Techmeme
February 4, 2025, 8:55 AM

Top News

Wired:
Sources: Marko Elez, a 25-year-old Elon Musk-linked engineer, has admin privileges over Treasury Department code that controls Social Security payments and more  —  The Bureau of the Fiscal Service is a sleepy part of the Treasury Department.  It's also where, sources say …
Elizabeth Lopatto / The Verge:
Evan Weinberger / Bloomberg Law:
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent orders the CFPB to stop activities, like rulemaking, communications, and litigation; in November, Musk said to “delete CFPB”  —  Search by Topic  —  Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has shut down a wide variety of operations inside …
Makena Kelly / Wired:
Sources: Thomas Shedd, GSA's new Technology Transformation Services director and Elon Musk ally, told GSA workers the agency will pursue an “AI-first strategy”  —  Sources say the former Tesla engineer now in charge of the Technology Transformation Services wants an agency that operates like a “startup software company.”
Caleb Ecarma / Musk Watch:
An OPM staffer believes that a server Elon Musk's associates installed, with access to federal staff info like SSNs, has not had a Privacy Impact Assessment  —  Several of Elon Musk's associates installed at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) have received unprecedented access …
Bloomberg:
Donald Trump signs an executive action to direct officials to create a US sovereign wealth fund and says that it could be used to facilitate a sale of TikTok US  —  - Fund could be used as US facilitates TikTok sale, Lutnick says  — Bessent says fund will be created in the next 12 months
Ethan Mollick / One Useful Thing:
Josh Xiao / Bloomberg:
China's State Administration for Market Regulation says it will probe Google for antitrust violations, moments after Trump announced tariffs on Chinese goods  —  China announced an investigation into Google and imposed new tariffs on a range of US products moments after President Donald Trump slapped …
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Meta defines the types of AI systems that it deems too risky to release, including ones capable of aiding in cybersecurity, chemical, and biological attacks  —  Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has pledged to make artificial general intelligence (AGI) — which is roughly defined as AI that can accomplish …
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Toronto-based programmatic ad startup StackAdapt raised $235M led by Teachers' Venture Growth, after raising $300M from Summit Partners in 2022  —  While the U.S. and Canada duke it out over tariffs between the two countries, a tech company based out of Toronto is announcing a major round of funding led by a homegrown VC.
Anne Steele / Wall Street Journal:
Spotify reports Q4 revenue up 16% YoY to €4.2B, MAUs up 12% YoY to 675M, subscribers up 11% YoY to 263M, and €1.14B in 2024 net income, vs. a €532M loss in 2023  —  Price increases, cost discipline help audio-streaming giant pivot from heavy spending on growth to sustained profits

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More News

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Ben Bergman / Business Insider:

Earlier Picks

Bloomberg:
Cristina Criddle / Financial Times:
Umar Shakir / The Verge:
Andrew Orr / AppleInsider:
Samantha Subin / CNBC:
CBC News:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch: