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April 9, 2024, 12:00 PM

Top News

Wall Street Journal:

Google unveils ARM-based Axion chips for AI, claiming they have up to 30% better performance over the top ARM rivals, coming to Google Cloud customers in 2024 — Tech giant develops new chips to cut reliance on outside vendors as the AI arms race intensifies

Bloomberg:

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian unveils AI updates: corporate Gemini users can “ground” responses in reliable sources, Search as a Gemini answer source, and more — The company unveiled updates to its AI offerings at its annual cloud conference — Google unveiled a host …

David Pierce / The Verge:

Google announces Vids, an app to help companies and consumers make collaborative, shareable video, powered by Gemini, launching in public beta in summer 2024 — For decades, work has revolved around documents, spreadsheets, and slide decks. Word, Excel, PowerPoint; Pages, Numbers, Keynote; Docs, Sheets, Slides.

More: Engadget, Android Authority, VentureBeat, ZDNet, TechCrunch, TechCrunch, SiliconANGLE, 9to5Google, Engadget, PhoneArena, Neowin, TechRadar, and NewsBytes

LinkedIn: Emil Protalinski. Forums: Hacker News and Slashdot

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:

Google releases Gemini 1.5 Pro in public preview on Vertex AI, offering support for up to 1M tokens, and says the model will power new features in Code Assist — Gemini 1.5 Pro, Google's most capable generative AI model, is now available in public preview on Vertex AI, Google's enterprise-focused AI development platform.

More: The Verge, Android Authority, ZDNet, TechCrunch, Engadget, and Google Cloud

X: @sundarpichai, @sebkrier, and @thomasortk

Forums: Hacker News and Slashdot

Abner Li / 9to5Google:

Google details Workspace updates: Gmail's “Help me write” voice input and “instant polish”, Docs tabs, Sheets tables, Gemini in Chat, Meet translation, and more — Besides Vids, Google Workspace is getting a slew of new features and Gemini capabilities at Cloud Next 2024.

More: Google Workspace Blog, Android Authority, VentureBeat, The Keyword, TechCrunch, TechRadar, PhoneArena, and ITPro

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:

Google makes its Imagen 2 image generator generally available in Vertex AI, and adds inpainting and outpainting to remove or add elements and expand borders

More: VentureBeat, The Decoder, and The Indian Express

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:

Automattic acquires Beeper, a source says for $125M, and absorbs its 27 employees; Beeper co-founder Eric Migicovsky will become Automattic's head of messaging — - Automattic purchases Beeper in $125 million deal; CEO to join — Beeper briefly brought Apple's iMessage to Android devices

More: Beeper Blog, TechCrunch, Ars Technica, New York Times, The Verge, 9to5Mac, 9to5Google, Wired, MacStories, Pocket-lint, and Automattic

Mastodon: @matthewcassinelli …. X: @onbeeper, @davidsven, @ericmigi, @artemr, @automattic, @ericmigi, @colejryan, @onbeeper, @onbeeper, @onbeeper, and @markgurman. Forums: Hacker News

Leo Schwartz / Fortune:

Monad Labs, which is building a Layer 1 blockchain to rival Ethereum and Solana, raised $225M led by Paradigm and plans to launch its mainnet by the end of 2024 — With crypto markets roaring back, different blockchains are jockeying to become the solution that hoovers up demand in the next wave …

More: CoinDesk, Monad, The Block, FinSMEs, Coinspeaker, NFTgators, Crypto Briefing, Cointelegraph, and CoinGape

X: @intern, @monad_xyz, @mdudas, and @monad_xyz

Wall Street Journal:

An investigation finds a shadowy supply chain for Starlink terminals to US foes in Russia and Sudan via Africa, Asia, and the UAE; SpaceX has not shut them off — The satellite-internet devices are helping Russian fighters in Ukraine and paramilitary forces in Sudan; SpaceX hasn't shut them off

More: Engadget, PCMag, Techpoint Africa, and Benzinga

Mastodon: @karakam@mastodon.social. X: @gksteinhauser, @gksteinhauser, @gksteinhauser, @micahmaidenberg, @tonyromm, @twmcltd, and @alfaiomi. Forums: Hacker News

Natasha Singer / New York Times:

In some US schools, boys have used AI “nudification” apps to create and share deepfakes of clothed female classmates, leading to varying district responses — After boys at Francesca Mani's high school fabricated and shared explicit images of girls last year, she and her mother …

More: The Information. X: @privacydigest and @hargreaves_s

Paul Alcorn / Tom's Hardware:

Intel debuts its Gaudi 3 AI chips, set for Q3 mass production, saying they offer up to 1.7x the training performance and 40% better efficiency than Nvidia H100s — Intel announced its new Gaudi 3 AI processors at its Vision 2024 event, claiming they offer up to 1.7X the training performance …

More: Tom's Hardware, Reuters, AnandTech, AnandTech, The Register, VentureBeat, VentureBeat, The Next Platform, Forbes, Bloomberg, CNBC, Quartz, Yahoo Finance, TechRepublic, TechFinitive, Intel, and Intel Corporation

X: @intelnews, @aschilling, @aschilling, and @_fabknowledge_

Alexandra Alper / Reuters:

Sources: the US plans to award Samsung $6B+ next week to build four chip facilities in Taylor, Texas, including a $17B plant, as part of the $52.7B CHIPS Act — The Biden administration plans to announce it is awarding more than $6 billion to South Korea's Samsung (005930.KS) …

