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December 16, 2025, 4:50 PM
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| Rachel Metz / Bloomberg: |
OpenAI updates ChatGPT Images to generate images up to 4x faster and edit more precisely, and adds a new section in ChatGPT's app and website for images — OpenAI is rolling out an update to ChatGPT that's intended to generate images better and faster, the latest move by the artificial intelligence developer …
More: OpenAI, Fidji Simo, Livemint, MacRumors, Fox News, Thurrott, 9to5Mac, Moneycontrol, Engadget, Axios, VentureBeat, TechCrunch, TestingCatalog, Windows Report, Tom's Guide, Rohan's Bytes, Inc.com, iClarified, Business Insider, and 9to5Google
X: @designarena, @petergostev, @rovvmut_, @gabeeegoooh, @gdb, @flavioad, @theo, @gdb, @miles_brundage, @openai, @ai_for_success, @flowersslop, @koltregaskes, @therealadamg, @ai_for_success, @deedydas, @grx_xce, @emollick, @romainhuet, @yuchenj_uw, @kimmonismus, @deryatr_, @simonw, @testingcatalog, @kevinweil, @mark_k, @deryatr_, @fidjissimo, @nickaturley, @billpeeb, @sama, @sama, @openai, and @therealadamg. LinkedIn: Pranav Deshpande. Forums: r/OpenAI
| OpenAI: |
OpenAI launches FrontierScience, a benchmark to measure models' expert-level scientific reasoning with 700+ questions, finding GPT-5.2 is its strongest model — We introduce FrontierScience, a new benchmark that evaluates AI capabilities for expert-level scientific reasoning across physics, chemistry, and biology.
More: Time. X: @kimmonismus, @tejalpatwardhan, @gdb, @dr_singularity, @gdb, @emollick, @apples_jimmy, @alexolegimas, @littmath, @slow_developer, @andrewcurran_, @openai, @sama, @openai, and @openai
Bluesky: @timkellogg.me, @mrmandolino.itch.io, @vtmicah, @thedimpsler, @skiesofpluto, @prietschka, @feeney.dev, @k2mey, and @sherlocksdad. Forums: r/singularity
| 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: PYMNTS.com, Mercury News, San Francisco Business Times, Investor's Business Daily, Proactive, VC News Daily, Constellation Research, TechCrunch, FinSMEs, Reuters, Databricks, Capital Brief, and CNBC
X: @ldignan, @jaminball, @databricks, @vasuman, @alighodsi, @nikitabase, @deanwball, and @jamestitcomb. LinkedIn: Emma Roethler. Bluesky: @mgsiegler.com
| 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, Mozilla, The Mozilla Blog, PCMag, Thurrott, Mercury News, Michael Tsai, Implicator.ai, OMG! Ubuntu, Fast Company, and Phoronix
X: @datnofact, @privacy_guides, @acxtrila, @samfbiddle, @vxunderground, @jaythelinuxguy, @nixcraft, @gazthejourno, @vxunderground, @lundukejournal, and @f4micom. Bluesky: @cyberciti.biz
Mastodon: @sarahjamielewis …, @jbz@indieweb.social, @Barredo@mastodon.social, @catsalad@infosec.exchange, @mcc@mastodon.social, @phoenix@chaos.social, @tante@tldr.nettime.org, and @ianbetteridge@social …
Forums: Hacker News, r/firefox, r/technews, r/technology, r/BetterOffline, r/firefox, and Slashdot
| The Information: |
A look at Apple's iPhone roadmap; sources say the iPhone 18 Pro lineup will get under-screen Face ID, and the front camera will move to the top-left corner — The iPhone family is growing again. Over the next two years, Apple is planning a major expansion of its smartphone product line … | Financial Times: |
OpenAI hires former UK chancellor George Osborne to lead OpenAI for Countries, the global expansion arm of its $500B Stargate data center initiative — Former UK chancellor to lead start-up's effort to spread ‘democratic’ AI across the world — OpenAI has hired former UK chancellor George Osborne …
More: Bloomberg, Telegraph, The Information, Reuters, BBC, and The Guardian
Bluesky: @prietschka and @justinhendrix
| Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg: |
Instagram unveils its first TV app, initially available on Amazon's Fire TV as a test with plans to expand to other TV platforms — Meta Platforms Inc.'s Instagram unveiled its first dedicated TV app, which lets users watch the short-form video feature Reels on a larger screen.
