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May 20, 2025, 2:11 PM
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Top News

Google on YouTube:
A livestream of the Google I/O 2025 keynote  —  It's time to I/O!  Tune in to learn the latest news, announcements, and AI updates from Google.
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google launches Google AI Ultra, a subscription plan with the highest usage limits and access to its most capable models, rolling out in the US for $250/month  —  To date, AI Premium is how you access the latest features from Google.  At I/O 2025, that subscription tier is being renamed to …
The Verge:
A live blog of Google I/O 2025, where announcements about Gemini, Android XR, and more are expected
Maxwell Zeff / TechCrunch:
Google says Project Astra will power new capabilities in Search, including a new Search Live feature, as well as in the Gemini AI app and third-party products
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple plans to unveil at WWDC an SDK and related frameworks to let third-party devs build AI features based on LLMs it uses for Apple Intelligence  —  Apple Inc. is preparing to allow third-party developers to write software using its artificial intelligence models …
Emanuel Maiberg / 404 Media:
Civitai will “pause” credit card payments starting May 23, as its current payment processor won't “support platforms that allow AI-generated explicit content”  —  Civitai, an AI model sharing site backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) that 404 Media has repeatedly shown …
More: Civitai
Lauren Feiner / The Verge:
Trump signs the Take It Down Act, criminalizing the distribution of nonconsensual intimate images and requiring platforms to promptly remove them when notified
Wall Street Journal:
Analysis: four of the world's top 50 tech companies are European, and none of the top 10 quantum companies are in Europe, as the continent lags the US and China  —  A risk-averse business culture and complex regulations have stifled innovation on the continent, weighing on its future
Bloomberg:
Sources: Nintendo picked Samsung to produce the Switch 2's main chips, aiming to sell 20M+ units by March 2026, a key win for Samsung as it competes with TSMC  —  Securing a contract for one of the summer's hottest new gadgets will likely help lift utilization or boost business for the Korean conglomerate's chip foundries.
Financial Times:
UK tech unicorn Builder.ai, backed by Microsoft, Qatar, and others, says it is entering insolvency proceedings due to financial and past leadership “problems”  —  Once high-flying group founded by Sachin Dev Duggal says its was unable to recover from ‘past decisions’
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
The ad-supported web is dying, and the next development to accelerate this may be the agentic web, which Microsoft is pushing via NLWeb and MCP support  —  Ethan Zuckerman wrote in The Atlantic in 2014: … Marc Andreessen, who was there when the web was born, explained in a 2019 podcast …
Bloomberg:
Chinese government data: smartphone exports including iPhones fell 72% MoM to $688.5M in April, the lowest since 2011, outpacing a 21% drop in overall shipments  —  Smartphone exports slid 72% to just under $700 million last month, sharply outpacing an overall 21% drop in Chinese shipments to the US …
New York Times:
President Trump's recent Middle East trip helped Elon Musk's SpaceX and Neuralink cut lucrative deals, deepening Musk's ties to the Gulf's autocratic monarchies  —  The world's richest man inked new deals as he tagged along on President Trump's tour of the Gulf.
Politico:
France says it banned Telegram founder Pavel Durov on May 12 from going to the US for “negotiations with investment funds”, after arresting him in August 2024  —  The Russian-born entrepreneur is not allowed to leave France without permission following his August arrest.
Steven T. Dennis / Bloomberg:
The US Senate advances the GENIUS Act, a stablecoin bill, after a group of Democrats dropped their opposition on May 19, a major victory for the crypto industry  —  Stablecoin legislation overcame a procedural blockade in the US Senate, marking a major victory for the crypto industry …
Emma Roth / The Verge:
Spotify says Apple approved an update that lets US users buy individual audiobooks and see audiobook prices inside its iOS app, after the Epic v. Apple ruling  —  You'll see a ‘Buy’ button alongside an audiobook's price. … It's finally possible to purchase an audiobook from Spotify's iPhone app with just a few taps.
Bloomberg:
Malaysia downplays its deal to use 3,000 Huawei chips to build a first-of-its-kind AI system by 2026, underscoring its delicate position in the US-China AI race  —  Malaysia declared it'll build a first-of-its-kind AI system powered by Huawei Technologies Co. chips, only to distance itself …
Clare Duffy / CNN:
The US House Budget Committee advances a budget bill that would ban US states from enforcing any law regulating AI for 10 years; the bill now goes to the House  —  New York CNN —  —  More than 100 organizations are raising alarms about a provision in the House's sweeping tax …
Victoria Song / The Verge:
Google says it is partnering with Samsung, Gentle Monster, Xreal, and Warby Parker to create Android XR smart glasses, offering AI assistance via Gemini  —  With smart glasses, Google seems to be taking a page out of Meta and Ray-Ban's book. … Google's second era of smart glasses is off to a chic start.

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 Runway's Cris Valenzuela: Building The Hollywood-Friendly Video AI That OpenAI Couldn't
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About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 2:11 PM ET, May 20, 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.

From Mediagazer

Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net:
Five more states join the lawsuit filed last month by eight states seeking to block Nexstar's Tegna acquisition, which Nexstar said the DOJ and FCC approved

Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:
A group of TV consumers sue in federal court in California to block Paramount's acquisition of WBD on antitrust grounds; Paramount says the suit lacks merit

Reporters Without Borders:
RSF Press Freedom Index hits a 25-year low: over 50% of the world's countries fall into the “difficult” or “very serious” categories; Norway holds the top spot

More News

Billy Steele / Engadget:
Google brings live translation to Google Meet, matching the user's tone and cadence, first in beta for Spanish and English on Google AI Pro and Ultra plans
Ryan S. Gladwin / Decrypt:
Michael Arrington says Coinbase's recent data breach “will lead to people dying”, calls for KYC rules reassessment and prison for execs failing to protect users

Earlier Picks

Todd Spangler / Variety:
SAG-AFTRA files an NLRB unfair labor practice charge against Epic's Llama Productions for using AI to recreate James Earl Jones' Darth Vader voice in Fortnite
Washington Post:
Investigation: for two years, New Orleans police secretly scanned city streets using 200+ facial recognition cameras, seemingly violating a 2022 city ordinance
Lawrence Abrams / BleepingComputer:
Microsoft open sources the Windows Subsystem for Linux, launched in August 2016, and releases its code on GitHub, except for a few Windows-specific components
Dean Seal / Wall Street Journal:
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals says it will acquire 23andMe's assets, including its Personal Genome Service, for $256M, set to close in Q3, in the bankruptcy auction
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