Google's Stadia cloud gaming service will shut down on 18 January 2023. Stadia was touted as a "Netflix for games" but has been criticised for lack of traction. Google has promised refunds to players who purchased its Stadia controller. It estimates those refunds will be completed by mid-January.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chairman Rostin Behnam said on Thursday that Bitcoin might “double in price” if it traded in a CFTC-regulated market. The chairman added that the crypto industry had “a massive opportunity for institutional inflows that will only occur if there’s a regulatory structure.”
SoftBank is planning to cut at least 30% of staff at its ambitious investment arm, the Vision Fund, a source confirmed to CNBC’s Deirdre Bosa. At least 150 out of 500 Vision Fund workers will be impacted by the cuts, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the news on Thursday. SoftBank Founder Masayoshi Son had foreshadowed cost cutting this summer after the company posted a $21.6 billion quarterly loss for the Vision Fund.
Vietnam is preparing new rules to limit which social media accounts can post news-related content. The rules are expected to be announced by the year-end, sources say. They would establish a legal basis for controlling news dissemination on platforms like Facebook and YouTube. Authorities would be able to order social media companies to ban accounts that break those rules.
Epix, the ad-free streaming service, announced today that it will relaunch as MGM+ in early 2023. MGM acquired full ownership of Epix in a $1 billion deal in 2017. The rebranding comes as streaming services continue to take on the name of their larger brands.
Optus revealed last week that 10 million customers had personal data stolen. Names, birthdates, phone numbers, email addresses, passport numbers and driving licence numbers were stolen. The company said it was investigating the breach and had notified police, financial institutions, and government regulators. An internet user demanded a ransom of $1m (A$1.5m; £938,000) from Optus.
Tesla has added Airbnb co-founder, designer and billionaire Joe Gebbia as an independent member to its board of directors according to a regulatory filing out Wednesday. Gebbia left his operating role at Airbnb in July this year but remains a board member there and chairs the Airbnb.org nonprofit, which helps people displaced during times of crisis to find at least temporary housing. Gebbia’s addition to the Tesla board follows the departure of Oracle CTO and chair Larry Ellison.
According to data compiled from Dune Analytics, the weekly trading volume of nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, across the blockchain realm has plunged to $114.4 million. This represents a decrease of 98% from the $6.2 billion witnessed around the end of January. Weekly NFT trading volume rose to an all-time high of $146.3 billion in early April before falling off a sharp cliff in May with the start of an ongoing crypto bear market.
Kris Kashtanova received a copyright for a graphic novel made using the commercial AI art generator Midjourney. The graphic novel is titled Zarya of the Dawn. The U.S. Copyright Office granted the copyright earlier this month amid the ongoing controversy surrounding AI programs.
Wasabi, a cloud storage startup, has raised $250 million in a new round of funding. Wasabi is competing with Amazon's Simple Storage Service (S3) and other cloud storage providers. The company has added storage regions in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Toronto, Osaka, Sydney and Singapore.
Volvo has developed what it calls the world's first interior radar system for cars. The system will debut on the company's upcoming EX90 electric SUV. It will monitor the cabin and trunk of a vehicle to prevent the car from being locked while anyone is still inside. The idea is to guard against situations where pets or children may be inadvertently trapped inside a car on a hot day.