Microsoft confirmed that it's making a multibillion-dollar investment in ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The software and PC giant didn't disclose the exact amount. Earlier this month, Semafor reported that Microsoft was weighing a $10B investment in OpenAI that would value the AI research lab at $29B. More: - Through the deal, Microsoft will add to its investments made in OpenAI in 2019 and 2021.
- The renewed partnership will see the two further their work in artificial intelligence.
- Since 2019, Microsoft has been the exclusive cloud partner for OpenAI, and its Azure-powered supercomputing system has been used to train all of OpenAI's machine-learning and AI models.
- Microsoft plans to invest further in supercomputing systems and fuel new AI experiences and products. It said Azure will remain OpenAI's cloud provider for its workloads across its API, research, and products.
Zoom Out: - Last week, Microsoft announced the broad availability of its Azure OpenAI Service, where cloud customers can access OpenAI tools such as GPT-3.5, Codex, DALL-E, and soon, ChatGPT.
- Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella said the company plans to incorporate AI capabilities into "every product."
- It's working to bring ChatGPT's text generation abilities to Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and other apps.
CNBC 
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Spotify is laying off about 6% of its workforce, or nearly 600 of its 9,800 employees. In a letter to employees today, CEO Daniel Ek said the audio streaming platform has made a "considerable effort to rein in costs" in recent months but it "simply hasn't been enough." More: - The job cuts are a part of a companywide restructuring that will shift Spotify's engineering and product work to fall under its newly appointed chief product and chief business officers.
- Spotify is "fundamentally changing how we operate at the top," Ek said, noting that the changes will enable him to spend "more time working on the future of Spotify."
- He also acknowledged that he was "too ambitious" with investing ahead of Spotify's revenue growth.
- Spotify will give laid-off employees five months' worth of severance pay and healthcare coverage, incurring a charge of 35 million to 45 million euros ($38M to $49M).
Zoom Out: - Spotify chief content officer Dawn Ostroff is stepping down as part of the adjustments.
- Ostroff helped lead Spotify's charge to expand further into podcasting, growing the platform's podcast content by 40 times, Ek said.
- Ostroff notably led exclusive podcast deals with the Joe Rogan show and Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions company.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
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 A message from LACEWORK Discover cloud insights and harden your security posture In the latest installment of the Cloud Threat Report series, Lacework Labs covers the significant increase in efficiencies used by cybercriminals. Get insights into these trends that cover how: - Attackers are automating key discovery and exploits, taking advantage of momentary mistakes
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- Vulnerabilities continue to stick around for months (sometimes even years) and attackers quickly exploit any new vulnerabilities
- Cryptojacking continues to be a staple in cybercriminal tool belts
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India's government has ordered Twitter and YouTube to block a controversial documentary about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BBC series addresses the deadly communal riots that occurred in the state of Gujarat in 2002, while Modi was chief minister. India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has referred to the documentary as a “propaganda piece." More: - India has already banned the documentary, "India: The Modi Question," for drawing attention to Modi’s alleged role in the riots.
- Now, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has ordered Twitter to remove more than 50 tweets linking to the documentary's first episode. It has directed YouTube to block all videos.
- Under India's IT Rules from 2021, the ministry can use emergency powers to call for the removal of online posts that it believes undermine India's integrity and sovereignty.
- YouTube and Twitter have reportedly both complied.
Zoom Out: - The first episode of the two-part documentary aired on the BBC last week.
- Upon examinations of the series, Indian ministries including the MEA, the MIB, and the Ministry of Home Affairs said they found it to "cast aspersions on the authority and credibility" of India's Supreme Court. They argued that it makes unsubstantiated claims about the actions of foreign governments in the country.
TECHCRUNCH
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Apple wants to shift up to 25% of its production to India, an increase from the current 5% to 7%, according to India's commerce and industry minister. Piyush Goyal's statement corroborates previous reports stating that Apple intends to move much of its production away from China and into India, Vietnam, and other countries. More: - Goyal did not give a timeline for when Apple could reach the 25% target. Apple has not commented on the statement.
