Tue. 04/23 – Microsoft’s Own LLMs and Perplexity’s Big Raise

Two stories today of startups who flew high during the pandemic, but have crashed down to earth in meaningful ways. NFT trading volumes might be sinking, but developers continue to flood into the space. And does Goldman Sachs want out of the whole Apple Card partnership? Links: Johnny Boufarhat steps down as CEO of Hopin (Sifted) ‘A Nice Bike, When It Works’: Riders Fret After E-Bike Maker Goes Bust (NYTimes) IRS expects faster refunds in 2024 for people who stop using paper (Washington Post) NFT Trading Volume Is Sinking, But It’s Not Stopping Developers From Entering Web3 (Coindesk) Kenya suspends Worldcoin's crypto project over safety concerns (Reuters) Why are people lining up for Worldcoin eyeball scans? “Easy $50” (Rest of World) How the Partnership Between Apple and Goldman Sachs Soured (The Information) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3 Aug 202318min

Seems like I’ll have to be paying up for an X Blue subscription any day now. Meta releases a new AI music generator. We might actually be getting a big tech IPO in a matter of weeks. Amazon is readying an aggressive new push into groceries. And what happens when an online creator replaces themselves with an AI bot? Links: X, formerly Twitter, now lets paid users hide their checkmarks (TechCrunch) TweetDeck is now called ‘XPro’ (9to5Google) Meta’s AI music generator could be the new synthesizer — or just muzak (The Verge) SoftBank’s Arm Targets $60 Billion Value in September IPO (Bloomberg) Microsoft Teams adds spatial audio for more immersive conference calls (The Verge) Amazon Unveils Biggest Grocery Overhaul Since Buying Whole Foods (Bloomberg) One of Gaming’s Biggest YouTubers Wants to Replace Himself With AI (Wired) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2 Aug 202317min

Uber reports meaningful, not gimmicky profitability for the first time ever. Meta’s gonna give you AI chatbots with personality. Google is overhauling Assistant with AI stuff. Even Pierson is getting ahead of the whole, let AI tutor you on stuff, stuff. Nintendo is probably giving us a new console next year. And the prisoner’s dilemma that is fueling quantum computing development, but heck, let’s be honest, fueling AI development as well. Links: Uber Delivers First-Ever Operating Profit in Drive to Curb Losses (WSJ) Meta prepares chatbots with personas to try to retain users (FT) Scoop: Google Assistant to get an AI makeover (Axios) Amazon wants Alexa to bring AI into the home (Axios) Pearson Offers New AI Study Tools in Time for Back-to-School (Bloomberg) Sources: Nintendo targets 2024 with next-gen console (VCG) Quantum Tech Will Transform National Security. It’s Testing U.S. Alliances Now. (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1 Aug 202317min

Brian Armstrong strongly hints that US regulators believe only Bitcoin is legal. A deep dive into what we can expect from this year’s iPhones. Is the US crackdown on tech to China having a real impact? And the artist that tried to take his art out of Stable Diffusion, only to have the community pull him back in. Sponsors: TryNom.com/ride CalderaLab.com code ride for 20% off Links: SEC asked Coinbase to halt trading in everything except bitcoin, CEO says (FT) The iPhone 15 Pro Will Have Thinner Bezels in Step Toward Apple’s Dream (Bloomberg) U.S. Hunts Chinese Malware That Could Disrupt American Military Operations (NYTimes) China’s Tech Distress Grows as U.S. Chip Sanctions Bite (WSJ) An Internet Veteran’s Guide to Not Being Scared of Technology (NYTimes) Greg Rutkowski Was Removed From Stable Diffusion, But AI Artists Brought Him Back (Decrypt) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

31 Jul 202317min

The whole Threads saga has been a whirlwind. At the beginning of the month I asked if Threads had already won. At the end of the month, I’m wondering if the clock is ticking in terms of their chances of survival. Generative AI but for robots. Again. Real robots. Are VCs pulling back from the crypto space? And, of course, the Weekend Longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Nutrafol.com/men code ridehome Crashplan.com code techmeme Links: Meta plans retention 'hooks' for Threads as more than half of users leave app (Reuters) Aided by A.I. Language Models, Google’s Robots Are Getting Smart (NYTimes) App Store to require developers to describe why their apps use certain APIs (9to5Mac) Sequoia Capital Slashes Crypto Fund as It Downsizes Amid Startup Crunch (WSJ) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Large language models, explained with a minimum of math and jargon (UnderstandingAI.org) The making of ‘Acquired,’ the No. 1 tech podcast sensation (Fast Company) Internet cafes introduced Uganda to the internet (Rest of World) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

28 Jul 202316min

Meta’s earnings say, hey, let’s just forget the last two years even happened. Is the next iPhone about to get an “action” button? What does it mean if Waymo is basically hitting pause on self driving trucks? Checking in on SBF. And a super fast new version of 5G. Sponsors: Crashplan.com code techmeme Links: Meta’s Improved Ad Sales Buy Time for Zuckerberg’s Metaverse (Bloomberg) Microsoft Faces European Antitrust Investigation Over Bundling of Teams Software (WSJ) iPhone 15 Pro Action Button Options Potentially Revealed in iOS 17 Code: Flashlight, Shortcuts, Voice Memos, and More (MacRumors) Alphabet’s Waymo Self-Driving Unit Slows Autonomous Trucking (Bloomberg) Sony has sold 40 million PS5s (The Verge) Prosecutors want Sam Bankman-Fried sent to jail after witness-tampering allegations. Judge issues gag order (CNN) T-Mobile says its ultrafast 5G capable of up to 3.3Gbps is rolling out now (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

27 Jul 202316min

All the headlines from the big Galaxy Unpacked event today. This was the foldable event, but there were interesting watch announces too. Quick earnings roundup. Threads gets a follower tab. And the group that wants to battle Apple and Google in maps dominance has released their first product. Sponsors: Crashplan.com code techmeme Mindbloom.com/techmeme and promocode techmeme Links: The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 gets a big little screen upgrade (The Verge) Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 hands-on: Is Samsung squandering its head start? (Engadget) The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 series is all about the bezels (The Verge) Meta’s Threads app is rolling out a Following feed (TechCrunch) OpenAI Quietly Shuts Down Its AI Detection Tool (Decrypt) Meta, Microsoft and Amazon team up on maps project to crack Apple-Google duopoly (CNBC) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

26 Jul 202316min

Big potential vulnerability in AMD chips. Fallout from the whole X re-branding continues. Now TikTok is cloning Twitter. The Arc Browser is now available for anyone to try out. And if you think Elon likes to have his hand in a lot of pies, a look at the increasing, and increasingly ambitious portfolio of Sam Altman-related companies. Links: AMD 'Zenbleed' Bug Leaks Data From Ryzen, EPYC CPUs: Most Patches Coming Q4 (Updated) (TomsHardware) Musk Explains Why He’s Axing Twitter Name, Iconic Bird Logo (Bloomberg) TikTok is adding support for text posts (TechCrunch) The excellent Arc browser is now available for anyone to download (The Verge) Spotify now has 220 million paying subscribers (The Verge) Sam Altman’s vision for AI puts him on collision course with regulators (Financial Times) Sam Altman explains why he’s helping to take nuclear microreactor company Oklo public via SPAC (CNBC) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

25 Jul 202318min