Instagram upgrades DMs with music-sharing, message scheduling, translation and more

February 19, 2025

Instagram is upgrading its direct messages, also known as DMs, with a handful of new features that make its messaging system more competitive with alternatives, like Apple’s iMessage and other third-party apps. On Wednesday, Instagram users globally will gain access to tools to translate messages across 99 languages, tools to schedule and pin messages to […]

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US Army soldier pleads guilty to AT&T and Verizon hacks

February 19, 2025

Cameron John Wagenius pleaded guilty to hacking AT&T and Verizon and stealing a massive trove of phone records from the companies, according to court records filed on Wednesday. Wagenius, who was a U.S. Army soldier, pleaded guilty to two counts of “unlawful transfer of confidential phone records information” on an online forum and via an […]

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X in talks to raise money at a $44B valuation

February 19, 2025

Elon Musk’s X is in talks to raise money from investors at a $44 billion valuation, Bloomberg News reports. Musk purchased X, formerly known as Twitter, for the same price back in 2022. The news comes as Fidelity Investments marked down its Twitter stake back in December by around 70% from the 2022 sale price […]

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Bumble sunsets acquired apps, Fruitz and Official, to cut costs

February 19, 2025

Bumble is discontinuing its two acquired apps, the dating and relationship apps Fruitz and Official. The move was shared during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call. As explained by CEO Lidiane Jones during the call, the choice to discontinue Fruitz, a French dating app, and Official, an app designed to help couples strengthen their relationships, allows […]

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Troubled electric truck maker Nikola files for bankruptcy

February 19, 2025

Hydrogen electric trucking startup Nikola Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday after it failed to find a buyer or secure additional funds to maintain operations.  Nikola was once a Silicon Valley darling, valued at $30 billion in June 2020 after it went public through a special purpose acquisition merger. But a series of […]

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Hyperlume wants to make chip-to-chip communication faster and more efficient

February 19, 2025

Data centers consumed 4.4% of U.S. electricity in 2023 and are estimated to use up to 12% by 2028. The majority of the energy data centers suck up is used to help transfer data from chip to chip. A company called Hyperlume is looking to make that process more energy-efficient while also speeding it up. […]

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