Adrienne Lofton, vice president of consumer marketing at Google, never intended to work in tech, even though she often found herself adjacent to the industry throughout her career.

With over 20 years of experience in the marketing industry, Lofton has held executive roles at top brands such as Nike, Under Armour, Levi Strauss & Co., and Target. In her current role at Google, Lofton works in the brand’s Platforms and Ecosystems portfolio, where she oversees a team that brings culturally relevant consumer-first integrated campaigns to market from beginning to end for products like Android, Play, and Chrome.

“Stepping into Google was not intentional, but yet, it was the perfect plan as I’ve continued to grow my career,” Lofton told Boardroom.

As part of Boardroom’s Women’s History Month coverage, Lofton opened up about her career path and shared insights on how her team approaches each campaign with the same goal in mind — keeping culture centerstage.

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From Houston to Howard

Lofton grew up in a predominately white neighborhood in Houston, so when it was time to go off to college, she chose to seek a new experience. Lofton said as soon as she stepped foot on Howard University’s campus, she knew that’s exactly where she needed to be.

“When I went to Howard, it was the first time I realized taking smart risks makes you better and stronger,” she said. “When I got into the school of business at Howard, I told the head of the school that I wanted to work for Nike.”

Lofton didn’t know she would embark on a career in marketing and brand strategy at the time, but she knew she wanted to tell stories and make people feel the way that Nike made her feel as a young athlete.

“I was an insecure kid where sports made me feel like I could do anything, and it was Nike that unlocked that in me,” Lofton said.

But it would be another 15 years and a slew of different jobs before Lofton landed her big opportunity at Nike.

Her journey begins at Gap, before taking a role at General Motors to build out the automotive company’s multicultural division on its agency side. After that, Target approached Lofton to build out a similar multicultural organization before she took her talents to Under Armour (UA). She spent 12 years at UA, a time that she says was one of the best chapters in her life. And then out of nowhere, Nike called in search for a VP and North American CMO.

Lofton said she had huge shoes to fill when she accepted the job at Nike since the person who held the role before her was known as a legend around the company. Still, she jumped right in and was extremely excited to be working with a brand she always admired.

And then, in her fourth year at Nike, Google came knocking.

All Roads Lead to Tech

Lofton didn’t realize her career path led to tech until her current boss, Nick Drake, Google’s VP of global marketing, called her for a reference for someone else years ago, and they immediately hit it off. That 30-minute informal conversation turned into a two-hour deep-dive about what it is to be a marketer today and how to think about the consumer differently.

“So if you’re in marketing and you’re running a full-stack offense, you’re definitely writing checks to Facebook and Google from an advertising perspective, so I had commercial relationships with these companies,” Lofton said. “I think in my head, and this could be imposter syndrome, but by the time I got to year like 10 or 12 [in my career], and as tech was booming, I would always think it was too late for me to jump into something that felt to me completely new.”

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Lofton had her reservations about jumping into a new industry, but Drake was adamant about bringing Lofton onto his team, so much so that the pair talked for eight months about what a role at Google would look like for her. Lofton did acknowledge that she was three years in to her dream job at Nike at this time, a role she didn’t envision leaving.

“In each conversation with Nick, I started to think maybe I can step into this sometimes very intimidating industry called tech and actually make a difference,” she said. “I stepped out almost three years ago now to join Google, and it’s one of the best decisions I have ever made.”

In hindsight, Lofton said Google is both very similar to things she’s done in the past and completely different. One of the biggest differences she noted is how quickly tech innovations happen. Lofton also said there is an interesting balance between art and science inside Google. When she got there, she said she spent a lot of time understanding data and getting deep into analytics before launching marketing campaigns, where she got to bring art into the fold.

Lofton said when she retires, she wants to be able to look back on every chapter in her career and be proud, even a newer chapter such as tech.

Google’s New Circle to Search Campaign

Lofton said this new campaign is intentionally different from what the brand has done in the past, and it comes with multiple layers. Android launched its new ‘Endless Wow Factor’ campaign, featuring an array of celebrities, including Naomi Campbell, Brent Faiyaz, Sha’carri Richardson, and Bronny James, engaging with Google’s AI-powered Circle to Search feature. The feature allows users to tap into a simple gesture to pull up a search of anything on their phone, from screenshots to photos and more. Lofton’s team worked with Crown + Conquer, a creative agency, to bring this new campaign to life.

“So when we talked about the reinvention of search, which is Circle to Search, the ability to stay within your app and just go and circle and find something new, whether it’s information or cultural, we knew that we needed to bring a different level of attention to this new product,” Lofton said. “We wanted to bring real people into the product, hand them our devices, and let them experience it themselves.”

The 60-second video shows the range of this new feature in different settings, which is only available on Android devices. The campaign wasn’t just to highlight a new feature but to see how innovation can impact a trusted and known product like Google Search.

“We are bringing the best of Google technology to the biggest cultural moments, changing the way we engage our consumers,” Lofton said. “While I am proud of so many moments, there is still work to be done to ensure all consumers feel valued, and I’m excited to keep pushing forward.”

Breaking Barriers

Whether inside or outside of the office, Lofton champions DEI. She serves as Google’s executive sponsor for AdColor and often speaks at conferences aimed at underrepresented individuals. As a Black woman, Lofton said she’s used to being the first in many categories. She was the first Black woman in all of her roles at UA, the first Black woman to lead North America at Nike, and the first Black CMO of Dockers at Levi’s.

“I am a Black woman. And I carry that with me into every room I enter, every role I hold, each and every day. It has shaped how I lead, how I engage with those around me, and the work I put into the world,” Lofton said. “It is hard to envision yourself in a position when it hasn’t been held by someone who looks like you before, and that experience can be quite isolating. But I take great pride in breaking barriers and allowing others who look like me to see themselves in places we haven’t been previously, and this motivates me to keep going and unlock more doors for myself and others.”

Specifically at Google, Lofton said the brand is hyper-focused on inclusive marketing, which Google defines as the conscious act of making informed, intentional, and brand-appropriate creative decisions that – in aggregate – positively reflect the diversity and reality of the world around us. All of the marketing campaigns the brand creates are reviewed by its Marketing Review Council, a division that ensures each piece of work sticks to this standard and that there is diverse representation in front of and behind the camera.

“DEI is so critical. From a business perspective, the consumers we serve are so diverse, and our teams and the work we put into the world need to reflect that,” Lofton said. “I always start with my team, and I’m really proud that we’ve increased underrepresented groups significantly year over year.”

Lofton’s Future

Lofton said she’s acutely focused on being present, so it’s hard to envision what her future looks like. Though she does think about it often. Aside from the important work she’s doing at Google, she’s looking forward to spending more time with family and friends, continuing her fitness journey, and cuddling with her furry friend, Kosi Langston. In the distant future, Lofton said she could see herself opening up a fitness studio or starting a dog rescue program.

“Looking ahead, in 10 years, I see myself being mentally and physically healthy. And that is a result of the work that I am currently putting in daily,” Lofton said. “We only get one life, so I will continue the quest to tap into the joy of life and living.”

As for aspiring marketers, Lofton said it’s important to take stock of what success looks like for you, build an authentic network, and challenge the status quo. She always tells her team to focus on getting wins on the board, and this means really putting their heads down and doing the work.

“I’m an athlete, and I live by the mindset of ‘being where your feet are.’ Be present and absorb all you can where you are before worrying about the next thing,” Lofton said. “Never stop being curious. I am a lifelong learner, and even after 20 years in the marketing industry, I’m always looking for new challenges that will help me stretch and grow. Marketing is a beautiful balance of art and science, and both sides are always evolving. So, as marketers, we must continue to respect the craft and hone our skills.”

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The post How Google’s Adrienne Lofton Connects Marketing and Culture appeared first on Boardroom.

This past October, as the increasingly honest and blunt Milwaukee Bucks centerpiece has done over and over again during media sessions, Giannis Antetokounmpo delivered an on-the-fly, all-time, hilarious one-liner.

“Money is not important,” he paused. “A lot of fucking money is important.” 

He had a Bucks contract extension decision looming, and it was to his advantage to actually wait until after this current season to extend, when he’d be eligible to sign a new four-year deal for $234 million.

The Twitter chatter challenged his charming humbleness and modest upbringing, with people pushing narratives that the star power and global audience had changed him — that it was now about the money as he entered his 11th season. 

It couldn’t have been further from the truth. 

(Just weeks after the Damian Lillard trade, Giannis eventually signed a new three-year, $169 million extension on the Oct. 23 deadline, that could escalate to $186 million, the extra guaranteed year he had wanted be damned.) 

Although it was said jokingly, there’s a deeper layer behind that Giannis quote.

As Antetokounmpo’s budding business empire has shown in recent years, a lot of fucking money is important because of the platforms, the programs, and the infrastructure that it’s allowing the entire Antetokounmpo family to build. 

Not just for themselves now, but for generations of Antetokounmpos to come. Just as importantly, for the community of Milwaukee, the people back home in Greece and Nigeria, and an audience around the world. 

Over the last decade, Giannis has empowered a team around him to begin building out an array of pillars that represent his different focuses, both in athletics and away from the game. The culmination of that groundwork led to the formation in June 2023 of Ante, Inc., the parent company for which Giannis serves as Chairman and Co-Founder. Ante, Inc. operates the business interests and efforts of him and his brothers Thanasis, Kostas, Francis, and Alex. 

“My family is building a business that we can be proud of,” beamed the Bucks star. 

The business of Giannis is booming and still growing. With those pillars now entailing a new media company, a growing global sneaker empire, over a dozen endorsements and investments, a web of sports franchise ownership stakes, and a charity foundation, Boardroom sits down with Giannis to get an inside look at how Antetokounmpo is building out a legacy for his family name.

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The Media Company 

In January, Giannis officially announced his newest venture with the formation and launch of Improbable Media. The new production company, co-founded with ESPN broadcaster Jay Williams, already boasts a host of documentaries, TV commercials, and other uplifting content in the works.

“Building the company was great and is something that, in my world, helps my life become easier,” he said. “I would love to produce a lot of things that I’m passionate and interested about, that people would love to watch.”

The company named former Fusion Media Network and Red Bull executive Jonathan Stern as its CEO. It also added the Milwaukee Bucks Director of Content Nick Monroe as its Head of Features, who has photographed, filmed and traveled extensively with Antetokounmpo over the years.

Improbable’s debut feature production is a full-length documentary on Giannis himself, dubbed The Marvelous Journey and available to watch on Amazon‘s Prime Video. He specifies that it’s been two years in the making. The film features his mother’s first extensive solo interview and provides more access to his life away from the court than ever before.

“I wanted to be myself, and I wanted people to see me not just as a basketball player,” he said. “For example, I never talk about or show my kids, and this will probably be the first time that you’ll see that.” 

In addition to his own documentary, the company produced UGO: A Homecoming Story, a 31-minute long feature in partnership with WhatsApp following Antetokounmpo on his first visit to his family’s homeland of Nigeria.

Improbable Media is currently working on another feature-length film to share the true life story of Efe Obada, a Nigerian-born NFL player who overcame human trafficking and homelessness at the age of 10 when he and his sister moved to London. The production company is also working to co-produce content for companies like Breitling and Nike, with whom Antetokounmpo has long-term partnerships. 

With Marvelous Journey serving as the premiere piece of content from the new venture, Antetokounmpo is already seeing firsthand how shaping stories with his Improbable Media team has been able to cut through in the space. 

“In my industry, a lot of people always talk about what I had to go through and who I am as a person,” he described. “There are a lot of narratives that people create. But this is no narrative. This is me talking about the stuff we had to go through and the real journey. … Things that we had to go through in order to get here. It shows a different side of me.”

The Endorsements & Investments 

For every generational talent in the NBA, there’s a litany of lucrative offers constantly from companies looking to partner with a player of Giannis’ stature. 

“A lot of endorsement deals come to my table, and I try to pick things that align with my brand,” Antetokounmpo says matter-of-factly of his approach. 

His “brand” has proven to be one of the more unique across the league. His family connection and pride for his loved ones are undeniably a hallmark of both his public image and his daily persona, a trait and storyline that’s shown to connect with audiences from around the globe. 

He’s also long accepted and embraced his constant goofiness, sharing near-daily dad jokes in interviews and constantly coming across as one of the league’s more natural comedians for his audience of a combined 25 million followers across Instagram, X, and TikTok on social media. 

Coupled with his underdog rise from an unknown prospect upon entering the league to a now two-time MVP and NBA champion, Antetokounmpo’s aspirational story is the ascension to greatness that brands are constantly looking to celebrate in marketing campaigns.

All of that has led to Giannis holding one of the NBA’s most expansive endorsement portfolios. 

Antetokounmpo’s collective of corporate sponsors and partners, which he has secured through his years of being represented by his agent, Alex Saratsis, features an array of global companies, including Nike, WhatsApp, Google Pixel, Degree, JBL, 2K Sports, Kronos Foods, T-Mobile, TCL, digital health insurance company Antidote, and Greece’s Aegean Airlines. 

Just before NBA All-Star Weekend, the All-Star Game’s leading vote-getter added yet another endorsement deal to his stable, becoming the new face of lemon-lime soda Starry, the official soft drink of the NBA. 

“I feel like I could be funny and joke around, the same way that Starry jokes around,” said Antetokounmpo of the fit. “The 30-second clip is fun, and it shows the fun side of me out there. It promotes the product in a great light, and I was happy with it.”

Under the Ante, Inc. parent company, Giannis and his family also boast a growing investment stable that now features equity in companies including Flexpower Health, Candy Funhouse, and Ready Nutrition. They also acquired a 10% stake in Hellenic Wineries, which oversees Boutari Wineries, a 100-year-old Greek legacy winery that produces both wine and natural mineral water. 

At the start of this season, the Antetokounmpo family also launched their own AntetokounBros Shop, just adjacent to Milwaukee’s new Trade Hotel, which sits across the street from the Bucks’ home at Fiserv Forum and the city’s “Deer District.” Another AntetokounBros Shop is located within the Athens Airport, with each store featuring casual and athletic apparel celebrating the brothers of the Antetokounmpo family. 

Along with the emerging business portfolio, in 2022, the collective launched the Charles Antetokounmpo Family Foundation in honor of their late father, who passed away after a heart attack in 2017. The “global social impact foundation” has already launched several initiatives in categories including education and health. The foundation is also specifically providing resources and financial support for refugees and immigrants to help improve their living conditions, as well as widows and families facing the loss of a loved one.

Each of the efforts aligns with the Antetokounmpo family’s experiences and hardships as they established themselves in Greece and, more recently, faced the loss of Charles.

Another key pillar of the foundation’s mission is athletics, and with the launch of the AntetokounBros Academy, in partnership with Nike and the EuroHoops organization, Giannis and Co. aim to provide access to sports for youths in Milwaukee, Greece, and Africa. 

The Shoe Deal 

Within the signature shoe business, there’s been a pricing and positioning trend in just the last decade, which Nike has been ramping up to aggressively grow the business of its handful of featured athletes. 

Several of their signature athletes actually have two signature shoes each season — their main annual “numbered” model and a “takedown” model that is priced considerably lower with a different distribution strategy. Several other brands have also utilized the strategy in recent years.

Antetokounmpo is now on the fifth model of his Zoom Freak series, priced at $140, and the third model of his Immortality sneaker, priced at $90. Since launching his own signature series with Nike in 2019, he’s been steadily building a top-five-grossing signature basketball shoe business among active NBA players, that now towers north of nine figures, thanks largely in part to his dual-model approach.

“I’m happy that my relationship with Nike has been incredible,” said Antetokounmpo. “They allow me to showcase my personality and I think our product is really, really good — one of the best in the league.”

The Immortality shoe has become the best-selling sub-$100 basketball sneaker, with Nike’s first European signature athlete driving serious volume internationally and across a batch of sporting goods retailers nationwide in the US. More than 40 players have worn an Immortality shoe in the NBA this season, with the model also worn all across the EuroLeague.

“I love it,” he adds. “And I know that a lot of people around the world love it too.”

This past summer, entirely behind the scenes, Antetokounmpo was actually faced with yet another large looming contract decision — his Nike deal was set to expire in the fall of 2024.

Because of the standard 14-18-month product planning calendar that the footwear industry operates under and the success that Giannis and the brand have had to date, Nike looked to lock in a shoe deal extension well ahead of the expiration date in July 2023, so as not to interrupt the ongoing planning for the Fall 2024 season at the time. 

As a dude that specifically covers sneaker deals, a few weeks beforehand this past June, I got a DM on Instagram from Giannis himself. He was looking to give me a ring and pick my brain about the signature shoe business at large, as he weighed the new extension, just before heading to China for his latest sneaker tour with Nike.

“Man, I’m gonna give you a shout-out here, Nick,” Antetokounmpo now jokes. “For a lot of people that don’t know, me and Nick, we had a lot of conversations throughout the summer. He’s got a lot of knowledge on contract extensions and the footwear world.” 

As it turned out, he quietly and happily inked the new long-term deal that is set to make him one of the industry’s highest-earning sneaker endorsers, while also guaranteeing longevity in the sneaker game that few players achieve during their playing careers. 

“It was easy for me,” he says now. “It was legacy. We talked about it. I had the opportunity to have a Giannis 10 and Giannis 15, and I don’t think there’s a lot of people that can say that. Obviously, Kobe, KD and LeBron — those are the three, and now I’m joining a list like that.”

As he’s shown throughout his tenure with the Milwaukee Bucks, his decision to extend with Nike was also powered by the connective elements of both familiarity and loyalty. 

“I pride myself on my loyalty and sticking around with the people that have supported me and given me the opportunity to be where I am today,” he described. “That’s what I tried to do.”

Giannis fondly remembers once sharing Nike shoes with his older brother Thanasis when they couldn’t both afford a pair of basketball shoes while growing up in Greece, later first inking a modest-paying shoe deal as a teenager beginning his pro career in Europe and now being one of the Swoosh’s global featured faces of the entire company. 

“Nike believed in me when I was a skinny 17-year-old kid with nothing,” he smiled. “Again, it was a no-brainer to continue this partnership and to build something great here. It’s going to last longer than me. I’m very, very happy for the extension.” 

The Team Ownership Portfolio 

In addition to the media company, another of Antetokounmpo’s noted focuses in recent years has been his pursuit of team ownership stakes across professional leagues in the US. Since signing a supermax contract in 2019 and his most recent max extension last fall, he’s set his sights on building out an ownership portfolio across other professional sports leagues. 

Giannis and the Ante, Inc. parent company are currently minority owners across three leagues, holding equity percentages of the MLB’s Milwaukee Brewers, the MLS’s Nashville SC, and the Los Angeles Golf Club of the upcoming Tiger Woods-backed Tomorrow’s Golf League. In each case, he and his brothers have entered into the ownership groups together. 

“I’m trying to do things that I’m passionate about,” he said. “The Milwaukee Brewers — it’s home. I know the best player on the team, and that was easy. Soccer, my dad played soccer, and I played soccer since I was like 11 before I focused on basketball. I’m a big, big soccer fan.”

While he admits he’s just beginning on the links, the potential and excitement around the upcoming TGL and the opportunity to take on an equity stake in one of just six of the upstart league’s franchises was too good to pass up. 

“Once I’m done with basketball, maybe I’ll get myself into golf a bit more,” he joked. “[With] golf, I’m trying to get myself together, man. [laughs] My swing is not that good, but Doc Rivers might help with that. He’s a big golf player and golf fan, so we’ll see. I’m just excited to do things that I can prep for my career for after basketball.”

As TV and streaming platforms continue to prioritize high-cost rights to air live sports, franchise valuations across leagues have rapidly accelerated over the last decade. There’s perhaps no better case study than the Bucks, who were purchased for $550 million in 2014, the year after Giannis’ rookie season. 

Thanks to his star power, the continued global growth of the NBA, and the Bucks’ championship run in 2021, the franchise currently boasts a valuation of over $3.2 billion. With over $400 million in combined on-court past earnings and guaranteed future contract years, and another max contract likely in store ahead, Antetokounmpo doesn’t necessarily want to estimate how much he’s helped to spike that rise in the Bucks’ overall valuation, though he’s proud of the contribution he’s certainly made. 

“I really don’t know, and I don’t want to sound arrogant,” he said. “But anyone that’s followed my journey and the Bucks’ journey will understand my impact on the team being worth $3 billion dollars — it’s big. But I really don’t care about that.

“I understand that it’s a business, and the owners gotta do what they have to do,” he continued. “I didn’t buy the team for $400 or $500 million — they did. They’re the ones that sold the team when the valuation was $3 billion. They’re businessmen, and they have to make a living. They’re good in business and good at putting value into stuff and flipping it. They’re good at putting everything together for it to be successful.”

With the experience of seeing that rise up close and in real-time, the 29-year-old has learned the value of already taking on ownership stakes in leagues he has the ability to enter now. His franchise stakes across three teams currently set him up to benefit as each league and the sporting landscape continue to grow. 

The Legacy 

Across the myriad of moves made, companies launched, investments, and endorsements inked, Giannis doesn’t hesitate to reflect on how he’s gotten to this point and the legacy he’s looking to build for himself and his family. 

He always comes back to his father Charles, and the pride to pursue the impossible that was instilled in him early on after his family’s humble upbringing in Greece. 

“My dad did not have nothing,” he reflects calmly, with a pause. “But he had us.”

Since 2017, Giannis has relentlessly sought to celebrate Charles’s life and impact on his children. Just afterward, he tasked the Nike design team with always including a phrase on his annual signature shoes: “I Am My Father’s Legacy.” 

“When he passed away, he didn’t leave money, cars, or houses — none of that,” continued Antetokounmpo. “But he left his legacy with me and my brothers. So we want to represent him every single day to the best of our abilities. That’s what we try to do.”

As a result, his budding business empire is shaping up not just to generate “a lot of money” for Antetokounmpo, but through his foundation, his media company, his athletics academy, and his inspiring play on the court, Giannis is already seeing just how his legacy can begin to extend around the world and make its mark in Milwaukee and beyond.

“I’m just happy that I was able to impact the city of Milwaukee,” he said.

“I believe with me being there, I provided a lot of jobs, provided excitement and have tried to help the community with my family. … We’ve been able to uplift people and help close the gaps, man, and we’re doing it with the people that we love.”

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A peek into today’s edition:

• Big Tech’s strong presence at NBA All-Star 2024
• Bitcoin surpasses $51K
• OpenAI announces a new text-to-video platform

Big Tech is Strong in Indy for NBA All-Star Weekend 2024

Big Tech and the NBA go hand-in-hand as the league continues to implement creative ways to bring tech into the popular sport.

The NBA hosted its 24th annual NBA All-Star Technology Summit on Friday, where it brought together leaders across tech, sports business, and media to have off-the-record dialogues about trends and innovations across their industries. The NBA is undoubtedly the most tech-focused league out there, in my opinion, and that’s because it consistently goes above and beyond to implement and showcase its new tech innovations. IIt did so again at the Tech Summit on Friday as Spurs rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama joined Adam Silver to unveil NB-AI, an NBA-trained voice assistant that leverages AI tech to personalize the live game viewing experience for fans. The league didn’t announce when the new offering will launch or if it will cost at this time.

Outside of the summit, Big Tech giants like Meta and Google had a strong presence throughout the weekend, with tech-focused activations and exclusive programming. One of my favorite events of the weekend was the Google Pixel Combine, which featured interactive stations to showcase its latest device in action. Foot Locker also got in on some tech action with an interactive LED half-court.

Check out my story, All Things Tech at NBA All-Star Weekend 2024, for a full download on what some of the top tech brands have planned for the big game.

Bitcoin Surpasses $51K as Next Halving Event Nears

Bitcoin surpassed the $51,000 threshold earlier this week for the first time since December 2021, marking a new two-year high for the world’s most valuable digital asset. This pushed the token’s market cap back over $1 trillion, which is also the first time this has happened since late 2021. So far, my crypto predictions for the year are coming true since the SEC approved spot Bitcoin ETFs, and Bitcoin breezed past $40,000. ETFs are driving the current rally behind Bitcoin as the token’s price continues to drive up. Remember, Bitcoin’s highest value per token was $69,000 in November 2021. It’s too soon to tell if it will reach that threshold again, but you can expect I’ll make a bet on it soon.

It’s also important to remember that Bitcoin’s next halving can occur as soon as April 17, which is roughly two months away. Check out my explainer on what a Bitcoin Halving is to learn more.

Elsewhere in the crypto world, the sentencing for Binance founder Changpeng Zhao has been rescheduled for April 30. CZ’s sentencing was initially scheduled for Feb. 23, and he is facing up to 10 years in prison for pleading guilty to anti-money laundering charges.

