Q&A: Stuart Schmill on MIT’s decision to reinstate the SAT/ACT requirement

MIT Admissions announced today that it will reinstate its requirement that applicants submit scores from an SAT or ACT exam. The Institute suspended its longstanding requirement in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic that prevented most high schoolers from safely taking the exams. However, with the advent of safe, effective pediatric vaccination, the […]

Huawei reports 2021 revenue dropped 28.5% YoY to $99.9B, its first-ever yearly revenue decline as US sanctions continue, but net profit rose 75.9% YoY to $17.8B (Arjun Kharpal/CNBC)

Arjun Kharpal / CNBC: Huawei reports 2021 revenue dropped 28.5% YoY to $99.9B, its first-ever yearly revenue decline as US sanctions continue, but net profit rose 75.9% YoY to $17.8B  —  – In 2021, Huawei brought in revenue of 636.8 billion Chinese yuan ($99.9 billion), a 28.5% year-on-year decline.

Sources: Apple plans to cut iPhone SE orders by ~20% for the next quarter, as war and inflation dampen demand, and reduces AirPods orders by 10M+ for 2022 (Nikkei Asia)

Nikkei Asia: Sources: Apple plans to cut iPhone SE orders by ~20% for the next quarter, as war and inflation dampen demand, and reduces AirPods orders by 10M+ for 2022  —  Lower orders to suppliers are early sign of pressure on tech industry  —  The war in Ukraine is causing supply chain turmoil …

Apple heavily relies on China for manufacturing, but its plan to invest $430B in the US over five years is a promising sign of ramped up diversification (Gene Munster/Loup)

Gene Munster / Loup: Apple heavily relies on China for manufacturing, but its plan to invest $430B in the US over five years is a promising sign of ramped up diversification  —  The global supply chain will likely change rapidly over the next decade, shifting away from China.  Apple saw it coming in 2018 …

Q&A: Climate Grand Challenges finalists on new pathways to decarbonizing industry

Note: This is the third article in a four-part interview series highlighting the work of the 27 MIT Climate Grand Challenges finalist teams, which received a total of $2.7 million in startup funding to advance their projects. In April, the Institute will name a subset of the finalists as multiyear flagship projects. The industrial sector […]

A tool for predicting the future

Whether someone is trying to predict tomorrow’s weather, forecast future stock prices, identify missed opportunities for sales in retail, or estimate a patient’s risk of developing a disease, they will likely need to interpret time-series data, which are a collection of observations recorded over time. Making predictions using time-series data typically requires several data-processing steps […]

Sources detail NHTSA’s difficulties regulating Tesla as it rolls out self-driving features, resorting to threats and flattery in exchanges with Elon Musk (Faiz Siddiqui/Washington Post)

Faiz Siddiqui / Washington Post: Sources detail NHTSA’s difficulties regulating Tesla as it rolls out self-driving features, resorting to threats and flattery in exchanges with Elon Musk  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The first time Washington regulators tried to investigate Tesla’s Autopilot software, CEO Elon Musk was irate.

Kuo: camera bump on the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max smartphones will increase about five percent in each dimension due to a larger 48MP sensor (Hartley Charlton/MacRumors)

Hartley Charlton / MacRumors: Kuo: camera bump on the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max smartphones will increase about five percent in each dimension due to a larger 48MP sensor  —  The increased size of the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max’s rear camera array is due to all-new 48-megapixel Wide camera […]

An analysis of 19.3M NFTs across ~8,400 collections: one in three have little or no trading activity, and another third trade below their original minting cost (Olga Kharif/Bloomberg)

Olga Kharif / Bloomberg: An analysis of 19.3M NFTs across ~8,400 collections: one in three have little or no trading activity, and another third trade below their original minting cost  —  For every Bored Ape and CryptoPunk there is a Baby Baller, one of the thousands of NFT projects that have faltered not long after […]

Leapsome, a Berlin-based startup helping HR teams automate employee feedback and training processes, raises a $60M Series A led by Insight Partners (Dan Taylor/Tech.eu)

Dan Taylor / Tech.eu: Leapsome, a Berlin-based startup helping HR teams automate employee feedback and training processes, raises a $60M Series A led by Insight Partners  —  Bootstrapped since 2016, Berllin-based “People Enablement” platform Leapsome has raised $60 million in a Series A round as it sets out to dominate the American market.

Social media platforms are hastily rewriting rules on hate and propaganda amid the war on Ukraine, setting precedents that may haunt them in the future (Will Oremus/Washington Post)

Will Oremus / Washington Post: Social media platforms are hastily rewriting rules on hate and propaganda amid the war on Ukraine, setting precedents that may haunt them in the future  —  A month ago, praising a neo-Nazi militia or calling for violence against Russians could get you suspended from Facebook in Ukraine.

