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February 19, 2025, 8:55 AM
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| Brody Ford / Bloomberg: |
HP plans to acquire assets from Humane for $116M; Humane's Ai Pin business will be wound down, and Humane's team, including its founders, will join HP — - Humane's Ai pin business to be wound down after rocky launch — New unit at HP will focus on implementation of AI in devices
More: The Verge, Humane, AppleInsider, New York Times, Forbes, HP, Spyglass, TechCrunch, en.ain.ua, Verdict, TechIssuesToday.com, TechRadar, Android Authority, Tom's Guide, Beebom, Benzinga, The Information, Android Police, CNET, Digital Trends, Android Headlines, Neowin, Liliputing, SiliconANGLE, PCMag, Patently Apple, 9to5Mac, and Axios
Bluesky: @theopriestley.com, @techsocial, @quillmatiq.com, @wandrme.paxex.aero, @parkscopejoe, @edzitron.com, @quinnypig.com, @daniloc.xyz, @dub, and @caseynewton
Threads: @vishwanathsarangkeller, @joannastern, @benedictevans, @documentingmeta, @carnage4life, @young.mete, @young.mete, @eshumarneedi, @tomgara, and @tomgara
X: @aallan, @basicappleguy, @linusekenstam, @raywongy, @michaelmacleod1, @bearlyai, @scobleizer, @markgurman, @gergelyorosz, @maxwinebach, @charliemelbye, @mkbhd, @zck, @nearcyan, @sdw, @sammdec, @gartenberg, @ettinger, @chrisjbakke, @hemeon, @counternotions, @humane, @cohensite, @gonzalo__nunez, @aviel, @rjonesy, @gergelyorosz, @growing_daniel, @willahmed, @mkbhd, @mycoliza, @kateclarktweets, @burnedlead, @mikeisaac, @brianroemmele, @kyliebytes, @gergelyorosz, @trungtphan, @sdw, @thdxr, @jnnnthnn, @pitdesi, @neilcybart, and @gergelyorosz
Forums: r/hardware, r/LinusTechTips, r/Android, r/gadgets, r/technology, and r/apple
| Aaron Souppouris / Engadget: |
Humane says Ai Pin's online features will stop working on February 28, when all customer data will be deleted, and it will refund some customers — Humane is discontinuing the AI Pin and selling out to HP. — AI hardware startup Humane has given its users just ten (10!) days notice that their Pins will be disconnected.| VentureBeat: |
Sources: Chinese game publisher NetEase has been directed to divest its overseas holdings, starting with hit game Marvel Rivals, which laid off its Seattle team — Chinese game publisher NetEase raised fears with recent moves that it is unloading as much as all of its overseas holdings …
More: PC Gamer, Engadget, VentureBeat, The Verge, GamesIndustry.biz, Kotaku, IGN, en.ain.ua, TrueAchievements, Gameranx, Cryptopolitan, Neowin, TechRadar, Pure Xbox, Metro.co.uk, Dexerto, Pandaily, Wccftech, VideoGamer, Push Square, Eurogamer.net, Dot Esports, Beebom, 80 Level, GamingOnLinux, GeekWire, and Eurogamer.net
X: @stephentotilo, @zhugeex, @marvelrivals, @gigawattconduit, @lordbalvin, @slashlp89, @hh_varuna, @1exi, @alecrobbins, @coopercooperco, @neferpitoup, @ianrile42523693, @directfeedgames, @lordbalvin, @jakesucky, @wario64, @rivalsassembled, @knoebelbroet, and @bellulargaming
LinkedIn: Thaddeus Sasser and Jack Burrows
| Andy Greenberg / Wired: |
Signal updates its apps to add phishing protections after Google warned Russia-linked hackers are using fake QR codes to target Ukrainian soldiers — Google warns that hackers tied to Russia are tricking Ukrainian soldiers with fake QR codes for Signal group invites that let spies steal their messages.| Bloomberg: |
Sources: Niantic is in talks to sell its games unit to Saudi Arabia-controlled Scopely for ~$3.5B; the deal would include Pokémon Go and other mobile games — A deal could be announced in coming weeks. The price being discussed is about $3.5 billion, according to one of the people.
