REUTERS/ Mike Cassese
Netflix Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings
1. Netflix has revealed for the first time that it lowers the streaming video quality on Verizon and AT&T. Netflix says that it has been throttling its video on wireless networks like AT&T and Verizon for over five years, according to The Wall Street Journal.
2. Playboy wants to sell itself, and it could go for more than $500 million. Investment bank Moelis & Co. is advising Playboy, Business Insider confirmed.
3. Snapchat has reportedly paid $100 million for a startup that makes emoji that closely resemble you. Snapchat has purchased Bitstrips, a company that makes personalized emojis, according to Fortune's Dan Primack.
4. Yahoo's board reportedly wants to sell its core business for $10 billion. Microsoft is willing to provide financial help to whoever is interested in a deal, according to Re/code's Kara Swisher.
5. Here's what listening to 119 startup pitches over 2 days taught me about the future. Y Combinator's startup showcase highlighted how potentially impactful and "serious" the next batch of tech startups are.
6. Uber is working with helicopter startup Blade to fly Californians to Coachella for $700 a seat. Blade, the on-demand transportation startup sometimes called "the Uber for helicopters," is offering a special service for users heading to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April.
7. Microsoft's new teen chatbot went off the rails Wednesday, posting a deluge of incredibly racist messages in response to questions. Microsoft has now taken Tay offline for "upgrades" after trolls taught the bot to be racist.
8. Apple is officially making a TV show with Will.i.am. The show is about apps, and it will feature real people who aren't speaking from a script.
9. Playboy is interested in buying one of its fastest-growing competitors. In addition to exploring a sale, Playboy is looking at Arsenic, a growing media company that crowdsources images of women and has grown rapidly on newer social-media platforms.
10. Yahoo's activist investor is making a bid to remove the company's entire board. Starboard Value, an activist investor in Yahoo, confirmed on Thursday it was launching a proxy war to dump Yahoo's entire board.