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January 14, 2025, 7:20 PM
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Top News

Nicola M White / Bloomberg:
Filing: the SEC sues Elon Musk, claiming he failed to timely disclose a major purchase of Twitter shares ahead of his takeover of the social media platform  —  (Adds details on Twitter share purchase from second paragraph.)
Riley Griffin / Bloomberg:
Internal memo: Meta is cutting roughly 5% of its staff through performance-based terminations and plans to hire new people to fill their roles this year  —  Meta Platforms Inc. is planning to cut about 5% of its lowest performers with the intent of backfilling their roles this year, according to an internal memo sent to employees.
Ryan Browne / CNBC:
The UK CMA opens an investigation into whether Google has “strategic market status” in search and how it impacts consumers, advertisers, publishers, and rivals  —  LONDON — Britain's competition watchdog on Tuesday said that it's opening a formal antitrust investigation into Google's search and search advertising services.
Justine Calma / The Verge:
Biden signs an EO that directs the DOD and DOE to lease land to companies building gigawatt-scale AI data centers and clean power facilities, and more  —  President Biden issued an executive order today aimed at speeding the development of AI data centers in the US.
Bloomberg:
The Biden admin finalizes a rule banning the import or sale of connected vehicles with hardware or software that have a “sufficient nexus” to China or Russia
Kylie Robison / The Verge:
OpenAI launches Tasks, rolling out in beta to ChatGPT Plus, Team, and Pro subscribers, to let users schedule reminders, with up to ten active at any given time  —  OpenAI is launching a new beta feature in ChatGPT called Tasks that lets users schedule future actions and reminders.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Decentralized Instagram alternative Pixelfed debuts iOS and Android apps; its Android app is the top Social app on Google Play in some markets, including the US  —  Pixelfed, a decentralized alternative to Instagram, has launched its official mobile apps.  The service today runs …
Carly Page / TechCrunch:
The US says the FBI hacked ~4.2K devices in the US to delete PlugX, malware used by China-backed hackers since 2014, after obtaining warrants in August 2024  —  U.S. authorities have confirmed that they disrupted the operations of a Chinese state-backing hacking group, which infiltrated millions …
Elliptic:
Huione Guarantee, a Telegram marketplace that facilitates “pig butchering” and other scams, recently launched several crypto products, including a stablecoin  —  - Huione Guarantee is a Telegram-based marketplace serving fraudsters in South East Asia, including those responsible for so-called “pig butchering” scams.
Dan Primack / Axios:
Intel Capital plans to split off from its parent into a standalone fund with a new name in H2 2025; Intel Capital has invested $20B+ into over 1,800 companies  —  - It was founded in 1991, and has invested more than $20 billion into over 1,800 companies.
Financial Times:
Amazon's AGI team lead Rohit Prasad says Alexa will relaunch as an AI agent, as Amazon works to address the challenges that have dogged the system's AI overhaul  —  Rollout of upgraded voice assistant hit by delays as Big Tech group toils to overcome technical hurdles
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
The US, Japan, and South Korea say North Korean-backed hackers stole $659M+ in crypto heists in 2024, were behind the $235M WazirX hack in July, and more  —  North Korean-backed hackers stole at least $659 million through multiple cryptocurrency heists in 2024, while also deploying IT workers …
Financial Times:
Sources: the EU is reviewing its DMA probes into US tech giants from March 2024, as US groups urge Trump to intervene; the EU says “there is no such review”  —  Tech groups have urged Donald Trump to intervene against overzealous European regulation
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / TechCrunch:
Sources and business records detail how Barcelona has emerged as an unlikely hub for spyware companies, raising concerns from digital rights groups  —  Toward the end of 2023, an Israeli security researcher from Tel Aviv said that he was approached on LinkedIn with an opportunity to work abroad with “good pay.”
Reece Rogers / Wired:
How Cleo AI and Bright, personalized AI chatbots offering financial advice, often function as a way to sell high-interest loans and cash advances to young users  —  AI finance apps are reaching Gen Z and millennial users with personalized chatbots that offer money advice—and upsell them big-time.
Josh Russell / Courthouse News Service:
In federal court, lawyers for Microsoft and OpenAI defended the scraping of news stories to train LLMs and urged the dismissal of news outlets' copyright claims  —  A coalition of news organizations led by The New York Times claim the exploitation of their online news stories …

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This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 7:20 PM ET, January 14, 2025.

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.

From Mediagazer

Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
Morning Brew co-founder Austin Rief steps down as CEO, replaced by COO Robert Dippell; the company is on pace to generate $70M+ in revenue in 2025

Julie Pace / The Associated Press:
The AP says it was blocked from a White House event after the WH threatened to bar the organization if it did not adopt Trump's renaming of the Gulf of Mexico

John Ourand / Puck:
Sources: ESPN and the NFL are in renewed negotiations and have discussed a deal that would have ESPN take control of NFL Network and NFL RedZone

More News

Hannah Miller / Bloomberg:
DirecTV launches MySports, a sports streamer featuring games from NFL and other major leagues, and access to 40 channels, in 24 US metro areas for $70/month

Earlier Picks

Niket Nishant / Reuters:
Zurich- and Singapore-based Sygnum, a crypto-focused bank and trading platform for institutional users, raised $58M led by Fulgur Ventures at a $1B valuation
Cheng Ting-Fang / Nikkei Asia:
Sources: Apple is in the final stage of verifying its first cutting-edge chips from TSMC's Arizona plant, with the first batch expected as early as this quarter
Richard Nieva / Forbes:
Free Our Feeds, backed by Jimmy Wales and others, aims to raise $30M by 2028 to billionaire-proof the AT Protocol by making it easier for Bluesky users to leave
Financial Times:
The Biden admin unveils a new chip export rule that gives 18 key allies full AI chips access while requiring licenses from most other countries, including China
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