Techmeme
February 20, 2025, 8:50 AM

Top News

Ben Schoon / 9to5Google:
Google is removing Gemini support from the main Google app on iOS, pushing users to download the standalone Gemini app that launched in November 2024  —  Google is informing iOS users that it will be removing Gemini support from the main Google app as it pushes users over to the full Gemini app.
Adamya Sharma / Android Authority:
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft unveils the Majorana 1, its first quantum processor that uses Majorana particles instead of electrons, with the potential to fit a million qubits  —  Microsoft has spent 17 years researching a new material and architecture for quantum computing.
More: Microsoft Azure, Microsoft on YouTube, Nature, Silicon Republic, Microsoft, InfoWorld, Fast Company, The Guardian, Daily Sabah, MIT Technology Review, Silicon UK, Microsoft on YouTube, en.ain.ua, The Indian Express, New York Times, Proactive, Trak.in, Hindustan Times, The National, Business Standard, Decrypt, EE Times, Business News Australia, Digital Trends, eeNews Europe, Verdict, The Post-Quantum World on YouTube, BetaNews, Defense One, WebProNews, CNBC, SC Media, Wall Street Journal, Quartz, Maginative, Forbes, The Register, Microsoft, and Constellation Research
Dwarkesh Patel / Dwarkesh Podcast:
Financial Times:
Lizette Chapman / Bloomberg:
Palantir's stock fell 10% on February 19 after the WaPo reported US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth plans to cut military spending; PLTR is up 50%+ in 2025  —  - Spending shift would affect 8% of US defense spending  — AI-focused Palantir has become major government contractor
Andy Chalk / PC Gamer:
Valve releases a Team Fortress 2 SDK with the game's client and server code, letting users build new Team Fortress 2-based games licensed for non-commercial use  —  Valve has also released major updates to all Source-engine multiplayer games adding 64-bit support, scalable HUDS, “and a lot of other improvements.”
Nikkei Asia:
Tokyo-based Sakana AI details its AI CUDA Engineer, which it says can speed up AI training and inference by 10x to 100x by “breeding” efficient instructions  —  TOKYO — Tokyo-based startup Sakana AI says it has developed a system capable of accelerating artificial intelligence development …
Jon Keegan / Sherwood News:
Perplexity open sources R1 1776, a version of the DeepSeek R1 model that Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas says was “post-trained to remove the China censorship”  —  But shortly after its release, attention turned to how compliant the model was with Chinese censorship laws.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft announces Muse AI, a first-of-its-kind generative AI model that can generate a game environment based on visuals, players' controller actions, or both  —  Microsoft Research and Xbox game studio Ninja Theory have partnered to create a new AI model for gaming.
Dominic Preston / The Verge:
Oppo launches the Find N5, the world's thinnest foldable at 8.93mm closed and 4.21mm open, with IPX6, X8, and X9 ratings, in Europe and Asia for ~$1,870  —  Oppo's Find N5 is the thinnest book-style foldable yet, and it's launching worldwide — but it's another foldable the US just won't get.
Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:
Apple unveils the $599+ iPhone 16e with a 6.1" display, A18, 48MP camera, Apple Intelligence, the C1 cellular modem, USB-C, and no MagSafe, shipping February 28  —  Apple has officially taken the wraps off of the all-new iPhone 16e.  The device features an all-new design paired with the A18 chip inside …
More: Apple, Apple on YouTube, Moneycontrol, MacRumors, The Standard, MacRumors, The Verge, MacRumors, Engadget, Android Headlines, Ghacks, International Business Times, Wall Street Journal, Ars Technica, Tom's Guide, Digital Trends, CNBC, TrendForce News, TechSpot, PhoneArena, The Verge, Forbes, Radio Free Mobile, designboom, Stuff, Gulf Business, Telecoms Tech News, IGN, Techsponential, MacTrast, Brandon Butch on YouTube, zollotech on YouTube, Brian Tong on YouTube, TechRadar, 9to5Mac, Bloomberg, Redmond Pie, mjtsai.com, Six Colors, OS X Daily, Press Start, Philip Elmer‑DeWitt, Trak.in, Cult of Mac, Washington Post, 9to5Mac, MacStories, MacRumors, TechCrunch, TechRadar, 9to5Toys, 9to5Mac, and MacRumors
Bluesky: @dompreston.comMastodon: @corbin@toot.communityThreads: @davidimel, @joannastern, and @davidimel
Suzanne Vranica / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: top X executives hinted to Interpublic and other ad firms that not spending on X could lead to legal woes, due to X's lawsuit against some advertisers  —  Interpublic recently signed an advertising agreement with the platform; other agencies are also in negotiations
Pew Research Center:
US survey: views of Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk tilt negative; Democrats and Republicans view Zuckerberg unfavorably; Musk is polarizing along party lines  —  Americans' views of two prominent tech executives - Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg - tilt more negative than positive.
Emily Birnbaum / Bloomberg:
Meta says Mark Zuckerberg went to the US Capitol on February 19 to lobby Senators on AI and talk about issues like US tech leadership  —  Zuckerberg met with senators one day after his personal charity announced it was ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Kim Zetter / Wired:
Source: 19-year-old Edward Coristine and Kyle Schutt, both DOGE engineers, are now on staff at the CISA; Coristine was briefly an intern for Neuralink  —  DOGE technologists Edward Coristine—the 19-year-old known online as “Big Balls”—and Kyle Schutt are now listed as staff at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Paayal Zaveri / Bloomberg:
Together AI, which provides users access to AI computing, raised $305M co-led by General Catalyst and Saudi Arabia's Prosperity7 at a $3.3B valuation  —  Startup Together AI, which provides users access to artificial intelligence computing, has raised $305 million from investors in deal led …

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Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch:
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / TechCrunch:
Axios: