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February 1, 2022, 6:10 AM
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| The New York Times Company: |
The New York Times acquires Wordle, the simple word game that has amassed “millions of daily players”, for “an undisclosed price in the low-seven figures” — Wordle, Josh Wardle's stimulating and wildly popular daily word game, is joining The New York Times's portfolio of original …
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New York Times, The Verge, Silicon Republic, Wall Street Journal, Club386, Axios, Nieman Lab, Coinspeaker, MacRumors, CNBC, The Guardian, Techdirt, Variety, One Degree, SlashGear, CNET, PhoneArena, The Register, Global Nerdy, BBC, thegamer.com, Wccftech, TouchArcade, VentureBeat, Benzinga, BuzzFeed News, SiliconANGLE, Semiotech, New York Post, Washington Post, The Irish Times, Android Central, MobileSyrup, Gizmodo, Ars Technica, Liliputing, Financial Times, Forbes, and PC Gamer
Tweets: @powerlanguish, @nytimes, @marcatracy, @daveyalba, @lpolgreen, @asteadwesley, @vogon, @dongwon, @karaswisher, @mattsheffield, @mcmansionhell, @raynefq, @caissie, @neilanalien, @smalljones, @wfkars, @ofirahy, @cmclymer, @krisholt, @paultassi, @jasonschreier, @levie, @parkermolloy, @rustybrick, @ellievhall, @norabf, @andreawoo, @rajasen, @laurenpelley, @lpolgreen, @__apf__, @maggiekb1, @jyarow, @priyavprabhakar, @youseegundam, @robertjimison, @bdsams, @rapplerdotcom, @scottnover, @jamespmcleod, @nrarmour, @phillyd, @sallykohn, @mizliz_, @grahamstarr, @stshank, @dylanmatt, @katierogers, @danlamothe, @christinemhall, @mohanadelshieky, @damiencave, @celeste_pewter, @jason_kint, @roywoodjr, @ofirahy, @elanazak, @acedtect, @mattmcgee, and @pappiness
| Brendan Sinclair / GamesIndustry.biz: |
Sony Interactive Entertainment announces it is buying Bungie, which makes Destiny and other games, for $3.6B; Bungie will become an independent subsidiary — Destiny studio will remain multiplatform, able “to self-publish and reach players wherever they choose to play”
More:
Bungie.net, PlayStation.Blog, Bungie.net, GamesIndustry.biz, SIE Blog - English, The Verge, Silicon Republic, Australian Financial Review, Business Wire, TechRadar, Video Games Chronicle, Polygon, The Verge, Variety, Gamereactor UK, Associated Press, IGN, Bloomberg, Game Developer, TechCircle, Wall Street Journal, Series G, GeekWire, GamingBolt, Tech in Asia, Gizchina, Axios, The Overspill, Tom's Guide, BBC, CNET, GameSpot, Game Rant, thegamer.com, and Android Central
Tweets: @jasonschreier, @bungie, @jasonschreier, @boogie2988, @loudmouthjulia, @brkeogh, @stroughtonsmith, @pparsons, @vahn16, @stroughtonsmith, @andrearene, @levie, @harrisfoster, @loudmouthjulia, @knowsworthy, @ms5000watts, @maxwinebach, @rurikhan, @stroughtonsmith, @martinsfp, @reckless, @winkwinkerson, @destinythegame, @stevekovach, @kenli729, @agentbizzle, @film_girl, @snazzyq, @paultassi, @kifleswing, @stroughtonsmith, @tomwarren, @alexhern, @paultassi, @s3rioussam, @paultassi, @arlostuff, @maxwinebach, @vicious696, and @reckless
| Connie Loizos / TechCrunch: |
Ryan Breslow, co-founder of one-click checkout startup Bolt, steps down as CEO and becomes executive chairman, after his tweets bashing YC and Stripe went viral — Ryan Breslow, who founded the “one-click” checkout tech company Bolt as a Stanford student and dropped out of college to build it …
More:
PYMNTS.com and The Economic Times
Tweets: @theryanking, @theryanking, @shaunmmaguire, @joshqharris, @theryanking, @ellenhuet, @theryanking, @garrytan, @ulonnaya, @akm1410, @danprimack, @mi_abaga, @krrishd, @xavierhelgesen, @steviebuckley, @zevlapin, @pmarca, @sarthakgh, @brianmcc, @austinj, @cookie, @chandrarsrikant, @oduneweniyi, @iaboyeji, and @rkhazzam
| Taylor Lyles / IGN: |
Discord starts letting US PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 users link their PSN accounts and display game activity; support for more countries is coming soon — Support will roll out first to US users, though. — PlayStation owners will able to connect their accounts to Discord starting today …
More:
Discord Blog, Video Games Chronicle, Pocket-lint, Notebookcheck.net, SlashGear, and Game Rant
Tweets: @discord, @gozutrucker69, @dimitrimonroez, and @playstation
| John Hendel / Politico: |
Nonprofit suicide chat service Crisis Text Line ends its data sharing relationship with for-profit spinoff Loris.ai and asks the company to delete existing data — The nonprofit mental-health hotline Crisis Text Line ended its data-sharing relationship with a for-profit spinoff Monday …
More:
danah boyd, Crisis Text Line, and The Verge
| David McLaughlin / Bloomberg: |
Source: the FTC, not the DOJ, is reviewing Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition and will focus on potential harm to rivals — The U.S. antitrust review of Microsoft Corp.'s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc. will be handled by the Federal Trade Commission …
More:
Game Developer, Reuters, GamesIndustry.biz, Engadget, Video Games Chronicle, Forbes, Neowin, Pocket-lint, and Wccftech
| Nikhilesh De / CoinDesk: |
Silvergate Bank confirms it is purchasing the Diem Association's tech and other assets by issuing $132M in stock and paying $50M in cash; Diem is shutting down — The Diem Association is shutting down. — Silvergate Bank confirmed Monday that it's purchasing the technology and other assets from Diem …
More:
Diem, Silvergate, Silicon Republic, The Verge, Cointelegraph, Mashable, MediaNama, Channel NewsAsia, Financial Times, Engadget, American Banker, The Block, and ZDNet
Tweets: @diemassociation, @davidmarcus, @ccatalini, @davidmarcus, @ccatalini, @readdanwrite, @ccatalini, @taliagold, @diemassociation, and @juthica
| Manish Singh / TechCrunch: |
India proposes a 30% tax on income from the transfer of crypto, NFTs, and other digital assets and will launch a digital rupee in the next financial year — India on Tuesday proposed launching digital rupee in within a year and a 30% tax on income from transfer of virtual digital assets …
More:
Reuters, Bloomberg, The Economic Times, The Block, Binance, CoinDesk, Entrackr, The Economic Times, ZyCrypto, CoinGape, CryptoPotato, and The Crypto Basic
Tweets: @deepakshenoy, @chandrarsrikant, and @ashwinm_
| Wall Street Journal: |
Antenna: Apple TV+, Disney+, HBO Max, and others struggle to retain US subscribers who joined to watch a hit show; some subscribers only stay for a few months — Roughly half of U.S. viewers who joined right after ‘Hamilton’ and ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ were gone in six months, data show
More:
iThinkDifferent, The Wrap, MacRumors, 9to5Mac, and iMore
Tweets: @benmullin, @benmullin, @christianism, @iansherr, @ballmatthew, and @kimmasters
| Ann-Marie Alcántara / Wall Street Journal: |
Pinterest adds an augmented reality tool for furniture to its mobile app, letting users see how 20K products from retail partners would look in their homes — The new tool expands on its existing technology used for beauty products — Pinterest Inc. is introducing a new augmented reality tool … | Kim Lyons / The Verge: |
Meta rolls out updated 3D avatars across Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram Stories in the US, Canada, and Mexico — It's a step toward the company's concept of the metaverse — Facebook parent company Meta is introducing 3D avatars to Instagram Stories and direct messages and updating …
More:
XDA Developers, Facebook Technology, BGR India, CNET, and Android Headlines
Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg. Tweets: @instagram, @boztank, @kellymakena, @gregpak, @meta, @wongmjane, @andresegers, @dianelyssa, @wongmjane, @hondanhon, @ericstephen, @alexvoica, @taartfart, @sb2749, @alexvoica, @kylebrussell, and @alexvoica
| Reuters: |
Taiwan-based GlobalWafers' proposed €4.35B takeover of German chip supplier Siltronic falls apart as Germany's government misses the approval deadline — Germany's economy ministry said it could not complete its review of a planned sale of chip supplier Siltronic to Taiwanese rival GlobalWafers …
More:
Tech Xplore, Bloomberg, Taipei Times, Nikkei Asia, and Financial Times
| Financial Times: |
Analysis: Google, Amazon, Meta, and Apple donated at least $1.2M to four US foreign policy think tanks in 2019-2020, up from $625,000 in 2017-18 — Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple battle Washington's move towards stricter regulation using anti-China lobbying
Tweets: @apar1984, @rasmus_kleis, and @muradahmed
| Saritha Rai / Bloomberg: |
Sources: Byju's is talking to at least three SPACs, aims to unveil IPO plans with one of them in three to four weeks, and is exploring a $750M-$1B pre-IPO round — India's most valuable startup, the online education provider Byju's, is in negotiations with at least three special-purpose acquisition companies …
Tweets: @ranjanxroy and @ajitosu
| Ed Dixon / SportsPro: |
Report: crypto-based sports fan platform Iqoniq, which partnered with Spain's LaLiga and others, has entered liquidation; Iqoniq raised €100M in July 2020 — Fan engagement platform Iqoniq has gone into liquidation, leaving multiple sporting organisations potentially out of pocket.
Source:
The Times. More:
Insider Sport, Wigan Today, RaceFans, JOE.co.uk, and EconoTimes
Tweets: @martynziegler, @_condo, @martynziegler, @mhairim90, @mattwoosie, @timessport, @carnage4life, and @fypfanzine
| Reuters: |
Sources: Cybereason, which offers endpoint detection and response services, has confidentially filed for a US IPO that could value it at more than $5B — Cybereason, a security startup backed by SoftBank's (9984.T) Vision Fund 2 and Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google Cloud unit …
| Jonathan Greig / ZDNet: |
Education publisher Pearson acquires Credly, which helps businesses issue digital credentials to certify workers' skills, for $140M; Credly has 2,000+ customers — Pearson already owned a 20% stake in the digital workforce credentialing platform worth about $40 million but is now buying the entire company.| Nivedita Balu / Reuters: |
Chargebee, which helps businesses manage billing, subscriptions, revenue, and compliance, raises $250M at a $3.5B valuation led by Tiger Global and Sequoia — Enterprise software startup Chargebee has raised $250 million at a valuation of $3.5 billion, in a funding round lead by Tiger Global …
More:
VentureBeat
| Sam Byford / The Verge: |
Joe Rogan posts a video to Instagram defending booking contentious guests, apologizes to Spotify for the backlash, and says he may book more “experts” — 'I'm very sorry that this is happening to them.' — Joe Rogan has issued a response to the ongoing controversy …
Source:
Instagram. More:
New York Times, New York Magazine, and ВІС …
Facebook: Joe Rogan. Tweets: @broderick, @noupside, @noupside, @justinhendrix, @karaswisher, @lucas_shaw, @lisamarieboothe, @waltmossberg, @hyugafe, @pkafka, @lucas_shaw, @counternotions, @rob_sheridan, @johnlmacfarlane, @noupside, @gwynnion, @lucas_shaw, @b52malmet, @johnlmacfarlane, @thatshockratees, @karaswisher, @timsweeneyepic, @bostonjoan, @chrisfralic, @ericboehlert, @waltmossberg, @bostonjoan, @gregmals, @xor, @noupside, @counternotions, and @robslater10
| Daniel Ek / Spotify: |
More:
CNET, Protocol, New York Times, Garbage Day, CNN, Quartz, Matt on Audio, and Wired UK
Tweets: @eldsjal, @joerogan, and @mikeisaac
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