Amazon is launching Ad Relevance, a cookieless consumer tracking solution that will be available to those using Amazon DSP, a tool that lets advertisers buy Internet ad placements on and off Amazon’s website. Ad Relevance “uses the latest in AI technology to analyze billions of browsing, buying, and streaming signals in conjunction with real-time information about the content being viewed” to reveal customer shopping patterns and serve relevant ads across devices, channels, and content types without using third-party cookies. The technology accommodates Google’s long-delayed cookie deprecation, currently set for 2025. Continue reading Amazon Debuts Ad Relevance Cookieless Solution in Cannes

A federal jury in Las Vegas has convicted five men for illegal streaming operations perpetrated through a company called Jetflicks, which generated millions of dollars in subscription revenue while causing “substantial harm to television program copyright owners,” according to the Department of Justice. Jetflicks, which charged customers $9.99 per month, had a catalog that included “hundreds of thousands” of copyrighted TV episodes, larger than the combined offerings of Netflix, Hulu, Vudu and Amazon Prime, prosecutors said, explaining the outfit “used sophisticated computer scripts and software to scour pirate websites for illegal copies of television episodes.” Continue reading DOJ Scores Criminal Conviction Against Operators of Jetflicks

The European Commission is expanding its investigation of Apple based on preliminary findings of anticompetitive breach of the new Digital Markets Act (DMA). The Commission has found the App Store engages in “anti-steering” by preventing app purveyors from offering consumers “alternative channels for offers and content.” The Commission also opened a new investigation into App Store developer contracts, citing  the “core technology fee” implemented in January in what was perceived as a workaround to the new European Union rules, saying such policies “fall short of ensuring effective compliance with Apple’s obligations under the DMA.” Continue reading Apple in EU Crosshairs for Anticompetitive Action Under DMA

Amazon has earmarked $230 million to invest in generative AI startups worldwide, providing funding in the form of “AWS credits, mentorship, and education to further their use of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies.” The initiative will cast a global net, focusing on early-stage companies. About $80 million of that allocation will fund the second cohort of the AWS Generative AI Accelerator, which provides up to $1 million in credits “to each of the top 80 early-stage startups that are using generative AI to solve complex challenges.” Applications for the AWS Accelerator are open through July 19. Continue reading Amazon Commits $230M in AWS Credits for GenAI Startups

Alphabet is rolling out the Google TV network, an advertising platform that will for the first time allow media buyers to slot ads across the entire Google TV platform of more than 125 channels with one transaction. Google says those ads will reach the 20 million monthly active users who use Google TV and other Android TV OS devices to watch live sports, full-length TV shows, movies and more. Initially offering “staple connected-TV ad formats” — including non-skippable and 6-second bumpers ads — placed in-stream, Google says there are more formats to come. Continue reading Google TV Network is Alphabet’s New In-Stream Ad Platform

California tech companies are bristling at a state bill that would force them to enact strict safety protocols, including installing “kill switches” to turn-off AI models that present a public risk. Silicon Valley has emerged as a global AI leader, and the proposed law would impact not only OpenAI, but Anthropic, Cohere, Google and Meta Platforms. The bill, SB 1047, focuses on what its lead sponsor, State Senator Scott Wiener, calls “common sense safety standards” for frontier models. Should the bill become law, it could affect even firms like Amazon that provide AI cloud services to California customers even though they are not based in the state. Continue reading Tech Firms Push Back Against California AI Safety Regulation

Twitch is rolling out its licensed DJ Program to allow music live streamers to pursue their craft without having to deal with takedown notices. The popular gaming platform, owned by Amazon, has been dealing with copyright infringement complaints, and now offers what it calls a “first-of-its-kind” compliance solution that provides creators who opt-in with “millions of tracks” that will be legally safe to use. Participating DJs will be required to pay copyright holders a percentage of their earnings from the stream in which the music is used. Twitch did not disclose the percentage but said it would split the cost 50/50 with creators. Continue reading Twitch DJ Program Forges New Path for Live Streaming Music

