As usual, lots of interesting stuff happened this past weeks in tech...
Microsoft retiring WordPad after 28 years
Microsoft has officially announced the discontinuation of WordPad, its long-standing text editor, in a future version of Windows. This marks the end of an era for the software, which has been a part of the Windows ecosystem since Windows 95.
Google killing Pixel Pass after just 22 month
...despite promise of ongoing new phones. Google’s Pixel Pass subscription was meant to combine all the features of a smartphone with the subscription services Google users wanted, including YouTube Premium, Google One, and Google Play Pass, saving as much as $294 over the two-year term. Google first launched the Pixel Pass subscription in 2021 when it launched their Pixel 6 series smartphones.
FBI and European partners seize major malware network
In an operation officials dubbed “Duck Hunt,” the FBI along with Europol and partners seized more than 50 Qakbot servers and identified more than 700,000 infected computers, more than 200,000 of them in the U.S. — effectively cutting off criminals from their quarry.
AI chip startup d-Matrix raises $110 mln with backing from Microsoft
Silicon Valley-based artificial intelligence chip startup d-Matrix has raised $110 million from investors that include Microsoft Corp at a time when many chip companies are struggling to raise cash.
Nvidia's dominant position in the AI chip market due to a powerful combination of hardware and software has scared off potential investors in some startups, according to sources Reuters interviewed. Nvidia declined to comment.
Could Arm be worth more than $51B?
Arm Holdings is set for a blockbuster initial public offering which will test market appetite for an important technology company. The British chip designer, has set an initial IPO price range of $47 to $51 per share. While the company will not be the only tech IPO of note that we see this year, it will likely be the largest in terms of dollars raised and its valuation.
TikTok opens Dublin data centre to ease China spying fears
TikTok has confirmed that its first European data centre in Ireland is now operational and the social media giant has begun to migrate European user data to the site, as part of its ongoing response to data privacy concerns around the app's links to China.
