Techmeme
February 3, 2023, 3:00 PM

Top News

Financial Times:
Sources: Google invested ~$300M in Anthropic for a ~10% stake, making the generative AI startup use the money on Google Cloud, echoing Microsoft's OpenAI deal  —  Cash-for-computing deal shows how large tech groups are investing in companies at the vanguard of generative AI
Kevin Roose / New York Times:
Inside ChatGPT's rushed launch, as OpenAI feared that rivals might upstage them; Sam Altman now worries about regulatory backlash and inflated expectations  —  Even inside the company, the chatbot's popularity has come as something of a shock.  —  One day in mid-November …
Forbes:
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Twitter cuts off API access to Movetodon, a useful tool for finding and following one's Twitter followers on Mastodon; it's unclear if the tool broke any rule  —  from the trying-to-lock-the-barn-doors dept  —  People keep claiming that Mastodon isn't scaring Elon Musk …
BuzzFeed News:
TechCrunch:
Rohan Goswami / CNBC:
Activision Blizzard settles with the SEC for $35M, over claims of violating federal whistleblower protections and not maintaining adequate disclosure standards  —  - Activision Blizzard will settle with the SEC for $35 million, over claims that the company violated federal whistleblower protections …
Mitchell Clark / The Verge:
Elon Musk says Twitter will start sharing revenue from reply-thread ads with creators who are subscribed to Twitter Blue Verified, but doesn't share any details  —  Elon Musk says that Twitter will start sharing revenue from reply-thread ads with creators who are subscribed to Twitter Blue Verified.
Dave Lee / Financial Times:
Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, and Microsoft will collectively incur $10B+ in charges related to 50,000 job cuts, real estate changes, and other cost saving measures  —  Amazon, Meta, Alphabet and Microsoft reveal hefty price tag as they rein in spending  —  Amazon, Meta, Alphabet and Microsoft …
Matt Richtel / New York Times:
Some US emergency services operators say they are inundated with false, automated calls by the Apple Watches or iPhone 14s of skiers and fitness enthusiasts  —  911 dispatchers are buried under an avalanche of false, automated distress calls from skiers and other Apple device owners who are very much alive.
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: the FTC is preparing an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, though the timing remains in flux, and is also scrutinizing Amazon Prime's bundling practices  —  Federal Trade Commission considers challenge to array of practices by Amazon, a target of criticism from Chair Lina Khan
Davey Alba / Bloomberg:
Sundar Pichai says Google will make LLMs like LaMDA available “in the coming weeks and months”, which users will be able to use “as a companion to search”  —  Google parent Alphabet Inc. reported fourth-quarter results that narrowly missed analysts' expectations …
Amitoj Singh / CoinDesk:
As the spat between Binance and WazirX escalates, Binance invites the Indian crypto exchange to withdraw its assets held in Binance wallets after February 3  —  The solution ostensibly ends worries about what would happen to customer funds if Binance and WazirX end their collaboration.
Aaron Tilley / Wall Street Journal:
Kif Leswing / CNBC:
Apple:
Wall Street Journal:
Documents offer a look at the four men, including a former child actor, who once owned ~86% of Tether Holdings, incorporated in 2014, and their ties to Bitfinex  —  The stablecoin has become a lucrative business at center of crypto economy  —  Tether Holdings Ltd. operates a $68 billion stablecoin …
Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
Sports Illustrated publisher Arena Group is working with AI startups Jasper and Nota to help produce articles from its own content library and pitch journalists  —  Arena Group uses the technology to help produce Men's Journal pieces such as workout tips  —  The publisher of Sports Illustrated …
Harmeet Singh Walia / Counterpoint Research:
Global smartphone shipments declined 12% YoY to 1.2B units in 2022, the lowest since 2013; Apple took 18% share, 48% revenue, and 85% operating profit growth  —  - The global smartphone market declined by 18% YoY to reach 304 million units in Q4 2022.  — Apple replaced Samsung …
Amazon:

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Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer:
Tom Schoenberg / Bloomberg: