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Tech Industry Sees AI-Related Layoffs, TikTok Outage, and New Stablecoin Competition
The tech industry experienced a week of significant developments, including discussions surrounding AI-related layoffs, a temporary TikTok outage, and increased competition in the stablecoin market.
Concerns arose regarding "AI-washing," where companies cite artificial intelligence as the reason for layoffs that may stem from other factors, such as over-hiring during the pandemic, according to a TechCrunch report. The article referenced a New York Times piece on the trend. More than 50,000 layoffs in 2025 were attributed to AI, with companies like Amazon and Pinterest among those citing the technology for recent cuts. However, a Forrester report published in January suggested that many companies announcing AI-related layoffs may not have mature AI applications ready to fill those roles, TechCrunch reported.
Meanwhile, TikTok, the social network with over 220 million users in the U.S., reported a service restoration on Sunday after experiencing outages the previous week, TechCrunch stated. The company attributed the outage to a snowstorm that caused a power outage at an Oracle-operated data center responsible for TikTok operations. "We have successfully restored TikTok back to normal after a significant outage caused by winter weather took down a primary U.S. data center site operated by Oracle," the company said, according to TechCrunch. The winter storm led to network and storage issues impacting tens of thousands of servers, affecting core features like content posting, discovery, and real-time display of video likes.
In the financial technology sector, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino engaged in a media blitz this week, including features in Fortune, Bloomberg, Reuters, and TechCrunch. This coincided with Tether's launch of USAT, a U.S.-regulated stablecoin issued through Anchorage Digital Bank, designed to comply with new federal rules and compete with Circle's USDC, TechCrunch reported. Fidelity Investments also launched a competing stablecoin on Wednesday, joining JPMorgan Chase and PayPal in the expanding market.
In other tech news, PGYTech, the accessory manufacturer behind telephoto extender lenses for Vivo and Oppo, launched a Kickstarter for a new version developed for iPhones, The Verge reported. The RetroVa Vintage Imaging Kit includes a camera grip, manual controls, and a 2.35x telephoto extender lens.
The developments highlight the rapid changes and challenges facing the technology sector, from adapting to AI to navigating regulatory landscapes and maintaining service reliability.
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