Techmeme
June 24, 2023, 11:25 AM

Top News

Mark Matousek / The Information:
Social media startup IRL is shutting down after an investigation by its board concluded that 95% of its claimed 20M MAUs were “automated or from bots”  —  Last year, the CEO of messaging app IRL repeatedly said it had 20 million monthly active users, who chatted about shared interests and planned real-world events together.
Rani Molla / Vox:
Startups are using remote work to attract talent; report: 81% of companies with fewer than 5K employees offer remote work vs. 26% for those with 25K+ employees  —  How small tech companies are using remote work to compete with the big guys.  —  It used to be that Big Tech companies like Google …
Alex Heath / The Verge:
Sources: Meta is planning to release its Twitter competitor in mid-July and is pitching big-name celebrities to join a platform that will be “sanely” run  —  Mark Zuckerberg is the overwhelming favorite to beat Elon Musk in a cage match.  Will it actually happen?
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Andy Jassy says Amazon plans to invest another $15B in India by 2030, mostly for AWS expansion; in May, AWS announced plans to invest $12.7B in the country  —  Amazon plans to more than double its investment in India in the next seven years, the e-commerce group said, joining a roster …
The Economic Times:
Tom Warren / The Verge:
At the FTC v. Microsoft hearing, Phil Spencer says Microsoft bought ZeniMax for $7.5B to stop Starfield and other Bethesda games becoming PlayStation exclusives  —  Microsoft's Xbox chief has revealed one of the key reasons behind the acquisition of Bethesda parent company ZeniMax: potential Starfield PlayStation exclusivity.
Nico Grant / New York Times:
NetBlocks: at least five Russian telcos block Google News and other ISPs reduce access to the service, as Russia's feud with a mercenary leader intensifies  —  At least five telecommunications companies have blocked the service, which aggregates news from various sources …
Wired:
How companies are repurposing military-grade AI, built by US defense contractors for intelligence, to identify labor organizing, internal leakers, and critics  —  Spycraft developed by defense contractors are now being sold to employers to identify labor organizing.  Regulators must step up to protect workers' privacy.
More: PoliticoTwitter: @1roboter, @willie_agnew, @codepo8, and @backchnnl
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
A US federal court sentences UK citizen Joseph James O'Connor to five years in prison for helping hack into dozens of high-profile Twitter accounts in July 2020  —  Prosecutors called for the British hacker to serve at least seven years  —  Three years after one of the most visible hacks …
Benj Edwards / Ars Technica:
Midjourney adds a “zoom out” feature that builds out a larger scene around images generated within the AI service, simulating zooming out with a camera lens  —  Midjourney v5.2 features camera-like zoom control over framing, more realism.  —  On Thursday, Midjourney unveiled version 5.2 …
New York Times:
A profile of Michael Kives, a Hollywood agent turned investor, as FTX's bankruptcy lawyers sue his VC firm K5 Global to recover the $700M that SBF had invested  —  Michael Kives, a former Hollywood agent, connected FTX's founder to Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, Bill Clinton and others.

Sponsor Posts

Airtable:
3 bold predictions for the future of Product Management  —  Do you know how to set up your product organization for success as you embrace AI transformation to supercharge your operations?  Learn how to win with Airtable.
Tribe AI:
Build AI products that matter  —  Tribe AI helps organizations rapidly deploy AI solutions that have real business impact.  We bring together world class AI talent and tooling to drive differentiated results.
Zoho:
Zoho Doc Scanner shines with Apple's iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia  —  Hello, Doc Scanners!  Looking for a user-friendly, sleek, and top-notch document scanning app for your Apple devices?  We've got you covered!
Notion:
Build and scale your company with one tool  —  Used by thousands of startups as their connected workspace for everything from building a roadmap to new hire onboarding.  Get Notion and unlimited AI, free for up to 6 months!
Techmeme Ride Home:
Fri. 09/20 - MacOS 15 Sequoia Is Breaking Things
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or RSS.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 11:25 AM ET, June 24, 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.

More News

Jay Peters / The Verge:

Earlier Picks

Filipe Espósito / 9to5Mac:
Anand J / Moneycontrol:
Wall Street Journal:
Anja Karadeglija / National Post: