FTC Files Landmark Case Against Amazon
The Federal Trade Commission and Attorneys General of 17 states sued Amazon for antitrust violations this week, capping a three-year investigation led by FTC Chair Lina Khan. The suit alleges that Amazon illegally conspires to inflate its merchant fees, punishes sellers who offer lower prices on other websites, and follows the liability theory espoused by Khan in her seminal Yale Law Review article “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox.”
Chase UK Bans Crypto
Chase UK, the British arm of the largest American bank, announced it will no longer support payments it believes are linked to cryptocurrency, citing rampant fraud in the crypto industry. The move is at odds with recent remarks of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who declared he wishes to see the United Kingdom become an international hub of crypto investment.
Wonder Acquires Blue Apron
Wonder, the food tech startup run by serial entrepreneur Mark Lore, announced this morning that it will acquire meal kit delivery service Blue Apron as it works to cement its pivot into brick-and-mortar food service. The $13-per-share purchase price represents more than double that most recent public trading price of Blue Apron but is still 95% lower than Blue Apron’s IPO valuation in 2017.
Epic Games Lays off 16% of Staff
Epic Games, makers of the popular video game Fortnite, announced it is laying off 870 people in an effort to achieve profitability. The layoffs mostly involve staff from recent acquisitions BandCamp and SuperAwesome and will allow Fortnite to focus on unit economics and its ongoing lawsuit against Apple.
Elon Musk Cuts “Election Integrity” Team from X
Elon Musk has made redundant the overseas members of its Election Integrity Team, reducing the staff allegedly dedicated to fighting coordinated networks of bots that post spurious political information to just 12. “Oh you mean the ‘Election Integrity’ Team that was undermining election integrity? Yeah, they’re gone,” Musk tweeted.
Mark Zuckerberg Details Quest 3 at Meta Connect
Previewed earlier this year, Mark Zuckerberg officially launched the third generation Quest this week at Meta’s yearly developer conference, Meta Connect. The $499 device, which Meta touts as the first enhanced reality headset to market, features passthrough vision, a new type of app called an Augment, and (finally) avatars with legs.
Updated Meta Ray Bans Incorporate AI, Livestream Features
Zuckerberg also debuted the second generation Meta Ray Bans, $299 smart glasses that include a livestream-capable video camera and integration with the new anthropomorphized Meta AI assistants. Instead of a single AI avatar, Meta has divided AI functions across a virtual team of AI assistants that specialize in certain tasks like cooking, personal training, and help with home maintenance.