- In September, Apple confirmed that it will move some manufacturing of the iPhone 14 to India. It's been manufacturing mostly older iPhones in India since 2017.
- To curb its dependency on Taiwanese assemblers, Apple recently told suppliers to actively seek ways to assemble its devices in Vietnam and India.
- Its main iPhone manufacturer, Foxconn, reportedly plans to quadruple the number of employees at its India-based iPhone factory during the next two years.
REUTERS
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 A message from ONE SCHEMA No more messy csv data It always seems to be the case that customers want to give you their data as the messiest possible CSV file, but building spreadsheet import capabilities becomes a never-ending sink for engineering and support resources. Teams keep adding features to their importers, but customers just keep running into issues. 6 months later, you’re fixing yet another data conversion edge case bug. Most data tools aren’t built for handling messy data, but OneSchema’s embeddable CSV importer is. Instead of frustrating your customers with import messages like “error on line 53”, OneSchema helps them intelligently correct messy data so they don’t have to spend hours in Excel just to get started with your product. With an extensive library of prebuilt validations and robust SDKs, OneSchema only takes 30 minutes to get running in your app. Companies like Scale AI and Pave are using OneSchema to make launching delightful spreadsheet import experiences fast and easy. Watch demo
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Activist investor Elliott Management Corp. has taken a multibillion-dollar stake in Salesforce. The deal could result in further major changes at the business software provider, which recently announced layoffs, as well as the departures of co-CEO Bret Taylor and other executives. More: - Elliott could use its position to push for board representation and operational changes at the SaaS provider.
- In a statement, Elliott's managing partner Jesse Cohn expressed a "deep respect" for Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. The hedge fund looks forward to "working constructively with Salesforce to realize the value befitting a company of its stature," Cohn said.
- Elliott has made other deals with tech firms including Pinterest, Citrix, and Twitter, where it successfully pushed for the departure of CEO Jack Dorsey.
Zoom Out: - Elliott's investment will place further pressure on Salesforce to cut costs and boost shareholder value. Earlier this month, the CRM leader said it would lay off 8,000 employees and close some offices as it deals with a more challenging economic environment and a drop in customer spending.
AXIOS
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Sony revealed a list of games that will launch alongside its PlayStation VR2 headset on Feb. 22. Certain games that worked with its first-generation virtual-reality headset will now be compatible with the PSVR 2. More: - Titles include "Horizon Call of the Mountain," "STAR WARS: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge," "Demeo," "Jurassic World Aftermath," and "Cities VR."
- "Beat Saber," one of VR's most popular titles, is expected to be announced soon.
- Sony says its upgraded VR headset will have eye tracking, 3D audio, refresh rates of up to 120Hz, and a display resolution of 2000 x 2040 pixels per eye.
- Its $550 price tag is higher than Sony's PlayStation 5 console, which is required to use the new headset.
- Sony's original PlayStation VR headset, which works with the PlayStation 4, launched in 2016 for $399.99.
ARS TECHNICA
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- Apple is planning a major update to the iPad Pro that could occur in the spring of 2024.
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- The Linux Foundation announced the founding of the Open Metaverse Foundation (OMF), which will help develop open-source software for future technology.
- Twitter will soon offer a more expensive subscription tier that will eliminate all ads, according to Elon Musk. “Ads are too frequent on Twitter and too big," he tweeted on Saturday. "Taking steps to address both in coming weeks."
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 |  | Beth is a writer and editor at Inside.com covering artificial intelligence and daily technology news. You can reach her at Beth.Duckett@inside.com. |   | | Editor | Eduardo Garcia is a writer and editor based in New York. He is the author of "Things You Can Do," an illustrated book about climate action. Bylines in The New York Times, The Guardian, Slate, Scientific American, and others. In one of his previous lives, Eduardo worked as a Reuters correspondent in Latin America for nearly a decade. | |
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