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| Here are today's top tech stories: - Amazon lays off hundreds in Twitch, Prime Video, and MGM Studios.
- OpenAI launches online store for sharing custom chatbots.
- Tesla starts selling refreshed Model 3 in the U.S.
Beth
p/beth-duckett | |
| 1 | | Amazon plans to lay off hundreds of employees across its Twitch, Prime Video, and MGM Studios divisions. The layoffs are the latest blow to the tech industry, which has experienced a surge in job cuts in the past year. 
Details: Twitch plans to cut 35% of its workforce, equivalent to over 500 employees, amid ongoing losses since Amazon's acquisition of the platform nearly nine years ago. In addition to Twitch, Amazon is trimming its workforce at Prime Video and MGM Studios, affecting "several hundreds" of employees, according to a company memo. Mike Hopkins, the division's senior VP, said the company is cutting back on investments in certain areas to prioritize content and product initiatives that have a greater impact. The bigger picture: Amazon, which has been aggressively cutting costs, has laid off 27,000 employees over the past two years, including 18,000 workers across its retail and recruiting divisions in January last year. In November, the company cut 200 employees from its gaming division and several hundred from its Alexa division. |     | |
| 2 | | AI company OpenAI launched its "GPT Store," where developers can publicly share their own custom chatbots. Developers can't charge for their chatbots, known as "GPTs," which are free for paid ChatGPT users. More: - The store is categorized into sections such as writing, research, programming, and lifestyle
- OpenAI highlighted some of the custom chatbots already created by developers, including a Khan Academy code tutor, and a Canva design bot, and a hiking trail recommendation bot.
- The company plans a revenue sharing program with GPT creators in Q1 of this year, paying them based on user engagement with their bots, though details have not been shared yet.
Zoom out: - Since unveiling the GPT Builder program in November, OpenAI said its users have generated over 3 million bots.
- The store broadens ChatGPT's applications and OpenAI's ecosystem, as the company works to stay ahead of competitors like Anthropic, Google, and Meta.
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| 3 | | Tesla's updated Model 3 is now on sale in North America, four months after its launch in Europe and China. It's the first major overhal of the electric sedan since its 2017 launch, bringing Tesla to a true mass market. More: - Interior upgrades include an ambient light bar, new touchscreen displays for both front and rear-seat passengers, and improved sound dampening.
- On the outside, the car's front bump has been replaced with a sleeker hood and low-profile headlights, as well as two new colors, stealth gray and ultra red.
- The rear-wheel-drive version with a 272-mile range starts at $38,990, and the 341-mile Long Range version begins at $45,990.
- Tesla has now refreshed three of its four core models, including new versions for the Model S and Model X in 2021.
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| 4 | | X announced the launch of three new shows featuring former CNN anchor Don Lemon, sports radio host Jim Rome, and former U.S. congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. Since Elon Musk's takeover in 2022, X has been expanding into video and long-form content. More: - "The Don Lemon Show" will air 30-minute episodes three times a week, covering topics like politics, sports, and entertainment.
- Rome, the former ESPN star, will stream his show on the platform five days a week after the Super Bowl on Feb. 11.
- Gabbard, the 2020 presidential candidate who left the Democratic Party in 2022, will appear in an exclusive documentary-style video series.
- X partnered with Tucker Carlson last year after his ouster from Fox News, though he has since launched his own streaming service.
Zoom out: - X CEO Linda Yaccarino, with a media industry background, is working to revamp X's business, with a focus on advertiser-friendly content.
- The platform has lost advertisers but gained backing from conservative figures as Musk has promoted conspiracy theories, including the antisemitic "great replacement" theory.
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| 5 | | Sony showed off a high-end mixed-reality headset geared toward professionals during CES. A rival to Apple's upcoming Vision Pro headser, the Sony-Siemens wearable will launch later this year. More: - The headset, designed for "spatial content creation," features 4K OLED microdisplays, the latest Qualcomm XR2+ Gen 2 chipset, and wearable controllers.
- The device targets creators, professionals, and artists working in virtual spaces, allowing them to edit and mold 3D models in those environments.
- The headset's front part flips up for users to transition between virtual and physical spaces, with a demo showing users manipulating virtual objects using two controllers—a ring and a hand-held pointer
- The device also boasts "user and space tracking" for mixed reality experiences. Sony says its "proprietary rendering technology" powers high-def and lifelike rendering of textures on 3D objects and human characters' facial expressions.
Zoom out: - Sony already sells the PSVR 2, the PlayStation 5's virtual reality headset, which trails Meta's Quest 2 in overall sales.
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| 6 | | AI startup Rabbit is launching a mobile consumer device that uses AI technology to autonomously operate a user's apps. The "r1" device, about the size of a Post-it note, uses a proprietary AI model known as the "Large Action Model" (LAM) for its natural-language operating system (OS). More: - The r1 device allows users to make complex requests involving multiple apps, like ordering an Uber while texting. LAM then interfaces with the relevant apps, providing a "post-smartphone experience."
- Like handing an unlocked phone to a friend for help with ordering takeout, the Rabbit OS performs tasks on behalf of users (with their permission).
- The OS is powered by LAM, an AI foundation that can learn how a user interacts with their apps and reproduce it via a customized cloud platform.
- This eliminates the need for users to download multiple apps. The OS provides access to services through a private web portal, where users can sign in, grant permissions, and more.
- "We've come to a point where we have hundreds of apps on our smartphones with complicated UX designs that don't talk to each other," says Rabbit founder and CEO Jesse Lyu.
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- Hyundai unveiled its new eVTOL air taxi concept, the S-A2, during this week's CES.
- Google is defending itself in court against a computer scientist's claim that it owes his company $1.67B for infringing on patents related to AI processors.
- Honda announced its electric vehicle series, called Honda Zero, with its first sedan-like model scheduled to launch in North America in 2026.
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 | AI and technology writer | | Beth is a contributing editor and writer of Inside's AI and Tech newsletters. She has written for notable publications like USA Today and the Arizona Business Gazette. During her time as a public policy reporter at The Arizona Republic, she received recognition with a Pulitzer Prize nomination and a First Amendment Award for her collaborative reporting on pension cost increases. Beth also authored a book on the solar photovoltaic industry in 2016. You can reach her at Beth.Duckett@yahoo.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Eduardo Garcia | |
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