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| Here's a look at today's tech briefing: - Steven Mnuchin forming investor group to buy TikTok.
- SpaceX's Starship completes third and most successful test flight.
- Video game publisher Embracer sells off Saber assets.
- Musk cancels Don Lemon show on X.
- EU Parliament approves first-ever AI rules.
- Meta will shut down CrowdTangle.
Beth
p/beth-duckett | |
| 1 | | Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin is forming an investor group to try and buy TikTok. The former Trump cabinet secretary announced the plan a day after the House approved a bill to force the sale of TikTok's U.S. operations or face a nationwide ban. More: - Mnuchin said he believes U.S. businesses should own TikTok.
- While he declined to name other investors, he said that no single investor would control TikTok.
- Mnuchin also said he thinks the social media platform would need to be "rebuilt" after a sale.
- The app "needs to be U.S. technology," he said.
Zoom out: - Ex-Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick is also seeking partners to purchase TikTok.
- It's unclear if Mnuchin or Kotick could secure the funds to buy TikTok within the six-month deadline set by the House bill.
- The bill must still clear the Senate and be signed into law, which President Biden said he would do.
- However, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) expressed doubt about a Senate vote, noting that Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is noncommittal about bringing the bill to the floor.
- TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said the company will take legal action and has suggested that selling the app is not an option.
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| 2 | | SpaceX's Starship completed its third and most successful test flight on Thursday morning. The rocket was launched from Boca Chica, Texas, at 8:25 a.m., completing major milestones before falling apart while re-entering Earth's atmosphere. More: - Shortly after launch, Starship separated from the booster and progressed into orbit, where it went through a series of in-flight tests.
- The flight lasted an hour, surpassing earlier tests, but ended with Starship breaking up above the Indian Ocean, missing its intended splashdown.
- It executed planned maneuvers and stayed intact until contact was lost.
- Meanwhile, the Super Heavy Booster descended but its engines didn't fully reignite before splashdown as planned.
Zoom out: - Starship's first launch in April ended in a midair explosion, and its second attempt in November progressed further before a signal loss and explosion.
- CEO Elon Musk congratulated the team on Thursday, saying: "Starship reached orbital velocity!"
- NASA has chosen Starship as the vehicle to land U.S. astronauts on the moon as early as 2026.
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| 3 | | Swedish video game company Embracer will sell much of Saber to Beacon Interactive for $247M. After accounting for liabilities, the deal is valued at around $500M, according to Bloomberg. More: - Saber is a major studio owner and game developer known for titles such as "Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2" and "Expeditions: A Mudrunner Game."
- Under the deal terms, Embracer will sell certain Saber assets to Beacon, a group of private investors led by Saber co-founder Matthew Karch.
- Beacon will acquire all Saber-branded studios, 3D animation studio DIGIC Pictures, "Star Trek: Infinite" developer Nimble Giant Entertainment, and others.
- It also has the option to buy "Metro" series developer 4A Studios and "Pinball" creator Zen Studios.
- Embracer will retain some studios like "Redout" maker 34BigThings, and Apsyr, known for "Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection."
Zoom out: - Embracer, which also owns the rights to "The Lord of the Rings" and "Hobbit" franchises, acquired Saber for $525M in 2020.
- The Swedish giant has been cutting costs after an expected $2B investment failed last summer.
- The company has closed multiple studios, laid off 1,400 employees, and canceled 29 games. Its number of game development projects has shrunk from 237 in mid-2022 to 179 in late 2023.
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| 4 | | Elon Musk has canceled TV journalist Don Lemon's show on X, formerly Twitter. The former CNN anchor said his deal with X was terminated shortly after taping an interview with Musk for his premiere show. More: - "The Don Lemon Show" was set to air 30-minute episodes three times a week only on X, covering topics like politics, sports, and entertainment.
- However, Lemon says Musk ended the partnership just hours after a "tense" interview for the March 18 premiere.
- Musk claims he canceled the show because it was too similar to CNN.
- While no longer exclusive to X, Lemon said the interview with Musk will still be broadcast on YouTube, podcast platforms, and X starting on Monday.
Zoom out: - Lemon was dismissed from CNN last year after making sexist remarks directed at former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley.
- Since Elon Musk's takeover in 2022, X has been expanding into video and long-form content. The company has also brokered deals for exclusive shows hosted by sports radio host Jim Rome, and former U.S. congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard.
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| 5 | | EU legislators on Wednesday granted final approval to the AI Act, paving the way for the world's first major rules governing AI to take effect later this year. The European Parliament approved the consumer safety law with 523 votes in favor, 46 against, and 49 abstentions. What it does: - The AI Act evaluates artificial intelligence systems based on risk, with riskier applications facing heavier scrutiny or outright bans.
- It requires general-purpose AI providers to label "deepfakes," disclose training data, and comply with EU copyright law.
- The law bans predictive policing, emotion recognition in schools and workplaces, social scoring systems, and remote AI-powered facial recognition by police in public, except for serious crimes.
- Fines for violations of the Act are capped at $38M or 7% of a company's global revenue, whichever is higher.
- The AI Act should be official law by mid-2024, after EU member states sign off, with its measures rolling out gradually over two years.
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| 6 | | Meta said it will shut down CrowdTangle, a site for tracking viral content on Facebook and Instagram, on August 14. Meta will replace CrowdTangle with a similar tool, Content Library, though that platform will be limited to nonprofit researchers and academics only. More: - Journalists, fact-checkers, and researchers use CrowdTangle to analyze and monitor trends on social media, including viral content and misinformation.
- Meta, then Facebook, bought CrowdTangle for an undisclosed sum in 2016.
- In 2021, the CrowdTangle team was disbanded, and new user registrations were paused in 2022.
- Facebook is now ending development support for the tool and planning to shut it down after this year's U.S. midterm elections but before the November elections.
- Its replacement, Meta Content Library, is designed to comply with the EU's new Digital Markets Act.
- While it offers new features like data on public comments, Content Library lacks public post downloads and analysis of social media activity based on location, according to early testers.
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| 7 | | QUICK HITS *This is a sponsored post. | | | |
 | AI and technology writer | | Beth is a contributing editor and writer of Inside's AI and Tech newsletters. She has written for publications including USA Today, the Arizona Business Gazette, and The Arizona Republic, where she received recognition with a Pulitzer Prize nomination and a First Amendment Award for collaborative reporting on state pension cost increases. You can reach her at Beth.Duckett@yahoo.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Eduardo Garcia | |
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