Tech Meme

Supantha Mukherjee / Reuters: Memo: Ericsson plans to lay off 8,500 of its 105K+ employees, or 8% of its staff; in December, the company said it would cut costs by ~$880M by the end of 2023  —  Telecom equipment maker Ericsson (ERICb.ST) will lay off 8,500 employees globally as part of its plan to cut costs, a memo sent to employees and seen by Reuters said. Lees verder op Tech Meme

Jon Porter / The Verge: MWC Barcelona, arriving next week, feels more Europe-focused, with expected launches of Chinese phones already available in China and unlikely to come to the US  —  In less than a week, some of the world’s biggest mobile players will be crowded into the Fira de Barcelona convention center … Lees verder op Tech Meme

Vauhini Vara / Wired: How the founders of the Buy Nothing Project, which grew via Facebook Groups of neighbors exchanging free stuff, built their own app amid member resentment  —  How an idealistic community for exchanging free stuff tried to break away from Facebook and ended up breaking apart. Lees verder op Tech Meme

Tim Hardwick / MacRumors: Kuo: Apple plans a cheaper second-gen AR/MR headset with two high-end and low-end models, built by Luxcaseict and Foxconn, respectively, likely coming in 2025  —  Apple’s cheaper second-generation AR/VR headset will come in two high-end and low-end models, according to Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Lees verder op Tech Meme

Joseph Cox / VICE: A reporter says he used an AI-generated replica of a voice to bypass the voice verification system of the UK’s Lloyds Bank and accessed an account’s information  —  Banks in the U.S. and Europe tout voice ID as a secure way to log into your account.  I proved it’s possible to trick such systems with free or cheap AI-generated voices. Lees verder op Tech Meme

Bloomberg: Source: the DOJ is preparing to file an antitrust lawsuit to block Adobe’s $20B Figma acquisition as soon as March; Adobe expects to close the deal in 2023  —  The Justice Department is preparing an antitrust lawsuit seeking to block Adobe Inc.’s $20 billion acquisition of startup Figma Inc., people familiar with the matter said. Lees verder op Tech Meme

RT Watson / The Block: Document: NFT startup Dapper Labs, which raised over $600M, lays off 20% of its staff, after laying off ~134, or ~22% of its workforce, in November 2022  —  – Dapper Labs lays off another 20% of staff.  — CEO says company is restructuring and has a “strong cash position.” Lees verder op Tech Meme

Alex Pasternack / Fast Company: Experts say combining deepfake audio and video, virtual avatars, and large language models like GPT could turbocharge the work of scammers and propagandists  —  Dozens of startups are using generative AI to make shiny happy virtual people for fun and profit.  Chatbots add a complicated new dimension. Lees verder op Tech Meme

Ron Miller / TechCrunch: London-based Metomic, which uses AI to detect data leaks in SaaS apps like Slack and Jira, raised a $20M Series A led by Evolution Equity Partners  —  As more companies shift to work-from-home or hybrid environments, it becomes increasingly important to make sure that employees … Lees verder op Tech Meme

Chris Metinko / Crunchbase News: Lincoln, Nebraska-based Spreetail, which offers logistics, customer support, and content services to e-commerce brands, raised $208M  —  Nebraska is not known for large funding announcements, but that did not hinder Spreetail from securing some serious funding. Lees verder op Tech Meme