Paris-based Lucca, which provides SMBs with tools to automate HR and administrative tasks, raises €65M from One Peak Partners, after 20 years of self-financing (Megha Paul/Tech.eu)

Megha Paul / Tech.eu: Paris-based Lucca, which provides SMBs with tools to automate HR and administrative tasks, raises €65M from One Peak Partners, after 20 years of self-financing  —  The new funding will enable the platform to build its product portfolio further and expand internationally in Spain and Switzerland

Data Vault Holdings, which lets businesses monetize their data assets through its cloud-based exchange, raises a $30.5M Series A from undisclosed investors (FinSMEs)

FinSMEs: Data Vault Holdings, which lets businesses monetize their data assets through its cloud-based exchange, raises a $30.5M Series A from undisclosed investors  —  Data Vault Holdings, a New York-based provider of a cloud-based platform for the delivery of branded data-backed cryptocurrencies, raised $30.5M in Series A funding.

Sources: health startups Cerebral and Done pressured clinicians to use looser pandemic rules and prescribe stimulants, often via 30 minute online consultations (Wall Street Journal)

Wall Street Journal: Sources: health startups Cerebral and Done pressured clinicians to use looser pandemic rules and prescribe stimulants, often via 30 minute online consultations  —  Digital companies such as Cerebral and Done seized on looser pandemic rules for prescribing ADHD drugs like Adderall.

Google releases a Chrome update for Windows, Mac, and Linux to fix a high-severity zero-day exploited in the wild, the second such patch for Chrome in 2022 (Sergiu Gatlan/BleepingComputer)

Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer: Google releases a Chrome update for Windows, Mac, and Linux to fix a high-severity zero-day exploited in the wild, the second such patch for Chrome in 2022  —  Google has released Chrome 99.0.4844.84 for Windows, Mac, and Linux users to address a high-severity zero-day bug exploited in the wild.

As some crypto startups seek to avoid oversight, VCs are passing on board seats to win deals; investors in FTX, which has raised $1.8B+, have no board seats (Miles Kruppa/Financial Times)

Miles Kruppa / Financial Times: As some crypto startups seek to avoid oversight, VCs are passing on board seats to win deals; investors in FTX, which has raised $1.8B+, have no board seats  —  Founders of digital asset groups seek to avoid investor oversight in new Silicon Valley trend  —  Jack Lu received eight proposals […]

Brands including Forever 21, DKNY, and Estée Lauder have joined the first Metaverse Fashion Week, which began on Thursday and runs until Sunday in Decentraland (Ann-Marie Alcántara/Wall Street Journal)

Ann-Marie Alcántara / Wall Street Journal: Brands including Forever 21, DKNY, and Estée Lauder have joined the first Metaverse Fashion Week, which began on Thursday and runs until Sunday in Decentraland  —  Brands including Forever 21, DKNY and Estée Lauder are using the digital event in part to study how consumers will shop in virtual […]

Ukraine will start selling 54 NFTs next week chronicling the war’s first three days to support its army and civilians, replacing a canceled crypto airdrop plan (Adi Robertson/The Verge)

Adi Robertson / The Verge: Ukraine will start selling 54 NFTs next week chronicling the war’s first three days to support its army and civilians, replacing a canceled crypto airdrop plan  —  Proceeds will go toward Ukraine’s army and civilians  —  Ukraine’s government is raising funds by selling non-fungible tokens …

The US FCC adds Kaspersky Lab, China Telecom Americas, and China Mobile International USA to its national security threat list, barring them from its USF funds (Reuters)

Reuters: The US FCC adds Kaspersky Lab, China Telecom Americas, and China Mobile International USA to its national security threat list, barring them from its USF funds  —  The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Friday added Russia’s AO Kaspersky Lab, China Telecom (Americas) Corp (0728.HK) …

A unit of 12 Google Fiber workers in Kansas City, Missouri, becomes the first NLRB-recognized bargaining unit of the Alphabet Workers Union, a branch of the CWA (Lauren Kaori Gurley/VICE)

Lauren Kaori Gurley / VICE: A unit of 12 Google Fiber workers in Kansas City, Missouri, becomes the first NLRB-recognized bargaining unit of the Alphabet Workers Union, a branch of the CWA  —  “We’re really hoping that we’re the first in a line of dominos.”  —  Lauren Kaori Gurley  —  Google Fiber workers in Kansas […]

A better way to separate gases

Industrial processes for chemical separations, including natural gas purification and the production of oxygen and nitrogen for medical or industrial uses, are collectively responsible for about 15 percent of the world’s energy use. They also contribute a corresponding amount to the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Now, researchers at MIT and Stanford University have developed a […]