Techmeme
May 16, 2025, 6:15 PM

Top News

Maxwell Zeff / TechCrunch:
OpenAI rolls out Codex, an AI coding agent powered by codex-1, a version of o3 optimized for software engineering, for ChatGPT Pro, Enterprise, and Team users  —  OpenAI announced on Friday it's launching a research preview of Codex, the company's most capable AI coding agent yet.
Dominic Preston / The Verge:
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Apple denies removing Fortnite from alternative marketplaces in the EU and says it asked Epic Sweden to resubmit the app update excluding the US App Store  —  Apple Inc. and Epic Games Inc. sparred over whether the iPhone maker was obstructing access to the hit game Fortnite …
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
After Grok's “white genocide in South Africa” X replies, xAI says “an unauthorized modification was made to Grok response bot's prompt” at 3:15 AM PST on May 14  —  xAI blamed an “unauthorized modification” for a bug in its AI-powered Grok chatbot that caused Grok …
Bloomberg:
Sources: OpenAI is expected to be a primary anchor tenant for a 5-gigawatt UAE data center, which could become one of the world's largest at 10 square miles  —  OpenAI plans to help develop a massive new data center in the United Arab Emirates that may eventually be one of the largest in the world …
Bloomberg:
Sources: President Trump's Middle East AI deals open a rift with China hawks in his administration over concerns that US chips sent to the Gulf end up in China  —  President Donald Trump's flurry of artificial intelligence deals during his tour of the Middle East is opening a rift within …
CNBC:
Nvidia says it won't send GPU designs to China to be modified to comply with export controls, after a report said it is planning a research center in Shanghai  —  - News Tips  —  Got a confidential news tip?  We want to hear from you.  — CNBC Newsletters
Kelcee Griffis / Bloomberg:
The FCC approves Verizon's $9.6B acquisition of Frontier Communications after Verizon agreed to pare back what Brendan Carr called “invidious” DEI practices  —  The deal “will unleash billions of dollars in new infrastructure builds in communities across the country …
Reuters:
Charter says it will acquire Cox Communications for $21.9B, valuing Cox at $34.5B including debt and uniting two of the biggest US cable and broadband operators  —  Charter Communications (CHTR.O) said on Friday it would merge with Cox Communications in a deal that would value its privately held rival …
Todd Bishop / GeekWire:
Microsoft says internal and external reviews found no evidence the Israeli military used its tech to harm civilians in Gaza, after months of employee protests  —  [Updated below with comments from the employee group No Azure for Apartheid.]  —  Microsoft said Thursday that it found no evidence …
Wall Street Journal:
Facebook and Instagram face “an epidemic of scams” driven by crime networks; internal docs from 2022 say 70% of newly active Meta advertisers promote scams  —  Fake puppies and phony offers of mouthwatering bargains are often seeded by overseas crime networks …
Sarah Wynn / The Block:
An Alabama man is sentenced to 14 months in prison for hacking SEC's X account in 2024 and posting a false announcement that the SEC had approved bitcoin ETFs  —  - Eric Council Jr, 26 of Alabama, was sentenced to 14 months in prison, according to a statement released on Friday …
Jason Schreier / Bloomberg:
Sony's Haven Studios founder Jade Raymond leaves the company; sources: some developers were worried about its first game's external test reception and progress  —  Her company, Haven Studios, is developing an online shooter title called Fairgames … PlayStation leadership didn't give Haven staff …

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More News

Lauren Goode / Wired:
More: Newsweek, Trak.in, and Forbes
Bluesky: @laurengoodeX: @scobleizerLinkedIn: Christof JaritzForums: r/TrueReddit and r/politics

Earlier Picks

Matthew Guariglia / Electronic Frontier Foundation:
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Maxwell Zeff / TechCrunch:
Jason Schreier / Bloomberg:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac:
Niket Nishant / Reuters: