~techmeme | Bookmarks (1030)

James Hunt / The Block: Nikkei: Japan's financial regulator asks Apple and Google to remove apps from Bybit, MEXC Global, LBank Exchange, KuCoin, and Bitget; Apple has removed the apps  —  - Japan's Financial Services Agency has reportedly requested Apple and Google to block five unregistered overseas crypto exchange apps in the country.

Thomas Germain / BBC: An Adalytics report shows how ad systems run by Google, Amazon, Microsoft and others inadvertently placed ads on a website that hosts CSAM  —  Some of the biggest tech companies in the world served ads on a website featuring images of child abuse, helping to fund its operations.

Brian Krebs / Krebs on Security: Chat logs reveal DOGE member Edward Coristine's ties to cybercrime community The Com, and a Telegram handle linked to him sought a DDoS-for-hire service in 2022  —  Wired reported this week that a 19-year-old working for Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) …

Financial Times: Docs: Palantir has won $2.7B+ in US contracts since 2009, including $1.3B+ in Pentagon contracts, and spent $5.8M in lobbying in 2024, up from ~$1M in 2015  —  Peter Thiel-chaired group has Washington and Westminster network that helped secure around $3bn in official contracts

Bloomberg: Sources: Island, which makes secure browsers for businesses, is raising money at a $4.5B valuation in a round led by Coatue; it was valued at $3B in April 2024  —  Valuation jump shows VCs are still enthusiastic for cybersecurity deals.  —  Enterprise software and security startup Island Technology Inc …

Financial Times: Sources: Klarna is targeting an IPO in the US in April with a valuation of up to $15B and is preparing to unveil its listing plans as soon as next month  —  Valuation of up to $15bn would make it one of the biggest listings this year  —  Swedish fintech Klarna is targeting an IPO in the US …

Bloomberg: Sources: Anthropic's funding round is oversubscribed and expected to raise $2B+, with Lightspeed set to invest ~$1B; Menlo, MGX, and others are in talks to join  —  - Oversubscribed deal is expected to raise more than $2 billion  — Lightspeed is set to contribute about $1 billion in backing

Punchbowl News: Sources: Trump has tasked JD Vance and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz with overseeing a potential sale of TikTok  —  Vance is in charge of “quarterbacking a deal to save TikTok,” according to a source familiar with the matter.  Waltz and the National Security Council are in charge …

CNBC: Sources: Anduril is in talks to raise up to $2.5B, led by Founders Fund with a $1B commitment, at a $28B valuation; Anduril's revenue in 2024 doubled to ~$1B  —  WATCH NOW  —  Anduril, the defense-tech startup founded by Palmer Luckey, has signed a term sheet to raise capital at a $28 billion valuation …

Louise Matsakis / Wired: Filing: Kash Patel, Trump's nominee to head FBI, was allotted Shein shares of $1M to $5M in exchange for consulting services; he has no plans to divest them  —  Donald Trump's pick for FBI director told senators he has no plans to divest his shares, which his financial disclosure form …

Reuters: SolarWinds says it will go private in a $4.4B deal with buyout firm Turn/River Capital; SWI closes up 21.8%  —  SolarWinds (SWI.N) said on Friday it would go private in a $4.4 billion deal with buyout firm Turn/River Capital, the latest sign debt-funded deals were set to rebound this year as borrowing costs decline.

Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch: Customer service software startup Sprinklr cuts 500 jobs, ~15% of its workforce, citing weak business performance; C-level staff remains unaffected  —  Sprinklr, a U.S. firm providing a customer experience management platform to global brands, has laid off about 15% of its workforce …

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch: OpenAI updates o3-mini's chain of thought to make it easier for users “to understand how the model thinks”, available to both free and paid ChatGPT users  —  In response to pressure from rivals including Chinese AI company DeepSeek, OpenAI is changing the way its newest AI model …

Ashley Belanger / Ars Technica: Kadrey v. Meta: unsealed emails show Meta allegedly torrented 81.7TB+ of data across multiple shadow libraries through the site Anna's Archive for AI training  —  Newly unsealed emails allegedly provide the “most damning evidence” yet against Meta in a copyright case raised by book authors alleging …

Stephen Nellis / Reuters: Cerebras says it worked with Mistral to help its Le Chat app respond to user questions with 1,000 words per second, making it the world's fastest AI assistant  —  Cerebras Systems, an artificial intelligence chip firm backed by UAE tech conglomerate G42, said on Thursday it has partnered …

Wired: Sources: DOGE is pushing rapidly to develop GSAi, a custom generative AI chatbot for the US GSA to boost productivity, analyze procurement data, and more  —  The chatbot is part of Elon Musk and President Donald Trump's ambitions to use AI and other technologies to cut costs and modernize the US government.

Marina Temkin / TechCrunch: In a meeting with GOP lawmakers, Donald Trump proposed taxing carried interest as ordinary income, a policy that could sharply increase the tax bill for VCs  —  On Thursday, President Trump asked Republican lawmakers to end tax breaks on carried interest.  —  The tax break allows private equity …

Daphné Leprince-Ringuet / Sifted: France and the UAE agree to build an up to 1GW data center in France, representing €30B to €50B in investments in French and Emirati AI, chips, talent, and more  —  France and the UAE have announced a partnership to build a 1GW AI data center, representing up to €50bn in investments

TechCrunch: Kelly Stonelake, a former Meta director who was at the company from 2009 to 2024, sues Meta, alleging sexual harassment, sex discrimination, and retaliation  —  One of Meta's earliest employees is suing the company for sexual harassment, sex discrimination, and retaliation …

Annie Palmer / CNBC: Amazon expects to boost its capex to $100B in 2025, largely driven by AI and up from 2024's ~$83B, in what Andy Jassy calls a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity  —  Amazon said Thursday it plans to boost its capital expenditures to $100 billion in 2025, as it continues its investments in artificial intelligence.

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg: Sources: Apple plans to unveil its long-awaited overhaul of the iPhone SE as early as next week, opting to reveal it on its website instead of at a launch event  —  - Revamped SE model is set to be unveiled in the coming days  — Apple plans flurry of 2025 products, including smart home hub

MacKenzie Sigalos / CNBC: Affirm reports Q2 revenue up 47% YoY to $866M, vs. $807M est., GMV up 35% YoY to $10.1B, and active consumers up 23% YoY to 21M; AFRM jumps 10%+ after hours  —  WATCH NOW  —  Affirm shares jumped more than 15% in extended trading on Thursday after the provider of buy now, pay later loans …

Katherine Long / Wall Street Journal: DOGE staff member Marko Elez resigns after being linked to racist X posts; the 25-year-old was embedded in the US Treasury and previously worked at SpaceX and X  —  A staffer for Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency whose access to U.S. Treasury payment systems was approved …

Zaheer Kachwala / Reuters: Take-Two reports Q3 net bookings up 3% YoY to $1.37B, vs. $1.39B est., and reiterates GTA VI is set to launch in the fall of 2025; TTWO jumps 6%+ after hours  —  Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO.O) forecast its fourth-quarter bookings below Wall Street expectations on Thursday …