Techmeme
January 29, 2025, 8:10 AM

Top News

Financial Times:
Jackie Davalos / Bloomberg:
Bloomberg:
Sources: Microsoft and OpenAI are investigating whether data output from OpenAI's API was obtained in an unauthorized manner by a group linked to DeepSeek  —  Microsoft's security researchers in the fall observed individuals they believe may be linked to DeepSeek exfiltrating a large amount …
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple has been working with SpaceX and T-Mobile to add Starlink support in iOS 18.3; T-Mobile is testing with some users, only for texting initially  —  - T-Mobile begins pushing offering in limited beta test to users  —  Apple Inc. has been secretly working with SpaceX …
Vittoria Elliott / Wired:
Sources: the US Office of Personnel Management's highest ranks now include former employees of Elon Musk's companies, including 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.
Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:
Researchers detail two Apple silicon side-channel attacks that could leak secrets: SLAP, affecting M2, A15, and newer chips, and FLOP, affecting M3, M4, and A17  —  Apple-designed chips powering Macs, iPhones, and iPads contain two newly discovered vulnerabilities that leak credit card information …
Jennifer Elias / CNBC:
Google's maps unit reclassified the US as a “sensitive country”, reserved 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 …
Eduardo Baptista / Reuters:
Alibaba releases Qwen 2.5-Max, an AI model that the company 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 …
Ryan Browne / CNBC:
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.
Hayden Field / CNBC:
The US Navy instructs its members to avoid using DeepSeek “in any capacity” due to “potential security and ethical concerns”  —  The U.S. Navy has instructed its members to avoid using artificial intelligence technology from China's DeepSeek, CNBC has learned.
Radhika Rajkumar / ZDNET:
Block introduces an on-device, open-source AI agent called Goose, which allows developers to choose their preferred LLM to automate engineering tasks  —  Whether for developer needs or mundane tasks, the artificial intelligence (AI) tide appears to be turning in favor of open-source solutions.
Jyoti Mann / Business Insider:
In an internal memo, Andrew Bosworth says Meta's Reality Labs beat nearly all its sales and user targets for 2024, growing sales “>40% YoY overall”  —  - Meta's Reality Labs exceeded nearly all its 2024 sales and user targets, an internal memo said.
bellingcat:
A look at MrDeepFakes, a site with obscure ownership that hosts non-consensual deepfake porn, has close to 650K members, and gets millions of visits per month  —  This article is the result of a collaboration with German YouTube channel STRG_F.  You can watch their documentary here.
Ryan Gallagher / Bloomberg:
The UK National Audit Office says the government was operating at least 228 “legacy” computer systems as of March 2024, increasing the risk of a disruptive hack  —  - More than 200 outdated computer systems used, auditors find  — Vacancies exceeded 50% in some central government departments
Nami Matsuura / Nikkei Asia:
Samsung and LG unveil new OLED tech, including stretchable and transparent screens, to counter Chinese rivals, which held a 33% market share in 2024, per DSCC  —  SEOUL — South Korea's Samsung and LG are putting out new OLED technologies like stretchable and transparent screens as they try to stave off rising Chinese competition.
More: Mashable and How-To Geek
Bloomberg:
A look at Huawei's HarmonyOS Next, a China-only OS decoupled from Android that is still missing many third-party apps, despite supporting some key ones in China  —  New HarmonyOS software is of existential importance to China's tech champion.  —  Huawei Technologies Co.'s ambition …

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's new AI commerce stack  —  Their VP of Product digs into just-launched products to help entrepreneurs and developers build with the latest AI and tech.
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

Uncapped with Jack Altman:
Saam Motamedi from Greylock Partners
Conversations with people I admire about things I'm genuinely interested in.
Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.
Invest Like the Best:
Henry Ellenbogen - Man Versus Machine
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
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.
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 8:10 AM 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

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

Earlier Picks

Dan Milmo / The Guardian:
Victoria Song / The Verge:
Tim De Chant / TechCrunch:
Hugh Son / CNBC: