Techmeme
May 8, 2024, 10:05 PM

Top News

Jason Schreier / Bloomberg:
Sources: Microsoft plans more cuts after closing several game studios, as the massive Activision acquisition has ramped up scrutiny on the Xbox division  —  Xbox is offering voluntary severance agreements to producers, quality assurance testers and other staff at ZeniMax as part of a broader cost-cutting initiative
Michael Peel / Financial Times:
Google DeepMind and Isomorphic Labs detail AlphaFold 3, an AI model to predict interactions and structures of proteins, DNA, RNA, more, beating many top methods  —  AlphaFold 3 aims to reveal biological secrets and boost drug search efforts  —  Google DeepMind has unveiled …
Dallin Grimm / Tom's Hardware:
Some Stack Overflow users say their account was suspended after they attempted to alter their posts in protest of its OpenAI partnership to supply data for AI  —  Stack Overflow is overflowing with salt.  —  Stack Overflow, a legendary internet forum for programmers and developers …
Carl Franzen / VentureBeat:
OpenAI publishes Model Spec, which specifies how its models should behave, including objectives, rules, and default behaviors, and asks the public for feedback  —  OpenAI isn't done trying to live up to the “open” in its name.  —  While not making any of its new models open source …
Jesse Pound / CNBC:
Robinhood reports Q1 revenue up 40% YoY to $618M, vs. $549M est., crypto transaction revenue up 232% to $126M, net income of $157M, vs. a net loss of $511M YoY  —  Shares of Robinhood rose in extended trading Wednesday afternoon after the retail brokerage announced stronger-than-expected first-quarter results.
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / TechCrunch:
Tom Dotan / Wall Street Journal:
Microsoft plans to invest $3.3B to build a data center in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, and train locals, alongside investing in a University of Wisconsin AI lab  —  Company has been on a global spending spree, trying to build infrastructure and goodwill for artificial intelligence
Ashley Capoot / CNBC:
Airbnb reports Q1 revenue up 18% YoY to $2.14B, vs. $2.06B est., Nights and Experiences Booked up 9.5%, and Q2 guidance below est.; ABNB drops 8%+ after hours  —  In this photo illustration, the Airbnb logo is displayed on a computer monitor and cell phone on February 13, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
Pratik Jain / Reuters:
US hospital operator Ascension reports disruptions to its clinical operations due to a suspected cybersecurity incident and engages Mandiant to help investigate  —  Hospital operator Ascension reported disruptions to its clinical operations on Wednesday due to a suspected cybersecurity incident …
BBC:
Ofcom proposes new rules requiring tech companies to change their algorithms to hide “toxic” material from children, have more robust age checks, and more  —  Ofcom has warned social media sites they could be named and shamed - and banned for under-18s - if they fail to comply with new online safety rules.
Reuters:
Arm reports Q4 revenue up 47% YoY to $928M, vs. $875.6M est., royalty revenue up 37%, and forecasts FY 2025 revenue below est.; ARM drops 9%+ after hours  —  Chip designer Arm Holdings (O9Ty.F), gave a fiscal first-quarter revenue forecast on Wednesday that beat Wall Street's expectations …
William Gallagher / AppleInsider:
Apple's iPad Pro ad “Crush”, which shows paints, toys, guitars, sculptures, and more being crushed to reveal the thin device, draws criticism on social media  —  The minute-long Apple ad showing art equipment and materials being crushed down into the new iPad Pro is being called heartbreaking, wanton, and creepy.
More: Apple on YouTube, Axios, New York Times, The Verge, SFGATE, CNN, The Atlantic, NBC News, Fast Company, HEY, Deadline, MacRumors, TechCrunch, Philip Elmer‑DeWitt, Agence France-Presse, Sandhill Report, 80 Level, Washington Post, The Wrap, Bloomberg, MobileSyrup, The Daily Dot, The Hollywood Reporter, iMore, The Register, XDA Developers, The Independent, PCMag, BGR, Mind Matters, The Mac Observer, The Information, SWAMY WORLD, Business Insider, Variety, Cult of Mac Today, Mashable, NME, Patently Apple, Vulture, Kotaku, Inc.com, Ad Age, The Drum, iClarified, and The Verge
Maggie Harrison / Futurism:
An investigation into AdVon, the company behind Sports Illustrated's fake writers, finds its AI content and fake authors at the LA Times, Miami Herald, and more  —  Remember that AI company behind Sports Illustrated's fake writers?  We did some digging — and it's got tendrils into other surprisingly prominent publications.
Reuters:
Sources: US prosecutors are examining if Tesla committed securities or wire fraud by misleading investors and consumers about Autopilot and Full Self-Driving  —  U.S. prosecutors are examining whether Tesla (TSLA.O) committed securities or wire fraud by misleading investors and consumers …
Spencer Soper / Bloomberg:
Shopify reports Q1 revenue up 23% YoY to $1.9B, GMV up 23% to $60.9B, expects increased operating expenses and lower profit margins in Q2; SHOP closes down 18%+  —  - Gross margins in current quarter are expected to narrow  — President: ‘This is how you achieve long-term durable growth’
Natalie Lung / Bloomberg:
Uber reports Q1 revenue up 15% YoY to $10.1B, gross bookings up 20% YoY to $37.7B, below $38B est., adjusted EBITDA up 82% YoY to $1.4B; UBER closes down 5.72%  —  - Bookings growth still tops 20% on rides, order frequency gains  — Operating profit falls on anticipated legal fees, settlements
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge:
The Connectivity Standards Alliance releases Matter 1.3, adding support for more appliances, energy and water management, and new casting protocol features  —  The latest Matter spec brings a number of improvements to the smart home standard founded by Apple, Google, Amazon, and Samsung.
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Disney and WBD announce a streaming bundle of Disney+, Hulu, and Max, with ad-supported and ad-free plans, beginning this summer in the US, with pricing to come  —  Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are breaking ground in streaming with a bundled offering featuring Disney+, Hulu and Max in a single package.
Lynn Doan / Bloomberg:
Intel expects its Q2 revenue to be “below the midpoint” of the company's previously guided $12.5B to $13.5B range because of a new US ban on Huawei chip exports  —  US Revokes Intel and Qualcomm Licenses to Sell Chips to Huawei  —  Intel Corp. expects second-quarter revenue …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft plans to add an auto-complete feature to Copilot for Microsoft 365 in the coming months that offers suggestions to add details to improve AI prompts  —  Microsoft is attempting to solve the problem of coming up with a good prompt for generative AI, aiming to turn everyone into a prompt engineer.

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Simon Willison / Simon Willison's Weblog:
Georgia Butler / DatacenterDynamics: