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| Hey Insiders, Welcome to today's Inside Tech! Here are the top stories: - Microsoft submits new Activision Blizzard proposal in the U.K.
- Chip designer Arm has filed for its IPO.
- IBM will sell its weather business to a private equity firm.
If you find this newsletter useful, please share it with your friends and colleagues. Thank you! Beth
p/beth-duckett | |
| 1 | | Microsoft has submitted a new proposal to acquire Activision Blizzard after its initial offer was blocked by U.K. regulators. Under the revised deal, Microsoft agreed to relinquish cloud-streaming rights for most of Activision's games, including the "Call of Duty" franchise, over the next 15 years to rival Ubisoft Entertainment. More: - The restructured deal has triggered a new regulatory investigation in the U.K., with a decision expected by October 18.
- The proposal aims to address antitrust regulators' concerns about reduced competition in cloud gaming.
- The change means that if the deal proceeds, Microsoft won't acquire cloud rights for current Activision PC and console games or any upcoming games released by Activision in the next 15 years, excluding parts of Europe.
- Instead, the rights will be transferred to French game publisher Ubisoft.
- The deal also requires Microsoft to provide versions of games on non-Windows operating systems.
Zoom out: - Microsoft, which first proposed the $69B acquisition of Activision in January 2022, has encountered regulatory hurdles in the U.S., Europe, and the U.K.
- EU regulators have since approved the deal, while the U.S. competition regulator's attempt to block it through a court request was unsuccessful.
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| 2 | | Arm, the British chip designer, filed for its highly anticipated IPO on Monday, which is expected to be the largest of the year. The Nasdaq listing is set to take place in early September. Arm's debut, led by Barclays, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Mizuho, is anticipated to rank as one of SoftBank's top exits in terms of value among its backed companies. 
Background: Arm is a crucial player in the semiconductor sector, providing its chip designs to major companies like Apple, Qualcomm, and AMD. Its architectures overwhelmingly dominate the smartphone chip market, holding a market share above 99%. Its focus lies in the expanding market of chips for smartphones, PCs, TVs, servers, vehicles, and networking gear, which is projected to reach approximately $247B by 2025, according to its filing with the SEC. Details: After being acquired by SoftBank for $32B in 2016, Arm is now re-entering the public markets. An attempt to sell Arm to Nvidia failed last year due to "regulatory challenges." Now, Arm's IPO could be a windfall for SoftBank, which reportedly plans to sell roughly 10% of Arm's shares and seeks a valuation of between $60B and $70B. The bigger picture: The funds could provide Softbank with additional capital to invest more in startups and help rejuvenate SoftBank's Vision Fund, which has been hampered by recent losses. The listing could also bring relief to the struggling IPO market. While early indicators of IPOs' resurgence were seen with firms like Cava, the recent summer market downturn renewed worries about a broader recovery. | | | |
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| 3 | | IBM said it has agreed to sell its weather business, The Weather Company, to tech-focused private equity firm Francisco Partners for an undisclosed sum. Francisco Partners will acquire The Weather Company's consumer-oriented assets, including The Weather Channel's mobile and cloud-based digital properties like Weather.com, along with Weather Underground and Storm Radar. Additionally, it will gain control of business-oriented solutions catering to sectors such as broadcast, media aviation, ad tech, and data solutions. More: - As part of the deal, IBM will retain its business centered on sustainability software, including the Environmental Intelligence Suite.
- The suite, powered by a NASA model and part of IBM's AI platform, will still use The Weather Company's data.
- Francisco Partners said it aims to expand The Weather Company beyond weather forecasting.
- It plans to introduce "new tools and experiences" for users to better understand how weather impacts their lives, starting with well-being and health.
- The transaction is anticipated to close in Q1 2024, pending regulatory approval.
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| 4 | | X, formerly Twitter, is planning to change how news links appear on the platform. The change would remove the headline and text description while retaining the header image and link to news article shared on X. More: - Currently, news article links appear on X as "Cards" containing an image, link, headline, and summary.
- The change would remove all text, showing only the image and URL as links to the article.
- In a post on Monday, owner Elon Musk confirmed the plan and said it was coming "directly" from him.
- The move will "greatly improve the aesthetics," he said.
- According to Fortune, the main purpose is to "reduce the height of tweets" and accommodate more posts within the timeline section, as well as reduce clickbait.
Zoom out: - The move also comes as Musk is pitching X as a more attractive hub for journalists and creators.
- With shorter links, users might add their own text with posts and consider signing up for X's paid premium service, which allows up to 25,000 characters in a single post.
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| 5 | | Microsoft is retiring its successor to the Kinect, its device offering depth-sensing camera technology. The Azure Kinect Developer Kit, first introduced in 2019, will be available to buy until October or while supplies last. More: - In 2017, Microsoft discontinued production of the Kinect sensor for the Xbox One after the accessory struggled to gain traction.
- Two years later, it revived the hardware as the Azure Kinect Developer Kit, which was geared for enterprise software and AI use.
- The depth camera, which has enabled enterprises to build AI vision solutions, is now being discontinued.
- While Microsoft did not provide an explanation, it still plans to support the technology through partners like Orbbec, which offers the Femto Bolt time-of-flight 3D camera that uses the same depth camera as Azure Kinect.
- Companies that already own an Azure Kinect will still be able to download and utilize its development software.
Q: Do you think devices for motion and voice controls will come back in the future? Let us know what you think on our community site. | | | |
| 6 | AI-produced artwork lacks copyright protection, according to a recent ruling by a U.S. district court judge. Judge Beryl Howell upheld a prior decision from the U.S. Copyright Office, confirming that artworks solely generated by AI without human involvement cannot be safeguarded by copyright under U.S. law. More: - The case revolved around computer scientist Stephen Thaler's attempt to register a 2D art piece created using his AI-powered "Creativity Machine."
- Thaler, who is the CEO of Imagination Engines, contested the Copyright Office's refusal to copyright his AI-generated artwork titled "A Recent Entrance to Paradise."
- Despite Thaler's lawsuit, Judge Howell supported the rejection in her recent ruling, emphasizing that copyright hinges on human authorship as a fundamental requirement.
- In response, Thaler's attorney said they plan to appeal.
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 | AI and technology writer | | Beth is the curator and writer of the AI and Tech newsletters at Inside. With a career in journalism and editing that began in 2007, she has written for publications including USA Today, The Arizona Republic, Arizona Business Gazette, and more. You can reach her at Beth.Duckett@yahoo.com. | | This newsletter was edited by NO ACCOUNT ASSOCIATED WITH THE EDITOR | |
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