How Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp Got Their Groove Back (Hint: It's Not by Hiring More People)

Tech has a major moment after a dismal 2022, and everyone loves a comeback story. Silicon Valley's new mantra is "Shrink! Shrink! Shrink! Efficiency! Efficiency! Efficiency!" instead of the previous "Grow! Grow! Grow! Spend! Spend! Spend!" It seems to be working because the S&P 500 has seen a $2.4 trillion gain, and 90% of that growth is concentrated in the trading of just 20 stocks.

The big banks are, well, big banks, while the adult in the room is now Big Tech. Meta, Salesforce, and Nvidia are some of the top-earning stocks on the S&P this year. Meta cut costs and jettisoned more than 20,000 employees, while Salesforce cut 10% of staff and delivered an 18% increase in revenue year-over-year. Nvidia leaned on its dominance in the gaming card market to drive revenue, and it seems to work as more than 80% of active users on Steam run their computers on an Nvidia card.

So, can it last? "Tech is wearing an eight-point harness," says JP Morgan trader Jack Atherton. But whenever the Fed hits the brakes, someone goes through the windshield. Let's hope tech doesn't end up being that someone!

Rapid Rundown

• 💻 Tech companies cut costs and embrace efficiency to bounce back in 2023.

• 📈 S&P 500's top 20 stocks led by Facebook, Salesforce, and Nvidia, see major growth

Substack accuses Twitter of censorship, Musk accuses Substack of stealing data. Meanwhile, cats continue to dominate the internet.

Twitter has recently imposed limits on links that redirect to Substack, and has restricted tweets containing the word "Substack." In response, Substack's founders issued a statement questioning Twitter's commitment to free speech and press freedom, but Musk wasn't having any of it. He claimed that Substack was trying to steal data from Twitter, and his IP address was blocked.

Substack's CEO, Chris Best, disputed this, saying that Substack has been severely throttled on Twitter, and they have always complied with Twitter's API rules. While Twitter has since eased the restrictions on Substack, the incident is a reminder that free speech on social media platforms is a privilege, not a right.

Rapid Rundown

• 🔒 Twitter limits Substack links and tweets mentioning "Substack"

• 🥷 Musk accuses Substack of data theft, Substack denies it and says they comply with API rules.

DeepZen's AI Technology Brings Voice Actors Back from the Dead for Audiobooks

Have you ever wished you could have Morgan Freeman narrate your life? Well, with DeepZen's new AI technology, you can have any voice actor you want, even if they're dead. Yes, you read that right. DeepZen has developed a system that can create deepfake audio recordings of living and dead voice actors, giving small indie publishers the chance to have top-quality narration without breaking the bank.

Edward Herrmann, the late, great actor known for his award-winning audiobook narrations, is still working from beyond the grave thanks to DeepZen's AI version of his voice. The startup has already created hundreds of audiobooks using Herrmann's synthesized voice, and they're hoping to strike more deals with the estates of other late stars.

Sure, some of the big book publishers might be a bit sceptical about AI-read audiobooks, but with DeepZen signing deals with 35 publishers worldwide and working with 25 authors, they're definitely onto something. And with audiobook sales on the rise, the potential for DeepZen is endless. Who knows? Maybe one day we'll all have our own personal AI narrators, and we can finally live out our dream of having Idris Elba read us a bedtime story.

Rapid Rundown

• 📖 DeepZen's AI creates deepfake audio of voice actors for audiobooks.

• 💻 Synthesized voices used for indie publishers & late stars' estates.

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