Nvidia’s Market Cap Outpaces Alphabet & Amazon as AI Chip Market Booms

Nvidia won this week after it surpassed Amazon in market capitalization on Tuesday for the first time since 2002, but the AI chipmaker didn’t stop there. The company went on to overtake Alphabet on Wednesday as well, becoming one of the top three most valuable tech companies on the market behind Microsoft and Apple. Nvidia’s stock has risen more than 200% in the last 12 months as demand for its AI chips continues to rise. The company’s chips power popular AI models from OpenAI, Amazon, Google, and others.

Nvidia will share its next earnings report on Wednesday, Feb. 21. Stay tuned for an explainer of the AI chipmaker and why it’s having a meteoric rise right now.

• OpenAI announced a new text-to-video AI platform called Sora, which lets users create realistic or animated videos up to 60 seconds from simple text prompts. The generative AI company showcased its new tech offerings through a thread of posts on X featuring different prompts and the videos they created.
• Elon Musk is moving all of his businesses out of Delaware after a judge in the state rejected his Tesla pay package reportedly worth more than $55 billion. Musk filed to move SpaceX and Tesla to Texas and Neuralink to Nevada.
• Google Pixel inked a deal to become the official mobile phone of the NWSL to further media coverage of women’s sports through exclusive behind-the-scenes access to game highlights, teams, and players. Elsewhere, Verizon and the NHL renewed their multi-year partnership to bring more 5G connectivity to arenas.
• New York City and a few agencies are suing TikTok, Meta, Snap, and YouTube, alleging that the tech companies intentionally implement tactics to get young users hooked on their platforms. NYC Mayor Eric Adams said the state is seeking a jury trial, policy changes, and financial damages.
• President Joe Biden‘s re-election campaign launched a TikTok account to attract younger voters on the platform, and the account has already attracted more than 145,000 followers (as of Friday afternoon).
• The European Union ruled that Apple won’t be forced to make iMessage interoperable with other messaging platforms, and Microsoft won’t have to tighten restrictions on its Bing search engine. The EU concluded that the services don’t meet designation under its Digital Markets Act, which is a win for the Big Tech giants.

The US Patent and Trademark Office shared new guidance that says AI systems cannot be named inventors in applications, but humans can leverage AI tools to create patented works as long as they disclose that they do. I’m going to bet that as AI systems get smarter, these rules will change to allow AI platforms to be named inventors.

The post Big Tech is Strong in Indy for 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend appeared first on Boardroom.

NBA All-Star Weekend 2024 is upon us in Indianapolis, and once again, the technology presence is stronger than ever, with artificial intelligence securing the spotlight as expected.

To kick off the busy weekend, the NBA hosted its 24th annual NBA All-Star Technology Summit, bringing together leaders across tech, sports business, and media to have off-the-record dialogues about trends and innovations across their industries. On the record, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama unveiled NB-AI, an NBA-trained voice assistant that leverages AI tech to personalize the live game viewing experience for fans. The new platform uses generative AI to recreate live games as fans see fit, even if that means watching games in the form of dramatic films.

Take a look at NB-AI in action.

There are a lot of tech-focused happenings slated over All-Star Weekend, but here are a few that stand out from big-name brands, such as the NBA itself, Meta, Foot Locker, and more.

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NBA All-Star LED Court

The NBA unveiled a video-enabled LED court that will be used for the main NBA All-Star events hosted at Lucas Oil Stadium over the weekend. The tech-focused court features interactive displays, full-color changes, live replays and game stats, and interactive games to engage fans in-arena.

Google Pixel Combine

Google is stepping out of the box once again with its Google Pixel Combine activation, where it transformed a space into the ultimate hoops heaven.

The activation has many fan engagement stations, from a rookie photo moment to skills training sessions, an open court, and a vintage locker room setup packed with NBA All-Star memorabilia. Throughout the venue, fans can find Google Pixel 8 Pro devices to capture fun moments throughout the experience. Throughout the weekend, Google is also hosting daytime programming and musical performances during the evening.

Ticketmaster’s Game and Go Arcade

Ticketmaster created an NBA arcade experience at NBA Crossover that will draw fans to play NBA Jam, compete in hoops trivia, and test their skills on pop-a-shot. Each fan who stops by will be awarded a scratch-off ticket revealing Ticketmaster prizes. Taylor Rooks, Dominique Wilkins, Joakim Noah, and Jamie Jacquez Jr. are expected to make appearances in the space throughout the weekend.

The Puma x Cheetos Interactive Experience

Puma is syncing up with Cheetos to immerse fans in a 3D larger-than-life Cheetos bag featuring a live mazze, basketball court, and more. Puma and Cheetos linked up for this activation to highlight the cross-section of hoops and snacks, and of course, fans who visit the experience will get a chance to win some giveaways and prizes. Puma and Cheetos’ activation also comes as they drop their sneaker collaboration on Feb. 16.

Coinbase Moonshot

Coinbase constructed a 29-foot-tall geodesic dome at NBA Crossover with one goal: to challenge fans to score a basket at the speed of crypto. To accomplish this, the crypto leader is using a panoramic screen to take guests into space as a basket loaded with high-tech sensors determines the speed and precision of their shot. Participants will have a chance to win limited-edition gear, NFTs, and a meet-and-greet with Indiana Pacers‘ Tyrese Haliburton.

Foot Locker’s Home Court

Foot Locker is taking over downtown Indianapolis with its custom 50,000-square-foot Home Court activation. The unique space features engaging experiences, events, and an interactive LED half-court. The sneaker company will host daily basketball clinics, sneaker trialing, customization stations, exclusive product releases, athlete appearances, and more in the space.

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The Meta Quest Suite

The Meta Quest 3 is the official virtual reality headset of the NBA, so it’s only right the brand is showing up in various places throughout NBA All-Star Weekend 2024. Meta is hosting invite-only experiences during the main events of All-Star Weekend to welcome select guests to get hands-on with Quest 3 devices and see how VR is bringing more fans closer to the game in a unique way. Invited guests can experience a variety of basketball and entertainment apps, including watching courtside NBA games in VR via Xtadium and getting shots up in Gym Class VR Basketball during the Panini Rising Stars and the All-Star game events.

AT&T at NBA Crossover

AT&T is hosting a few activations at NBA Crossover with different tech twists. Here is a rundown of each:

• AT&T Dribble Town: this immersive gameplay experience features NBa avatars who will act as guides for participants through a dribbling game. Guests get to select who they want their NBA motivator to be to offer real-time feedback and commentary.
• AT&T Splashville: this activation features a virtual court where fans can compete as their favorite Western Conference player and ace against the clock to make it into the NBA All-Star game.
• All-Star Mural: AT&T sponsored an interactive mural that lets fans get creative and make their own digital painting that can transform with augmented reality.

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The post All Things Tech at NBA All-Star Weekend 2024 appeared first on Boardroom.

A peek into today’s edition: 

• Big Tech is doing it big at Super Bowl LVIII
• Bluesky opens to the public
• Disney invests $1.5 billion in Epic Games

How Big Tech is Taking Over Super Bowl LVIII

Technology is showing up in big ways at Super Bowl LVIII, with brands such as Microsoft, Verizon, Apple, and Google snagging multi-million-dollar advertising spots during the year’s biggest sporting event. But commercials aren’t all you’ll see from the tech world, with brands like Snapchat integrating with the NFL to bring its augmented reality tech to Allegiant Stadium, Verizon working overtime to hook up 5G connectivity for the thousands of fans who will be at the game, and the NFL is even partnering with creators to attract new viewers.

Moments like this remind me that tech touches everything. That’s kind of the slogan I say when people ask me what type of work I do and why. This is it, connecting the dots to how all of these tech brands ended up in the same room.

Check out my story, All Things Tech at Super Bowl LVIII, for a full download on what each tech brand has planned for the big game.

Jack Dorsey’s Bluesky Enters the Market Full-time

Bluesky, a decentralized social media network launched by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, is now open for anyone to join. Dorsey officially incorporated Bluesky in 2021 after spinning the project out from Twitter. Since opening the platform’s waitlist in October 2022, the only way to get on Bluesky was through an invite code from a user already on the platform. Bluesky had roughly 3 million sign-ups before it opened to the public earlier this week, and within a few days, it amassed more than 850,000 new users.

The surge in interest for Bluesky might mean it’ll genuinely become a competitor for X and Instagram‘s Threads. Bluesky’s public launch also comes a month and a half after it launched a new logo with a butterfly to symbolize change and transformation. The logo models the sky blue and white colors the Twitter logo used to have.

Google Says Goodbye to Bard & Hello to Gemini

Last weekend, leaked documents detailed Google’s plans to rebrand its generative AI tech, Bard, and launch an app dedicated to it. It turns out the rumors were true since Google confirmed on Thursday that Bard will now be known as Gemini, the Big Tech company’s most powerful and flexible AI model that can run on everything from mobile devices to data centers. Gemini is the name of Google’s flagship AI model and the name of its conversational AI chatbot, which it also confirmed can be accessed via the Gemini App on Pixel and Android devices and through the Google App on iOS devices. Users can communicate with Gemini in over 40 languages.

With this rebrand and app launch, Google also announced Gemini Advanced, the AI model’s premium tier that costs $19.99 a month via a Google One subscription. The new offering comes with 2TB of storage, and interested users can try it out with a two-month free trial.

• Disney announced that it’s investing $1.5 billion in Epic Games, which comes with an equity stake and an expansive collaboration with the game developer’s Fortnite universe. Disney CEO Bob Iger shared the news during the company’s earnings call earlier this week, marking it as the brand’s biggest entry into the gaming industry.
• Gaming investments aren’t all that Disney is getting into right now. The entertainment leader is partnering with Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery to launch a new streaming app focused on sports programming, a venture that will pull content from ESPN, TNT, and Fox Sports.
• Apple is reportedly developing two foldable iPhone prototypes, according to The Information, though they aren’t slated to be released anytime soon. The Big Tech giant hasn’t confirmed the new products, but after announcing the Vision Pro from stealth last year, it’s safe to say Apple is always up to something.
• YouTube TV has hit 8 million subscribers, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan detailed in his annual letter to the community, where he also shared that YouTube has paid over $70 billion in the last three years to creators and media partners. Mohan also said YouTube is making big bets on AI innovations this year and investing more in creators on the platform.
• Meta is adding AI-generated labels to images created with third-party tools from OpenAI, Microsoft, Adobe, Midjourney, and more. OpenAI will also be adding visible symbols and invisible watermarks to image metadata for content created on its image generator, DALL-E 3, and via ChatGPT.
• Snapchat is laying off 10% of its global workforce, which is about 550 employees. Snapchat’s parent company is cutting its headcount in an effort “to reduce hierarchy and promote in-person collaboration,” which also means letting go of some senior-level staff members.

Reddit generated $800 million in revenue last year, a 20% increase year-over-year. This comes as the social news aggregator and forum prepares for an IPO, but I’m going to bet that Reddit won’t go public at the reported valuation of $5 billion; it’ll be under that, especially since it’s not profitable yet.

The post How Big Tech is Taking Over Super Bowl LVIII appeared first on Boardroom.

A peek into today’s edition:

• My Apple Vision Pro Review (finally!)
• Big Tech CEOs on Capitol Hill
• UMG vs TikTok rages on

Believe the Hype: The Apple Vision Pro is Here & It’s a Game Changer

“MVP! MVP! MVP!”

That’s what the staffers at Apple Fifth Avenue were chanting for Apple CEO Tim Cook as he walked up to open the doors of the store to customers eager to get their hands on the Apple Vision Pro on Friday morning. Cook shook hands with early adopters of his company’s newest device, spending about an hour in the store interacting with customers and the media. Every way I turned in the store, there were excited customers unboxing their Vision Pros, doing demos, and spectating the electric scenery.

Entertainment and the freedom to work on multiple screens were the top two things people told me they were most excited about experiencing with the Vision Pro. It was very obvious to me that the majority of the early Vision Pro adopters were tech enthusiasts, coders, legacy Apple supporters, and entertainment fanatics. I was excited to be in the room and on the ground, covering a historic moment. After testing out the Vision Pro myself this week, I have one piece of advice for the skeptical people out there: Believe the hype.

My Review of the Apple Vision Pro

I’ve been covering the Apple Vision Pro‘s rollout since the day the new device was announced last June at WWDC 2023. Ahead of the Vision Pro launch, Boardroom received an exclusive demo of the device on Thursday. I got a one-hour experience and even had to share my eye prescription ahead of it so the headset would be personally calibrated for me. Right off the bat, it was simple and easy to get used to the iris control and finger taps to click and move items around. The Vision Pro is truly a spatial computer, and I was able to control how immersed I wanted to be in the virtual space compared to being able to see the physical space around me.

I mostly interacted with apps native to Vision Pro, which truly leaned into making a spatial computing experience. I was able to select immersive backgrounds, and I was impressed by the device’s ability to handle multiple screens at once. I had screens positioned all around me, though typing is definitely a task I’ll have to get used to.

Watching movies in the Vision Pro exceeded my expectations. I felt like I was at the movie theater with the best seats in the house, and don’t get me started on the video quality. The imagery was top-tier. Aside from getting up close with a dinosaur that made me forget it wasn’t really in front of me and a butterfly landing on the tip of my finger, the NBA League Pass experience was, by far, my favorite thing I got to try.

Honestly, the only thing I was missing out on was interacting with my friends and other users, which I’m sure there will be updates and apps that allow for that down the line.

While I thoroughly enjoyed my experience, I left that demo thinking: Who is this device actually for, and how will Apple market it to the masses? I can’t imagine kids or someone my mom’s age investing in a device like this at this stage.

I got a couple of insights into these questions when I joined Cook and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver at the NBA HQ on Friday afternoon for an exclusive experience with the development team that built the Vision Pro version of NBA League Pass. Chad Evans, NBA SVP Head of Product, along with Senior Software Engineers Lauren Marshall and Matthew Parrott, presented their work on building out NBA League Pass from the Vision Pro. Evans told me that a core team of six engineers, designers, and product managers worked on the NBA League Pass app for the Vision Pro.

“We really wanted to be there for the launch because we think it’s really important for fans to get their hands on the experience,” Evans told Boardroom. “I love statistics and the way stats can help you build a deeper understanding of the game. We actually rebuilt our core stats engine so that we can have real-time stats in sync with all of the videos you’re watching. That experience just makes the app feel alive.”

Following the demo, I asked Cook and Silver one question from all of the learnings I gathered about the Vision Pro: What do you think the future of sports and entertainment is in this new spatial computing universe, and how will you get fans to invest in it?

“I think it’s more immersive than ever before; I think the fan wants to be a part of the game and a part of the action, and there’s nothing like being in Vision Pro and feeling like you’re on the court,” Cook exclusively told me. “It’s not that you have a courtside seat; it’s so much better than that. I’m so excited. I think it really changes everything.”

Silver doubled down on that.

“You often hear, even from casual NBA fans, that the best seat in all of sports is a courtside seat, which virtually no one gets to experience. As Tim said, this is in many ways better than sitting courtside; it can take you anywhere on the floor, it can give you the perspective of a player, and it can give you places you can otherwise never go and absorb it,” Silver told me. “It can give you the perspective of a player; it can give you places you can otherwise never go and absorb it. “These are, of course, early days, but it is transformative. This will, to me, be how people over time experience sports through media.”

I have more insights to share from my experience with the Apple team this week, but one thing is clear to me after my experience this week: Apple is all in on entertainment for the Vision Pro.

Expect more from me on the new device very soon.

• Big Tech CEOs from Meta, TikTok, Snap, Discord, and X were in the hot seat on Wednesday during a Senate hearing focused on the harm young users face online and policies meant to protect them. Meta‘s Mark Zuckerberg and TikTok’s Shou Zi Chew got most of the heat from Senators looking to pass a bill that would put more liability on social platforms when young users experience harm online.
• Amazon mutually agreed with iRobot to call off its planned acquisition of the Roomba maker. As a result, iRobot founder and CEO Colin Angle announced he is stepping down, and the company has cut 31% of its workforce, which is 350 people.
• In other Amazon news, the Bellevue, WA, house where Jeff Bezos founded the Big Tech company has hit the real estate market for $2.3 million.
• Elon Musk reported on X that the first human has received a Neuralink brain-computer interface, a device that’s implanted into the brain and allows users to control external computers, robotic products, and mobile devices. The patient is a part of Neuralink’s first human trial for its flagship device.
• Also, a Delaware judge sided with Tesla shareholders who filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk to block his 2018 pay package, which included a whopping $56 billion salary that was previously approved by the company’s board.
• TikTok has a master plan to boost shopping and in-app sales by opening live studios across major cities like LA that allow creators to come in and livestream products they are pushing to sell. The company is also working on a new feature that would allow users to feature links to products in their videos.
• OpenAI’s ChatGPT announced a partnership with children’s safety org Common Sense Media to develop AI guidelines, educational materials, and a kid-friendly section in the GPT Store.

• Amazon & Meta Making Big Market Moves, Apple Exceeds Earnings Expectations
• Universal Music Group Artists Set to Disappear from TikTok After Negotiations Break Down
• Microsoft, Alphabet Post Big Revenue Numbers but Mixed Market Results

Universal Music Group decided to pull its music library from TikTok this week after the parties failed to reach a new agreement on royalties for artists and songwriters. I’m going to bet that UMG will return to the short-form video platform by the end of Q1 since it’s been able to reach deals with every other social network on the market.

The post Believe the Hype: The Apple Vision Pro is Here & It’s a Game Changer appeared first on Boardroom.

Alphabet and Microsoft kicked off Big Tech earnings season after the stock market closed on Tuesday with some wins, and some losses.

Microsoft’s recent earnings report comes after it made history last week by reaching a $3 trillion market cap, the second company to do so behind Apple. Unfortunately, the accolade was tainted by another round of layoffs that included nearly 2,000 cuts across the company’s gaming division. For Alphabet, all eyes are on the tech company’s advertising revenue, YouTube Shorts, and YouTube TV.

Let’s dive into key takeaways from Alphabet and Microsoft‘s recent earnings reports.

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Alphabet

Alphabet’s shares slipped more than 6% in after-hours trading on Tuesday after the company missed advertising revenue projections. Still, Alphabet beat expectations on overall revenue and profit for the fourth quarter of 2023. Alphabet generated $86.31 billion in revenue in its most recent quarter, an increase of 13% year-over-year. As for ad revenue, the company generated $65.52 billion versus the $65 billion analysts projected.

Overall, Alphabet brought in $307.39 billion in revenue for 2023, and despite the disappointing ad revenue numbers, the company is looking to attract a bigger audience at YouTube TV with potential expansion plans beyond the US. This year, the company brought in NFL Sunday Ticket, which DirectTV hosted for 29 years prior to the move. While Alphabet execs did not speak precisely to what this could mean for the future of live sports for the streaming television service, one has to wonder if it will position itself as a contender in the NBA rights conversation.

More insights from Alphabet’s recent earnings report:

• YouTube ads generated $9.2 billion in revenue, a 15% increase year-over-year.
• After cutting 6% of its workforce last year, Alphabet spent $2.1 billion on severances and related expenses. Alphabet’s CFO Ruth Porat said the company will spend about $700 million in similar expenses in Q1 of 2024.
• Google Cloud brought in $9.19 billion, a 26% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• Alphabet spent $1.8 billion in 2023 to exit some of its Google offices across the globe.
• Google Search attracted $48.02 billion in Q4, the third highest revenue driver at the company behind Google Services and advertising.

Microsoft

Microsoft reported better-than-expected financials on Tuesday in its earnings report for fiscal second-quarter 2024, yet the company’s stock fell by 2% in extended trading. Overall, Microsoft generated $62.0 billion in revenue for the quarter, an increase of 18% year-over-year. The company reported that revenue from its Azure and other cloud services grew by 30% overall, the biggest driver for its revenue success in its most recent quarter.

Microsoft CEO and chairman Satya Madella said the company is focused on applying AI at scale by infusing the emerging tech into every layer of its offerings. The Big Tech giant will also be investing more in its gaming sector following the biggest acquisition deal it’s ever made.

More insights from Microsoft’s recent earnings report:

• This was a big quarter for Microsoft since it also encompasses the enterprise software maker’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
• Net income for the quarter came in at $21.9 billion, an increase of 26% year-over-year.
• Microsoft Cloud generated $33.7 billion in revenue, up 24% year-over-year.
• This quarter, Microsoft returned $8.4 billion to shareholders in the form of share repurchases and dividends.
• Microsoft expects that its fiscal third-quarter revenue will land between $60 billion and $61 billion.

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The post Microsoft, Alphabet Post Big Revenue Numbers but Mixed Market Results appeared first on Boardroom.

I’m back in your inbox after a short Christmas hiatus to highlight five tech trends and some of my favorite headlines from 2023. I’m not sure about you, but it seems so surreal to be wrapping up another year. I’ve been looking back at all of my reporting and Tech Talk editions from this year, and I’m in awe at all that has happened in the industry. Recently, I recapped 10 of the biggest tech moments in 2023, and I noticed that many of the big headlines touch on the same themes.

Many new tech trends arose this year, but these stood out to me the most. Here are five tech trends that took over headlines in 2023.

AI Overtook Blockchain as Biggest Emerging Tech

Artificial intelligence quickly became the top emerging tech this year, and experts expect it to have the most impact on the industry in the coming years. In 2021, we’d easily say the blockchain would be the tech to change the world, and that still may be true, but AI is running the game right now.

There was always skepticism about the blockchain, and the tech’s primary use cases in the last two years were NFTs and cryptocurrencies. The unpredictableness of the digital assets market stirred people away from it. I still truly believe the possibilities are limitless on the blockchain, a technology simply built on creating decentralized digital ledgers for any and every transaction that happens on enabled networks. I think the difference with AI is that it’s not a new type of technology; it’s just being leveraged and implemented in new and different ways.

AI’s impact has already spanned various industries this year alone, and I have no doubt it will continue to expand and impact everything we do in the years to come.

The Race for Best AI Chatbot Took Shape

We’ve all likely interacted with AI chatbots before when using online customer service systems, but those are nothing like the AI chatbots we can access today. To think, around this time last year, all people could talk about was a new AI chatbot called ChatGPT that could only be used on a desktop. So much has changed since then.

Here’s a snippet of some of the AI chatbots on the market racing to be the best and favorite among everyday people:

• ChatGPT: OpenAI‘s flagship AI-powered and text-generated chatbot has attracted 100 million monthly users since it launched in late November last year. ChatGPT has expanded with free, premium, and enterprise versions.
• Microsoft Copilot: Microsoft was the first to follow in OpenAI’s footsteps in February by overhauling its search engine Bing and implementing an AI chatbot function. The chatbot was originally named Bing Chat before rebranding as Microsoft Copilot.
• Bard: Google entered the race in March when it launched Bard, a conversational generative AI chatbot equipped with Googling capabilities.
• Claude: Anthropic, an AI startup founded by ex-OpenAI employees, also launched the first version of its AI chatbot in March. Claude is available through open beta and has pro and enterprise versions as well.
• Grok: Elon Musk‘s xAI unveiled a conversational AI chatbot that responds humorously, for lack of better terms. Grok launched in November exclusively for verified X Premium Plus subscribers. `

It’s easy to say ChatGPT is the most popular or best because it was the first, but I have no doubt Big Tech companies will continue to give OpenAI a run for its money next year.

New VR and AR Headsets Emerged

The competition for the best mixed-reality headset also kicked off this year. Apple, Meta, and Sony have risen as the biggest players in this race, with all three companies either releasing or announcing new headsets this year.

Sony released the PlayStation VR2 in February for $549, but users can only use this headset if they already have a PS5. The PlayStation VR2 is not a standalone headset and requires a PS5 to set up and function. Conversely, you can play PlayStation titles in VR, which isn’t doable with any other headset on the market.

Meta is bullish on VR headsets, and it made that clear when it launched another new one this year. The Big Tech giant now has three headsets on the market. Its most popular headset, the Quest 2, launched in October 2020 and retails for $249.99. Meta has shipped an estimated 20 million Quest 2s since launch. The company launched the Quest Pro in October 2022 and initially sold the high-end headset for $1,499.99 before knocking the price down to $999.99 in March. Consumers don’t seem to be that into the Quest Pro, and rumors are circulating that Meta will discontinue it soon. But it doesn’t stop there. Meta released the Quest 3 in October for $499.99, an updated and much slimmer version of the Quest 2.

Apple has officially entered the mixed-reality headset chat with the Vision Pro. The tech company’s augmented reality and virtual reality headset won’t come with controllers and is equipped with 4K displays, a 3D interface, spatial audio, and eye-tracking tech. Apple’s first headset is slated to hit the market in early 2024, and it will (allegedly) retail for $3,499.

Bitcoin’s Resurgence Put Crypto Back on the Map

Bitcoin is back on the rise as the volatile digital assets market shakes off some of that snow from the longest crypto winter ever. One thing to know about crypto is that when one asset is doing well, the entire market reaps some of the benefits in one way or another. Bitcoin averaged around $20,000 in January and even went as low as $16,600 to kick off the year. Bitcoin’s average has more than doubled since the token is trading above $43,000 as of December and crossed the $40,000 threshold in recent weeks for the first time in over a year and a half.

