Techmeme
January 20, 2023, 8:00 PM

Top News

Bloomberg:
Alphabet plans to cut ~12,000 jobs, 6%+ of its global workforce; CEO Sundar Pichai says he takes “full responsibility for the decisions that led us here”  —  Google parent Alphabet Inc. said it will cut about 12,000 jobs, more than 6% of its global workforce …
Nico Grant / New York Times:
Sources: Google executives met with Larry Page and Sergey Brin in December to discuss AI products; Google plans to demo web search with chatbot features in 2023  —  A rival chatbot has shaken Google out of its routine, with the founders who left three years ago re-engaging and more than 20 A.I. projects in the works.
Emily Baker-White / Forbes:
According to six employees and an internal doc, TikTok and ByteDance staff engage in “heating”, or inflating video view counts, to court influencers and brands  —  TikTok and ByteDance employees regularly engage in “heating,” a manual push that ensures specific videos …
Kevin Simauchi / Bloomberg:
Crypto lender Genesis Global files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York, listing the estimated range for both assets and liabilities as between $1B and $10B  —  Cryptocurrency lender Genesis Global Capital filed for bankruptcy, the latest firm to collapse in the aftermath of FTX's swift downfall.
Ryan Weeks / The Block:
Bankruptcy filing: Genesis Global owes more than $3.6B to its top 50 creditors, including $766M to the Winklevoss' Gemini Trust Company and $151M to Mirana  —  - Genesis Global filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
The Verge:
Source: CNET owner Red Ventures has used AI tools like Wordsmith to write stories for at least a year and a half, causing unease amid layoffs and restructuring  —  Fake bylines.  Content farming.  Affiliate fees.  What happens when private equity takes over a storied news site and milks it for clicks?
Mia Sato / The Verge:
In a staff call, CNET and Red Ventures executives said they were pausing AI-generated content on CNET and other websites and detailed their proprietary AI tool  —  The call, which lasted under an hour, was held a week after CNET came under fire for its use of AI tools on stories …
Sarah Wynn / The Block:
The US SEC charges Avraham Eisenberg with manipulating Mango Markets' governance token MNGO to steal $116M of crypto assets and says MNGO was sold as a security  —  - The SEC brought charges against Avraham Eisenberg on Friday after the U.S. securities regulator said Eisenberg stole $116 million from Mango Markets.
Josh Scott / BetaKit:
Waterloo-based Magnet Forensics, which develops digital investigation software, agrees to be acquired by Thoma Bravo for CA$1.8B  —  Announcement comes hours after IIROC halted trading of Magnet's shares.  —  Kitchener-Waterloo's Magnet Forensics has entered into a definitive agreement …
Bloomberg:
Sources: Nintendo plans to increase production of its six-year-old Switch console in the coming fiscal year, starting in April 2023, as demand remains strong  —  Nintendo Co. plans to increase production of its six-year-old Switch console in the coming fiscal year after shipping roughly 21 …
Drew Harwell / Washington Post:
Experts argue that 24+ US states banning TikTok is a reflection of government groupthink and an overreaction to an app that officials don't entirely understand  —  Some states' have copied others' wording, including mistakes, as some professors complain the bans rob them of a teaching tool

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Try Gemini 3 Pro  —  Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Shopify:
Transform ML Experimentation with Tangle  —  Save months of compute time with Tangle, built by Shopify.  Try this open-source platform to simplify ML workflows, ensure reproducibility, and seamlessly share with collaborators.
Zoho:
Contract Signed.  Project Ready.  Tasks Created.  —  Every project begins with a promise; a contract that outlines the deliverables, the timelines, and the terms.  But for most businesses …
Bitrix24:
Bitrix24 powers the next generation of high-performing businesses  —  Chat, projects, CRM, and automation — all in one place.  Replace dozens of tools so your team moves faster, collaborates smarter, and grows effortlessly.
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

Access:
Is Roblox making the internet better or worse? We asked the CEO
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Lenny's Podcast:
Why LinkedIn is turning PMs into AI-powered "full stack builders" | Tomer Cohen (LinkedIn CPO)
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.
Great Chat:
Code red: our favorite tech rivalries
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
Big Technology Podcast:
How An AI Model Learned To Be Bad — With Evan Hubinger And Monte MacDiarmid
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.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
PBS Lost a Billion Dollars. Now what? With CEO Paula Kerger
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 8:00 PM ET, January 20, 2023.

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

Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch:

Earlier Picks

Billboard:
The Block:
Catherine Larkin / Bloomberg:
Karissa Bell / Engadget: