Business Articles

Although the actress refused to lend her voice to OpenAI's AI assistant, it sounds suspiciously like Scarlett Johansson. Johansson has now taken legal action.

Google Cloud has deleted in error the $135 billion account and data for UniSuper, a retirement fund company holding the pension savings for over 647,000 members who work at 37 Australian universities. The funds were unavailable for two weeks until May 15, 2024 while the cloud provider rushed to restore everything.

The US is second to none with ~143,000 BTC mined in 2023 according to a report by BitRiver, the leading Russian cryptocurrency mining farm operator. This corresponds to $9.6 billion at May 18, 2024 value. Russia is a distant second with ~54,000 BTC, followed by Persian Gulf region countries.

SpaceX has started sending emails to Starlink satellite Internet subscribers that their roaming plan price will double. For new subscribers, the Starlink price increase is immediate.

Tesla may soon use a data center located in China to process the data needed for the company's self-driving software. While Tesla currently assesses data for EVs it sells in China, this move could allow the company to transfer driver data out of China and into other regions to train AI, a first for the nation's automotive industry.

Rockstar Games is planning to release GTA VI before 2025 comes to a close according to the latest earnings report from Take-Two Interactive Software, the parent company of Rockstar. This negates a past rumor which alleged that the game could be pushed back to 2026.

Although it went all the way above 2,100,000 simultaneous players, Palworld is now struggling in the second half of the top 100 most played Steam games. While Counter-Strike 2 easily peaks above the 1,000,000 threshold on a daily basis, Palworld has problems reaching 50,000. However, this summer's updates might bring it back to life.

Thanks to the industry-first deal that brings together Netflix and NFL, the Christmas Day games of the professional sports league with the highest per-game attendance in the world will be aired by the subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service headquartered in California that has over 270 million users worldwide.

With less than 150 employees left, the Gameloft studio in Cluj is far from the days when it accommodated around 500 people. Earlier today, the company confirmed the rumors about the closure of the Cluj studio, mentioning that all 136 people currently employed in the location will leave the company.

President Biden has raised US import tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, batteries, solar cells, medical supplies, semiconductors, port cranes, minerals, steel, and aluminum. The tariffs are in response to unfair Chinese trade practices as well as technology transfers that threaten US supply chains. Americans depending on syringes, face masks, and medical gloves will be hit by 25-50% tariff increases.

HMD - which now releases smartphones independent of its usual Nokia brand-name - has announced its first-ever rugged smartphone. It pairs a Corning Gorilla Glass Victus-covered 120Hz display with an "AI" main camera and an estimated 2-day battery. However, the novelty is somewhat disrupted by the fact that it is a pretty blatant re-brand of an existing device.

The world's fourth-largest car manufacturer announces the sale of two Chinese e-car models. These include nine countries in Europe and one model in particular is likely to be of interest.

Multiple reports state SMIC has finally developed an in-house 5 nm node using only DUV. It will supposedly debut alongside new Kirin chips later this year.

Elon Musk's recent cost-cutting move to fire almost all of Tesla's Supercharger team was met with confusion and more than a little panic. Now, he seems to have started rehiring the same team, although just how many have returned is unclear. The Supercharger network has been key to Tesla's success, and will likely continue to be as competition in the EV space heats up.

In the aftermath of a patent dispute, Motorola and Lenovo are no longer allowed to sell smartphones and laptops with WWAN modules. Although some targeted Lenovo laptops can still be acquired as long as existing stocks last, the brand might appeal the court's decision and revert the ruling.

Clean electricity generation paired with the first grid-level sodium battery energy storage system can bring costs down to just $0.028 per kWh. The 10 MWh storage capacity is executed with sodium-ion cells that can be charged in just 12 minutes.

Ford's Model e division is now losing over $100,000 per EV sold. As a result, the carmaker is looking to scale back EV production, according to industry insiders who claim Ford has cut back on battery orders significantly.

Huge solar flares from the peak year of Solar Cycle 25 have disrupted GPS services while threatening Starlink satellites, flights, power grids, and more. Solar flares are enormous bursts of energy from the sun crash into the magnetosphere protecting the earth. Most of the energy is diverted, some become beautiful auroras, and the remaining carry the potential to knock out critical infrastructure.

Although Electronic Arts had stated in 2021 that it did not want to integrate advertising into games, the transcript of a conference call recently emerged in which the use of dynamic ad insertion was discussed.

The latest Apple iPad Pro 11 and 13 with their cutting-edge Ultra Retina XDR tandem OLED panels and 9/10-core Apple M4 SoC pack substantial upgrades over their predecessors that had mini-LED panels and the Apple M2 SoC. However, a new report suggests that higher price tag and the 13-inch iPad Air might result in less-than-ideal sales of the new iPad Pro models.

Climate activists stormed the site of Tesla's Gigafactory in Berlin yesterday morning, forcing a halt to production. Tesla CEO Elon Musk commented on the protest on X, calling for tougher police action against the demonstrators.

Tesla has announced that US customers can now buy a Model Y on a 0.99% annual percentage rate loan directly from Tesla, resulting in a lower monthly repayment than the compared to the cheaper Model 3, which does not qualify for the same deal. This deal puts the Model Y at a starting price of $602 per month for 72 months after federal tax incentives.

Apple has received substantial backlash from artists over its latest iPad promotional video showing the destruction of traditional art supplies and instruments, with some calling the ad “tone-deaf,” especially in light of the current climate surrounding tech and generative AI. In response, Apple has issued a rare apology ahead of the expected launch of its own generative AI at June's WWDC 2024 event.

Ford is reconsidering its commitment to an all-EV line-up in Europe by 2030, seemingly due to cooling EV demand, likely pushing back electrification to the European Union's 2035 cut-off instead. A company executive also said that it “will not sell at huge losses just to buy compliance,” opting instead to pull ICE sales if EV sales aren't competitive.

Thanks to the Galaxy S24 smartphones, Samsung has reportedly enjoyed a strong Q1 2024 in the US with the company gaining market share. On the other hand, Apple, which had the most smartphone market share stateside in Q1 2024, failed to register a YoY increase.

With no less than five years in the top spot of the global gaming monitor market, of which it currently holds almost 21 percent, Samsung has also managed to get in control of nearly 35 percent of the global OLED monitor market (based on total revenue) in just one year after entering it with the 34-inch Odyssey OLED G8 (G85SB).

After around five years from the initial ban, the US has now revoked licenses that allowed Qualcomm and Intel to sell chips to Huawei. This could possibly mean that the 2024 MateBook X Pro is the last high-end Intel laptop from the Chinese company.

Lenovo's ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 is now officially the first laptop to have been torn down by iFixit in search of its LPCAMM2 module. The emerging RAM type is hailed as a more powerful, efficient and sustainable form of memory thanks to its ease of removal from its place relative to a PC's CPU - which also boosts the ability to replace or upgrade it.

TikTok and ByteDance have filed a federal appeal to fight the recently passed TikTok ban. The companies counter that the ban in unconstitutional and unfairly targets TikTok despite prior reports of Chinese employee and government access to US user data.

Apple's uncharacteristic failure to follow through on plans for a first-gen Car is what it is; however, the company might not have given up on the electric vehicle (EV) space after all. The Cupertino giant is now reportedly mulling a "collaboration" with a "start-up" (albeit possibly a very well-known one from the US) in order to make the best of the time and money sunk into its automotive project.

Forget the OLED MacBook, its foldable counterpart is poised to overtake it as Apple's next big thing in super-expensive PCs. At least, that is what is intimated in a new leak from an increasingly well-known industry analyst. The Cupertino giant is now projected to expedite its long-overdue foray into the foldable tech market, starting with what might be the larger of its alleged cutting-edge devices.

A Nio executive recently revealed that the L60, a mass-market EV from sub-brand Onvo, is scheduled to launch in May, but the EV has already been pictured at a Nio battery swap station in China. A second new EV and Nio sub-brand, codenamed “Firefly,” will be launched at under $30,000 in early 2025.

The CEO of Pro Network Entities trafficking counterfeit Cisco networking equipment into America has been sentenced to merely 78 months in prison. Despite supplying hundreds of millions of dollars of fake, potentially compromised Cisco equipment that were installed at US military bases, government sites, hospitals, and schools across America, the CEO was sentenced to merely 78 months in prison.

Apple now makes AirPods that do not need a Lightning port to charge; however, the company seems in no hurry to do the same with its (even more expensive) flagship wireless headphones. However, as a popular device repair YouTuber has demonstrated, it is possible for a user to end the frustration and make their AirPods Max into USB-C devices with a kit that is available to buy online.

Powered by CNG (compressed natural gas), Bajaj Auto's new motorcycle is designed to offer a more affordable and environmentally friendly alternative to petrol and diesel motorcycles, countering the rising price of fuel.

Rivian is set to receive $827 million in state funding from Illinois, set to be used to prepare the company, its staff, and facilities for the production of its upcoming R2 electric SUV. Meanwhile, Tesla's continued shrink has seen massive lay-offs to its supercharger team and the closure of its summer internship program.

The founder of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, has been sentenced to four months in prison for putting profits above the law. The company was found guilty of inadvertently helping fund various criminal activities around the globe. Zhao pleaded guilty on the last day of April and he now has to spend several months in prison in the United States in addition to paying hefty fines.

The $1 subscription offer for Starlink satellite Internet is available in select states with a monthly fee refund, while SpaceX has found a way to sell Starlink kits on the cheap.

After revealing surprisingly strong data center sales in the first quarter, AMD's CEO, Lisa Su, also mentioned that the first Epyc Turin and Ryzen Strix samples are already reaching the company's partners. These Zen 5-based processors are expected to launch in the second half of 2024.

Los Angeles is launching AI Metro buses to automatically issue parking tickets to cars blocking bus routes. The AI buses are equipped with cameras to automatically identify illegally parked vehicles and will upload incriminating videos for human verification prior to court enforcement.

Except the Pura 70 Ultra, Huawei Pura 70 smartphones are almost entirely made up of parts manufactured by Chinese firms according to a teardown analysis of the phones. Huawei’s Chinese supply chain for its flagship P70 series includes firms like OFILM, HNLens Technology, BOE, etc. With the company coming close to achieving full local production, it would be safe to say that Huawei has largely shrugged off the effects of the US sanctions.

Godox' latest clip-on wireless audio recording system comes with dual long-range mics rated for "impressive" Hi-Res audio. Furthermore, the Magic XT1's 2-in-1 receiver has its own OLED display to help control and monitor its audio in real time. It also supports connectivity via 3.5mm jack and the USB Audio Class (UAC) standard.

According to a recent report from The Information, Huawei is making advancements in establishing domestic production of HBM (high bandwidth memory). This move from the Chinese company is an effort to overcome the limitations it has in the AI and HPC (high-performance computing) sectors due to US sanctions.

The new Starlink V4 satellite dish and Internet router paraphernalia have now arrived in Target stores with self installation instructions. The retailer also offers Residential and Roam service plan subscriptions and 30-day returns.

A report from Business Korea states Samsung plans to start mass production of its 2 nm node in 2025. It will be used to power the Exynos 2600 and possibly the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 for Galaxy.

Huawei has introduced GoPaint as its latest in-house app. It is touted to help users of devices such as the OEM's flagship MatePad tablets to create better original art than ever before, with features such as tutorials, tools and a "wealth" of virtual brush types. The app will be released during Huawei's next major product event of 2024.

The world's largest 3D-printed housing community has been completed - and the company behind it has now developed an AI architect who designs customized homes that are then built by a robot in record time. As well as reducing costs and making housing more affordable, the smart technology, combined with low-CO2 concrete, is also helping to protect the environment.

LG's Innotek divison has won its latest Edison Award for its advanced optical zoom module for smartphones. The company claims that a device with one of these lenses will be able to take images of the highest quality possible at magnification of up to 5x without the usual super-prominent camera hump. The technology may or may not feature in the new iPhones of the coming years.