Techmeme
May 23, 2022, 2:40 PM

Top News

Bloomberg:
Sources: Broadcom is in talks to acquire VMware, which has a ~$40B market cap; the discussions are ongoing and there's no guarantee they will lead to a purchase  —  Broadcom Inc. is in talks to acquire cloud-computing company VMware Inc., according to people familiar with the matter …
New York Times:
A look at efforts by 50+ countries to control the data produced by their citizens, governments, and businesses, driven by privacy concerns, economics, and more  —  Nations are accelerating efforts to control data produced within their perimeters, disrupting the flow of what has become a kind of digital currency.
Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:
UK's data protection watchdog fines Clearview AI ~£7.5M for violating privacy laws and orders the company to delete all info on UK citizens from its systems  —  The UK's data protection watchdog has confirmed a penalty for the controversial facial recognition company, Clearview AI …
Mimi Billing / Sifted:
Klarna tells employees it plans to lay off 10% of its workforce, after reports of raising money at a reduced $30B valuation; LinkedIn shows it has 6,500+ staff  —  Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Klarna was seeking a new round of investment that could see its valuation brought down by a third, from $46bn to $30bn.
Tripp Mickle / New York Times:
Meta, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are positioned to emerge stronger from this downturn; Refinitiv: from 2008 to 2010, the companies acquired 100+ firms  —  Flush with cash, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Google are positioned to emerge from a downturn stronger and more powerful.
Mike Isaac / New York Times:
Meta plans to give outside researchers more info on political ad targeting on Facebook and Instagram and to update Ad Library with more info starting in July  —  Academics and journalists will be able to see more data about the way political ads are used to target users across Facebook and Instagram.
Issie Lapowsky / Protocol:
The 11th Circuit federal court upholds blocking Florida's social media “censorship” law to protect First Amendment rights, as SCOTUS weighs Texas' similar law  —  As the Supreme Court weighs whether to block Texas' social media “censorship” law, a court of appeals has decided …
Spencer Soper / Bloomberg:
Sources: Amazon, which has too much warehouse capacity now that pandemic-era shopping has faded, is looking to sublet at least 10M square feet across the US  —  Amazon.com Inc., stuck with too much warehouse capacity now that the surge in pandemic-era shopping has faded …
TechCrunch:
Sources: MainStreet, which helps SMBs find tax credits, is raising at a $200M valuation, down from $500M in March 2021, weeks after laying off ~30% of its staff  —  Weeks after laying off about 30% of its staff, MainStreet is said to be raising another round of funding at a $200 million valuation, sources tell TechCrunch.
Eva Szalay / Financial Times:
BNP Paribas joins JPMorgan's blockchain-based Onyx network for the repurchase market, which has facilitated $300B+ in deals since December  —  BNP Paribas joins JPMorgan-powered platform that has traded more $300bn of intraday repo deals  —  BNP Paribas has joined JPMorgan in using digital tokens …
Rita Liao / TechCrunch:
StepN, a Solana-based app that rewards users with tokens for walking and running, says it has 2M-3M MAUs and makes $3M-5M/day in net profit from trading fees  —  But skeptics question its sustainability and whether it can be called a ‘game’  —  Since its launch in December, StepN …

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Try Gemini 3 Pro  —  Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Shopify:
Shopify's new AI commerce stack  —  Their VP of Product digs into just-launched products to help entrepreneurs and developers build with the latest AI and tech.
Zoho:
Get your favorite apps talking to Zoho Sign with Zapier  —  Your business didn't come together overnight.  It's something you've built, refined, and fine-tuned over time.  Every tool you use has a purpose …
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Grit:
How Brands Stay Visible When AI Decides | Profound CEO James Cadwallader
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Lenny's Podcast:
The coming AI security crisis (and what to do about it) | Sander Schulhoff
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
Big Technology Podcast:
OpenAI's Potential, Google's Speedy Model, Copilot Hits Turbulence
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Hard Fork:
Why Roomba Died + Tech Predictions for 2026 + A Hard Forkin' Xmas Song
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
Access:
Betting on reality with Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 2:40 PM ET, May 23, 2022.

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.

More News

Damien Wilde / 9to5Google:

Earlier Picks

Gavin Bonshor / AnandTech: