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| Here are today's main stories: - 🔍 Italy's data regulator says ChatGPT is breaking privacy laws.
- 🤖 Amazon terminates its $1.7B iRobot acquisition deal after failing to receive EU approval.
- 📱 Y-Combinator president Garry Tan apologizes for sending an offensive tweet.
- 💰 Flutter, FanDuel's parent company, is set to debut on the New York Stock Exchange.
- 🎥 Paramount CEO Bob Bakish announces a new round of layoffs.
- 👓 Xreal raises $60M to compete with Apple's Vision Pro AR glasses.
Arbër
p/Arber | |
| 1 | | Italy's data protection authority has accused ChatGPT of breaching EU privacy laws. Italy banned ChatGPT in April 2023 over privacy concerns but later restored access to the popular AI chatbot. More: - Garante, as the regulator is known, last year said ChatGPT breached multiple GDPR laws, mostly by compiling inaccurate data from individuals and scraping data from the internet.
- Garante restored access to ChatGPT after parent company Open AI addressed some of these issues, but the regulatory agency said it would continue with its investigation.
- Garante now says that its investigation shows "one or more violations of the EU regulations," and has given OpenAI 30 days to contest its findings.
- The agency could order OpenAI to change how data is processed, essentially changing ChatGPT's business model.
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Amazon has terminated its planned $1.7B iRobot acquisition deal after failing to receive regulatory approval in the European Union. Following the news, iRobot said it plans to lay off 31% of its staff. More: - Senior vice president and general counsel David Zapolsky said Amazon is "disappointed that the deal could not proceed."
- iRobot said it plans to focus on improving its margins, reducing spending on research and development, and pausing all work on "non-floorcare" products.
- Following the news, iRobot's share price fell by around 6.5% in midmarket trading on Monday, which would give the company a market capitalization of around $400M.
- Amazon will now pay iRobot a $94M breakup fee after failing to execute the agreement.
Zoom Out: - The European Commission on Monday said that the deal "could have restricted competition in the market for robot vacuum cleaners, leading to higher prices, lower quality, and less innovation for consumers."
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| 3 | | Y-Combinator President Garry Tan has apologized over an X post in which he used offensive language toward members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Tan said the tweet was a reference to a 1996 rap song. More: - On Friday, Tan posted a message on X using offensive language to refer to several San Francisco officials.
- Tan published an apology on Monday, saying that "there is no place, no excuse, and no reason for this type of speech."
- Tan said the post was a reference to "Hit Em Up," a song by rapper Tupac Shakur.
- District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar, who was named in Tan's offensive tweet, told Mission Local she found the comments "rattling" and said she has never met Tan.
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| 4 | | Flutter, the parent company of U.S.-based betting app FanDuel, debuted on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Monday. Flutter said it plans to switch its primary listing from the London Exchange to the NYSE, where it will trade under the ticker symbol FLUT. More: - Flutter said it chose to join the NYSE to capitalize on its strong position in the U.S., where it is the market leader.
- As of Q4 2023, FanDuel had a 43% market share based on gross revenue and 51% based on net revenue.
- Rival DraftKings has seen its share price surge by over 150% over the past 12 months.
Zoom Out: - According to Statista, the online sports betting market in the U.S. is estimated to surpass $9B in 2024 and is expected to grow to $15.75B by 2028.
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| 5 | | Paramount CEO Bob Bakish announced a new round of layoffs last week. Bakish did not say how many workers would lose their jobs. More: - Bakish said the move aims to reduce costs and increase earnings.
- He said Paramount will rely on the shared services organizational model, meaning several units will merge to account for the smaller headcount.
- The company will also reduce its spending on international content as part of its cost-cutting efforts.
- Bakish did not comment on a potential deal to merge Paramount's streaming service with Apple TV+ or reports that the company is negotiating a deal to go private.
Zoom Out: - Dozens of tech companies, including Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and TikTok have cut thousands of jobs since the start of 2024.
- Media companies including The Los Angeles Times, Business Insider, and Sports Illustrated have also announced job cuts in recent weeks.
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| 6 | | Chinese AR glasses company Xreal has raised a $60M funding round to compete with Apple's Vision Pro. Since being founded in 2017, the Chinese company has raised over $300M from investors such as Alibaba, Nio Capital, Sequoia, Kuaishou, and Gentle Monster. More: - Xreal is an AR glasses development company known for its Air and Air Pro models.
- Xreal plans to use the funds to boost the development of its proprietary optical engine and expand its manufacturing capacity.
- Xreal did not reveal who participated in the funding round, only saying that it is a key supply chain partner.
- The company claims to be the first unicorn in the AR glasses space.
Zoom Out: - According to IDC, global spending on AR/VR headsets could grow to $16B by 2027, up from an estimated $3.9B in 2023.
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 | Writer | | Arbër is an Inside analyst who has previously incubated his startup at the largest incubator in Southeastern Europe. He has collaborated with multiple major publications and holds a business degree from XAMK University in Finland. | | This newsletter was edited by Eduardo Garcia | |
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