Bitcoin has been up and down all year, but since Q4 hit, the cryptocurrency has been climbing at a steady pace. There can be many reasons for this, but two that have a high impact include fodder around an impending Spot Bitcoin ETF approval and the next Bitcoin halving event that is estimated to happen between April and May 2024.

Bitcoin didn’t start 2023 strong, so I’ll be paying close attention to how the token performs at the top of the year.

Tech Layoffs Plagued the Industry

Thousands of tech workers were laid off this year as companies attempted to adjust and reset after overhiring staff during the pandemic. It seemed like every other week, there was news of another tech company cutting employees. The media industry was hit pretty hard, too.

Here is a short recap of Big Tech layoffs that came this year:

• Alphabet/Google: Laid off 12,000 employees in late January in a mass restructuring of business focus.
• Amazon: Laid off 9,000 more employees in March after announcing in November 2022 that it was cutting 18,000 workers. The Big Tech company cut another 180 gaming employees in April.
• Meta: Cut 11,00 jobs in fall of 2022 before laying off another 10,000 employees in March to further cut costs and operate more efficiently. Meta’s recruiting, technology, and business divisions were most affected by the cuts.
• Microsoft: Laid off 10,000 workers between January and March to trim costs. The Big Tech company’s subsidiary, LinkedIn, laid off 716 workers in May before letting go of 668 employees in October.
• Spotify: Cut 600 employees in January, 200 more in June, and another 1,500 workers in December to round out three rounds of layoffs this year.
• ByteDance: Cut hundreds of jobs across its gaming division in November as it pulled back its aggressive push into the market.

Other Big Tech players like Apple and Tesla carried out smaller rounds of layoffs throughout the year, but not big enough to make headlines. On the other hand, Nvidia didn’t make any cuts this year and hasn’t made a formal round of layoffs in 15 years, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said at a recent internal meeting.

15 of My Favorite Headlines from 2023

In no particular order, here are 15 stories I wrote this year that I’m really proud of.

1. ‘Queen Charlotte’ Gives Black Women the Limelight
2. Boardroom Q&A: Latasha Gillespie, Amazon Studios Head of Global DEI
3. This Song Is No Longer Available: Forecasting the Future of Music and AI
4. The Business Behind VeeCon
5. Omar Bailey’s FCTRY LAb is More Than a Sneaker Innovation Hub
6. Black Women in Tech Don’t Owe You Anything
7. NBA Threads: A Guide to the Thriving Hardwood Community
8. Tennis & Tech: Inside IBM’s Artificial Intelligence Evolution at the 2023 US Open
9. Cole Anthony & Crystal McCrary McGuire Want to Make Your Kid into an NBA Player
10. Key Facts You Need to Know About the Sam Bankman-Fried Trial
11. Tech Talk Reviews: WHOOP Coach, Powered by OpenAI
12. Boardroom Q&A: Pauliina Törnqvist, Senior Producer of VR Games at Meta
13. Forecasting the Future: Predictions for Crypto in 2024
14. 10 Must-have Tech Gadgets For Your 2023 Holiday Wish List
15. ChatGPT Turns 1: A Timeline of Events From a Monumental First Year

I (risk-free) gambled on movements in the tech industry over 40 times this year in this little section. I won’t be placing a new bet today. Instead, let’s take a look back at all of the bets I made this year and how some of the big ones landed.

Now, let’s raise a glass and cheers to making it through another year. I hope you enjoyed this last edition of 2023. Tech Talk will be back in 2024!

The post 5 Tech Trends That Took Over Headlines in 2023 appeared first on Boardroom.

This year, I made over 40 bets focused on things I predict will happen across the tech industry.

When Boardroom’s weekly newsletter, Tech Talk, got a makeover in February, I started making bets on happenings across the tech industry. “Michelai’s Bet of the Week Presented by FanDuel Sportsbook” holds space at the bottom of the newsletter, and it easily became my favorite place to share my real and sometimes unhinged tech hot takes.

Now, I wasn’t making any wagers or putting up money for these bets, but some came true, and some didn’t.

Here is a rundown of every bet I made this year on tech, with some small updates on the big ones that have had movements.

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February

• Feb. 12: Calling it now: Twitter’s verified badge pricing model will fall apart in the next year because people won’t care enough to pay for a blue check.
• Feb. 19: As the SEC cracks down on crypto, lawmakers will attempt to implement widespread crypto regulations within the next year.
• Feb. 26: After steady progress with AI-powered chatbots, there will be talks of at least one AI-scripted film at the Tribeca Film Festival this summer.
  • Unfortunately, this didn’t come true.

March

• March 5: Since Yuga Labs is the top household name in Web3, I predict that TwelveFold NFTs will sell out in four hours max when they drop.
  • TwelveFold NFTs sold out in minutes when the auction concluded on March 6.
• March 12: Since Meta plans to release three more headsets before 2027, I think the big tech company will knock those Quest prices down again before the year is up to make space in the market for the new products.
  • Meta knocked down the Meta Quest 2 price by $50 to $249, while the Meta Quest Pro is still $999.
• March 19: Even though lawmakers are scrutinizing President Joe Biden for not banning TikTok by now, I bet a deal will be reached very soon, and a complete barring of the social media won’t be necessary.
• March 26: If ByteDance puts a real deal on the table to sell TikTok, I’m going to bet that Oracle will arise as an early contender to buy the company.

April

• April 2: I’m going to go big here and say Twitter removing legacy blue checks will backfire tremendously, causing the platform to move back to a more traditional verification process.
  • After discontinuing the Legacy Blue Check program on April 20, X began reinstalling them on accounts for deceased individuals and many celebrities by April 24.
• April 9: I’m going to bet that NFT.NYC will look a lot different next year, or not happen at all since it’s really just a week of hundreds of community events that can run throughout the year.
• April 16: I’m going to bet that Adidas will follow in Nike and RTFKT’s steps and release some exclusive ALTS apparel tied to the blockchain.
• April 23: I’m going to bet that streaming platforms will not ban AI services from using copyrighted music in favor of imposing some restrictions instead.
• April 30: This is a big one, but I’m going to bet that Microsoft won’t be able to close its acquisition deal with Activision Blizzard this year.
  • This is probably the biggest bet I lost on this year since Microsoft closed the deal in October.

May

• May 7: Super hot take alert: I’m going to bet that more tech workers will push to unionize in the coming years as AI continues to disrupt the workforce.
• May 14: Since Twitter/X Corp is getting a new CEO, I’m going to bet that investors will begin talking about how to buy Musk out to push him out of the company.
• May 21: I am going to confidently bet that Montana’s TikTok ban will not hold up. I’m sure the ACLU is already drafting a lawsuit to detail how this ban violates freedom of speech.
  • In November, a federal judge blocked Montana’s TikTok ban from going into effect.
• May 28: Following FaZe Clan’s latest round of layoffs, I’m going to bet that the once-beloved esports brand is going to file for bankruptcy or merge with another company pretty soon.
  • Texas-based esports company GameSquare Holdings inked a deal in October to acquire Faze Clan.

June

• June 4: This seems like a no-brainer, but since AI leaders are warning that AI will overtake humans in the future, I’m going to bet that investors, consumers, and maybe even Congress will begin to question what they are actually building.
• June 11: After watching Meta knock down its Quest Pro price by $500, I’m going to bet that Apple will chip a little off the Vision Pro’s expensive price tag before the device goes to market later this year.
  • Unfortunately, this didn’t come true.
• June 18: After finally watching Ready Player One for the first time (I know, I’m sorry) following the film’s tech comparisons to Apple’s new AR headset, I’m going to bet that streams of the movie will skyrocket as Apple shares more of its plans.
• June 25: Since President Joe Biden met with AI experts this week, I’m going to bet that we’ll see some joint AI regulations in the near future before we see any real crypto regulations.

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July

• July 2: Google seems to be a bit confused about how to build around emerging technologies right now, and after its recent job cuts at Waze, I’m going to bet we will see another big staffing restructure at the company in the next year.
  • Google cut at least 40 jobs in its news division in October, but no big restructuring.
• July 9: Since there has been fodder about OpenAI getting acquired by Microsoft in its lifetime, I’m going to bet that we’ll see rumors of a deal on the table in the next year after the big tech giant sorts out its Activision Blizzard merger deal.
• July 16: While everyone is focused on generative AI, I always think about humanoids, aka robots. I’m going to bet that a new robotics and AI company building bots will arise soon.
• July 23: Since Amazon is bringing its pay-by-palm tech to all Whole Foods stores by the end of the year, I’m going to bet that another company will do the same with iris tech. (Kind of surprised Amazon didn’t try that first!)
• July 30: I’m going to bet that Xbox will end up selling its Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle-inspired pizza-scented controllers after Aug. 13. For now, fans can only grab one as part of a marketing campaign to promote Paramount’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem film.
  • Unfortunately, this didn’t come true.

August

• Aug. 6: An unopened, first-generation Apple iPod sold for $29,000 via Rally this week, and I’m going to bet that, unlike cassette and CD players, these devices will continue to hold high value due to extreme scarcity.
• Aug. 13: Despite the Detroit Police Department’s trouble with facial recognition tech, I’m going to bet that more law enforcement agencies will adopt the tech, leading to more false arrests.
• Aug. 20: VinFast will go the way of Rivian, facing an extreme challenge (and plummeting stock prices) as it is unable to keep up with the sky-high demand for its EV offerings.
• Aug. 27: Despite the desirable $130 price point, I’m going to strongly bet that the new Atari 2600+ dropping in November won’t sell even half the units that the Atari 2600 sold, which was about 30 million.
  • The console just released a month ago, so sales numbers haven’t been reported yet.

September

• Sept. 3: Amazon is pushing forward with its return-to-office policy, requiring employees to report to an office three days a week, just as Meta recently implemented. I’m going to bet that tech workers will begin to push back on Big Tech companies to fight the crackdown on in-office policies in favor of remote work.
• Sept. 10: Warner Music Central Europe signed a record deal with AI pop singer Noonoouri, and while this is a first for Warner Music, I’m going to bet that we won’t see a deal of this nature in the US anytime soon.
• Sept. 17: With Hulu and Disney Plus price hikes on the way next month, I’m going to bet that a tech company like Roku, for example, will offer a bundle deal of all the major streaming platforms in the next year. It’s like we’re headed back to the cable era of television all over again.
• Sept. 24: Snapchat+ hit a new milestone with 5 million paying subscribers, and while this is impressive, I’m going to bet that the subscription program will see a massive dip in interest by next summer.

October

• Oct. 1: Samsung is targeting content creators through a new sponsorship with MrBeast. I’m going to bet that this deal won’t drive significant sales for the Galaxy Z Flip 5 as the mobile brand expects it to.
• Oct. 8: Meta is testing a $14-a-month subscription service in the UK for users who want an advertisement-free Instagram or Facebook experience. TikTok is also internationally testing a similar feature for $4.99 a month. Since social networks don’t operate like streaming services, I’m going to bet that this offering won’t thrive in the US.
• Oct. 15: Joby Aviation Founder JoeBen Bevirt said his company can deliver on launching a commercial air taxi service in 2025. We didn’t get flying cars in 2000 as promised, so I’m going to bet that flying taxis won’t arrive in 2025 or this decade.
• Oct. 22: After years of delays, Tesla will reportedly start delivering its much-anticipated Cybertruck vehicle to select customers on Nov. 30. I’m going to place a hot bet that we’ll see at least one recall or some sort of design change on the luxury electric SUV before the year is up.
  • Unfortunately, this didn’t happen for the Cybertruck, but Tesla did do a big recall of 2 million of its flagship vehicles recently.
• Oct. 29: Shazam, the music identification app owned by Apple, announced a new feature called Concerts, which will recommend music events to customers based on their Shazam queries. With this expansion, I’m going to bet that Shazam will add a concert ticket-purchasing feature as well, or maybe Apple will build its own internal ticket sales tech.

Everything You Need to Know About the Tesla Cybertruck

The Tesla Cybertruck has officially entered the automotive market, so Boardroom breaks down what to expect from the new electric-powered vehicle, now and in the future.

Check it out!

November

• Nov. 5: The Information reported that TikTok users sent over $250 million to livestreamers on the platform by way of tips and digital gifts. With the potential to generate tipping revenue, I’m going to bet that TikTok Live will give other platforms like Twitch a run for their audiences pretty soon.
• Nov. 12: Despite Epic Games losing in a similar antitrust case with Apple back in 2021, I’m going to bet that the video game developer will prevail with a few wins in its antitrust trial against Google since the Big Tech giant is fighting multiple court battles right now.
  • This was my biggest win on a bet of the year since Epic Games prevailed against Google on all fronts.
• Nov. 19: Indie studio A24 was granted the rights to make a movie based on Walter Isaacson’s biography of Elon Musk. I can’t pinpoint who I think will play the controversial tech tycoon, but I am going to bet that Musk will put his bid in to play himself in the highly-anticipated film.
• Nov. 26: Elon Musk confirmed that Grok will be available to all X Premium+ subscribers as soon as next week, but I’m going to bet that he’ll expand the AI chatbot to more consumers by Q1 2024 to compete with other AI chatbots on the market.

December

• Dec. 3: Lapse, a photo-sharing app that skyrocketed from No. 118 to No. 1 in Apple’s App Store in September, saw downloads drop as much as 70% in recent months. I’m going to bet that we’ll see an uptick in activity once Lapse opens up invites to the masses instead of only allowing users to join by invite codes from friends.
• Dec. 10: I recently shared some of my crypto predictions for 2024, and while I predicted that Bitcoin would break the $40,000 threshold in the new year, it already did that. I want to up that prediction and bet that Bitcoin will break the $50,000 threshold before May.
• Dec. 17: Nearly 20% of teens said they are almost constantly visiting or using YouTube and TikTok, a new report by the Pew Research Center found. As more kids get online to learn, play, and create, I’m going to bet that that figure will double by this time next year.

Be sure to subscribe to Tech Talk to stay current on all my Bets of the Week — right and wrong — heading into 2024.

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The post Michelai’s Bet of the Week: A 2023 Rundown of Every Odd appeared first on Boardroom.

Another year is coming to a close, and now, more than ever, the tech industry is moving and shaking things up. New tech companies are rising to the top, and the Big Tech giants are expanding with new tech and products to stay in the race.

To cap off another eventful year, Boardroom details 10 of the biggest tech moments, announcements, and headlines from 2023. In no particular order, here we go.

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10 of the Biggest Tech Moments of 2023

OpenAI fired Sam Altman, then hired him back in a week.

OpenAI‘s board fired its CEO and co-founder Sam Altman in mid-November in an unexpected coup before rehiring the AI tycoon less than a week later. Altman’s return came with a new board and little to no confirmed explanation from OpenAI as to why he was ousted in the first place. The entire debacle from bizarre, and every day for a week, it seemed like more and more tea was getting spilled.

Microsoft finally got clearance to acquire Activision Blizzard.

In October, Microsoft officially got the green light to acquire video game giant Activision Blizzard for $69 billion. The Big Tech leader first bid to acquire Activision in January 2022, with its biggest hurdle being UK regulators. After negotiating some changes to the costly contract, Microsoft moved closer to pulling off its biggest deal yet. The acquisition deal closed the same day both parties signed the contract.

Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty.

Nearly a year after getting arrested in the Bahamas and extradited to the US, disgraced ex-FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty of multiple charges of fraud and conspiracy at the top of November. SBF spent five weeks in court trying to convince a jury that he didn’t steal billions of dollars and defraud FTX customers. The former crypto leader will be sentenced on March 28, 2024; he’s facing a maximum of 115 years in prison.

Guilty on All Counts

SBF was convicted of stealing billions of dollars from FTX customers in one of the biggest financial frauds in US history.

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Google launched an AI chatbot called Bard.

In March, Google opened public access to Bard AI, its flagship competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Google’s conversational and generative artificial intelligence-enabled chatbot hasn’t risen to popularity like ChatGPT has, but it’s still in the early days of the AI chatbot race.

Twitter officially became X while legacy users flocked to other apps.

Elon Musk officially rebranded Twitter as X in July, sunsetting the icon blue bird logo we’ve known and loved for over a decade. X has been pushing hard to become the “everything app” this year but has steep competition now. As X continues to make changes, there has been a surge in other text-based apps like Bluesky, Spill, and Meta’s newest app.

Meta launched a new text-based app called Threads.

Meta once again shocked the social media world when it launched a new text-based conversation app called Threads in July.  The primary purpose of Threads is to be an app more focused on text and dialogue, modeled after what Instagram has done for photos and videos. Since its launch, the new app has attracted approximately 100 million monthly active users. Threads came in a “year of efficiency” for Meta, which also saw its stock surge as much as 176% in 2023.

Introducing NBA Threads

Boardroom breaks down the thriving & growing community on the text-based app, where users have been organically fostering conversation around the global sport.

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Apple hit a historic milestone with a $3 trillion market cap.

Apple made history in July when it again hit a $3 trillion market capitalization. The Big Tech giant is the first public company to reach that milestone and has done it twice. The accolade came a month after Apple announced that it would release its first virtual reality and augmented reality headset, the Apple Vision Pro. The headset is set to launch in early 2024.

Google loses to Epic Games in court.

A jury unanimously sided with Epic Games over Google in an antitrust case that started three years ago when the Fortnite creator filed a lawsuit against the Big Tech company for charging higher than normal app store fees and restricting payment systems. Epic Games hopes this court decision will force Google to allow app developers to use alternative payment systems within their apps or run their own app stores on Android. Right now, Google gets a 30% cut of in-app purchases. We’ll know more about Google’s app store changes in January.

AI-generated “Heart on My Sleeve” song goes viral.

An AI-generated song featuring vocals from Drake and The Weeknd went viral in April, sparking a larger discussion about the use of AI across the music industry. Drake and The Weeknd didn’t agree to let their voices be featured on the song “Heart on My Sleeve,” anonymously produced by TikToker Ghostwriter977. After a short viral stint, major social media and streaming platforms removed Ghostwriter’s original posts for infringing content creation with generative AI.

Tesla’s Cybertruck finally hit the road.

Tesla began delivering the first round of its much-anticipated Cybertrucks at the end of November, two years after it originally planned to roll them out. The new electric-powered vehicle with a futuristic trapezoid-like design is Tesla’s first new model in three years. The electric automotive maker plans to produce 250,000 Cybertrucks a year once it reaches full production mode.

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The post Apple, Google, & Meta Lead the 10 Biggest Tech Moments of 2023 appeared first on Boardroom.

A peek into today’s edition: 

• Epic Games defeats Google in court
• OpenAI inks deal with Axel Springer
• Threads expands to the EU

Epic Games Prevails Against Google in Antitrust Case

A jury unanimously sided with Epic Games over Google in an antitrust case that started three years ago when the Fortnite creator filed a lawsuit against the Big Tech company for charging higher than normal app store fees and restricting payment systems. Epic Games claimed Google’s Play Store violated federal and California state antitrust laws by doing this, and the court agreed. The jury’s decision came after four weeks of court testimony.

This is a big deal, but we won’t know for sure what will come of it until remedies start in January. While Epic Games is taking this as a win, Wilson White, Google’s VP for government affairs and public policy, said the tech company will appeal the verdict. Epic Games hopes this court decision will force Google to allow app developers to use alternative payment systems within their apps or run their own app stores on Android. Right now, Google gets a 30% cut of in-app purchases.

My Bet of the Week a month ago was that the video game developer would prevail against Google, and it looks like I was right. Stay tuned for an official recap of all the bets I made this year on the movements in the tech industry.

OpenAI Inks Content Licensing Deal with Axel Springer

ChatGPT is getting a boost from the journalism realm since OpenAI signed a global licensing deal with Axel Springer. The new content partnership allows ChatGPT to summarize news stories and events from Politico, Business Insider, and more publications under the global news publisher’s umbrella. ChatGPT’s answers will begin to include attribution and links to full articles, even paywalled content typically limited to paid subscribers. OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap said in a release that this partnership will help provide people with new ways to access quality, real-time news content powered by AI.

It looks like OpenAI is making some strong bets on journalism. This deal comes after the AI company launched a licensing partnership with the Associated Press in July to use its news archive to train its AI models. Axel Springer has also agreed to provide content as training data.

Tesla Recalls US Vehicles & Launches New Humanoid Robot

Tesla is recalling more than 2 million of its vehicles, nearly all in the US, to update software and add some new system alerts and warnings for drivers using the Autopilot function. This comes after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded a two-year investigation into crashes that happened while Tesla drivers had Autopilot activated. The recall will update where Tesla’s Autopilot function can operate and increase the amount of alerts drivers get while using the self-driving feature.

Tesla’s vehicle recall news came a day after the company unveiled the second generation of its Optimus humanoid robot, which can walk, squat, and hold an egg. It’s unclear what more the robot can do or will be able to do when it eventually goes to market.

More news updates from Musk’s companies:

• X is expected to bring in roughly $2.5 billion in ad revenue in 2023 after major advertisers left the platform. This is down about 50% compared to last year.
• Tax filings show that Musk plans to launch a STEM-focused K-12 school in Austin with a $100 million donation. The planned school could eventually expand to a university.
• Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones got his X account restored after Musk ran a poll on the platform to decide his fate. Jones’ controversial reinstatement came with a three-hour-long X Spaces with Musk, Andrew Tate, and presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

• Meta‘s newest social app, Threads, is expanding to Europe with a few tweaks to comply with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act. Elsewhere in Meta’s family of businesses, Quest 2, 3, and Pro users can now stream and play Xbox Cloud Gaming titles with an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership.
• Spotify confirmed to Tech Crunch that it’s testing a new feature that will let users create AI-powered playlists via text-based prompts. The digital music service didn’t say when the feature will expand with a full launch.
• The Entertainment Software Association announced that it won’t be hosting its annual video game tradeshow E3 any longer after over two decades. The decision came after ESA canceled this year’s tradeshow when gaming giants backed out to host their showcases.
• The New York Times hired Quartz founder Zach Seward as its new editorial director of artificial intelligence initiatives. In this newly created position, Seward will establish how the NYT will and won’t use AI in the newsroom.
• ByteDance is scrapping its next VR headset from its subsidiary company, Pico, after sales fell short for the Pico 4, which hasn’t even launched in the US yet. The Information reports that Pico is working on a more high-end headset similar to Apple’s upcoming Vision Pro.
• To celebrate the release of Pink Friday 2, Nicki Minaj teamed up with Republic Records and Karta, a metaverse studio, to launch a virtual shop in Roblox dubbed “Nicki Minaj’s Gag City.” Fans can enter the shop to tap into 3D experiences inspired by the rap star’s music and purchase digital items.

Nearly 20% of teens said they are almost constantly visiting or using YouTube and TikTok, a new report by the Pew Research Center found. As more kids get online to learn, play, and create, I’m going to bet that that figure will double by this time next year.

The post Epic Games Prevails Against Google in Antitrust Case appeared first on Boardroom.

A peak into today’s edition: 

• Nepal officially bans TikTok
• Updates on Google in the courtroom
• Meta rolls out new features across Instagram and Threads

TikTok Ban Takes Effect in Nepal; Byte Dance Rakes in $29B in Revenue

Nepal has officially banned TikTok for the platform’s apparent reluctance to halt hate content that disrupts “social harmony” and “family structure” across the country. TikTok had 2.2 million users in Nepal, but its app will go offline across the country soon after Nepal’s government felt like TikTok’s content was promoting religious hate, violence, and sexual abuse. The news comes after Nepal implemented a rule that requires social platforms to register with the local government.

Several countries have implemented partial TikTok bans, including the US, Britain, and New Zealand, which don’t allow the app on government devices. There are some US state-specific bans in the works that may go into effect next year. Nepal’s ban comes as TikTok’s parent company, Byte Dance, reported $29 billion in second-quarter revenue, a surge of more than 40% year-over-year.

I think it’s time I start building out a TikTok ban tracker. Stay tuned for updates on that.

Google vs. Epic Games: New Revenue-sharing Info Comes to Light

A couple of weeks ago, during Google’s antitrust trial with the SEC, we learned that the Big Tech leader paid Apple somewhere between $18 billion and $20 billion to be the default search engine on iPhone and other Apple devices. It doesn’t help that another big secret slipped during Google’s antitrust trial with Epic Games, this time by University of Chicago professor Kevin Murphy, who told a federal court that Google pays Apple 36% of its revenue from search advertising through Apple’s Safari browser. Professor Murphy wasn’t supposed to disclose this information, especially since his testimony was supposed to be in Google’s defense.

Alphabet CEO and Google chief Sundar Pichai confirmed Google and Apple’s revenue-sharing agreement is true when he took the stand for a second time for a 90-minute testimony in the Epic Games antitrust trial.

