|
December 16, 2025, 11:20 AM
|
Mediagazer
memeorandum
WeSmirchTop News
| David Pierce / The Verge: |
Mozilla appoints Anthony Enzor-DeMeo as its CEO, after years of its for-profit arm juggling layoffs, restructuring, its Google dependence, and the AI landscape — Anthony Enzor-DeMeo says he thinks there's room for another browser, even an AI browser — as long as you can trust it.
More: The Register, The Mozilla Blog, Bloomberg, PR Newswire, Fast Company, and Phoronix
Mastodon: @sarahjamielewis …, @Barredo@mastodon.social, and @catsalad@infosec.exchange
Forums: Hacker News, r/technology, and Slashdot
| Robbie Whelan / Wall Street Journal: |
CoreWeave lost $33B in market value in six weeks amid construction delays at its Denton, Texas AI data center, criticism from short seller Jim Chanos, and more — The data-center provider's terrible six-week slide picked up speed when a famous short seller piled concerns on top of delays| Counterpoint Research: |
Global smartphone shipments in 2026 are set to shrink 2.1% due to rising memory costs, led by Chinese OEMs; DRAM prices could further raise costs by 10% to 15% — - Global smartphone shipments in 2026 are expected to shrink 2.1% due to rising memory costs.
More: Axios, Macworld, 9to5Google, AppleInsider, The Register, Silicon Republic, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, Bloomberg, Moneycontrol, MacTech.com, Android Authority, Reuters, CNBC, Tech in Asia, and TechPowerUp. Forums: MacRumors Forums
| New York Times: |
Sources: the US has paused its Tech Prosperity Deal with the UK, signed in September, over frustrations about UK online safety rules and digital services taxes — The U.S. government has paused a tech-focused trade pledge with Britain over broader disagreements about Britain's digital regulations and food safety rules.
More: Financial Times, AppleInsider, The Guardian, BBC, The Business Times, Capacity, Benzinga, Telegraph, CNBC, Reuters, Politico, and Daily Sabah
X: @teroterotero, @josephpolitano, and @josephpolitano
Bluesky: @mgerrydoyle, @justinhendrix, @judah-grunstein, @premnsikka, @davidheniguk, @andybrown1951, and @globaljusticenow. Mastodon: @ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us
Forums: r/neoliberal, r/uknews, r/ukpolitics, r/unitedkingdom, r/europe, and r/ukpolitics
| Ben Thompson / Stratechery: |
Q&A with Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe on founding Rivian in 2009, production challenges, the VW partnership, autonomy, AI, EVs, chips, CarPlay, and more — Today's Stratechery Interview is with Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe. Last week Rivian held their Autonomy and AI Day …
More: 9to5Mac, PYMNTS.com, Fast Company, and EV
| Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch: |
Adobe adds a prompt-based video editor to its Firefly app that uses Runway's Aleph model, and adds image and video models from Black Forest Labs and others — Adobe is updating its AI video-generation app, Firefly, with a new video editor that supports precise prompt-based edits …
More: The Adobe Blog, Thurrott, CNET, SiliconANGLE, and The AI Economy
| Belle Lin / Wall Street Journal: |
Databricks is raising a $4B Series L at a $134B valuation, up from $100B in September and $62B in December 2024, and had a $4.8B annual revenue rate in October — The data-analytics and AI software company is raising over $4 billion and crossed $4.8 billion in annual revenue rate
More: Reuters, FinSMEs, Capital Brief, TechCrunch, CNBC, Bloomberg, Constellation Research, and Databricks
| Ryan Lawler / Axios: |
Sequence, which builds AI agents to automate B2B companies' revenue operations, raised a $20M Series A led by 645 Ventures, bringing its total funding to ~$40M — Sequence, which builds AI agents to automate revenue operations for B2B companies, raised $20 million in Series A funding, CEO Riya Grover tells Axios exclusively.
More: Sifted
| New York Times: |
Elizabeth Warren and two other Democratic senators write to Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and others about AI data centers' role in rising electricity bills — Three Democrats are seeking information from tech firms about the growing energy use of data centers and the utility bills of individuals and other businesses.
More: Tom's Hardware and RTÉ
| William Sandlund / Financial Times: |
Shares in Chinese companies critical to AI infrastructure surged in 2025, with CATL up 45% and Sungrow up 130%, as exports boost margins despite Trump's tariffs — Companies such as battery maker CATL earn big margins on export sales despite US tariffs — Shares in Chinese makers of batteries …
More: Financial Times
| Rest of World: |
Analysis: of the 8,808 global data centers in October 2025, ~7,000 are in areas outside the optimal 18C to 27C temperature range; 600 are in areas above 27C — In 21 countries, all data centers are located in climates that are too hot. — On paper, Singapore is a terrible location for a data center.
More: Chicago Sun Times and The Overspill
| Andrew McCalip: |
The cost-per-watt of compute for orbital solar data centers is $51.10/W vs. just $15.85/W for terrestrial sites; SpaceX is uniquely positioned to try orbital — It might not be rational But It might be physically possibleBefore we get nerd sniped by the shiny engineering details, ask the only question that matters.
More: MarketWatch. X: @andrewmccalip. Bluesky: @akhilrao, @mikeyass, and @sungkim. Forums: Hacker News
| Reuters: |
China approves two Level 3 autonomous cars from state-owned Changan Auto and BAIC Motor, the first such approvals; the cars can drive in Chongqing and Beijing — China's industry regulator on Monday approved two Chinese cars with level-3 autonomous driving capabilities …
More: Engadget, Dow Jones Newswires, Bloomberg, South China Morning Post, and Benzinga. X: @poezhao0605
| Financial Times: |
Sources: Monzo CEO TS Anil, who announced his exit and handover to ex-Googler Diana Layfield in October, was pushed out by the board over an IPO timing clash — Timing for fintech's planned listing was a key aspect of ructions ahead of TS Anil's surprise departure| Gregory Schmidt / New York Times: |
VW plans to end vehicle production at its Dresden plant, which opened in 2001, and convert it into a research hub focused on AI, robotics, and chip design — The auto giant stopped making cars at the plant in Dresden, which opened in 2001, as it faces weaker demand and steep U.S. tariffs.
Forums: r/neoliberal
| Mark Bergen / Bloomberg: |
As Europe rearms, Anduril is trying to break through in the UK by co-funding major programs, cutting manufacturing deals, and billing itself as “Anglo-American” — As Europe rearms, the US weapons maker is trying to break through in the UK by co-funding major programs … | Lora Kolodny / CNBC: |
Tesla's shares closed at a 2025 high on December 15, after the company confirmed it is testing its driverless vehicles in Austin without a human safety operator — Nearly six months after launching a limited Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas with safety drivers in the car …
More: Electrek, Interesting Engineering, Blockonomi, Tech in Asia, Benzinga, EV, Business Insider, Carscoops, Watcher Guru, TechCrunch, Proactive, InsideEVs, The Information, Gizmodo, Reuters, Motley Fool, Mashable, Sherwood News, and CleanTechnica
X: @elonmusk, @aelluswamy, @mandablorian, @tesla, @garyblack00, @robotaxi, @olivercameron, @sawyermerritt, @yunta_tsai, @scobleizer, @sawyermerritt, @divestech, @scobleizer, @cb_doge, @tesla, @tesla, and @divestech. Bluesky: @carnage4life. Forums: r/RealTesla
Sponsor Posts
Subquadratic:
Subquadratic: the LLM built for 12M-token reasoning — SubQ can reason across entire codebases and document sets in one pass with no RAG workarounds. Read how SubQ 1.1 Small holds near-perfect retrieval out to 12M tokens.
Subquadratic: the LLM built for 12M-token reasoning — SubQ can reason across entire codebases and document sets in one pass with no RAG workarounds. Read how SubQ 1.1 Small holds near-perfect retrieval out to 12M tokens.
Cape:
Most carriers track everything. Cape doesn't. — Unlimited talk, text & data, 24-hr metadata deletion, network ID rotation, SIM-attack defense, and more. Switch today and get 29% off for life.
Most carriers track everything. Cape doesn't. — Unlimited talk, text & data, 24-hr metadata deletion, network ID rotation, SIM-attack defense, and more. Switch today and get 29% off for life.
Zoho:
App Spotlight: MessageWhiz SMS for Zoho CRM — App Spotlight brings you hand-picked solutions that enhance your Zoho apps and tools. Visit Zoho Marketplace to explore all of our apps, integrations …
App Spotlight: MessageWhiz SMS for Zoho CRM — App Spotlight brings you hand-picked solutions that enhance your Zoho apps and tools. Visit Zoho Marketplace to explore all of our apps, integrations …
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.
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:
Big Tech's Insane Hidden AI Spending, Ranking Anthropic vs. OpenAI, AI For Travel Debate
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.
Hard Fork:
OpenAI's Two-Week Pause + Jill Lepore on the Threat of the "Artificial State" + Train of Thought
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
The $12.5 Billion Lakers, the NFL's TV Fight, and Sports Media's Big Split
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.
Training Data:
Rich Sutton and Khurram Javed: Why AI Models Stop Learning, and How to Start It Again
Sequoia Capital partners host conversations with leading AI builders and researchers to develop a deeper understanding of the evolving technologies and their implications.
Subscribe to Training Data.
Invest Like the Best:
Ben Thompson on Big Tech, China, and the AI Boom Running Out of Money
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Connecting the Unconnected: Doreen Bogdan-Martin
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 11:20 AM ET, December 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.
From Mediagazer
Jennifer Jacobs / CBS News:Gene Maddaus / Variety:
Dominic Patten / Deadline:
Upcoming Tech Events
More News
| Emily Mason / Bloomberg: |
| Maxwell Zeff / Wired: |
More: Axios, eWeek, Digit, BMI, TheDesk.net, and PR Week UK
LinkedIn: Hannah Wong and Maxwell Zeff
Forums: r/BetterOffline and r/OpenAI
| Emilia David / VentureBeat: |
More: Ai2, Digit, WinBuzzer, and Hugging Face
| Katherine Hamilton / Wall Street Journal: |
More: 9to5Mac, Engadget, FinTech Futures, Bloomberg, TechRadar, PayPal, Inc., The US Sun, Financial Times, Washington Post, Pulse 2.0, Blockonomi, Finextra, The Information, Decrypt, Reuters, Payments Dive, PYMNTS.com, CNBC, American Banker, and Watcher Guru
X: @thoraxe_kitsu and @chibireviews
LinkedIn: Emil Protalinski and Scott T Henderson
| Stephen Nellis / Reuters: |
More: Intel, The Register, Proactive, Tom's Hardware, DigiTimes, Business Today, Benzinga, TechPowerUp, Telecompaper, Oregonian, and Bloomberg
X: @lipbutan1. LinkedIn: Lip-Bu Tan, Robin Colwell, Allen Thompson, and Greg Ernst. Bluesky: @golikehellmachine.com. Forums: r/intelstock
Earlier Picks
| Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge: |
More: GM News, Appleosophy, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, CBT News, Digital Trends, Tech Times, MotorTrend, EV, iDrop News, 9to5Mac, American Cars And Racing, iClarified, The Drive, InsideEVs, TopSpeed, Bloomberg, and BGR
Forums: r/cars and MacRumors Forums
| Reshmi Basu / Bloomberg: |
| Ben Schoon / 9to5Google: |