Techmeme: Tech insiders and engineers say China lags behind the US in generative AI by at least a year, leading Chinese companies to rely on US models, like Meta's Llama (New York Times)

Open Links In New Tab

Mobile Archives Advertise Site News

February 21, 2024, 4:45 PM

Top News

Emilia David / The Verge:

Google releases Gemma 2B and 7B, open-source AI models that let developers more freely use the research that went into Gemini, its flagship closed-source model — Google has released Gemma 2B and 7B, a pair of open-source AI models that let developers use the research that went into its flagship Gemini more freely.

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:

Google DeepMind announces AI Safety and Alignment, an organization that includes a new team focused on AGI safety alongside existing teams working on AI safety

More: CoinXposure. X: @googledeepmind. LinkedIn: Leila Takayama

Matt Burgess / Wired:

Apple unveils PQ3, a post-quantum cryptographic protocol for iMessage built on the Kyber algorithm, launching in iOS 17.4, iPadOS 17.4, and macOS 14.4 in March — Useful quantum computers aren't a reality—yet. But in one of the biggest deployments of post-quantum encryption so far, Apple is bringing the technology to iMessage.

More: Apple Security Research, CNET, The Verge, Bloomberg, MacRumors, The Register, Android Authority, PYMNTS.com, CyberScoop, SecurityWeek, Axios, 9to5Mac, Forbes, Reuters, Silicon Republic, Trusted Reviews, TechRadar, iDownloadBlog.com, Tech Monitor, ZDNet, HPCwire, iPhone in Canada Blog, Computerworld, Cointelegraph, PhoneArena, The Indian Express, The Independent, Tom's Guide, MSPoweruser, Silicon UK, The Quantum Insider, AppleInsider, The Hindu, Patently Apple, Wccftech, Tech Xplore, How-To Geek, iMore, Business Times, SC Media, Cult of Mac, iClarified, Supercharged, and TechCrunch

Mastodon: @nickheer@c.im, @fj@mastodon.social, and @Andy_European@mastodon.online

X: @radian, @matthew_d_green, @zsk, @matthew_d_green, @matthew_d_green, @stevesi, @felixlinker, @ralfsasse, @rsgnl, @markgurman, @lukolejnik, @lukolejnik, @bwesterb, @zollotech, and @cstanley

LinkedIn: David Thompson and Emil Protalinski. Forums: r/technology

Ryan Smith / AnandTech:

Intel's Direct Connect announcements: IFS rebranded to Intel Foundry, fab roadmap including 18A-P, 14A, Hybrid Bonding, five nodes in four years, and more — 5 nodes in 4 years. This is what Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger promised Intel's customers, investors, and the world at large back in 2021 …

More: PCMag, SiliconANGLE, Constellation Research, and ExtremeTech

X: @benbajarin, @aschilling, @dylan522p, @synopsys, @aschilling, @ndahad, @intelnews, @iancutress, @benbajarin, @ryanshrout, and @fromthefab

Forums: Hacker News and r/hardware

Ian King / Bloomberg:

Microsoft plans to use Intel's 18A tech to make a chip that Microsoft designed in-house; Microsoft recently announced a computer processor and an AI accelerator — - Move marks a win for Intel's push into made-to-order chips — Microsoft is looking to design more semiconductors in-house

More: Tom's Hardware, Investor's Business Daily, Nikkei Asia, Oregonian, Thurrott, Quartz, VentureBeat, TipRanks Financial, Digital Trends, IEEE Spectrum, Appuals, Neowin, Wired, ServeTheHome, MSPoweruser, and Livemint

Bluesky: @marypcbuk.bsky.social. X: @benbajarin, @kristinaparts, @dinabass, and @patrickmoorhead

Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:

Q&A with Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger on Intel Foundry, IDM 2.0, working with Amazon, packaging, 18A, innovation in Moore's Law, reluctant customers, AI, and more

More: Intel, Tom's Hardware, Silicon Valley Business …, CRN, Financial Times, Digital Trends, HotHardware, Club386, VentureBeat, The Verge, AnandTech, Investing.com, TechPowerUp, and Fierce Electronics

Paul Alcorn / Tom's Hardware:

Q&A with Intel Foundry Services SVP and GM Stu Pann on the goal to make Intel Foundry the world's second-largest foundry by 2030, making ARM chips, and more

Forums: r/hardware

Corrie Driebusch / Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Reddit plans to reserve some of its IPO shares for 75K loyal users, an unusual move that could build loyalty, and list its shares on the NYSE in March — Social-media company intends to offer shares in the offering to 75,000 of its biggest users — Reddit plans to place a big chunk …

