Tesla Drops Prices, Meta Confirms Llama 3 Release, and Apple Allows Emulators in the App Store
Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Week in Review (WiR), TechCrunch’s weekly newsletter summarizing the top tech stories from the past few days.
While Google’s annual enterprise-focused dev conference, Google Cloud Next, definitely made waves in the tech world this week, there were also many other notable events taking place (including the highly-anticipated solar eclipse).
One such event was the revelation that hackers had stolen over 340,000 Social Security numbers from government consulting firm Greylock McKinnon Associates (GMA). It took GMA nine months to determine the extent of the breach and notify victims, and the reason for the breach is still unknown.
Elsewhere, there was the exciting news of Spotify’s personalized AI playlists, which allows users to create customized playlists based on written prompts.
In other news, we sadly reported on the passing of entrepreneur Mahbod Moghadam, co-founder of online music encyclopedia Genius. Moghadam, who rose to fame through his work with Genius, passed away at the age of 41 due to complications from a recurring brain tumor.
Of course, there were plenty of other noteworthy events that took place this week, and we’ll cover them all in this edition of WiR. But before we dive into the details, don’t forget to sign up to receive our weekly newsletter directly in your inbox every Saturday.
News
Tesla Price Drop: In an effort to clear out its unprecedented inventory backlog, Tesla has dropped the prices of unsold Model Y SUVs by thousands of dollars in the U.S.
Snapchat Turns Off Its Solar System: After reports revealed that its “friend mapping” feature was causing anxiety among young users, Snapchat has made changes to its app to no longer show how “close” you are to your friends.
Noninvasive Anxiety Treatment: Thanks to a 2019 rule change by the FDA to encourage innovation in treatments for insomnia and anxiety, startup Neurovalens has received FDA clearance for its technology that delivers noninvasive electrical stimulation to the brain and nervous system.
Llama 3: At a recent event in London, Meta announced that it will be releasing Llama 3, the next generation of its AI model used to power chatbots and other applications, within the month.
Emulators in the Store: In a global policy change, Apple has updated its App Store rules to allow emulators for retro console games to be downloaded and used.
AT&T Breach: After confirming that the millions of customer records posted online last month were authentic, AT&T has begun notifying U.S. state authorities and regulators of the security incident.
Funding
Web3 and Beauty: Kiki World, a beauty brand that utilizes web3 for customer co-creation and ownership, has closed a $7 million funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz.
Analysis
Magnets in Keyboards: Our very own Frederic discusses a new development in mechanical keyboard design: magnetic switches, which allow for easy adjustment of the actuation point during key presses.
WFH, Here to Stay: Despite some CEOs wishing otherwise, it seems clear that working from home is here to stay. As our writer Ron notes, most workers value flexibility and work-life balance, which make remote work a desirable option.
Podcasts
On Equity’s Wednesday episode, the team discussed the recent Multiverse acquisition of Searchlight, the latest funding round for Guesty, the recent transaction involving Monad Labs, and a new venture capital fund targeting growth rounds in Africa.
Meanwhile, on Found, we were joined by Ben Christensen, founder and CEO of Cambium, a startup focused on reinventing the wood supply chain and repurposing previously wasted materials for use in new building projects.
Bonus Round
Microsoft Passwords Exposed: Security researchers have discovered an open and public database hosted on Microsoft’s Azure cloud service that was storing internal information related to the company’s Bing search engine. Microsoft has addressed the issue and resolved the lapse.
