Amazon Web Services, a leading provider of cloud computing services, is rolling out its new ARM-based Graviton3E chips for high-performance workloads, including tasks like weather forecasting and gene sequencing. AWS customers can rent the high-performance computing (HPC) power to take advantage of “performance gains and cost savings” as a result of making its own chips, Amazon says. The move makes AWS something of a competitor to other top chipmakers, including Intel, AMD and Nvidia, who continue to be among Amazon’s major chip suppliers. Amazon says it will continue to offer HPC services that rely on third-party chips. Read more

Meta Platforms has been fined $275 million for violating European Union privacy rules, the result of a 2021 data leak that led to the online publication of personal information belonging to 500 million Facebook users. The penalty is the latest imposed on Meta by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, which in September imposed a $400 million penalty on Instagram for mishandling children’s data. In October 2021, the same regulator fined Meta $235 million for violations by its WhatsApp messaging service. In total, Irish authorities have imposed penalties of more than $900 million on Meta in the past two years. Read more

French social media app BeReal, which has users post unfiltered daily selfies at random times and is now available in eight languages, took App of the Year honors from Apple’s 2022 App Store Awards, which recognized 16 global “apps and games that inspired users to engage more deeply with the world.” Fitness tracker Gentler Streak won in the Apple Watch category, with genealogy program MacFamilyTree 10 voted best Mac App of the Year, while Spanish-language app ViX took the TV App of the Year category. GoodNotes 5, which takes digital note-taking to the next level for Apple Pencil support, was named best in class for the iPad. Read more

The fallout from cryptocurrency exchange FTX’s implosion continues, as BlockFi becomes the latest crypto lender to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, in the wake of similar moves by Voyager and Celsius. BlockFi, which was to have been acquired by FTX, filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey indicating more than 100,000 creditors, and liabilities combined with assets that range from $1 billion to $10 billion. An outstanding loan to Sam Bankman-Fried’s bankrupt American division FTX US for $275 million was among the liabilities. Read more

Fireside, a streaming platform co-founded by Mark Cuban and Falon Fatemi, has acquired Stremium, which it will use to leverage Fireside onto Amazon Fire TV, Roku and other connected smart TV devices. Fireside is a streaming app that offers members an opportunity to interact with the platform’s founding talent, including Jay Leno, Craig Kilborn, Melissa Rivers and “Entourage” creator Doug Ellin as they appear live on their Fireside networks or shows. Stremium is a cloud DVR and live TV platform that lets consumers link their live channel providers through a single portal. Read more