More: Game Developer, Neowin, Ghacks, Destructoid, Dot Esports, Metro.co.uk, PocketGamer.biz, en.ain.ua, IGN, Video Games Chronicle, My Nintendo News, TheGamer, Dexerto, MIXED Reality News, Comic Book, TechCrunch, Eurogamer.net, Polygon, Mobilegamer.biz, and GoNintendo
Mastodon: @steveriggins@mastodon.social. X: @wario64 and @ballmatthew. LinkedIn: Cecilia D'Anastasio
Forums: r/PikminBloomApp, r/Ingress, r/gaming, r/nintendo, r/pokemongo, and r/TheSilphRoad
| Danny Nelson / CoinDesk: |
Source: in text messages, Libra co-creator Hayden Davis bragged he could “control” Argentine President Javier Milei due to payments to Milei's sister — A key player behind the Libra token bragged about buying access to Argentine President Javier Milei's inner circle months …
More: The Block, Protos, Bloomberg, Coinpedia Fintech News, CryptoSlate, and Inside Bitcoins
X: @bykatherineross, @marchochstein, @beaniemaxi, @tier10k, @chilearmy123, @realdannynelson, @skesslr, and @tier10k. Forums: Hacker News
| Olga Kharif / Bloomberg: |
More: Wired, Blockchain News, Coinpedia Fintech News, CoinGape, Yahoo Finance, CoinDesk, The Crypto Times, Decrypt, and Inside Bitcoins
X: @davidrkadler, @divine_economy, @harikunzru, @trading_axe, @asslatam, @0xpepo, and @julian__fahrer. Forums: r/CryptoCurrency
| Ina Fried / Axios: |
Former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati announces Thinking Machines Lab, a new AI startup that she's leading, with Barret Zoph as CTO and John Schulman as chief scientist — - “Instead of focusing solely on making fully autonomous AI systems, we are excited to build multimodal systems that work …
More: Thinking Machines Lab, The Verge, TechCrunch, Reuters, VentureBeat, The Times, Wired, Reuters, Maginative, Silicon Republic, Bloomberg, WinBuzzer, Verdict, Analytics India Magazine, Inc42 Media, The Rundown AI, Neowin, Livemint, Unite.AI, Business Today, The Indian Express, YourStory.com, Benzinga, Hindustan Times, PYMNTS.com, Android Headlines, eWeek, SiliconANGLE, and TechCrunch
Mastodon: @carnage4life@mas.to. X: @miramurati, @thinkymachines, @karpathy, @dchaplot, @katie_roof, @kateclarktweets, @erikbryn, @kimmonismus, @jacobsteinhardt, @luke_metz, @lilianweng, @stochasticchasm, @chipro, @sschoenholz, @chrszegedy, @nearcyan, @kipperrii, @shiringhaffary, @_alex_kirillov_, @nim_chimpsky_, @erinkwoo, @jonlachman, and @johnschulman2
| Samantha Subin / CNBC: |
Intel shares closed up 16.1% following a February 15 report that both Broadcom and TSMC are potentially weighing deals that could break the chipmaker in two — Intel shares rallied 16.1% on Tuesday following a Wall Street Journal report that both Broadcom and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing … | Bloomberg: |
More: Tech Monitor, Financial Times, Reuters, CTech, The Irish Times, TrendForce News, and SiliconANGLE
| Katie Roof / Bloomberg: |
Sources: X is in talks to raise funds at a $44B valuation, matching the price Elon Musk paid for Twitter in 2022, as his proximity to Trump alters X's prospects — - Valuation is the same as Musk's 2022 Twitter acquisition — Billionaire has recently tapped private markets for big sums| Emilia David / VentureBeat: |
OpenAI researchers, using the SWE-Lancer benchmark, find that real-world freelance software engineering work remains challenging for frontier language models — Large language models (LLMs) may have changed software development, but enterprises will need to think twice about entirely replacing …
More: OpenAI, arXiv, Maginative, and Analytics India Magazine
X: @openai, @openai, @tejalpatwardhan, @paul_cal, @charliermarsh, @btibor91, @kylevasulka, @tmychow, @nearcyan, @andreyfradkin, @nickadobos, @jakub__kraus, and @evanon0ping
Forums: r/singularity and r/accelerate
| Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch: |
French privacy startup Murena unveils the €539 Murena Pixel Tablet, running its open-source, forked /e/OS, after releasing a “deGoogled” smartphone in 2023 — Murena, the French privacy firm that's forked Android to deliver so-called deGoogled smartphones, has repeated the trick with a tablet.| Bloomberg: |
Some US ByteDance investors argue that they don't need US TikTok for success, as China, which accounts for 80% of ByteDance's revenue, is the real driving force — Some American ByteDance investors say they don't need US TikTok for success — As TikTok fights to keep its popular video app available … | Sarah Perez / TechCrunch: |
Google Play Books for iOS now lets users complete their e-book or audiobook purchase on the Google Play website, under Apple's “reader apps” exception — Google has gained permission to sell its e-books and audiobooks directly to customers through its iOS app, Google Play Books.
