Techmeme
January 19, 2024, 6:40 AM

Top News

Bloomberg:
YouTube and, according to a source, Spotify are not planning to launch a native Apple Vision Pro app or to allow their iPad app to run on the platform  —  - Users of those services will be steered toward the web  — Searches indicate apps from Meta may also be unavailable
Alex Heath / The Verge:
Zuckerberg says Meta wants to build and open source AGI, and brings AI group FAIR closer to the generative AI team; Meta will own 340K+ H100 GPUs by 2024's end  —  And he wants Meta to open source it.  Eventually.  Maybe. … Fueling the generative AI craze is a belief that the tech industry …
Andy Baio / Waxy.org:
A history of Ello, which defined itself as an alternative to ad-driven social media, from its 2014 launch and funding to its quiet sale and sudden death in 2023  —  Ello launched on August 7, 2014 with big dreams and big promises, a new social network defined by what it wouldn't do.
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Internal video and memo: Apple sees health care, training, and education as key areas for the Vision Pro, and will give employees a 25% discount on the device  —  - Company has teams focused on enterprise and education uses  — Employees to get at least a 25% discount on Apple Vision Pro
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: the European Union's competition watchdog intends to block Amazon's $1.7B bid to purchase iRobot; IRBT drops ~40% after hours  —  European Union's competition watchdog is weighing the tech giant's $1.7 billion bid to purchase Roomba maker iRobot  —  The European Union's competition …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
A look at the reasons why Artifact failed, including not growing its user base outside the US and user confusion about its ever-growing set of features  —  Last week, Artifact, a buzzy news app from Instagram's co-founders, announced it was shutting down after failing to gain critical mass …
More: Six Colors
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google:
In the footnotes of the Galaxy S24, S24+, and S24 Ultra online listings, Samsung says that Galaxy AI features will be free only until the end of 2025  —  AI is the big selling point of Samsung's new Galaxy S24 series, but the new, rather good suite of Galaxy AI features may eventually come with a cost, the company has confirmed.
Carly Page / TechCrunch:
Google's TAG says Russia-linked hacking group Cold River is ramping up its activity and using new tactics, like data-stealing malware, to cause more disruption  —  Google researchers say they have evidence that a notorious Russian-linked hacking group — tracked as “Cold River” …
Piotr Lipinski / Reuters:
The EU Commission is seeking feedback on concessions Apple offered, including opening its Tap to Pay tech to third-party wallets for 10 years, to settle a probe  —  The European Commission is seeking feedback from rivals and customers on concessions Apple (AAPL.O) offered …
More: Bloomberg
Jessica Hagen / MobiHealthNews:
Forta, which combines AI and a training course for parents to offer personalized therapy for autistic children, raised a $55M Series A led by Insight Partners  —  The company will use the funds to grow its autism therapy practice, continue AI and LLM research, and develop clinical algorithms.
TechCrunch:
Analysis: the total number of US startups with a $1B+ valuation grew 14x from 39 in 2013 to 532 in 2023, 78% today are B2B, 93% are privately valued, and more  —  Aileen Lee is the founder of Cowboy Ventures.  She partners at the earliest stages with enterprise and consumer-oriented startup teams …
More: cowboy.vc
Cat Zakrzewski / Washington Post:
World leaders at the 2024 World Economic Forum fret over AI-powered misinformation and job displacement, following excitement about ChatGPT at the 2023 WEF  —  Between wine tastings and sledding excursions, world leaders fret over AI-powered misinformation and job displacement

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More News

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
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