Tech stories have dominated headlines throughout 2023 with company controversies, legal battles and staff dismissals. For example, the sheer number of tech companies layoffs, the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the banning of TikTok in multiple countries have brought a sour note to the tech sector in 2023.
However, there are still many positive tech stories to take from the tech industry in 2023 with groundbreaking inventions and the evolution of generative AI, such as Google’s Gemini model, Apple’s Vision Pro headset and many other releases from tech giants.
Nevertheless, 2023 has been a booming year for the tech industry as, according to Forrester Research, tech spending reached $4.4 trillion this year, growing nearly 5% from 2022. In today’s article, our designated tech writers have compiled and presented our top five most notable tech stories of 2023.
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Our Top 5 Most Notable Tech Stories of 2023
1) Post-Pandemic Massive Layoff Shake Up
The year began on a high note for many as we finally left behind the COVID pandemic, which has tortured us for the previous two years. Unfortunately for the tech giants and employees, it was when the massive layoff trend started and made the most tech stories headlines in 2023.
Firstly, Google announced its plans to lay off 12,000 people in January, which Microsoft followed by letting go of 10,000 employees in the same month. Meta, Spotify, Yahoo and Amazon soon followed with their own layoffs due to cautions against fears of a recession. Megan Slabinski, the district president for global talent solutions at recruitment firm Robert Half, stated: “It was like constant water torture throughout the year, with big tech layoffs happening nearly every month.”
Moving forward to December, tech firms had laid off more than 240,000 employees this year, up 50% from job reductions the year before. However, the situation may continue to spiral downward for tech staff as tech firms are adjusting a return to many pre-pandemic consumer behaviours after the hiring surge at the beginning of the coronavirus era and the preference for an AI-led workforce in 2024.
2) Downfall and Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank
Placing second on our list of top five tech stories of 2023 is the 48-hour Silicon Valley Bank collapse in March. While many highlighted Silicon Valley Bank collapsed within 48 hours of disclosing its sale of assets, its internal issues actually first surfaced in 2022 and early 2023, when the company began its first mass layoffs.
As for the reasons for its collapse, many pointed to the bank’s lack of diversification. For example, the bank invested most of its deposits in long-term U.S. treasuries and government mortgage-backed securities. However, when the Federal Reserve raised interest rates in 2022 to combat inflation, the value of bonds and government bonds fell, and the bank didn’t have the cash available to liquidate these deposits because of their shift to long-term securities.
Additionally, many customers started to withdraw money in waves after the bank announced its capital raising announcement, and it didn’t take long for money to diminish during the bank run, causing its stock to plummet by 60% before eventually collapsing. It is the largest bank to fail in a decade and a half, as it was the 16th largest U.S. bank before the shenanigans occurred.
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3) TikTok Controversies Leading to Outright Bans
Coming next on our list of the top five most notable tech stories of 2023 are the controversies and ban regarding TikTok. Despite its negative reputation, TikTok is arguably the biggest social media platform. However, the platform may find it hard to continue that trend heading into 2024, as countries such as Australia, India, the United Kingdom and the U.S. have banned the platform, with many others following soon.
The pinnacle of the controversy started in March when the Biden administration raised concerns about how TikTok handles user data and shares it with its Chinese parent company. While TikTok has repeatedly denied that U.S. data flows to China, with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew even testifying before hostile lawmakers in the U.S. Congress, research has shown data and sensitive information could still be exposed when users download the app.
In addition, the worrying trend of ‘challenges’ on TikTok has made banning the app even more reasonable. For example, many youngsters have tragically lost their lives while following the trend made famous on the platform. A 13-year-old girl in Australia tragically lost her life while participating in ‘chroming’, an action which inhales toxic fumes from aerosol deodorant and many kids in Indonesia suffered horrific fates after imitating the Angel of Death challenge where teenagers risk their lives by jumping in front of moving trucks.
4) OpenAI’s Sam Altman Firing and Rehiring Saga
Slotting into our penultimate position of the top five tech stories of 2023 is OpenAI’s Sam Altman CEO saga. For context, on November 17th, the board of OpenAI, the company behind the generative artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT, abruptly fired the company’s CEO and co-founder, Sam Altman.
Then, a day later, OpenAI wanted Altman back as OpenAI’s major investors used all the power at their disposal to convince OpenAI’s board to reverse the decision and bring Altman back into the company. Thus, Altman returned to the company for discussion with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella joining the fray.
When Altman failed to reach a consensus with the company, Microsoft announced that Altman had joined the tech giant and would continue their partnership with OpenAI. However, this is not the end as OpenAI announced the return of Altman five days after the saga began, and everything seemed to return to normal. Check out our article here for a more detailed breakdown of the event.
5) Microsoft’s $69 Billion Acquisition of Activision Blizzard
Finalising our list of the top five tech stories of 2023 is Microsoft’s successful $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. It all started in early 2022 when Microsoft announced plans to buy video game developer Activision Blizzard, making it its largest acquisition since LinkedIn in 2016 and the $7.5 billion of Bethesda in 2021.
After 20 months of battles with regulators in the United Kingdom and the U.S., Microsoft finally closed on the $69 billion purchase in October 2023. Following the acquisition, Xbox Chief Phil Spencer tweeted: “We love gaming. We play games, create games, and know first-hand how much gaming means to all of us as individuals and collectively as a community. And today, we officially welcome Activision Blizzard and their teams to Xbox.”
Microsoft may not be stopping just yet in acquiring gaming companies as rumours began surrounding that the tech giant is looking forward to acquiring SEGA in November. However, Chief Operating Officer Shuji Utsumi has since debunked the rumours and claimed the companies are in a working relationship.
Parting Notes on the Top 5 Tech Stories Listicle
That concludes our list of the top five tech stories in 2023. If you think we should include other tech stories, such as the fall of FTX, the Israel-Hamas conflict and others, comment on our Facebook and Instagram social media pages to let us know your lists of the best tech stories in 2023.