Techmeme
January 20, 2024, 7:10 PM

Top News

Bloomberg:
Microsoft says Russia-linked group Midnight Blizzard hacked some employee emails beginning in November 2023; the same group breached SolarWinds as early as 2019  —  - Nation-state spies previously conducted cyber-espionage on US  — Targeted breaches hit Microsoft executives, cyber team
Bloomberg:
Sources: Elon Musk's xAI secured $500M in commitments out of $1B and is aiming for a $15B to $20B valuation; source: X investors are invited to invest in xAI  —  - Grok maker aims for valuation of at least $15 billion  — Investors in X, formerly Twitter, getting priority in round
Benj Edwards / Ars Technica:
Dave Mills, who created the Network Time Protocol in 1985 to synchronize time across different computer systems and networks, died at age 85 on January 17  —  Dave Mills created NTP, the protocol that holds the temporal Internet together, in 1985.  —  On Thursday, Internet pioneer Vint Cerf announced …
Kia Kokalitcheva / Axios:
After two failed attempts, a bipartisan effort is being made to remedy the issues caused by US tax law Section 174, which forces amortization of software labor  —  The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 is impacting some startups' tax bills, thanks to a provision that changes how R&D costs are deducted.
Josh Sisco / Politico:
Sources: the US DOJ and FTC are discussing which agency can investigate the Microsoft-OpenAI partnership and which can probe companies for scraping web content  —  One of the most high-profile tech partnerships in years has drawn scrutiny from regulators, who currently can't pursue an investigation.
More: Gizmodo, Neowin, and Reuters
Threads: @carnage4lifeMastodon: @carnage4life@mas.toX: @aifray
Bloomberg:
Sources: Sam Altman has held talks to raise billions, including $8B to $10B from Abu Dhabi-based G42, to set up a network of factories to manufacture chips  —  - Push reflects concern about potential semiconductor shortage  — Project would involve working with major chipmaking companies
Joe Rossignol / MacRumors:
Apple opens pre-orders for the Vision Pro, which has an M2 chip with an 8-core CPU and a 10-core GPU, 16GB of memory, and 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage options  —  Apple today finally shared additional tech specs for its Vision Pro headset following the start of pre-orders in the United States.
More: Apple on YouTube, Engadget, Apple on YouTube, Ars Technica, AppleInsider, TechSpot, MacRumors, MacRumors, TechRadar, AppleInsider, iThinkDifferent, MacRumors, 9to5Mac, Mashable, Appleosophy, Supercharged, Brian Solis, Daring Fireball, The Verge, Road to VR, MacRumors, MacRumors, Tom's Hardware, CNBC, iMore, Wccftech, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, Notebookcheck, MacRumors, Bloomberg, and Bloomberg
Zac Hall / 9to5Mac:

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Try Gemini 3 Pro  —  Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Shopify:
Shopify's new AI commerce stack  —  Their VP of Product digs into just-launched products to help entrepreneurs and developers build with the latest AI and tech.
Zoho:
Zoho People in 2025: A year in review  —  As we wrap up 2025, we're taking a moment to look back on a year filled with progress and transformation at Zoho People.  Our team has been constantly pushing boundaries …
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box 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:
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.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
Big Technology Podcast:
OpenAI's Potential, Google's Speedy Model, Copilot Hits Turbulence
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Hard Fork:
Why Roomba Died + Tech Predictions for 2026 + A Hard Forkin' Xmas Song
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.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
Access:
Betting on reality with Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
"Neither Side Is Used to Losing." Lucas Shaw on What's Next for Netflix and Paramount in the Battle for Warner Bros.
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
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.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 7:10 PM ET, January 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.

More News

Sean Michael Kerner / VentureBeat:
Theo Wayt / The Information:

Earlier Picks

Dan Ladden-Hall / The Daily Beast:
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Piotr Lipinski / Reuters: