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Twitter’s board is contemplating a poison pill to ward off Elon Musk. The US said North Korean hackers were behind that big Axie Infinity theft. Mark Gurman lists the Macs that are in line to get the M2 chips. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: AltoIRA.com/techmeme Links: Twitter Is Weighing a Poison Pill Defense to Thwart Elon Musk’s Takeover Bid (Bloomberg) Twitter Board Expected To Fight Musk Offer (The Information) US Officials Tie North Korea’s ‘Lazarus’ Hackers to $625M Crypto Theft (CoinDesk) Apple Readies Several New Macs With Next-Generation M2 Chips (Bloomberg) In latest gaming crackdown, China bans livestreaming of unauthorised titles (Reuters) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: The Talent Vortex: Mafias and Magnets (Investing 101) Musk Needs ‘Massive Loan’ or Big Tesla Sale to Buy Twitter (Bloomberg) Blind Ambition (Cybernaut/Every.to) Stablecoins Are in a War for Dominance and It’s Getting Ugly (Motherboard/Vice) How Chris Dixon’s Dive Down The Crypto

Well, he went and did it. Elon Musk told Twitter’s board he wants to buy the whole company. The bids for a Jack Dorsey NFT are anemic. A warning from the US government about industrial cyber-attacks. Meta’s entire metaverse product roadmap. And say hello to the new hottest social network among the kids. Sponsors: CodeCademy.com promocode ride LiveOuter.com/techmeme Links: Elon Musk Makes $43 Billion Unsolicited Bid to Take Twitter Private (Bloomberg) US agencies warn of custom-made hacking tools targeting energy sector systems (The Record) ‘Jack Dorsey’s First Tweet’ NFT Went on Sale for $48M. It Ended With a Top Bid of Just $280 (CoinDesk) MARK ZUCKERBERG’S AUGMENTED REALITY (The Verge) Gen Z’s new favorite app (Axios) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ESET and Microsoft helped Ukraine stop an attack on a power plant. Might CNN+ become a high profile casualty of the streaming wars? Elon Musk is facing a Twitter shareholder lawsuit. People aren’t happy that Meta’s metaverse vig is higher than even Apple dares charge. And, the new privacy-focused browser from Duck Duck Go. Sponsors: Smith.ai promocode techmeme for $100 off signup Links: Researchers find new malware variant after stopping attack on Ukrainian energy provider (The Record) Former Ethereum Developer Virgil Griffith Sentenced to 5+ Years in Prison for North Korea Trip (CoinDesk) CNN+ struggles to lure viewers in its early days, drawing fewer than 10,000 daily users (CNBC) Big cuts coming for CNN+ after slow start (Axios) Elon Musk Sued Over Delay in Disclosing Twitter Stake (Bloomberg) Meta's New 47.5% Fee on Metaverse Items Has NFT Twitter Pissed (CNET) Meta: 124 Quest Apps Have Earned More Than $1M, 8 Have Earned More Than $20M (RoadToVR) DuckDuckGo’s Privacy Browser Finally La

Meta rolls out a test to sell virtual items in Horizon Worlds. Ethereum takes a major step toward its proof-of-stake upgrade. Would you watch a Bored Ape movie? Apple has delayed a major feature for the Watch. Etsy sellers are on strike. And Netflix’s new two-thumbs-up button. Sponsors: CreditKarma.com Links: Meta will let Horizon creators sell virtual items (The Verge) Ethereum Undergoes Another Stress Test Ahead of Software Change (Bloomberg) Bored Apes Go Hollywood With Coinbase-Produced Movie Trilogy (CoinDesk) Apple Targets Watch Blood-Pressure Tool for 2024 After Snags (Bloomberg) Over 14,000 Etsy sellers are going on strike to protest increased transaction fees (TechCrunch) Digital Ad Revenue Jumped 35% in the U.S. Last Year, Biggest Gain Since 2006 (WSJ) TikTok Ad Revenue Set To Triple in 2022 (The Information) How Netflix tests Netflix: The story behind the service’s new two-thumbs-up feature (Protocol) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By declining a seat on Twitter’s board, does that mean Elon has chosen violence? Plenty of signs of a mixed reality headset in the code of the next version of iOS. Meta tried and failed to design its own chip. China has decided to let some new games launch. And even if drone delivery is moving forward, is Amazon being left behind? Sponsors: ConstantContact.com MasterWorks.io Links: Elon has decided not to join our board. I sent a brief note to the company, sharing with you all here. (Parag Agrawal) China Ends Game Freeze by Approving First Titles Since July (Bloomberg) Apple Sets the Date for Another Virtual WWDC—Here’s What to Expect (Bloomberg) Meta Platforms is Struggling to Develop Its Own Device Chips (The Information) Amazon Drone Crashes Hit Jeff Bezos' Delivery Dreams (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

MRGN.ai is all about intelligent budgeting for small businesses. Founder Yoni Rubin joins me to discuss the realities of founding a SaaS company in 2022, and much more. Another great company joining the Ride Home Fund portfolio! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some folks at Twitter are nervous about Elon Musk’s arrival, so he’s going to do an AMA to rally the troops. Twitter is testing unmentioning. Robinhood is fully rolling out that promise wallet feature. The increasing lexicon of euphemisms people have to use to speak freely on sites like TikTok. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Smith.ai promocode techmeme for $100 off signup Links: Elon Musk to address Twitter staff after internal outcry (Washington Post) Twitter test lets you 'unmention' yourself in tweets (Engadget) Robinhood widens user access for crypto wallet transfers, unveils plan to support Lightning payments for bitcoin (The Block) Gartner forecasts global tech spending to hit $4.4 trillion this year, up 4% (Silicon Angle) Internet ‘algospeak’ is changing our language in real time, from ‘nip nobs’ to ‘le dollar bean’ (Washington Post) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: The Scoop: Inside Fast’s Rapid Collapse (The Pragmatic Engineer) Millennial Billionaire Rya

The crypto dream might have died, but Meta still thinks the metaverse will need some for of currency. Maybe Zuck Bucks? OpenSea adds Solana NFTs. Shein is the world’s latest mega unicorn. Is Bolt pivoting from one-click checkouts to crypto payments instead? Legos in the metaverse. And DALL-E 2. Sponsors: Rocketlawyer.com/workconfidently Links: Facebook owner Meta targets finance with ‘Zuck Bucks’ and creator coins (FT) Google Play will hide and block downloads for outdated apps starting later this year (TechCrunch) Solana NFTs Can Now Be Traded on OpenSea (Decrypt) Facebook won’t hold its F8 developer conference this year after pivoting to Meta (The Verge) Shein Valued at $100 Billion in Funding Round (WSJ) Crypto Startup Wyre Being Acquired by Payments Company Bolt for $1.5 Billion (WSJ) Lego and Epic Games partnership aims for a kid-friendly metaverse (Washington Post) OpenAI’s DALL-E AI image generator can now edit pictures, too (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit

I told you Elon had no intention of being a passive investor. Twitter says an edit button is probably coming soon. So, you know, that Elon, he gets things done. One-click checkout startup Fast is shutting down completely. A deep dive into how the new Unreal Engine 5 fits into Hollywood, fits into gaming, fits into the metaverse. And beware: “Will Smith” might come into your Elden Ring game and slap you. Sponsors: Witful.com Links: Musk Refiles Twitter Disclosure to Show He’s an Active Investor (Bloomberg) Twitter is adding an edit button (The Verge) Sky Mavis raises $150 million to reimburse Ronin hack victims (The Block) Fast, the Troubled Fintech Startup, Is Shutting Down (The Information) MicroStrategy Funds Latest Purchase With Bitcoin-Backed Loan (Bloomberg) Inside Epic's Unreal Engine 5—and What It Means for the Future of Gaming, Movies, and the Metaverse (Time) How Epic Games is changing gaming—and maybe the metaverse (Fast Company) Elden Ring players called Will Smith keep invading an

