Techmeme
September 24, 2024, 1:45 PM

Top News

Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Google plans to include the standalone Gemini app as standard in its Workspace Business, Enterprise, and Frontline plans from Q4, replacing the Gemini add-on  —  Google is making Gemini AI a core part of its Workspace productivity suite, which could see the chatbot adopted by millions more users.
Larry Dignan / Constellation Research:
Google Cloud debuts Gemini 1.5 Flash and 1.5 Pro with a 2M context window, twice as big as before, “grounding” for better Google search accuracy, and new agents  —  Google Cloud launched a series of updates including new Gemini 1.5 Flash and 1.5 Pro models with a 2 million context window …
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Spotify rolls out its AI Playlist feature in beta to Premium subscribers in the US, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand, after launching in the UK and Australia  —  Spotify is expanding an AI feature that creates customized playlists from your text descriptions to additional English-speaking regions.
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Google updates Google Photos' mobile video editor for Android and iOS, adding editing tools and AI presets that should make trimming and tweaking clips easier  —  Features coming to Android devices include a new “Speed” tool for creating slo-mo or sped-up videos, a new “Auto enhance” …
Emma Roth / The Verge:
Marques Brownlee says “I hear you” after criticism of his new freemium wallpaper app Panels, over privacy concerns, a $50/year price for full access, and more  —  Marques Brownlee, the YouTuber known as MKBHD, has responded to backlash over the launch of his new wallpaper app, called Panels.
Rohan Goswami / CNBC:
Collaboration software maker Smartsheet agrees to be acquired by Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners for ~$8.4B, or $56.50/share, set to close in January 2025  —  Collaboration software maker Smartsheet on Tuesday announced Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners will acquire it in an all-cash deal valuing …
Steve Dent / Engadget:
Logitech MX Creative Console review: the $200 control surface for apps like Lightroom is an affordable entry point, but pros may find the controls limiting  —  The quality and design are solid, but pros may find the controls limiting.  —  Last year, Logitech leaped into the content creator market …
Gian Volpicelli / Bloomberg:
Meta says it will not sign the EU's voluntary AI safety pledge that's planned as a stopgap before the EU's AI Act takes full effect in 2027, but may join later  —  - Company could join at a later date, spokesperson says  — EU wants compliance with AI Act rules before they take effect
Sam Altman:
Sam Altman claims “deep learning worked”, superintelligence may be “a few thousand days” away, and “astounding triumphs” will incrementally become commonplace  —  In the next couple of decades, we will be able to do things that would have seemed like magic to our grandparents.
Joseph Menn / Washington Post:
US intelligence officials say Russia, Iran, and China are using AI tools to boost US election influence campaigns and Russia's efforts are the most aggressive  —  American intelligence officials say Moscow's efforts, aimed mostly at undermining Harris, are the most aggressive.
David Ingram / NBC News:
Daniel Kuhn / The Block:
The Celestia Foundation, which is behind the Celestia modular blockchain network, raised $100M led by Bain Capital Crypto, taking its total raised to $155M  —  - The organization behind the modular blockchain network has raised $100 million in a round led by Bain Capital Crypto, bringing its total financing to $155 million.
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Roku unveils the $100 Roku Ultra, which is 30% faster than its other streaming players and has Wi-Fi 6, HDMI 2.1, Dolby Atmos, the Voice Remote Pro, and more  —  One day after the Google TV Streamer hit stores, Roku is announcing its latest streaming player.

Sponsor Posts

Termina:
AI Powered Diligence at Scale  —  VCs and founders deploy Termina AI Scans on >12% of all known series A+ deals to uncover hidden risks and opportunities.  Explore how you too can invest and build better companies with AI.
Zoho:
Set it, forget it, and stop worrying about form availability!  —  Let's say you have a booking form that you only want to be available during business hours, or you're hosting an event with a specific registration period …
SBS Comms:
Expect Better: SBS Comms  —  The media landscape is changing fast, so don't be slow — out with the old, in with the new.  SBS helps tech companies like GitHub, Cloudflare, Flexport, Ramp and more modernize comms and secure impactful results.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Grit:
CEO NetApp, George Kurian: New Chapters
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Lenny's Podcast:
The creator of WordPress opens up about becoming an internet villain, why he's taking a stand, and the future of open source | Matt Mullenweg (founder and CEO, Automattic)
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
BG2 Pod:
Grok 3, AI Memory & Voice, China, DOGE, Public Market Pull Back
Open-source podcast on all things tech, markets, investing, and capitalism, hosted by Brad Gerstner and Bill Gurley.
Subscribe to BG2 Pod.
Techmeme Ride Home:
Fri. 10/28 - GPT-4.5
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe to Techmeme Ride Home.
Invest Like the Best:
Doug Leone - Lessons from a Titan
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 1:45 PM ET, September 24, 2024.

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

US Department of State:
Bloomberg:

Earlier Picks

Mackenzie Hawkins / Bloomberg:
New York Times:
Katie Paul / Reuters:
Ryan Christoffel / 9to5Mac: