Techmeme: Sources: BlackRock has agreed to buy Preqin, a UK-based provider of private markets data, for £2.55B in cash (Financial Times)

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Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:

Sources: Apple is actively working to bring the AI features to Vision Pro, rejiggers Vision Pro's retail demos, and starts developing 2025's operating systems — Apple's strategy to make its devices last longer will mean AI and software are even more important to its business.

More: MacRumors, PYMNTS.com, MacRumors, The Verge, 9to5Mac, The Verge, PhoneArena, Neowin, MacRumors, iThinkDifferent, TechCrunch, Philip Elmer‑DeWitt, AppleInsider, iMore, Philip Elmer‑DeWitt, and PCMag

Threads: @parkert and @parkert

X: @scobleizer, @markgurman, @markgurman, @markgurman, @tgod34748, and @vnchocotaco

Forums: r/apple, r/technology, and MacRumors Forums

Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:

Kuo: Apple plans to mass produce new AirPods with camera modules by 2026, which will include an IR camera similar to the iPhone Face ID receiver — According to a new report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is targeting to begin mass production of new “AirPods with camera modules” by 2026.

More: Ming-Chi Kuo, Gizmodo, PhoneArena, TechRadar, Wccftech, iThinkDifferent, Neowin, MacRumors, AppleInsider, Supercharged, and iClarified

X: @mingchikuo, @vijayshekhar, @leakerapple, @markgurman, and @keith_wilson. Forums: r/apple

Yoolim Lee / Bloomberg:

SK Hynix plans to invest ~$75B on chips through 2028, allocating ~80%, or $60B, on manufacturing HBM chips, as part of the parent company SK Group's bet on AI — - About 80%, or $60 billion, will be spent on HBM memory chips — Plan underscores overhaul at S. Korea's No. 2 business group

More: Reuters, SiliconANGLE, TweakTown, The Crypto Times, Cointelegraph, Cryptopolitan, Neowin, Tom's Hardware, and The Investor

Financial Times:

European fintech execs say financial services are shunning AI over job loss and regulatory fears, despite evidence that AI will boost productivity and cut costs — Industry leaders say concerns over impact of technology are outweighing benefits such as productivity gains and cost cuts

More: PYMNTS.com and Solondais

LinkedIn: Dr Saif Abed. Forums: Hacker News, r/technology, and r/Economics

Financial Times:

Sources: BlackRock has agreed to buy Preqin, a UK-based provider of private markets data, for £2.55B in cash — Pursuit of data providers has grown alongside demand for ever more granular financial information — BlackRock has agreed to buy Preqin, a UK private markets data group …

More: Solondais

Naomi Nix / Washington Post:

A look at the history of and challenges facing Meta's Oversight Board as it works on its second act: a body to help social media platforms comply with EU's DSA — Once hailed as a model for internet governance, Meta's Oversight Board has been criticized as slow-moving and increasingly irrelevant.

More: AdNews News. X: @anupamchander

Irene Garcia Perez / Bloomberg:

Atos reaches a deal in principle with its creditors that restructures its debt, including injecting €233M in equity, and lets the creditors take control of Atos — - Creditors have agreed to inject equity and new debt into Atos — French IT firm's agreement with Onepoint fell apart last week

More: Atos and Reuters

Andrew Cunningham / Ars Technica:

Interviews with the creator and maintainers of FreeDOS, the only MS-DOS-compatible OS still under active development, about its continued relevance and more — Project's creator talks to Ars about where FreeDOS has been, where it's going. — Two big things happened in the world of text-based disk operating systems in June 1994.

More: Tom's Hardware, How-To Geek, and Both.org

Forums: r/technology and Ars OpenForum

Benjamin Taubman / Bloomberg:

Kaiko: the proportion of Bitcoin traded over weekends has fallen to 16% in 2024 so far, down from 28% in 2019, a trend likely accelerated by Bitcoin ETFs launch — - Weekend trading drops to 16% of total volume, Kaiko says — ETFs, dwindling volatility lessen appeal, researcher says

More: The Block, Kaiko Research, CoinGape, and Finbold

X: @crypto, @kaikodata, and @jconorgrogan

Paul Kiernan / Wall Street Journal:

The US finalizes rules requiring custodial crypto platforms to report user transaction info to the IRS; DeFi platforms are exempt amid fierce crypto lobbying — Treasury finalizes rules to deter crypto tax evasion—but softens them after industry lobbying push

Mary Ann Azevedo / TechCrunch:

An interview with Plaid's first president, Jennifer Taylor, on expanding beyond its traditional fintech customers as its enterprise customer base crosses 1,000 — As Plaid has expanded its fintech services, so, too, has it grown its customer base. — Plaid got its start as a company …

X: @techcrunch and @bayareawriter. LinkedIn: Kevin Young

The Information:

Source: Amazon plans to use a controversial trade rule used by Temu and Shein, which exempts packages worth $800 or less from tariffs, for its discount section — Amazon is planning to use the same controversial trade rule as Temu and Shein to import items sold on its upcoming discount …

More: Solondais and South China Morning Post

X: @luke_metro, @modestproposal1, and @theo_wayt

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