More: TechCrunch, Ars Technica, Bloomberg, The Information, Fast Company, The Verge, and Reuters

Mastodon: @carnage4life@mas.to. X: @benmillerise. Forums: r/wallstreetbets, r/technology, Beehaw, and Ars OpenForum

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Apple debuts Apple Sports, a free app offering scores and stats for the NBA, NHL, Premier League, and more, in the US, Canada, and the UK, on iOS 17.2 or later — Game on! Apple launched a free standalone app for sports fans, Apple Sports, which is engineered to fire scores and stats to your iPhone as quickly as possible.

More: Apple, App Store, The Hill, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, The Verge, Fast Company, CNET, AppleInsider, BetaNews, MacRumors, Engadget, AppAdvice, iThinkDifferent, Cord Cutters News, Thurrott, TweakTown, USA Today, Redmond Pie, Macworld, Neowin, iMore, Lifewire, The US Sun, Spyglass, MacStories, MobileSyrup, How-To Geek, Digital Trends, The Hollywood Reporter, The Mirror, Six Colors, London Evening Standard, iDownloadBlog.com, Tom's Guide, British GQ, TechRadar, and Supercharged

Threads: @mgsiegler, @andrewmelder, @imdavidpierce, @benedictevans, @daveleebbg, and @evanrodge

Mastodon: @kkolakowski@mastodon.social, @craiggrannell@mastodon.social, @numericcitizen@techhub.social, @ChanceHMiller@mastodon.social, @chrishannah@fosstodon.org, and @matthewcassinelli …. Bluesky: @cachiporra.bsky.social

X: @stevemoser, @tim_cook, @nfl_dovkleiman, @joepompliano, @stevemoser, @stephenrobles, @raywongy, @rsgnl, @jimcramer, and @aaronp613. Forums: r/MLS

See also Mediagazer

Kif Leswing / CNBC:

Nvidia reports Q4 revenue up 265% YoY to $22.1B, vs. $20.62B est., Data Center revenue up 409% to $18.4B, and FY 2024 revenue up 126% to $60.9B; NVDA jumps 6%+ — - Nvidia reported earnings after the bell that beat Wall Street expectations for earnings and sales, and said that revenue during …

More: Bloomberg, Reuters, Unite.AI, Proactive, Constellation Research, Wall Street Journal, Yahoo Finance, Forbes, and Nvidia Newsroom

X: @byrnehobart, @deitaone, @withbelay, @trade_the_news, @stockmktnewz, and @stockmktnewz

Counterpoint Research:

In a first, Apple had the seven best-selling smartphones globally in 2023, and Samsung had the next three; iPhone 14, 14 Pro Max, 14 Pro, and 13 were top four — - The combined market share of the top 10 smartphones in 2023 reached the highest ever at 20%, up from 19% in 2022.

More: Ars Technica, 9to5Mac, Benzinga, TechSpot, Patently Apple, MacRumors, Cult of Mac, PhoneArena, SamMobile, BGR, and AppleInsider

X: @counterpointtr and @ankit167ankit

Forums: r/apple and MacRumors Forums

Christian Vasquez / CyberScoop:

Biden signs an EO to increase the cyber defenses of maritime ports via additional Coast Guard powers, invest $20B+ in infrastructure over five years, and more — President Joe Biden issued an executive order Wednesday morning aimed at increasing the defenses of maritime ports through additional authorities …

Michael Acton / Financial Times:

Source: Meta and Microsoft lobby EU regulators to reject Apple's iOS and App Store changes to comply with the DMA, saying Apple's plans fail to go far enough — Meta and Microsoft want Brussels regulators to extract more concessions that unpick iOS mobile software

More: AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, Mashable, PYMNTS.com, Thurrott, MSPoweruser, Patently Apple, AppleInsider, and Cult of Mac

X: @timsweeneyepic, @timsweeneyepic, @games_fray, @timsweeneyepic, @riptari, @wavesblog, @florian4gamers, @macton93, @1br0wn, @geradinlaw, and @geradinlaw. Forums: Ars OpenForum

Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:

Apple says the iPhone 15 lineup can retain up to 80% of its original battery capacity at 1,000 charge cycles, up from its original estimate of 500 charge cycles — In addition to changes to the Battery Health settings in iOS 17.4, Apple has more iPhone battery news to share today.

