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February 5, 2025, 6:15 PM
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Top News

Annie Palmer / CNBC:
The USPS resumes accepting China and Hong Kong mail hours after suspension due to Trump's EO, disrupting e-commerce, and is implementing “the new China tariffs”  —  WATCH NOW  —  The U.S. Postal Service said Wednesday it will resume accepting inbound mail and packages from China and Hong Kong …
Mathieu Pollet / Politico:
The EU unveils e-commerce shipping rules that would add more customs checks and fees, potentially impacting Chinese platforms like AliExpress, Shein, and Temu
Miles Kruppa / Wall Street Journal:
Email: Google is eliminating its goal of hiring more employees from historically underrepresented groups and reviewing some DEI programs  —  Search giant is eliminating goals to hire more minority employees and reviewing DEI programs, part of a pullback across Silicon Valley
Pei Li / Bloomberg:
Sources: China's State Administration for Market Regulation is examining Apple's policies, including its up to 30% App Store fees, ahead of a potential probe  —  - Company under fire for app commissions, barring outside stores  — Beijing is investigating Google as response to new US tariffs
404 Media:
Sources: DOGE staff were ordered to stop using Slack while it transitions from the OMB to the Executive Office of the President, which is not subject to FOIA  —  Employees at Elon Musk's agency have been told: “OMB is asking us to stop generating new slack messages starting now.”
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Google releases Gemini 2.0 Flash via its API, an experimental Gemini 2.0 Pro version via its apps, Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking, and 2.0 Flash-Lite in AI Studio  —  Gemini 2.0 AI updates include cheaper access for developers, and AI that can use other Google apps like YouTube.
Brody Ford / Bloomberg:
Workday is cutting about 1,750 workers, or 8.5% of its workforce, as it plans to hire in areas such as AI and take on more people overseas; WDAY jumps 5%+  —  - Figure represents roughly 8.5% of company's workforce  — Salesforce, Amazon, Microsoft recently cut personnel
Rafe Uddin / Financial Times:
Uber reports Q4 revenue up 20% YoY to $12B, Gross Bookings up 18% to a record $44.2B, operating profit up 18% to $770M, and trips up 18% to 3.1B; UBER drops 5%+  —  Ride-hailing group's weaker forecast comes after record fourth quarter  —  Uber's shares fell almost 6 per cent on Wednesday …
Max A. Cherney / Reuters:
Arm reports Q3 revenue up 19% YoY to $983M, vs. $946.7M est., royalty revenue up 23% YoY to $580M, and licensing and other revenue up 14% YoY to $403M  —  Chip tech provider Arm Holdings (O9Ty.F), said on Wednesday it will no longer meet the top end of its previous full-year guidance …
Jason Shubnell / The Block:
MicroStrategy announces a new name, Strategy, a new logo with a stylized “B”, signifying its bitcoin strategy, and orange as the brand's primary color  —  - The brand's primary color is now orange, which it says represents energy, intelligence and Bitcoin.
Greg Bensinger / Reuters:
Amazon announces an event on February 26 in New York where, according to sources, the company will preview its long-delayed Alexa generative AI revamp  —  Amazon (AMZN.O) is set to release its long-awaited - and delayed - Alexa generative artificial intelligence voice service …
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Sources: Sonos will release an Android-based streaming box in the coming months, priced between $200 and $400, combining Netflix, Max, Disney+, and more content
Kevin Collier / NBC News:
The US OPM plans to make each government agency's chief information officer a political appointee who can be fired at will, helping Trump exert more control  —  The change could smooth Elon Musk's efforts to access the technology systems of various federal agencies through his Department of Government Efficiency.
Bloomberg:
Sources: SoftBank is in advanced talks to acquire Ampere in a deal that could value the Oracle-backed chip designer at about $6.5B, including debt  —  - Deal could value Oracle-backed Ampere at about $6.5 billion  — Chip companies looking to capitalize on AI spending boom
Chainalysis:
In 2024, ransomware attackers received ~$813.55M in payments from victims, down 35% on 2023's record $1.25B, as more victims refused to pay  —  The ransomware landscape experienced significant changes in 2024, with cryptocurrency continuing to play a central role in extortion.
Lina M. Khan / New York Times:
Lina Khan says that DeepSeek's breakthroughs highlight that there isn't enough US competition and that foreign startups could surpass Big Tech in AI innovation  —  When Chinese artificial intelligence firm DeepSeek shocked Silicon Valley and Wall Street with its powerful new A.I. model …
More: Biometric Update and Fortune
Bluesky: @stacyfmitchell and @areidross.  Threads: @carnage4life
X: @bigblackjacobin, @atabarrok, @tysonbrody, and @nhegde.  LinkedIn: Yann LeCun.  Forums: r/neoliberal
Daniel Cooper / Engadget:
Oura Ring 4 review: comfortable, better data collection, and gorgeous, clean app, but requires a paid subscription to use basic features and colors cost more  —  It remains the smart ring to beat, but is still limited by its form.  —  Smart rings have been a niche inside a niche in the wearables world for more than a decade.

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About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 6:15 PM ET, February 5, 2025.

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

John Koblin / New York Times:
The Netflix-WBD deal should quiet concerns, for now, from CNN employees worried about the prospect of Paramount combining CBS News and CNN in a WBD acquisition

Dominic-Madori Davis / TechCrunch:
A look at Hamlet, a startup that uses AI to process local government meeting videos and which plans to provide the tool to local journalists for free

Pamela McClintock / The Hollywood Reporter:
A look at Paramount's culture shift under David Ellison, where the focus is on male-driven action movies, and not on prestige films seen as critics' darlings

More News

Jennifer Maas / Variety:
Brookhaven, a top title on Roblox with 120M+ monthly players, was sold by its anonymous creator Wolfpaq to game developer Voldex for an undisclosed sum

Earlier Picks

Reuters:
Alphabet expects 2025 capex of ~$75B, vs. ~$58B est., and reports Google Cloud Q4 revenue up 30% YoY to $11.96B, vs. $12.16B est.; GOOG drops 7%+
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