Top tech news stories today: July 31, 2024

Top tech news stories today: July 31, 2024 is profiled by BTW Media because public-source evidence links it to internet infrastructure, governance, operational dependencies, or market visibility.

Fintech

1. California DMV puts 42 million car titles on blockchain to fight fraud

California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has digitized 42 million car titles using blockchain technology in a bid to detect fraud and smoothen the title transfer process. (Reuters)

2. Russia to allow crypto payments in international trade to counter sanctions

Russian lawmakers passed a bill on Tuesday that will allow businesses to use crypto currencies in international trade, as part of efforts to skirt Western sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (Aol.)

IT infrastructure

3. CrowdStrike down after report Delta Air to seek compensation over IT outage

Shares of CrowdStrike fell more than 4% in premarket trading on Tuesday after a report Delta Air Lines will seek compensation from the cybersecurity firm over the recent global IT outage that crippled industries including airlines. (MSN)

4. Cybersecurity firm Tenable exploring potential sale

Cybersecurity firm Tenable Holdings is exploring options, including a potential sale after receiving takeover interest, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. (Reuters)

Tech trends

5. Meta to pay $1.4 billion to settle Texas facial recognition data lawsuit

Meta Platforms has agreed to pay $1.4 billion to Texas to resolve the state’s lawsuit accusing the Facebook parent of illegally using facial-recognition technology to collect biometric data of millions of Texans without their consent. (Reuters)

6. Intel plans to cut thousands of jobs to finance recovery

The company’s radically overhauled Core Ultra chips are hopefully just weeks away. (Verge)

AI

7. Microsoft’s downbeat cloud growth signals AI payoff will take longer

Microsoft said it would spend more money this fiscal year to build out AI infrastructure even as growth slowed in its cloud business, another sign the payoff from hefty investments in the technology may take longer than Wall Street had hoped. (Reuters)

8. Google parent’s partnership with AI startup Anthropic under UK scrutiny

Britain’s antitrust watchdog is scrutinising Google-parent Alphabet’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic and its impact on competition, the regulator said on Tuesday. (Reuters)

9. OpenAI starts roll-out of advanced voice mode to some ChatGPT Plus users

OpenAI is starting to roll out an advanced voice mode to a small group of ChatGPT Plus users, the Microsoft-backed artificial intelligence startup said on Tuesday in a post on X. (US news)

10. AMD raises forecast for AI chip revenue and sees supplies remaining tight

Advanced Micro Devices on Tuesday increased its 2024 forecast for artificial intelligence chip sales by $500 million and said supplies would remain tight through 2025, sending shares of the Santa Clara, California-based company up 7.5% in extended trading. (Yahoo Finance)

11. Meta Q2 ad sales expected to rise; focus on AI roadmap, costs

Meta Platforms is expected to report a 20% rise in quarterly revenue, helped by strong ad sales driven by the Olympics and elections in several countries, but investors will want to see if its spending on AI is starting to yield returns. (The Print)

12. Brazil proposes $4 billion AI investment plan

Brazil’s government unveiled on Tuesday a 23 billion reais ($4.07 billion) proposal for an artificial intelligence (AI) investment plan aimed at developing sustainable and socially-oriented technologies. (Reuters)

13. Microsoft sinks, chipmakers climb as AI rally faces divide

Disappointing quarterly results from Microsoft melted $340 billion of stock market value on Tuesday from it and rival heavyweights racing to dominate artificial intelligence technology, while Nvidia and other AI chip sellers rallied after results from Advanced Micro Devices. (Reuters)

14. Apple used Google’s chips to train two AI models, research paper shows

Apple relied on chips designed by Google rather than industry leader Nvidia to build two key components of its artificial intelligence software infrastructure for its forthcoming suite of AI tools and features, an Apple research paper published on Monday showed. (MSN)