Three influencers with under 3,000 Instagram followers said they got paid by brands to post to their small audiences. Instagram is paying some influencers directly through incentive programs and affiliate links. Instagram announced a $1 billion investment in content creators through 2022. influencers can earn hundreds to thousands of dollars from these deals.
The Supreme Court has denied Apple's request to invalidate two Qualcomm patents. The two patents played key roles in Qualcomm's attempts to ban Apple products in 2017. The companies struck a six-year licensing deal to settle their main dispute in 2019. It's not clear what will happen next, though Apple is rumored to be ditching Qualcomm in favor of its own modems.
eBay announced that it's acquiring Manchester-based NFT marketplace KnownOrigin, which enables artists and collectors to create, buy and resell NFTs. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The companies have signed and closed the deal as of June 22nd.
TSMC will manufacture Apple's upcoming "M2 Pro" and "M3" chips based on its 3nm process, according to Taiwanese industry publication DigiTimes. "Apple reportedly has booked TSMC capacity for its upcoming 3nm M3 and M2 Pro processors," said DigiTimes, in a report focused on competition between chipmakers like TSMC and Samsung to secure 3nm chip orders. As expected, the report said TSMC will begin volume production of 3nm chips in the second half of 2022.
Volkswagen unveils ID. AERO concept car in China. The sedan will go into production in the second half of 2023. It will be the inspiration for the automaker's first-ever global all-electric sedan. The car is geared toward China's young, first-time car buyers.
Blizzard announced that when Overwatch 2 launches on October 4th, it will overwrite overwatch prime. The changeover will end the six-year-old game, effectively ending the 6v6 assault format. Blizzard said that players who upgraded to OW2 would still be able to play with those who didn't.
President Faustin-Archange Touadéra has announced the CAR government will launch a crypto initiative. The Sango project will focus on developing the country's crypto infrastructure. The CAR adopted Bitcoin as legal tender in April and plans to have a legal framework in place by 2022.
Goldman Sachs downgraded Coinbase stock from “neutral” to “sell” this morning. The company’s shares have fallen 10% since the markets opened. In a research note to investors, the bank’s analysts led by Will Nance downgraded the shares after several weeks of market volatility and turbulence. The team set a revised price target of $45, down from $70 earlier this year, citing “continued downdraft prices in crypto prices” and the larger drop in activity levels across the industry.
Rivian is opening three new charging stations in California and Colorado. The first station is in Salida, Colorado, with four chargers capable of 200 kW of power. Rivian's "Adventure Network" will add fast charging capabilities to cross-country routes. It will also be available near national parks and other out-of-the way locations.
Cloud artificial intelligence developer services market is expected to reach $135 billion by 2025. Gartner has identified and ranked the 13 leading providers of cloud artificial intelligence services. Cloud AI developer services are cloud-hosted or containerized services that enable development teams and users to use AI models.
FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried denies the report, saying no offer has been made. Robinhood shares jumped 14% to their session high after the report. The trading app's stock has dropped 48% this year amid shrinking revenue and declining users.