Techmeme
February 7, 2024, 8:00 PM

Top News

Sarah Whitten / CNBC:
Disney plans to invest $1.5B for a stake in Epic Games and collaborate on a new “universe” connected to Fortnite with content from Disney, Pixar, and more  —  - Disney is investing $1.5 billion for an equity stake in Epic Games in its biggest jump yet into the gaming world.
Wayne Ma / The Information:
Source: Apple is building prototypes of at least two iPhones that fold widthwise; the phones are in early development and not set for production in 2024 or 2025  —  Apple is building prototypes of at least two iPhones that fold widthwise like a clamshell, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation.
Carl Franzen / VentureBeat:
Microsoft updates Copilot with a redesigned look, a new AI model for Copilot's Balanced mode called Deucalion, and new AI image creation and editing features  —  In a startling move, Microsoft today announced a redesigned look for its Copilot AI search and chatbot experience on the web …
Sam Sabin / Axios:
US, UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand advisory: China-backed hacking group Volt Typhoon has had access to some major US infrastructure for over five years  —  China-backed hackers have had access to some major U.S. critical infrastructure for “at least five years,” according to an intelligence advisory released Wednesday.
Michael Nuñez / VentureBeat:
Apple partners with University of California researchers to release open-source AI model MGIE, which can edit images based on natural language instructions  —  Apple has released a new open-source AI model, called “MGIE,” that can edit images based on natural language instructions.
Charlie Sorrel / iFixit News:
Apple Vision Pro teardown: 50 Vision Pro pixels fit into a single iPhone 15 Pro pixel, the display is not technically 4K, has a ~100° field of view, and more  —  After the whirlwind of team activity that was our initial Vision Pro teardown, we've been digging much, much deeper into those dual displays …
Chainalysis:
Ransomware payments in 2023 hit a record $1.1B, up from $567M in 2022 and $983M in 2021, after a major escalation of the frequency, scope, and volume of attacks  —  The Chainalysis 2024 Crypto Crime Report  —  Coming soon  —  In 2023, ransomware actors intensified their operations …
Josh Boak / Associated Press:
The Biden administration names White House economic adviser Elizabeth Kelly to lead the NIST's newly formed AI Safety Institute to develop AI testing standards  —  The Biden administration on Wednesday named a top White House aide as the director of the newly established safety institute for artificial intelligence.
Reuters:
Arm reports Q3 revenue up 14% YoY to $824M, vs. $761.6M est., and forecasts Q4 sales and adjusted profit above expectations; ARM jumps 21%+  —  Arm Holdings on Wednesday forecast fiscal fourth-quarter sales and adjusted profit above Wall Street expectations as customers aim to design new chips …
Kate Knibbs / Wired:
An interview with Nebojša Vujinović Vujo, who runs 2,000+ AI-generated news sites, often hosted on once-popular domains, and claims to have ~12 human editors  —  Serbian DJ turned internet entrepreneur Nebojša Vujinović Vujo floods abandoned news sites with AI-generated articles.
Jane Zhang / Bloomberg:
Alibaba reports Q3 revenue up 5% YoY to ~$36.7B, net income down 69% YoY to ~$2B, Taobao and Tmall revenue up 2% YoY to ~$18B, and approves a $25B share buyback  —  - The move may appeal to some investors as growth plateaus  — Alibaba is grappling with market and internal uncertainty
Mike Isaac / New York Times:
Meta proposes industry standards for identifying AI-generated content, and plans to label AI images posted on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads  —  The social network wants to promote standardized labels to help detect artificially created photo, video and audio material across its platforms.
Emilia David / The Verge:
Manya Saini / Reuters:
PayPal reports Q4 revenue up 9% YoY to $8B, vs. $7.87B est., and total payment volume up 15% YoY to $409.8B, vs. $404.45B est.  —  PayPal (PYPL.O) beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday as more Americans used its payments platform for shopping during the holiday season.
More: Bloomberg and PayPal
Charles Pulliam-Moore / The Verge:
Disney begins emailing Disney+ subscribers about TOS changes that will make sharing accounts harder, days after sending out similar notices to Hulu subscribers  —  Today, Disney Plus began sending out emails informing subscribers about new changes to its terms of service that will …

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:
Zoho Webinar: A look back at 2025  —  As 2025 comes to a close, it's the perfect time to look back at how Zoho Webinar has transformed the way businesses connect, engage, and grow.
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

The Talk Show With John Gruber:
'A Naughty Citizen', With Quinn Nelson
The director's commentary track for Daring Fireball. Long digressions on Apple, technology, design, movies, and more.
Subscribe to The Talk Show With John Gruber.
Big Technology Podcast:
2025 In Review, 2026 Predictions — With Reed Albergotti
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:
Podcast Pioneer PJ Vogt's Second Act: Less Budget, More Control
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.
BG2 Pod:
AI Enterprise - Databricks & Glean
Open-source podcast on all things tech, markets, investing, and capitalism, hosted by Brad Gerstner.
Subscribe to BG2 Pod.
Great Chat:
The stories we told ourselves in 2025
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.
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 8:00 PM ET, February 7, 2024.

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

Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:
Rohan Goswami / CNBC:
Camilla Hodgson / Financial Times:

Earlier Picks

Kaitlyn Tiffany / The Atlantic:
Michael Nuñez / VentureBeat:
AJ Vicens / CyberScoop: