Analysis: Binance, Crypto.com, Coinbase, FTX, and other crypto companies have committed $2.4B+ to sports marketing in the past 18 months (Kim Bhasin/Bloomberg)

Kim Bhasin / Bloomberg: Analysis: Binance, Crypto.com, Coinbase, FTX, and other crypto companies have committed $2.4B+ to sports marketing in the past 18 months  —  For fans of professional sports, the insistent overtures from the crypto industry have become almost impossible to miss: The names of exchanges …

Akamai: web application attacks on the gaming industry increased 167% YoY from May 2021-April 2022, and 37% of all DDoS attacks were against the gaming sector (Leigh Mc Gowran/Silicon Republic)

Leigh Mc Gowran / Silicon Republic: Akamai: web application attacks on the gaming industry increased 167% YoY from May 2021-April 2022, and 37% of all DDoS attacks were against the gaming sector  —  Akamai said the growing value in gaming has attracted more criminals seeking to disrupt online games and steal valuable player accounts.

A brief history of AI and why some AI researchers believe the technology they have built is sentient or conscious despite no evidence (Cade Metz/New York Times)

Cade Metz / New York Times: A brief history of AI and why some AI researchers believe the technology they have built is sentient or conscious despite no evidence  —  Robots can’t think or feel, despite what the researchers who build them want to believe.  —  As the sun set over Maury Island, just south […]

A look at Japan’s efforts to counter chip supply chain disruptions, including investing in domestic production and seeking a coalition with the US and the EU (New York Times)

New York Times: A look at Japan’s efforts to counter chip supply chain disruptions, including investing in domestic production and seeking a coalition with the US and the EU  —  As it reckons with supply chain vulnerabilities, the country is spending billions to revitalize domestic production and seeking to form a coalition with “like-minded” nations.

Market data: global chip sales growth has decelerated for six straight months, up 13.3% YoY in June 2022, below May’s 18% gain, the longest slowdown since 2018 (Sam Kim/Bloomberg)

Sam Kim / Bloomberg: Market data: global chip sales growth has decelerated for six straight months, up 13.3% YoY in June 2022, below May’s 18% gain, the longest slowdown since 2018  —  World chip sales growth has decelerated for six straight months — yet another sign the global economy is straining under …

A look at FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s range of US political contributions, including $10M+ to back Biden in 2020, and uncertainty about his goals and leanings (Elena Schneider/Politico)

Elena Schneider / Politico: A look at FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s range of US political contributions, including $10M+ to back Biden in 2020, and uncertainty about his goals and leanings  —  NASSAU, Bahamas — One of the biggest donors in Democratic politics this year isn’t sure if he really wants to be a Democratic megadonor […]

Amazon plans to acquire Roomba maker iRobot for $1.7B in an all-cash deal; Colin Angle will remain as iRobot CEO (Brian Heater/TechCrunch)

Brian Heater / TechCrunch: Amazon plans to acquire Roomba maker iRobot for $1.7B in an all-cash deal; Colin Angle will remain as iRobot CEO  —  Amazon this morning announced plans to acquire Roomba maker iRobot for an all-cash deal valued at $1.7 billion.  —  “Since we started iRobot, our team has been on a mission […]

After Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan, sources say shipments to Pegatron’s factory, used by Microsoft, Tesla, and others, were being held by Chinese customs (Nikkei Asia)

Nikkei Asia: After Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan, sources say shipments to Pegatron’s factory, used by Microsoft, Tesla, and others, were being held by Chinese customs  —  Suppliers spooked as Beijing wields rule against ‘Taiwan’ label on goods  —  TAIPEI — Shipments to iPhone assembler Pegatron’s factory …

Sources: Didi fears further retribution and sanctions by Chinese regulators; its app remains unavailable two weeks after CAC’s fine was expected to lift the ban (Financial Times)

Financial Times: Sources: Didi fears further retribution and sanctions by Chinese regulators; its app remains unavailable two weeks after CAC’s fine was expected to lift the ban  —  Insiders at ride-hailing group hit by $1.18bn fine are fearful of more punishment in Beijing’s tech crackdown

Making hydropower plants more sustainable

Growing up on a farm in Texas, there was always something for siblings Gia Schneider ’99 and Abe Schneider ’02, SM ’03 to do. But every Saturday at 2 p.m., no matter what, the family would go down to a local creek to fish, build rock dams and rope swings, and enjoy nature. Eventually the […]

Microsoft is testing a Game Pass widget on Windows 11, which makes it easier to see the latest additions, games leaving soon, highlighted categories, and more (Emma Roth/The Verge)

Emma Roth / The Verge: Microsoft is testing a Game Pass widget on Windows 11, which makes it easier to see the latest additions, games leaving soon, highlighted categories, and more  —  Microsoft’s first new Windows 11 widget  —  Microsoft’s first new Windows 11 widget should make it even easier to find out which games […]

Block reports Q2 revenue down 6.6% YoY to $4.4B, $2.62B net revenue excluding bitcoin, and Cash App bitcoin revenue down 34% YoY to $1.79B; stock is down 5%+ (Nelson Wang/CoinDesk)

Nelson Wang / CoinDesk: Block reports Q2 revenue down 6.6% YoY to $4.4B, $2.62B net revenue excluding bitcoin, and Cash App bitcoin revenue down 34% YoY to $1.79B; stock is down 5%+  —  Despite beating projections, the payments company said its overall revenue fell because of a decrease in bitcoin revenue.

Cloudflare reports Q2 revenue up 54% YoY to $234.5M, vs. $227.3M est., a $63.5M net loss, and forecast for both Q3 and 2022 above estimates; stock is up 21%+ (Wallace Witkowski/MarketWatch)

Wallace Witkowski / MarketWatch: Cloudflare reports Q2 revenue up 54% YoY to $234.5M, vs. $227.3M est., a $63.5M net loss, and forecast for both Q3 and 2022 above estimates; stock is up 21%+  —  Cloudflare Inc. shares surged in the extended session Thursday after the cybersecurity company reported results …

Researchers create the first artificial vision system for both land and water

Giving our hardware sight has empowered a host of applications in self-driving cars, object detection, and crop monitoring. But unlike animals, synthetic vision systems can’t simply evolve under natural habitats. Dynamic visual systems that can navigate both land and water, therefore, have yet to power our machines — leading researchers from MIT, the Gwangju Institute of […]

3 Questions: What to expect from Covid-19 this fall

As MIT prepares for the fall — its fifth full semester since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic — the Institute is continuing to evolve from its initial stance of strong institutional responsibility for managing Covid to an approach rooted in individual responsibility. Throughout the pandemic, MIT has taken an “always be prepared to pivot” […]

How microglia contribute to Alzheimer’s disease

One of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease is a reduction in the firing of some neurons in the brain, which contributes to the cognitive decline that patients experience. A new study from MIT shows how a type of cells called microglia contribute to this slowdown of neuron activity. The study found that microglia that express […]

SoundCloud cuts its global workforce by ~20% “due to a significant company transformation and the challenging economic and financial environment” (Elias Leight/Billboard)

Elias Leight / Billboard: SoundCloud cuts its global workforce by ~20% “due to a significant company transformation and the challenging economic and financial environment”  —  CEO Michael Weissman announced the cuts in an email, blaming them on “the challenging economic climate and financial market headwinds.”

Analysis: $2B in crypto has been stolen from cross-chain bridges across 13 hacks in 2022 so far, accounting for 69% of total funds stolen (Chainalysis)

Chainalysis: Analysis: $2B in crypto has been stolen from cross-chain bridges across 13 hacks in 2022 so far, accounting for 69% of total funds stolen  —  Following last night’s exploit of the Nomad Bridge, Chainalysis estimates that $2 billion in cryptocurrency has been stolen from cross-chain bridges across 13 separate hacks so far this year.

Axio, which helps companies model cybersecurity risk, raised a $23M Series B led by Temasek’s ISTARI, bringing its total funding to $30M (Kyle Wiggers/TechCrunch)

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch: Axio, which helps companies model cybersecurity risk, raised a $23M Series B led by Temasek’s ISTARI, bringing its total funding to $30M  —  Axio, a platform for cybersecurity risk evaluation, today announced the closure of a $23 million Series B round led by Temasek’s ISTARI …

A better way to make development projects work

In poorer countries, economic development projects tend to get built with the aid of partner countries and companies, and multilateral development organizations. One line of thought is that such projects work better when the outside partner is also from a lower-income country, what is often referred to as the “Global South.” Suppose the Brazilian cooperation […]

Source: Activision Blizzard and NetEase scrapped a World of Warcraft mobile game after a financing dispute; sources: NetEase disbanded a team of 100+ developers (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg: Source: Activision Blizzard and NetEase scrapped a World of Warcraft mobile game after a financing dispute; sources: NetEase disbanded a team of 100+ developers  —  Activision Blizzard Inc. and NetEase Inc. have torpedoed a World of Warcraft smartphone game that had been in development for three years …

Chinese government data: China’s smartphone shipments sank 21.7% to 134M units in H1 2022; Canalys: shipments may fall below 300M in 2022, the lowest since 2012 (Takashi Kawakami/Nikkei Asia)

Takashi Kawakami / Nikkei Asia: Chinese government data: China’s smartphone shipments sank 21.7% to 134M units in H1 2022; Canalys: shipments may fall below 300M in 2022, the lowest since 2012  —  Consumer shift toward thrift compounds structural weakness in demand  —  GUANGZHOU — Smartphone shipments in China are on track …