Techmeme
May 16, 2025, 1:15 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.
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 …
Dominic Preston / The Verge:
Epic Games says that Apple rejected its latest Fortnite submission to the US App Store and the game on iOS will be “offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it”  —  Epic says that the game is ‘offline’ on iPhones everywhere after Apple rejected its App Store resubmission.
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 …
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 …
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 …
Camille Bromley / Columbia Journalism Review:
Q&A with Wired's Steven Levy on the evolving relationship between the tech industry and the press, media outlets' licensing deals with AI companies, and more  —  “What you find when you get into a place is always more interesting than any preconception you have.”
Hayden Field / CNBC:
Anthropic received a $2.5B, five-year revolving credit line, and says annualized revenue reached $2B in Q1 2025, up from $1B in Q1 2024  —  Earlier this week, Anthropic received a $2.5 billion, five-year revolving credit line to amp up its liquidity in an ever-expanding — and expensive …
Lauren Goode / Wired:
US immigration attorneys: since January 2025, USCIS has significantly increased requests for more evidence on tech-related visa petitions, like H-1Bs and O-1s  —  Silicon Valley's coveted work visas are under heavy scrutiny from the Trump administration, and immigration lawyers say requests for documentation are increasing.
More: Newsweek, Trak.in, and Forbes
Bluesky: @laurengoodeX: @scobleizerLinkedIn: Christof JaritzForums: r/TrueReddit and r/politics
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Sources: Microsoft has stopped production of its Surface Laptop Studio 2 and plans to mark the device as end of life in June, with no apparent successor plans  —  The Surface Laptop Studio 2 is no longer being manufactured and there's no replacement in sight.
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 …
Bloomberg:
Source: Coinbase's hackers had bribed enough customer service representatives to achieve effectively on-demand access to customer info in the past five months  —  On the long list of crypto companies that have been hacked, there are plenty of examples of financial losses that are much more painful …
Niket Nishant / Reuters:

Sponsor Posts

Airtable:
The central nervous system of your business  —  Used by 80% of Fortune 100 companies, Airtable combines AI with the scale of an infinitely flexible, no-code system.  With all your data in one place, it's like mission control for your company.
Intel:
5G's most deployed platform  —  Powering live networks with built-in Inference across Core and RAN.  That's the power of Intel Inside®
Zoho:
Automate CRM data hygiene with ETL pipelines  —  A CRM is only as useful as the data inside it.Even the most expensive automation or workflows deliver the wrong results when the CRM is filled with duplicates and inconsistent values.
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:
AI's Unpopularity + Competing With ChatGPT — With Olivia Moore
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:
Matt Belloni on the Oscars, the Ellisons, and Hollywood's Next Chapter
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:
Bret Taylor of Sierra on AI agents, outcome-based pricing, and the OpenAI board
Stripe cofounder John Collison interviews founders, builders, and leaders over a pint.
Subscribe to Cheeky Pint.
Invest Like the Best:
Shyam Sankar - Celebrating Heretics
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:
How Sierra Is Pulling Ahead in the AI Race | Co-founder Bret Taylor
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 1:15 PM ET, May 16, 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

Bloomberg:
Matthew Guariglia / Electronic Frontier Foundation:

Earlier Picks

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Jason Schreier / Bloomberg:
Maxwell Zeff / TechCrunch:
Wall Street Journal:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac:
Bloomberg: