Ben Thompson / Stratechery: Google’s I/O 2023 suggests that AI is a sustaining innovation for Big Tech; the true fight will be between the major players’ centralized models and open source  —  Some things in tech are shocking, but not surprising — think of a CEO of a struggling company losing their job. Lees verder op Tech Meme

Jacob Bogage / Washington Post: Sources: the IRS quietly built a prototype system to let Americans file tax returns digitally and free of charge, with a pilot slated to launch in January 2024  —  The prototype program developed by the federal government could be available for a small group of taxpayers by January Lees verder op Tech Meme

Jon Victor / The Information: Source: OpenAI is preparing to publicly release its first open-source LLM amid the proliferation of open-source alternatives, including variants of Meta’s LLaMA  —  In February, Meta Platforms set off an explosion of artificial intelligence development when it gave academics access … Lees verder op Tech Meme

Tage Kene-Okafor / TechCrunch: Nairobi-based M-KOPA, which offers underbanked African customers access to “productive assets” and digital payments, raised $55M in equity and $200M+ in debt  —  M-KOPA, the asset financing platform that offers underbanked African customers access to “productive assets” … Lees verder op Tech Meme

TechCrunch: London-based Smart, which helps employers and employees manage their pensions, raised a $95M Series E led by Aquiline; a report said Smart sought to raise $123M  —  Smart, a London-based startup that helps employers and their employees manage and monitor their pensions, said that it has closed $95 million in Series E funding. Lees verder op Tech Meme

Nikkei Asia: Elliptic: North Korean hackers stole $2.3B in crypto from businesses from 2017 to 2022, including $721M from Japan, $540M from Vietnam, and $497M from the US  —  Study finds Japan’s $721m loss accounts for 30% of global total since 2017  —  According to the Japan External Trade Organization … Lees verder op Tech Meme

Todd Spangler / Variety: MoffettNathanson: US pay TV users fell 7% YoY to 75.5M in Q1 2023, with household penetration at 58.5%, the lowest level since 1992; only YouTube TV grew in Q1  —  As streaming video continues its ascendancy, cable, satellite and internet TV providers in the U.S. turned in their worst subscriber losses … Lees verder op Tech Meme

Matt Day / Bloomberg: Amazon job listings mention an “AI-first initiative to re-architect” search and “reimagining Amazon Search with an interactive conversational experience”  —  Amazon.com Inc. plans to bring ChatGPT-style product search to its web store, rivaling efforts by Microsoft Corp … Lees verder op Tech Meme

Phoebe Liu / Forbes: Zip, which offers procurement management software, raised a $100M Series C led by Y Combinator at a $1.5B post-money valuation, taking its total raised to $181M  —  Zip, a San Francisco-based startup that helps businesses manage spending, announced a fresh round of capital today … Lees verder op Tech Meme