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January 18, 2022, 8:40 PM
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| Microsoft: |
Microsoft plans to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7B in cash, or $95/share, in FY 2023; Activision's stock, which closed last week at $65.39, jumps 25%+ — Legendary games, immersive interactive entertainment and publishing expertise accelerate growth in Microsoft's Gaming business across mobile, PC, console and cloud.
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Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, The Verge, New York Times, Activision Publishing, CNBC, Kotaku, Bloomberg, VentureBeat, Bloomberg, PYMNTS.com, New York Times, Microsoft, MarketWatch, Reuters, Blockworks, TechCrunch, TechRadar, Microsoft, Forbes, Engadget, Windows Central, Washington Post, Insider, IGN, The Hollywood Reporter, Financial Times, PR Newswire, PC Gamer, CNBC, Game Rant, Dexerto, Ars Technica, LinkedIn, MSPoweruser, Android Headlines, Reuters, Digital Trends, Neowin, Polygon, OSnews, Reclaim The Net, GameSpot, OnMSFT.com, GeekWire, Silicon Valley Business …, Computerworld, Tom's Guide, CNN, Entechtainment, CNBC, Input, MacRumors, TouchArcade, Protocol, thegamer.com, OnMSFT.com, NBC News, and ZDNet
Tweets: @dinabass, @xbox, @gregisenberg, @jasonschreier, @charlieintel, @xbox, @satyanadella, @zhugeex, @jonerlichman, @microsoft, @jasonschreier, @damianburns, @edzitron, @adriennelaw, @technology, @technology, @technology, @pucknorris, @anildash, @jasonschreier, @stopskeletons, @atvi_ab, @andrewrsorkin, @jasonschreier, @jasonschreier, @mattdpearce, @quantian1, @ibogost, @carnage4life, @varunmayya, @sarafischer, @9_volt_, @kcoxdc, @mrpointyhead, @hownottodraw, @vahn16, @turnernovak, @zhugeex, @tomwarren, @gw_alec, @martinsfp, @mattophobia, @reckless, @alexeheath, @silvermanjacob, @charlieintel, @eric_seufert, @byadamfitch, @tomwarren, @eric_seufert, @alexhern, @swiftonsecurity, @mealoneinmymind, @sarafischer, @laurakbuzz, @tomwarren, @silvermanjacob, @mckkirk, @eric_seufert, @shonaghosh, @ldignan, @chrismessina, @stroughtonsmith, @modestproposal1, @jonporty, @laurakbuzz, @laurakbuzz, @realbengilbert, and @laurakbuzz
| Tom Warren / The Verge: |
Microsoft says Xbox Game Pass has 25M subscribers, up from 18M in January 2021 — Microsoft's all-you-can-eat catalog of games is getting bigger, and now it's adding Activision Blizzard — Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass service now has 25 million subscribers.
More:
Xbox Wire, The Information, PYMNTS.com, PC Gamer, Forbes, Polygon, Engadget, iTnews, news.com.au, Road to VR, Silicon Republic, OnMSFT.com, Club386, DCD, Windows Central, Digital Trends, thegamer.com, and purexbox.com
Tweets: @klobrille, @swiftonsecurity, @itsjuliahardy, @penllawen, @kiruti, and @kylebrussell
| Peter Kafka / Vox: |
Following several game studio acquisitions, Microsoft's Activision Blizzard deal faces a big regulatory hurdle with Lina Khan's antitrust-focused FTC — Microsoft-Activision is like Disney-Fox. Maybe bigger. — Microsoft is buying Activision Blizzard for $69 billion.
More:
New York Times, The Information, Forbes, NPR, MobileSyrup, CNBC, and Video Games Chronicle
Tweets: @farmerdbrown, @garrett_archer, @shiraovide, @cyynapse, @caseynewton, @kellen_browning, @agentbizzle, @xcloudtimdog, and @t1
| Andrew Asmakov / Decrypt: |
Crypto.com halted withdrawals on Monday and required users to sign back in and reset 2FA; research shows it lost 4,600+ ETH, worth ~$15M, in a presumed hack — The crypto exchange has reportedly lost at least $15 million in Ethereum, and security experts believe the true losses could be much higher.
