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December 17, 2025, 12:54 PM
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| Abner Li / 9to5Google: |
Google unveils Gemini 3 Flash, which it says has Pro-grade reasoning with lower latency, outperforming 2.5 Pro “while being 3x faster at a fraction of the cost” — Following last month's launch of Gemini 3 Pro, Google today announced Gemini 3 Flash for consumers and developers.
More: The Keyword, Livemint, ZDNET, Bloomberg, CNET, The New Stack, The Verge, Engadget, SiliconANGLE, The Keyword, and TechRadar
X: @gregkamradt, @arcprize, @levie, @jeffdean, @noamshazeer, @scaling01, @scaling01, @patelnamra573, @joncallahan, @kimmonismus, @scaling01, @ai_for_success, @swalliec69635, @jackwoth98, @ntaylormullen, @aibattle_, @arkitus, @dynamicwebpaige, @addyosmani, @sundarpichai, @demishassabis, @mweinbach, @osanseviero, @techikansh, @omarsar0, @ammaar, @sam_witteveen, @rseroter, @kat_kampf, @engineerrprompt, @melvinjohnsonp, @saboo_shubham_, @jeffdean, @fhinkel, @jeffdean, @rmstein, @scaling01, @thefox, @joshwoodward, @koraykv, @officiallogank, @googledeepmind, @officiallogank, @sundarpichai, @jeffdean, and @googleai
| Tulsee Doshi / The Keyword: |
Gemini 3 Flash costs $0.50 per 1M input tokens and $3 per 1M output tokens, vs. Gemini 2.5 Flash's $0.30 per 1M input tokens and $2.50 per 1M output tokens — Gemini 3 Flash is our latest model with frontier intelligence built for speed that helps everyone learn, build, and plan anything — faster.
More: Search Engine Land, Axios, Ars Technica, Google Developers Blog, iPhone in Canada, Rohan's Bytes, Search Engine Journal, and Digital Trends
Forums: Hacker News, r/singularity, and r/Bard
| Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch: |
Google makes Gemini 3 Flash the default model in the Gemini app and Search's AI mode; it scored 33.7% without tool use on Humanity's Last Exam vs. 3 Pro's 37.5% — Google today released its fast and cheap Gemini 3 Flash model, based on the Gemini 3 released last month, looking to steal OpenAI's thunder.
More: 9to5Google, The Keyword, SEAL Leaderboard, and Tom's Guide
| The Information: |
Sources: Amazon is in talks to invest $10B+ in OpenAI at a $500B+ valuation, with OpenAI using AWS Trainium; Microsoft keeps the rights to sell OpenAI's models — Amazon is in talks to invest $10 billion or more in OpenAI, according to three people familiar with the discussions.
More: Reuters, CNBC, Windows Central, Bloomberg, iPhone in Canada, The Decoder, Techstrong.ai, Spyglass, Financial Times, Proactive, Barchart.com, DatacenterDynamics, israelhayom.com, PYMNTS.com, Dow Jones Newswires, Implicator.ai, Forbes Middle East, Quartz, The Guardian, Implicator.ai, Watcher Guru, TechCrunch, Engadget, Business Today, Fortune, Capacity, Modern Diplomacy, Tech Funding News, WinBuzzer, ZeroHedge News, and Economic news
| Financial Times: |
Sources: Blue Owl Capital won't back Oracle's planned $10B, 1GW data center in Michigan, after funding talks stalled due to concerns over debt terms and delays — Investment firm concerned about tougher debt terms and the risk of delays to the vast project| Wall Street Journal: |
WBD recommends shareholders reject Paramount's unsolicited $108.4B cash bid, calling the offer “illusory” and saying it believes Netflix's proposal is superior — Warner raised concerns about the credibility of Paramount's ‘illusory’ offer and its backing from the Ellison family
More: Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc., Reuters, The Verge, Associated Press, Silicon Valley Business …, TechCrunch, Benzinga, Deadline, CNN, Engadget, New York Post, masslive.com, TechRadar, Business Insider, The Economic Times, The National, Paramount Skydance Corporation, Variety, The Wrap, Inc.com, Media Play News, Dow Jones Newswires, mxdwn Television, CGMagazine, GameSpot, IWCP Online, Just The News, ScreenCrush, HotAir, UPI, CBS News, Business Standard, New York Times, NBC News, Euronews, Times of India, Financial Times, Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg, Axios, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Times, Deadline, Screen, The Streamable, Streaming Better, Miami Herald, Investomania, iPhone in Canada, Front Office Sports, Straight Arrow News, Barrett Media, Türkiye Today, and CNBC
