Spotify buys audiobook platform Findaway

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Spotify's newest acquisition suggests it wants to develop its library of audiobook titles. The company bought the audiobook platform Findaway, an Ohio, US-based company with a catalog of over 325,000 titles. It has partnerships with companies like Apple, Amazon, and other retail giants. The service also makes tools for audiobook creators. 

The streaming service hasn't released the acquisition details, and it wouldn't go into the specifics about what it plans. But the company has said in a statement that this deal can help it "quickly scale its audiobook catalog" and create new opportunities for authors and publishers.

Source: Engadget

Microsoft's Two Hat acquisition hopes to improve Xbox community moderation

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Microsoft has bought Two Hat, a company known for its AI content moderation tools. Microsoft didn't reveal the deal's financial details, but the company talks about how this acquisition can help improve the Xbox community moderation. The two companies have been frequent collaborators working on making Xbox Live and other gaming communities safer.

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Netflix acquires indie game developer Night School Studio

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We know Netflix has plans to expand into gaming, and now we see their latest move. The company has acquired indie game developer Night School Studio, the team behind games Afterparty and Oxenfree. The latter reminds us a bit of Stranger Things, described as a "supernatural thriller about a group of friends who unwittingly open a ghostly rift." Night School Studio was even making a hybrid puzzle game based on the series back in 2018. But unexpected layoffs forced the project's sudden shutdown. 

This announcement comes a day after Netflix revealed that the early library of games it's testing out with Android users in Poland is coming to subscribers in Spain and Italy.

Source: Gizmodo

Spotify acquires Podz to boost podcast discovery

Spotify has been throwing many of its resources into growing its podcast business. Its latest move is the acquisition of Podz, a startup with tech that can generate preview clips of podcasts. Podcasters don't need to create clips themselves, as Podz can automate the process. It finds the important moments from episodes using machine learning trained on over 100,000 hours of audio. 

Spotify wants this acquisition to help improve podcast discovery, allowing you to browse through short podcast snippets to find what you want to listen to instead of listening to longer podcast episodes. According to Spotify, it will make it "easier for listeners to find the content they want to listen to, and for creators to be discovered and build a fan base." 

Source: The Verge