|
January 19, 2022, 12:45 PM
|
Mediagazer
memeorandum
WeSmirchTop News
| Wall Street Journal: |
Sources: in recent weeks, CEO Bobby Kotick suggested Activision Blizzard make an acquisition, including of trade publications like Kotaku and PC Gamer — After a lawsuit and a Journal report, the company's stock was falling, board members were getting anxious—and the tech giant was ready to take a gamble
More:
VentureBeat, Forbes, Protocol, IGN, Rock, Paper, Shotgun, Game Rant, OnMSFT.com, Hit Points, Nitch, Polygon, thegamer.com, Eurogamer.net, MSPoweruser, GameSpot, GamesIndustry.biz, Still Alive, MUO, SegmentNext, and Coinspeaker
Tweets: @kellen_browning, @wario64, @thetomzone, @gamedadjp, @dkdynamite1, @joshgamnchannel, @six6jiang, @tomwarren, and @triforcemeg
| Bloomberg: |
Sony's stock fell 13% on Wednesday, its biggest drop since October 2008, wiping $20B off its valuation, after Microsoft announced its Activision Blizzard deal — Sony Group Corp. shares fell 13% in Tokyo on Wednesday, their biggest drop since October 2008, after PlayStation rival Microsoft Corp. announced …
More:
Wall Street Journal, Eurogamer.net, TechRadar, Xbox Wire, New York Post, WinBuzzer, GameSpot, CNBC, Newsletter, Rock, Paper, Shotgun, thegamer.com, Gamereactor UK, Wall Street Journal, purexbox.com, and Fortune
Tweets: @6d6f636869, @futterish, @falkoopa_, @grace_dustin, @serkantoto, and @thetreavor
| Bloomberg: |
Sources: Activision Blizzard tried to find other buyers, including Meta, while weighing a potential Microsoft takeover after the WSJ's exposé in November — Late last year, as Activision Blizzard Inc. and Chief Executive Officer Bobby Kotick were reeling from accusations that Kotick knew …
More:
Game Rant, MarketWatch, purexbox.com, TechRadar, SegmentNext, and Neowin
Tweets: @witch_cass, @jordannovet, @imranzomg, @_hanatwothree, @business, @tieguytravis, @stephentotilo, @martinsfp, and @davidgura
| Microsoft: |
More:
New York Times, Bloomberg, Protocol, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, VentureBeat, The Verge, GamesIndustry.biz, Video Games Chronicle, CNBC, Activision Publishing, Bloomberg, Financial Times, Neowin, Dexerto, Rock, Paper, Shotgun, Financial Times, Moneycontrol, ZDNet, SlashGear, TechRadar, BGR India, Kotaku, Wccftech, Wolf's Newsletter, The Ringer, thegamer.com, Destructoid, IGN, Reuters, OnMSFT.com, MSPoweruser, Mercury News, Engadget, Cointelegraph, PCWorld, Forbes, International Business Times, Axios, Coinspeaker, Beyond Search, Sobre Startups, MUO, Dot Esports, CNN, GameSpot, Sublink, The Hustle, Blockchain News, Polygon, Financial Times, SegmentNext, The Week, TechCabal, and CNBC
Tweets: @gregisenberg, @dinabass, @jasonschreier, @satyanadella, @xbox, @jonerlichman, @ashleyesqueda, @zhugeex, @pucknorris, @adriennelaw, @kristyt, @microsoft, @edzitron, @jasonschreier, @damianburns, @aarongreenberg, @tomwarren, @anildash, @jasonschreier, @andrewrsorkin, @scottjohnson, @mkbhd, @technology, @technology, @richlightshed, @technology, @technology, @richlightshed, @paultassi, @andrewyang, @ericnewcomer, @joshmunsee, and @stopskeletons
| Peter Kafka / Vox: |
More:
New York Times, Thurrott, CNET, Game Rant, GameSpot, diginomica, and thegamer.com
Tweets: @farmerdbrown, @sanzay, and @y2k_mindset
| CNBC: |
Apple and Google warn of harmful consequences to user privacy and security from two proposed Senate antitrust bills scheduled to be considered this week — - Apple warned in a letter on Tuesday that antitrust bills being considered in the Senate would increase the risk of security breaches to iPhone users.| Carly Page / TechCrunch: |
Password management service 1Password raises a $620M Series C led by Iconiq Growth at a $6.8B valuation and says it now has 100K+ paying customers — Password management platform 1Password has closed a massive $620 million Series C funding round that raises the company's valuation to $6.8 billion.
More:
Crunchbase News, Benzinga, BetaKit, VentureBeat, iPhone in Canada Blog, SecurityWeek, and CNBC. Tweets: @armchairdude
| Makena Kelly / The Verge: |
Democratic lawmakers unveil the Banning Surveillance Advertising Act, which would ban targeted ads but allow broad location-based and contextual ads — It could reshape the entire tech industry — On Tuesday, Democrats introduced a new bill that would ban nearly all use …
More:
Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, VICE, PCMag, ITIF, Insider, SiliconANGLE, Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, and ExchangeWire.com
| Steve Dent / Engadget: |
Opera unveils Crypto Browser Project, a beta browser for Windows, Mac, and Android, with a crypto wallet, access to crypto/NFT exchanges, dApps, and more — Opera has launched its Web3 “Crypto Browser” into beta with features like a built-in crypto wallet, easy access to cryptocurrency/NFT exchanges …
More:
Opera Crypto, iPhone in Canada Blog, InsideBitcoins.com, and PhoneArena
Tweets: @robinwauters, @sameer_singh17, @cointelegraph, and @andretelevise
| Reuters: |
China denies reports that it plans to require large internet companies with 100M+ users or $1.58B+ in revenue to obtain an approval before making investments — China's cyberspace regulator has drafted new guidelines that will require the country's large internet companies to obtain …
More:
Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, PYMNTS.com, Bloomberg, Slashdot, and Bloomberg. Tweets: @jchengwsj
| NBC News: |
Snapchat's friend recommendation feature will no longer suggest users under 18, unless they have a certain number of friends in common, to curb drug dealing — Exclusive: Snapchat executive on company's efforts to stop sale of counterfeit pills — Snapchat's parent company announced Tuesday …
More:
Snap Inc., Protocol, The Verge, KnowTechie, 9to5Mac, PhoneArena, and Pocket-lint
Tweets: @carnage4life, @dlberes, and @epro
| Wall Street Journal: |
AT&T and Verizon temporarily restrict 5G expansion near US airports, but a few airlines will still suspend some flights on Wednesday amid Boeing's guidance — Flight suspensions occur even as AT&T and Verizon agree to limit signals within 2 miles of runways to address air-safety concerns
More:
The White House, PCMag, PCMag, The i Paper, The Register, ZDNet, Reuters, NPR, tmfassociates.com, Airlines For America, Daily Mail, The Drive, United States, Tom's Guide, Bloomberg, Washington Post, Newser, Tech Xplore, Silicon Republic, and New York Times
Tweets: @byerussell, @reuters, @jeffnolan, @reuters, @kpottermn, and @diogomonica
| Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch: |
Tel Avi-based Personetics, which helps incumbent banks compete with neobanks by personalizing their customer offerings, raises $85M led by Thoma Bravo — Big banks are under a lot of pressure to modernize their services to meet demands of consumers who now view things like mobile apps … | Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat: |
South Africa-based mobile games publisher Carry1st raises a $20M Series A extension led by a16z, the firm's first investment in an Africa-headquartered company — Carry1st has raised $20 million in funding from marquee investors for its mobile game publishing platform targeted at unlocking demand in the African market.
More:
The Block, Bloomberg, Forbes, TechCrunch, Quartz, Cointelegraph, Stuff, Andreessen Horowitz, Hollywood Reporter, and Pocket Gamer.biz
| Rebecca Bellan / TechCrunch: |
Parallel Systems, which builds autonomous battery-electric rail vehicles, comes out of stealth, with a $49.55M Series A, bringing its total funding to $53.15M — Parallel Systems, a company founded by three former SpaceX engineers to build autonomous battery-electric rail vehicles …
More:
Morning Brew, Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and IEEE Spectrum
| Andrew Asmakov / Decrypt: |
Crypto.com halted withdrawals on Monday and required users to sign back in and reset 2FA; research shows it lost 4,600+ ETH, worth ~$15M, in a presumed hack — The crypto exchange has reportedly lost at least $15 million in Ethereum, and security experts believe the true losses could be much higher.
More:
HotHardware.com News, The Block, Crypto Briefing, PC Gamer, Tech.co, xuanling11's Free Newsletter, CoinGeek, and Bitcoin News
Tweets: @peckshield, @cryptocom, @kris_hk, @anthony, @cryptocom, @cryptocom, @briannawu, @egg_dog, @juddlegum, and @billym2k
| Sarah Perez / TechCrunch: |
Filmhub, which lets filmmakers distribute their work to over 100 streaming channels, including Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV, raises a $6.8M seed led by a16z — As the streaming market grows, so has the demand for content. But even though it's now easier than ever for filmmakers to create … | Hannah Lang / Reuters: |
Revolut launches commission-free stock trading in the US, letting users trade shares of 1,100+ securities listed on the NYSE and the Nasdaq — Britain-based digital banking app Revolut launched commission-free stock trading in the United States on Wednesday, a move that will see it compete … | Noah Kirsch / The Daily Beast: |
Internal memo: Better.com CEO Vishal Garg resumes full-time duties over a month after taking time off following his controversial firing of ~900 staff on Zoom — The volatile founder had laid off hundreds of workers in an emotionless webinar, triggering widespread scorn online.
More:
CNBC, CNN, New York Times, Protocol, New York Post, and BGR India
Tweets: @amydiehl, @lesliefeinzaig, and @davidjeans2
| Kate Rooney / CNBC: |
The US OCC and Federal Reserve approve SoFi's bid to become a bank holding company via its Golden Pacific Bancorp acquisition; SoFi stock jumps 16%+ after hours — - San Francisco-based SoFi got approval from its two key regulators to become a bank holding company.
More:
Office of the Comptroller …, SoFi, PYMNTS.com, The Block, Crowdfund Insider, and Blockchain News
Tweets: @anthonynoto, @ralexjimenez, @carlquintanilla, @sofi, @apompliano, @openoutcrier, @socialcapital, and @nikesharora
| Brandy Betz / CoinDesk: |
iTrustCapital, which lets users of an individual retirement account(IRA) invest in cryptocurrencies, raises a $125M Series A at a post-money valuation of $1.3B+ — The round, led by Left Lane Capital, will help iTrustCapital explore potential acquisitions.| Emma Betuel / TechCrunch: |
Gale Healthcare, which matches nurses with available work shifts at hospitals or clinics, raises $60M from FTV Capital and says 40K nurses use its service — If there was ever a rubber-meets road moment for six-year-old app Gale Healthcare Solutions, it's probably right now.
More:
FinSMEs and Gale Healthcare Solutions
| Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch: |
Lattice, which builds workforce people management tools including for performance reviews and tracking career goals, raises a $175M Series F at a $3B valuation — Lattice, a platform that helps with workforce people management — the ability to carry out performance reviews, employee feedback … | Devin Coldewey / TechCrunch: |
Ambient.ai, which uses AI to process live video footage from security cameras and alert users about any breaches, raises $52M led by a16z — Security — as in “hey you, you can't go in there” — quickly becomes a complex, arguably impossible job once you get past a few buildings and cameras.
More:
VentureBeat
| Arjun Kharpal / CNBC: |
Chinese government data shows domestic smartphone shipments grew 15.9% YoY to 342.8M units in 2021, below the 371.7M smartphones shipped in 2019 — - China domestic smartphone shipments jumped 15.9% year-on-year in 2021 to 342.8 million units, according to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT).| Keith Romer / New York Times: |
AI tools can generate an optimal poker strategy, balancing bluffing and playing it straight, which some professional players are using to augment their play — Good poker players have always known that they need to maintain a balance between bluffing and playing it straight. Now they can do so perfectly.
Tweets: @marloscmachado, @nytimes, @octonion, @electricalwsop, and @tarunchitra
| Clive Cookson / Financial Times: |
The Royal Society finds social media sites banning misleading content is ineffective and can drive misinformation to “harder-to-address corners of the internet” — Risks of removing information rejected by the mainstream outweigh benefits, according to the Royal Society| Jennifer Conrad / Wired: |
A look at crowdsourced juries in China, like Meituan's “kangaroo jury” made up of volunteers who adjudicate disputes between buyers and sellers on its platform — No garlic on the oysters? Soup stained a blanket? Panels of users hear the complaints and can order refunds or removal of critical reviews.
Tweets: @wired and @scottthurm
| Natasha Mascarenhas / TechCrunch: |
Wheel, which provides tools enabling health providers or employers to offer telehealth services, raises a $150M Series C, bringing its total funding to $216M — When Michelle Davey was first building Wheel, a healthcare platform that helps staff clinical workforces, she had to convince investors … Sponsor Posts
Meta:
Open Source AI: Available to all, not just the few — Meta's open source AI enables small businesses, start-ups, students, researchers and more to download and build with our models at no cost.
Open Source AI: Available to all, not just the few — Meta's open source AI enables small businesses, start-ups, students, researchers and more to download and build with our models at no cost.
Zoho:
The crossroads of AI and SaaS — Enabling businesses of all sizes to build products in-house and disqualifying SaaS tools that are not AI-powered. In a span of just two years, AI has made a name for itself as the key driver for innovation.
The crossroads of AI and SaaS — Enabling businesses of all sizes to build products in-house and disqualifying SaaS tools that are not AI-powered. In a span of just two years, AI has made a name for itself as the key driver for innovation.
Genesys:
Executive Insights: The Era of Contact Center AI Copilots — How AI copilots are transforming customer experience and agent performance.
Executive Insights: The Era of Contact Center AI Copilots — How AI copilots are transforming customer experience and agent performance.
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.
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.Who's Hiring In Tech?
Techmeme Ride Home:
Fri. 12/20 - Gemini Flash Thinking
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 12:45 PM ET, January 19, 2022.
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
New York Times:Max Tani / @maxwelltani:
Jessica Toonkel / Wall Street Journal:
Upcoming Tech Events
Earlier Picks
| Todd Spangler / Variety: |
More:
PhoneArena, Pocketnow, PCMag, Android Police, MediaNama, Pocket-lint, XDA Developers, Android Headlines, BGR India, Protocol, Ars Technica, and Benzinga
Tweets: @rkyncl, @tracobuttons, @thafnine, @tweetsauce, @brodyfoxx, and @brodyfoxx
| Frank Chaparro / The Block: |
More:
OpenSea Blog, CryptoSlate, Cryptonews, Coinspeaker, and CryptoPotato
Tweets: @nadavahollander, @dfinzer, @jillrgunter, @daltonc, @bkroberts, @rleshner, and @altcap
| Stephen Graves / Decrypt: |
More:
The Coinbase Blog, Blockchain News, BGR, Coinspeaker, and Waivly
Tweets: @bitfinexed, @jrnycrypto, @rajarajamannar, and @tante