Meta is Actually Making a Twitter Clone

Well, what did we tell you! Billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, the owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is steaming ahead with plans to create a social network platform that would be similar to Twitter.

Meta's take on the social media platform is becoming real by the day and is already trying to woo celebrities, including the Dalai Lama and Oprah Winfrey, to be a part of the first batch of users who get enrolled.

Referred to as "Project 92" internally, the platform is aimed at users who want the convenience of Twitter without having to worry if it's being run by a literal slavedriver.

“We’ve been hearing from creators and public figures who are interested in having a platform that is sanely run, that they believe that they can trust and rely upon for distribution,” Meta’s chief product officer, Chris Cox, was quoted as telling employees working on the project.

No word on when the platform will be released but we do know that a new standalone app for the service will be based on Instagram and integrate with ActivityPub, the decentralized social media protocol, The Verge reported.

Instagram ranked #2 on HackerNoon's Tech Company Rankings this week while Facebook was on the #8 spot.

Major VC Firm Bets Crypto's Future is in the UK 🪙

While the U.S. seems hell bent on reigning in on cryptocurrency and crypto trading, the U.K. seems to be embracing it. In fact, so bullish is Andreessen Horowitz about the U.K.'s prospect as a crypto hub, that the American venture capital firm — which manages billions and counts multiple success stories in its portfolio, including Facebook — has decided to expand outside the U.S. and open its first ever off-shore office in London.

"We believe that the UK is on the right path to becoming a leader in crypto regulation. It is home to more unicorns than Germany, France, and Sweden combined; to some of the world’s largest financial markets and pools of capital; and to highly-sophisticated, world-class regulators. All of these make the UK strongly positioned to lead in web3," the firm, one of the more prominent VCs betting on crypto, said in a statement.

Andreessen Horowitz's expansion outside the U.S. makes sense; roughly 90% of crypto trading already takes place outside the U.S. With the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission coming down hard on crypto, it's no wonder that more forward-minded investors are seeking avenues outside mainland America.

Though whether Andreessen Horowitz's bet will pay off, only time will tell. For now, the VC firm left this tidbit in its announcement, perhaps for the naysayers.

"A common question we hear is: 'What problems do blockchains solve?' Services built on blockchains solve the same problems that other digital services solve, but with better outcomes."

In Other News.. 📰

• AMD is clawing back at Nvidia, looking to launch its own AI "superchip" to compete against Team Green, which already dominates the AI computing market with 80% to 95% of market share.
• The UK will host the first major global summit on AI safety later this year.
• Intel was unable to convince the German government to give it more subsidies for the currently in construction advanced semiconductor manufacturing facility near Magdeburg, Germany.
• In an apparent FU to Google, Twitter is refusing to pay its Google Cloud bills as its contract comes up for renewal this month, Platformer reports.
• Reddit's decision to charge exorbitant prices for third-party apps via its API is not sitting well with its userbase.

And that's a wrap! Don't forget to share this newsletter with your family and friends!

See y'all next week. PEACE! ☮️

— Sheharyar Khan, Editor, Business Tech @ HackerNoon