young gamers, despite the platform's policies against “violent or gory content”  —  YouTube says it delivers ‘responsible’ video recommendations.  But its algorithms steered accounts …

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