TechCrunch reports: “Amazon started the Alexa Fund in 2015 to back early-stage voice startups. With the advent of large language models and Amazon launching Gen AI-powered Alexa+ along with a family of multimodal AI models, the fund now wants to broaden its scope and invest more in AI startups.”
The Verge reports: “Game Informer is back, and so is its entire staff. On Tuesday, editor-in-chief Matt Miller announced that Gunzilla Games has acquired the rights to the gaming magazine, helping to bring the site and its archives back online. GameStop, which previously owned Game Informer, shut down the beloved magazine last August and laid off its entire staff after a more than 30-year run.”
Music Business Worldwide reports: “Private equity giant Silver Lake has completed its acquisition of Endeavor Group Holdings, a global sports and entertainment company that owns Los Angeles-based talent agency WME. The deal, first announced in April 2024, values the combined business — including the value of TKO Group — at $25 billion, or $27.50 per share.”
TechCrunch reports: “French VC firm Daphni is announcing the first closing of its new fund, Daphni Blue. The firm has raised €200 million (around $215 million at current exchange rates). It expects to raise as much as €250 million ($270 million) by the end of the year. Some of Daphni’s most remarkable past investments include Back Market, Swile, Hubcycle, and Pasqal. Overall, the firm has invested in 70 European startups since 2015.”
Engadget reports: “Discord has begun rolling out a redesigned desktop app that adds more customization to the client. To start, the new app increases the number of free themes to four. Where previously you could choose between two skins — light and dark — if you weren’t a Nitro subscriber, now your options are light, ash, dark and onyx.”
The Hollywood Reporter reports: “YouTube commanded more TV time than any other media provider in the United States in February, and its top ranking was thanks in part to viewers over the age of 50. The service accounted for 11.6 percent of all TV use in the country in Nielsen‘s rankings of media distributors for the February period (which ran from Jan. 27-Feb. 23).”
CNBC reports: “A quarter century ago, Napster was notorious on the internet for allowing people to swap songs for free, long before the music industry had come up with a model for the digital age. The service was shuttered in 2001 amid mounting legal battles, and filed for bankruptcy the following year. But the brand isn’t dead.”
Variety reports: “Streaming services like Netflix used to look like a much cheaper alternative to cable TV. But now streamers are facing similar pressures as prices climb — and the perceived value of their services diminishes, particularly among younger consumers.”
Media Play News reports: “The Paramount+ subscription streaming service March 24 announced the pending bow of two new subscription tiers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland this summer. The new tiers will cost €12.99 per month without ads in Germany and Austria, and CHF17.90 per month in Switzerland. The lower-cost ad-supported option will cost €5.99 per month in Germany and Austria, and CHF7.90 per month in Switzerland.”
Broadband TV News reports: “Disney+ has announced a raft of new content for the UK and Ireland, ahead of its fifth birthday in March. Titles include FX’s highly anticipated Alien: Earth, the new limited series FX’s Dying for Sex starring Michelle Williams and Jenny Slate, star-studded UK Original The Stolen Girl, a five-part psychological drama starring Denise Gough, Holliday Grainger and Ambika Mod.”
