Techmeme: A look at Snap's shift towards investing aggressively in AI and AR after revamping its ad business, as it tries to adapt to changing social media habits (Alex Barinka/Bloomberg)

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May 20, 2024, 10:10 AM

Top News

Amy Thomson / Bloomberg:

OpenAI pulls ChatGPT's Sky voice that users say sounds like Scarlett Johansson, says it is an actress' voice and wasn't chosen to be an “imitation” of Johansson — OpenAI is working to pause the use of the Sky voice from an audible version of ChatGPT after users said that it sounded …

More: OpenAI, Android Authority, PCMag, Forbes, The Verge, Tom's Guide, New York Times, Dexerto, New York Post, Forbes, WinBuzzer, Spyglass, and The Decoder

X: @therealadamg, @dkardonsky_, @carnage4life, @mgsiegler, @mikeisaac, @openai, @autismcapital, and @nickadobos

Forums: Hacker News, r/ChatGPT, and r/OpenAI

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:

Sources: Apple and OpenAI are preparing a major announcement of their partnership at WWDC; the new AirTag with a better chip is scheduled to arrive by mid-2025 — Apple was caught flat-footed in the generative AI race, and the company will need to change its strategy if it wants to catch up.

More: Dexerto, The Verge, MacRumors, 9to5Mac, BGR, Hindustan Times, GamesIndustry.biz, Tom's Guide, MacRumors, iMore, WinBuzzer, Android Headlines, MySmartPrice, Gizmochina, AppleInsider, MacDailyNews, TechRadar, T3, MacRumors, Android Authority, iThinkDifferent, The Mac Observer, Financial Express, Wccftech, Forbes, PCMag, Philip Elmer‑DeWitt, NewsBytes, The Decoder, Benzinga, and The Apple Post

Bluesky: @tylerking.bsky.social. X: @gartenberg, @maxrovensky, @dankaplan, @mgsiegler, @rjonesy, @emollick, @patrickmoorhead, @_chuckyc, @nickadobos, @markgurman, @markgurman, and @markgurman. LinkedIn: Shahar Nechmad

Forums: r/aiwars, r/singularity, r/apple, r/ChatGPT, and MacRumors Forums

Max Tani / Semafor:

Many outlets have increased reliance on Apple News+; The Daily Beast is set to make $3M-$4M from it in 2024, and Time says it delivers a 7-figure annual revenue — The Scoop — Like many digital publishers, The Daily Beast was struggling at the end of 2023.

Bluesky: @jbaer.bsky.social. X: @jeremyreesnz, @ericdkoch, @michaelroston, @journalistslike, @michaelsderby, @bendreyfuss, @baekdal, @semaforben, @nick_field90, @malexjohnson, and @walterolson

Financial Times:

PE firm EQT is in advanced talks to buy video game services company Keywords Studios for £2.2B, or £25.5 per share, a 70%+ premium on Friday's close — Private equity firm has already made four unsolicited proposals for Keywords Studios — European private equity group EQT …

More: EQS Group, Bloomberg, Game Developer, Game World Observer, RTÉ, GamesIndustry.biz, Proactive, Business Post, PC Games Insider, and Pocket Gamer.biz

Alex Barinka / Bloomberg:

A look at Snap's shift towards investing aggressively in AI and AR after revamping its ad business, as it tries to adapt to changing social media habits — - Messaging app turns attention to improved, personalized tools — Company seeks to adapt to changing social media habits

More: WinBuzzer and PYMNTS.com. LinkedIn: Russ Caditz-Peck

Sophie Shulman / CTech:

CyberArk acquires machine identity management company Venafi from Thoma Bravo in a deal valued at around $1.54B; Thoma Bravo bought Venafi for $1.15B in 2020 — The Israeli company is purchasing the machine identity management company from Thoma Bravo as it looks to combine Venafi's machine …

More: CRN, Globes Online, TechCrunch, Yahoo Finance, Reuters, SecurityWeek, Tech Startups, and Help Net Security. X: @ingridlunden

Rolfe Winkler / Wall Street Journal:

Neuralink gets US FDA approval to implant its brain chip in a second person; source: FDA signed off on proposed fixes like embedding wires deeper into the brain — Elon Musk-backed startup has proposed solutions for thread pullout problem experienced by first participant, Noland Arbaugh

More: Reuters and The Verge

Chae-Yeon Kim / KED Global:

Sources: LG has ended its Meta partnership due to a lack of “synergy”, three months after the companies agreed to develop XR devices; LG may partner with Amazon — Industry sources say LG, recently cut ties, may have seen little synergy from its collaboration with Meta on XR devices

