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April 1, 2025, 3:15 PM
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Top News

CNBC:
OpenAI closes a $40B round, the most raised by a private tech company, at a $300B post-money valuation; SoftBank led with $30B; source: ~$18B is for Stargate  —  OpenAI on Monday announced it had closed what amounts to the largest private tech funding round on record.
Shirin Ghaffary / Bloomberg:
Source: SoftBank will invest an initial $7.5B in OpenAI's $40B round, plus $22.5B by 2025's end; other backers include Microsoft, Coatue, Altimeter, and Thrive
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Google rolls out a new Gmail encryption model for enterprises in beta that doesn't require senders or recipients to use custom software or exchange certificates  —  The beta feature for enterprise accounts allows Gmail users to simply toggle encryption for external emails.
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: in recent weeks, Meta executives including Mark Zuckerberg have pressed US trade officials to oppose an impending EU fine and cease-and-desist order  —  Facebook owner presses trade officials to push back against European law that could undermine its ad business
Kendra Barnett / Adweek:
Google is bringing its immersive Rewarded Video ads to Roblox, letting users watch ads in exchange for in-game benefits like virtual currency or power-ups  —  Advertisers can buy Rewarded Video ads on Roblox via Google Ad Manager, the company announced Tuesday
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
OpenAI's new GPT-4o-powered image generator is now available to all users; Sam Altman last week mentioned a limit of three images per day for free-tier users  —  OpenAI's new image generator, powered by its GPT-4o model, is now available to all users, CEO Sam Altman said in a post on X …
Bloomberg:
With the Switch 2, Nintendo must do what it has rarely done before: follow one hit console with another; Nintendo sold 150M+ Switch units since its 2017 launch  —  The Japanese gaming giant is about to release its latest console.  The stakes have never been higher to end the boom-bust cycle that's plagued the company for years.
Financial Times:
Current and former Google DeepMind scientists say a tougher vetting process and more bureaucracy at the Google AI arm have made it harder to publish AI research  —  Google's AI arm led by Demis Hassabis makes it harder for its researchers to publish studies in major change in approach
Sean Endicott / Windows Central:
Microsoft expands Copilot+ PC features exclusive to Snapdragon, like Live Captions, Cocreator, Restyle Image, and Image Creator, to PCs with AMD or Intel chips  —  Staggered feature releases make me ask “what even is a Copilot+ PC?”  —  Microsoft has a big update for Copilot+ PCs powered by Intel or AMD processors.
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
TikTok is shutting down its Instagram competitor, TikTok Notes, on May 8, directing users to Lemon8, a similar ByteDance-owned app  —  TikTok is shutting down its Instagram competitor, TikTok Notes, on May 8.  The photo-sharing app launched in testing in Canada, Australia, and Vietnam last year.
Bloomberg:
Sources: US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick signals withholding promised CHIPS Act grants as he pushes companies to substantially expand their US projects  —  Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has signaled he could withhold promised Chips Act grants as he pushes companies in line …
Ufonobong Umanah / Bloomberg Law:
A US judge rules Arkansas' Social Media Safety Act, which requires minors have parental permission before creating social media accounts, infringes on 1A rights  —  Arkansas' youth-focused Social Media Safety Act infringes on the First Amendment rights of internet users and is unconstitutionally vague …
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Similarweb: Gemini's web app had 10.9M average daily visits in March, up 7.4% MoM; Sensor Tower: Claude and Gemini saw activity jump after flagship model debuts  —  OpenAI's ChatGPT may be the world's most popular chatbot app.  But rival services are gaining, according to data from analytics firms Similarweb and Sensor Tower.
New York Times:
Xiaomi says it is cooperating with a Chinese police probe into a fatal crash by a car using its autonomous features; its stock is down 10%+ over the past week  —  A popular electric vehicle made by the Chinese consumer electronics giant Xiaomi crashed into a concrete guardrail while deploying its autonomous driving feature.

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About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 3:15 PM ET, April 1, 2025.

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From Mediagazer

CNN:
Don Lemon pleads not guilty to two federal charges stemming from his reporting at an anti-ICE protest in a Minnesota church

Hollie Richardson / The Guardian:
A look at the growth of Belfast in Northern Ireland as a home for producing TV shows, following the success of the comedy Derry Girls

Abbey White / The Hollywood Reporter:
A Q&A with PBS Kids' Sara DeWitt on the effect of cuts to the $112M Ready to Learn grant, including potentially partnering with ad tech companies

More News

Yogita Khatri / The Block:
Tether acquired 8,888 bitcoin worth ~$735M in Q1 2025, taking its total holdings to ~$7.8B and making it the sixth-largest holder of bitcoin in a single wallet

Earlier Picks

Ian King / Bloomberg:
Intel Vision conference: CEO Lip-Bu Tan says that Intel plans to spin off non-core assets, create new products including custom chips, hire engineers, and more
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