More news updates from Google’s world:

• Google is suing a group of scammers based in Vietnam who are running social media malware ads disguised as download referrals for its Bard AI service.
• Google will start deleting inactive Gmail accounts and photos that haven’t been touched in the past two years starting Dec. 1.
• Research published in Science found that Google DeepMind’s weather AI model, GraphCast, can predict extreme weather faster and more accurately than other models currently on the market.
• Google is in talks to ink an investment deal with AI chatbot developer Character.AI.

YouTube Teases New Music AI Features for Select Artists, Creators

YouTube dropped a sneak peek of how its platform is experimenting with AI and music alongside Google DeepMind. The music platform announced Dream Track in YouTube Shorts, which allows artists and creators to create up to 30-second soundtracks featuring music from nine renowned artists who agreed to collaborate on the experiment. Those artists include Alec Benjamin, Charlie Puth, Charli XCX, Demi Lovato, John Legend, Papoose, Sia, T-Pain, and Troye Sivan. The new feature is only available to a select group of artists and creators for now, who will help inform and help YouTube fine-tune its offerings for future products and tools. YouTube is also working closely with artists, songwriters, and producers in its Music AI Incubator to build out a set of music AI tools.

As YouTube leans into AI more, it’s working to do it in the right way, which is why the platform is also implementing AI-generated content labels. The new tags will come as a requirement for creators when they publish content that depicts real people and events. AI-generated animations are exempt from this requirement.

• Meta added a new feature to Instagram that allows users to publish reels and feed posts only for their close friends, and it looks like hashtags are on the way over at Threads. The Big Tech company also added some new filters on Instagram along with more creative tools.
• Apple will adopt the RCS messaging standard in 2024, creating a better experience between iPhone and Android users. While iMessage will stay exclusive to Apple, some of the features like read receipts and typing indicators will be available when iPhone and Android users communicate.
• Microsoft made a slew of announcements during its Ignite 2023 event, most notably that it’s developing its own AI computing chips to compete with Nvidia and launching an AI tool that lets users generate avatar-based videos by uploading photos of people they want the avatars to resemble.
• Amazon cut more than 180 jobs from its games division and shut down parts of its gaming business overall. Elsewhere, Amazon is ramping up its security robot patrol biz with the launch of Astro for Business, and the e-commerce giant inked deals with Meta and Snap to run shopping ads and facilitate purchases within Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.
• OpenAI chief Sam Altman announced that the AI startup is pausing new sign-ups for its premium subscription service, ChatGPT Plus, due to a surge in usage following its first developer conference earlier this month. Elsewhere, Altman confirmed that GPT-5 is on the way as OpenAI seeks new funding from Microsoft.
• Disney is partnering with NBA Top Shot developer Dapper Labs to launch Disney Pinnacle, a platform for fans to buy, sell, and trade verified Disney collectibles and digital pins.

• Everything You Need to Know About Grok, Elon Musk’s New AI Chatbot
• What If the Sports World Fully Embraced Cannabis?
• Inside the Inaugural Boardroom x Visa Talks With Lil Baby and Michael Rubin

Indie studio A24 was granted the rights to make a movie based on Walter Isaacson’s biography of Elon Musk. I can’t pinpoint who I think will play the controversial tech tycoon, but I am going to bet that Musk will put his bid in to play himself in the highly-anticipated film.

The post TikTok Ban Takes Effect in Nepal; Byte Dance Rakes in $29B appeared first on Boardroom.

A peek into today’s edition: 

• Meta, Microsoft, Snap, Alphabet, and Amazon report earnings
• Apple to host Mac event next week
• Elon Musk‘s Twitter purchase anniversary is here

Big Tech Earnings From Meta, Alphabet, Microsoft, Snap and Amazon

Artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure were the main topics of discussion across Big Tech earnings calls this week. Meta, Alphabet, Microsoft, Snap, and Amazon reported earnings and updated financial outlooks this week.

Here are some key revenue highlights, but check out my story on Amazon’s earnings and Boardroom’s latest Big Tech Earnings Roundup for more in-depth details:

• Amazon generated $143.1 billion in revenue, a 13% increase year-over-year. The big tech firm beat analysts’ projections across the board, and thanks to the holiday season, Amazon expects sales to land in the $160 billion to $167 billion range.
• Alphabet’s revenue increased to $76.7 billion, up 7% year-over-year. The company’s Google Cloud division produced $8.41 billion, and despite missing projections, revenue for Alphabet’s Google Cloud biz grew 22% year-over-year.
• Meta generated $34.15 billion in revenue, a 23% increase year-over-year, marking the company’s fastest rate of growth since 2021. Daily active users across Meta’s family of apps topped 3.14 billion, an increase of 7% year-over-year.
• Microsoft generated $56.5 billion in revenue, an increase of 13% year-over-year. Its biggest revenue win came from its cloud business, which produced $24.26 billion in revenue, up 19%.
• Snap’s revenue rose 5% year-over-year to $1.19 billion, and its Snapchat+ monthly subscription service surpassed five million subscribers. The company returned to positive growth in the third quarter, boosting its stock by as much as 20% on Tuesday.

Apple Set to Announce New Line of iMacs Ahead of Releasing Q3 Earnings

Apple swiftly announced an unexpected event set for Monday, Oct. 30, at 5 p.m. PT. The Big Tech giant will likely announce a new line of Macs, and the event will be completely streamed virtually. Apple knew what it was doing when it dubbed this keynote its “Scary Fast” event since it usually has an IRL crowd for big product announcements. The company took the play on Halloween words to the next level when it updated its event page with its logo transformed into a spooky Finder face. Apple hasn’t launched a new line of iMac desktop computers since April 2021.

This isn’t the only order of business Apple is getting to before its next earnings report comes out on Nov. 2. The company is also upping the Apple TV+ monthly subscription fee from $6.99 to $9.99 and said it will honor California’s new right to repair initiative nationwide. In the midst of this, Taiwan-based Foxconn, Apple’s biggest product maker and supplier, will cooperate with the Chinese government in potential tax and land-use investigations.

Meta Hit With Lawsuits, Alleging Facebook and Instagram Features Are Addictive to Kids

Meta is facing lawsuits from a bipartisan group of 42 attorney generals, alleging that it knowingly developed addictive features on Instagram and Facebook to keep young users engaged on its platforms longer. The lawsuits span 41 states and DC and even include Meta’s home state of California. One of the filings runs 233 pages long and accuses Meta of altering the psychological and social realities of young users and refusing to implement age verification parameters. CNBC reported that one of the suits accuses Meta of violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting personal data on users under 13 without parental consent.

The Big Tech firm hasn’t responded to the lawsuits yet, but we can expect to see Meta CEO Mark Zuckerburg in many courtrooms across the nation very soon.

Sam Bankman-Fried Trial: What We Learned from Week 4

Something surprising happened this week after the court took a break until Thursday: Sam Bankman-Fried decided to testify in his own trial, where a jury will decide if he’s guilty on 12 counts of financial-related fraud charges. Up until this point, SBF’s defense hadn’t decided if he was going to take the stand or not, but the former FTX leader spent Thursday answering some questions in a mock testimony.  Judge Lewis Kaplan dismissed the jury for the day, so they didn’t get to hear SBF’s testimony while the court ruled on which parts of SBF’s testimony were admissible in court.

Judge Kaplan said SBF had an interesting way of answering questions and even begged him at one point to listen to inquiries before speaking and to answer questions directly. SBF official took the stand on Friday in front of jurors, where he told them he told them he didn’t defraud FTX customers. SBF answered questions about his vision for FTX, the company’s early days in Hong Kong, and his initial plan to sell FTX to Binance before it took off. From the sounds of it, SBF will be back on the stand next week as the defense calls an estimated six witnesses to testify.

While SBF prepped to take the stand, his bankrupt crypto exchange narrowed down its list of bidders interested in reviving the platform, MilkRoad reports. Soon after FTX filed for bankruptcy last November, talks began about restarting the exchange under new management.

• Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion on Oct. 27, 2022, before rebranding it as X and losing about 13% of the platform’s daily active users. Former employees are calling Musk’s leadership style “ruthless and clumsy” as they fear for X’s future.
• TikTok is testing out 15-minute uploads, an increase of 5 minutes from its previous video cap. The company also announced its first live music event headlined by Cardi B that will broadcast on its platform with highlights.
• Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared that Threads is nearing 100 million monthly active users. The Big Tech company is also testing a verified-only feed for paying Meta Verified customers.
• Bitcoin briefly breached the $35,000 threshold for the first time since May 2022, marking a new 16-month high amid the expected approval of a Bitcoin ETF soon. This ETF would give financial institutions a smoother bridge into crypto investing that mirrors how they typically buy stocks.
• Spotify‘s monthly active users increased by 26% to 574 million, marking its second-largest Q3 net addition performance in its history. The streaming service posted $3.55 billion in revenue for the quarter.
• Sony sold 2.5 million copies of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 game in the US in the first 24 hours of its release, making the PlayStation 5 exclusive Sony’s fastest-selling gaming title to date.

• Coinbase Weighs In On Needed Crypto Regulations
• Inside the Charlotte Hornets’ Hive of Innovation
• GameSquare Holdings Acquires Embattled FaZe Clan

Shazam, the music identification app owned by Apple, announced a new feature called Concerts, which will recommend music events to customers based on their Shazam queries. With this expansion, I’m going to bet that Shazam will add a concert ticket-purchasing feature as well, or maybe Apple will build its own internal ticket sales tech.

The post Big Tech Earnings From Meta, Alphabet, Microsoft, Snap, and Amazon appeared first on Boardroom.

Artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure were the top business sectors that affected revenue for Big Tech companies this week.

Meta, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Snap all posted positive revenue growth and were trading in the green after recent earnings reports. Some businesses took a hit as stocks took a downward turn due to an ad spending slowdown related to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Overall, growth and competition across the AI and cloud computing industries affected revenue the most this quarter.

Let’s take a look at some Big Tech earnings highlights from Meta, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Snap.

Amazon and Apple earnings are on deck next — stay tuned.

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Big Tech Earnings: Q3 2023

Alphabet

Google’s parent company won some and lost some after posting its third-quarter earnings report on Tuesday. Alphabet’s revenue increased to $76.7 billion, up 7% year-over-year. While Alphabet’s sales and profit beat analysts’ projections, the company’s stock fell as much as 7% in after-hours trading upon reporting lower-than-expected revenue from its cloud division.

The company’s Google Cloud division produced $8.41 billion compared to the expected $8.64 billion. Google Cloud has steep competition with Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, but the biz unit has been a key area that investors want to continue pouring dollars into.

Key takeaways from Alphabet’s recent earnings report:

• Despite missing projections, revenue for Alphabet’s Google Cloud biz grew 22% year-over-year.
• Alphabet generated $7.95 billion in YouTube advertising revenue, and overall ad revenue was $59.65 billion.
• During Q3, Alphabet continued cutting jobs after laying off 45 workers in its news division and several across its self-driving car business, Waymo. These cuts come as part of the company’s larger decrease of 12,000 jobs, first announced in January.
• YouTube Shorts now boasts 70 billion daily views, up 20 billion from the start of the year.
• CEO Sundar Pichai said he’s pleased with Alphabet’s Q3 financial results after success integrating AI across search, YouTube, Cloud, and Pixel hardware devices.

What We Learned at Amazon’s “Delivering the Future” Event

From robotics to sustainability to electric vehicles and beyond, here’s what you need to know about what Boardroom saw on the ground in Seattle.

Let’s Go!

Meta

Facebook parent company Meta announced big releases in Q3, including the launch of the Quest 3, new Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, and a consumer-facing AI studio. Meta generated $34.15 billion in revenue, a 23% increase year-over-year. The tech giant’s stock rose more than 4% before dropping more than 3% after Meta CFO Susan Li said ad spending on its platforms had scaled back amid the conflict in the Middle East. Still, Meta met or beat expectations across multiple key areas of its business.

Key takeaways from Meta’s recent earnings report:

• Meta’s 23% increase in revenue marks the company’s fastest rate of growth since 2021.
• Daily active users across Meta’s family of apps topped 3.14 billion, an increase of 7% year-over-year. Facebook alone attracted 2.09 billion daily active users on average, up 5% compared to this time last year.
• Monthly active users across the company’s family of apps hit 3.6 billion, an increase of 7% year-over-year.
• Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg teased that the company’s newest platform, Threads, is nearing 100 million monthly active users.
• Meta’s headcount decreased 24% year-over-year to 66,185 employees.
• Meta expects its Q4 revenue to land between $36.5 and 40 billion, which would be approximately a 2% revenue growth year-over-year.

Microsoft

Microsoft beat estimates and boosted its profit in its most recent quarter, which is the first quarter of fiscal year 2024, after lowering its operational expenses and doubling down on AI. The tech giant’s shares rose as much as 6% after hours on Tuesday, and its biggest revenue win came from its cloud business. Microsoft generated $56.5 billion in revenue, an increase of 13% year-over-year.

The company’s biggest move of the quarter was undoubtedly its $69 billion purchase of gaming giant Activision Blizzard, but it will likely take a couple of quarters to see just how the mega-deal evolves Microsoft’s business.

Brad Gerstner @altcap discusses Meta's opportunities in the AI space. $META $AAPL $MSFT $GOOGL pic.twitter.com/VCKtaamRnl

— CNBC Halftime Report (@HalftimeReport) October 26, 2023

Key takeaways from Microsoft’s recent earnings report:

• Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud division produced $24.26 billion in revenue, up 19%, with most of the boost in revenue coming from Azure platform.
• Revenue from Azure alone rose by 29% this quarter, and the Azure OpenAI Service added more users with 18,000 total customers now.
• Revenue for Microsoft’s Productivity and Business Processes unit, which includes Microsoft 365 productivity app subscriptions, LinkedIn, and Dynamics enterprise software, increased by 13% to $18.59 billion.
• Revenue for the Big Tech company’s Personal Computing business, which includes
• The company estimates that revenue will land in the range of $60.4 billion to $61.4 billion for its next quarter.

Snap

Snapchat‘s parent company returned to positive growth in the third quarter, boosting its stock by as much as 20% on Tuesday. Snap’s revenue rose 5% year-over-year to $1.19 billion, an accomplishment CEO Evan Spiegel said in a statement came from major cost-cutting efforts. Despite posting some positive numbers, Snap’s shares declined after the platform’s CEO also shared that some advertisers halted spending after sharing concerns about the effect the war in the Middle East will have on advertising, a business sector on which Snap is hyperfocused right now.

Key takeaways from Snap’s recent earnings report:

• Snap’s $3.99-per-month subscription service, Snapchat+, surpassed five million subscribers, which is up one million from the previous quarter.
• Snap laid off 170 employees and cut its augmented reality enterprise business in September as part of a larger layoff plan first announced last summer. The company will still develop AR-focused tech in other areas of its business.
• Snap’s COO Jerry Hunter announced his retirement after seven years in the role.
• The company launched a common stock repurchase program of up to $500 million and will use its existing cash and cash equivalents to fund the buybacks. As of Sept. 30, Snap had $3.6 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities.
• Snap’s net losses were up 2% to $368 million year-over-year.

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The post Big Tech Earnings Roundup: Alphabet Wins Q3 Revenue Race With $76B appeared first on Boardroom.

It pays to be the boss. In fact, the AFL-CIO found earlier this year that CEOs at S&P 500 companies were paid an average of $16.7 million in 2022. Compared to humbler folks like you and me, that’s an incalculably high number. In fact, if you counted at an average of one number per second for 24 hours per day non-stop, it would take you over 193 days to count that high. (To be clear, do not attempt this.)

Such are the economic standards that make the business world go round, and that got us thinking: If $16. 7 million is the average, how high does the top of the earnings scale truly go for the global C-suite elite?

From Big Tech mavens like Apple’s Tim Cook to heavyweight investors to one very fortunate car rental impresario (!) and beyond, check out who wins the race for the title of highest-paid CEO in the world based on not just base pay and stock options, but bonuses and assorted company privileges and benefits.

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Who’s the Highest-paid CEO in the World?

CEO pay data based on 2022 research by C-Suite Comp as published by The Wall Street Journal on July 5, 2023.

Inside the Latest Innovations at Apple

Learn more about what’s new and developing with the iPhone, Apple Watch, and more following the company’s big Fall 2023 product event.

Let’s Go!

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The post World’s Highest-paid CEOs: Blackstone, Apple, Live Nation & More appeared first on Boardroom.

A peek into today’s edition: 

• Coinbase in the nation’s capital
• The download on Meta Connect
• The end of Google Podcasts

Coinbase Takes DC Same Day Gary Gensler Testifies Before Congress

Coinbase mobilized the crypto community, welcoming leaders from more than 50 crypto companies to join it in DC on Wednesday, Sept. 27 for the inaugural Stand With Crypto Day. Coinbase’s head of US policy, Kara Calvert, spearheaded the effort, which coincided with SEC Chair Gensler testifying in front of the House Financial Services Committee about his ambitious rulemaking proposals. Coinbase conceptualized Stand With Crypto Day to advocate for pro-crypto policies as regulators inch closer and closer to implementing more laws and regulations around digital currencies. Some crypto leaders met with Congress members to advocate for clear legislation for crypto operations. Stand With Crypto also operates as an independent nonprofit to mobilize the crypto community year-round for different actions, programs, and events. Coinbase capped off the day with a moderated fireside chat with CEO Brian Armstrong who discussed why Coinbase is stepping up to challenge lawmakers to act.

This event comes a month after Coinbase won approval from the Biden Administration’s CFTC National Futures Association to list crypto futures. The move made the exchange the first crypto platform to offer regulated and leveraged crypto futures alongside traditional spot trading.

The Download on Meta Connect 2023

The annual Meta Connect 2023 conference wrapped this week. It included two days of new AI product reveals and updates on Meta’s augmented reality and virtual reality landscape. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the tech giant is “focused on building the future of human connection” during his keynote. Here are some of the key announcements and takeaways from the event:

• Meta Quest 3: Since debuting the new mixed-reality headset in June, Meta announced that preorders for the Quest 3 are now open, and the headset will be available on Oct. 10. Quest 3 models range in price from $500 to $650 depending on storage capacity.
• Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses: Meta and Ray-Ban debuted their second generation of smart glasses that are equipped with cameras, spatial audio, and video capture and photo capabilities. This product succeeds Ray-Ban Stories, which was released in 2021.
• Meta AI: The Big Tech leader showcased its new AI chatbot personality tech with a couple dozen different celebrity voices. Meta AI is the company’s new generative AI assistant that will be available in Meta’s family of apps, including Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. Generative AI image editing is also being developed for Instagram.

Amazon’s $4B Investment in Anthropic and an FTC Lawsuit

Amazon announced that it will invest up to $4 billion in generative artificial intelligence startup Anthropic as part of a larger strategic collaboration. This deal makes Amazon Web Services the primary cloud provider for Anthropic, which is building AI systems set to rival OpenAI. Within days of that good news, bad news followed when the US Federal Trade Commission and attorney generals from 17 states filed an antitrust lawsuit against the e-commerce giant. The suit alleges that Amazon is illegally maintaining monopoly power to inflate online prices and overcharge sellers. Ultimately, the agency is concerned about Amazon using interlocking anticompetitive and unfair strategies. The FTC has been investigating Amazon for years. However, the lawsuit comes after the company allegedly failed to offer concessions to settle some of these claims in closed meetings last month.

I’ll surely be following this case closely.

Updates from OpenAI

OpenAI is reportedly seeking a new valuation between $80 billion and $90 billion through a sale of some of its shares. The AI company’s rapid success is undeniable, so reaching this new height wouldn’t surprise me one bit. Here are some more updates from OpenAI’s world:

• OpenAI debuted a new internet browsing feature for ChatGPT users to surf the web.
• OpenAI’a Sam Altman is reportedly working with iPhone designer Jony Ive to conceptualize and develop a new AI hardware device, The Information reported.
• Tubi announced the release Rabbit AI, the streamer’s new AI-enabled recommendations feature powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT AI chatbot.
• OpenAI responded to author and comedian Sarah Silverman‘s lawsuit against ChatGPT that she filed earlier this year. The AI company’s legal team filed motions to dismiss some of the counts in the lawsuit. It expects to fight the copyright infringement allegation head-on in court.
• ChatGPT can now understand spoken words and respond with a synthetic voice.

• Google Podcasts is shutting down this year. However, it’s not the end of the podcast era for the Big Tech, which is adding podcast tools and features to YouTube Music instead. Also, Google Bard got a significant update last week after users discovered that Google Search was indexing conversations with the AI chatbot.

• I’m not sure what MicroStrategy‘s master plan is. he data analytics firm acquired 5,445 more Bitcoin tokens, taking its holding up to 158,245 Bitcoins.
• Web3 brand Yuga Labs announced a partnership with A BATHING APE. They will design apparel collection that will be first available to Bored Ape Yacht Club holders before hitting stores in December. The collection will debut in Hong Kong in November during BAYC’s annual ApeFest community event.
• The Central Intelligence Agency is developing an AI chatbot for other US intelligence agencies. The new tech offering will be trained on publicly available data and is being created to assist users in sifting through public data.
• Tinder officially rolled out its new exclusive subscription program, Tinder Select, which will cost $500 a month and offer users more unique features to find love connections. Tinder is accepting applications for the program on a rolling basis.
• Move over Dall-E 3 and Midjoirney, there’s new competition in town. Getty Images is developing an AI tool that will be able to generate images from its library of work.

• X and its Updated Vision for Building the ‘Everything App’
• What the End of the WGA Strike Really Means for Hollywood
• VeeCon 2024 Heads to Downtown Los Angeles
• Meet the Creators With the Most TikTok Followers

Samsung is targeting content creators through a new sponsorship with MrBeast. I’m going to bet that this deal won’t drive significant sales for the Galaxy Z Flip 5 as the mobile brand expects it to.

The post Coinbase Stands with Crypto at the Capitol appeared first on Boardroom.

A peek into today’s edition: 

• Microsoft‘s new products and data leaks
• Another lawsuit and new crypto token at ChatGPT
• Apple tops list of most future-proof brands

Microsoft Announces New Products Following Major Data Leaks

Microsoft showcased the next generation of its Surface computers, the new Windows 11 operating system, and shared updates on its Microsoft 365 Copilot AI tool at an event in New York. The tech leader unveiled the Surface Laptop Studio 2, Surface Laptop Go 3, Surface Go 4, and Surface Hub 3, all of which will hit the market on Oct. 3. Microsoft also announced enterprise availability for Microsoft 35 Copilot, its supplemental AI tool that can embed with Word, Excel, and other productivity apps. The new offering will be available to businesses starting Nov. 1 and will cost $30 per person per month on top of the existing Microsoft 365 monthly fee.

Microsoft’s legacy product chief, Panos Panay, was missing from the event, and that’s because he announced his departure from the business on Monday. He is headed to Amazon to run the division that oversees Alexa and Echo devices. Panay was with Microsoft for 20 years and is most known for leading the Microsoft Windows team and helping push the tech firm’s Surface computers to market.

Microsoft is also one step closer to closing in on acquiring Activision Blizzard after Britain’s antitrust regulator signed off on the deal. Amid all these new updates this week, news of two separate data leaks at Microsoft took over top headlines, as well.

First, AI researchers at the Big Tech firm accidentally exposed 38 terabytes of sensitive data, including private keys and passwords, while trying to publish some other data on GitHub. Secondly, leaked court documents detailed Microsoft’s plans for an all-digital Xbox Series X refresh that is expected to hit the market next year. The cylindrical device has a new look, lower power usage, expanded internal storage, and no disc drive. The documents came from Microsoft’s trial with the FTC over the summer, but the commission said Microsoft accidentally uploaded these docs to the court itself, and someone got ahold of them.

OpenAI Hit With Another Lawsuit, Plus More Updates From ChatGPT

OpenAI was hit with another copyright infringement lawsuit filed by 17 authors claiming ChatGPT is using their copyrighted works without permission. Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin, novelist Josh Grisham, and My Sister’s Keeper author Jodi Picoult are some of the top names in the claim organized by the Authors Guild. OpenAI responded to the lawsuit and said it has been working with authors and creators to understand their concerns about AI and misconceptions around the scope of copyrighted works. The lawsuit comes after a string of similar complaints filed against OpenAI earlier this year.

Despite the legal troubles, OpenAI is rolling out new tech after unveiling Dall-E 3 earlier this week. The latest version of OpenAI’s text-to-image tool that leverages ChatGPT comes with more safeguards and an easier process for users to turn their ideas into images. The AI giant will allow creators to decide if they want their work to be a part of this new offering. The possibilities seem endless with ChatGPT, and an anonymous Ethereum developer proved that when he combined his code with ChatGPT’s API to create a real digital coin named AstroPepeX. ChatGPT suggested all aspects of the coin’s creation, down to its name and imagery. AstroPepeX is available for trading on Uniswap’s exchange, and the memecoin generated $12.9 million on its opening day.