More: about.instagram.com, About Amazon, ZDNET, Investor's Business Daily, Gizmodo, The Verge, Axios, The Hollywood Reporter, Pocket-lint, TVNewsCheck, Deseret News, AFTVnews, MediaPost, Crypto Briefing, Meta Newsroom, CNBC, 9to5Google, Android Central, The Wrap, Sherwood News, PCWorld, Deadline, Engadget, Business Insider, Android Headlines, Variety, TechCrunch, and Cord Cutters News
X: @milkkarten. LinkedIn: Carly Glassman, Joshua Danovitz, Carlos Pereira, Aidan Marcuss, and Michael A. Miner, Ph.D.
| New York Times: |
The US threatens economic penalties against European companies like Spotify if the EU does not roll back regulations and lawsuits targeting US tech giants — The Trump administration singled out European tech firms by name and promised economic consequences Tuesday unless the E.U. rolls back tech regulation and lawsuits.
More: Financial Times. X: @adamkovac, @kvanbrempt, @lutherlowe, @florian4gamers, @simon_nixon, and @ustraderep
Bluesky: @glinden, @wavesblog, @kylehugh.es, and @campuscodi.risky.biz
| New York Times: |
More: Financial Times, PYMNTS.com, BBC, DatacenterDynamics, UPI, AppleInsider, The Business Times, The Guardian, Capacity, CNBC, Telegraph, and Washington Examiner
X: @teroterotero, @josephpolitano, and @josephpolitano
Bluesky: @justinhendrix, @pippacrerar, @judah-grunstein, @mgerrydoyle, @andybrown1951, @premnsikka, @davidheniguk, and @globaljusticenow. Mastodon: @ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us
Forums: r/neoliberal, r/uknews, r/ukpolitics, r/unitedkingdom, r/europe, and r/ukpolitics
| Counterpoint Research: |
Global smartphone shipments are set to shrink 2.1% in 2026, led by Chinese OEMs, due to rising memory costs; DRAM prices could further raise costs by 10%-15% — - Global smartphone shipments in 2026 are expected to shrink 2.1% due to rising memory costs. — We have revised …
| Jessica Testa / New York Times: |
Netflix announces a partnership with iHeartMedia to exclusively publish at least 15 video podcasts beginning in early 2026, including The Breakfast Club — The streaming service now has about 30 video podcasts lined up for 2026, including the influential radio show “The Breakfast Club.”
More: iHeartMedia, Inc., TechCrunch, Engadget, Yahoo Finance, TVNewsCheck, Digital Music News, CNET, theJasmineBRAND, Investing.com, Inside Radio, TV Tech, Los Angeles Times, Business Insider, The Wrap, Streaming Better, Baller Alert, The Hollywood Reporter, Podcast Strategy Weekly, Variety, Radio Ink, Barrett Media, RadioInsight, The Verge, Radio World, Media Play News, and Radio & Television …
| Mike Wheatley / SiliconANGLE: |
Meta launches prompt-based sound separation model SAM Audio in its Segment Anything Playground, letting users isolate individual sounds from complex recordings — Meta Platforms Inc. is bringing prompt-based editing to the world of sound with a new model called SAM Audio that can segment individual sounds …
More: Meta Newsroom, The Register, Benzinga, and TestingCatalog
| Yogita Khatri / The Block: |
Hong Kong-based RedotPay, a fintech focused on stablecoin-based payments, raised a $107M Series B led by Goodwater Capital, bringing its total raised to ~$200M — Partner offers — Quick Take — RedotPay, a stablecoin-based payments fintech, has raised $107 million in a Series B round …
More: RedotPay, Cointelegraph, Coinspeaker, CoinDesk, Cryptonews, and Crypto Briefing
| 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, Forbes, Livemint, Digital Trends, Tom's Guide, The AI Economy, CNET, Lifewire, PetaPixel, Thurrott, and SiliconANGLE
| Robbie Whelan / Wall Street Journal: |
CoreWeave lost $33B in market value in six weeks amid construction delays at its data center in Denton, Texas, 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
More: CoinDesk, International Business Times, Fortune, TheMinerMag, and Benzinga
| Robert Hart / The Verge: |
Google launches CC, an experimental AI assistant that delivers a personalized daily “Your Day Ahead” briefing email based on users' emails and calendar — Google's new AI agent delivers a morning briefing personalized using your emails and calendar. … Google wants you to start your day with AI.
