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🐦 Elon Musk's Twitter Takeover: The Untold Drama
Today: OpenAI's AI coach for lesson planning | Behind the scenes: Elon's Twitter acquisition | Microsoft decouples Teams
Kristoffer Lindström
September 01, 2023
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Today is Friday, September 1. Let's wrap up this week in style by diving into the exciting world of tech! Here are today's top headlines:
Microsoft Decouples Teams from Office in EU Amid Antitrust Probe
Elon Musk Teases Audio and Video Calls on X: What's Next?
OpenAI Unveils Groundbreaking AI Coach for Tailored Lesson Planning
Meta's New Privacy Setting: Opt-Out of AI Data Use, But There's a Catch
EU Regulators Poised to Nix Booking's €1.63bn Etraveli Deal
Elon Musk's Twitter Takeover: The Untold Drama
and more...
READ TIME: 6.5 MINUTES
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Tech Companies
Microsoft is set to unbundle its Teams software from Microsoft 365 and Office 365 in European markets starting in October. This strategic move aims to mitigate antitrust concerns raised by the European Commission. The change will affect enterprise customers, offering them lower-priced Microsoft 365 subscriptions without Teams.
💡 Why does this matter?
The unbundling could reshape the competitive landscape for workplace communication tools. Microsoft's bundling strategy has been a key tactic in competing against rivals like Slack by offering Teams as a 'free add-on' to their Office suite. The change could open doors for competitors and affect Microsoft's market share in Europe.
Meta is testing a feature to increase engagement on Threads by displaying a carousel of suggested Threads posts within the Instagram app.
💡 Why does this matter?
This appears to be a long-planned strategy by Meta to bolster Threads through Instagram's user base. The effectiveness of this growth channel could likely determine Threads' long-term success. However, given the inherent differences between text-based Threads and image-centric Instagram, it's uncertain whether the strategy will resonate with users.
Elon Musk announces upcoming audio and video call features for X, compatible across multiple platforms. No launch date has been specified.
Nvidia's recent earnings report reveals a 101% year-over-year quarterly revenue increase, driving its stock price to more than triple since January. While this growth has positively impacted TSMC, other chipmakers haven't seen a similar lift.
Shopify's stock jumped 9% after announcing a deal with Amazon to offer the 'Buy with Prime' service to its U.S.-based merchants. Amazon's stock also rose by 2%.
💡 Why does this matter?
This partnership could be a game-changer for e-commerce, offering Shopify merchants access to Amazon's massive customer base and fast delivery options. It's a win-win that could drive significant revenue for both companies.
Volition, the studio behind Saints Row, is permanently closing due to parent company Embracer Group's restructuring program. The decision follows a failed $2 billion investment deal.
AI Corner
Meta has released FACET, a dataset designed to evaluate the fairness of AI models in computer vision. Comprising 32,000 images labeled by human annotators, FACET aims to help researchers understand and mitigate biases in their AI models. The dataset covers various demographic and physical attributes and is more comprehensive than previous benchmarks.
💡 Why does this matter?
FACET could be a significant step toward making AI models more equitable. As AI continues to influence decision-making in various sectors, understanding and mitigating biases is crucial for ethical implementation.
OpenAI has launched a new AI-based instructional coaching platform designed to assist teachers in crafting customized lesson plans. The system first consults with teachers about the topic, grade level, and existing student knowledge before generating a lesson plan that incorporates various teaching techniques.
Meta has introduced a new privacy setting allowing users to request that their data not be used for training AI models. However, the feature only applies to third-party data and is buried deep within Facebook's Help Center.
💡 Why does this matter?
While appearing to be a step toward user privacy, the new setting's limitations raise questions about its effectiveness. The feature could be particularly relevant for users in countries with specific data protection laws, but less so for those in less regulated regions.
ByteDance and Baidu have received regulatory approval to publicly launch their AI chatbots, Doubao and Ernie, in China. The move aims to boost their business models and ad revenue.
Markets & Money
Dell Technologies reported better-than-expected Q2 sales, exceeding analysts' average projections with a revenue of $22.9 billion. The company also raised its full-year sales forecast to between $89.5 billion and $91.5 billion. Dell's partnership with Nvidia on AI-focused servers is cited as a "long-term tailwind."
💡 Why does this matter?
Dell's strong performance could signal a broader recovery in the corporate tech market. The company's focus on AI and data center hardware may offer new avenues for growth.
Summary: Klarna reported a profitable Q2 with a 14% increase in gross merchandise volume to $21.8 billion. Revenue also grew 17% to $502.2 million.
EU regulators are likely to block Booking Holding's €1.63 billion acquisition of Sweden's Etraveli Group, citing concerns over market competition. The decision contradicts the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, which approved the deal last year. The EU fears the acquisition would strengthen Booking's market position, limit choices, and raise barriers for rivals.
💡 Why does this matter?
The EU's potential veto could set a precedent for future tech acquisitions, affecting investors and companies in the online travel sector. It also highlights the EU's increasing scrutiny of market competition. Regulators continue to crack down on larger tech M&A. Long-term, this will have a significant effect on the startup environment as potential M&A exits become less likely. Companies may shift strategies and opt for earlier IPOs instead.
Insights & Analysis
In an excerpt from Walter Isaacson's new biography on Elon Musk, the tech mogul's acquisition of Twitter is detailed as a rollercoaster of strategic moves and emotional swings. Musk saw Twitter as a platform to implement his original vision for X.com and to combat what he calls the "woke mind virus." The acquisition was fraught with legal battles and last-minute maneuvers, including firing Twitter's top executives just before their stock options could vest.
💡 What can we learn from this?
Elon Musk's Twitter acquisition serves as a case study in corporate strategy and the complexities of tech mergers. It highlights the importance of due diligence, the volatility of leadership in tech companies, and the potential for social media platforms to be pivoted for new visions.
Apps & Gadgets
YouTube Music unveils a Now Playing redesign on Android and iOS, introducing a comments section and updated controls.
WhatsApp is working on a significant redesign for its Android app, featuring updated Material Design 3 UI elements and a modernized appearance. The new design will include chat filters at the top for easier conversation management and is currently in the beta testing phase.
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