Microsoft joins the $3T club

Welcome, Tech enthusiasts.

Microsoft’s value just soared into rarified Wall Street air — crossing $3T in market cap and joining Apple in an elite and exclusive club.

But with the company’s strategic acquisitions and continuing ascension in AI, this meteoric rise looks far from over. Let’s dive in…

In today’s tech rundown:

• Microsoft hits $3T valuation milestone

• Twitch shakes up streamer revenue share model

• 8 new products

• Tesla misses earnings on Q4 report

• Ring changes policy on police requests

• eBay lays off 9% of staff

Read time: 3 minutes

TODAY’S HEADLINES

MICROSOFT

💰 Microsoft hits $3T valuation milestone

The Rundown: Microsoft's market cap surged past $3T this week, fueled by investor optimism around the tech giant's expansive AI ambitions — becoming only the second publicly traded company (Apple did it first) to reach the milestone.

The details:

• Microsoft stock is up a whopping 277% in the past five years under CEO Satya Nadella's leadership.

• Key moves like the acquisitions of GitHub, LinkedIn, and Minecraft developer Mojang helped weather the reality of trailing in the mobile sector.

• Microsoft’s acquisition of several AI firms, as well as massive investment into OpenAI, have positioned Microsoft as an AI leader.

• Rollouts of AI offerings like Copilot have impressed Wall Street, with the company rapidly pushing out new features as it races to infuse its software and cloud services with machine learning.

Why it matters: Microsoft losing the mobile war now seems a distant memory. And with AI emerging as the next major computing paradigm, Nadella and co. appear to be seizing the opportunity to cement dominance for the next era of technology.

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TWITCH

🎮 Twitch shakes up streamer revenue share model

The Rundown: Streaming platform Twitch is changing up its revenue-sharing structure to incentivize creators and remain viable long-term with a revamped "Plus Program" that lowers the threshold for increased payouts.

The details:

• The 60/40 revenue share will apply to streamers with over 100 paid subscribers, addressing previous criticism of the platform only rewarding larger creators.

• Top creators keep their 70/30 share with the $100K annual earning cap removed, a limiting factor called out by users.

• However, Prime subscriber payouts shift to fixed rates per country rather than a share of full subscriptions — which the company acknowledged would disappoint some creators.

• The changes come after recent mass layoffs as the platform struggles with profitability, alongside fierce competition from rivals like Kick and YouTube.

Why it matters: This revenue shakeup shows Twitch trying to balance business realities with creator needs in an increasingly crowded streaming market. As competitors nip at its heels, prioritizing streamer loyalty may ultimately determine Twitch's future.

NEW PRODUCTS

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SNIPPETS

Tesla's Q4 profits in 2023 experienced a slight increase from the previous quarter, yet remained lower compared to the previous year due to ongoing price reductions.

Apple is gearing up to allow sideloading of apps in the EU and may still charge developers fees and enforce app review rules.

Inspections have exposed numerous loose bolts and wider issues in Alaska Airlines' Boeing 737 Max 9 fleet.

Ring is changing its policy to halt warrantless police requests for user footage and retooling its Neighbors app to focus on community engagement.

Palworld, a game similar to Pokémon, sold over seven million copies on Steam in five days, generating approximately $189 million.

eBay plans to lay off about 1,000 employees, accounting for 9% of its workforce, in response to overhiring and a need to cut expenses.

Apple is set to be the initial recipient of TSMC's advanced 2-nanometer chips, expected to start production in the second half of 2025.

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THAT’S A WRAP

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