MediaTek Unveils 2nm Dimensity 9600 Pro AI Chip 
Volkswagen Shares Slide After 2026 Profit Outlook Cut 
Hyundai CEO Warns Chinese Automakers Could Disrupt US Market 
SoftBank Launches $11 Billion Bond Sale to Fund OpenAI Investment 
White House Bars CNN, MS NOW and Politico Reporters 
Guterres Urges Stronger Global AI Safeguards Ahead of UN Assembly 
Meta CEO Zuckerberg Backs Independent AI Safety Reviews Over Development Slowdown 
NASA, Boeing Discuss Expanding Starliner Missions 
Apple Pay Set for India Launch With Axis Bank 
DOJ Will Investigate AI-Related Crimes, Attorney General Blanche Says 
US Federal Register Drops Alibaba Qwen AI Search Tool 
SK Hynix, Intel Discuss U.S. Memory Chip Production Deal 
Telix to Acquire Germany’s ITM in $1.65 Billion Radiopharma Deal 
US Northeast Airports Resume Operations After Telecom Outage Disrupts Thousands of Flights 
Who should own the knowledge that underpins AI technology? 
fnny Beta Launches With a Simple Idea: Find an Event, Show Up, Get Rewarded 
Trump Bans CNN, MS NOW and Politico From White House 
Add as a preferred source on Google
Former Activision CEO Bobby Kotick is eyeing TikTok for his next venture, involving discussions with ByteDance's Zhang Yiming and OpenAI's Sam Altman, amid a pivotal US legislative push that could mandate the app's sale to a US-based entity.
Bobby Kotick Eyes TikTok Venture Amid Legislative Pressure on ByteDance
According to The Wall Street Journal, Kotick, who left Activision after its acquisition by Microsoft last year, has expressed an interest in buying TikTok to both Zhang Yiming, the cofounder of its parent company ByteDance, and OpenAI's Sam Altman.
According to the Journal, Kotick proposed the idea to Altman at a dinner during the Sun Valley conference last week and is looking for partners on a potential deal. The Journal reports that OpenAI could theoretically use TikTok to train its AI models.
Kotick is reportedly making the pitch as legislation is gaining traction in Congress that, if passed, would force TikTok to sell to a US-based owner or close down.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously approved the proposed legislation last week. The House is scheduled to vote on Wednesday, and if approved, it will proceed to the Senate. President Joe Biden has indicated that he will sign the bill.
The Journal estimates TikTok's potential value to be hundreds of billions of dollars, but Kotick's discussions may be irrelevant. A TikTok spokesperson told the Journal that the proposed bill is an effective ban because selling to a US entity would be impractical and reduce the company's global appeal.
Kotick's TikTok Ambitions Face Regulatory Hurdles and Legacy Controversies
Lawmakers want to ban China-owned TikTok out of fear that it will be forced to hand over user data to the Chinese government, as per Business Insider.
Some controversy marked Kotick's time at Activision. A Wall Street Journal investigation in 2021 discovered that he was aware of claims of sexual harassment and rape at the company for years and, in one case, intervened to keep a studio head accused of harassment.
A spokesperson at the time stated that the investigation was a misleading view of Activision Blizzard and the former CEO.
Photo: Jordan Matter/Flickr