X: @pkafka, @xpangler, @pkafka, @sherman4949, @pkafka, @brianstelter, and @sarafischer
| Financial Times: |
Sources detail Mark Zuckerberg's all-in bet to make Meta an AI leader, with some saying Alexandr Wang finds Zuckerberg's micromanagement of AI work suffocating — A year of internal disorder, fluctuating priorities and colossal spending at Meta has rattled insiders and investors
More: Beyond Search. X: @fakepsyho, @rabois, @justindross, @alexandr_wang, and @starcourse. Bluesky: @quinnypig.com
| Sarah Perez / TechCrunch: |
Google brings its vibe coding tool Opal to Gemini on the web, letting users create their own custom AI-powered mini apps, called Gems, which can be reused later — Google's vibe-coding tool, Opal, is making its way to Gemini. The company on Wednesday said it is integrating the tool …
More: The Keyword, Android Central, Digital Trends, The Indian Express, and TestingCatalog
X: @jacalulu and @googlelabs
| Akash Sriram / Reuters: |
Coursera plans to acquire rival online education platform Udemy in an all-stock deal valued at $2.5B, combining two of the largest US-based learning platforms — Online education platform Coursera (COUR.N) said on Wednesday it would buy rival Udemy (UDMY.O) in an all-stock deal …
More: TechCrunch, Business Wire, SiliconANGLE, Proactive, Benzinga, Constellation Research, and Techstrong.ai
| Financial Times: |
Sources: top Monzo shareholders, including Accel and Iconiq, are pushing to oust Chair Gary Hoffman and retain CEO TS Anil, who is in the role until February — Investors including Accel and Iconiq are also pressing for greater board representation for shareholders
More: Sifted, BusinessCloud, and Reuters
| Kevin Collier / NBC News: |
Google sues the Chinese-speaking cybercriminal group known as Darcula, allegedly behind a US text message phishing ring, in the US, seeking a restraining order — Google says the group's tools enabled scammers with little technical skill to impersonate agencies like the IRS and the USPS at a massive scale.| Vismaya V / Decrypt: |
Bhutan pledges up to 10K bitcoin, valued at ~$1B, to develop Gelephu Mindfulness City; Arkham: Bhutan holds 5,984 BTC, ranking seventh among sovereign holders — The 10,000 BTC will generate yields for GMC's growth while being held long-term, with Bhutan ruling out selling the reserves. — In brief| Punchbowl News: |
a16z releases a nine-pillar AI policy framework for Congress, including restricting AI use for under-13s without parental consent and keeping a role for states — Andreessen Horowitz is laying out a framework on Wednesday that it wants Congress to take up for artificial intelligence … | Dia Rekhi / The Economic Times: |
Sources: Apple is in preliminary talks with India-based CG Semi, which offers chip assembly and testing services, to assemble and package chips for the iPhone — Exploratory conversations have taken place between Murugappa Group-owned CG Semi, which is building an outsourced semiconductor assembly and test … | Bloomberg: |
Sources: Binance has been exploring ways to reboot its Binance.US affiliate, including a recapitalization to cut CZ's stake, which is a hurdle to expansion — Changpeng Zhao has unfinished business. — The billionaire co-founder of Binance has stepped back into the spotlight …
More: Benzinga, Decrypt, The Crypto Times, and The Coin Republic
X: @fintechfrank and @degeneratenews
| Ashutosh Joshi / Bloomberg: |
Bengaluru-based e-commerce platform Meesho is up 95% from its IPO offer price, valuing it at nearly $11B and making it India's best-performing major IPO of 2025 — Follow Bloomberg India on WhatsApp for exclusive content and analysis on what billionaires, businesses and markets are doing.
