Microsoft defends Activision Blizzard acquisition, Polygon Labs restructures, Tencent considers selling VR headsets in China, Fudan University apologizes for chat platform crash

The latest tech scoop…

Microsoft

• Microsoft's president, Brad Smith, advocated for the company's acquisition of Activision Blizzard during an EU hearing.

• Google and Nvidia also presented at the same hearing.

• The hearing was part of the EU's antitrust review of Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

• Microsoft announced its intention to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in January 2022.

• The EU antitrust regulator is reviewing the deal to ensure it does not harm competition in the industry.

Polygon Labs

• Polygon Labs, a crypto firm, has laid off 20% of its workforce.

• The layoffs are part of a restructuring plan aimed at streamlining operations and focusing on core products.

• The company plans to increase investment in research and development, marketing, and partnerships.

• Polygon Labs is committed to supporting its affected employees during the transition period.

• The company's CEO, Jayadev Gopalakrishnan, says that the restructuring will position the company for sustained growth in the long term.

Tencent

• Tencent is in talks with Meta (formerly Facebook) to sell Quest VR headsets in China.

• The discussions are ongoing and no deal has been reached yet.

• Tencent is one of the largest tech companies in China, with a focus on gaming and social media.

• The company has previously invested in VR and AR technology.

• The potential deal with Meta could expand the availability of VR technology in China.

Chinese Fudan University

• Chinese Fudan University team apologizes after a chat platform crashes.

• The platform was similar to OpenAI's GPT, known for its ability to generate human-like responses in chat conversations.

• The team developed the platform to enhance online education and teaching.

• It was designed to automate conversations between teachers and students.

• The chatbot was supposed to help teachers grade papers and provide feedback to students.

• However, the platform failed during a trial run, crashing after a surge of user traffic.

• The team apologized and promised to improve the platform's performance.