Anthropic Makes OpenAI Look CheapRead more

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg

Facebook to Add Its Name to Instagram, WhatsApp

By  |  Aug. 2, 2019 2:46 PM PDT
Photo: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg

In a big shift, Facebook plans to signal its control of Instagram and WhatsApp by adding its name to both apps, according to three people familiar with the matter. The social network will rebrand the apps to “Instagram from Facebook” and “WhatsApp from Facebook,” the people said.

Employees for the apps were recently notified about the changes, which come as antitrust regulators are examining Facebook’s acquisitions of both apps. The app rebranding is a major departure for Facebook, which until recently had allowed the apps to operate and be branded independently. The distance has helped both apps avoid being tarnished by the privacy scandals that have hurt Facebook. The move to add Facebook’s name to the apps has been met with surprise and confusion internally, reflecting the autonomy that the units have operated under.

Access on the go
View stories on our mobile app and tune into our weekly podcast.
Join live video Q&A’s
Deep-dive into topics like startups and autonomous vehicles with our top reporters and other executives.
Enjoy a clutter-free experience
Read without any banner ads.
From left: Paul Graham, Garry Tan and Michael Seibel. Photos by Getty. Art by Mike Sullivan.
Exclusive startups ai
Y Combinator’s Garry Tan Goes to the Mat
Garry Tan was in his happy place. Surrounded by food trucks and techies basking in San Francisco’s September sun, the CEO of Y Combinator snapped selfies with entrepreneurs as he meandered through a crowd of 2,700 attendees at the startup accelerator’s annual alumni event.
Dave Rogenmoser, cofounder of Jasper. Photo via Getty.
Exclusive startups ai
Jasper, an Early Generative AI Winner, Cuts Internal Valuation as Growth Slows
Jasper AI, an early darling of the generative artificial intelligence boom, has cut the internal value of its common shares 20%, according to former employees who were notified by the company.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Photo by Getty
Exclusive semiconductors ai
Nvidia Deepens Push Into AWS’ Turf
Nvidia’s ambition to compete with Amazon Web Services is growing. Nvidia is best known for designing server chips for artificial intelligence, but it has been running a nascent cloud service for corporate customers that develop AI with those chips.
Dave Rogenmoser, co-founder of Jasper. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.
AI Agenda ai
AI Startups Are Facing a Reckoning
A reckoning may be coming for once-hot artificial intelligence startups. Among the most vulnerable: consumer apps (think Character.AI) and “thin wrapper” startups like CopyAI that merely provide a nice user interface on top of a third-party model from model developers like OpenAI.
Sam Altman and Mark Zuckerberg. Photos via Shutterstock and AP.
Meta, OpenAI Square Off Over Open Source AI
Artificial intelligence leaders and policymakers are divided on a key question: Are cutting-edge AI models too powerful to hand to just anyone?
Golan. Photo: Courtesy Gil Golan
The Electric electric vehicles
Exclusive from The Electric: GM’s New CTO Exits After One Month In the Job
General Motors’ chief technology officer, Gil Golan, is leaving the job after one month, according to an internal company memo distributed today, parts of which were seen by The Electric.