Techmeme
December 20, 2021, 9:20 AM

Top News

Ben Bowman / The Streamable:
YouTube TV reaches a deal with Disney to bring back 17+ channels including ABC, Disney, ESPN, Freeform, FX, and National Geographic  —  After one day of being dark, YouTube TV and Disney have reached a deal which will see more than 17 Disney-owned channels, including local ABC affiliates, Disney Channel, and ESPN return to the service.
Anton Shilov / AnandTech:
Report: chipmakers are on track to spend $152B on new fabs and production equipment in 2021, up 34% YoY, which is the strongest YoY growth since 2017  —  Semiconductor makers have drastically increased their capital expenditures (CapEx) this year in response to unprecedented demand for chips that is going to last for years.
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
The case for Apple to offer a 15-inch iPad home hub is made clear by devices like the Portal and Echo Show 15, as well as Apple's ~5% smart speaker market share  —  I've been testing Amazon.com Inc.'s new Echo Show 15.  My takeaway: It's time for Apple Inc. to get serious about the smart home and launch a giant iPad as a new hub.
YLE:
Leaked docs: Facebook has not developed Finnish-language automated moderation for hate speech and other content, and employs just 11 moderators based in Berlin  —  A data leak reveals Facebook is unable to control hate speech in minority languages like Finnish.
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Bangalore-based Razorpay, a top payment processor in India whose products resemble Stripe's, raises a $375M Series F at a $7.5B valuation, up from $3B in April  —  Razorpay has more than doubled its valuation to $7.5 billion from $3 billion in April as one of India's largest fintech giants …
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Social gaming startup Rec Room raises $145M led by Coatue at a $3.5B valuation, up from $1.25B in March, and says it has 37M players, up from 2M in March  —  On the heels of Roblox hitting it big with its platform for user-created gaming content, another startup has landed a major round …
Ezra Fieser / Bloomberg:
Bogota-based buy now, pay later service Addi raises $80M in equity and $125M in debt at a $700M valuation and says it is used by 1,000 retailers  —  - Buy now, pay later startup Addi valued at more than $700m  — GIC leads series C round that raises fresh equity and debt

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Try Gemini 3 Pro  —  Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Shopify:
Shopify: Revolutionizing Commerce with Winter Edition '26  —  Over 150+ new features transform how merchants build, design, and grow—with technology that amplifies creative vision.
Zoho:
Email fatigue is real: Here's how smart email tools help you regain control  —  Picture this: It's Monday morning.  You walk into the office feeling energized and ready to take on the week.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Grit:
How Evan Spiegel Is Building the Future of Computing
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Acquired:
10 Years of Acquired (with Michael Lewis)
Learn the playbooks that built the world's greatest companies - and how you can apply them as a founder, operator, or investor.
Subscribe to Acquired.
Lenny's Podcast:
Why humans are AI's biggest bottleneck (and what's coming in 2026) | Alexander Embiricos (OpenAI Codex Product Lead)
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
Big Technology Podcast:
OpenAI's 2026 Priority, Disney's AI Play, Datacenter Buildout Trouble
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Hard Fork:
Australia Kicks Kids Off Social Media + Is the A.I. Water Issue Fake? + Hard Fork Wrapped
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 9:20 AM ET, December 20, 2021.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

More News

Earlier Picks

Max A. Cherney / Protocol:
Alex Pasternack / Fast Company:
Nilay Patel / The Verge: