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January 19, 2022, 5:35 AM
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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, VentureBeat, Protocol, Wall Street Journal, Activision Publishing, New York Times, GamesIndustry.biz, CNBC, Kotaku, Reuters, The Verge, Bloomberg, Financial Times, Moneycontrol, CNBC, Financial Times, Forbes, thegamer.com, Sobre Startups, Wccftech, TechRadar, Microsoft, Cointelegraph, TechRadar, SegmentNext, Blockworks, CNBC, Neowin, PR Newswire, BBC, Digital Trends, Game Rant, PC Gamer, Dexerto, Android Headlines, Born's Tech and Windows World, purexbox.com, TechCrunch, IGN, The Shortcut, Livy's Newsletter, PYMNTS.com, GameSpot, TechCabal, Reclaim The Net, and EnterpriseAI
Tweets: @dinabass, @xbox, @gregisenberg, @jasonschreier, @charlieintel, @satyanadella, @xbox, @jonerlichman, @zhugeex, @ashleyesqueda, @microsoft, @adriennelaw, @edzitron, @jasonschreier, @damianburns, @kristyt, @pucknorris, @wario64, @anildash, @jasonschreier, @andrewrsorkin, @atvi_ab, @aarongreenberg, @jasonschreier, @mattdpearce, @scottjohnson, @vahn16, @mkbhd, @technology, @alexeheath, @technology, @richlightshed, @ldignan, @chrismessina, @technology, @rmac18, @richlightshed, @stopskeletons, @levie, @alexeheath, @eliastoufexis, @reneritchie, @paultassi, @serkantoto, @pkafka, @karlbode, @andrewyang, @thecaptainsauce, @ericnewcomer, @snazzyq, and @joshmunsee
| 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, Forbes, The Economic Times, Polygon, and Game Rant
Tweets: @klobrille, @itsjuliahardy, @kiruti, @misterrnx, @grace_dustin, and @majornelson
| Bloomberg: |
Sources: Activision Blizzard tried to find other buyers, including Meta, while weighing a potential Microsoft takeover after the WSJ's exposé in November — Late last year, as Activision Blizzard Inc. and Chief Executive Officer Bobby Kotick were reeling from accusations that Kotick knew … | 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 Economic Times, Bloomberg, The Verge, PC Gamer, and The Signal
| CNBC: |
Apple and Google warn of harmful consequences to user privacy and security from two proposed Senate antitrust bills scheduled to be considered this week — - Apple warned in a letter on Tuesday that antitrust bills being considered in the Senate would increase the risk of security breaches to iPhone users.
More:
The Keyword, 9to5Mac, wesupportsb2992.medium.com, Protocol, Slashdot, MacRumors, Social Media IO Roundup, PhoneArena, 9to5Google, iThinkDifferent, CNET, South China Morning Post, and iPhone in Canada Blog
Tweets: @matthewstoller, @keleftheriou, @lutherlowe, @rileytestut, @adamkovac, @bigblackjacobin, @richardsocher, @jonschweppe, @yegg, @yousearchengine, @chancehmiller, @sachalouise, @timothypmurphy, @sadlyitsbradley, @quinnypig, @reckless, @bigblackjacobin, @william_fitz, @cagoldberglaw, and @jenn_elias
| Makena Kelly / The Verge: |
Democratic lawmakers unveil the Banning Surveillance Advertising Act, which would ban targeted ads but allow broad location-based and contextual ads — It could reshape the entire tech industry — On Tuesday, Democrats introduced a new bill that would ban nearly all use …
More:
Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, eshoo.house.gov, ZDNet, SiliconANGLE, and The Daily Dot
Tweets: @dmarti, @josephfcox, @can, @duckduckgo, @repgosar, @fightfortheftr, @samfbiddle, @motherboard, @samfbiddle, @caitrionafitz, @wolfiechristl, @dmarti, @hypervisible, @neil_chilson, @accountabletech, @dmarti, @jfelixcardoso, @eric_seufert, @repannaeshoo, @leshann, @samfbiddle, @katielmcinnis, @thezedwards, @resilien7, @kylebrussell, and @seyitaylor
| 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
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Verizon, The White House, Silicon Republic, United States, NPR, BBC, Associated Press, Airlines For America, Washington Post, New York Times, Tech Xplore, NBC News, CNBC, Tom's Guide, Bloomberg, ABC News, Newser, PhoneArena, and International Business Times
Tweets: @byerussell, @reuters, @hackylawyer, @kpottermn, @mytechmusings, and @k0lwc
| 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.| 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:
XDA Developers, Protocol, BGR India, Benzinga, and MediaNama
Tweets: @rkyncl, @thafnine, @tweetsauce, @brodyfoxx, @michellemanafy, @tracobuttons, @dfriend, @film_girl, @brodyfoxx, @domsmales, and @rfaughnder
| Florian Mueller / FOSS Patents: |
Ericsson sues Apple over 5G and other patents, following the expiration of the cross-license agreement between the two companies and no renewal deal — Ericsson's patent cross-license agreement with Apple has expired, and no renewal has been agreed upon, which is why infringement litigation became inevitable.
| 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:
The Register, PC Gamer, Wall Street Journal, Gizmodo, Bitcoin News, Insider, xuanling11's Free Newsletter, and Fortune
Tweets: @cryptocom, @peckshield, @kris_hk, @anthony, @cryptocom, @cryptocom, @billym2k, @jeffnolan, @calbucci, @egg_dog, @juddlegum, and @mathewi
| NBC News: |
Snapchat's friend recommendation feature will no longer suggest users under 18, unless they have a certain number of friends in common, to curb drug dealing — Exclusive: Snapchat executive on company's efforts to stop sale of counterfeit pills — Snapchat's parent company announced Tuesday … | 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
More:
CoinDesk, Coinspeaker, and Insider
Tweets: @kevinlove, @kirbyporter_, @solana, and @austin_federa
| Frank Chaparro / The Block: |
OpenSea acquires crypto lending APIs startup Dharma Labs, which will shutter its wallet in 30 days; source says the deal was valued between $110M and $130M — Quick Take — OpenSea confirms acquisition of Dharma Labs — Dharma Lab's Hollander picked for CTO role
More:
OpenSea Blog, Cryptonews, TechCrunch, and Crypto Briefing
Tweets: @nadavahollander, @dfinzer, @tropofarmer, @chrisblec, @jillrgunter, @xanderatallah, @daltonc, @bkroberts, @farokh, @rleshner, and @altcap
| 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 …
More:
ZDNet, New York Times, Washington Post, Globe and Mail, DW.COM, Toronto Star, Olympics.com, 9to5Mac, and Tech Times
| Madhumita Murgia / Financial Times: |
Survey finds that 76% of Chinese citizens and 68% of Indians say they trust AI companies compared to only 35% in France, the UK, and the US — For many outside the tech world, “data” means soulless numbers. Perhaps it causes their eyes to glaze over with boredom.| Kate Rooney / CNBC: |
The US OCC and Federal Reserve approve SoFi's bid to become a bank holding company via its Golden Pacific Bancorp acquisition; SoFi stock jumps 16%+ after hours — - San Francisco-based SoFi got approval from its two key regulators to become a bank holding company.
More:
SoFi, Benzinga, Bloomberg, and OCC
Tweets: @anthonynoto, @ralexjimenez, @carlquintanilla, @sofi, @apompliano, and @socialcapital
| Saritha Rai / Bloomberg: |
Reliance buys a majority stake in Indian startup Addverb, which uses robots to make e-commerce warehouses and energy production more efficient, for $132M — Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd. is buying an Indian robotics startup as the conglomerate scales up automation across …
More:
TechCircle, Livemint, Times of India, The Hindu, Moneycontrol, and cnbctv18.com
Tweets: @tanzaniainsight and @quinnypig
| 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:
Forbes, CNBC, New York Times, International Business Times, and TechCrunch
| Keith Romer / New York Times: |
AI tools can generate an optimal poker strategy, balancing bluffing and playing it straight, which some professional players are using to augment their play — Good poker players have always known that they need to maintain a balance between bluffing and playing it straight. Now they can do so perfectly.
Tweets: @nytimes, @octonion, @tarunchitra, @marloscmachado, and @electricalwsop
| 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, Fenwick & West LLP, Reuters, and SiliconANGLE
Tweets: @ironclad_inc, @rowghani, @forbes, @mikewhelanjr, @gogwilt, @jboehmig, and @ruthiejsf. Thanks:@pchalker
| Chris Stokel-Walker / MIT Technology Review: |
A look at Tonga's internet blackout following the volcano blast, which initial investigations suggest destroyed the country's single undersea internet cable — The world is anxiously awaiting news from the island—but on top of the physical destruction, the eruption has disconnected it from the internet.
| Jennifer Conrad / Wired: |
A look at crowdsourced juries in China, like Meituan's “kangaroo jury” made up of volunteers who adjudicate disputes between buyers and sellers on its platform — No garlic on the oysters? Soup stained a blanket? Panels of users hear the complaints and can order refunds or removal of critical reviews.Sponsor Posts
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Command Line:
GitHub Universe 2026: Highlights from the developer's developer conference — Copilot Fusion was the belle of the ball, but the hero at the heart of the two-day event was the developer community.
GitHub Universe 2026: Highlights from the developer's developer conference — Copilot Fusion was the belle of the ball, but the hero at the heart of the two-day event was the developer community.
Zoho:
3 smarter updates for your staffing pipeline — Staffing recruiters manage multiple client requirements, large candidate databases, and tight submission deadlines. Finding suitable candidates is only the first step.
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IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data — Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.
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Tobi Lütke on the AI agent revolution and future of Shopify
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Tweets: @rajarajamannar, @mastercardnews, and @jrnycrypto
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