More: Apple Support, MacRumors, Engadget, ZDNet, PCMag, TechRadar, Business Today, Macworld, Forbes, TechSpot, Phandroid, HotHardware, Android Headlines, iDownloadBlog.com, Wccftech, Cult of Mac, TweakTown, AppleInsider, and MacRumors

X: @zollotech, @aaplparody, @rsgnl, @rsgnl, @warvenger, @brandonbutch, and @brandonbutch

Forums: r/iphone15 and MacRumors Forums

Louis Columbus / VentureBeat:

CrowdStrike's Global Threat Report: in 2023, cloud intrusions grew 75%, data theft victims named on data leak sites grew 76%, 34 new groups were named, and more — Traditional security approaches aren't closing the gap fast enough against the onslaught of cyberattacks growing in severity and sophistication every day.

More: CrowdStrike, TIME, TechRadar, Nextgov/FCW, BetaNews, and Infosecurity. LinkedIn: Joseph Graham

Duncan Riley / SiliconANGLE:

IBM: hackers are finding more opportunities to log in via legitimate credentials, rather than hacking into networks; info-stealing malware grew 266% YoY in 2023 — IBM's annual X-Force Threat Intelligence Index report released today highlights an emerging global crisis in identity …

More: IBM, IBM, Infosecurity, TNW, BetaNews, Security Boulevard, Cybersecurity Dive, and Silicon Republic

Bloomberg:

Cybersecurity experts say that global law enforcement agencies dealt Russia-linked LockBit a major blow, but history shows that ransomware gangs regroup quickly — - Disruption of LockBit praised as major blow against gang — History has shown that hackers regroup quickly, experts say

More: BleepingComputer, TechCrunch, iTnews, Risky.Biz, Reuters, Associated Press, and Financial Times

Mastodon: @dcuthbert@defcon.social, @dcuthbert@defcon.social, and @mattburgess@infosec.exchange

X: @alvierid, @dcuthbert, @peckshieldalert, @sophosxops, @ciaranmartinoxf, @dcuthbert, @malwrhunterteam, @vxunderground, and @vxunderground

Stephen Totilo / Game File:

An interview with Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer on Xbox growth, job cuts, and why getting rid of physical Xbox discs is “not a strategic thing for us” — Microsoft's gaming chief Phil Spencer is upbeat about his vast Xbox team's future. But he also tells Game File …

More: IGN, Tom's Hardware, Business Insider, Destructoid, 9to5Google, MobileSyrup, Metro.co.uk, TrueAchievements, Wccftech, Club386, Gameranx, TechSpot, Game Developer, TheGamer, TechRadar, and GameRevolution

Bluesky: @dennieedwards.bsky.social. X: @huntor27, @astaranx, @stephentotilo, @charlieintel, @carnage4life, @jawmuncher, @jaywood2010, and @sixersoctavian. LinkedIn: Stephen Totilo

Forums: r/kindafunny, r/XboxGamePass, and r/XboxSeriesX

Sara Fischer / Axios:

BuzzFeed sells Complex, which it acquired for $300M in 2021, to livestream shopping platform Ntwrk for $108.6M; BuzzFeed plans to lay off 16% of its workforce — - The Wall Street Journal reported that BuzzFeed is also looking to possibly sell its social media food brand Tasty.

More: The Information, Semafor, New York Times, Variety, and The Hollywood Reporter. X: @sarafischer

See also Mediagazer

Kate Irwin / PCMag:

Google says it's working to fix Gemini's “inaccuracies in some historical image generation depictions”, after some users complained about them — Controversy is swirling around Google's generative AI tool Gemini as some users complain that its historical depictions are not accurate.

More: Gizmodo, VentureBeat, Daily Mail, 9to5Google, Fast Company, BBC, New York Post, Stratechery, and The Daily Caller

X: @paulg, @debarghya_das, @stevesi, @pmarca, @vocalcry, @natesilver538, @plinz, @growing_daniel, @m_wacker, @jackk, @yacinemtb, @bindureddy, @imao_, @pmarca, and @shakoistslog

Tom Warren / The Verge:

Microsoft Copilot Pro review: the $20/month service is a good start that offers impressive image generation and useful features in Word and other Office apps — Microsoft's Copilot Pro launched last month as a $20 monthly subscription that provides access to AI-powered features inside some Office apps …

X: @tomwarren, @jjvincent, and @jjvincent

The Information:

Source: Magic, which recently raised $117M and says its AI coding assistant has a larger context window than rivals', may have made an AI reasoning breakthrough — Former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman and his investment partner, Daniel Gross, raised eyebrows last week by writing a $100 million check to Magic …

More: Maginative, Voicebot.ai, San Francisco Business Times, Pulse 2.0, and New York Times

X: @scobleizer, @gergelyorosz, @carnage4life, @hersh_desai, @ericsteinb, @capitalg, @eladgil, @polynoamial, @carmguti, @rowancheung, @danielgross, @amir, @steph_palazzolo, @amir, @magicailabs, and @natfriedman. Forums: r/singularity

Andrew Hayward / Decrypt:

Yuga Labs co-founder Greg “Garga” Solano announces he's returning as CEO of the company, replacing Daniel Alegre, who spent less than a year in the role — Big changes are coming as Greg “Garga” Solano takes the helm at Yuga Labs, apparently pushing out Daniel Alegre in the process.

More: Blockworks, Bloomberg, The Block, crypto.news, and CoinJournal

X: @cryptogarga, @dalegre, and @cnyptoganga

Yoshiaki Nohara / Bloomberg:

How Japan plans to spend ~$67B to revive domestic chipmaking prowess, hoping to leverage the US' supply chain concerns; Rapidus plans to make 2nm chips by 2027 — US-China tech battle makes semiconductors a key economic security concern for policymakers — Deep in the snowy northern island …

X: @pelstrom, @pelstrom, and @pelstrom

Forums: Hacker News, r/technology, r/business, and r/japan

New York Times:

Tech insiders and engineers say China lags behind the US in generative AI by at least a year, leading Chinese companies to rely on US models, like Meta's Llama — China's tech firms were caught off guard by breakthroughs in generative artificial intelligence. Beijing's regulations and a sagging economy aren't helping.

LinkedIn: Dan Ward. Forums: r/technology and Slashdot

Arasu Kannagi Basil / Reuters:

Chipmaker Astera Labs, which offers cloud and AI connectivity hardware, files for a US IPO, reporting 2023 revenue up 44.9% YoY to $115.8M and a $26.3M net loss — Chipmaker Astera Labs revealed its loss narrowed in 2023 in its filing on Wednesday to go public in the United States …

More: The Information and San Francisco Business Times

Sponsor Posts

Airtable:

Deep analysis for deep questions — Introducing Superagent. A new research product from Airtable: Subagents deeply interrogate your topic and turn it into boardroom-ready reports, slides, docs, or websites.

Clay:

Turn any GTM idea into reality — Clay helps GTM teams combine AI agents, enrichment, and intent data to move faster and turn insights into action.

Zoho:

App Spotlight: Plug&Play AI Email Assistant for Zoho CRM — Our App Spotlight brings you hand-picked apps to enhance the power of your Zoho apps and tools. Visit Zoho Marketplace to explore all of our apps …

IDrive:

Protecting your Cloud Applications Data — Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Sponsor Techmeme

Featured Podcasts

Lenny's Podcast:

Sequoia CEO coach: Why it's never been easier to start a company, and never been harder to scale one | Brian Halligan (co-founder, HubSpot)

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:

Is Something Big Happening?, AI Safety Apocalypse, Anthropic Raises $30 Billion

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:

'Something Big Is Happening' + A.I. Rocks the Romance Novel Industry + One Good Thing

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.

Cheeky Pint:

Ben Thompson from Stratechery on AI ads, the end of SaaS, and the future of media

Stripe cofounder John Collison interviews founders, builders, and leaders over a pint.

Subscribe to Cheeky Pint.

Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:

His Excellency Khaldoon Al Mubarak: Investing in an AI-Driven World

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.

The Nick, Dick and Paul Show:

The Billionaire Button w/ Tim Wu

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.

Subscribe to The Nick, Dick and Paul Show.

Add your podcast here

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 4:45 PM ET, February 21, 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.

