Open Links In New Tab
Mobile Archives Advertise Site News
Techmeme
December 16, 2025, 5:10 PM
Mediagazer memeorandum WeSmirch
Home River Leaderboards About Events Newsletter

Top News

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 …
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.
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
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.
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 …
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.
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.
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
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 …
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 …
Jessica Testa / New York Times:
Netflix announces a partnership with iHeartMedia to exclusively publish 15+ video podcasts from early 2026, including The Breakfast Club and My Favorite Murder  —  The streaming service now has about 30 video podcasts lined up for 2026, including the influential radio show “The Breakfast Club.”
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 …
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.
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.
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
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

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Try Gemini 3 Pro  —  Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Shopify:
Shopify's new AI commerce stack  —  Their VP of Product digs into just-launched products to help entrepreneurs and developers build with the latest AI and tech.
Zoho:
Email fatigue is real: Here's how smart email tools help you regain control  —  Picture this: It's Monday morning.  You walk into the office feeling energized and ready to take on the week.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.
Sponsor Techmeme

Featured Podcasts

Uncapped with Jack Altman:
 Saam Motamedi from Greylock Partners
Conversations with people I admire about things I'm genuinely interested in.
Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.
Invest Like the Best:
 Henry Ellenbogen - Man Versus Machine
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
Grit:
 How Evan Spiegel Is Building the Future of Computing
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Acquired:
 10 Years of Acquired (with Michael Lewis)
Learn the playbooks that built the world's greatest companies - and how you can apply them as a founder, operator, or investor.
Subscribe to Acquired.
Lenny's Podcast:
 Why humans are AI's biggest bottleneck (and what's coming in 2026) | Alexander Embiricos (OpenAI Codex Product Lead)
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
 Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling
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.
Add your podcast here
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 5:10 PM 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

Bloomberg:
Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners is exiting from Paramount's takeover bid for WBD, citing changed investment dynamics since it joined the bid in October

Christal Hayes / BBC:
The BBC says “as we have made clear previously, we will be defending” against Trump's defamation lawsuit and “we are not going to make further comment”

Jake Kanter / Deadline:
The UK government begins its review of the BBC's charter, set to expire in 2027, as ministers consider licence fee reforms and allowing more commercial revenue

More News

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
Emily Mason / Bloomberg:
Visa says it will allow US banks to settle transactions using Circle's USDC over Solana, the US banking system's first full deployment of stablecoin settlement
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

Earlier Picks

Emilia David / VentureBeat:
The Allen Institute for AI launches Bolmo 7B and Bolmo 1B, claiming they are “the first fully open byte-level language models”, built using its Olmo 3 models
Katherine Hamilton / Wall Street Journal:
PayPal says it filed US applications to establish PayPal Bank, to offer savings accounts and cut its reliance on third parties when loaning to small businesses
Mediagazer memeorandum WeSmirch
Home River Leaderboards About Events Newsletter