Sources: Sam Altman is talking to investors, including the UAE government, to raise as much as $5T to $7T for an AI chip project  —  Sam Altman was already trying to lead the development of human-level artificial intelligence.  Now he has another great ambition: raising trillions of dollars …

Sources: Nvidia plans to build a new business unit focused on designing custom chips, including AI chips, for cloud companies; custom chips are a $30B market  —  Nvidia (NVDA.O) is building a new business unit focused on designing bespoke chips for cloud computing firms and others …

Sources: OpenAI's annualized revenue hit $2B in December, up from $1.3B in October 2023, and the company believes it can more than double the figure in 2025  —  San Francisco-based start-up joins Google and Meta as one of the fastest-growing tech companies ever

Ring plans to raise the price of its cheapest subscription by 25% to $5 a month or $50 a year from March 11, 2024  —  In what is fast becoming a trend, another security camera company is raising the price of its subscription plan. … The Basic is Ring's cheapest plan and gives you access …

Grammarly lays off 230 staffers as part of a restructuring, after growing its team from 200 to 1,000 over the past five years; it was valued at $13B in 2021  —  Grammarly is laying off 230 employees worldwide as part of a “business restructuring,” the company announced this week.

Meta says it will not “proactively recommend political content from accounts you don't follow” on Threads, the same policy it uses on Facebook and Instagram  —  Meta will not “proactively recommend political content from accounts you don't follow” on Threads, the company said in a statement provided to Axios.

At a legislative hearing in Oregon, an Apple executive opposed a strong right-to-repair bill, despite Apple's support for a similar but weaker law in California  —  “It is our belief that the bill's current language around parts pairing will undermine the security, safety …

A look at the state of Passkeys, supported by Google, Apple, and others, which offer a seamless vision of a more secure future but the UX still needs work  —  Passkeys are here to replace passwords.  When they work, it's a seamless vision of the future.  But don't ditch your old logins just yet.

The White House says it plans to invest $5B+ from the CHIPS Act in “semiconductor-related research”, including in the National Semiconductor Technology Center  —  - Officials seek to prevent China from benefiting from funding  — R&D effort seeks to fill hardware, packaging innovation gaps

Carlyle Group agrees to sell UK game publisher Jagex, which develops RuneScape, to CVC Capital, sources say for £900M, after acquiring it in 2021 for $530M+  —  Europe's CVC Capital Partners and US-based Haveli Investments agree to buy ‘RuneScape’ developer

A Canadian minister says the country plans to ban devices that copy wireless signals for remote keyless entry, like Flipper Zero, to combat auto theft  —  The tiny hacking device has been viewed as a threat by law enforcement.  Now it looks like a major western government is trying to ban it.

Samsung receives FDA approval to add a feature to Galaxy Watch to detect “signs of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea” for users over the age of 22  —  Samsung just got approval from the FDA to use Galaxy Watch to detect if the wearer is dealing with sleep apnea.

Epik, a domain registrar serving far-right and extremist websites, has been acquired by Registered Agents, whose services allow companies to operate anonymously  —  Known for doing business with far-right extremist websites, Epik has been acquired by a company that specializes in helping businesses keep their operations secret.

How Palantir embedded itself in the day-to-day work of Ukraine's wartime government in an unprecedented way, as Ukraine becomes a laboratory for military tech  —  Early on the morning of June 1, 2022, Alex Karp, the CEO of the data-analytics firm Palantir Technologies, crossed the border between Poland …

Sources: Cisco plans to lay off thousands of workers as part of a restructuring, as it seeks to focus on high-growth areas; Cisco had 84,900 staffers in FY 2023  —  Network giant Cisco (CSCO.O) is planning to restructure its business which will include laying off thousands of employees …

John Walker, a computer programmer and co-founder of 3D design software maker Autodesk, died on February 2 at the age of 75  —  Very sad news on the passing on John Walker, programmer and co-founder of AutoDesk. His contributions to our industry, the rise of the PC, and the modern industrialization of nearly everything were incredibly significant. I thought I would use some of John's own words to show the... [image]

Disney is testing a contextual ad tool dubbed “magic words” for Disney+ and Hulu that uses AI to analyze scenes and identify contents, brands, images, and mood  —  Walt Disney (DIS.N) is harnessing artificial intelligence to power a new advertising tool that will help brands tailor …

Meta removes the Facebook and Instagram accounts of Iran's supreme leader for repeatedly violating its Dangerous Organizations & Individuals policy  —  Meta on Thursday said it had removed the Facebook and Instagram accounts of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for violating its content policy.

Sources: Paytm E-commerce changed its name to Pai Platforms and acquired Bitsila, a seller platform on India's Open Network for Digital Commerce  —  Paytm E-commerce has changed its name to Pai Platforms and has acquired Bitsila, a seller platform on ONDC, gaining share in the online retail business.

Memo: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says health insurers cannot use AI to determine care or deny coverage to members on Medicare Advantage plans  —  CMS worries AI could wrongfully deny care for those on Medicare Advantage plans.  —  Health insurance companies cannot use algorithms …