More: Entrackr and Tech in Asia
| Reuters: |
Sources: Google is working on a new initiative to make its AI chips run PyTorch better and is working closely with Meta, as the two discuss Meta using more TPUs — Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google is working on a new initiative to make its artificial intelligence chips better at running PyTorch …
More: Sherwood News and Investing.com
| Scott Feinberg / The Hollywood Reporter: |
The Academy signs a multi-year deal that will give YouTube the exclusive global rights to the Oscars, beginning in 2029 and running through 2033 — The Academy announced on Wednesday: — LOS ANGELES, CA - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and YouTube signed a multi-year deal … | Akash Sriram / Reuters: |
Hut 8 partners with Fluidstack to build an AI data center in Louisiana for Anthropic, backed by a 15-year, ~$7B lease, starting with 245MW of computing capacity — Hut 8 (HUT.O) has signed a deal valued at about $7 billion to lease a data center in Louisiana, it said on Wednesday …
| Ben Lang / Road to VR: |
Meta says it has frozen its third-party Horizon OS headset program, announced in 2024 with Asus and Lenovo as the first partners to build headsets — Meta has “paused” its initiative to bring third-party Horizon OS headsets to the market. The company says it has shifted focus to … | Bloomberg: |
Sources: at least six Chinese AI companies, like chip firms Montage and GigaDevice, are set to IPO in Hong Kong in the coming weeks, aiming to raise up to $1B — At least six Chinese companies related to artificial intelligence are set to go public in Hong Kong in the coming weeks … | Jeremy Kahn / Fortune: |
Ankar, which develops LLM-powered AI tools to streamline the process of drafting patent applications for patent attorneys, raised a $20M Series A led by Atomico — The company, which just secured a $20 million Series A venture capital round, is using AI to streamline the process of obtaining …
More: Artificial Lawyer, Tech.eu, EU-Startups, BusinessCloud, and Index Ventures
| Chris Gardner / The Hollywood Reporter: |
Daniel Kwan and 500+ writers, actors, and technologists launch the Creators Coalition on AI to push standards for AI training and use across creative industries — The organization, which published four distinct goals and a call to action while gathering hundreds of signatories …
More: Creators Coalition on A.I., NewsMax.com, and Decrypt
| Rachel Metz / Bloomberg: |
OpenAI updates ChatGPT Images to generate images up to 4x faster and edit uploads 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 …
More: OpenAI, Fidji Simo, PCMag, ZDNET, Music Ally, PetaPixel, International Business Times, 9to5Mac, AIN, Windows Central, Axios, Stratechery, The Neuron Blog, Android Headlines, TechCrunch, MacRumors, VentureBeat, Engadget, and OpenAI
X: @openai, @openai, @arena, @artificialanlys, @eptwts, @synthwavedd, @simonw, @aakashg0, @venturetwins, @emollick, @kakashiii111, @edzitron, @kimmonismus, @kimmonismus, @benhylak, @rahll, @scaling01, @edzitron, @designarena, @petergostev, @rovvmut_, @gabeeegoooh, @gdb, @flavioad, @theo, @gdb, @miles_brundage, @fidjissimo, @ai_for_success, @flowersslop, @koltregaskes, @therealadamg, @ai_for_success, @deedydas, @grx_xce, @emollick, @romainhuet, @yuchenj_uw, @deryatr_, @testingcatalog, @kevinweil, @mark_k, @deryatr_, @billpeeb, @therealadamg, @nickaturley, @sama, and @sama. LinkedIn: Pranav Deshpande. Bluesky: @edzitron.com. Forums: r/OpenAI
| Financial Times: |
Berlin-based Trade Republic says early investors will sell €1.2B of shares to Sequoia and others at a €12.5B valuation, becoming Germany's most valuable startup — Trade Republic's €1.2bn share deal also attracts new backers including Singapore's wealth fund
More: Tech Funding News and Bloomberg
| Jennifer Maas / Variety: |
Sources: Disney has been hesitant to license its IP to Roblox because it doesn't consider it a safe platform, bucking the trend followed by Netflix and others — Here's a stat that might shock anyone who isn't the parent of a Gen Alpha kid: As of October 2025, online gaming platform Roblox boasted … | Igor Bonifacic / Engadget: |
OnePlus 15R review: the new $700+ device is fast with a big battery and a vibrant 165Hz OLED, but one less camera than 2024's 13R and only four years of support — The tradeoff is an even worse camera than the OnePlus 15. — I know what you're thinking, didn't OnePlus release a new phone just last month?
More: PCMag, Business Today, Tech Advisor, 9to5Google, CNET, Android Police, ZDNET, The Verge, Android Central, Livemint, Droid Life, The Hans India, TechRadar, GSMArena.com, Trusted Reviews, Tom's Guide, Digit, SlashGear, The Indian Express, NDTV Profit, Digital Trends, Android Headlines, Notebookcheck, and Android Authority
| Prianka Srinivasan / The Guardian: |
The Marshall Islands unveils a national UBI scheme that offers payments of ~$200 per quarter to every resident citizen via stablecoin or traditional currency — Quarterly payments of $200 to be offered via stablecoin or traditional currency in a scheme designed to ease cost of living pressures in the Pacific nation
More: crypto.news and Cryptonews
| Tim Bradshaw / Financial Times: |
Meta partners with Singapore-based startup K-ID to add its AgeKey age-verification tech to Meta apps, and plans to roll it out across multiple countries in 2026 — Tech giant plans to roll out new AgeKey technology across multiple countries next year — Meta is adopting a new age-checking system …
More: iPhone in Canada, Biometric Update, OpenAge Initiative Blog, OpenAge Initiative, and OpenAge Initiative on LinkedIn
LinkedIn: k-ID, Julian Corbett, and Joanna Shields
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