Techmeme
May 15, 2023, 2:25 PM

Top News

Adam Satariano / New York Times:
EU regulators approve Microsoft's $69B Activision Blizzard deal after the company made concessions over giving rivals access to Call of Duty and other games  —  The green light follows objections to the blockbuster deal by American and British regulators on the grounds that it would undercut competition.
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
Google's AI-heavy I/O suggests AI is a sustaining innovation for Big Tech; the true fight will be between major players' centralized models and open source  —  Some things in tech are shocking, but not surprising — think of a CEO of a struggling company losing their job.
Jacob Bogage / Washington Post:
Sources: the IRS has quietly built a prototype system to let Americans file tax returns digitally and free of charge, with a pilot slated to launch in January  —  The prototype program developed by the federal government could be available for a small group of taxpayers by January
Jared Newman / Fast Company:
Pluto TV co-founder Ilya Pozin's Telly opens a waitlist to give away 500,000 55-inch 4K HDR TVs in 2023 with a second screen that constantly shows ads  —  Would you take a free TV if it constantly ran banner ads beneath everything you watched?  —  That's the proposition for Telly …
Stefania Palma / Financial Times:
Bloomberg:
How Sea, one of Southeast Asia's largest internet companies that burned billions to grow, made ruthless cuts to turn a profit, a first in its 14-year history  —  Just over a year ago, Forrest Li was laid up in bed with Covid, fretting about the future of his company, Sea Ltd. So he propped himself …

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Featured Podcasts

Hard Fork:
Jonathan Haidt Strikes Again + What You Vibecoded + An Update on the Forkiverse
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
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Building an autonomous car utopia with Rivian's RJ Scaringe
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Lenny's Podcast:
How to show up in any room with a low heart rate: Silicon Valley's missing etiquette playbook | Sam Lessin
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
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The Nick, Dick and Paul Show:
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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.
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Big Technology Podcast:
Who Wins if AI Models Commoditize? — With Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch
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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.
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