More: The Keyword, MacRumors, Neowin, Gizchina.com, Android Police, and BetaNews
| Reuters: |
President Trump says tariffs on semiconductors would start at “25% or higher” and that he planned to provide some time for chip makers to set up US factories — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he intends to impose auto tariffs “in the neighborhood of 25%” …
More: Engadget, Tom's Hardware, Yahoo Finance, Daily Mail, PC Gamer, CNBC, Raw Story, Bloomberg, MarketWatch, The Rio Times, EV, Benzinga, CNN, Financial Times, CBS News, and The Guardian
| Kevin Purdy / Ars Technica: |
Asus ROG Flow Z13 review: the ~$2,300 convertible tablet's integrated GPU in its AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 chip offers performance comparable to a GeForce RTX 4060 — Looking at this thing, you might expect to see it propped up at an airport bar, in front of somebody talking into wireless headphones about Tim in Product.
More: Dave2D on YouTube, Just Josh on YouTube, ASUS, The Verge, G Style Magazine, TechEBlog, HotHardware, and PC Gamer
X: @aschilling and @asus_rog
Forums: r/GamingLaptops, r/ASUSROG, r/FlowZ13, r/LocalLLaMA, r/hardware, r/hardware, r/LocalLLaMA, and Ars OpenForum
| Bloomberg: |
Internal documents, emails, and federal data suggest Indian IT giant TCS has used L-1A manager visas in ways that raise concerns about undercutting US workers — New data show how TCS makes heavy use of employment visas reserved for managers. Ex-staffers say it was to get around H-1B rules.| Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch: |
Augury, which uses AI to detect malfunctions in factory machines, raised a $72.5M Series F, potentially rising to ~$100M, led by Lightrock at a $1B+ valuation — As companies like Nvidia and SoftBank make industrial robotics into a key focus for future R&D, a startup has raised funding today …
More: Globes Online, Global Corporate Venturing, and Augury Inc.
| Chainalysis: |
In 2024, sanctioned jurisdictions and entities received $15.8B in crypto, or ~39% of all illicit crypto transactions; Tornado Cash inflows jumped 108% from 2023 — In 2024, sanctions shifted in both scope and strategy, reflecting a broader evolution in illicit on-chain activity in response to increasing geopolitical tension.| Cheng Ting-Fang / Nikkei Asia: |
Taiwan's ASE Technology, the world's largest chip packaging and testing firm, opens a new plant in Penang, Malaysia, as part of its biggest overseas expansion — PENANG, Malaysia — ASE Technology Holding on Tuesday opened what is set to become its largest overseas operations in Penang …
More: Nikkei Asia, ASE, DigiTimes, Taipei Times, DigiTimes, and Focus Taiwan
| Ian King / Bloomberg: |
Analog Devices, one of the largest analog chip makers, increases its stock buyback program by $10B to $11.5B; sales dropped 23% in 2024 as chip demand slows — The buyback plans will bring the total size of the program to $11.5 billion, the company said in a statement Tuesday.
More: Investor's Business Daily and Analog Devices
| Lauren Thomas / Wall Street Journal: |
Shift4 agrees a $1.5B deal to buy Swiss tax-free shopping services provider Global Blue Group; Shift4 handles $250B in annual payments from 200K+ companies — Global Blue helps retailers including Nike and Prada with tax-free transactions — Shift4 Payments has struck a deal for Global Blue Group …
More: FinTech Futures, Finextra, Global Blue, and Silicon Canals
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