Google was involved in the creation of two notable video games in the spotlight this month, before the downsizing of its Stadia gaming operation sent those projects elsewhere, two sources familiar with their development tell Axios.
Why it matters: The games’ Google connections help fill out a picture of what Stadia could have offered, if Google hadn’t abandoned its ambitions in 2021 to create a gaming platform to rival PlayStation and Xbox.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday it has reached a new agreement with AT&T and Verizon on deploying 5G signals around airports that should prevent a repeat of the stand-off over interference that threatened flights earlier this year.
Why it matters: Airline CEOs previously warned of catastrophic disruptions to flights, prompting AT&T and Verizon to agree in January to limit 5G deployments near airports until next month.
Since the bear market in crypto set in in early May, users have been redeeming the stablecoin tether (USDT) for dollars at a high rate.
Why it matters: The dollar-backed tether has been the liquidity lubricant that has made crypto markets work. It's the main partner in trading pairs with cryptocurrencies on exchanges all over the world.
If something is financial and in crypto,does that mean it counts as "decentralized finance," or "DeFi"? Short answer: No.
Why it matters: The question is more salient right now, with crypto lender Celsius Network locking up users' deposits as questions swirl about its solvency, drawing interest from several state regulators.
A glut of major tech policy bills await action as Congress' summer recess looms — and anything that doesn't pass by then is unlikely to pass at all in a midterm election season.
What's happening: The ambitious tech agenda this Congress started out with 18 months ago is getting squeezed out by other legislative priorities, including gun control, the Jan. 6 investigation, and the economy.
Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson was paid $19.9 million in the 12 months ending March 31, 2022, down from $39.2 million, according to a new company filing.
Why it matters: Wilson’s pay for the year prior was subject to a rare but nonbinding “no” vote from shareholders last June, who took issue with EA’s executive bonuses.
Outside experts tapped by Activision to investigate allegations of misconduct at the company found no evidence of systemic problems or board cover-ups, the games publisher said this morning in a letter from its board of directors.
Why it matters: The game-maker is playing defense, offering its take on allegations that have shaken the company, its workers and the games community since the filing of a discrimination lawsuit by the state of California last summer.
Circle Internet Financial, the issuer behind the second-largest stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, is aiming for stablecoin dominance with a second offering — one pegged to the euro.
Why it matters: Circle's USDC dollar coin has a near $60 billion market capitalization and is rapidly closing in on Tether's USDT. Now, Circle is launching Euro Coin (EUROC), which like USDC, will be backed by full reserves, the firm said.
Elon Musk met with Twitter employees Thursday for the first time since he started his effort to acquire the company.
What's happening: Musk told a company town hall meeting that he wants to make the platform a haven for free speech, open-source the algorithm that determines what posts users see and use China's WeChat as a model for how Twitter could move to the center of users' lives.
The Golden State Warriors are now one game away from capturing the NBA championship — but to get there, they've been making adjustments all the way through the playoffs, with a major assist from a massive database.
Why it matters: While pro teams are increasingly relying on technology to improve their performance, coming up with specific insights from a sea of data remains a challenge.
Snapchat is launching a new feature that allows users to reply directly to creators' videos in Spotlight — its TikTok-like video feed — as a way of commenting on videos, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Commenting has become one of the most requested features on Spotlight since Snapchat launched the product in November 2020. Competitive video features, like TikTok and Instagram Reels, have comments.
Facebook plans to reorient its news feed yet again, this time to emphasize short video content that's popular across the entire platform, according to a leaked April memo first reported by the Verge Wednesday.
Why it matters: This is hardly Facebook's first pivot and won't be its last — but the change shows just how seriously Meta, its parent company, is taking the success of TikTok, which uses a similar approach.
