Techmeme
July 23, 2024, 5:30 PM

Top News

Mark Zuckerberg / Meta:
Mark Zuckerberg argues “open source AI” is the path forward, that closed models are vulnerable to vendor lock-in, state-backed espionage, and more  —  In the early days of high-performance computing, the major tech companies of the day each invested heavily in developing their own closed source versions of Unix.
Bloomberg:
Meta debuts Llama 3.1 405B, the “first frontier-level open source AI model”, as well as new Llama 3.1 70B and 8B models, and says it's working on Llama 4  —  The Meta CEO defends both his open source strategy and a massive investment in artificial intelligence.
The Information:
Sources: Apple is working on a foldable, clamshell design iPhone that could launch as soon as 2026, and has reached out to component suppliers in recent months  —  Apple is working on a foldable iPhone that could be released as early as 2026 and in recent months reached out to suppliers …
Alphabet:
Alphabet Q2: revenue of $84.7B, up 14% YoY, net income of $23.6B, up 29% YoY, Search revenue of $48.5B, up from $42.6B YoY, and headcount down 1% to 179,582  —  MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - July 23, 2024 - Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG, GOOGL) today announced financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2024.
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Leaked images show the upcoming “Google TV Streamer”, a set-top box with a pill-shaped design, to replace the dongle form factor, and an updated, longer remote  —  Back in April, we revealed that Google is working on a sequel to the Chromecast with Google TV (4K) …
CNBC:
Israeli cybersecurity startup Wiz walks away from Google's $23B acquisition offer; Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport tells staff that Wiz will pursue an IPO as planned  —  Wiz has walked away from a $23 billion deal to be acquired by Google, in what would have been the search giant's largest ever deal …
Andy Greenberg / Wired:
Dragos details a sample of Russia-linked malware used in a hack in January 2024 to target a heating utility in Lviv, Ukraine, cutting service to 600 buildings  —  The code, the first of its kind, was used to sabotage a heating utility in Lviv at the coldest point in the year …
Suzanne Smalley / The Record:
The US FTC seeks info from Mastercard, Accenture, and six other companies related to their “surveillance pricing products” that use personal data, AI, and more  —  The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced Tuesday that it has launched an inquiry into how companies surveil consumers …
Danny Nelson / CoinDesk:
dYdX says v3, an older version of its DeFi crypto exchange that is reportedly for sale and averages ~$1.5B/week in derivatives trading, “has been compromised”  —  News of the problem emerged just as Bloomberg reported dYdX v3 is for sale.  —  Decentralized crypto-exchange giant dYdX …
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Amazon begins rolling out a new UI for Prime Video to help distinguish content included with Prime, update its navigation bar, manage subscriptions, and more  —  And the new UI specifically addresses something that's annoyed Prime Video users for years: Now, according to Amazon …
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Spotify reports Q2 revenue up 20% YoY to €3.8B, MAUs up 14% YoY to 626M, subscribers up 12% YoY to 246M, above est., and €266M operating income; SPOT jumps 12%+  —  Spotify Technology SA shares surged to their highest in more than three years on Tuesday after the Swedish audio …
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Adobe rolls out new Illustrator features like Generative Shape Fill, powered by its latest Firefly Vector model now in beta, and new and updated Photoshop tools  —  Adobe is introducing some new tools and generative AI features to its Illustrator and Photoshop design software that aim to help speed up creative workflows.
Mariella Moon / Engadget:
Meta plans to roll out its AI assistant to the Quest in August, limited to US and Canada users in experimental mode, after debuting on the Ray-Ban smart glasses  —  The experimental version of the AI assistant will make its way to Quest headsets in August.  —  Meta's AI-powered assistant …
Dana Mattioli / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Amazon lost $25B+ on its devices business between 2017 and 2021, and its plan to sell hardware at a lower price and make money elsewhere hasn't worked  —  Amazon.com's Echo speakers are the type of business success companies don't want: a widely purchased product that is also a giant money loser.
Benjamin S. Weiss / Courthouse News Service:
US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says the Senate will take up the Kids Online Safety Act this week, signaling there's enough support among his colleagues  —  The Kids Online Safety Act would force tech companies to enable the highest possible privacy settings for minor users …

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