Techmeme
February 9, 2022, 2:35 PM

Top News

Cat Zakrzewski / Washington Post:
In a bid to appease lawmakers and regulators, Microsoft outlines 11 app store principles, including equal treatment and allowing third-party payment processing  —  The rules comes as Microsoft is attempting to win regulatory approval for the largest deal in the company's history
Devlin Barrett / Washington Post:
The US DOJ arrests two people in New York and seizes ~$3.6B worth of bitcoin allegedly stolen in a 2016 Bitfinex hack, its “largest financial seizure ever”  —  The Justice Department announced Tuesday it had seized more than $3.6 billion in bitcoin allegedly stolen as part …
Matt Levine / Bloomberg:
Allison Johnson / The Verge:
Samsung debuts Galaxy S22 Ultra starting at $1,199 with a 6.8" 120Hz display, S-Pen support, up to 1TB of storage, and updated cameras, on sale from February 25  —  It gains an on-board stylus, plus some incremental hardware and software upgrades  —  The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has shaped …
Sam Rutherford / Engadget:
Hands-on with the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: feels like the Note, distinct hardware, mesmerizing display, impressive specs, and welcome S-Pen support  —  This content is not available due to your privacy preferences.  Update your settings here, then reload the page to see it.
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Samsung unveils 6.1" Galaxy S22 and 6.6" S22+ with updated cameras, 10Hz-120Hz displays, and Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, coming February 25, starting at $800 and $1,000  —  Will iterative upgrades cure Samsung's sales problem?  —  By most accounts, last year's Galaxy S21 lineup didn't measure up to Samsung's sales expectations.
Dan Seifert / The Verge:
Samsung unveils the $1,100 Tab S8 Ultra, with a 14.6" 120Hz display, 16GB of RAM, two front-facing cameras, and Snapdragon Gen 1, shipping later in February  —  The Tab S8 Ultra comes with a giant 14.6-inch display  —  Samsung thinks your tablet is too small.
Phillip Tracy / Gizmodo:
Biz Carson / Protocol:
A profile of Sequoia's Roelof Botha, who seeded the idea of Sequoia Capital Fund, which holds stakes in companies past the traditional 10-year VC fund cycle  —  109. One billion dollars.  —  Roelof Botha used to write 109 on the corner of his notepad every week when he started at Sequoia 19 years ago.
Will Knight / Wired:
Sony details GT Sophy, an AI built to master Gran Turismo that outraces human drivers; the research could eventually help develop autonomous vehicles  —  The company built GT Sophy to master the game Gran Turismo, but it may help the development of real self-driving cars. … APPLICATION  —  SECTOR
Ellen Huet / Bloomberg:
As CB Insights says there are 1K unicorns globally, about two added to the herd per day in 2022, a look at soaring valuations, the “first” unicorns, and more  —  Hubert Palan signed on to Zoom from his home in Oakland, Calif., on Feb. 2 and prepared to address the 400 or so employees …
Bloomberg:
As crypto tokens fall, FTX and Crypto.com seek new customers with Super Bowl ads; iSpot.tv data shows $112.9M+ has been spent on US crypto TV ads since 2020  —  It's a testing time for crypto exchanges to be making their Super Bowl ad debuts.  —  Recruiting new users can be simple when prices are skyrocketing.
Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch:
Tumblr launches a tip jar, initially in the US, on iOS, Android, and the web; Tumblr will not take a cut and won't use Apple or Google's billing systems  —  Tumblr is launching its second attempt at a monetization feature today.  Rolling out in the U.S. now and soon globally …
Justine Calma / The Verge:
The WWF hyped and then canceled plans to raise money for conservation with NFTs on Polygon's “eco-friendly blockchain”, a fraught claim dismissed by experts  —  WWF thought it picked a less polluting blockchain  —  Within a few days last week, the World Wildlife Fund hyped …
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
As Meta dips under a $600B market cap, it may avoid antitrust liability since it falls below the threshold set by recent US House bills as a “covered platform”  —  - Facebook owner Meta closed with a market cap below $600 billion on Tuesday for the first time since May 2020.
Darren Loucaides / Wired:
A deep dive into the CEO and history of Telegram, which has about 30 core employees, minimal content moderation, and, until recently, no ongoing revenue  —  Hundreds of millions of users.  No algorithm.  No ads.  Courage in the face of autocracy.  Sound like a dream?  Careful what you wish for.
Tage Kene-Okafor / TechCrunch:
Cairo-based Thndr, an investing app for Egyptian stocks and mutual funds, raises a $20M Series A led by Tiger Global, VC BECO Capital, and Prosus Ventures  —  The MENA region has about 400 million people with $500 billion in annual savings.  But as a relatively young population …

Sponsor Posts

ElevenLabs:
ElevenAgents by ElevenLabs  —  You know us for voice.  Now meet ElevenAgents — featuring Expressive Mode, our most human-sounding AI voice technology in 70+ languages with ultra-low latency.  Hear it for yourself.
Intel:
5G's most deployed platform  —  Powering live networks with built-in Inference across Core and RAN.  That's the power of Intel Inside®
Zoho:
Build vs Buy Embedded Analytics: The Decision That Defines Your Product Roadmap  —  Every SaaS product team eventually hits the analytics wall.  Your customers want insights inside your app.  Your roadmap has no room to spare.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Lenny's Podcast:
An AI state of the union: We've passed the inflection point, dark factories are coming, and automation timelines | Simon Willison
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.
Access:
The future of AI might be on your finger
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
The Upstarts Podcast:
Axiom's Carina Hong: Solving Math's Hardest Problems With AI, And AI's Problems With Math
Veteran tech reporter Alex Konrad sits down with breakout entrepreneurs taking on the status quo to shake up their fields in AI, design, nuclear energy, space, and more.
Subscribe to The Upstarts Podcast.
The Nick, Dick and Paul Show:
Iran, Oil, and the US
Nick Bilton, Dick Costolo, and Paul Kedrosky pull back the curtain on AI, startups, and the future rushing toward us, all with healthy dose of irreverence.
Subscribe to The Nick, Dick and Paul Show.
The Talk Show With John Gruber:
'Apple at 50', With John Siracusa
The director's commentary track for Daring Fireball. Long digressions on Apple, technology, design, movies, and more.
Subscribe to The Talk Show With John Gruber.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ryan Roslansky: Turning AI Anxiety into Skills for the Future of Work
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 2:35 PM ET, February 9, 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.

More News

Olivia Little / Media Matters for America:

Earlier Picks

Shubham Agarwal / The Verge:
The Intercept: