AWS says growth dropped to mid-teens to start new year as customer cost cutting continues

February 3, 2023

Yesterday Amazon reported earnings with AWS growing a modest 20% for for the quarter over the prior year to $21 billion. But perhaps even more troubling, the company reported in the earnings call with analysts that growth dropped even further into the mid-teens for the first month of the new year, as the cloud continued […]

AWS says growth dropped to mid-teens to start new year as customer cost cutting continues by Ron Miller originally published on TechCrunch

More job cuts loom as Sendy changes course in Nigeria

February 3, 2023

In October last year, Sendy, a Kenyan logistics scale-up, wound up its supplies service, which enabled retailers to purchase FMCGs directly from manufacturers, saying it was directing all its focus on its end-to-end fulfillment offering. Months later, the company is ceasing on-ground operations in Nigeria, one of its four markets in Africa. This means that […]

More job cuts loom as Sendy changes course in Nigeria by Annie Njanja originally published on TechCrunch

GitHub CEO on why open source developers should be exempt from the EU’s AI Act

February 3, 2023

GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke says that open source developers should be made exempt from the European Union’s (EU) proposed new artificial intelligence (AI) regulations, saying that the opportunity is still there for Europe to lead on AI. “Open source is forming the foundation of AI in Europe,” Dohmke said on stage at the the EU […]

GitHub CEO on why open source developers should be exempt from the EU’s AI Act by Paul Sawers originally published on TechCrunch

NFT market shows signs of recovery as January trading volumes hit 7-month high

February 3, 2023

The NFT market is showing signs of recovery. Trading volumes rose for two months straight, with January scoring the highest volumes since June last year, according to the Dapp Industry Report: January 2023. The growth in January marked a stark difference from the trend of the past few months, — October saw trading volumes dip […]

NFT market shows signs of recovery as January trading volumes hit 7-month high by Jacquelyn Melinek originally published on TechCrunch

Amazon ramped up content spending to $16.6B in 2022, including $7B on originals

February 3, 2023

Amazon detailed the costs of its content business during its fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday, citing that its content expenses jumped to $16.6 billion in 2022, a 28% increase from $13 billion in 2021. According to Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky, around $7 billion of that figure went towards Amazon Originals, live sports programming, and licensed third-party […]

Amazon ramped up content spending to $16.6B in 2022, including $7B on originals by Lauren Forristal originally published on TechCrunch

New York attorney general orders stalkerware maker to notify hacked victims

February 3, 2023

A New York-based spyware maker has agreed to notify the individuals whose phones were compromised by its mobile surveillance software, following a deal with the New York attorney general’s office announced Thursday. Under the agreement, Patrick Hinchy, whose 16 companies promoted apps like PhoneSpector and Highster, will also pay $410,000 in civil penalties for illegally […]

New York attorney general orders stalkerware maker to notify hacked victims by Zack Whittaker originally published on TechCrunch

VC Kerty Levy discusses the Northeast seed market

February 3, 2023

Information is power, especially when you’re just beginning your startup journey. Whether you’re in the idea stage or building on the friends-and-family plan or preparing to pitch investors, it’s imperative to understand the shifting VC funding landscape as you plan for future growth. It’s no secret that funding is harder to come by in this […]

VC Kerty Levy discusses the Northeast seed market by Lauren Simonds originally published on TechCrunch

Replika, a ‘virtual friendship’ AI chatbot, hit with data ban in Italy over child safety

February 3, 2023

San Francisco-based AI chatbot maker, Replika — which operates a freemium ‘virtual friendship’ service based on customizable digital avatars whose “personalized” responses are powered by artificial intelligence (and designed, per its pitch, to make human users feel better) — has been ordered by Italy’s privacy watchdog to stop processing local users’ data. The Garante said […]

Replika, a ‘virtual friendship’ AI chatbot, hit with data ban in Italy over child safety by Natasha Lomas originally published on TechCrunch

The UK rolls back controversial plans to open up text and data mining regulations

February 3, 2023

The U.K. Government is seemingly backtracking on plans that would have allowed text and data mining “for any purpose,” plans designed to position the U.K. as a “global AI superpower.” The news emerges following months of blowback from creative industries concerned about what impact the rules might have on protected works. Background Text and data […]

The UK rolls back controversial plans to open up text and data mining regulations by Paul Sawers originally published on TechCrunch

The impact investor and climate correspondent walk into a bar

February 3, 2023

Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. This week Natasha Mascarenhas and Becca Szkutak took to their mics to sing a duet about this week’s startup news. Just kidding! But we did highlight some fun companies raising capital and talked […]

The impact investor and climate correspondent walk into a bar by Rebecca Szkutak originally published on TechCrunch