From Mediagazer

Dan Kennedy / The Conversation:

Five regional newspapers in Boston, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Seattle, Philly, and Salt Lake offer examples of sustainability for the news business, as WaPo shrinks

Bloomberg:

Sources: Warner Bros Discovery is considering reopening sale talks with Paramount after receiving Paramount's most recent amended offer

Jeremy Barr / The Guardian:

CBS News staffers say they believe the network has decided to retain Peter Attia, who issued an apology for his inappropriate Epstein emails, as on-air analyst

Upcoming Tech Events

Earnings: DASH, BKNG, EBAY

Earnings: NVDA, ZM, SNOW, CRM, CRCL, NU

Feb 25

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked media event

San Francisco

Feb 26

Earnings: INTU, XYZ, BIDU, CRWV

GDC Festival of Gaming

More News

Wall Street Journal:

A Montenegro court rules that Terraform co-founder Do Kwon should be extradited to the US for a trial; both the US and South Korea have sought to prosecute him

More: DL News, The Block, Reuters, Unchained, Crypto Briefing, Crypto Daily, CoinGape, CryptoSlate, BeInCrypto, Bitcoin News, crypto.news, Bitcoin Insider, Bitcoinist.com, Cointelegraph, CryptoPotato, Milk Road, and Watcher Guru

Cecilia D'Anastasio / Bloomberg:

Filing: Roblox paid out a record $740.8M to over 12,000 game creators in 2023, up 19% YoY; ~3,500 creators earned over $10,000, and ~750 earned over $100K

More: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Ryan Smith / AnandTech:

Arm prepares to release its Neoverse V3 and N3 CPU designs to customers, offering up to 128 cores, a CSS design, and more, for server, cloud, and infrastructure

More: Tom's Hardware, Forbes, VentureBeat, HotHardware, eeNews Europe, TechPowerUp, The Register, DatacenterDynamics, The Next Platform, and ServeTheHome. Forums: r/hardware

Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:

WhatsApp rolls out support for bulleted and numbered lists, block quotes, and inline code to highlight and organize messages on Android, iOS, the web, and macOS

More: iThinkDifferent, Android Headlines, Social Media Today, Daily Mail, India Today, TimesNow, MSPoweruser, TechCrunch, CNET, MySmartPrice, Android Central, and Android Authority

Paul Sawers / TechCrunch:

Clumio, a data backup and recovery service for companies using the public cloud, raised a $75M Series D, following a $135M Series C in November 2019

More: Clumio and SiliconANGLE

Katie Paul / Reuters:

Israel-based BRIA, a Getty-backed AI image generation startup that licenses 1B+ images from 18 stock providers, raised a $24M Series A from Publicis and others

More: Inc.com and TechStartups

LinkedIn: Amit Goldenberg, Assa Eldar, and Jay Eum

See also Mediagazer

Reuters:

Sources: the US sent letters in 2023 to US suppliers of SMIC suspending permission to sell to its most advanced plant, after SMIC produced a chip for Huawei

Cat Zakrzewski / Washington Post:

Letter: an FTC “Twitter Files” investigation finds no evidence that Twitter violated its government data security order, despite Elon Musk's directives to do so

More: Ars Technica, Engadget, Bloomberg, and Business Insider

Earlier Picks

Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:

A US jury finds two Chinese nationals guilty of a “sophisticated scheme” to defraud Apple out of $3M+ by giving the company 5,000+ counterfeit iPhones to repair

More: BleepingComputer, New York Post, Dexerto, Cult of Mac, HotHardware, Creative Bloq, and TechSpot

Josh Xiao / Bloomberg:

China's Ministry of State Security warns unnamed hackers are obtaining data on key issues, like food production and the weather, in a series of WeChat posts

Financial Times:

South Korea's leading display makers LG and Samsung close ranks as they cede ground to Chinese TV and smartphone screen manufacturers and face OLED competition

More: Semafor, PC Gamer, and SamMobile

X: @chinabeigebook. Forums: r/hardware

Bloomberg:

Filing: Samsung sold 1.58M ASML shares, or 0.4% of ASML, worth ~$930M in September 2023, reducing its stake to zero, as Samsung looks to new areas of chipmaking

Margi Murphy / Bloomberg:

A profile of ElevenLabs, whose AI voice cloning tech is being used to spoof politicians; five of the startup's 40 employees are dedicated to trust and safety

Viola Zhou / Rest of World:

How livestreaming talent agencies in China recruit influencers, often signing them to multiyear contracts that cost tens of thousands of dollars to breach

More: Business Insider. Mastodon: @restofworld@restof.social. X: @russellbrandom. LinkedIn: Sophie Schmidt

See also Mediagazer

Juro Osawa / The Information:

Sources: some ByteDance executives expressed concerns over running the video editing app CapCut from China given the political scrutiny facing TikTok in the US

More: Digital Information World. X: @amir, @theinformation, @jingyanghk, and @juroosawa

Tom Wilson / Reuters:

Circle no longer plans to mint USDC tokens on the Tron blockchain, effective immediately, to “ensure that USDC remains trusted, transparent, and safe”