Microsoft attempted to create some good vibes around its Xbox operations yesterday, with an online gaming showcase that included the surprise announcement — and release — of a new game.
Why it matters: The tech giant has had a stretch of glum gaming news, including layoffs, revenue decline and a drought of major new games.
Troubled chip giant Intel posted weaker than expected quarterly sales Thursday along with a financial outlook that fell well short of Wall Street expectations.
Between the lines: Intel is facing a confluence of challenges, including a slowing economy, decreased demand for PCs and internal execution challenges.
Michelle Chiu was among the roughly 950 people who were laid off from Coinbase in the firm's most recent round of cuts earlier this month. Just weeks later, Chiu tells Axios, "the stress and uneasiness" about her abruptly halted career has slipped off.
Why it matters: Chiu is one of the more than 29,000 people in crypto that have lost their jobs since April. The technology sector at-large is going through something of a reckoning, paying the price for recent over-hiring and adjusting to new economic realities.
The Department of Justice announced Thursday it has seized the computer servers and dark web sites associated with a prolific ransomware gang that's targeted U.S. hospitals, schools and other critical infrastructure.
Driving the news: Members of the Hive ransomware gang put a notice on its website earlier today claiming the DOJ, FBI, U.S. Secret Service and international law enforcement seized their sites last night.
SAP is exploring a sale of its remaining 71% stake in Qualtrics, a Utah-based maker of survey and customer experience software, as part of a broader restructuring that includes 3,000 job cuts.
Why it matters: It would be the end of a complicated partnership that began in late 2018, when SAP agreed to buy Qualtrics for $8 billion in cash. At the time, it was the largest-ever acquisition of a VC-backed enterprise software company.
Hume AI, a small New York startup, has raised $12.7 million on the premise that it's not enough for AI systems to understand the world's information — they also need to understand human reactions.
Why it matters: AI startups are all the rage, but most are focused on mimicking humans' critical thinking rather than detecting their emotions.
In reinstating former President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, Meta is also pushing Trump toward a moment of decision about the fate of his financially troubled social media app, Truth Social.
Why it matters: Trump raised hundreds of millions of dollars to create Truth Social after he got barred from many social platforms following the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol. Now he must decide between recommitting to his new company or reaping the benefits of getting back on Facebook and Instagram.
Hiring and retaining people for high-growth tech companies has become easier as economic conditions have changed, new insights from a global survey of CEOs show.
Why it matters: The findings are the latest indication that the tech sector is undergoing a massive talent reshuffling.
Meta will reinstate former President Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts "in coming weeks" following a two-year suspension, according to Nick Clegg, the company's president, global affairs.
Why it matters: The decision sets a new precedent for how the company treats world leaders, and it could change the trajectory of the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
An effort to unionize game developers at Activision-Blizzard owned game studio Proletariat Inc. in Boston has stalled, with management and organizers both facing blame.
Driving the news: On Tuesday, the Communication Workers of America, which sought to rep the studio’s workers, said the group was no longer seeking a union election with the National Labor Relations Board.
Tesla on Wednesday reported record profit and revenue for the fourth quarter but acknowledged that it must make cheaper vehicles to become a bigger automaker.
Details: The company reported net income of $3.69 billion and revenue of $24.3 billion in the fourth quarter, up 59% and 37%, respectively, from a year earlier.
Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, kept coins in a wallet with others that didn't belong there, raising the specter of company and customer assets commingling.
The big picture: In the wake of FTX's collapse, in which the commingling of assets appears to have played a role, Binance and its founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao emphasized the importance of transparency and trust.
Ford has the best assisted-driving system, based on the latest road testing by Consumer Reports, while Tesla's once industry-leading Autopilot technology fell to the middle of the pack.
Why it matters: It's likely that your next new car will come with driver-assistance technology as an option, if not standard equipment. Knowing how to use it safely is critical.
Amping up rhetoric against China, Gov. Greg Abbott and other Texas officials are threatening to bar Chinese nationals — as well as those from Iran, North Korea and Russia — from buying property in Texas.
The big picture: Suspicions about connections between the Chinese government and Chinese companies and individuals are running red hot, from Washington to state capitols across the country.
The U.S. government's latest legal assault on Big Tech asks a court to make Google sell off a chunk of its massive, phenomenally profitable digital advertising business.
Why it matters: The Department of Justice's new suit against Google, filed Tuesday, brings to a crescendo an antitrust campaign against tech's most powerful giants that has consumed both Washington and Silicon Valley for half a decade — and is likely to take just as long for courts to resolve.