More:
Cointelegraph, Los Angeles Times, The Register, Gizmodo, Insider, Fortune, Wall Street Journal, CryptoPotato, CoinDesk, The Hill, New York Post, The Block, Crypto Daily, ZDNet, VICE, and TechSpot
Tweets: @cryptocom, @peckshield, @anthony, @cryptocom, @kris_hk, @cryptocom, @billym2k, @egg_dog, @juddlegum, @cryptocom, @johnkoetsier, @decryptmedia, @jeffnolan, @calbucci, and @campuscodi
| Stephen Graves / Decrypt: |
Coinbase partners with Mastercard to let users pay with a credit card in its upcoming NFT marketplace, solve “pain points”, and classify NFTs as “digital goods” — Crypto exchange Coinbase has announced a partnership with Mastercard to simplify the process …
More:
The Coinbase Blog, Mastercard USA, TheStreet, CNBC, Insider, The Block, Crypto Briefing, Cointelegraph, Bloomberg, and The Verge
Tweets: @jrnycrypto and @mastercardnews
| Makena Kelly / The Verge: |
Democratic lawmakers unveil the Banning Surveillance Advertising Act, which would ban targeted ads by data brokers, but exempt broad location and contextual ads — It could reshape the entire tech industry — On Tuesday, Democrats introduced a new bill that would ban nearly all use … | Jeffrey Knockel / The Citizen Lab: |
China's MY2022 Olympics app, mandatory for attendees to report travel and health data, has serious encryption flaws and contains a censorship keyword list — Key Findings — MY2022, an app mandated for use by all attendees of the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing, has a simple but devastating flaw … | Wall Street Journal: |
AT&T and Verizon temporarily restrict 5G expansion near US airports, but a few airlines will still suspend some flights on Wednesday amid Boeing's guidance — Flight suspensions occur even as AT&T and Verizon agree to limit signals within 2 miles of runways to address air-safety concerns
More:
Verizon, The White House, Washington Post, Android Police, NBC News, TheStreet, New York Times, ABC News, Mashable, Engadget, USA Today, Voice of America, and Bloomberg
Tweets: @reuters and @hackylawyer
| Todd Spangler / Variety: |
YouTube says it's winding down YouTube Originals after six years and will only fund programs that are part of its Black Voices and YouTube Kids Funds — YouTube is getting out of the business of originals: The Google-owned video giant said it is winding down its original productions team after more than six years.
More:
Ars Technica. Tweets: @rkyncl, @thafnine, @tweetsauce, @brodyfoxx, @brodyfoxx, and @michellemanafy
| Canalys: |
Apple shipped an estimated 22% of global smartphones in Q4 2021, down from 23% in Q4 2020, followed by Samsung at 20%, Xiaomi at 12%, Oppo at 9%, and Vivo at 8% — Shanghai (China), Bengaluru (India), Singapore, Reading (UK) and Portland (US) - Tuesday, 18 January 2022
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Android Police, SlashGear, AppleInsider, iPhone in Canada Blog, Wccftech, The Register, Apple Must, iThinkDifferent, Redmond Pie, TechCrunch, Computerworld, MobileSyrup, and Pocketnow. Tweets: @canalys
| Paul Sawers / VentureBeat: |
Walnut, a personalized product demo and analytics service, raises a $35M Series B and says its ARR has grown 700% since its $21M Series A in August 2021 — In a world where software rules the roost and cloud spending has gone through the roof, SaaS has emerged as the default business model …
More:
TechCrunch, Tech in Asia, Globes Online, and ReadWrite
| Lauren Feiner / CNBC: |
The FTC and DOJ seek public comment on how to rewrite “the antitrust laws regarding mergers”, signaling a potentially tougher stance toward Big Tech deals — - The Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice Antitrust Division kicked off a process to rewrite merger guidelines for businesses on Tuesday.
More:
Federal Trade Commission, Federal Trade Commission, SiliconANGLE, AdExchanger, Financial Times, U.S. Department of Justice, Barron's Online, Federal Trade Commission, and The Hill
Tweets: @ftc, @pawdiddysweezy, @chopracfpb, @cswilsonftc, @ashleyrgold, @ftc, @lauren_feiner, @chopracfpb, @demandprogress, and @leah_nylen
| Tomer Ganon / CTech: |
Source: Israeli police used NSO's Pegasus to monitor citizens, mayors, political protesters, and former government employees without warrants or court oversight — Mayors, leaders of political protests against former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and former governmental employees …
More:
The Guardian, 9to5Mac, iTnews, Washington Post, Haaretz, SecurityWeek, and NPR
Tweets: @baphometx and @adam_k_levin
| Kenrick Cai / Forbes: |
Ironclad, which helps companies create and manage business contracts, raises a $150M Series E entirely from existing investors at a $3.2B valuation — Jason Boehmig spent two years as a lawyer in Silicon Valley, putting together documents for startups, before he had enough of the clunkiness of the job.
More:
PR Newswire, Reuters, Fenwick & West LLP, and SiliconANGLE
| Joanna Ossinger / Bloomberg: |
Animoca Brands, which publishes NFTs and games tied to blockchain platforms, raises $359M led by Liberty City at a $5B valuation, up from $2.2B in October 2021 — Soros Fund Management and the Winklevoss twins' venture capital firm are among investors in a funding round that's more than doubled …
More:
Animoca Brands, The Block, Forbes, TechCrunch, Decrypt, VentureBeat, Blockworks, CryptoPotato, and DealStreetAsia
| Kyle Alspach / VentureBeat: |
Banyan Security, which offers a zero trust remote access client and saw a 300% increase in users in 2021, raises a $30M Series B led by Third Point Ventures — Banyan Security, which today announced raising $30 million in series B funding, said it saw a 300% increase in users in 2021 …
More:
Banyan Security and SiliconANGLE
| Kate Rooney / CNBC: |
US OCC and Federal Reserve grant SoFi a conditional banking license via its acquisition of Golden Pacific Bancorp community bank; SoFi stock up 16%+ after hours — - San Francisco-based SoFi got approval from its two key regulators to become a bank holding company.| Hannah Murphy / Financial Times: |
Analysis: Meta has filed dozens of patents to monetize its metaverse, including a virtual store with sponsored items, eye and face tracking in headsets, more — Meta hopes to use tiny human expressions to create virtual world of personalised ads — Pupil movements, body poses and nose scrunching …
More:
Protocol, KnowTechie, Fortune, and TheStreet
Tweets: @ybenkler, @mattnavarra, @muradahmed, @craigsalm, @1br0wn, @muradahmed, @_richardhall, @timothynoah1, and @juliapowles
| Ben Thompson / Stratechery: |
As Intel pushes ahead with its IDM 2.0 strategy, a look at the motivations behind its TSMC partnership that is giving its competitor better scale and economics — Intel's earnings are not until next Wednesday, but whatever it is that CEO Pat Gelsinger plans to discuss …
Tweets: @hassankhan and @teej_m
| Andrew Hayward / Decrypt: |
The Metaplex Foundation, developer of an NFT protocol behind 5.7M+ minted Solana NFTs, raises $46M with Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson among 90+ investors — The protocol that powers millions of Solana NFTs finds prominent backers as it looks towards the metaverse and beyond. — In brief| Lucy Harley-Mckeown / The Block: |
The UK government will increase its scrutiny of crypto advertising, bringing the marketing in line with other financial promotions, to avoid “misleading claims” — Quick Take — HM Treasury said it would ramp up scrutiny of crypto advertising in the UK.
Source:
GOV.UK. More:
ZDNet, CNBC, Crypto Briefing, Blockworks, and Financial Times
Tweets: @rishisunak and @faisalislam
| Noah Kirsch / The Daily Beast: |
Internal memo: Better.com CEO Vishal Garg resumes full-time duties over a month after taking time off following his controversial firing of ~900 staff on Zoom — The volatile founder had laid off hundreds of workers in an emotionless webinar, triggering widespread scorn online.
More:
TechCrunch, Forbes, New York Times, and CNBC
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