Techmeme
October 1, 2025, 10:25 AM

Top News

Meghan Bobrowsky / Wall Street Journal:
Meta plans to start using users' AI chatbot conversations to help personalize ads and content, starting December 16, but not in the UK, South Korea, and the EU  —  While users won't be able to opt out from the new policy, the content of some conversations will be automatically excluded
Financial Times:
Sources: the UK Home Office issued a new order to Apple in early September to create a backdoor into its cloud storage service, this time focused on UK users  —  Order issued in September comes after Trump administration said London had backed down in fight over encryption
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google unveils Gemini for Home, replacing Assistant on smart speakers with new voice options and improved conversational skills, and a redesigned Home app  —  Gemini for Home does more than just replace Google Assistant on smart speakers and displays.  Featuring a rebuilt Home architecture …
Chris Welch / Bloomberg:
Google unveils new Home products: $99 Google Home Speaker, set for spring 2026, third-gen $100 Nest Cam Indoor, second-gen $150 Nest Cam Outdoor, and more  —  Alphabet Inc.'s Google introduced a range of new Nest-branded hardware on Wednesday, just a day after Amazon.com Inc. held its own product showcase …
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge:
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft raises the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription price from $19.99 to $29.99 per month, rebrands Xbox Game Pass Core and Standard plans, and more  —  Microsoft is also adding PC games and cloud access to its new Xbox Game Pass Essential and Premium plans.
Ina Fried / Axios:
OpenAI releases an invitation-only Sora app on iOS, powered by Sora 2, that lets people create and share AI-generated videos of themselves and their friends  —  An Android version will follow eventually, OpenAI told Axios.  — The social app is powered by Sora 2, a new version of OpenAI's video model, which also launched Tuesday.
OpenAI:
Jennifer Maas / Variety:
Amazon unveils updates to Luna, including adding AAA games like Hogwarts Legacy and new GameNight original party games, available to Prime subscribers  —  Amazon is revamping its cloud-gaming service Luna to offer a wide variety of top-tier games, including “Hogwarts Legacy” and Xbox's …
Thomas Buckley / Bloomberg:
SAG-AFTRA criticizes AI-generated actress Tilly Norwood, the subject of a viral UK TV show parody, saying it opposes replacing performers with “synthetics”  —  SAG-Aftra, the union of film and TV industry actors, criticized the AI-generated character Tilly Norwood …
Robert Burnson / Bloomberg:
Apple files a motion to dismiss xAI's lawsuit, which alleges that Apple's ChatGPT integration stifles competition, saying it plans to integrate other chatbots  —  Apple Inc. says it did nothing wrong in choosing to partner with OpenAI — rather than Elon Musk's xAI — when it added generative …
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Z.ai:
Z.ai releases GLM-4.6, an open-weights model with a context window of up to 200K tokens, claiming near parity with Claude Sonnet 4 on coding and reasoning tasks  —  Today, we are releasing the latest version of our flagship model: GLM-4.6.  Compared with GLM-4.5, this generation brings several key improvements:
Victoria Song / The Verge:
Peloton unveils its Cross Training Series, including a $1,695 Bike and $6,695 Tread Plus, and AI-based Peloton IQ to track workouts on new and old machines  —  The fitness company is aiming for a comeback with new bikes, treadmills, AI, and higher prices  —  Peloton has been angling …
Lex Fridman:
Q&A with Pavel Durov on Telegram, his arrest, censorship, not using a phone, Romanian elections, VK, encryption, Edward Snowden, spring 2018 poisoning, and more  —  - Watch the full YouTube version of the podcast  —  Table of Contents  —  Here are the loose “chapters” in the conversation.
Yoolim Lee / Bloomberg:
Sam Altman signs a letter of intent with Samsung and SK Hynix to supply Stargate; Samsung and SK Hynix say demand from OpenAI could hit 900K wafers per month  —  Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Co. have forged initial agreements to supply chips and other gear to OpenAI's Stargate project …
Victoria Song / The Verge:
Oura unveils colorful ceramic Oura Ring 4 versions for $499+ in four finishes with enhanced durability and a thicker 3.51mm design, and a $99 charging case  —  The company is also introducing health panels for blood work, a recycling program, and multi-ring device support.
Politico:
The White House withdraws Brian Quintenz's nomination to lead the CFTC; the Winklevoss twins pressured Trump in July to reconsider his nomination  —  The White House withdrew Brian Quintenz's nomination to be a board member and chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission late Tuesday …
Krisztian Sandor / CoinDesk:
Stripe launches Open Issuance, a Bridge-powered platform that lets companies create its own stablecoins, used by crypto wallet Phantom to issue its CASH token  —  Payments giant Stripe unveiled a stablecoin issuance platform and AI commerce tools at its New York showcase on Tuesday …
Andrew Higgins / New York Times:
China's Global Digital Trade Expo in Hangzhou showcased robots, EVs, and a self-driving yacht, but questions remain over the US-China trade dispute and profits  —  The vast Global Digital Trade Expo in Hangzhou stood as a rebuke to U.S. efforts to hem in China's technology.
Richard Milne / Financial Times:
Swedish AI startups Lovable, Legora, and Sana, which is set to be acquired by Workday, highlight a dilemma in European tech: sell out or bet on getting big  —  Swedish start-ups show dilemma over choosing between selling up or betting on becoming huge  —  Anton Osika's AI start …

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Featured Podcasts

The Nick, Dick and Paul Show:
The Me, Me, Me Generation w/ Joel Stein
Nick Bilton, Dick Costolo, and Paul Kedrosky pull back the curtain on AI, startups, and the future rushing toward us, all with healthy dose of irreverence.
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Invest Like the Best:
Dylan Patel - The Infinite Demand for Tokens, Claude Mythos, and Supply Constraints
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
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Big Technology Podcast:
Are We Too Obsessed With AI Predictions? — With Carissa Véliz
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
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Great Chat:
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A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
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Channels with Peter Kafka:
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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.
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Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ryan Roslansky: Turning AI Anxiety into Skills for the Future of Work
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.
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Resilience Media:
Diana Novak Jones / Reuters:
Reuters:
Celia Ford / Transformer:
Ram Iyer / TechCrunch: