Startup AiDash raises $50 million for tech using AI, satellites to spot wildfire risk

Layoffs have been reported at Toys for Bob, the developer behind Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time and the Spyro: Reignited Trilogy. They form part of the ongoing consolidation efforts necessitated by parent company Activision's acquisition by Microsoft, resulting in 1900 roles being made redundant. Some 86 workers have been let go, and the studio's office shuttered. Contrary to some earlier confusion, that's the physical address; Toys for Bob will remain active, and most remaining employees will now work remotely.

A federal court in California is enforcing a subpoena for Elon Musk to testify before the US Securities and Exchange Commission regarding potential violations of federal securities laws in connection with his purchase of Twitter. 

Apple plans to settle a lawsuit that accused chip startup Rivos of stealing its trade secrets related to computer-chip technology, according to a joint court filing on Friday in California federal court. The companies told the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California that they had "signed an agreement that potentially settles the case," and that the agreement allows Apple to examine Rivos' systems and recover any confidential information.

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Content Warning: This piece contains some descriptions of sexual assault.

This upcoming life sim from a former Stardew Valley dev finally has a name and a release window, and we couldn't be more up for it.

Season 3 of introduces Nightmare Vaults, or larger dungeons you can unlock with special keys called Vault Sigils. These areas are filled with Construct enemies and bosses you can defeat for rare rewards. However, opening Vaults requires materials from world events exclusive to the seasonal content throughout Sanctuary.

Apple iPhone was the top-selling smartphone series in China for the first time last year, a surprisingly strong showing in the face of fierce local competition and expanding government prohibitions against the American company's technology. The iPhone ranked first in shipments in the fourth quarter and 2023 overall, market tracker IDC said. It came after several analysts, including Jefferies, said iPhone sales tanked in the fourth quarter due to a lull in enthusiasm for the Cupertino, California company's latest generation of hardware in the world's biggest smartphone market. IDC also noted rising competition from domestic names like a resurgent Huawei Technologies Co., but timely discounts and promotions helped reduce the harm for Apple. 

As Nintendo has proven over the last several years, they’re dedicated to not just making the best video games possible featuring their IPs but trying to take those IPs and bring them to new places so that they can “lure in” new people to check them out. Last year, they released the first of what might be a grand movie slate, with Mario’s first animated feature not only getting nominated for awards but also bringing in over 1.3 billion dollars! Then, there’s Super Nintendo World, the amusement that Nintendo has built with Universal Studios. The park already has locations in Japan and California, and Orlando is set to drop soon.

A bunch of companies in the technology sector have been laying off some of their employees recently after quickly ramping up hiring during the COVID-19 pandemic while people spent more time and money online. Now, many of them are making job cuts to help lower costs and bolster their bottom lines. Here's some of the companies that have laid of employees of late:

RagaAI has secured funding to develop a tool that aims to diagnose and fix flaws with artificial intelligence systems, responding to an increasing emphasis on safety and reliability during the AI boom.

UK Parcel firm disables AI chat after poetic bot critiques customer service; AI flags patients pre-surgery alcohol risks, outperformed diagnosis codes; California community unveils AI tech to prevent School shootings; Mark Zuckerberg's open source AGI sparks concerns among experts- this and more in our daily roundup. Let us take a look.