More: The Verge, Road to VR, UploadVR, Korea Joongang Daily, Patently Apple, MIXED Reality News, and The Korea Herald

Emma Agyemang / Financial Times:

Around 58 countries now offer a digital nomad visa, as governments compete with each other to attract talent; the number of US digital nomads hit 17.3M in 2023 — Nearly 60 countries are offering remote visas, many with an eye to making visitors permanent residents

X: @gonzohall. LinkedIn: John Lee

Jamie Crawley / CoinDesk:

Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein resigns, to be replaced by the head of strategy for asset and wealth manager at Goldman Sachs, Peter Mintzberg, on August 15 — Sonnenshein's replacement will be Peter Mintzberg, currently head of strategy for asset and wealth manager at Goldman Sachs

More: Watcher Guru and CryptoPotato

Austin Carr / Bloomberg:

AltStore developers detail the significant hurdles facing those looking to open third-party iOS app stores in Europe; AltStore has had 100K+ downloads in the EU — The experience of AltStore shows the significant hurdles facing those looking to open third-party app stores in Europe.

More: MacDailyNews. X: @kasdad

Jimmy Vielkind / Wall Street Journal:

How Nvidia co-founder Curtis Priem is trying to make New York a quantum computing hub, including putting a quantum computer at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute — Curtis Priem is donating more than $75 million to help Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute become a hub for a cutting-edge technology

X: @nyhammond and @jimmyvielkind. LinkedIn: Jimmy Vielkind

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This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 10:10 AM ET, May 20, 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.

From Mediagazer

Associated Press:

President Trump signed an EO on May 1 instructing CPB and other agencies to cut federal funding for NPR and PBS, alleging “bias” in the broadcasters' reporting

Washington Post:

After VOA director said staff can begin a “phased return”, an appeals court stays the preliminary injunction that allowed VOA and USAGM staffers to go back

Sean Burch / The Wrap:

The LA Times Guild says 14 of its members have been laid off, or 6% of its newsroom staff, the third round of newsroom layoffs at LAT in as many years

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More News

David Keohane / Financial Times:

An interview with Kokusai Electric CEO Fumiyuki Kanai on KKR's role in the Japanese chip equipment maker's IPO, becoming an advocate for PE in Japan, and more

X: @chrismo50s. LinkedIn: Nicholas Benes

Rebecca Bellan / TechCrunch:

A look at Overland AI, Potential, and other startups developing off-road self-driving systems, including for military operations, underground mining, and more

More: Machinery Market

Financial Times:

Microsoft, Meta, Google and others pitch smaller language models that are cheaper to build and train, to lower costs and hardware requirements for generative AI

More: Los Angeles Times and Silicon Republic. Bluesky: @marypcbuk.bsky.social

Stephen Battaglio / Los Angeles Times:

At the 2024 Upfronts, streaming services dominated with Amazon Prime Video and Netflix making their debut, and live sports and ad tech were given more attention

More: Adweek and Deadline

X: @pkafka, @eric_seufert, @kasey__moore, and @rfaughnder

Earlier Picks

Wall Street Journal:

A look at Meta's AI strategy, which is a bet that open sourcing the tech will drive down competitors' prices and spread Meta's version of AI more broadly

Threads: @jjackyliang. Bluesky: @marypcbuk.bsky.social. X: @canadakaz, @hoofnagle, @ylecun, and @ylecun

Stefanno Sulaiman / Reuters:

SpaceX launches Starlink in Indonesia to improve internet access in remote parts of the country, starting with three local health centers

More: Associated Press, CNBC, Tech in Asia, Silicon Republic, Fortune, Light Reading, DMARGE, Benzinga, PCMag, Quartz, Agence France-Presse, and Bloomberg

X: @cb_doge, @cb_doge, and @elonmusk

Forums: r/Starlink and r/StarlinkEngineering

Alfred Ng / Politico:

How Vermont lawmakers passed a strict online data privacy law despite significant pushback from the tech industry; GOP Gov. Phil Scott is yet to sign the bill

Mastodon: @dmarti@federate.social. Forums: r/UpliftingNews

Pew Research Center:

About 38% of webpages that existed in 2013 are unavailable now and 8% of pages from 2023 are unavailable; 23% of news pages have at least one broken link

More: PCWorld, The Overspill, and WinBuzzer

Mastodon: @screaminggoat@infosec …, @bruces@mastodon.social, @glenngabe@mas.to, and @asakiyume@wandering.shop. Bluesky: @cbdawson.bsky.social

X: @sbmeunier, @pewresearch, @internetarchive, @andybeard, @vinbrown, and @mikko. LinkedIn: Trevor Owens

Forums: r/DataHoarder, r/wikipedia, and r/technology