Techmeme
March 1, 2025, 8:01 PM

Top News

Saritha Rai / Bloomberg:
DeepSeek says its V3 and R1 models' cost of inferencing relative to sales during a 24-hour-period on February 28 put “theoretical” profit margins at 545%  —  Chinese artificial intelligence phenomenon DeepSeek revealed some financial numbers on Saturday, saying its “theoretical” …
Natalie Alms / Nextgov/FCW:
The US GSA eliminates 18F, a government tech consultancy that helps other agencies with their tech, including the IRS' Direct File, impacting about 90 employees  —  USA.  —  The latest workforce action at the General Services Administration includes the elimination of an entire tech team of around 90 employees.
Axios:
President Trump plans to speak at the first-ever White House Crypto Summit on March 7, to be chaired by David Sacks, amid a global sell-off in cryptocurrencies  —  - The Trump family launched the Official Trump (TRUMP) and Melania Meme (MELANIA) coins Jan. 17 and Jan. 18 …
Om Malik / On my Om:
Skype was an early harbinger of technology as culture, and its demise is a good lesson in how ineffective middle management can destroy good acquisitions  —  Microsoft is shutting down Skype.  It will go offline in May 2025. … It makes me incredibly sad, but I am not surprised.
Paul Sawers / TechCrunch:
Microsoft says it will shut down Skype on May 5, 2025, and directs users to migrate their contacts and chat data to Teams; Skype had 36M+ DAUs in February 2023  —  After kickstarting the market for making calls over the internet 23 years ago, Skype is closing down.
More: The Verge, Microsoft 365 Blog, Ars Technica, CNBC, CNN, PCMag, BBC, Bloomberg, The Verge, AppleInsider, Reuters, XDA Developers, Gizmodo, BleepingComputer, Toronto Star, TidBITS, The Daily Wire, Daring Fireball, Tech in Asia, Cord Cutters News, Washington Examiner, Engadget, RetailWire, 9to5Mac, MakeUseOf, New York Daily News, NPR, Inc, iPhone in Canada Blog, Consequence, UPI, Pureinfotech, Redmond Pie, Mashable, PC Gamer, SlashGear, The Shortcut, Newser, Liliputing, Wall Street Journal, The Register, The Wrap, Entrepreneur, CyberInsider, Financial Express, MobileSyrup, On my Om, Game Rant, MacRumors, Neowin, Deadline, iClarified, Global News, BetaNews, KBMT, 9to5Google, GeekWire, The Post Millennial, Forbes, Baltimore Sun, Metro.co.uk, WPXI-TV, Dexerto, IGN, USA Today, TechSpot, Tom's Hardware, Semafor, en.ain.ua, Windows Latest, and Android Police
Yoko Kubota / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: China instructs its top AI leaders to avoid visiting the US over fears they could divulge confidential info or be detained and used as bargaining chips  —  Beijing increasingly views cutting-edge technology through national-security lens, putting executives on tighter leash
The Information:
Source: SoftBank plans to borrow $16B to invest in AI, and might borrow another $8B in early 2026, which could strain its already debt-heavy balance sheet  —  The biggest risk-taker in tech investing is back to his old playbook, loading up on debt to fund his latest obsession: artificial intelligence.
Wall Street Journal:
A profile of Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who leads the UAE's AI fund MGX, which has backed Stargate and sources say is set to be infused with over $50B  —  Abu Dhabi's Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan has more than $1.5 trillion to spend and he's in a hurry; grappling with Mark Zuckerberg
Tom Dotan / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Larry Ellison's Sensei Ag, a venture backed by his $500M+ investment to change farming with AI, robotics, and software, has mostly been a bust, so far  —  His Sensei Ag company hasn't succeeded in boosting output and nutrition in its greenhouses with AI, robotics and software

Sponsor Posts

Airtable:
Deep analysis for deep questions  —  Introducing Superagent.  A new research product from Airtable: Subagents deeply interrogate your topic and turn it into boardroom-ready reports, slides, docs, or websites.
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.
Zoho:
App Spotlight: Plug&Play Currency Sync for Zoho CRM  —  App Spotlight brings you hand-picked solutions that enhance your Zoho apps and tools.  Visit Zoho Marketplace to explore all of our apps, integrations …
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:
Can AI Achieve Consciousness? — With Michael Pollan
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:
Brian Stelter on the Trump Media Shakedown Era
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.
Cheeky Pint:
Stripe's 2025 annual letter
Stripe cofounder John Collison interviews founders, builders, and leaders over a pint.
Subscribe to Cheeky Pint.
Invest Like the Best:
Dan Sundheim - The Art of Public and Private Market Investing
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:
The AI Era of Cybercrime: How Malwarebytes Is Evolving Its Security Stack | Marcin Kleczynski
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
His Excellency Khaldoon Al Mubarak: Investing in an AI-Driven World
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 8:01 PM ET, March 1, 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

Steven Levy / Wired:
More: X, Engadget, Tom's Hardware, WinBuzzer, PhoneArena, Gizmodo, and PCMag
Bluesky: @diackX: @stevenlevy and @theteamatxForums: Slashdot
Sean Hollister / The Verge:
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / TechCrunch: