Axios

Microsoft's gaming chief Phil Spencer pitched his bosses a plan to purchase Sega, the makers of Sonic the Hedgehog, back in 2020. But Sonic wouldn't have become Xbox-only.

Driving the news: The idea was detailed in an internal email from Spencer to Microsoft's CEO and chief financial officer that was released to the public Monday as part of the Federal Trade Commission's attempt to block the tech giant's purchase of Activision Blizzard.

Two very different versions of Microsoft’s gaming division were described in court last week during ongoing hearings in the Federal Trade Commission’s attempt to block Microsoft’s $69 billion bid to buy Activision Blizzard.

Why it matters: Xbox’s public reputation, at times seemingly too complimentary of competitors, too frank about its struggles to be true, is getting tested by evidence and aggressive FTC questioning.

Amazon plans to tap thousands of U.S. small businesses, from bodegas to florists, to deliver its packages by the end of the year, Axios is first to report.

Driving the news: Amazon on Monday will start actively recruiting existing small businesses in 23 states including Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, South Dakota, and Washington.

Japan Investment Corp., a government-backed group, has agreed to buy Tokyo-listed chipmaking materials provider JSR for $6.3 billion.

Why it matters: This is part of a global trend of governments seeking to safeguard their semiconductor supply chains.

Open-source AI models, which let anyone view and manipulate the code, are growing in popularity as startups and giants alike race to compete with market leader ChatGPT.

Why it matters: The White House and some experts fear open-source models could aid risky uses — especially synthetic biology, which could create the next pandemic. But those sounding the alarms may be too late.