More: PC Gamer, The Korea Herald, eeNews Europe, Proactive, Sammy Fans, MediaNama, Android Headlines, TweakTown, Neowin, GSMArena.com, Total Telecom, and PhoneArena

Washington Post:

How OpenAI is preparing to fight lawsuits, investigations, and legislation: growing its staff from 200 in 2022 to ~1,000, hiring ~24 in-house lawyers, and more — The company has hired more than two dozen in-house lawyers and adopted a new Washington playbook

X: @toddbigphoto and @danraile

Naoki Watanabe / Nikkei Asia:

Microsoft plans to invest $2.9B in data centers in Japan by 2025, its biggest investment in the country, and will add advanced AI chips at two existing sites — Move comes in response to push for ‘data sovereignty’ among governments — PALO ALTO, Calif. — Microsoft will invest $2.9 billion …

More: The Information, Bloomberg, DatacenterDynamics, Reuters, and Proactive

Kate Knibbs / Wired:

The Internet Archive is hosting the new Aruba Collection, which contains 101,376 items from Aruba's National Library, National Archives, and other institutions — By becoming the official custodian of an entire nation's history for the first time, the Internet Archive is expanding …

More: The Information and Internet Archive Blogs

Mastodon: @josemurilo@mato.social. X: @brewster_kahle, @neilturkewitz, and @internetarchive

Forums: Hacker News, r/Futurology, r/technology, Beehaw, and Slashdot

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From Mediagazer

Barbara Moens / Financial Times:

Sources: the EU is set to approve Paramount's $111B WBD takeover provided the company accepts certain remedies, the details of which are still being worked out

Thomas Buckley / Bloomberg:

Sony Pictures Entertainment invests $100M in Cosm, a startup specializing in immersive, large-screen theaters, which has partnerships with NBCUniversal and WBD

Ethan Millman / The Hollywood Reporter:

Court docs: Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino spoke with President Trump in the weeks before the company settled with the DOJ in its monopoly lawsuit

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More News

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Enterprise data security startup Cyera raised a $300M Series C led by Coatue at a $1.4B valuation, taking its funding to $460M, after a $100M Series B in 2023

More: Globes Online

Bailey Lipschultz / Bloomberg:

Trump Media & Technology Group's stock slumped 36% since March 26, wiping out $2.8B in market value as retail traders sell; Trump's stake is now worth ~$2.9B

More: Benzinga, Barron's Online, CNN, Reuters, and International Business Times

Forums: r/technology and r/inthenews

Bloomberg:

Sources: Cruise plans to resume its robotaxi service with safety drivers in Phoenix as early as April 9; Cruise says it “had not set a timeline for deployment”

More: Inc.com, Jalopnik, Benzinga, and Carscoops

Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority:

A look at Android 15's Private Space feature, which creates a separate profile for hiding apps and data, similar to Samsung's Secure Folder

More: ZDNet and Business Today

X: @mishaalrahman. Forums: r/Android

Heather Landi / Fierce Healthcare:

Grow Therapy, which provides services like patient-provider matching and EHR to help therapists run their own practices, raised an $88M Series C led by Sequoia

More: SignalFire, PR Newswire, and FinSMEs

X: @joshconstine and @gradypb

Shira Stein / San Francisco Chronicle:

Sources: Applied Materials may scale back or cancel plans to open a $4B R&D facility in Silicon Valley due to a lack of government funding

More: Benzinga, Reuters, and Tom's Hardware. X: @_danilo

Trisha Thadani / Washington Post:

Filing: Tesla settles a lawsuit over Apple engineer Walter Huang's 2018 fatal Autopilot crash a day before the trial started; details were not disclosed

More: Engadget, CNBC, Gizmodo, The Verge, CNN, NBC News, Quartz, CBC News, Cybernews.com, Bloomberg, BBC, The Hindu, NTD, Carscoops, Telegraph, Proactive, Rolling Stone, Benzinga, The Daily Beast, Gizmochina, AppleInsider, Mercury News, Wall Street Journal, Electrek, Associated Press, Business Insider, Reuters, Yahoo Finance, and Forbes

Threads: @e.w.niedermeyer, @faizsays, @lorakolodny, @julielaumann, @aohnsman, @tweet_removed, @lorakolodny, @hoon_kim, and @eshumarneedi

Kyle Bradshaw / 9to5Google:

Google rebrands Studio Bot, its AI-powered app development chatbot for Android Studio, to “Gemini in Android Studio”, and upgrades its model to Gemini 1.0 Pro

More: Android Developers Blog, WinBuzzer, PiunikaWeb, Neowin, Thurrott, SiliconANGLE, Maginative, NewsBytes, Android Central, Android Headlines, Android Developers, and The Verge. Threads: @jonkeeganstories

Earlier Picks

Paul Sawers / TechCrunch:

Vista Equity Partners acquires Model N, a public company focusing on helping health companies automate pricing and compliance decisions, for $1.25B

More: Axios, Dow Jones Newswires, Investing.com, Law360, Model N, Reuters, Tech Startups, and Pulse 2.0

Bluesky: @chirag.bsky.social. X: @vista_equity. LinkedIn: Model N

Kaya Yurieff / The Information:

TikTok expands TikTok Lite, which gives people financial incentives to watch its videos, to Spain and France, as the app's growth in Europe slows

More: TechCrunch, Gizmodo, Daily Mail, BBC, The Verge, PCMag, Mashable, Android Headlines, PhoneArena, Music Ally, and Phandroid

Mastodon: @carnage4life@mas.to. X: @kyurieff, @erinkwoo, and @kyurieff