Google is Making Strides With AI

It’s been a busy week for Google. The Big Tech firm is inching closer to releasing its enterprise conversational AI system named Gemini, Jon Victor at The Information reported. Gemini is a collection of large language models that can perform various tasks, and it will be available to businesses through Google Cloud. Google has reportedly given a group of companies access to an early version of the platform with select offerings.

Now, Gemini is completely different from Google’s consumer AI chatbot, Bard, which will stay on the market when Gemini launches. To continue expanding Bard, Google is connecting the AI chatbot to its flagship consumer services, including YouTube and Gmail. YouTube Shorts is getting a generative AI feature called Dream Screen, allowing users to create AI-generated videos and image backgrounds using text descriptions. This new feature comes nearly a month after Snapchat launched a generative AI feature called “Dreams” that allows users to turn photos into more imaginative backgrounds. Coincidence or?

X Shares More on Vision For ‘Everything App’ Plans

X CEO Linda Yaccarino and the platforms management team shared an overview of X’s latest developments and plans on its road to becoming the everything app, which is something I’m still trying to wrap my head around understanding. Yaccarino and her team laid out these updates at X‘s newly reformed Client Council earlier this week. Some of these features have already been released, but X highlighted long-form blog posts, video calls, creator subscriptions, and product and job listings. X still has some work to do on the in-app payments system mentioned, and I’ll be the first to tell you the mock-up images were not good.

Elsewhere in X’s sphere, in an interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Elon Musk teased new X Premium (formerly Twitter Blue) tiers to attract more users to the program. While some outlets report that Musk said X will be completely paywalled, the platform’s owner denied that he made such remarks.

• As Apple rolls out an iPhone 12 software update to address radiation concerns, the Big Tech giant topped the 2023 FutureBrand Index as the most future-proof brand over top tech competitors like Samsung, Microsoft, Intel, and Amazon.
• Amazon announced a slate of new software and devices at its annual fall event, including the addition of generative AI in its voice assistant Alexa.
• Airbnb listings will get a verification symbol as the platform launches a process to shake out fake listings in the US, Canada, Australia, the UK, and France to start. Airbnb is also using an AI system to flag users who may be booking a property for a party.
• As TikTok rolls out its new AI-generated content label, the social network will also use AI to detect AI content to slap a label on. The new update comes as TikTok is working to bring its employees back into the office, and the company is using an app to track attendance.
• Square CEO Alyssa Henry will depart the Block-owned financial services platform on Oct. 2 following an outage that spanned two days and didn’t allow sellers to process payments. Block Co-founder Jack Dorsey will take over as CEO after Henry’s exit.
• Run Tech Club Foundation hosted a gala celebrating the impact of sports and projects launched by athletes, entrepreneurs, and creatives. Angel City FC‘s Kara Nortman, Trevor McFedries of Friends With Benefits, and Saysh’s Wes Felix are some honorees awarded at the event.

The post Microsoft Announces New Products Following Major Data Leaks appeared first on Boardroom.

Data and AI company Databricks closed a $500 million investment round, boosting its valuation up to $43 billion.

T. Rowe Price Associates led Databricks’ Series I investment round, which also included new investors Nvidia and Capital One Ventures. Existing investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Tiger Global, and more, also participated in the round.

Founded in 2103, Databricks is an enterprise software developer building a cloud platform to simplify the data management process. The company’s flagship platform, Databricks Lakehouse, brings data, analytics, and AI under one platform for companies to manage and track enterprise data insights.

“The commitment from long-term focused strategic and financial partners reflects Databricks’ continued momentum, the rapid customer adoption of the Databricks Lakehouse, and the success customers are seeing from moving to a unified data and AI platform,” Databricks co-founder and CEO Ali Ghodsi said in a statement. “Databricks and NVIDIA are building transformative AI technology, and we’re excited about the business value and innovation we can bring to our customers.”

Here’s a recap of more Web3 and Tech VC deals closed in recent weeks.

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Mighty Buildings: $52M to Build 3D-Printed Homes

Mighty Buildings, a tech startup developing prefabricated and environmentally friendly homes, closed a $52 million funding round co-led by Waed Ventures and Bold Capital. Khosla Ventures also participated in the round. The new raise values Mighty Buildings at about $350 million.

Founded in 2017, Might Buildings is on a mission to automate the home construction process by leveraging 3D printing. Prices for the company’s homes start at $115,000.

Mighty Buildings will use the new funding to expand in North America and the Middle East, with a larger focus on expanding more into Saudi Arabia. Some of the funding will also go toward launching a new-age modular homebuilding kit.

Animoca Brands: $20M to Build The Mocaverse

Animoca Brands raised $20 million to build out its new metaverse project called the Mocaverse. CMCC Global led the funding round, which also included investments from a group of investors, including Kingsway Capital, Liberty City Ventures, and GameFi Ventures.

The new project includes a collection of 8,888 NFTs linked to exclusive access to the platform. The blockchain and gaming leader is building the Mocaverse to bring its ecosystem under one umbrella. Mocaverse holders will maintain their identities using a Moca ID, which can also be used to authenticate holders’ blockchain identities.

With this fresh raise, Animoca also expanded in the Japanese market and acquired six unnamed enterprises.

More Notable Investments

• Google is investing $20 million into building a responsible AI fund focused on gathering research on AI’s impact on society.
• Defense AI startup Helsing raised a $223 million Series B, becoming one of Europe’s larges AI companies.
• Europe-based Druid closed a $30 million Series B to build out its conversational business applications that can integrate with ChatGPT.
• Anna Wilding, a photographer best known for capturing former president Barack Obama, launched a production company and is working on raising $50 million for a content fund.
• AI networking chipmaker Enfabrica raised $125 million in Series B funding from Nvidia, Liberty Global Ventures, Atreides Management and others.
• Pahdo Labs raised $15 million to create an anime-style game and user-generated content platform.
• Cendana Capital raised $470 million to invest in and support seed-stage managers.
• Battery recycling company Ascend Elements closed a $542 million Series D led by Decarbonization Partners.
• Rascal Games closed a $4.2 million funding round to build a social-focused multiplayer adventure game dubbed Project Wayward.
• India-based fintech company Perfios, a developer of credit underwriting solutions, raised $229 million to expand into Northern American and European markets.
• Imbue‘s valuation hit $1 billion after the AI startup closed a $200 million funding round led by Astera Institute, NVIDIA, Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt, Notion co-founder Simon Last, and other investors.

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The post Web3 & Tech VC Roundup: Databricks Hits $43B Valuation appeared first on Boardroom.

A peek into today’s edition: 

• Happy 25th birthday, Google!
• Ghostwriter is back with another AI hit
• TikTok Music expands internationally

Google Celebrates a Quarter Century in Business

Google was founded on Sept. 4, 1998, marking 25 years in business. I don’t know about y’all, but I feel like Google has been around much longer than that because it’s so deeply ingrained in my daily digital interactions. But that’s the point. Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin set a big goal to organize the world’s information and make it more accessible and searchable online. They did just that, plus much more over the years, but search is still at the nucleus of the Big Tech company’s mission. Google has expanded with 15 core products, including YouTube, Google Maps, and Gmail, which will turn 20 years old next year.

So, what does Google have planned for the next 25 years? Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, detailed the company’s hopes and dreams in a blog post, which mainly includes finding its lane in the artificial intelligence landscape. Speaking of AI, the Big Tech giant will soon require political advertisers to disclose whether AI was used in the development of their ads.

Pichai said in the blog post that “AI will be the biggest technological shift we see in our lifetimes,” and I have to say I agree. What do you think?

Ghostwriter Drops AI-powered Travis Scott & 21 Song While Chasing a Grammy

Anonymous artist Ghostwriter told the New York Times that they are chasing a few Grammy Awards for their viral AI-generated song “Heart on My Sleeve” featuring Drake and The Weeknd’s vocals, even though the song was pulled from streaming platforms for copyright infringement claims. There have been conflicting reports about whether this is even possible, so Harvey Jay Mason Jr., CEO of The Recording Academy, which produces the Grammy Awards, shut all rumors down and said this version of “Heart on My Sleeve” is not eligible for an award. While a human wrote the song, the vocals were illegally used, and the song is not commercially available.

Ghostwriter submitted “Heart on My Sleeve” in the Best Rap Song and Song of the Year categories. The anonymous artist also got busy this week with the drop of a new track called “Whiplash” featuring Travis Scott and 21 Savage’s AI-generated vocals. This time, though, Ghostwriter is calling on the artists to collaborate on an official release and promising they will get the royalties.

Chipmaker Arm’s Valuation Up to $52B Following Apple Deal

British software design company and computer chipmaker Arm inked a deal with Apple that will run through 2040 and “beyond” to license its chip tech to the Big Tech firm for the foreseeable future. The details of the deal were laid out in Arm’s initial public offering documents filed on Tuesday. The Softbank-backed company hopes to enter the public market with a $52 billion valuation, marking the largest tech IPO in the US this year. Arm is a leader in developing mobile phone chips, which Apple already uses across some of its products, including the iPhone. The chipmaker said roughly 250 billion of its chips have shipped to power smartphones since it started developing them decades ago.

Along with Apple, Google, Nvidia, Samsung, Intel, and other notable tech companies have expressed interest in buying Arm shares as part of its public offering in the coming weeks.

FTC Inches Closer to Filing Amazon Antitrust Lawsuit

The US Federal Trade Commission could file an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon as soon as later this month after the e-commerce giant failed to offer concessions to settle claims in closed meetings last month. The FTC is most concerned about Fulfillment by Amazon, the company’s logistics program, and third-party sellers’ prices since regulators believe Amazon favors its own products on its platform over outside sellers. If filed, the lawsuit could force Amazon to break up some of its business practices.

This isn’t the first time the FTC is going after Amazon. The Big Tech firm agreed to pay $25 million in May to settle claims that Alexa devices illegally collected children’s data. The FTC turned right around in June and sued Amazon again, this time claiming that the e-commerce giant deceived customers into signing up for its Prime subscription service and making it hard for them to cancel it.

In Other News: Tik Tok Music, COD Brings in AI Cops, & More

• TikTok is slowly but surely clearing the way for TikTok Music to enter the US market after retiring its Resso brand in Indonesia and Brazil in favor of its flagship music streaming platform. To jog your memory, TikTok filed a patent in the US for TikTok Music in May 2022.
• An AI-powered moderator dressed up as a robot cop will debut with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 to identify and flag toxic speech such as hate speech, discriminatory language, harassment, sexism, and bullying in multiplayer games. The moderator won’t flag specific words but will instead focus on the intent behind a player’s communication.
• Meta is getting rid of Facebook’s News tab in the UK, France, and Germany in early December, though it will still honor its existing news deals with publishers in those areas until they expire. To soothe regulators’ worries, the Big Tech giant is also considering offering paid versions of Facebook and Instagram in the European Union so users can avoid advertisements.
• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman received the first Indonesian golden visa, which grants him access to the country for 10 years with priority security screening, longer stays, a smoother entry and exit process, and more. Altman got the honor as Indonesia seeks to draw foreign investors with positive international reputations.
• Former FTX executive Ryan Salame pleaded guilty to fraud charges and agreed to forfeit more than $1.5 billion. He is the fourth executive from the fallen crypto exchange to plead guilty, while disgraced former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Friedm will go on trial on Oct. 3 to fight wire fraud and securities fraud charges.
• A software update caused a slowdown in United Airlines‘ tech systems, resulting in the Federal Aviation Administration grounding the airline’s departures for as long as an hour earlier this week. United is still investigating the incident.

Warner Music Central Europe signed a record deal with AI pop singer Noonoouri, and while this is a first for Warner Music, I’m going to bet that we won’t see a deal of this nature in the US anytime soon.

The post Happy 25th Birthday, Google appeared first on Boardroom.

A peek into today’s edition: 

• Apple‘s new products & iPhone 14 wins
• IBM brings more AI to the 2023 US Open
• OpenAI launches ChatGPT Enterprise

New Apple Products on the Way Following Big iPhone 14 Wins

iPhone 14 models topped global sales, becoming the most-shipped smartphone device in the first half of 2023. Apple shipped 26.5 million iPhone 14 Prop Max units between January and June, according to research firm Omdia’s Smartphone Model Market Tracker. There were 21 million iPhone 14 Pro units shipped and 16.5 million iPhone 14 devices. This success comes as Apple prepares for its next product demo event on Sept. 12. The Big Tech company is expected to announce the iPhone 15, two new Apple Watches, and the latest iOS upgrade. Here’s everything we know so far about the 15th generation of the iPhone. Apple is also planning a major upgrade for the iPad Pro sometime next year.

Also, Google “accidentally” leaked a photo of the Pixel 8 Pro on its own website the same day Apple announced its Sept. 12 event. There’s no launch date for Google‘s new mobile device yet, but the tech company usually holds its demo events in October.

Back to Apple. The company may debut a USB-C charging port with the iPhone 15 to align with European laws stating that all mobile phones, tablets, and cameras sold in the region must use USB-C for wired charging by Dec. 28, 2024. I don’t know about y’all, but I’m sensing Apple will surprise us with something at this event. Remember when the tech giant completely skipped over launching an iPhone 9 and introduced the iPhone X instead? I’ll never forget that.

Inside IBM’s Artificial Intelligence Evolution at the 2023 US Open

IBM is celebrating more than 30 years as the official technology partner of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) with new AI-powered features across all digital platforms for the 2023 US Open Tennis Championships. Following success with similar AI tech first introduced at the 2023 Masters in April, IBM debuted generative AI spoken commentary and AI Draw Analysis to USOpen.org and the US Open app. I was fortunate enough to tour the IBM Data Center at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center this past week alongside IBM and USTA execs and Maria Sharapova, 2006 US Open champion.

The future of AI tech in sports is bright simply because of the ease of combing through datasets, viewing player highlights, and digging into rankings, all with intuitive digital interfaces on the web and mobile and fan engagement at the center. Check out my full download on the work IBM is doing with the US Open and how the tech corporation plans to expand its offerings to more big sporting events.

SEC Settles First Major NFT Enforcement Case Against Impact Theory

The Securities and Exchange Commission has ordered LA-based media and entertainment firm Impact Theory to pay $6.1 million in penalties for the unregistered offering of NFTs. The commission alleged that the company raised $30 million from hundreds of investors after encouraging them to purchase NFTs as an investment into the business. This is the first major NFT enforcement action that the SEC has pushed forward with as government entities crack down on crypto operations across the US. Impact Theory did not admit wrongdoing or deny the commission’s allegations as part of the settlement.

Meta Beta Launches Horizon Worlds on Mobile

Meta is pushing forward on its metaverse plans with the beta testing launch of Horizon Worlds on mobile devices. Horizon Worlds is Meta’s premiere virtual reality, gaming, and social platform. This upgrade expands the digital destination beyond Meta Quest VR headsets, and the mobile version will operate like a typical gaming app. The Big Tech firm is also testing a web-based version of Horizon Worlds. Interested users can request access to the mobile and web versions of Horizon Worlds here.

Also, is Meta preparing to launch IGTV 2.0? Maybe. Instagram is internally testing a three-minute and 10-minute Reels feature with a more integrated video experience. There is no word on when the feature will expand externally.

In Other News

• As OpenAI paces toward $1 billion in revenue, the AI leader launched ChatGPT Enterprise, the biz version of its successful AI-powered chatbot.
• Food delivery app company Instacart filed paperwork to go public on the Nasdaq under the “CART” ticker, and if all goes well, Instacart will be the first notable tech IPO to come through in nearly two years.
• As the SAG-AFTRA strike rages on, there has been a 137% surge in Cameo sign-ups and account reactivations as actors and writers flock to the video-sharing site to earn some income. Even SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher recently reactivated her account.
• Elon Musk demoed Tesla’s AI-enabled self-driving tech in a 45-minute grainy video posted on X, where he also doxxed Mark Zuckerberg’s home address when he said he was routing there. Elsewhere in Tesla‘s AI realm, the automotive maker is set to activate its Nvidia supercomputer to enhance its computing capabilities to train its full self-driving tech.
• Speaking of Musk and his business dealings, X/Twitter acquired a license to integrate crypto payments and trading on the platform in the US. While X further moves into the crypto space, the social network is working to stay out of courtrooms with 2,200 arbitration cases filed by ex-employees to face.
• Following in Microsoft‘s steps, Google will start charging large businesses $30 per user a month if they plan to indulge in AI integrations that it’s adding to Gmail and other productivity apps. Also, the Google Doodle turned 25 this week.

Amazon is pushing forward with its return-to-office policy, requiring employees to report to an office three days a week, just as Meta recently implemented. I’m going to bet that tech workers will begin to push back on Big Tech companies to fight the crackdown on in-office policies in favor of remote work.

The post New Apple Products on the Way Following Big iPhone 14 Wins appeared first on Boardroom.

A peek into today’s edition:

• Google is looking to get into the life advice business
• Vinfast is the newest name in the expanding EV market
• Bored Ape Yacht Club owners are stepping up with a lawsuit

Hackers Assembled in Vegas for a White House-sanctioned Event to Break AI

More than 2,000 hackers gathered in Las Vegas for the 31st annual Defcon conference. This year, amidst the multiple stations, the ones that were dedicated to artificial intelligence drew huge crowds. Many attendees collectively tried to predict all of the darkest, least ethical capacities of and uses for artificial intelligence. As the group gathered, they had the blessing of both the White House and each of the biggest companies leading the AI revolution. By exposing the risks of AI technology, the hackers prepared companies with new questions to solve as they roll out the technology in new and innovative ways, staving off some of the more nefarious capabilities. Judges scored the efforts, and two of the peak performances came from Stanford student Cody Ho, who didn’t realize that he was a winner until contacted by a reporter from the New York Times.

Google is Prepping an AI Tool to Hand Out Life Advice

“Hey Google, what should I do with my life?”

The tech giant is reportedly working on building AI technology that will help users make sense of this crazy, mixed-up world. Google’s DeepMind project is testing technology that would enable artificial intelligence to give users life advice. Up until now, this use of AI has been expressly avoided. The technology fields prompts and hands out potential solutions in return, acting as a modern-day “Dear Abby.” But this is only one aspect of DeepMind’s potential, which spans 21 opportunities, including critical breakdowns of complex topics, fact-checking, and more.

Vinfast Leaps into the Market with $18.5 Billion Valuation

The race for top market share in the electric vehicle world is heating up. Just this week, Tesla announced that it will reduce the price of its X and S models by nearly $10,000. However, it has a new competitor in the global market. Vietnamese company VinFast made its Nasdaq debut on Wednesday. Although the stock plummeted nearly 20% on its first day of trading, its market cap remained above $18.5 billion. This huge number placed it above legacy brands such as Ford and GM. Will the company keep up with the rising demand for EVs across the world? More on that in our Bet of the Week.

Bored Ape Owners Sue Sothebys, Paris Hilton, and More

Remember last year when every day there was a new celebrity scooping up a coveted Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT? From Justin Bieber to Snoop Dogg, anyone who was anyone was getting into the exclusive club. As NFTs have fallen out of favor, the value of the digital collectibles has plummeted. Now, a collective of Bored Ape owners is headed to court, suing Sotheby’s, Paris Hilton, and more for “misleadingly promot[ing]” the NFTs and artificially inflating the prices. Today, the average Bored Ape is valued at just over $50,000, whereas in May 2022 that number was 8x greater. Yuga Labs, the company behind the BAYC, responded to the claim, saying, “We believe that these new allegations, like those in the previous iteration of this opportunistic complaint, are completely without merit or factual basis.”

In Other News: Welcome to “Slivingland,” Reliable Service is Coming to FedEx Field, & More

• Microsoft and OpenAI execs sat down and reflected on the current moment in AI, equating its potential impact to be as big as when Bill Gates called the internet at “tidal wave” in 1995. Meanwhile, chipmaker Nvidia saw its stock soar this week, as analysts got bullish on its potential role in the industry boom.

• She may be named in the Bored Ape lawsuit, but she won’t let that bother her. Paris Hilton launched the entertainment hub “Slivingland” on Roblox this week. That’s hot, we guess.

• There is a new ownership group in town in nation’s capital and sponsors are lining up to collab. Verizon announced a wide-ranging, two-year deal with the Washington Commanders this week. The partnership will focus on increasing connectivity at FedEx Field and improving the overall fan experience.

• The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup has come to an end after an incredible month. Despite breaking attendance and viewership records, Amazon’s Alexa couldn’t answer the simplest of questions about the competition. The technology encountered a system error when users asked who won the semifinal match between England and Australia, highlighting potential evidence of sexism embedded in the device’s programming and operation.

• Netflix is bidding farewell to its DVD business by sending some keepsakes to diehard fans. Users will receive up to 10 DVDs when the streaming giant sends them out the final time during the week of Sept. 29. However, you have to wonder if DVDs will have a resurgence similar to records, as Gen Z’ers double down on tangible goods.

• Bitcoin sank below $26,000 this week, marking its worst week since November 2022. The dip was motivated by a Wall Street Journal report that revealed that Elon Musk sold off a significant amount of SpaceX’s Bitcoin holdings in 2022.

• TikTok launched its music streaming app in select markets last month; however, things may not be going according to plan. The app was expected to expand into the U.S. next month, but the company implemented layoffs in the music department this week that included both its heads of partnerships and strategy. The move throws the future of the streaming service into question.

VinFast will go the way of Rivian, facing an extreme challenge (and plummeting stock prices) as it is unable to keep up with the sky-high demand for its EV offerings.

The post Hackers Tackle AI at the 30th Annual Defcon Event in Las Vegas appeared first on Boardroom.

A peek into today’s edition:

• Threads on the web
• Google and UMG sync on AI music tool
• Microsoft is betting on Web3

Threads is Headed to the Web

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Threads that the new microblogging platform is getting a web version and conventional search function in the next few weeks. Meta launched Threads from stealth with a lot of missing features social media users typically expect. Still, millions of users flocked to the platform in the last month, and Meta hopes to retain early adopters with the rollout of some much-anticipated features. Threads is bringing in about 8 million daily active users, which is down from its peak of 44 million daily active users around its launch. Still, Meta is rolling out Threads updates, including the ability to share a post to Instagram DMs directly, a more intuitive mention button, and custom text for photos and videos.

For now, Threads is still only mobile-friendly, and it’s unclear if Meta will release iPad and Mac apps soon, but the Big Tech company has been internally testing more versions of the platform.

Google and UMG in Negotiations For AI Music Tools

Remember that viral AI-generated song featuring Drake and The Weeknd’s vocals that Universal Music Group got pulled from streaming platforms for copyright infringement claims? Well, it seems like UMG had a change of heart following a potential new partnership with Google. UMG and the Big Tech firm are in negotiations on a deal to license artists’ voices and melodies for AI-generated songs. The pair are discussing developing an AI tool for users to generate songs, with the appropriate copyright owners getting compensated. Artists will have a choice to participate in the licensing platform. Warner Music Group is discussing a similar deal with Google.

A deal of this magnitude gestures at how the major labels will look to monetize AI and potentially combat unauthorized deepfakes and other pitfalls. The biggest question now is how many artists will get on board with this new idea.

OpenAI Funds NYU’s New Journalism Ethics Project

ChatGPT‘s parent company OpenAI is dishing out a $395,000 grant to fund a journalism ethics initiative at New York University. The new opportunity will be part of NYU’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute and offer workshops and discussions centered on journalism ethics issues, and produce articles and papers for its own website and other news outlets, Axios reported. Stephen Adler, former editor-in-chief of Reuters and veteran journalist, will lead the new initiative and conduct research about quality journalism in the age of AI.

OpenAI’s investment in NYU comes after the company announced last month that it would invest up to $10 million in the American Journalism Project to bolster local news. OpenAI is also partnering with the Associated Press to explore use cases for AI in newsrooms.

The White House Announces a $20M AI Cyber Challenge

The Biden-Harris Administration announced a two-year hacking challenge with nearly $20 million in prizes up for grabs. Led by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the AI Cyber Challenge is calling on US competitors to create AI-focused tech solutions that fix software vulnerabilities. The initial qualifying event will take place in the spring of 2024, where up to 20 teams will advance to the semifinal competition. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency made a commitment to invest $1 million each into seven small businesses that participate in the challenge. Anthropic, Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI are some of the top companies that will lend their AI tech to competitors who must build open-source systems that could potentially be widely used.

In Other News

• Microsoft announced a partnership with layer-1 blockchain developer Aptos Labs to build AI tools for blockchain integrations and accelerate mass Web3 adoption.
• Amazon will meet with the FTC next week to avoid an antitrust lawsuit that’s been brewing for a long time. If filed, the lawsuit could force the e-commerce giant to break up some of its business practices.
• In its latest push to make crypto payments and transfers the norm, PayPal launched its own stablecoin, PayPal USD, that will be pegged to the US dollar and become its official digital coin.
• Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is back in custody less than two months ahead of his fraud trail after a judge revoked his bail due to his involvement with media leaks.
• There’s trouble in the C Suite. Tesla’s longtime CFO Zach Kirkhorn stepped down after 13 years of working in various roles at the company, and Disney’s metaverse lead, Mike White, left his post after only a year and a half in the role.
• Renowned online streamer Kai Cenat is in the hot seat again and is facing criminal charges after running an electronics giveaway in NYC that incited chaos and resulted in dozens of arrests.
• Dogecoin founder Billy Markus tweeted that he’s made five times more revenue from posting on X than he did in creating his notable cryptocurrency.

