Techmeme
October 15, 2024, 7:00 AM

Top News

Jennifer Hiller / Wall Street Journal:
Google signs an deal to buy nuclear energy generated from multiple small modular reactors developed by US-based Kairos Power, targeting 500 MW by 2035  —  Startup Kairos Power plans to build small reactors to help supply electricity to the tech company's data centers, in a first-of-its-kind deal in the U.S.
Lily Hay Newman / Wired:
The FIDO Alliance debuts Credential Exchange Protocol, a specification to make passkeys portable across systems, and Passkey Central, a developer resource site  —  “Passkeys,” the secure authentication mechanism built to replace passwords, are getting more portable and easier for organizations …
Matt Mullenweg:
Matt Mullenweg responds to DHH's claim that “Automattic is doing open source dirty”, pointing out Rails' own trademark policy and taking some jabs at 37signals  —  I'll just remind everyone at the start that this is a respectful debate, and DHH and I tried to get on a call but couldn't because we were both traveling.
Tim Bradshaw / Financial Times:
UK podcaster Harry Stebbings' 20VC raised a $400M fund for early stage startups, one of Europe's biggest venture funds; the podcast recently hosted Sam Altman  —  British firm 20VC pulls in $400mn to invest in early stage tech start-ups  —  A venture firm founded by 28-year-old British …
Juby Babu / Reuters:
Sebastien Bubeck, Microsoft's VP of GenAI research who is known for his work on its Phi small language models, is joining OpenAI to “further his work” on AGI  —  Microsoft (MSFT.O) on Monday said that its vice president of GenAI research, Sebastien Bubeck, is leaving the company to join ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.
Chris Kornelis / New York Times:
Lillian Schwartz, one of the first artists to use a computer to make films and who brought together art, science, and tech communities in the 1970s, died at 97  —  Early in the digital era, she worked at Bell Labs on the intersection of art and technology, making films and at one point arriving at a novel theory about the “Mona Lisa.”
Benj Edwards / Ars Technica:
Ward Christensen, co-inventor of the computer bulletin board system (BBS), a foundational technology of the internet age, died at age 78 on October 11  —  On Friday, Ward Christensen, co-inventor of the computer bulletin board system (BBS), died at age 78 in Rolling Meadows, Illinois.
Jeremy Gray / PetaPixel:
Adobe says its Firefly Video Model is the first “commercially safe” text-to-video generative AI model that was trained on licensed and public domain content  —  Adobe unveiled its Firefly Video Model last month, previewing a variety of new generative AI video features.
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Victoria Song / The Verge:
Oura Ring 4 review: more sizes, slimmer body, redesigned app, and better battery life and auto workout detection, but needs a subscription and no charging case  —  Oura furthers its lead among smart rings with hardware and software refinements, but its subscription is still its biggest downside.

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Featured Podcasts

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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.
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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.
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Earlier Picks

Bloomberg:
Asif Iqbal Shaik / SamMobile:
Tom Warren / The Verge: