Techmeme
August 17, 2023, 2:25 AM

Top News

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
OpenAI acquires New York-based AI design studio Global Illumination, marking the company's first public acquisition; the terms of the deal weren't disclosed  —  OpenAI, the AI company behind the viral AI-powered chatbot ChatGPT, has acquired Global Illumination, a New York-based startup leveraging AI …
Makena Kelly / The Verge:
NYC bans TikTok on city-owned devices and asks agencies to remove the app within 30 days; a NYC Cyber Command review found that TikTok “posed a security threat”  —  New York City is banning TikTok from city-owned devices and requiring agencies to remove the app within the next 30 days.
Helene Braun / CoinDesk:
Crypto hardware wallet maker Ledger partners with PayPal to let US users buy BTC, ETH, BCH, and LTC in its Ledger Live app through their PayPal accounts  —  Users of Ledger Live, the company's feature that lets you buy crypto with fiat currency, will now be able to connect their PayPal account to the app.
Bloomberg:
Docs: Amazon plans to impose a new 2% fee per sale on merchants who ship products themselves, on top of the ~15% commission they already pay, from October 2023  —  - The new levy comes even with an FTC antitrust suit looming  — Merchant fees generate revenue as online sales growth slows
Timmy Shen / The Block:
Coinbase says the exchange received regulatory approval from the CFTC-backed National Futures Association to offer futures trading services to eligible US users  —  - Coinbase is now allowed to operate as a futures commission merchant and offer eligible U.S. customers access to crypto futures from its platforms, the company said.
New York Times:
Inside Def Con AI Village 2023, which attracted 2,200 people competing in a White House-backed challenge to find vulnerabilities in popular generative AI models  —  The hackers had the blessing of the White House and leading A.I. companies, which want to learn about vulnerabilities before those with nefarious intentions do.
Alex Cranz / The Verge:
YouTube channel Linus Tech Tips pauses production amid accusations of theft, ethical lapses, and sexual harassment, and says it'll hire an outside investigator  —  Linus Sebastian's Linus Media Group YouTube empire is currently in crisis, with accusations of theft, lapses in ethics, and most recently, allegations of sexual harassment.
Caitlin Harrington / Wired:
OSHA investigations and 11 interviews: Amazon's first aid clinics put warehouse staff at risk by keeping them working instead of referring them to medical care  —  A WIRED investigation and federal citations show how first aid clinics in Amazon warehouses sometimes direct injured employees …
Shaurya Malwa / CoinDesk:
Shiba Inu's Ethereum layer-2 network Shibarium, which hopes to lure users with low fees to an ecosystem focused on financial services and gaming, goes live  —  The much-awaited Shibarium network saw over 21 million wallets created during its testnet and is expected to position Shiba Inu as a serious DeFi contender.
Vlad Savov / Bloomberg:
Counterpoint: global smartphone shipments to drop 6% YoY to 1.15B units in 2023, the lowest level since 2013, due to worsening China economy and poor US demand  —  - Global smartphone shipments are expected to drop 6% from 2022  — Apple is better positioned than others to weather the storm
Miles Kruppa / Wall Street Journal:
Internal presentation: Alphabet's Verily is planning more cost cuts after posting wider than expected operating losses on $280M revenue through June in 2023  —  Google's parent is focusing on turning companies that are developing ambitious technology into commercial successes.
Nico Grant / New York Times:
Docs: Google DeepMind has been developing generative AI to perform 21+ different types of personal and professional tasks, including to give users life advice  —  The tech giant is evaluating tools that would use artificial intelligence to perform tasks that some of its researchers have said should be avoided.
Sankalp Phartiyal / Bloomberg:
Sources: Foxconn's plant in Tamil Nadu, India plans to deliver iPhone 15 units weeks after Chinese factories; output previously lagged by six to nine months  —  - Apple is diversifying iPhone supply chain away from China  — India's push to become a manufacturing hub is bearing fruit
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Epic Games expands its Epic Online Services crossplay tools from PC to PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch, helping developers more easily add crossplay multiplayer  —  The change could mean that developers will be able to more easily bring crossplay multiplayer to their games.
Candice Ortiz / Mediaite:
Conservative radio host Glenn Beck says all Glenn Beck Program episodes were removed from Apple Podcasts, and then restored, “with no explanation”  —  Commentator Glenn Beck's entire show was removed from Apple's podcast network on Wednesday, allegedly without warning or explanation.

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More News

Elizabeth Howcroft / Reuters:
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Earlier Picks

Hannah Miller / Bloomberg:
Arjun Kharpal / CNBC:
Chelsey Cox / CNBC:
Ash Parrish / The Verge:
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Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Abner Li / 9to5Google: