Silicon Valley
All my pieces on Silicon Valley – from the San Francisco correspondent years 2022 to 2024 and from later reporting trips. Most originals are in German.
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Inside the documents that could break Big Tech's teen-safety defence
Internal records unsealed in the first US bellwether trials suggest Meta and Google knew the harm their platforms did to teenagers years before they shipped the features. Section 230 may not save them.
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When smart products go dumb: what the Bose case reveals about digital ownership
Bose is switching off server features for its smart speakers. The hardware works – the features vanish. This is not an isolated case.
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So long, Mad Men: Google and Meta are replacing ad agencies
The tech giants are turning artificial intelligence into marketing machines. Most agencies have no answer to this disruption – they missed the trend.
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Every copy of Silicon Valley will fail – good
Silicon Valley has become a synonym for innovation. Rightly so? Our correspondent leaves the region after two and a half years – and clears up five widespread myths.
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Microsoft's dark side: market power draws growing scrutiny
AI made Microsoft the world's most valuable company. But regulators, partners and customers are watching it with growing suspicion – as a new case in Brussels shows.
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How Microsoft's culture shifted from Bill Gates to Satya Nadella
Under its current CEO, Microsoft became the world's most valuable company. In an interview, one of its top executives explains what makes Nadella different from his predecessors.
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San Francisco: AI capital of the world – and its darkest hour
Within 400 metres, billion-dollar companies and people sleeping on pavements. How San Francisco is being torn apart between an AI boom and a drug crisis – a city tour in four acts.
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Ten years at the top: how Satya Nadella made Microsoft fit for the future
The Indian-born CEO turned a struggling giant into the world's most valuable company. His focus on the cloud was exactly right.
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California shuts down Cruise: what the robotaxi industry must learn
California revokes Cruise's permit after GM's robotaxi subsidiary allegedly misrepresented the safety of its technology. The industry is reshuffling.
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Two weeks in a driverless taxi: the robo-car works – but it breaks the traffic rules
Google subsidiary Waymo is now allowed to carry passengers autonomously in San Francisco – a world first. But the service still has its quirks.
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Share price multiplied in nine years: Microsoft's remarkable transformation
Microsoft has found a way out of a dilemma that paralyses almost every innovative company at some point. The success has to do with AI – and with one particular CEO.
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San Francisco, the new AI capital
After years of talent flight, the tech world is returning to San Francisco. The city's AI scene is more vibrant than ever – even the high cost of living no longer keeps founders away.
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Qualcomm courts German carmakers
The former mobile specialist is positioning itself as the chip supplier for the connected car industry. A visit to CEO Cristiano Amon at Qualcomm's headquarters in San Diego.
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Which start-ups from the USA are currently shaking up the automotive industry?
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A visit to Google's secret lab in Santa Barbara | Google Quantum AI
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Adrian Daub (Stanford): Silicon Valley has lost its myth
Stanford professor Adrian Daub on the Handelsblatt podcast: the myth of Silicon Valley is gone – many supposedly disruptive ideas turn out to be empty marketing phrases.
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Creativity from the machine – the man who will change your life
ChatGPT inventor Sam Altman is going to upend the world of work with artificial intelligence. And the latest revolution is running counter to all earlier predictions.
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Inside Valley – What Joby's flying taxis have over the European competition
Many start-ups promise flying taxis for the mass market. California's Joby is considered furthest ahead – I attended a test flight.
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Quieter than before, but as innovative as ever: Microsoft reinvents itself
Written off a few years ago, Microsoft is now home to some of the most important future technologies in the world. A visit to the research lab Building 99.
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Sonos CEO Patrick Spence: Google didn't take us seriously
Sonos CEO Patrick Spence on the Google patent lawsuit, competing against Sony and Bose, and why he's counting on Europe to help level the playing field.
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Why Elon Musk's Twitter takeover is dangerous
Social media already promotes hatred and division. As Twitter's owner, Elon Musk will make these problems worse. Five theses on why we should all be worried.
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Inside Valley – How accelerators turn start-ups into companies
Plug and Play is one of the world's most important start-up forges. What makes it special is its close collaboration with German carmakers.
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Inside Valley – Smart contracts are changing the art market
NFTs crashed after the hype. But one approach is permanently changing the art world: smart contracts between artists and buyers.
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Inside Valley – Apple's design headquarters
Apple invested five billion dollars in its new headquarters – a gigantic ring, visible from space. A visit in person.
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Inside Valley – Nvidia makes cars smart
The former graphics chip maker Nvidia is today one of the world's most valuable companies. It is working with Mercedes on self-driving cars.
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Inside Valley – Google's new mega-campus
Google's new campus is the first the company has built entirely itself – complete with fitness studio, wellness centre and its own hotel.
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Inside Valley – How VR headsets could transform in-car entertainment
Audi partner Holoride wants to make long car journeys enjoyable – with a VR game that adapts in real time to the car's steering and motion.
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Inside Valley – What the batteries of the future will look like
Smartphones and laptops are getting more powerful, but batteries aren't keeping pace. A visit to the leading battery start-ups.
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Inside Valley – Better sensors and smarter algorithms bring high-tech medicine home
Better sensors and new algorithms should diagnose diseases without a visit to a specialist clinic. A self-test in Silicon Valley.
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Inside Valley – Lucid Motors brings its Tesla rival to Europe
California's Lucid Motors is coming to Europe – long range, fast charging, but still battling production issues. A visit to headquarters.
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Niklas Steenfatt: how Meta monitors its employees
Former Facebook data engineer Niklas Steenfatt on internal surveillance at Meta and his experience as a YouTuber inside the company.
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Inside Valley – Inside Meta's first retail store
Meta opens its first physical store in the Silicon Valley – a software giant turns hardware company.
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Inside Valley – The metaverse you can touch
The metaverse has so far been purely audiovisual. A Silicon Valley start-up wants to change that – making virtual worlds tangible.
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Inside Valley – How tech giants are ending remote work
Google bet heavily on remote work – and is now ordering everyone back. What the workforce thinks about it.
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Cloudflare CFO Thomas Seifert on Russia, Ukraine and cloud business
Cloudflare CFO Thomas Seifert on staying in Russia, supporting Ukraine, and what it means to carry more than ten per cent of global internet traffic.
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Inside Valley – What Apple does with old iPhones
Apple wants to recycle smartphones itself. A look behind the scenes at the company's recycling facility in Texas.
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Inside Valley – New trends from Silicon Valley
Launch of a weekly video column from Silicon Valley – new trends, gadgets and developments on the ground.
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Neal Stephenson & Marc Petit: the origins and future of the metaverse
Science fiction author Neal Stephenson and Epic Games manager Marc Petit on the origins and potential of the metaverse.
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Billion-dollar market or graveyard? What the metaverse can really do
The merging of the real and digital worlds offers fascinating possibilities. Companies like Meta are investing billions. But some expectations will be disappointed.
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World Economic Forum Davos 2020
The 50th WEF, Greta Thunberg vs. Donald Trump, tech companies calling for regulation – and a virus whose true scale nobody in Davos could yet see.