The post Threads is Headed to the Web appeared first on Boardroom.

Boxing is a world of chaos. Rather often, just like Whose Line Is it Anyway, everything can be made up and the points may not matter. With that in mind, we’re often willing to use the word “superfight” to refer to bouts that aren’t exactly superfights. That’s simply how we’ve been gaslit, not by the sport itself, but by the ever-burning faithfulness of our love for it.

July 29’s Errol Spence vs. Terence Crawford throwdown for the undisputed welterweight championship of the world, however, is the biggest superfight boxing has managed to book in several years, likely since Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao all the way back in 2015. Naturally, Boardroom couldn’t hope to make any careful, composed sense of this 147-pound mega-scrap without the help of some advanced technology.

Behold, BOTS ON BOXING! We enlisted the help of two of the internet’s most lovable, nefarious artificial intelligence chatbots — OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard — to help us unpack some prognostications for Saturday’s hotter-than-hot ticket in Vegas.

Check out our bang-bang Crawford vs. Spence prediction bonanza straight from the bleeding edge below, and stay tuned for a full odds and prop bets overview straight from FanDuel Sportsbook.

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Crawford vs. Spence Prediction Rundown

NOTE: Unlike Boardroom, which consists of humans, an artificial intelligence chatbot does not actually predict future events per se. Rather, each was prompted to provide a plausible narrative arc for what could occur, as well as a final result.

BOARDROOM’S SPENCE-CRAWFORD PREDICTIONS:

• Spence comes out aggressive and forces Crawford onto his back foot. He wins the first two rounds, but doesn’t deal major damage.
• Bud’s patience and timing begin to pay off, taking several rounds in a row.
• Knowing he’s at least modestly behind, Spence gradually overcommits to coming forward and gets dropped to one knee by a Crawford hook in Round 9.
• The championship rounds are a wash; “The Truth” can’t make up the deficit
• Widely seen as the deserving victor, Crawford nonetheless narrowly escapes with a split decision, with the judges’ cards reading 116-112 and 115-113 in his favor and 116-112 for Spence

CHATGPT PROJECTS THE FIGHT:

The Fight:

The early rounds of the fight are a display of high-level boxing. Crawford’s technical prowess is on full display as he employs elusive footwork and precision punching to score points. Spence, true to his reputation, pressures Crawford relentlessly, seeking to close the distance and land heavy shots to wear down his opponent.

As the fight progresses, Spence’s aggressive style starts to take a toll on Crawford, who finds it challenging to maintain his usual elusive movement. However, Crawford’s adaptability comes into play as he switches up his tactics, occasionally engaging in toe-to-toe exchanges with Spence to keep him guessing.

The middle rounds see a back-and-forth battle, with each fighter having their moments of dominance. The crowd is on the edge of their seats as they witness the ebb and flow of the fight, unsure of who will emerge victorious.

In the championship rounds, both fighters dig deep, knowing that victory hangs in the balance. Crawford’s technical brilliance shines through, landing crisp combinations and counterpunches, while Spence’s relentless pressure continues to test Crawford’s resolve.

How Much Money is on the Line in Vegas?

Check out Boardroom’s purse money overview for the Crawford-Spence superfight.

Check it out!

Final Result:

The fight goes the distance, and the judges’ scorecards are eagerly awaited. After a hard-fought and closely contested battle, the judges announce a split decision. One judge scores the fight in favor of Spence, another for Crawford, and the third judge sees it as a draw.

The decision reflects the razor-thin margin between these two elite fighters, leaving the fans divided in their opinions, and sparking discussions that will continue for years to come. Regardless of the outcome, both Terence Crawford and Errol Spence earn respect and admiration for their incredible performance in what will be remembered as one of the most thrilling boxing superfights in history.

In the end, the result adds another layer to the legacy of both fighters, fueling speculation about a potential rematch in the future, further enticing fans and solidifying their positions as boxing legends.

BARD AI’S CRAWFORD VS. SPENCE PREDICTION:

Here are some possible results for a boxing match between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence:

• Crawford by decision: Crawford is the more technical boxer and has a wider range of tools in his arsenal. He could use his jab to keep Spence at bay and then land hard shots to the body and head. If he can avoid Spence’s power punches, he should be able to win a decision.
• Spence by KO: Spence is the more powerful puncher and has a good chin. He could pressure Crawford and land big shots to the head and body. If he can break Crawford down, he could score a knockout.
• Draw: This is a close fight between two evenly-matched opponents. It’s possible that the judges could split the decision, resulting in a draw.

Ultimately, the result of this fight is difficult to predict. Both Crawford and Spence are elite boxers with a lot of talent. It should be an exciting fight that will be talked about for years to come.

Terence Crawford vs. Errol Spence Odds

All Spence-Crawford odds are via FanDuel Sportsbook as of July 27, 2023.

Moneyline

• Errol Spence Jr.: +116
• Terence Crawford: -146

O/U total rounds

• UNDER 10.5 rounds: +200
• OVER 10.5 rounds: -270

Method of victory

• Crawford by points/decision: +175
• Crawford by KO/TKO: +320
• Draw: +1600
• Spence by points/decision: +200
• Spence by KO/TKO: +600

Will the fight go the distance?

• Yes: -220
• No: +170

FanDuel special props

• Terence Crawford to be Knocked Down in the 1st Minute of ANY Round: +1600
• A Knockdown in ANY of Rounds 1, 2, 3 or 4: +1600
• A Knockdown in Round 7: +2100
• 3+ Knockdowns in the Fight: +2700
• Terence Crawford to Win AND both Fighters to be Knocked Down: +2900
• Terence Crawford to Win in Round 8 AND Errol Spence to be Knocked Down in Round 7: +5000
• Terence Crawford to Win in Round 4 AND Errol Spence to be Knocked Down in Round 3: +9000
• Errol Spence to Win in Round 10 AND Terence Crawford to be Knocked down in the 1st Minute of Round 10: +10000

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The post Bots on Boxing: ChatGPT, Google’s Bard AI & Boardroom Predict Errol Spence vs. Terence Crawford appeared first on Boardroom.

Artificial intelligence is the name of the game right now when it comes to growth across the tech industry, and recent earnings reports from the Big Tech giants show us precisely that.

Here’s a recap of some of the high-level takeaways laid out in earnings reports from Meta, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Snap. Amazon and Apple are set to report earnings after market close on Aug. 3, so expect a download on those next week.

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Big Tech Earnings: Q2 2023

Meta

Meta’s stock was up 6% and trading at its highest since Jan. 2022 after the tech giant posted a strong earnings report on Tuesday, July 25. Revenues for the operator of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp spiked 11% year-over-year to $31.9 billion, with much of that success coming from a renewed interest in online advertising and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg doubling down on cost-cutting efforts to improve profitability.

Key takeaways from Meta’s recent earnings report:

• Zuckerberg admitted that Meta was pleasantly overwhelmed by the mass adoption of upstart Twitter rival Threads. Despite Meta’s initial plan to keep the Threads team small, there is a big opportunity to grow it now.
• Meta’s total costs and expenses hit $22.61 billion, including $780 million in restructuring charges and $1.87 billion in legal fees.
• Meta spent $7.7 billion on its virtual reality sector in 2023 so far, and it lost $3.74 billion on its Reality Labs’ metaverse-related operations in Q2 alone.
• As of June 30, Meta’s long-term debt sits at $18.38 billion.
• Daily active users across Meta’s family of apps – primarily Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp – hit 3.07 billion on average in June, up 7% year-over-year.

Microsoft

Microsoft’s shares slipped as much as 4% on Wednesday, despite surpassing a few revenue projections. The company has had its hands full trying to close its acquisition of gaming giant Activision Blizzard, but the ink hasn’t dried on the contract just yet. Most notably, there has been widespread disappointment regarding Microsoft’s related rollout of its latest AI tech and investments.

Key takeaways from Microsoft’s recent earnings report:

• Microsoft’s revenue hit $56.2 billion, which is up 8% year-over-year.
• The tech giant profited $20.1 billion across the quarter, up a whopping 20% compared to the same period last year.
• Microsoft’s productivity and business processes unit, which encompasses Office productivity software, LinkedIn, and Dynamics, accounted for $18.29 billion in revenue. Linkedin revenue increased by 5% alone.
• Understandably so, investors are eager to see Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard go through sooner rather than later. The $69 billion deal, which was originally announced in January 2022, is set to close by mid-October at the latest.
• Microsoft’s research and development costs declined for the first time since 2016, due in part to the company announcing back in May that it would be skipping salary increases for full-timers this year.

Alphabet

After some steadfast growth across its cloud computing sector, Google parent company Alphabet’s shares rose by as much as 7%. The Big Tech titan beat revenue projections across various aspects of its business, bringing in $74.6 billion in revenue — up 7% year-over-year.

Key takeaways from Alphabet’s recent earnings report:

• Hardware and Google Services like Chrome, Google Maps, Android generated $66.3 billion in revenue. Sales dollars mainly came via advertising.
• Revenue across Google’s cloud unit increased by 28% to $8.03 billion.
• Ad revenue rose 3.3% to $58.14 billion, with YouTube ads revenue coming in at $7.67 billion.
• Alphabet and Google CFO Ruth Porat will take on the new roles of president and chief investment officer of Alphabet and Google, effective Sept. 1. She’s the company’s longest-serving CFO.
• Google’s cloud unit reported its second consecutive quarter of operating profit, generating $395 million in income for the quarter.

Snap

Snap’s stock fell as much as 17% after the social media company released its Q2 financial report on July 25. Shares plunged because Snap reported lower-than-expected financial guidance numbers, with CEO Evan Spiegel telling CNBC that this is due to the fact that forecasting anything in the social media industry has recently become more difficult.

Key takeaways from Snap’s recent earnings report:

• Despite the recent dip, Snap’s shares are up 18% compared to this time last year. Still, Snap’s stock price is not nearly as healthy as the $73-per-share high it hit in November 2021.
• Daily active users increased 14% year-over-year on Snapchat to 397 million.
• Revenues hit $1.07 billion in Q2, an increase compared to Q1 but lower than the $1.11 billion the company brought in Q2 last year.
• Snapchat+, the platform’s $3.99-a-month premium subscription service, reached four million paying subscribers in Q2.
• Over 150 million users have sent 10 billion messages using Snapchat’s AI-powered chatbot.

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The post Big Tech Earnings Roundup: Meta Posts $32 Billion in Revenue for Q2 appeared first on Boardroom.

I’m having flashbacks of the 2020 lockdown after CBS Studios announced that it’s creating an animated series based on Among Us. Let’s get the game back to the top of the gaming charts, shall we? 

A peek into today’s edition: 

• Apple’s $3 Trillion Market Cap 
• Meta’s new VR subscription 
• Candy Digital’s merger deal

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Apple is the Only Company Valued at $3T in History 

Apple became the first company to hit a $3 trillion market cap in January 2022, and it did it again this week. The company made history, becoming first public company to hit that milestone twice. Shares for Apple rose past $193 to close out trading on Friday. As a result, the tech giant held its new market cap over the elusive marker. It marked the first day in history that a publicly traded company maintained a valuation over $3 trillion after the closing bell.

Apple may be the most valuable company in the world, and its closes competition is Microsoft, which is still $500 billion behind. Analysts think the tech giant could even hit a $4 trillion market cap by 2025, but let’s see how that shakes out when its $3,4999 Apple Vision Pro augmented reality headset launches next year. 

THIS WEEK IN TECH

Meta Launches New Quest Subscription Program

The launch of Meta’s virtual reality subscription Meta Quest+ signals that the tech giant is hyper-focused on bringing VR tech to the masses. Could Its investment be an attempt to keep up with it Northern California neighbor in Apple? Meta Quest users can now subscribe to the new services to get access to two hand-picked VR titles per month. Subscribers can redeem those titles on the first of each month. The service is available for Quest 2 and Quest Pro headsets and will be compatible with Quest 3 when the device drops this fall. 

Meta Quest+ will cost $7.99 a month or $59.99 yearly.

What Happened to Google’s AR Glasses? 

Google is shutting down Project Iris, its big plan to build augmented reality glasses. Even though we’re just hearing about the news this week, the project lost its top leader, Clay Bavor, four months ago. Business Insider reported that Google is focusing on AR software instead of hardware. However, I could still see the company rolling out some gadgets eventually. 

The post Boardroom Tech Talk: Apple Hits $3T Market Cap appeared first on Boardroom.

Earlier this year, Boardroom asked ChatGPT — the wide-eyed, wily artificial intelligence chatbot from OpenAI — what it had to say about the 2023 Formula 1 world championship campaign. The level of detail it injected into ideating just how the season could go beat-for-beat was uncanny, if not unsettling.

Naturally, with the ritzy and prestigious Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix fast approaching on Sunday, May 28, we had to double down on the bleeding-edge fun and ask Bard, a smolderingly handsome AI newcomer on the block courtesy of Google, to join the predictive fray.

As Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, and the world’s finest racing drivers descend on Monte Carlo for another iteration of the famous old race, check out Boardroom’s 2023 Monaco Grand Prix predictions featuring ChatGPT, Bard, and a special betting odds assist from our friends at FanDuel.

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2023 Monaco Grand Prix Predictions

NOTE: Artificial intelligence chatbots will not actually “predict” Grand Prix races per se, and they certainly do not offer betting advice. Rather, the query posed to each was to propose a plausible narrative arc and final result for the race, so each response is meant for entertainment purposes only.

Boardroom’s Monaco Grand Prix Prediction:

Here is the precise sequence of events that absolutely will occur at Monte Carlo on May 28:

• Hometown boy Charles Leclerc of Ferrari enjoys a feelgood moment, winning his third consecutive pole position after Red Bull’s Max Verstappen attacks the famous Rascasse hairpin too aggressively and takes himself beyond the limits of the track, earning a time penalty before he can improve his time in Q3.
• On race day, typically disastrous Ferrari race strategy regarding both tire use and team orders will see Leclerc lose his grip on P1, and subsequently a podium spot
• When a safety car is required after Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas is forced to retire his car, a mechanical difficulty related to steering prevents defending world champion and current leader Max Verstappen from seizing control of the race. He watches as teammate Sergio Perez makes up ground, then fights his way past Mercedes’ George Russell to the front of the pack
• Perez wins the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix, his second consecutive victory at Monte Carlo and another intriguing moment for what is very much a Red Bull vs. Red Bull title race

ChatGPT’s Monaco GP Predictions:

The 2023 F1 Monaco Grand Prix race promised to be an exhilarating battle among the world’s best drivers on the iconic streets of Monte Carlo. The qualifying session set the stage for a thrilling race, with the top teams and drivers securing favorable starting positions. As the race began, tensions ran high, and the narrow, twisty track proved to be a true test of skill and precision.

Throughout the race, there were intense battles for position, daring overtakes, and strategic pit stops that kept the fans on the edge of their seats. The leaders exchanged places multiple times, with each driver pushing the limits of their abilities. However, a surprise twist emerged midway through the race when rain clouds started to gather over the circuit, casting uncertainty over the outcome.

As the rain started to fall, the track became treacherously slippery, adding an extra layer of challenge for the drivers. Some teams gambled on staying out with dry tires, while others opted for an early switch to intermediates. This decision divided the field, creating a thrilling mix of strategies.

The final laps were a showcase of the drivers’ bravery and expertise as they skillfully navigated the wet conditions. With each passing lap, the tension rose as the battle for the lead intensified. The top contenders pushed their cars to the limit, searching for any advantage they could find.

In a dramatic finale, it was Charles Leclerc, the young Monegasque driver, who emerged victorious at his home Grand Prix. Leclerc, driving for Ferrari, showcased exceptional skill and composure in the challenging conditions, delighting the local crowd. His strategic tire choice and impeccable control in the rain allowed him to gradually climb up the ranks, overtaking his rivals with calculated precision.

As the checkered flag waved, the jubilant cheers of the spectators filled the air. Leclerc stood on the top step of the podium, with his emotions overwhelming him as he celebrated an extraordinary triumph on his home turf. The victory marked a significant milestone for both Leclerc and Ferrari, reinvigorating their quest for championship success.

The 2023 F1 Monaco Grand Prix race will be remembered as a thrilling and unpredictable battle, highlighting the extraordinary talent of the drivers and the unpredictable nature of motorsport.

Bard AI’s Monaco Grand Prix Predictions:

The race starts off with Charles Leclerc leading the pack, followed by Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz. The first few laps are uneventful, with the drivers settling into their positions. However, on lap 10, there is a safety car deployed after a crash between two drivers. This bunched up the field and gave everyone a chance to pit for fresh tires.

After the safety car comes in, Leclerc is able to hold off Verstappen and Sainz to win the race. This is Leclerc’s first win of the season and it puts him back in contention for the championship.

Here are some of the factors that could contribute to this narrative arc:

• Leclerc is the home favorite and he has a lot of experience racing in Monaco.
• Verstappen is the defending champion and he is always a contender for victory.
• Sainz is a strong driver and he is always capable of finishing on the podium.
• The weather could play a factor, as Monaco is known for its unpredictable weather.

Here are some of the challenges that could prevent this narrative arc from happening:

• A crash could happen, which could bring out the safety car and bunch up the field.
• A mechanical problem could happen to any of the drivers, which could force them to retire from the race.
• The weather could be bad, which could make it difficult for the drivers to race.

Overall, this is a plausible narrative arc for the 2023 F1 Monaco Grand Prix race. It is a race that is always full of excitement and drama, and it is sure to be a close battle between Leclerc, Verstappen, and Sainz.

2023 MONACO GRAND PRIX PREDICTION CONSENSUS: Charles Leclerc to win (ChatGPT, Bard AI) outvotes Sergio Perez (Boardroom)

• A $100 bet on Charles Leclerc to win (+470) at FanDuel Sportsbook pays out a profit of $470.
• A $100 bet on Sergio Perez to win (+430) pays a profit of $430.
• A $100 bet on Ferrari to be the team of the winning driver (+270) pays out a profit of $270.
• A $100 bet on Red Bull to be the team of the winning driver (-200) pays a profit of $50.

Monaco Grand Prix Odds 2023

Numbers are as of May 25 and can change over time — click here for the latest Monaco GP odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

To win the Monaco GP

• Max Verstappen (Red Bull): +105
• Charles Leclerc (Ferrari): +470
• Sergio Perez (Red Bull): +430
• Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin): +600
• Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): +1600
• Carlos Sainz (Ferrari): +2300
• George Russell (Mercedes): +2300
• Lance Stroll (Aston Martin): +5000

To win pole position in qualifying

• Max Verstappen (Red Bull): +145
• Charles Leclerc (Ferrari): +175
• Sergio Perez (Red Bull): +430
• Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin): +650
• Carlos Sainz (Ferrari): +2100
• Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): +5000
• George Russell (Mercedes): +5000

Team of winning driver

• Red Bull: -200
• Ferrari: +270
• Aston Martin: +600
• Mercedes: +1400
• Alpine: +11000

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The post All Bots, No Brakes: ChatGPT & Bard AI Predict the 2023 F1 Monaco Grand Prix appeared first on Boardroom.

Earlier this year, Boardroom wondered about what the lovable, potentially nefarious artificial intelligence chatbot known as ChatGPT had to say about the 2023 Formula 1 world championship and the fourth and final season of HBO’s Succession. With our curiosities piqued but our appetites for applying data mining algorithms in any and all directions far from sated, we did the very same thing for May 6’s super middleweight boxing championship — and we even threw Bard, a hunky AI newcomer on the block from none other than Google, right into the mix.

Well, folks, we’re not done. In fact, we’re only beginning to get a handle on the dynamics and implications of artificial intelligence chatbots as it relates to helping us painfully imperfect humans organize our own thinking about what’s happening around us and how we might make a few informed prognostications about what might occur in the future.

And that brings us to May 13’s XFL title showdown between Bob Stoops’ Arlington Renegades and Reggie Barlow’s DC Defenders for all the marbles.

With a betting odds assist from our friends at FanDuel, check out Boardroom’s inaugural AI-powered XFL Championship prediction rundown.

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2023 XFL Championship Predictions

NOTE: Artificial intelligence chatbots won’t actually “predict” football games per se, and they certainly do not offer betting advice. Rather, the query posed to each was to propose a plausible narrative arc and final result for the game, so each response is meant for entertainment purposes only.

Boardroom’s Arlington Renegades vs. DC Defenders Prediction

In the first XFL Championship Game since the league’s first iteration in 2001, here is the precise sequence of events that absolutely will occur:

• In an early 3rd & 3 situation, Defenders quarterback Jordan Ta’amu runs play action and airs it out deep. The former Ole Miss Rebels star and 2023 XFL Offensive Player of the Year sees the ball intercepted in one-on-one coverage, with the defense returning it all the way for a pick-six touchdown.
• As the game carries on, the underdog Renegades control the clock and frustrate the Defenders, pounding the ball consistently with lead back De’Veon Smith and playing it short over the middle to tight end Sal Cannella.
• Coach Stoops’ offense begins to sputter and lapse into predictability midway into the third quarter.
• Ta’amu and DC find the right balance of aggressiveness and poise in the passing game, scoring a go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter through wide receiver Lucky Jackson.
• The Defenders control the game and force the Renegades into an interception and a turnover on downs in the latter stages of the game. DC wins the 2023 XFL Championship by a final score of 31-20.

ChatGPT’s XFL Championship Prediction

In the 2023 XFL Championship game, the Arlington Renegades and DC Defenders face off in a highly anticipated matchup. The Renegades come into the game as favorites, with a high-powered offense led by their star quarterback, while the Defenders rely on their stout defense and hard-nosed running game.

The game starts off with a bang, as the Renegades score on their opening possession with a deep pass from the quarterback to their speedy wide receiver. The Defenders respond with a long drive of their own, capped off by a bruising touchdown run by their running back.

The game continues to be a back-and-forth battle, with both teams trading blows on offense and defense. As the game enters the fourth quarter, the Renegades hold a slim lead, but the Defenders are driving deep into Renegades territory.

With just seconds left in the game, the Defenders are down by three points and have the ball on the Renegades’ 10-yard line. The crowd is on their feet, and tension is high as the Defenders line up for the final play.

The Defenders snap the ball, and the quarterback drops back to pass. He surveys the field, but the Renegades’ defense is swarming, and he can’t find an open receiver. In a last-ditch effort, he decides to tuck the ball and run for the endzone.

As he charges towards the goal line, he is met by a wall of Renegades defenders. The collision is massive, and the ball pops loose, bouncing towards the back of the endzone.

In a mad scramble, players from both teams dive for the ball, but it’s the Renegades’ safety who emerges from the pile with the ball secured in his hands. The referees signal touchdown, and the Renegades’ sideline erupts in celebration.

With the clock at zero, the Renegades win the 2023 XFL Championship in dramatic fashion, with a final score of 31-24. The team hoists the championship trophy high above their heads as confetti rains down from the sky, and the fans in the stadium cheer wildly.

For the Arlington Renegades, it’s a storybook ending to a thrilling season, and they cement their place in XFL history as champions.

Bard AI’s Defenders vs. Renegades XFL Prediction

The Arlington Renegades and DC Defenders are the two best teams in the XFL, and they have met twice already this season, with the Defenders winning both games. The Renegades are the underdogs, but they have a lot of momentum after upsetting the Houston Roughnecks in the semifinals.

The game is played at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, and the crowd is evenly split between Renegades and Defenders fans. The Renegades get the ball first and drive down the field, but they settle for a field goal to take a 3-0 lead.

The Defenders respond with a touchdown drive of their own, and they take a 7-3 lead into halftime. The second half is a back-and-forth affair, with both teams scoring touchdowns. With just over two minutes remaining in the game, the Renegades are trailing 21-17.

The Renegades get the ball back and drive down the field, but they are facing a fourth and goal from the Defenders’ 1-yard line. The Renegades decide to go for it, and quarterback Derek King sneaks it in for the touchdown to give the Renegades a 24-21 lead.

The Defenders have one last chance to win the game, but they turn the ball over on downs with just seconds remaining. The Renegades celebrate their victory and become the first XFL champions.

The Renegades’ victory is a story of perseverance and overcoming adversity. They were the underdogs all season, but they never gave up. They played their best football when it mattered most, and they came away with the championship.

The Renegades’ victory is also a victory for the city of Arlington. The Renegades have brought excitement and hope back to the city, and they have shown that anything is possible.

2023 XFL CHAMPIONSHIP PREDICTION CONSENSUS: Arlington Renegades (ChatGPT, Bard AI) defeat DC Defenders (Boardroom)

• A $100 bet on the Renegades to win (+240) at FanDuel Sportsbook pays out a profit of $240.
• A $100 bet on the Defenders to win (-290) pays a profit of $34.48
• A point spread bet on either the Renegades to cover +7 or the Defenders to cover -7 (both -110) pays out a profit of $90.91.

Click here for a full XFL Championship odds overview at FanDuel Sportsbook.

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The post Chatbot Blitz: Bard AI & ChatGPT Predict Renegades vs. Defenders in the 2023 XFL Championship appeared first on Boardroom.

Niantic founder and CEO John Hanke grew up in a small town in Texas, where he found his love for gaming and maps at a young age.

He remembers discovering his love for maps around the sixth or seventh grade when his kindergarten teacher and neighbor knocked on his door with five grocery bags full of National Geographic magazines. Hanke said he went through every single one of them and pulled out the giant maps to discover the world throughout its history, from ancient Egypt to the Aztec Empire and beyond.

“I love maps,” Hanke told Boardroom in an exclusive interview. “I think they’re the coolest way to understand things.”

Hanke evolved his passions for gaming and maps into one when he built what was first known as Niantic Labs, a software development company known for creating augmented reality-enabled mobile games. Hanke’s company is the mastermind behind Pokémon Go and, most recently, NBA All-World.

Wanting to learn more, Boardroom spoke to Hanke about Niantic’s origin story, the business behind the games his company has developed, and where his tech company is headed next.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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MICHELAI GRAHAM: When was your first foray into gaming?

JOHN HANKE: I was programming games when I was a kid. It was back when programs would be printed in these magazines. You’d get the magazine and you would type in that code. When I was in high school, I sold one of my games. I was really proud of myself. I think it was, like, $175 or something.

MG: Tell me about your role at the video game design studio Archetype Interactive.

JH: I kind of took a hiatus after my high school programming stint, then I wasn’t involved in making games until Archetype Interactive, a company that got started when I was going to business school at Berkeley. One of my classmates and his brother were interested in starting this company, so we built it up while going to business and made this game called Meridian 59. We created one of the first massively multiplayer online role-playing games. It was an RPG with hundreds of people in the same virtual world.

Archetype was acquired by a company called The 3DO Company. I worked there for a while, where I met Trip Hawkins, the founder of Electronic Arts. I actually wrote my essay to go to business school about Trip Hawkins and how he was this great visionary — he had just started 3DO at the time, ya know, so it was like this weird synchronicity that we started this company and he ended up buying that company. He was like an idol to me and I ended up working for him.

MG: Let’s jump into Niantic’s origin story. What’s the meaning behind the term itself?

JH: Niantic is the name of a town in Connecticut, and a ship was named after that town because it’s where they built whaling ships. Niantic was a ship that got sailed to San Francisco during the Gold Rush. It carried a bunch of people there, who headed for the hills to go get rich. And at the time, that was happening a lot. These ships were coming into the harbor of San Francisco, and there were literally not enough people to sail them away because everyone was coming and nobody was going. So these ships got piled up in the harbor, and there were no buildings. San Francisco was just this muddy mess.

The Niantic became famous because it was a ship that got repurposed to be a store, hotel, bar, and allegedly, a brothel. There were a few of them that got reused in that way.

So, in downtown San Francisco, the six blocks or so between the Financial District and the actual water, where they’re now, like, skyscrapers and apartment buildings and stuff, is all sediment where these ships were. The Niantic is a buried ship under San Francisco — it’s buried near the Transamerica building, and it was discovered when they were doing some work on the Transamerica. Some builders found this old ship under the streets of San Francisco, and it still had a case of champagne and some other weird things in there.

We named our company after that because I just thought the story was so cool. I heard about it on a podcast, and it was about hidden, interesting facts about the world that you sometimes stumble upon. It was sort of the philosophy of the company; we wanted to help discover those cool things about hidden gems like cool local businesses and historical facts. As we formed our core database, we started building games that took people around to those places.

MG: How did Niantic get started?

JH: After selling Meridian 59, I met this group that came out of Silicon Graphics that was working on high-end satellite imagery visualization for light simulators and stuff. They wanted to form a company to make a consumer product to basically create what you probably know as Google Earth. So, we formed that company and worked on making that product happen.

Google eventually bought us, and we came into Google and made it bigger and better. I worked on it for a bunch of years, and I kind of got bored. I wanted to try something new, and I went to Larry and said, I kind of have this idea about taking maps and mobile phones, and maybe there’s a gaming side to it, and I want to just, you know, experiment. Because we’d had a lot of success with Google Maps, he said yes to it. He let me pull a few people together, and we made this sort of skunkworks thing inside of Google. We called it Niantic Labs.

That’s how we got started, and we made this game called Ingress and an app called Field Trip, and then we spun out and build Pokémon Go and made some other games since then.

MG: When did you decide to bring augmented reality into Niantic’s mission?

JH: People were talking about augmented reality when Niantic was founded in 2010, which was also during the time period when Google was working on Google Glass. It was like a secret project.

People were talking about other things, like maybe you could do stuff with a watch or other kinds of wearable devices. So, it was a little bit in the air, and to me, I already felt like we are not going to use phones forever. Eventually, we will use something that is more ergonomic for us, like air glasses when they get small enough and look normal because it’ll be nice that we will have our hands free and we can see information easily. We kind of wanted to make a bet on that and start thinking about what kinds of applications would be really cool for that type of device when it eventually existed. Mm-hmm. So, the purpose of our group while still at Google was really to kind of invent the killer app for AR before AR was a thing.

MG: That’s a big bet to make, but it’s clearly paying off. How did you know that AR was going to be successful?

JH: I feel like you always have to make bets like that in tech. You’re always trying to think about what’s going to be cool in the future that we don’t have yet. AR seemed like an obvious one to me. I felt the same way the first time we got our game running at Archetype; it was the first time I have been in a 3D virtual environment.

MG: Tell me about Niantic’s first product, Ingress Prime.

JH: Ingress started with us wanting to build games around these places that have some special energy about them. These places were historical or cultural, so that premise became the core lore of the game, and the game’s mechanics kind of grew out of that. It’s about tapping into energy, and maybe that comes from some other dimension or part of the universe that’s trying to influence the Earth. That was the main story, to choose your faction and explore these cool energies.

Ingress took a couple of years to develop. We had to raise money, which included a $30 million Series A investment. Ingress is still active today; it just celebrated its 10-year anniversary and still has a lot of active players. We had an event last year in LA to celebrate the game. We hosted a live-play event where we were running all over downtown.

There were so many things we wanted to improve on the game to make the concept more accessible to people. Ingress is pretty dense to get into, so that led us in the direction of Pokémon. We’ve launched various games and apps since Pokémon Go including Pikmin Bloom, Peridot, and now, NBA All-World. MARVEL World Heroes is currently in soft launch.

MG: Niantic is working with the NBA and NBPA on NBA All-World. How do you feel about bringing this game and partnership to life this year?

JH: I’m stoked. I love the fact that people have responded in a positive way. You never really know when you put something out in the world how people are going to react, and the reviews have been strong. It’s resonating with people. To me, it’s a pretty obvious concept if you’ve had sports cards that people collect and you’ve had video games and people are somewhat familiar with Pokémon Go, so this just kind of weaves those ideas together.

MG: What’s next for Niantic?

JH: In the next 10 months, you’ll see us launch a game called Peridot, which I’m really excited about. It’s a Tamagotchi-type virtual pet that’s genetically unique that you have to hatch. It can be bred with other Peridots to create new-looking Peridots, and they live in advanced augmented reality environments. You can do stuff like take it on walks. It’s coming very soon.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Peridot launched on May 9. Click here to learn more and download.

We also have our Marvel game which has been in development for quite a while that we’ll be launching this year, and we have another game called Monster Hunter Now coming in September.

As for looking out for emerging tech, AI is kind of a beast; it’s really coming strong. We’re sort of processing how we can take advantage of that tech and respond and adapt to the growing industry.

We are also working on rolling out a new layer to our games this year called Campfire, which is a social layer that ties them all together. Most importantly, it’s organized around local communities, and you can chat and also arrange meetups. People do it on Discord and other tools today, so now we’re creating a way to organize within our own app. This is social and putting people together in the real world, which is kind of one of the most important things I think we can do. We’re helping people enjoy the games and enjoy themselves.

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The post Augmenting Reality with John Hanke, Niantic Founder and CEO appeared first on Boardroom.

Earlier this spring, Boardroom consulted OpenAI’s lovable, nefarious artificial intelligence construct known affectionately as ChatGPT for its “thoughts” on the 2023 Formula 1 world championship, and the insights were pleasantly plausible. Later, we consulted the precocious dataminer’s algorithmic churnings and bubblings in order to characterize the cultural impact of HBO’s Succession entering its final season. That time, the results were startlingly, perhaps unnervingly prescient.

That got us thinking about two things in particular:

• What else at the center of all things relevant in sports, business, and entertainment can we handicap, prognosticate, or otherwise delineate with the help of artificial intelligence chatbots?
• What happens if we embrace the “sexy newcomer” soap opera trope and introduce Google’s own Bard AI into the mix?

Well, we do love a bit of professionally sanctioned facepunching here, and there’s no bigger star in boxing than undisputed super middleweight champion Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez. Given his penchant for fighting on Cinco de Mayo weekend, it would be a whole lot of locura for us to miss an opportunity to ask ChatGPT and Bard for their readout on how Canelo’s May 6 bout with John Ryder might go for all the 168-pound gold.

Folks, it’s time for some AI-enhanced Canelo vs. Ryder predictions for Saturday’s super middleweight throwdown, plus a full rundown of fight odds from our friends at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Welcome to Bots on Boxing.

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Canelo vs. Ryder Predictions for the Undisputed Super Middleweight Title

NOTE: While a humanbeingperson can take a crack at predicting future events, an AI chatbot “prediction” is more along the lines of a plausible scenario with a reasonable chance to play out.

SAM DUNN: Here’s the sequence of events that absolutely will happen:

• Leveraging his modest reach advantage, Ryder attempts to recreate Dmitry Bivol’s success in frustrating Canelo by working the jab and emphasizing movement early.
• By Round 5, the above strategy enjoys limited success and Canelo’s superior timing and power begin to show through. Swelling grows over Ryder’s left eye.
• The champ scores the fight’s only knockdown between Round 9 and Round 11.
• Canelo Álvarez defeats Ryder by unanimous decision to defend all four 168-pound title belts. The scorecards read 116-111, 116-111, and a spit-takey 114-113.

ChatGPT: As the bell rings, the tension is palpable. Canelo Álvarez, the reigning super middleweight champion, steps into the ring with his trademark confidence, his fiery red hair matching the intensity of his gaze. Across from him stands his opponent, John Ryder, a gritty underdog who has fought his way up the ranks to earn a shot at the title.

In the opening rounds, Canelo shows off his superior speed and skill, landing precise jabs and vicious body shots that leave Ryder struggling to keep up. But Ryder refuses to back down, trading blow for blow with the champion and earning the respect of the crowd with his tenacity.

As the fight wears on, it becomes clear that Ryder’s strategy is to wear down Canelo with his relentless pressure and endurance. He continues to press forward, launching a barrage of punches that force Canelo to backpedal and fight defensively.

In the middle rounds, Ryder begins to find his rhythm, connecting with powerful hooks and uppercuts that send shockwaves through the arena. Canelo is pushed to his limits, but he refuses to let his guard down, using his experience and skill to weather the storm and counterattack whenever he sees an opening.

As the championship rounds approach, both fighters are visibly exhausted, but they refuse to give up. The crowd is on their feet, roaring with excitement as the two warriors exchange blow after blow in a display of pure heart and determination.

In the final seconds of the fight, Canelo lands a devastating combination that sends Ryder to the canvas. The referee begins to count, but Ryder somehow finds the strength to get back to his feet, his eyes fixed on the champion with a fierce determination.

The bell rings, signaling the end of the fight. The judges’ scorecards are read, and the winner by unanimous decision is Canelo Álvarez. But as the two fighters embrace in the center of the ring, it’s clear that both men have won the respect and admiration of everyone in attendance.

Bard AI: Canelo Álvarez is the undisputed super middleweight champion of the world, and he is coming off a big win over Caleb Plant. John Ryder is the WBO mandatory challenger, and he is a dangerous opponent. This fight has the potential to be very exciting, and here is one possible way it could play out:

• The early rounds of the fight will be close, with both fighters feeling each other out. Canelo will be the more active fighter, but Ryder will be landing some good shots of his own. As the fight goes on, Canelo will start to take control. He will use his superior size and strength to bully Ryder around the ring. Ryder will try to fight back, but he will be unable to match Canelo’s power. In the late rounds, Canelo will start to land some big shots, and Ryder will be on the ropes. Eventually, Canelo will land a knockout blow, and he will retain his titles.

Here is another possible way the fight could play out:

• Ryder comes out strong in the early rounds, and he surprises Canelo with his speed and power. Canelo is taken aback, and he is forced to fight on the back foot. Ryder continues to press the action, and he starts to build a lead on the scorecards. As the fight goes on, Canelo starts to find his rhythm, and he begins to land some good shots of his own. The fight becomes very close, and it is anyone’s fight going into the late rounds. In the final round, Canelo lands a big shot that knocks Ryder down. Ryder gets back to his feet, but he is clearly hurt. Canelo goes on the attack, and he eventually finishes Ryder off with a flurry of punches. Canelo wins by knockout, and he retains his titles.

No matter how the fight plays out, it is sure to be an exciting one. Canelo Álvarez is one of the best boxers in the world, and John Ryder is a dangerous opponent. This fight has the potential to be one of the best fights of the year.

Boardroom’s “Bots on Boxing” Canelo vs. Ryder predictions: Canelo Álvarez by unanimous decision (ChatGPT, Boardroom) outvotes Canelo by KO/TKO (Bard AI).

A $100 bet on Canelo by decision at +430 odds pays out a profit of $430.

A $100 bet on Canelo by KO/TKO at -370 odds pays out a profit of $127.

Canelo vs. Ryder Odds

All betting lines via FanDuel Sportsbook as of May 2, 2023.

Moneyline (two-way)

• Canelo Álvarez: -1800
• John Ryder: +940

Moneyline (three-way)

• Canelo Álvarez: -1100
• John Ryder: +1000
• Draw: +2000

Method of victory

• Canelo by points/decision: +430
• Canelo by KO/TKO: -370

• Ryder by points/decision: +1700
• Ryder by KO/TKO: +1600

• Draw: +2600

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The post Bots on Boxing: ChatGPT, Bard AI & Boardroom Predict Canelo Álvarez vs. John Ryder appeared first on Boardroom.

Apple and Google are teaming up to combat unwanted tracking through Bluetooth location-tracking devices.

Bluetooth trackers have been misused in various stalking, theft, and abuse incidents by criminals planting the devices on victims and following their whereabouts. Apple and Google’s work together will include developing tech implementations to mitigate unwanted tracking. They are just building safety measures; Apple and Google want to make these measures more of a standard across the industry.

The unlikely pair proposed an industry-wide initiative to create a specification to alert users when an unauthorized tracking detection happens across their iOS and Android platforms. This specification would be mainly for Bluetooth location-tracking devices, like Apple’s AirTag and Tile. The specification is currently in the draft stage and will offer best practices and instructions for manufacturers looking to build safer capabilities into their products.

“We built AirTag and the Find My network with a set of proactive features to discourage unwanted tracking — a first in the industry — and we continue to make improvements to help ensure the technology is being used as intended,” Ron Huang, Apple’s VP of sensing and connectivity, said in the official news release. “This new industry specification builds upon the AirTag protections, and through collaboration with Google results in a critical step forward to help combat unwanted tracking across iOS and Android.”

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Per a press release, the specification was submitted as an Internet-Draft via the Internet Engineering Task Force. Interested parties, namely device manufacturers, can review and comment on the draft for the next three months. The two tech giants also worked with safety and advocacy groups to incorporate some recommendations focused on mitigating abuse.

After the comment period, Apple and Google will take all the feedback and then release a production implementation by the end of the year. This specification will automatically be supported across iOS and Android devices, and companies like Samsung, Tile, Chipolo, eufy Security, and Pebblebee have already backed the draft and implementation plan.

“Bluetooth trackers have created tremendous user benefits, but they also bring the potential of unwanted tracking, which requires industrywide action to solve,” Dave Burke, Google’s VP of engineering for Android, said in a statement. “Android has an unwavering commitment to protecting users and will continue to develop strong safeguards and collaborate with the industry to help combat the misuse of Bluetooth tracking devices.”

Google will lay out more of its plans with Apple at its annual developer conference next week, and the tech giant may even unveil its own Bluetooth tracker.

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Google took a notable step toward a possible password-less future on Wednesday. And while Rome still won’t be built in a day as it relates to account privacy and the infosec logistics therein, it’s an intriguing decision for one of the world’s true tech titans.

In a company blog post boldly titled “The beginning of the end of the password,” product managers Christiaan Brand and Sriram Karra revealed new features coming to a Google account near you. It’s a major component of the company’s joint commitment alongside industry rivals like Microsoft and Apple as part of what’s known as the FIDO Alliance to modernize the login process with passkeys. All told, the goal is to sidestep the four horsemen of the password-pocalypse: data breaches and phishing scams, stumbling on the dos and don’ts of two-factor authentication, what actually constitutes a “strong” password, and good, old-fashioned forgetting.

So, what on Earth is a passkey, anyway?

(Not for nothing, May 4 is World Password Day — a real thing that you can look up using the search engine of your choice if you remain skeptical.)

Passkey vs. Password: What’s the Difference?

The concept of a passkey boils down to a method of accessing an account that is both (1) simpler than a password and (2) in theory, more secure. According to Brand and Karra, Google passkeys will operate using one of three methods already familiar to just about all of us:

• Fingerprint scan
• Face scan
• Lock screen PIN

Notably, your passkey won’t just replace your password as a login method — you may be prompted to use it if and when Google detects potentially suspicious activity on one of your accounts. This sort of system already exists in a similar form via password, but the use of biometrics provides a level of peace of mind that less-than-bulletproof email- or SMS-based two-factor authentication cannot hope to match.

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“We’re thrilled with Google’s announcement today as it dramatically moves the needle on passkey adoption due both to Google’s size, and to the breadth of the actual implementation, which essentially enables any Google account holder to use passkeys,” Andrew Shikiar, Executive Director of the FIDO Alliance, said in a news release. “I also think that this implementation will serve as a great example for other service providers and stands to be a tipping point for the accelerated adoption of passkeys.”

Google additionally notes that third-party platforms like PayPal, Docusign, and Shopify are already supporting passkeys, a sign that their use only promises to spread further and wider in the coming months and years.

Click here to learn more and set up a Google passkey for your accounts today.

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The post Google Wants You to Envision a World Without Passwords appeared first on Boardroom.

On Tuesday, authorities in South Korea dropped the hammer on one of the planet’s largest tech companies. After the Korea Fair Trade Commission — the country’s regulatory body on antitrust matters — ruled that Google improperly blocked user access to games on the Korea-based ONE Store mobile app market, the Alphabet-owned mega-company was fined $31.9 million (₩42.1 billion).

The method of transgression? Preventing game developers from publishing their works to the platform in the first place. Notably, ONE Store is a direct competitor to the Google Play Store in the region.

As a company spokesperson said in a statement to several media outlets on the occasion, “We have cooperated diligently with the KFTC’s investigation and deliberation process for the past five years and believe that there has been no violation of the law. Google makes substantial investments in the success of developers, and we respectfully disagree with the KFTC’s conclusions. We will carefully review the final written decision once it’s shared with us to evaluate the next course of action.”

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As TechCrunch notes, Google Play’s app store market share in South Korea was approximately 95% in 2018. Naturally, regulators are sensitive to antitrust concerns in any event considering such an asymmetric market, but it’s additionally worth noting that this isn’t the first Google South Korea regulatory row. The KFTC fined the company nearly $180 million as recently as 2021 over anti-competition concerns stemming from preventing rival smartphone manufacturers from releasing retail devices loaded with modified versions of the Android OS.

These latest developments exist against the backdrop of ongoing Google-centric regulatory challenges around the world. European Union authorities have asked similarly stern antitrust questions about Google Play, and earlier this year, the US Department of Justice and eight individual state governments filed a lawsuit against Google on grounds that the company was exploiting an illegal monopoly on digital advertising technology.

The post Why Did the South Korean Government Slap Google With Another Big Fine? appeared first on Boardroom.

There is no need to sugarcoat the sad reality that Black women make up only 3% of the tech industry workforce.

There are countless industry reports and statistics that illustrate this lack of representation in plain terms — all-too-often accompanied by tone-deaf advice on how to bridge the tech talent gap. Evolving this landscape for the better is going to take more than launching educational programs and inking partnerships with historically Black colleges and universities. It’s going to take intentionality and authentic investment to get more Black women into the tech industry; they can’t be expected to climb to the top again and again on their own without positive structural changes.

Boardroom spoke to three Black women about their experiences working for Big Tech companies like Meta, Twitter, Microsoft, and Google, to get a fuller understanding of what these companies need to do to help more Black women realize their dreams and enter the field.

Alanna Walton, Jamila H. Lindo, and Maya Gold Patterson have worked at the biggest tech brands in the world, building products that consumers from all backgrounds use on a daily. Their resumes speak for themselves, so Boardroom took a deeper dive with them into the state of diversity in the tech industry, and how they continuously push for more visibility for Black women in tech.

Alanna Walton

Alanna Walton will tell you that her tech dreams date back to high school when she took her first coding class, but she’s been a technologist for far longer than that — she got her true start in the tech field when launched a YouTube channel at the age of 12.

Walton became a naturally curly-hair vlogger to review products and earn some money. She reached out to hair product companies and built a full-fledged side hustle where she was shooting and editing videos, uploading them online, and managing partnerships to grow her brand.

“My dad bought me a green screen and I learned how to use green screen technology. I was really into that stuff,” Walton told Boardroom of her entrepreneurial origin story. “Being in technology is kind of in my blood. My dad works in tech [and] my grandmother has worked in tech, so I had that influence. I thought I would never want to do it because they both did it, but it kind of just fell upon me.”

Now, Walton is a software engineer at Google, where she works on the big tech company’s responsible AI team with a focus on data pipelining. Ultimately, she said she’s been able to be successful in the tech industry by staying curious and up-to-date on cutting-edge phenomena like artificial intelligence.

Walton said she isn’t coding as much in her current role, however, but is mostly consumed instead with building out strategies.

“My team specifically does work to try to make AI less racist and provide specific context about different identity groups to help make better products at Google,” she said. “It’s very important work that we do every day and it requires a lot of cohesion, so you’re just in meetings all the time.”

Walton secured her current role after interning at Google every summer during her time studying at Howard University, where she earned a degree in computer science. Walton said hackathons helped her land a job at Google, which are 24-hour competitions that call on teams of engineers to code a product or solutions. Walton actually participated in hackathons in college to earn money.

“You get so much experience being able to iterate very quickly, being able to create things, [and] trying out new languages just by testing out technologies using real-world situations,” she said.

While Google has made a lot of strides over the years to grow more diverse, Walton said her employer still has a lot of work to do. One thing she did applaud parent company Alphabet for is its commitment to supporting Black employees and investing in the Black tech talent pipeline. Through a Google-supported program, Walton spent a semester teaching an intro-level computer science course at Xavier University to help expose students to tech roles not typically known for having diverse workforces.

“They paid me my full salary even though I was not doing any engineering work at the time because that was really important for them to close that gap in the pipeline for the amount of people graduating with computer science degrees and the amount of people in the tech industry at the big companies,” she said.

Walton said the goal of this program was to help get Black students internships at Google, and she’s proud to share that she got a few into the fold with the hope that they continue interning and ultimately secure a job just like she did. During her time teaching with Google, Walton asked her students why they think there’s a gap in the tech talent pipeline. Almost all of them said tech careers aren’t marketed as aggressively to Black students — and if they were, they would have started on such a career path earlier.

“Communities of color don’t get a chance to get the head start on being in this field,” Walton said. “There are disparities there that need to be adjusted. I don’t think that’s something that Google can do by itself, but it’s something it can promote industry-wide and work with elementary schools and middle schools to fuel that pipeline earlier so more people can get these opportunities.”

If Walton wasn’t doing tech, she said she would be a lawyer or a doctor or something of the like, but tech is her honest passion, and she even said it saved her. To get more Black women like herself in the industry, Walton said it’s going to take Big Tech companies creating safer spaces and hosting more unconscious bias training that can resonate with non-Black employees.

Looking ahead, while Walton is helping train AI at Google, she’s also taking entrepreneurship classes at the University of California, Berkeley to build out a potential tech startup focused on customer discovery.

We don’t want to give away too much too early, but we’re invested in championing Walton’s next move.

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Jamila H. Lindo

Jamila H. Lindo is a civil engineer and author who has worked on various tech teams at Meta and Microsoft. She earned a bachelor of science in civil engineering at Manhattan College before acquiring a master’s degree in construction management from Columbia University. During her master’s program, Lindo interned at Microsoft as a program manager in the company’s data center construction division, which exposed her to new roles in tech.

“I studied civil engineering in college, and that path is rather untraditional for people in tech,” Lindo told Boardroom. “Coming from a civil engineering background, I came from a very unique place. [Microsoft] inspired me to continue my journey in tech and manage numerous projects.”

Lindo said she was motivated to pursue her career after participating in a program in high school that took students on tours of Big Tech company offices. She vividly remembers touring Microsft and Tumblr and meeting employees.

“That really started my dream of being in tech,” she said. “I always would wander websites to see any opportunities I’d be able to contribute to with my diverse background.”

After making the pivot to program management, Lindo spent nearly a year working at Meta as a technical program manager, supporting Instagram’s in-app messaging product called Instagram Direct. She was recently laid off from the company, though she hopes to land another role in program management in the tech industry.

On the flipside, Lindo continues to lead J.H. Lindo, the media company she founded that celebrates STEM exploration. Her company’s signature book, Girls Can Be Engineers, encourages young girls of color to explore careers that men typically dominate. In a different world, Lindo said she’d probably be an author since she loves writing and inspiring people through her words.

All told, Lindo said it’s going to take more visibility and recognition for Black women to expand their presence across the tech industry, media, and beyond.

“Keep the highest version of yourself in mind,” Lindo said of aspiring Black women technologists. “You never know what could happen in the end.”

Maya Gold Patterson

Maya Gold Patterson is the VP of design at Riverside, an online recording platform for content creation. Before taking on her current role, she spent three years working at Twitter as a product designer, where she most notably helped build Twitter Spaces.

Patterson earned a degree in psychology at Washington University in St. Louis before discovering UX design as her true passion. Before working at Twitter and Riverside, she worked on product design at Meta’s Facebook for two years. Patterson said Dantley Davis, a notable product and design executive who led design teams at Netflix, Meta, Twitter, and now Nike, discovered her work after she began writing about her design experiences. He recruited her from Chicago to go work in Silicon Valley, and her design career skyrocketed from there.

“He brought me to Facebook to bring some of my perspectives of the world and how I use design,” Patterson said. “You gotta go where the players play, and in tech, that was Silicon Valley.”

Patterson calls Twitter Spaces one of the hallmark projects of her career. She was part of the flagship team that built and designed Twitter Spaces from scratch, so she decided to take her design talents to the startup world; she joined Riverside in March.

“Earlier on in my career, Twitter was incredible. There was no one that looked like me in Chicago doing what I was doing,” she said. “Twitter was my liferaft that helped me navigate through the very choppy and scary waters of tech.”

Patterson always envisioned herself working at a big tech company, specifically in social media, because she was fascinated by the way people communicate with each other. During her time at Twitter, Patterson said she met people at the company that had similar backgrounds and experiences as her, and she still considers them friends today.

“I really feel that people need that strong community to learn in a safe manner in order to spread their wings and go after their goals,” Patterson said. “[I feel like] working in big tech would help immerse me amongst the best of the best.”

In another life, Patterson would probably be a stylist that went on tour with musicians to help craft their looks for their gigs. Since she lives and breathes styling and music outside of product design, Patterson said this would be an ideal career for her. Still, she’s hyperfocused on dominating the tech industry.

Patterson passionately spoke about how much Black women have already invested in and given to this industry more than it deserves in its current form, and that it’s long past time for Big Tech to do its part and give Black women their flowers and their respect. She feels like Black women consistently prove to be incredibly resourceful, but more support could help unlock entirely new levels of success.

Patterson believes Black women are uniquely valuable and can bring different perspectives to the tech industry. She said now it’s time for the tech industry to realize that and find new ways to attract and retain Black women technologists, and that the resets and self-reflections forced upon us all by COVID can be used to help move the needle.

“Increasing diversity is always an advantage to a company, and remote work is, I believe, one of the keys to doing that,” she said.

In five to 10 years, Patterson said she still sees herself designing and building products. She might not know what those products are just yet, but she looks forward to advancing her career with like-minded individuals.

Black women technologists: If you’re at an earlier stage of your career, here’s what Patterson has to say about kicking doubt to the curb:

“Thinking about how I felt early on, I believed in myself, but I was terrified,” she said. “Don’t worry too much about the fact that you don’t know all of the things…you’re going to learn that. Focus more on your own talents and what you’ll bring to these companies and to yourself.”

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The post Black Women in Tech Don’t Owe You Anything appeared first on Boardroom.

Google is finally opening public access to Bard AI, its flagship competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

The big tech company announced the news in a blog post on Tuesday that was partially written by Bard AI and a few of its executives. Google’s generative artificial intelligence-enabled chatbot is open to users in the US and UK who sign up to join a waitlist. Disclaimer: you cannot join the waitlist from a Google Workspace account; access is only granted to users with personal/singular Google email addresses.

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Say hello to another AI chatbot

The public launch of Google’s Bard AI chatbot comes a month and a half after company CEO Sundar Pichai first teased the new product. Google describes the project as an early experiment that might share inaccurate or inappropriate responses in its early iterations. Much like ChatGPT, Bard is powered by a research large language model and will be updated with newer versions regularly. Bard AI is conversational and may get a lot wrong this first time around, but Google is already letting the public know that the product isn’t perfect in its current phase (and it isn’t meant to be).

Like the other AI chatbots on the market, the more users interact with Bard AI, the more the AI tech learns to get it right the next time. One thing about Bard that sticks out — that the platform will sometimes let a user preview a few different draft responses before continuing a conversation. With ChatGPT, you can edit a query or ask again if the response isn’t satisfactory; with Bard AI, Google is curious about the benefits of providing more wiggle room for users so Bard can nail down responses that are as accurate as possible from the start.

And, of course, this chatbot has a “Google it” button to get to search queries in a new tab quickly, an unavoidable detail in the inevitable Bard AI vs. ChatGPT conversation.

To keep quality high while keeping safety in mind, Google implemented a few restrictions in Bard, like limiting the number of exchanges in a given dialogue. The AI chatbot will roll out to more countries and expand language options soon.

What makes Bard AI different?

Honestly, it’s hard to tell at this point what makes the Bard AI chatbot exceptional compared to other competitors in the space, like ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Bing and Copilot AI projects. They are all powered by similar generative AI software and interact with users via conversational chatbots. Right now, I think it boils down to which big tech company consumers already put their trust in to use. Naturally, users may drift to Bard if they are avid Googlers or otherwise sufficiently brand-loyal.

For now, let’s hold off on sharing too many hot takes about this rapidly evolving landscape. This reporter joined the waitlist to try Bard AI — you can, too! — so stay tuned for more in-depth updates on ChatGPT’s new rival.

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The post Meet Bard AI, Google’s Flagship AI Chatbot appeared first on Boardroom.

Black women were the trending topic in 2022 — and that’s far from a surprise. From chart-topping entertainers to record-breaking athletes, the public figures garnering attention were nothing short of the beauty and resilience of Black women. 

A recent study from ThatSister examined Google search data for over 100 of the most influential Black women since January 1, 2022, to decide which woman was the most talked about of the year. The results revealed that stars like Zendaya, Meghan Markle, Serena Williams, and Beyoncé landed the top spots with over one million searches. 

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“This year has seen several notable celebrities hit the headlines for their acting successes, new albums and personal endeavors,” a spokesperson for ThatSister said in an official statement. “This study offers a fascinating insight into which celebrities have had the biggest impact on the American people, and it will be interesting to see if these search figures rise or fall in 2023.”

According to the study, Beyoncé was Googled 1.20 million times per month across America in 2022, making her the fourth most talked about Black woman of the year, mainly due to the release of her seventh studio album, Renaissance, which dropped in July.

Now with her latest announcement about her highly anticipated world tour, her Google searches are bound to rise even higher since her last tour run in 2018 with her husband, Jay-Z. 

Who are the top 10 most-searched Black women on Google in 2022?

1. Zendaya: 2,718,300
2. Serena Williams: 1,657,200
3. Meghan Markle: 1,564,100
4. Beyoncé: 1,205,520
5. Michelle Obama: 1,191,350
6. Jada Pinkett-Smith: 1,163,700
7. Oprah Winfrey: 1,150,900
8. Nicki Minaj: 1,120,980
9. Cardi B: 940,300
10. Whoopi Goldberg: 648,880

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The post Zendaya, Beyoncé and Cardi B Crack The Top Ten For Most Googled Women appeared first on Boardroom.

Football fans are a formidable bunch, and anyone attempting to inhibit their ability to watch their favorite teams is likely to be on the business end of a metaphorical “truck stick.” But the face-painting cosplay “super fan” crowd has nothing on the group of individuals and businesses that have been suing the NFL and DirecTV for nearly a decade over the price of the NFL Sunday Ticket Package.

For the uninitiated, if you don’t live in your team’s home market but still want to watch them play on Sundays, your only two options are to go to a local bar that may have Sunday Ticket or purchase it yourself. If you choose to buy Sunday Ticket, there is no option simply to purchase a la carte access to, say, the Jets or Giants. Instead, you have to buy all of the games (including the crappy ones) together.

This “all or nothing” proposition drove a group of fed-up individuals and business owners in 2015 to sue the league and DirecTV over what it alleged to be antitrust violations.

Since then, there have been a number of twists and turns, including when a California federal court dismissed the case altogether and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision in 2019. The most recent chapter of this saga commenced earlier this month as the judge currently presiding over the case certified it as a class-action.

For those scoring at home, this is a really big deal.

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The NFL Cartel

If you follow any sports law wonks, you may have heard the NFL described as a “cartel” once or twice — and no, the league isn’t doing any illicit drug running.

A cartel is really just any group that works together to maintain artificially high prices for a service in order to restrict competition.

Though some think of the NFL as a monolithic entity, it’s really just an association of individual businesses (i.e. the teams). So if you begin to look at each NFL team as a separate business, you can start to see how “cartel” is a fitting title. This cartel-esque relationship among the 32 teams has benefitted them as they are the most successful sports league in the United States. Unfortunately for the NFL, the manner in which they do business as a collective is also at the heart of the Sunday Ticket lawsuit.

Because the league brokers its media rights as a unit (as opposed to on an individual team basis), it opens the NFL up to potential antitrust issues. “Antitrust” is just an outdated term to refer to the body of law that governs monopolies and anticompetitive business practices.

Hindering Competition

The plaintiffs’ first argument is that the NFL’s practice of brokering its media rights as a cartel has hindered competition in the market for broadcasting individual teams’ games, harming the consumer.

The supporting theory is that if individual NFL teams didn’t sell their media rights as a unit, individual teams would compete to sell the broadcast rights for their games to different distributors, which would enable the average NFL fan to purchase only the games they want to watch.

History and legal precedent back this argument. The United States Department of Justice sued the NFL in 1951, alleging antitrust violations stemming from their decision to outlaw teams from striking individual broadcast deals. A federal court judge sided with the Justice Department and briefly prevented the NFL from acting as a cartel with respect to their broadcast rights. The NFL solved this problem by lobbying Congress to pass a law called the “Sports Broadcasting Act,” which gave the big four major sports an exemption from federal antitrust law such that they were allowed to start brokering their media rights as a group.

However, as technology evolved, the courts began to rule that the SBA only protected league contracts with “over the air” or network television stations and that the exemption did not apply to cable TV networks like ESPN or satellite providers such as DirecTV. Thus, the NFL is no longer immune from being sued for antitrust violations as a result of its joint contracts with providers like DirecTV or Google/YouTube.

It remains to be seen how successful this argument will be. It’s hard to say whether individual teams would still try to sell their local broadcast rights in addition to the joint league contract because it would dilute the value of the league-wide broadcast contracts, which is what keeps franchise values high and owners happy.

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The Broadcasting Monopoly

The second argument is an interesting one, asserting that the NFL has a monopoly over broadcasting professional football

This becomes more complicated in light of the emergence (or reemergence) of fledgling professional football leagues like the XFL and USFL. The critical task for the plaintiffs’ lawyers will be properly defining the relevant market because the NFL certainly has the market share in terms of attention, but is no longer the “only game in town.” Of course they have a monopoly over the broadcasting rights for NFL teams in New York or Los Angeles, but that’s arguably a different market altogether.

However, what is undeniable is the impact on consumers because of the “take it or leave it” format of Sunday Ticket. It forces individuals to buy every game for $293.94 and sometimes upwards of $100,000 for commercial customers like bars. The lack of a middle ground might be a sticking point in a potential settlement, as one could see the NFL requiring Google/YouTube to allow customers to purchase games “a la carte” instead of the bundle.

The Path Forward

The reason why any of this is considered “news” is because the judge has certified two classes of plaintiffs for the case. That means there are now two distinct groups of potential plaintiffs: residential Sunday Ticket customers and commercial Sunday Ticket customers — and you don’t have to be lawyer to figure out that the more people who were harmed, the bigger the recovery is likely to be. Class actions allow a few named plaintiffs to represent a class of individuals who effectively have the same claim(s) against common defendant(s), which is more efficient than having thousands of separate lawsuits clogging up the system over the same issue.

In practical terms, the class certification means that things are getting real, so much so that you might expect to see some movement ahead of the rollout of YouTube’s version of Sunday Ticket. It might even result in the ability to unbundle your NFL games soon — though I wouldn’t hold my breath.

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The post The Legal Battle Over NFL Sunday Ticket Heats Up appeared first on Boardroom.

Big tech companies have been announcing mass layoffs across the industry in recent months, pushing analysts to believe that their businesses were suffering.

That reality is true for some and false for others. Meta shocked the market the most when its shares jumped nearly a quarter following its recent earnings report, which came nearly two months after it announced cutting 11,000 jobs. This was the largest decrease in workforce in the company’s history, which cost it $975 million in severance and other related expenses in the final quarter of 2022.

Before we jump into a recap of big tech earnings reports from the week, check out Boardroom’s recent coverage on financial outlooks for Peloton, EA, Spotify, Southwest, Tesla, and Microsoft.

Here are some high-level takeaways from this week’s big tech earnings reports.

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Apple

Apple’s shares fell as much as 4% after the company released its first fiscal earnings report for 2023 on Thursday. The tech giant reported $117.2 billion in revenue for the quarter, down 5.5% year-over-year. Apple expected to attract $121.1 billion in revenue but posted its first year-over-year revenue decline since 2019.

Apple CEO Tim Cook named Apple’s iPhone sales decline as one of the reasons the company fell short in its recent corner. iPhone sales dropped 8% year-over-year to $65.8 billion, missing its expectation to hit $68.3 billion.

High-level takeaways from Apple’s recent earnings report:

• Earnings per share are down 10.9% year-over-year.
• Operational expenses hit $14.3 billion, which includes $7.7 billion in research and development.
• Mac revenue was down 28.7% year-over-year to $7.7 billion.
• iPad revenue was up $9.4 billion, an increase of 29.7% year-over-year.
• Services revenue was up 6.4% to $20.8 billion.

Apple continued not to provide guidance on its financial forecast as its been doing since 2020. Analysts expect the big tech company to hit $98 billion in sales next quarter.

Alphabet

Alphabet’s fourth-quarter earnings from 2022 show that the company made $76.05 billion, a 1% growth year-over-year. Shares for Google‘s parent company fell more than 4% on Thursday when the report dropped.

The company is working against a slowing in the digital advertising market, which accounts for a chunk of its losses in Q4 2022. Alphabet is also fighting an antitrust lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice and eight states for its advertising business.

Alphabet shares were down 6% on Thursday.

High-level takeaways from Alphabet’s recent earnings report:

• Advertising revenue fell by 4% to $59 billion, with YouTube revenue declining by 8% to $7.96 billion.
• Alphabet ended 2022 with $282.8 billion in revenue, an increase of 10% year-over-year.
• Google cloud lost $830 million.
• Despite announcing 12,000 layoffs in January, Alphabet added 3,455 employees to its workforce in Q4, most of which are in technical roles.
• Net income for Q4 was $13.6 billion, and $59.97 billion for 2022.

“We have significant work underway to improve all aspects of our cost structure, in support of our investments in our highest growth priorities to deliver long-term, profitable growth,” Alphabet and Google CFO Rith Porat said in the report.

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Amazon

Amazon reported a net loss of $2.7 billion in 2022 overall. MorningStar discovered that this is the tech company’s first reported loss in revenue since 2014 and its largest annual loss yet.

Amazon‘s financial outlook is a sad reality after it posted its most profitable quarter a year ago when it reported $14.3 billion in net income. Despite some gains, the e-commerce giant fell short in other areas it expected to excel in. And we can’t forget Amazon is cutting 18,000 members from its workforce.

High-level takeaways from Amazon’s recent earnings report:

• Amazon attracted $149.2 billion in net sales in Q4 after expecting to only hit $145.8 billion in revenue for Q4 of 2022. Revenue increased by 9% compared to Q4 of 2021.
• Online sales attracted $64.5 billion in revenue, but the company expected to hit $65.03 billion.
• The company expected to hit $21.87 billion in Amazon Web Services revenue but only made $21.4 billion in Q4.
• Operating income decreased to $2.7 billion, while Q4 net income decreased to $0.3 billion.
• Amazon expects to attract between $121 billion and $126 billion in revenue in Q1 of 2023.

Amazon blames its annual revenue loss on its investment in electric automaker Rivian. The company’s stock plunged by as much as 82% last year after it went public in late 2021.

“We are working really hard to streamline our costs and trying to do so at the same time that we don’t give up on the long-term, strategic investments that we believe can meaningfully change [the] broad customer experience and change Amazon,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said to investors on its recent earnings call.

Axios reported that Jassy made $212.7 million in total compensation in 2021, 6,474 times greater than the average Amazon employee’s salary.

Meta

Meta‘s shares spiked over 23% on Wednesday, marking one of the tech company’s best days on the stock market in nearly a decade. The company earned $32.17 billion in revenue in Q4 and $116.61 billion in total for 2022.

Meta’s founder and leader Mark Zuckerberg expressed much optimism following the release of the company’s 2022 fourth-quarter earnings report. Meta exceeding revenue expectations in Q4 and a district judge denying the FTC’s request to block its acquisition of virtual reality startup Within Unlimited is a great way to kick off 2023.

But will this positive traction stick for Meta? Zuckerberg thinks so.

“Our community continues to grow, and I’m pleased with the strong engagement across our apps,” Zuckerberg said in a news release. “The progress we’re making on our AI discovery engine and Reels are major drivers of this. Beyond this, our management theme for 2023 is the ‘Year of Efficiency,’ and we’re focused on becoming a stronger and more nimble organization.”

High-level takeaways from Meta’s recent earnings report:

• Facebook hit 2 billion daily active users, up 4% year-over-year.
• Meta spent $25.8 billion on operational costs and expenses. This includes spending $3.76 billion on restructuring its Family of Apps and $440 million on restructuring Reality Labs.
• Q4 revenue fell by 4% compared to Q4 2021, a third straight quarter of decline in sales.
• Employee count increased 20% year-over-year to 86,482 workers, including the 11,000 employees Meta laid off in November.
• Reality Labs posted a $4.28 billion operating loss, though the division generated $727 million in Q4.

Meta expects revenue in Q1 of 2023 to hit between $26 billion and $28.5 billion. The big tech company anticipates revenue will fall between $89 billion and $95 billion for the entire year, which is lower than its previous forecast of $94 billion to $100 billion.

Forbes reported that Zuckerberg’s fortune increased by $12 billion on Thursday following Meta’s big day on the stock market since he owns 350 million shares. This bumped Zuckerberg to #16 on Forbes’ real-time billionaire tracker, up eight spots from his previous post.

Snap

Snap shares fell more than 14% on Tuesday after the social media company shared its fourth-quarter revenue report. Snapchat‘s parent company brought in $4.6 billion in revenue in 2022, with $1.3 billion coming in during Q4.

Last year was rough for Snap, which let go of 20% of its workforce in late August. After IRS Q2 earnings report last year, Snap’s stock fell by nearly 40%, and after Q3, it was down almost 30%.

High-level takeaways from Snap’s recent earnings report:

• Snap ended 2022 with 375 million daily active users, an increase of 17% year-over-year.
• The company saw 12% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Net loss was $288 million, which includes $34 million worth of restructuring costs.
• Over 60 million Snapchat users watched World Cup Stories content, and over 285 million users engaged with World Cup AR.
• The Snapchat+ subscription service reached over 2 million subscribers

This is the third quarter in a row that Snap reported a disappointing financial outlook to investors, who analysts say should have seen a slight revenue bump this time.

“On the monetization side, we anticipate that the operating environment will remain challenging, as we expect the headwinds we have faced over the past year to persist throughout Q1,” the company told investors in a letter.

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The post Big Tech Earnings Roundup: Apple, Amazon, Meta & More appeared first on Boardroom.

Mark Zuckerberg Little League Card Sells For $105K

Meta may be struggling to find its place in the rapidly changing technology landscape, but Mark Zuckerberg may be sitting on some assets in his personal collection. The Facebook co-founder’s little league baseball card sold for $105,000 at a ComicConnect auction. His former camp counselor, Allie Tarantino, sold the card after Zuckerberg posted a photo of it on Instagram, saying it would be an NFT. “There’s nothing you can logically compare it to. I could not draw a line between this card and anything,” ComicConnect CEO Stephen Fishler said.

Pharrell Curates Personal Collection for New Digital Auction House

Pharrell Williams is nothing short of a style icon. Now, the Neptunes producer is trying his hand at a new business with JOOPITER. The online auction house committed to helping users “let go of the past.” To kickstart things, Pharrell is actioning 52 items from his personal collection, which include a Jacob & Co. N.E.R.D. brain pendant from 2004, an 18K yellow gold-encased BlackBerry from 2006, and the iconic baby Milo pendant and multi-colored chain worn in The Clipse “Mr. Me Too” video.

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PGA Tour Issues a Countersuit Against LIV Golf

The battle between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour rages on in various courtrooms across the United States. The PGA Tour filed a countersuit on Thursday against LIV, alleging that the Saudi-backed golf league interfered with existing contracts it had with its players. LIV Golf previously filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour, claiming the PGA Tour illegally suspended players for competing in their tournament. Six-time major winner Phil Mickelson and three other players asked a judge to be removed as plaintiffs from the LIV case.

Boardroom’s Shlomo Sprung has more on the ongoing legal battle.

Eli Manning SCORES with New Sports Investment

Eli Manning is not slowing down in retirement. The two-time Super Bowl champion – sometimes known as Chad Powers – and his private equity firm, Brand Velocity Group, announced that it acquired uniform company SCORE. As part of the deal, Manning and BVG will help accelerate the growth of the company with specialty marketing relationships. SCORE will also tap into BVG’s sports and entertainment networks to partner with athletes, teams, and leagues. Manning joins a star-studded group of investors that includes Carmelo Anthony, Nolan Arenado, DK Metcalf, and Klay Thompson.

Google Prepares to Shutter Cloud Gaming Service

Google has announced plans to shut down Stadia, its cloud gaming service. Gamers will have until Jan. 18, 2023, when Google plans to shut down operations for good. Stadia users will be reimbursed for all Stadia hardware bought through the Google Store and all games purchased. After launching in Nov. 2019, users complained of buffering issues, no matter the speed of at-home internet connections, deeming games unplayable. In a statement, Google confirmed the end of the platform. Employees will be redistributed to other positions throughout the company.

Trevor Noah Announces Exit from ‘The Daily Show’

After taking over The Daily Show from Jon Stewart in 2015, Trevor Noah has announced his impending departure. Noah revealed the news in front of a studio audience at Thursday evening’s taping. In a statement, Paramount Global cable network said, “We are grateful to Trevor for our amazing partnership over the past seven years. With no timetable for his departure, we’re working together on the next steps.”

Willie Mays Documentary Prepares for November Premiere

Precisely 68 years to the day of his famous over-the-shoulder catch, HBO announced a Nov. 8 air date for Say Hey, Willie Mays! — the feature documentary traces Mays’ life and Hall of Fame career. The film features commentary from Barry Bonds, Vin Scully, Jon Miller, Bob Costas, and biographer John Shea. LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s Uninterrupted, Zipper Bros Films, and Major League Baseball each serve as producers of the film.

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The post Travis Scott x Air Jordan Makes History on SNKRS with 3.8M Entries appeared first on Boardroom.

The Drone Racing League has announced a partnership with Google Cloud ahead of the league’s upcoming season.

As part of the pact, Google Cloud will host the first race of the 2022-23 DRL season on Oct. 11 at PayPal Park in San Jose, California. The race will coincide with Google Cloud Next, the tech company’s annual conference. Attendees will be able to participate in the Google Cloud Fly Challenge, a collaboration between the DRL and Google where participants compete against one another using the cloud in hopes of driving innovation.