Rene Haas, CEO of UK chip designer Arm Holdings, thinks his company’s platform architecture could nab as much as 50 percent of the Windows PC market by 2030. That would essentially be a 400 percent leap from its current 11 percent share in a market dominated by Intel’s x86 design. Because Arm was developed for smartphones, it was driven by energy efficiency, an approach that is paying off in the era of power-hungry AI applications. Now the technology is being used for the first wave of Microsoft Copilot+ Windows laptops, and Arm has also set its sights on desktop PCs. Continue reading Arm CEO Says Company Aims to Capture Half of PC Market

Web-based editing application Canva unveiled a significant makeover this week in Los Angeles at the Canva Create event. Touting “a whole new Canva,” the company shared changes that impact the entire platform, from pricing to tools, templates and user interface. The new editor, designed to make it easier to jump between projects, is “available to the first one million users who discover the secret portal hidden in their Canva homepage, before becoming available to the entire Canva community from August.” The 11-year-old company, which claims 183 million free and paid monthly users, also unveiled an enterprise solution. Continue reading Graphics Productivity Tool Canva Unveils Enterprise Redesign

Elon Musk’s xAI has secured $6 billion in Series B funding. While the company says the funds will be “used to take xAI’s first products to market, build advanced infrastructure, and accelerate the research and development,” some outlets are reporting a significant portion is earmarked to build an AI supercomputer to power the next generation of its foundation model Grok. The company publicly released the open-source Grok-1 as a chatbot on X social in November, and recently debuted Grok-1.5 and 1.5V iterations with long-context capability and image understanding. Continue reading Musk Said to Envision Supercomputer as xAI Raises $6 Billion

Nvidia just wrapped a record quarter, with no sign of interest cooling for the GPUs that have become essential to powering the AI boom. Revenue for the company’s most recent quarter was a record $26 billion, up 262 percent year-over-year. Profit also hit a new high, up nearly sevenfold to $14.88 billion compared to the same period a year earlier. The performance drove the already buoyant stock price above $1,000 a share. Company founder and CEO Jensen Huang proclaimed, “the next industrial revolution has begun,” with Nvidia playing a pivotal role in transforming data centers into “AI factories.” Continue reading Nvidia Reports Record Revenue, Profits as AI Demand Surges

Amazon is planning to add generative artificial intelligence to its decade-old voice assistant, Alexa, which will require a monthly fee to offset the cost of the technology, according to reports. Although the new Alexa price plan has not been disclosed, it is not expected to be included in the $139 yearly Amazon Prime plan. The possible move comes as Apple is also undergoing an AI overhaul of its voice assistant, Siri. Once considered precocious by many consumers, Siri and Alexa are now playing catch-up to AI assistants from leaders in the space including Google, Microsoft and OpenAI. Continue reading Amazon to Upgrade Alexa with AI, May Add Subscription Fee

Leading AI firms spanning Europe, Asia, North America and the Middle East have signed a new voluntary commitment to AI safety. The 16 signatory companies — including Amazon, Google DeepMind, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, OpenAI, xAI and China’s Zhipu AI — will publish outlines indicating how they will measure the risks posed by their frontier models. “In the extreme, leading AI tech companies including from China and the UAE have committed to not develop or deploy AI models if the risks cannot be sufficiently mitigated,” according to UK Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan. Continue reading Global Technology Companies Sign Pledge to Foster AI Safety

Sonos, the company that helped launch the Wi-Fi speaker market is now branching into wireless over-ear headphones. The launch marks a much-anticipated and also inevitable move, considering the U.S. headset market was estimated to be almost $2.2 billion last year, nearly twice as large as the total for wireless speaker sales, according to market research firm Circana. Sonos Ace headphones have what is being called exceptional noise-cancellation and feature Bluetooth connectivity and a Wi-Fi chip so they can be used in conjunction with the Sonos soundbar for a personal home-theater experience. They ship June 5 for $449. Continue reading Sonos Rolls Out Its First Headphones, the $450 Bluetooth Ace

Bundling is back. Following the cord-cutting that led to a decline in content subscriptions, consumers now indicate they want multi-service deals, with discounts and choice as to what type of content is included. A new study from Hub Entertainment Research indicates that traditional SVODs have declined overall in household usage while areas such as gaming, music, podcasts and social media have increased. “TV is no longer the center of the entertainment universe,” the study suggests, noting premium video only accounts for about 6.3 percent of consumers’ total entertainment sources. Continue reading Study Finds Many Consumers Seeking Multi-Service Bundles