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| Welcome to the Inside Tech newsletter! Here are today's top stories: - Instagram's Threads reaches 100 million users.
- EU approves new data-transfer deal with U.S.
- Evernote to move to Europe after laying off most U.S. staff.
- Apple is exploring larger iMacs, including one with a 32-inch screen.
Beth
p/beth-duckett | |
| 1 | | The news: Instagram's Threads app has achieved a record milestone by surpassing 100 million sign-ups within five days of its launch, faster than ChatGPT and CEO Mark Zuckerberg's own expectations. What the numbers say: Launched last Wednesday, the Threads app has seen steady spectacular growth, reaching 2 million users within two hours and more than 70 million by Friday morning. Zuckerberg, CEO of parent company Meta, revealed in a Threads post that the milestone was primarily driven by organic demand, with limited promotions so far. 
What brands should care: Despite its rapid growth, Threads still has a long way to go to catch up to Twitter's nearly 240 million monetizable daily active users. Twitter has responded to Threads' success by threatening to sue Meta, alleging the use of trade secrets and confidential information in building the app. Meanwhile, Twitter experienced a decline in traffic for the first two full days since Threads' debut, with web traffic down 5% compared to the previous week and 11% from the year before, according to Similarweb. 
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| 2 | | The European Union has approved a new data transfer deal with the U.S., allowing tech giants like Facebook and Google to freely transfer data between the two regions. The transatlantic data transfer deal follows concerns raised by EU courts about U.S. security agencies accessing citizens' data. More: - The EU's executive arm adopted an adequacy decision, allowing companies to safely transfer and store data about Europeans in the U.S. without violating privacy laws, at least for now.
- The agreement, known as the Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework, is still expected to face legal challenges due to concerns over weak protections.
- Previous data transfer agreements, such as Safe Harbor and the Privacy Shield, were invalidated by European courts.
Related: - In May, EU regulators fined Facebook owner Meta a record €1.2B ($1.3B) for transferring user information to the U.S.
- In addition to the fine, a data protection regulator ordered Meta to halt the transfer of European Facebook users' information to the U.S. and delete any data that was transferred in the previous six months.
- Monday's deal allows Meta to potentially avoid the data deletion order and suspension of data flows, although the company is still likely to face the fine.
- Meta has said it intends to appeal that ruling.
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| 3 | | Evernote, the once-popular productivity app, has laid off most of its employees based in the U.S. and Chile. Bending Spoons, Evernote's parent company, said it's now moving most of its operations to Europe to boost opertional efficiencies and benefit from its strong "employer brand" in the region. More: - The number of employees laid off in the closure of the Bay Area and Chile offices has not been shared publicly.
- The affected workers mainly consisted of engineering and information technology employees, as reported by SFGate.
- Nearly 130 employees had already been laid off earlier in the year.
- A European team, including some members of Bending Spoons' workforce, will manage the company from now on.
Zoom out: - Evernote, founded in 2004 and once valued at $1B, has experienced declining popularity in recent years, as newer note-taking solutions like Notion and Obsidian gain traction.
- Bending Spoons, an Italian mobile app developer, officially acquired Evernote in January 2023 after announcing the deal in November 2022.
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| 4 | | Apple supplier Foxconn has decided to withdraw from a $19.5B joint venture project with Vedanta in India. Foxconn had been working with Vedanta, a metals-to-oil conglomerate, for over a year to bring the semiconductor plant to fruition. More: - Foxconn signed an agreement with Vedanta in 2022 to build semiconductor and display production plants in Gujarat, India.
- On Monday, Foxconn announced it had ended the joint venture without providing a specific reason, saying the decision was mutual.
- While Foxconn has been expanding its operations in India, the joint venture with Vedanta would have been one of its largest investments.
- Despite the setback, Vedanta said it remains committed to the semiconductor fab project and is seeking new partners.
Zoom out: - The decision comes amid increasing pressure from U.S. companies, including Apple, for their suppliers to diversify their supply chains away from China.
- Foxconn is still moving forward with the construction of other factories in India, including plants in Telangana and Bengaluru.
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| 5 | | Apple is reportedly in the early stages of developing larger iMacs, including a 32-inch model, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The desktop computers with larger displays are still in the experimental phase, and unlikely to be released before late 2024, Gurman wrote. More: - Gurman previously mentioned that Apple was developing a larger iMac, and he has now clarified that it will have a display of around 32 inches.
- The new iMac would cater to increased demand for larger screens, benefiting creative professionals who need more workspace.
- A 32-inch iMac could be better suited for tasks like video and photo editing, or multitasking with multiple windows.
- The 24-inch iMac, which features an M1 chip, has not been updated since it was released two years ago.
- Gurman said he expects a 24-inch iMac powered by the M3 chip to arrive by early next year.
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| 6 | AI-equipped robotic trucks, developed during Syria's Aleppo conflict, are set to aid in disaster relief efforts by delivering food to affected areas by 2024. The trucks, capable of transporting 1-2 tons of food and operating both on land and in water, aim to protect the lives of humanitarian workers. More: - Currently, the UN's World Food Programme uses approximately 50 of the AI vehicles in South Sudan, but these vehicles are driven by humans.
- The agency, as part of the Autonomous Humanitarian Emergency Aid Devices (AHEAD) project, plans to begin driverless tests in early 2024.
- The AI technology relies on data gathered from satellites, sensors, and other sources, empowering remote drivers to control the vehicles.
- The initial deployment of the robotic trucks will also be in South Sudan, where 7.7 million people currently face severe food insecurity.
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| 7 | | 
Community Corner Last week, we asked our tech community, "As AI continues to develop, what skills or activities do you hope it will never fully replace in human life?" Here are some highlighted responses we received: - Rosemary Ducharme (p/RoseDucharme), District Manager at Primerica, answered: "My personal opinion/hope is that AI is not welcome in the Music industry; maybe just the writing of lyrics. As a lot of music is already heavily influenced by computers now, maybe AI would fine tune that process. The lyrics are written from the heart, feelings and life experiences the writer has gone through in life. I don't believe that AI could put that much heart, compassion and life experiences in to lyrics … I'd rather hear the singer sing about their real life experiences.
- Adonis Tsilimparis (p/Tsilimparis), Music Supervisor, answered: "As a music supervisor and composer, I can clearly see the dangers of AI in the Arts. I can see the benefits of it with medicine and technology but not with human expression and emotion. As a story teller, I truly believe that no A.I. can ever replace the human experience. It may have the ability to mimic or plagiarize, but it would never be authentic or genuine."
Join the conversations at Inside.com, and we may shout out your name and business or contact you for more! ⭐️ | | | |
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 | AI and technology writer | | Beth is a writer and editor at Inside.com covering artificial intelligence and daily technology news. She has written the Inside AI newsletter since 2019. You can reach her at Beth.Duckett@inside.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Eduardo Garcia | |
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