Techmeme: Sources: after shelling out billions to acquire US users, Temu is now focusing more on acquiring users in Europe and elsewhere, following TikTok's US issues (Wall Street Journal)

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May 13, 2024, 12:30 PM

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Jason Koebler / 404 Media:

Many US farmers had to halt their planting operations after a solar storm broke critical GPS and precision farming functionality in tractors and other equipment — The solar storm that brought the aurora borealis to large parts of the United States this weekend also broke critical GPS …

More: The Register, The Verge, Engadget, New York Times, The Overspill, Silicon Republic, and John Deere

X: @josephfcox, @dbeyer123, @robotbeat, @jason_koebler, @jason_koebler, @weldpond, @jason_koebler, @dancow, @ericgeller, @agarri_fr, and @tolstoybb

Forums: Hacker News, r/interstellar, r/PrepperIntel, and r/technology

Javier Espinoza / Financial Times:

Sources: the EU is set to issue new antitrust charges against Microsoft over concerns of undermining Teams competitors, despite the company offering concessions — Tech group's effort to avoid action by unbundling videoconferencing app from its other software appears to have failed

More: Fortune, Ars Technica, Thurrott, BetaNews, TechRadar, Benzinga, Computerworld, 9to5Mac, and MSPoweruser

Mastodon: @1br0wn@eupolicy.social. X: @florian4gamers. Forums: Slashdot

Akash Sriram / Reuters:

Squarespace says private equity firm Permira plans to take the company private in a ~$6.9B all-cash deal, or $44 per share, a 15.2% premium on Friday's close — Private equity firm Permira will take Squarespace (SQSP.N) private in an all-cash deal valued at about $6.9 billion …

More: Squarespace, CNBC, PYMNTS.com, Financial Times, Bloomberg, Proactive, Tech Startups, The Verge, Quartz, Benzinga, TechCrunch, and DealStreetAsia. LinkedIn: Dylan Jones

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:

Google says Project Starline, its 3D video conferencing platform first unveiled at 2021's Google I/O, will ship in 2025 with HP as a launch partner — In 2021, Google kicked off work on Project Starline, a corporate-focused teleconferencing platform that uses 3D imaging …

More: The Keyword, The Verge, 9to5Google, Android Central, Neowin, Lifewire, and WinBuzzer. Bluesky: @coachfinstock.bsky.social

Paul Alcorn / Tom's Hardware:

Top500: the Intel-powered Aurora supercomputer, not yet fully operational, came second behind the AMD-powered Frontier, but did take first in an AI benchmark — Aurora faces stability issues from hardware failures, cooling malfunctions, and operational errors.

More: TOP500, TechSpot, DatacenterDynamics, WinBuzzer, Network World, HPCwire, LUMI, Wccftech, The Register, insideHPC, Phoronix, and OC3D

X: @glennklockwood, @mobile_dom, @cscfi, @glennklockwood, @hpc_guru, @glennklockwood, @bmabey, @hpc_guru, @hpc_guru, and @simonmcs. Forums: r/hardware

Charlotte Trueman / DatacenterDynamics:

Isambard-AI, the UK's fastest supercomputer that cost £225M and ranks 128th on the Top500 list, comes online; the system will contain 5,448 Nvidia GH200 chips

More: Tom's Hardware, TNW, ExtremeTech, ComputerWeekly.com, University of Bristol, and The Stack. X: @bristoluni

Bloomberg:

The EU designates Booking as a DMA gatekeeper, saying “holidaymakers will start benefiting from more choice and hotels will have more business opportunities” — - Travel site is designated as a ‘gatekeeper’ under EU's DMA — X avoids rules for now as officials open probe into its status

More: European Commission, Euractiv, Reuters, Tech Xplore, and Travel Technology …

Bluesky: @hern.bsky.social. X: @kayjebelli, @eu_competition, @eu_commission, @adamkovac, @lewis_crofts, and @mseltzermayr

Financial Times:

How GPS warfare is causing issues for civilians; an analysis finds almost 40M people lived in areas with unreliable GPS for at least half of the past six months — Military activity blamed for surge in jamming and spoofing incidents affecting smartphones, planes and ships

More: TNW and The Quantum Insider

X: @_nickrogers_ and @snellarthur. LinkedIn: Katherine Dunn

Sudip Kar-Gupta / Reuters:

Brad Smith says Microsoft plans to invest €4B in France, mostly focused on the AI sector, and the company would set up a data center in the city of Mulhouse — Technology and software giant Microsoft (MSFT.O) will invest 4 billion euros ($4.3 billion) in France as part …

More: Microsoft, Reuters, Business Today, PYMNTS.com, Unite.AI, RCR Wireless News, DatacenterDynamics, Neowin, TechRadar, Tech Funding News, and Bloomberg. Forums: r/europe

Keith Laing / Bloomberg:

The US NHTSA opens an investigation into Amazon's Zoox after two of its automated Toyota SUVs braked unexpectedly, resulting in motorcyclists rear-ending them — - Bikers rear-ended Zoox SUVs that suddenly, unexpectedly braked — US agency estimates 500 vehicles are subject to investigation

More: The Information, The Verge, PCMag, CNBC, Associated Press, Quartz, Reuters, and Self Drive News

Nilay Patel / The Verge:

Q&A with Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen on running Adobe since 2007, new AI features, AI investments, Firefly, monetizing AI, copyright, AI misuse, PDFs, and more — The tech and the consumers both might not be quite ready yet, but he's betting big on an AI future.

More: MakeUseOf

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Intel is in advanced, exclusive talks for a deal in which Apollo Global Management would supply $11B+ to help the chip giant build a plant in Ireland — The investment firm is in exclusive talks to supply the chip giant with cash for a new plant.

More: The Register, Silicon Republic, Reuters, Bloomberg, Yahoo Finance, Barron's Online, Amwal Al Ghad, New Electronics, Benzinga, Irish Examiner, The Irish Times, Investing.com, and Channel NewsAsia

Sam Rutherford / Engadget:

Google Pixel 8a review: a 120Hz OLED display, strong battery life, excellent cameras, and great value at $499+, but slow wireless charging and thick bezels — The company didn't mess with its winning formula for the A-series, delivering another great handset for $499. — Senior Writer, Reviews

More: Ars Technica, The Verge, PCMag, ZDNet, Droid Life, Pocket-lint, and Digital Trends

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: after shelling out billions to acquire US users, Temu is now focusing more on acquiring users in Europe and elsewhere, following TikTok's US issues — App looks to reduce reliance on American shoppers as growth slows and scrutiny of TikTok grows — The bargain app Temu …

More: PYMNTS.com

New York Times:

How Elon Musk uses X to back right-wing world leaders like Argentina's Javier Milei and India's Narendra Modi, who can help secure advantages for his businesses — Minutes after it became clear that Javier Milei had been elected president of South America's second-largest nation in November …

Threads: @karaswisher, @motorcityadam, @karaswisher, @yonetteajoseph, @markjacobnews, and @lorakolodny

Bluesky: @rmac.bsky.social, @delexical.bsky.social, and @kateconger.bsky.social

X: @ryp__, @flitteronfraud, @rmac18, @rmac18, @ericgeller, @kateconger, and @markjacob16

Forums: Hacker News, r/RealTesla, r/Fuckthealtright, r/musked, and r/inthenews

The Sunday Times:

Sources: Cambridge-based Raspberry Pi is finalizing plans to float on the London Stock Exchange this month in a deal that could value the startup at up to £500M — The Cambridge business sells cheap, credit-card-sized computers and was originally set up to help get children into coding

More: The Register, Tom's Hardware, and City A.M.

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About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 12:30 PM ET, May 13, 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.

From Mediagazer

David Folkenflik / NPR:

Will Lewis repeatedly offered an exclusive interview about WaPo's future, in exchange for dropping a story on claims he helped cover up UK phone hacking scandal

Oliver Darcy / CNN:

Alex Jones agrees to liquidate his personal assets to pay Sandy Hook families under Chapter 7 bankruptcy, in a move that could end his ownership of Infowars

Brier Dudley / The Seattle Times:

Oregon's First Pamplin Media sells to a Southern newspaper chain, and EO Media, which publishes 12 titles, closes five papers and puts up the company for sale

More News

Andy Greenberg / Wired:

As crypto flows into Tornado Cash despite sanctions, a look at the trial against its co-founder, who says he cannot prevent abuse of a system beyond his control

More: Infosec Exchange, Infosec Exchange, Infosec Exchange, and CCN.com. Forums: r/CryptoCurrency

Mark Bergen / Bloomberg:

Abu Dhabi's Technology Innovation Institute releases Falcon 2 11B, an open-source LLM to compete with Llama and Gemini that supports five European languages

More: tii.ae, Reuters, and Maginative

Qianer Liu / The Information:

Sources: in recent months, China told ByteDance, Tencent, Alibaba, Baidu, and others to cut back on Nvidia purchases in favor of chips made by local companies

More: PCWorld, Silicon Valley Business …, and Benzinga

Eva Dou / Washington Post:

The US and China are set to hold their first high-level AI talks on May 14 in Geneva, as the governments seek to prevent disastrous accidents and unintended war

More: Reuters, Axios, Blockworks, Nextgov/FCW, Benzinga, Financial Times, Nikkei Asia, CoinGape, Tech Xplore, and The Decoder

Zachary Small / New York Times:

Christie's confirms eight auctions will proceed this week after a “technology security issue” on May 9 knocked its website offline, the second breach in a year

More: Cybernews.com, UPI, The Guardian, New York Times, and Bloomberg

Stuart Condie / Wall Street Journal:

An Australian judge refuses the eSafety commissioner's request to extend an order for X to hide a video of a religious leader's stabbing, without giving reasons

More: Semafor, Reclaim The Net, Associated Press, The Guardian, Reuters, Forbes, Financial Times, Benzinga, and The Verge

Arjun Kharpal / CNBC:

SoftBank reports a $4.6B gain on its Vision Fund in the fiscal year to March 2024, the first gain since 2021, after ByteDance and DoorDash rose in value

More: Financial Times, Reuters, Associated Press, Proactive, Bloomberg, Tech in Asia, RTÉ, and Benzinga

Bloomberg:

The US, the EU, and other superpowers have funneled nearly $81B towards supporting chip companies, the first wave of ~$380B earmarked by global governments

More: MIT Technology Review and International Business Times

X: @mackhawk and @scottlincicome. Forums: r/singularity

Earlier Picks

Washington Post:

A look at the growing number of startups offering AI deepfake detection services, with some claiming startling levels of accuracy despite untested capabilities

Heather Somerville / Wall Street Journal:

As VC firms pivot to investing in startups developing defense tech for the US and its allies, some of their business ties with China still linger

More: EU-Startups. X: @tomaxwell and @jchengwsj

Reuters:

Sources: Shein steps up preparations for a London listing amid regulatory hurdles for a New York IPO; a source says Shein plans to file in London as soon as May

More: CNBC, Chain Store Age, The Sunday Times, Watcher Guru, TechNode, The Guardian, Proactive, and City A.M.

Saritha Rai / Bloomberg:

A look at 01.AI, which is launching Wanzhi, a free generative AI assistant focused on the Chinese market; CEO Kai-Fu Lee says 01.AI is nearing profitability

More: Cryptopolitan and Benzinga

X: @sbeastwindy, @marikakatanuma, @01ai_yi, @saritharai, @_philschmid, and @dorialexander

Forums: Hacker News and r/LocalLLaMA

Melissa Korn / Wall Street Journal:

A look at the rise and fall of 2U, which provides online degree programs for top US universities and is currently valued at ~$30M, down from $5B+ in 2018

More: Livemint. X: @melissakorn and @jillbarshay

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:

Sources: Apple has met with Hollywood talent representatives to propose a new performance-based compensation regime, as Amazon and Netflix work on similar plans

More: The Streamable, 9to5Mac, PhoneArena, The Information, and Associated Press

Threads: @carnage4life, @carnage4life, and @lucas_shaw. Forums: r/television