Good morning, TGIF, welcome to March, and welcome to autumn. It’s been a heck of a week. Let’s get into the tech news, shall we?
1. Crypto boss banned from leaving Australia
The Guardian is reporting that the former director of failed crypto company Blockchain Global has been banned from leaving Australia, with the company owing $58 million after its collapse. Chinese citizen Liang ‘Allan’ Guo was issued a travel ban on February 20, being deemed a flight risk, and has been ordered to surrender any passports in his possession.
2. SEC investigators looking into OpenAI
The Australian reports the U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission is investigating whether investors were misled by OpenAI. The SEC is currently looking for internal records that could indicate misleading claims, with a subpoena issued around the time CEO Sam Altman was ousted from the company.
3. Tesla facing racial class action
Reuters reports that Tesla is facing a racial bias class action in the U.S., with a judge ruling that the company’s 6,000 black employees can take the EV maker to court over discrimination allegations at its Fremont plant. A lawsuit was first brought by former worker Marcus Vaughn in 2017, and alleged that black employees were subject to serious racism, including slurs, graffiti, and nooses being hung at workstations.
4. AMD booms above $300 billion
Nvidia rival AMD is also booming off the back of the AI wave, with a market valuation topping $300 billion, Bloomberg reports. Shares have more than doubled from a low in October, with the company offering AI tools across its suite of products due to the emergence of AI PCs.
5. Microsoft to work with AMD and Nvidia on upscaling
Windows maker Microsoft is set to work closely with Intel, AMD, and Nvidia on providing the ‘missing link’ on graphics upscaling systems. ‘DirectSR’ is set to be developed by Microsoft alongside the three chip and GPU makers, and is hoped to provide huge performance buffs for PC games. Program manager Joshua Tucker said the new tool will provide a smoother and more efficient experience.
BONUS ITEM: Awwwww.
The leap day babies are wearing little frog hats pic.twitter.com/boIudBaYrv
— audrey farnsworth (@audipenny) February 29, 2024
Have a lovely weekend!
Image: iStock