Axios

Apple CEO Tim Cook for the first time since the pandemic traveled to China this weekend, where he touted the company's strong relationship with the country at a business conference organized by the Chinese government.

Why it matters: Cook’s trip, which came just days after a bipartisan group of lawmakers grilled TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew on Capitol Hill, demonstrates the thin line tech executives must straddle between currying favor with their home countries and the foreign markets they rely on.

Microsoft is enlisting ChatGPT to join the front lines of the security world.

Driving the news: The tech giant unveiled its first generative AI cybersecurity tool today during the virtual Microsoft Secure event.

Researchers have identified a new state-backed hacking group in North Korea: APT43.

Driving the news: Mandiant, a threat intelligence firm owned by Google, said in a report today that APT43 has been engaging in espionage campaigns to support the North Korean regime.

Alibaba, the Chinese tech giant with a $228 billion market cap, said it will split into six businesses that will be able to pursue independent fundraising and IPOs.

Why it matters: This is Big Tech breaking itself up amid increased regulation and competition.

As some states try to regulate children's social media use and TikTok emerges as a geopolitical chew toy, a new clearinghouse has emerged for mediating between tech companies and those concerned about their products' impact on kids: the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Why it matters: Young people live their lives on social media, and it's not going away — so parents and pediatricians need to learn to recognize when it becomes a problem, says pediatrician Michael Rich, the lab's founder.

Twitter CEO Elon Musk announced Monday evening that only tweets by verified users will show up in the platform's default main feed of "For You" recommendations starting April 15.

Driving the news: Musk tweeted that the move "is the only realistic way to address advanced AI bot swarms taking over and that voting in polls "will require verification for same reason."

Ubisoft’s new artificial intelligence tool Ghostwriter is designed to help the company’s writers, not put them out of work, one of its creators, Ubisoft research scientist Ben Swanson, tells Axios.

Why it matters: Ghostwriter was one of the highest-profile AI announcements at last week’s Game Developers Conference.

Early Amazon executive David Risher is taking over as CEO of Lyft as the company's co-founders take a step back from day-to-day operations.

Why it matters: The ride-share company has struggled to keep up with rival Uber and yet to post a profit.

Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle are pressing the Biden administration to take action on PlayStation-Xbox console competition in Japan.

Driving the news: Policymakers raised concerns last week to Biden officials, saying Sony’s business practices in its native Japan are blocking U.S. companies from competing in that country’s gaming market and could be running afoul of U.S.-Japan trade deals.

The website for Grid News, the D.C.-based digital news startup that sold last week to Jimmy Finkelstein's new media startup The Messenger, will shut down Monday afternoon, two sources told Axios.

Why it matters: While The Messenger is still evaluating what to do with Grid's products, it's likely that Grid's branding will not live on, a source told Axios.

Monarch Collective, a new investment firm focused on women's professional sports, has raised $100 million for its debut fund.

Why it matters: Monarch is seeking to fund what it views as the next big wave in pro sports, including investments in teams, leagues and adjacencies (e.g., media platforms, products, gaming).

Elliott Management has withdrawn its director slate for Salesforce, the two companies announced Monday.

Why it matters: The pair won't square off at Salesforce's annual meeting, in what could have been the first major activist shareholder challenge to Salesforce co-founder and CEO Marc Benioff.

Social media companies are increasingly being blamed for historically high rates of depression, suicidality and other mental health issues in youths. And now, states and local governments are increasingly pursuing legislation and legal action.

Driving the news: Utah just passed a law limiting social media for minors and school districts in Seattle and San Mateo County, California, are suing leading platforms, charging they're delivering harmful content to kids.

The first business ChatGPT will upend is likely to be the industry that created it.

Why it matters: Making software has never been easy. But programming practitioners and experts are increasingly confident that generative AI will change their world — supercharging the work of the best coders and empowering everyday users to get more done.

The standoff between the U.S. government and TikTok underscores a growing problem for policymakers: Chinese apps are booming in America, but most U.S. apps aren't able to operate in China.

Why it matters: Mobile apps are one of the most powerful vectors for expanding trade and exporting soft power, given how widely accessible they are, how much time is spent on them, and how little regulatory oversight there is online.

Parts of a Twitter code used to run the social network were leaked online, the company said in a court filing first reported by the New York Times on Sunday.

Driving the news: Twitter said in a Friday filing with the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California against GitHub, a Microsoft-owned software collaboration platform, that the leak included the "[p]roprietary source code for Twitter's platform and internal tools."