So much for that “passive” stake. Twitter has appointed Elon Musk to its board of directors. Amazon is gunning for SpaceX in the race to deliver internet from space. Some datapoints around the whole question of wash trading in the NFT market. And what if I told you there was ANOTHER wildly popular thing from the creator of Wordle? Links: Elon Musk to join Twitter’s board of directors, teases ‘significant improvements’ (CNBC) Elon Musk Bought Some Twitter (Bloomberg/Matt Levine) Amazon’s Project Kuiper books up to 83 rockets to launch its internet-beaming satellites (The Verge) Microsoft brings Arm support to Azure virtual machines (ZDNet) Axie Infinity Was Losing Gamers Even Before Record Crypto Hack (Bloomberg) The Hottest NFT Marketplace is Mostly Users Selling to Themselves (Bloomberg) Hackers breach MailChimp's internal tools to target crypto customers (BleepingComputer) Internet communities are battling over pixels (The Washington Post) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg

So, Elon Musk has taken a 9.2% stake in Twitter. I’d point out that the last time Twitter had an activist investor, it led to Jack Dorsey stepping down as CEO. Is drone delivery suddenly, and rapidly, becoming a reality? The nation of the United Kingdom is going to issue an NFT. And Mark Gurman’s math on how an Apple subscription would work. Sponsors: Grammarly.com/techmeme Links: Elon Musk Takes 9.2% Stake in Twitter After Hinting at Shake-Up (Bloomberg) Alphabet's Wing will begin drone deliveries in Dallas-Fort Worth on April 7th (Engadget) AMD Returns to Deal Making with $1.9 Billion Purchase of Chip Specialist Pensando (WSJ) NFTs to be launched by the Treasury later this year in crypto push (City AM) It’s a big day at the State Department for U.S. cyberdiplomacy (Washington Post) Why Apple Is Preparing to Let You Subscribe to Your iPhone (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Justin Santamaria was once an Apple lead engineer on iPhone, where he created iMessage, FaceTime, the blue/green text bubbles and even unlocked emojis so people outside Japan could use them. Now, as cofounder of Future, he’s using text communication to pair people with a world-class trainer for unlimited coaching through their phone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

E3 is officially cancelled this year, which is making people wonder if it’s officially dead and we just don’t know it yet. More signs of serious trouble in the food delivery space. Facebook has fixed a bug that let harmful content into the news feed for six months. And of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Wealthfront.com/techmeme Links: E3 2022 - Digital and Physical - Has Officially Been Canceled (IGN) Food Delivery Stocks Lose $24 Billion in Just Three Months (Bloomberg) A FACEBOOK BUG LED TO INCREASED VIEWS OF HARMFUL CONTENT OVER SIX MONTHS (The Verge) Apple emergency update fixes zero-days used to hack iPhones, Macs (BleepingComputer) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Online shopping in the middle of the ocean (RestOfWorld) Want to See the Weirdest of Wikipedia? Look No Further. (NYTimes) Why Moderating Content Actually Does More To Support The Principles Of Free Speech (TechDirt) A History of Hup, the Jump Sound of Shooting Games (Wired) In the Shadow of the Star War

Another day of all the hacking news. Now the hackers are forging Emergency Data Requests. Apparently there have been vulnerabilities in Wyze security cameras that no one bothered to fix. TSMC warns of a tech slowdown. Masa Son orders his lieutenants to slow down investing just a bit. And yes, burrito delivery by drone, but probably more impressive is FedEx getting into the drone game. Sponsors: Linode.com/techmeme Links: Apple and Meta Gave User Data to Hackers Who Used Forged Legal Requests (Bloomberg) Wyze Cam flaw lets hackers remotely access your saved videos (BleepingComputer) Google Search’s new highly cited label helps you get to the source of a story (The Verge) TSMC says demand for smartphones, PCs starting to slow (Nikkei Asia) SoftBank to slow investments following crash in tech holdings (FT) Look up: Your burrito is arriving by drone (Axios) FedEx will test autonomous cargo flights next year (Engadget) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I explain the (latest) biggest crypto hack of all time, this time affecting Axie Infinity. Meta is paying to dish dirt on TikTok. Changes to Google Calendar could kneecap a bunch of startups, while the DOJ is investigating Google Maps. And signs of difficulty in two red-hot startup sectors, the instant delivery sector, and the fast checkout sector. Sponsors: AltoIRA.com/techmeme Links: Axie Infinity’s Ronin Network Suffers $625M Exploit (CoinDesk) Axie Infinity Owner ‘Fully Committed’ to Reimbursing Players After Hack (Bloomberg) Facebook paid GOP firm to malign TikTok (Washington Post) Messenger gets new shortcuts that let you send silent replies (The Verge) New Google Calendar feature takes the back-and-forth out of scheduling (Ars Technica) EXCLUSIVE-U.S. probe of Google Maps picks up speed -sources (Reuters) Gopuff Plans Hundreds of Layoffs to Cut $40 Million in Costs (The Information) Why Stripe’s ‘Fast’ Horse Is Losing the One-Click Checkout Race (The Information) Learn more ab

Sony’s answer to Xbox Game Pass is here. Spotify wants to TikTok-up your podcast listening. Have you ever gotten a spam text from your own phone number? Okta still has some ‘splaining to do. And forget AppleTV+, Disney+, I dunno… BobRoss+, how about NFL+? Isn’t it inevitable? Sponsors: Linode.com/techmeme Masterworks.io/ride Links: Sony merges PS Now and PS Plus to create three-tier subscription service (GamesIndustry.biz) Sony announces new PlayStation Plus subscriptions, its answer to Xbox Game Pass (The Verge) Spotify puts its Podz acquisition to use with test of new podcast discovery feature (TechCrunch) My own phone number is now spam texting me (The Verge) Leaked Details of the Lapsus$ Hack Make Okta’s Slow Response Look More Bizarre (Wired) NFL considers creating a streaming service of its own (The Athletic) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apple wins a best picture Oscar. Bigger camaras mean bigger bumps in upcoming iPhones. Urgent Chrome update you need to be aware of. You probably guessed that that person bugging you on LinkedIn might be faked. And Fashion Week, but in the Metaverse. Sponsors: OurCrowd.com/ride Priceline.com Links: Apple Is First Streamer to Win Best Picture Oscar for ‘CODA’ (Variety) Kuo: iPhone 14 Pro's Larger Camera Bump Due to New 48MP Camera System (MacRumors) Apple to cut iPhone, AirPods output amid Ukraine war uncertainty (NikkeiAsia) HP buys Poly for $3.3 billion to ride hybrid work boom (TechStartups) Emergency Google Chrome update fixes zero-day used in attacks (BleepingComputer) That smiling LinkedIn profile face might be a computer-generated fake (WNYC/NPR) NFT Collection Failures Begin to Mount in Flashback to ICO Bust (Bloomberg) Metaverse Fashion Week Draws Big Brands, Startups (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman comes on to dissuade us of our Apple delusions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listeners from Ukraine got in touch to tell us what it has been like for one particular tech startup in Ukraine these last few weeks. From the founder of the company: Lemon.io, Alekskandr Volodarsky, @volodarik these are the charities he recommends: https://bank.gov.ua/en/about/support-the-armed-forces https://www.1kproject.org/ https://savelife.in.ua/en/donate/ (including crypto donations) https://koloua.com/ https://novaukraine.org/donate/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will the new EU Digital Markets Act mean that all messaging could soon become as interoperable as email? Some serious smoke around the whole grand unifying Apple subscription fire. Why Instacart is voluntarily lowing its valuation. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Codecademy.com promocode ride Links: EU negotiators agree new rules to rein in tech giants (Politico) Apple Is Working on a Hardware Subscription Service for iPhones (Bloomberg) Lapsus$: Oxford teen accused of being multi-millionaire cyber-criminal (BBC News) Instacart Slashes Its Valuation by Almost 40% to $24 Billion (Bloomberg) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: LAPSUS$: How a Sloppy Extortion Gang Became One of the Most Prolific Hacking Groups (Motherboard/Vice) The Man Behind Ethereum Is Worried About Crypto's Future (Time) There's something off about ApeCoin (Platformer) Of Course We’re Living in a Simulation (Wired) Nicolas Cage Can Explain It All (GQ) Learn more about your ad choices. V