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Techmeme
February 12, 2025, 8:00 AM
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Top News

Kate Knibbs / Wired:
Thomson Reuters wins the first major US AI copyright ruling against fair use, in a case filed in May 2020 against legal research AI startup Ross Intelligence  —  The Thomson Reuters decision has big implications for the battle between generative AI companies and rights holders.
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Apple now lets users migrate apps, music, books, shows, and movies between Apple accounts, but the feature isn't available to users in the EU, the UK, or India  —  If you have two Apple Accounts with multiple digital purchases between them, Apple now has a way for you to consolidate the accounts …
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google schedules I/O 2025 for May 20 to 21 in Mountain View, with the main keynote on May 20 at 10am PT; Gemini, Android 16, and more announcements are expected  —  Following the “Prism Shift” puzzle this morning, Google has announced that I/O 2025 is taking place Tuesday, May 20
Zoë Schiffer / Wired:
Sources: Sam Altman told staff that OpenAI's board has not received an offer from Elon Musk and other investors, but if it happens the board plans to reject it  —  OpenAI's CEO claims the company has yet to receive an official offer from Elon Musk's team, sources say.
The Hill:
In response to Elon Musk's $97.4B OpenAI bid, Sam Altman says on X “no thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want”; Musk replies “swindler”
The Logic:
Internal message: Shopify's general council said the company closed Ye's store since the swastika shirt listed for sale “brought with it the real risk of fraud”  —  TORONTO — Shopify's general counsel said the company took down musician Kanye West's online store because of the potential …
Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:
Researcher Johann Rehberger shows a hack to override Gemini's prompt injection defenses, letting long-term memories be permanently planted for future sessions  —  In the nascent field of AI hacking, indirect prompt injection has become a basic building block for inducing chatbots …
Katarina Hoije / Bloomberg:
Central African Republic, the first in Africa to adopt bitcoin as tender, launches CAR MEME on Solana, trading at $0.03 on February 11, down ~90% since launch  —  - CAR Meme is second cryptocurrency launched by the country  — Nation first in Africa to adopt Bitcoin as tender in 2022
The Information:
Source: Apple and Alibaba submitted their co-developed AI features for approval by China's cyberspace regulator; Apple considered but rejected DeepSeek's models  —  Apple has recently started working with Chinese internet and e-commerce giant Alibaba Group to roll out artificial intelligence features …
Bloomberg:
A White House document sent to Capitol Hill shows President Trump plans to nominate Brian Quintenz, a16z Crypto's head of policy, to lead the CFTC  —  - Trump to tap Jonathan Gould as Comptroller of the Currency  — Trump also set to nominate Jonathan McKernan as CFPB director
Emma Goldberg / New York Times:
A look at ACTS 17, a nonprofit devoted to introducing Christianity to technologists by inviting Peter Thiel and other tech executives to talk about their faith  —  Everything clicked when Peter Thiel gave the speech about God.  —  The occasion was a 40th birthday party for Trae Stephens …
Jeran Wittenstein / Bloomberg:
In Q4, Meta tweaked its depreciation accounting for AI infrastructure, extending it from 4-5 to 5.5 years, cutting expenses by $2.9B in 2025 and boosting profit  —  - Facebook owner recently extended useful life on computing gear  — Change will significantly reduce depreciation expense in 2025
Brent Crane / Bloomberg:
A profile of Oura CEO Tom Hale, who joined the Finnish smart ring maker in 2022, as it broadens its appeal and reaches $500M in 2024 revenue and profitability  —  Under CEO Tom Hale, Oura broadened its appeal beyond the biohacker fringe.  —  Tom Hale, who runs Finnish smart-ring maker Oura Health Ltd …
More: ZDNET
Dylan Butts / CNBC:
SoftBank posts a surprise Q3 net loss of ~$2.4B on ~$12.04B revenue, vs. $12.1B est., as the Vision Fund, after two profitable quarters, reports a ~$2.04B loss  —  SoftBank Group posted a surprise quarterly loss Wednesday as investments under its Vision Funds fell into red.
Stephen Nellis / Reuters:
US chip startup Groq says it has secured a $1.5B commitment from Saudi Arabia to expand the delivery of its AI chips to the country over the course of this year  —  U.S. semiconductor startup Groq said on Monday it has secured a $1.5 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia to expand the delivery of its advanced AI chips to the country.
New York Times:
How Elon Musk's six companies, facing 32+ ongoing probes, pending complaints, or enforcement actions from 11+ US agencies, score benefits from Trump shake-ups  —  Elon Musk controls six companies, including Tesla.  Mr. Musk's companies secured $13 billion in federal contracts …
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Google rolls out AI image remixing tool Whisk to 100+ countries, letting users upload three images for subject, scene, and style to remix, powered by Imagen 3  —  Google keeps releasing experimental products built with its AI models to give users a taste of its capabilities.
Joel Khalili / Wired:
Q&A with Binance CEO Richard Teng on Changpeng Zhao remaining the exchange's biggest shareholder, evolving Binance, external oversight, finding an HQ, and more  —  After former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao went to prison, Richard Teng set out to show that the crypto exchange is now on its best behavior.

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This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 8:00 AM ET, February 12, 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.

From Mediagazer

David Bauder / Associated Press:
A look at the work of photographer Ann Hermes, who has documented 50 newsrooms across the US, many in smaller towns and cities, and hopes to photograph 100

Mark Sweney / The Guardian:
BBC News staff are told they face 15% cost cuts, steeper than the 10% shared previously for the corporation as a whole, in the biggest downsizing in 15 years

Deadline:
SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP have “reached a tentative agreement” on terms for a successor contract to their 2023 contracts; the deal is now headed for a board review

More News

Earlier Picks

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Apple is renaming the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America in Apple Maps, following Google, first for users in the US and soon for all users globally
John Kang / Forbes:
Sources: Meta is in talks to acquire South Korean AI chip startup FuriosaAI, which has raised ~$115M since its 2017 founding; the deal could close this month
Anthony Capaccio / Bloomberg:
Anduril plans to assume the management and eventual manufacturing of the US Army's infantry goggles from Microsoft, in a $20B+ deal that the Army must approve
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Annual letter: YouTube CEO Neal Mohan says the TV has overtaken mobile as the “primary device for YouTube viewing in the US”, indicating YouTube is “the new TV”
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