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August 21, 2025, 10:25 PM
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Top News

Casey Crownhart / MIT Technology Review:
Google says the median Gemini app text prompt consumes 0.24Wh of energy, about the same as running a microwave for a second, and emits 0.03g of CO2 equivalent  —  Google has just released a technical report detailing how much energy its Gemini apps use for each query.
Gregory Korte / Bloomberg:
Trump signs an EO creating the National Design Studio to improve “websites and physical sites”; sources say he's tapping Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia to lead it  —  President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday creating a new post for the government's chief design officer …
Tripp Mickle / New York Times:
Nine current and ex-Apple staffers accuse VP of Fitness Tech Jay Blahnik of bullying and inappropriate behavior; Apple settled a sexual harassment complaint  —  Three circular bands came to define fitness on the Apple Watch.Dünzl/Ullstein Bild, via Getty Images
Julia Shapero / The Hill:
Google will provide Gemini for Government to US federal agencies at $0.47 per agency through 2026; OpenAI and Anthropic are offering their products for $1/year  —  Google will provide a suite of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud services to federal agencies for 47 cents each …
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Apple raises the price of Apple TV+ in the US and some markets globally after previously raising the price in 2023; in the US, the price will rise $3 to $12.99  —  Apple TV+, the tech giant's money-losing streaming service, is bumping up its price by 30%: For U.S. customers, it will now be $12.99 per month, up $3 from $9.99.
Bloomberg:
Sources: Anthropic is in talks to raise $10B, significantly above the previously reported $5B, due to strong investor demand  —  Anthropic is nearing a deal to raise as much as $10 billion in a new round of funding, according to people familiar with the matter, a higher than expected sum …
Brody Ford / Bloomberg:
Zoom reports Q2 revenue up 5% YoY to $1.22B, Enterprise revenue up 7% to $730.7M, vs. $716.7M est., raises FY 2026 forecast above est.; ZM jumps 6%+ after hours  —  Zoom Communications Inc. gave a stronger-than-expected annual outlook for sales growth, and raised its fiscal-year forecast …
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google expands AI Mode to 180 countries and territories in English, following the US, the UK, and India, and plans to add more languages and regions “soon”  —  After launching in three countries, Google is now bringing AI Mode to many more countries around the world …
Chris Prentice / Reuters:
The DOJ says it will no longer target developers who create decentralized crypto platforms without criminal intent, as part of a regulatory retreat on crypto  —  The U.S. Justice Department does not plan to target software developers that create decentralized platforms for transmitting …
The Information:
Source: Meta has signed a deal with Google, worth more than $10B over six years, to use Google Cloud's servers, storage, networking, and other services  —  Google has struck a major cloud computing deal with Meta Platforms, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Bloomberg:
Interviews with three Google executives on the new Pixel phones, why Pixel won't ever be a “giant player”, improving the devices by ~30% each year, AI, and more  —  The search giant discusses an AI-powered world beyond the smartphone.  —  Google's Pixel 10 marks the phone's 10th generation …
Dan Primack / Axios:
Thoma Bravo agrees to acquire HR software provider Dayforce for $12.3B, paying $70 per share, a 32% premium to Dayforce shares before reports of a possible deal  —  Thoma Bravo has agreed to buy Dayforce, a Minneapolis-based HR software provider, for $12.3 billion.
Rafe Uddin / Financial Times:
Autonomous driving tech startup Nuro closed its $203M Series E at a $6B valuation, adding $97M from Uber, Nvidia, and others to the $106M tranche from April  —  California start-up secures new funding amid growing investor appetite in autonomous vehicle technology
Bloomberg:
DeepSeek details V3.1 and says it surpasses R1 on key benchmarks and is customized to work with next-gen Chinese-made AI chips, after unveiling it on August 19  —  DeepSeek unveiled an update to an older model that it says surpasses the seminal R1 on key benchmarks, keeping the Chinese startup …

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About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 10:25 PM ET, August 21, 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

New York Times:
Sources: an Iranian-aligned militia in Iraq is seeking the release of several detained militia members in exchange for freeing journalist Shelly Kittleson

Neel Dhanesha / Nieman Lab:
Three independent journalists experiment with a 30-day bundle of their newsletters for $8.50, half the normal price, using a service called Trustfnd

Minho Kim / New York Times:
A US appeals court pauses a lower-court order that would have reinstated around 1,000 Voice of America journalists and staff who had been put on paid leave

More News

Matt Burgess / Wired:
CBP data: between April and June 2025, CBP searched 14,899 devices carried by international travelers, up from a record 12,766+ between January and March 2022
Jason Schreier / Bloomberg:
Sources: Take-Two lays off 80+ staff at BioShock studio Cloud Chamber, or ~33% of its ~250 staff, and delays the next BioShock game to late 2026 or early 2027
Trishla Ostwal / Adweek:
In a UK tribunal filing, former Meta employee Samujjal Purkayastha alleges Meta misled advertisers by inflating its Shops ads metrics and bypassed Apple's ATT
John Collison / Cheeky Pint:
Q&A with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong on starting the company, battling North Korean hackers, stablecoin adoption, the GENIUS Act, pro-crypto Congress, and more

Earlier Picks

Meghan Bobrowsky / Wall Street Journal:
Meta froze hiring in its AI division last week with sources saying exceptions need Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang's permission; the freeze's duration is unclear
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Google's new AI features for Pixel include Magic Cue for contextual suggestions across apps, Voice Translate for calls, and Visual Overlays for the camera
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Sony raises PlayStation 5's prices by $50 in the US due to the “challenging economic environment”: PS5 is $550, PS5 Digital Edition is $500, and PS5 Pro is $750
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft and Asus plan to launch the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X handhelds on October 16; leaks suggest the Ally and Ally X will cost €599 and €899, respectively
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