Techmeme
February 14, 2025, 2:50 PM

Top News

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Meta plans major investment in AI-powered humanoid robots, with an initial focus on household chores, and has formed a new team within Reality Labs  —  - Company is aiming to be the engine powering humanoid market  — Ex-Cruise CEO Marc Whitten to run new group in Reality Labs
Jason Koebler / 404 Media:
The doge.gov website tracking Elon Musk's cuts to the federal government pulls from a database that anyone can edit, say two sources who found the vulnerability  —  The doge.gov website that was spun up to track Elon Musk's cuts to the federal government is insecure and pulls from a database …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Mastodon is working on a quote posts feature, which it says is a “source of concern” for some and “highly requested” by others  —  Mastodon, the decentralized alternative to X, is going to adopt a controversial feature from the platform formerly known as Twitter: quote posts.
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Apple and Google restore TikTok to their US app stores after its January 18 removal, following Trump admin assurances that a ban won't immediately be enforced  —  - Companies had removed the app to abide by US legislation  — Trump signed executive order to delay a potential ban
More: TikTok, NPR, TechCrunch, Breitbart, How-To Geek, HotHardware, New York Times, PYMNTS.com, 9to5Google, Forbes, Reuters, Android Police, The Standard, MLive.com, Associated Press, Android Central, Fast Company, Wired, Washington Post, San Diego Reader, PCMag, The Verge, The Wrap, Wall Street Journal, Hollywood Life, iPhone in Canada Blog, Android Headlines, Daring Fireball, 9to5Mac, Politico, AzerNews, NBC News, Entrepreneur, MacDailyNews, Axios, BGR, Ghacks, Social Media Today, MarketWatch, en.ain.ua, Silicon Republic, TechSpot, TechNode, Livemint, Mashable, MEDIANAMA, TipRanks Financial, BSS, Proactive, Al Jazeera, MakeUseOf, RTTNews, Silicon UK, indy100, Fortune, CMU, WinBuzzer, Retail TouchPoints, Pocket-lint, Tech.co, UPI, MSPoweruser, KEYE, Gizchina.com, Sherwood News, Tom's Guide, PocketGamer.biz, Techreport, Newser, International Business Times, Fox Business, Drapers, MediaPost, Neowin, CNBC, LBC, The National, Sky News, Just The News, The News International, Nairametrics, Gulf Times, Cult of Mac, Times of India, Digital Music News, Hypebot, Comic Book, The Independent, CBS News, USA Today, Phone Scoop, Sharecafe, Reclaim The Net, Dexerto, The Boston Globe, China.org.cn, BBC, Adweek, Financial Times, KTVU-TV, Mobile World Live, The Desk, Digital Trends, Variety, Engadget, Appleosophy, 9News, AppleInsider, The Wrap, Business Insider, The Information, ABC7, Anadolu Ajansı …, and MacRumors
Bluesky: @aricohn.com and @martinsfpMastodon: @fraying@xoxo.zone
Scharon Harding / Ars Technica:
In an AMA, Steve Huffman says Reddit is planning to roll out paid subreddits in 2025 and is “laying the foundation” to monetize commerce within subreddits  —  Huffman previously showed interest in potentially introducing a new type of subreddit with “exclusive content or private areas” that Reddit users would pay to access.
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Instagram is testing a dislike button for comments; Instagram will not show a dislike count and dislikes may eventually count toward ranking comments  —  After users noticed a new button on Instagram to downvote or dislike comments, the company confirmed that it is testing a way for users …
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple plans to launch its AI features in China as early as May 2025, using its own on-device models and Alibaba software to censor or filter the output  —  - Company to use own models, with help from Alibaba and Baidu  — Work includes system to censor or block content for government
Lauren Feiner / The Verge:
Sources: around 20 technologists at CFPB were fired on Thursday, gutting a team that specialized in understanding Big Tech's entrance into financial products  —  The terminations leave a gaping hole in the oversight of financial institutions and tech firms venturing into financial technology.
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Bloomberg:
Source: TSMC is considering taking a controlling stake in Intel's factories at the request of Trump's team; it is unclear whether Intel is open to a transaction  —  - TSMC would take controlling stake in potential partnership  — Administration aims to boost manufacturing of advanced chips
Reuters:
Sources: the White House plans to renegotiate some Chips Act awards after changing current requirements, and has signaled delays to some upcoming disbursements  —  The White House is seeking to renegotiate U.S. CHIPS and Science Act awards and has signaled delays to some upcoming semiconductor disbursements …
Sophie McEvoy / GamesIndustry.biz:
Ubisoft reports revenue for the nine months ending December 31, 2024, down 31.4% YoY to €990M, net booking down 34.8% to €944M, but remains optimistic about Q4  —  Firm also experienced a 51.8% drop in net bookings during its third quarter  —  Ubisoft has released its financial results …
Madeline Renbarger / Newcomer:
The AI Action Summit in Paris was all about investment and competition as the Trump administration made even a token acknowledgment of AI safety unacceptable  —  Plus, Elon Musk's $97.4 billion challenge to Sam Altman  —  Europe Falls In Line With a US AI Vision
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google's Gemini can now recall and “reference past chats for more tailored help”, rolling out in English for Advanced subscribers on the web and in the app  —  Google today is rolling out a new Gemini app feature for Advanced subscribers that can recall and “reference past chats for more tailored help.”

Sponsor Posts

Clay:
Turn any GTM idea into reality  —  Clay helps GTM teams combine AI agents, enrichment, and intent data to move faster and turn insights into action.
Soxton:
AI-powered 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!
Zoho:
Event-driven document automation using webhooks in Zoho Writer  —  Instantly generate and send documents based on triggers from any form builder, business app, or automation workflow.We are excited …
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

Great Chat:
No one won the AI Bowl
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
Big Technology Podcast:
Who's Winning The AI Race? + Software's Future — With Sridhar Ramaswamy
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.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
How Odd Lots' Joe Weisenthal Turned Curiosity Into a Career, and a Hit Podcast
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
Access:
OpenAI's Fidji Simo on why ads are coming to ChatGPT
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Invest Like the Best:
Alex Behring and Daniel Schwartz - Inside 3G Capital
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Special Edition: Key findings from the Microsoft AI Diffusion Report
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 2:50 PM ET, February 14, 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

Earlier Picks

Reuters:
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Tanaya Macheel / CNBC:
Emma Roth / The Verge:
Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch: