Today’s top tech stories include Amazon’s investment in Indiana, ByteDance denies media report of plan to sell TikTok, Microsoft’s AI lead puts Amazon cloud dominance on watch and more. Follow our steps to see more!
Fintech
1. Crypto firm Consensys sues US SEC over Ethereum regulation
Crypto software firm Consensys sued the US Securities and Exchange Commission in an effort to fend off regulation of the Ethereum blockchain and push back against what it called the agency’s “campaign to seize control over the future of cryptocurrency.” (Bloomberg)
IT infrastructure
2. Amazon to invest $11 billion in Indiana to build data centres
AWS intends to invest an estimated $11 billion to build new data centres in St. Joseph County in Indiana, creating at least 1,000 new jobs. This planned investment is part of what Amazon says is a long-term commitment to the state, which includes $21.5 billion since 2010. (chain storage)
3. Agency bars Chinese telecom carriers from offering US broadband services
The Federal Communications Commission said on Thursday it is ordering the U.S. units of China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile to discontinue fixed or mobile broadband internet operations in the United States. (Reuters)
4. Warner Bros Discovery to launch data platform for better ad-targeting
Warner Bros Discovery is launching a data platform that would help advertisers better reach their target audience across both cable and digital channels, it said on Thursday. (Reuters)
5. Huawei-led Chinese firms aim to make advanced memory chips by 2026
A group of Chinese chip companies led by Huawei Technologies and backed by the country’s government aims to produce high-bandwidth memory (HBM) semiconductors, a key component in AI chips by 2026, The Information reported on Thursday. (US News)
6. T-Mobile to invest $950 million to buy the fibre optic company Lumos
Wireless carrier T-Mobile US expects to invest about $950 million for a 50% stake in a joint venture with Swedish investment firm EQT’s fund that will buy fibre optic network provider Lumos, the companies said on Thursday. (The Star)
Tech trends
7. Spotify says Apple has rejected its app update with price information for EU users
Apple has rejected Spotify‘s new version of its iOS app with in-app pricing information for users in the European Union, the audio streaming firm said on Thursday. (Business Times)
8. IBM to buy HashiCorp in $6.4 billion deal to expand in cloud
IBM and HashiCorp have entered into a definitive agreement under which IBM will acquire HashiCorp for $35 per share in cash, representing an enterprise value of $6.4 billion. (Helpnetsecurity)
9. Republican China hawks criticise Intel chip in new Huawei laptop
Republican U.S. lawmakers on Friday criticised the Biden administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel AI chip. (yahoo news)
10. ByteDance denies media report of plan to sell TikTok
ByteDance has no plan to sell TikTok, the company’s official account said in a statement posted on Toutiao, a media platform owned by the China-based firm. (US News)
AI
11. AI spending worries cast gloom over Alphabet, Microsoft
Investors appear to be losing patience with Big Tech’s prodigious artificial intelligence investments this week after Meta Platforms signalled deeper spending and a long road to profitability. (Asharq AI-Awsat)
12. Toyota and Nissan pair up with Tencent and Baidu for China AI arms race
Japan’s Toyota Motor will pair up with China’s Tencent while Nissan will team up with Baidu, the companies said on Thursday (Apr 25), cross-border partnerships that highlight the importance of artificial intelligence for carmakers. (Business Times)
13. Microsoft’s AI lead puts Amazon cloud dominance on watch
Upcoming quarterly reports from U.S. tech giants may show Microsoft is closing the gap on cloud-computing market leader Amazon as more businesses switch to its services, attracted by a clutch of generative AI features that are powered by OpenAI’s technology. (Reuters)
IoT
14. Industrial IoT adoption fuels growth in private cellular networks
Mission-critical use cases are driving private IoT connection growth in key industrial markets like manufacturing, logistics and transportation. Industrial IoT (IIoT) customers are eager to digitalise critical use cases with high-powered, dedicated networks, making these industries leaders in private 4G and 5G adoption. (IoT Now)
