Techmeme
January 29, 2025, 3:55 PM

Top News

Financial Times:
Bloomberg:
Sources: Microsoft and OpenAI are investigating whether a DeepSeek-linked group obtained a large amount of data from OpenAI's API in an unauthorized manner  —  Microsoft's security researchers in the fall observed individuals they believe may be linked to DeepSeek exfiltrating a large amount …
Jackie Davalos / Bloomberg:
Eduardo Baptista / Reuters:
Alibaba releases Qwen 2.5-Max, an AI model that the company's cloud unit claims “outperforms” GPT-4o, DeepSeek-V3, and Llama-3.1-405B “almost across the board”  —  Chinese tech company Alibaba (9988.HK) on Wednesday released a new version of its Qwen 2.5 artificial intelligence model …
Dario Amodei:
DeepSeek makes US export controls to China even more important, and DeepSeek-V3 is not a unique breakthrough but an expected point on a cost reduction curve  —  A few weeks ago I made the case for stronger US export controls on chips to China.  Since then DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company …
New York Times:
Ryan Browne / CNBC:
Ryan Browne / CNBC:
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Comcast starts rolling out its “pioneering new, ultra-low lag connectivity experience” to select US cities, using the L4S standard to significantly cut latency  —  The new technology is based on a standard called L4S, which can significantly reduce latency to help things like video games feel smoother.
Bloomberg:
Sources: the Trump administration is exploring additional curbs on the sale of chips to China to cover Nvidia's scaled-down H20, designed for the Chinese market  —  - Officials had very early talks about restricting the H20 chip  — Nvidia designed the scaled-down H20 product for Chinese market
Wall Street Journal:
US officials and Google researchers: China, Iran, and 18+ other countries use AI tools like Gemini to bolster their cyberattacks against US and global targets  —  A cyber-threat report from Google is shedding light on how foreign actors are leveraging generative AI to boost their hacking prowess.
Vittoria Elliott / Wired:
Sources: the US Office of Personnel Management's highest ranks are now controlled by former employees of Elon Musk's companies, like xAI and the Boring Company  —  Sources tell WIRED that the OPM's top layers of management now include individuals linked to xAI, Neuralink, the Boring Company, and Palantir.
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple has been working with SpaceX and T-Mobile to add Starlink support from iOS 18.3; T-Mobile is testing it with some users, exclusively for texting  —  - T-Mobile begins pushing offering in limited beta test to users  —  Apple Inc. has been secretly working with SpaceX …
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Christopher Dring / Video Games Chronicle:
Ampere: users spent $465M on Microsoft games in December, making it the biggest publisher, ahead of EA's $366M; Call of Duty HQ had 38M MAUs in November 2024  —  NEARLY $0.5BN WAS SPENT ON XBOX GAMES ACROSS STEAM, PLAYSTATION AND XBOX IN DECEMBER  —  $465 million was spent on Microsoft games …
Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge:
Waymo plans to test in 10 new US cities in 2025, starting with Las Vegas and San Diego, as it aims for robotaxi operations in Austin, Atlanta, and Miami soon  —  The theme of this year's road trip is ‘generalizability.’  —  The theme of this year's road trip is ‘generalizability.’
Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
Sony names CFO Hiroki Totoki as CEO, succeeding Kenichiro Yoshida, and PlayStation co-CEO Hideaki Nishino as CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, from April 1  —  The corporate shuffle, effective April 1, was approved late Tuesday by the electronics and entertainment giant's board of directors in Tokyo.
Jennifer Elias / CNBC:
Google's maps unit reclassifies the US as a “sensitive country”, a designation for states with strict governments or border disputes, after Trump's map changes  —  Google's maps division on Monday reclassified the U.S. as a “sensitive country,” a designation it reserves for states …

Sponsor Posts

Soxton:
Fast, affordable law for startups  —  Soxton automates startup legal so founders can move faster and sleep better.  We handle incorporation, advisor, employment and commercial contracts.  Join the waitlist for early access!
F5:
Accelerate AI Adoption at F5's AI Virtual Summit  —  Learn how to architect, secure, and scale AI for production with real-world insights from industry leaders on June 23.  Register now to save your spot.
Zoho:
Say hello to Zia Answer Bot: Your organization's knowledge, on-demand in every Zoho Lens session.  —  Imagine your technician is halfway through a live remote assistance session.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Big Technology Podcast:
Are AI Glasses Over?, Big Technology Audience Questions, Alex Stamos on AI Cybersecurity
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.
The Upstarts Podcast:
Mutiny's Jaleh Rezaei: Walking Away From Millions In Software To Grow Even Faster With Sales AI
Veteran tech reporter Alex Konrad sits down with breakout entrepreneurs taking on the status quo to shake up their fields in AI, design, nuclear energy, space, and more.
Subscribe to The Upstarts Podcast.
Hard Fork:
'Hard Fork' Live, Part 3: Differing Visions of an A.I. Future
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.
Access:
The billionaire paying AI researchers to stay out of Big Tech
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
The Nick, Dick and Paul Show:
The Race to the Middle
Nick Bilton, Dick Costolo, and Paul Kedrosky pull back the curtain on AI, startups, and the future rushing toward us, all with healthy dose of irreverence.
Subscribe to The Nick, Dick and Paul Show.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
AI's Mythos Moment: Rishi Sunak on preparing governments for AI
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 3:55 PM ET, January 29, 2025.

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

Ben Wilson / Windows Central:
Ryan Gallagher / Bloomberg:
bellingcat:

Earlier Picks

Ryan Knappenberger / Courthouse News Service:
More: Thurrott, 9to5Mac, MediaPost, and MLex
Bluesky: @quinnypig.comX: @balancecrafting, @jason_kint, and @vidushi_lawForums: r/apple
Dan Goodin / Ars Technica: