Netflix Brings Out the Big Guns

It was a big weekend for Netflix as the live streaming platform gave subscribers a taste of what's in store for 2023 and beyond. If you're an anime and/or sci-fi fan, the two big announcements were the live-action adaptation of One Piece starring Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy, and a premier date for the 3 Body Problem, an adaptation of Cixin Liu's wildly successful book of the same name.

Personally, we're not huge fans of live-action adaptations of anime or maybe we just haven't seen any good ones (yet!), and the One Piece trailer really did not change or blow our minds away. There's a certain charm and goofiness to anime that simply doesn't carry over to live-action adaptations, so we wouldn't be surprised if the live-action series completely bombs once it starts streaming in August.

However, the 3 Body Problem is one to keep an eye out for. The project is led by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss of the Game of Thrones fame, and viewers just might forgive them for the way they ended George R. R. Martin's fantasy epic if they nail this one right. We'll have to wait till the start of the next year for that one, though.

Another big one from Netflix's annual Tudum event was the announcement of an upcoming remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Whether this live-action adaptation of one of the most beloved cartoons of all time will fare better than M. Night Shyamalan's 2010 version, only time will tell, though if anyone is curious about Netflix's track record when it comes to producing live-action adaptations, look no further than 2017's Death Note.

For all you gamers, Netflix announced that the first two Monument Valley games will hit its subscription service next year. The fact that you can play games via a Netflix subscription is a lesser-known fact of the streaming app, and it doesn't look like that information has caught on, despite the fact that the company offers some amazing games in its library, including Into the Breach.

All this news had Netflix buzzing, helping it rank #1 on this week's Tech Company Rankings.

Intel Dishes Out Billions to Expand Outside of U.S. 🇪🇺

A trio of investment announcements by Intel this past week is bringing Team Blue closer to its goal of building an entire semiconductor value chain outside the U.S.

The company, the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, said it would invest more than €30 billion to build two chip-making plants in Magdeburg, Germany. Intel acquired the land for the project in November 2022, and the first facility is expected to enter production in four to five years following the European Commission’s approval, the company said in a statement.

Intel had initially intended to invest €17 billion in the Magdeburg project and had been parlaying with the German government to increase the amount of subsidies it would receive as part of its decision to invest in the European country. The company's wish for €10 billion in subsidies seems to have come true, but at the cost of nearly doubling its investment in the country.

Germany isn't the only European country Intel is investing in. In neighboring Poland, Intel said it would invest $4.6 billion to build an assembly and test facility that would complement the existing wafer fabrication facility in Leixlip, Ireland, and its planned wafer fabrication facility in Magdeburg.

Intel is planning to invest as much as €80 billion in the EU over the next decade as part of its decision to bolster its production capacity across the bloc; other regions that are expected to see investments include France, Italy, and Spain.

A bit to the south east of the EU, and Intel is also planning to invest a massive $25 billion in Israel, where the company has been operating for almost five decades. The investment will see the company build a new factory in Israel's Kiryat Gat, Reuters reported.

In Other News.. 📰

• Crypto bros, rejoice! A new agreement between Binance and the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission means customers no longer need to move their assets outside the U.S. until a lawsuit pending in court is resolved.
• The U.K. government tapped Ian Hogarth to head the country's AI Foundation Model Taskforce, a working group charged with looking "at the risks surrounding AI." Described as a tech investor, entrepreneur and AI specialist, Hogarth is the co-author of the highly influential annual State of AI report and the founder of the start-up Songkick and the venture capital fund Plural.
• Bill Gates is 'friends' with Chinese president Xi Jinping.
• AI is helping The Beatles create its final record.
• Google has asked its employees to refrain from using chatbots, including its own. Google ranked #55 on HackerNoon's Tech Company Rankings.
• A ransomware group has threatened to release 80 gigs of data it stole from Reddit, unless the company pays $4.5 million in ransom and changes its controversial API pricing.

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