💥 Yelp Sues Google, OpenSea's Plummet, and EV Startup Risks
Good morning. It’s Thursday, August 29. Today we are covering:
Google's Antitrust Defeat Opens the Door to Lawsuit From Yelp
The rise and fall of OpenSea
When EV startups shut down, will their cars still work?
Meta Considers Mixed Reality Glasses Code-Named 'Puffin'
Russian government hackers found using exploits made by spyware companies NSO and Intellexa
Let’s dive in
Google's Antitrust Defeat Opens the Door to Lawsuit From Yelp
By Nico Grant via The New York Times
Yelp has filed a lawsuit against Google in federal court, accusing the tech giant of using its search engine dominance to unfairly compete in local search services, seeking damages and an end to these practices.
The lawsuit follows a recent antitrust ruling that declared Google an illegal monopoly, opening the door for more companies like Yelp to take legal action against Google's alleged anti-competitive behavior.
Google refutes Yelp's claims, stating that similar allegations have been dismissed in the past, and argues that its local search results provide more direct and valuable connections to businesses.
𝕏: Today, Yelp filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google. For years, Google illegally abused its monopoly in general search to dominate the local search and local search advertising markets. - Jeremy Stoppelman (@jeremys)
By Ben Weiss via The Verge
OpenSea, once the leading NFT marketplace, is now grappling with severe challenges, including SEC investigations, staff layoffs, and fierce competition from Blur and Magic Eden.
The company's revenue and market share have dramatically declined since the NFT boom, leading to a drastic valuation drop from $13.3 billion to $1.4 billion.
As OpenSea pivots to a "2.0" strategy, it faces ongoing scrutiny from regulators and pressure to redefine its position in a shrinking NFT market.
𝕏: many scoops: for the past few months, i’ve worked on a feature for the @verge about the rise and fall of NFTs and @opensea. - Ben Weiss (@bdanweiss)
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When EV startups shut down, will their cars still work?
By Tianyu Fang via Rest of World
The bankruptcy of WM Motor left many car owners unable to access essential vehicle functions like remote control and in-car entertainment, highlighting the vulnerability of EVs that rely heavily on cloud services.
Over 160,000 Chinese EV owners are affected by the collapse of various startups, raising concerns about future access to software updates and spare parts, especially as more EV companies face financial difficulties.
Chinese consumers are increasingly favoring established brands like BYD and Tesla over newer startups, wary of the risks associated with manufacturer bankruptcies.
𝕏: I wrote about how electric cars are “too online,” and as China’s EV market consolidates there are unexpected consequences. - Tianyu Fang (@tianyuf)
Meta Considers Mixed Reality Glasses Code-Named 'Puffin'
By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan via The Information
Meta is developing a new mixed reality device, code-named Puffin, which resembles a bulky pair of glasses, aiming to offer an alternative to its heavier, less popular headsets.
The Puffin project indicates Meta's effort to improve the wearability and consumer appeal of mixed reality devices, which blend augmented and virtual reality.
Current mixed reality headsets, like Apple's Vision Pro, face limitations due to their weight, making them uncomfortable for extended use, which Meta aims to address with Puffin.
𝕏: Scoop: Meta is exploring developing bulky glasses with mixed-reality features. They hope the (relatively) small size of the device could open up the technology to more people, as interest in expensive headsets stalls. - Sylvia Varnham O’Regan (@SylviaVarnham)
Russian government hackers found using exploits made by spyware companies NSO and Intellexa
By Zack Whittaker via TechCrunch
Google discovered that Russian government hackers are using exploits nearly identical to those created by spyware companies Intellexa and NSO Group to target Mongolian government websites.
The attacks exploited vulnerabilities in iPhone's Safari and Google Chrome on Android devices, enabling the theft of sensitive data from unpatched devices, likely aiming at Mongolian government employees.
The origin of the exploit code remains unclear, but Google suggests it may have been purchased or stolen, emphasizing the risk posed by the commercial availability of such spyware tools to "dangerous threat actors."
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