Axios

EA’s dominant life-simulation series The Sims will get a formidable challenge in September with the planned early access launch of Paradox Interactive’s Life by You for PC.

Why it matters: The legendary Sims series, which is more popular with women than most big-publisher game franchises and has sold more than 200 million copies, has largely been unrivaled since its debut in 2000.

New York regulators are poised to set the benchmark for crypto firms in the U.S. and worldwide with its licensing regime that the crypto industry covets and loathes for its attainability.

State of play: Superintendent Adrienne Harris took the helm of the state's Department of Financial Services in January 2022, and has since expanded on the regulator's unique oversight over digital assets.

Nearly three decades old, HIPAA appears obsolete and riddled with new technology-induced gaps.

Why it matters: With regulators unable and politicians unwilling to address the shortcomings of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, private companies are offering a fix.

A group of cybersecurity companies, including Microsoft, are launching a full-scale legal crackdown today against one of the top hacking tools malware groups use in their attacks.

Driving the news: Microsoft, cybersecurity firm Fortra and the Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center (H-ISAC) unveiled a wide-reaching legal plan to tackle malicious versions of Fortra's Cobalt Strike and Microsoft's software development kits.

Muck Rack, the public relations tech company, is joining the artificial intelligence race.

Driving the news: Its new tool, PressPal — which was exclusively shared with Axios ahead of launch — uses AI to help draft a press release when prompted, scan for keywords and then recommend specific media targets based on the content.

If your local grocery or corner mart is keeping Diet Pepsi, Gatorade or Fritos in stock, you may be able to thank artificial intelligence.

Driving the news: PepsiCo, the multinational maker of name-brand soda, chips and sports drinks, may not be a technology company, but it has gone all-in on AI in the past few years, spending "hundreds of millions" of dollars to do so, Athina Kanioura, the company's chief strategy and transformation officer, told Axios.

Jay Carney has advised some of the most powerful people in the world — from Barack Obama and Joe Biden to Jeff Bezos and now Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky.

Why it matters: In his first sit-down interview since joining Airbnb as global head of policy and communications in September, Carney discussed how communications is core to business.

Kia's newest model, making its North American debut at this week's New York International Auto Show, is a spacious and sleek three-row SUV, with an innovative interior and loads of technology to satisfy busy families.

• Oh, and by the way — it's electric.

Why it matters: The Kia EV9, set to go on sale by the end of 2023, represents a new phase in the accelerating shift to electric vehicles (EVs).

Hollywood has a history of making movies and shows based on video games, but this week’s release of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” from Nintendo and Illumination cements the marriage of the two industries.

Context: Nintendo is the most influential gaming company in the world.

Savvy Games, owned by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, on Wednesday said that it is buying Scopely, the California-based maker of mobile hits like Marvel Strike Force and Scrabble GO.

Why it matters: Savvy will pay $4.9 billion, making it one of the largest-ever gaming acquisitions.

The Justice Department announced today that the FBI and its international partners have seized notorious cybercrime marketplace Genesis Market.

Why it matters: Malicious actors often use marketplaces like Genesis Market to buy and sell stolen passwords and other login credentials that can help others in future data breaches.

Last month a new Canadian private equity firm called Ethical Capital Partners announced the acquisition of MindGeek, the controversial owner of Pornhub and other adult content sites.

• We had questions, and now have answers (some of which led to more questions).

The companies offering generative AI to the public are mostly learning the same lesson: People love using it, but they also love discovering its boundaries — and pushing past them.

Why it matters: Companies have been rushing to incorporate generative AI like ChatGPT into their products in what is essentially a massive beta test of an unfinished technology.