More: The Keyword, TechCrunch, How-To Geek, 9to5Google, Android Authority, and The Decoder
Bluesky: @lokster71, @mattknight, and @florini
| Natalie Lung / Bloomberg: |
DoorDash launches Zesty, a standalone AI-powered social app for users to find nearby restaurants, in public testing in San Francisco and New York — DoorDash Inc. is experimenting with a standalone artificial intelligence-powered app for users to find new restaurants, expanding its reach beyond its flagship food-delivery service.
More: TechCrunch. X: @andyfang, @jsneedles, @alexkehr, @eunifiedworld, @wongmjane, @aridutilh, and @heysaik
| 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 …
| Spencer Soper / Bloomberg: |
Amazon partners with payments startup Slope to offer loans of up to $5M to merchants selling on its platform, using Amazon sales data for candidate selection — Amazon.com Inc. is partnering with a JPMorgan Chase & Co.-backed startup to provide financing for small online businesses … | Maxwell Zeff / Wired: |
Source: OpenAI rolled back ChatGPT's model router, which sent some queries to reasoning models, for Free and $5/month Go tiers, as it was costly and hurt DAUs — As OpenAI scrambles to improve ChatGPT, it's ditching a feature in its free tier that contributed to last summer's user revolt.| Sarah Perez / TechCrunch: |
X updates its ToS, effective January 15, 2026, to explicitly claim rights to the “Twitter” trademark after a startup filed an application to trademark the term — Elon Musk's X is updating its Terms of Service to indicate it still lays claim to the “Twitter” trademark.
More: Bloomberg Law and Reuters
| Natalie Lung / Bloomberg: |
Perplexity updates its iPad app to improve multitasking and focus on research tools, part of a push to add business customers, after launching Comet on Android — Perplexity AI Inc. is relaunching its iPad app with features that include improved multitasking and an emphasis on research tools …
More: ArtWorkout
| Dan Primack / Axios: |
Event software company Cvent acquires video content platform Goldcast; source: Cvent paid just under $300M to acquire Goldcast, which had raised around $38M — - The deal was announced Monday morning without a price tag. … - Goldcast was founded as a virtual events company at around … | Andrew McCalip: |
Orbital solar data centers' cost-per-watt of compute is $51.10/W, far above $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.
X: @chaliceofenergy, @markianrubin, @princeofprawns0, @pham_blnh, @ludditedesign, @tjevarts, @_faraz, @mikebaccala, @lukaemon, @stolsvik, @daniellefong, @cjhandmer, @lispmeister, @adamscrabble, @pronounced_kyle, @lispmeister, @jul_coh, @robotbeat, @object_zero_, @andrewmccalip, @dhruvboruah, @interplanetary, @elidourado, @__drewface, @limitingthe, @drphiltill, @sammendel00, and @alesh09758566. LinkedIn: Bilal Zuberi
| Emily Mason / Bloomberg: |
Visa says it will allow US banks to settle transactions using Circle's USDC stablecoin over Solana, the US' first full deployment of stablecoin bank settlements — Visa Inc. is opening its US network to stablecoin settlement, expanding crypto-linked products and services enabled …
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