Techmeme
May 20, 2023, 6:05 PM

Top News

Neeva:
Neeva, co-founded by ex-Google executive Sridhar Ramaswamy, plans to shut down its ad-free search engine, citing a “vastly changed search environment” and more  —  We started Neeva with the mission to take search back to its users.  Having worked on search and search ads for over a decade …
Rebekah Valentine / IGN:
China's State Administration approves Microsoft's $69B acquisition of Activision Blizzard, joining a total of 37 regulators globally, including the EU and Japan  —  Thirty-seven total regulators have voiced approval thus far.  —  China's State Administration has approved Microsoft's attempted …
Kellen Browning / New York Times:
Unable to turn a profit amid a fall in views, some US esports organizations are laying off staff, ending player contracts, or even selling their teams at a loss  —  At least two organizations in America's most prominent league for professional video game players are selling their teams, underscoring the industry's uncertain future.
Lia Haberman / ICYMI:
Meta briefed some creators on Instagram's decentralized text-based app that may launch in June 2023 with a Twitter-like design, Mastodon compatibility, and more  —  Meta's hosting secret meetings with select creators to share details  —  [a sneak peek at Instagram's new text-based app]
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Court finds FBI misused a FISA Section 702 database 278K+ times between 2020 and 2021, as the White House seeks to persuade Congress to renew the law in 2023  —  The bureau made changes after the newly revealed violations of rules for querying messages intercepted under an expiring warrantless surveillance law.
Financial Times:
Sources: top shareholder SoftBank demanded compensation from Revolut after UK regulators told the startup to simplify its ownership to obtain a banking license  —  Minister to meet payment group's bosses amid fears UK's biggest tech group will leave the country
Cecilia D'Anastasio / Bloomberg:
After Niantic's latest AR game Peridot got negative app store reviews and few downloads, a look at the company's metaverse games struggling to find an audience  —  Just a few years ago, tech evangelists were hailing Niantic Inc., the maker of the hit game Pokémon Go …
Ariana Perez-Castells / Wall Street Journal:
Some doctors, bird watchers, and others still use pagers due to their simplicity; paging company Spok has 800K+ pagers in use in the US, down from 6.6M in 2004  —  Fans, including some doctors and bird watchers, appreciate the simplicity of the once-popular devices, even as others move on

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Featured Podcasts

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Podcast Pioneer PJ Vogt's Second Act: Less Budget, More Control
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BG2 Pod:
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Open-source podcast on all things tech, markets, investing, and capitalism, hosted by Brad Gerstner.
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Great Chat:
The stories we told ourselves in 2025
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
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Grit:
How Brands Stay Visible When AI Decides | Profound CEO James Cadwallader
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
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Lenny's Podcast:
The coming AI security crisis (and what to do about it) | Sander Schulhoff
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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Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling
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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More News

Leo Schwartz / Fortune:
Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:

Earlier Picks

Jon Fingas / Engadget:
Alex Konrad / Forbes:
Cory Weinberg / The Information:
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch: