Techmeme
December 17, 2025, 7:40 AM

Top News

The Information:
Sources: Amazon is in talks to invest $10B+ in OpenAI at a $500B+ valuation, with OpenAI using AWS Trainium chips; Microsoft keeps rights to sell OpenAI models  —  Amazon is in talks to invest $10 billion or more in OpenAI, according to three people familiar with the discussions.
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:
Wall Street Journal:
WBD recommends shareholders reject Paramount's unsolicited cash bid, calling the offer “illusory” and saying it believes Netflix's proposal is still superior  —  Warner raised concerns about the credibility of Paramount's ‘illusory’ offer and its backing from the Ellison family
Bloomberg:
Sources: Waymo is in discussions to raise more than $15B led by Alphabet at a valuation near $100B, and has achieved an annual revenue run rate above $350M  —  Waymo, Alphabet Inc.'s autonomous driving unit, is in discussions to raise more than $15 billion at a valuation near $100 billion …
Bloomberg:
Sources: 6+ Chinese AI companies, including chip firms Montage and GigaDevice, are set to go public 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 …
Bloomberg:
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  —  U.S. officials excoriated the European Union for discriminating against American technology companies and threatened …
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.
Reuters:
Crypto exchange HashKey closed flat in its Hong Kong debut, after rising as much as 6.6% before falling 8.4% intraday, amid a weakness in digital assets  —  Cryptocurrency exchange HashKey Holdings Ltd (3887.HK) made a flat debut in Hong Kong on Wednesday amid recent weakness in digital assets …
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 …
More: Dexerto and Glossy
Lora Kolodny / CNBC:
California's DMV says a California administrative law judge recently ruled that Tesla engaged in deceptive marketing around its Autopilot and FSD systems  —  A California administrative law judge recently ruled recently that Tesla's marketing around its “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving” …
Vismaya V / Decrypt:
Bhutan unveils a pledge of up to 10,000 bitcoin to develop Gelephu Mindfulness City; Arkham says Bhutan holds 5,984 bitcoin, ranking 7th 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.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
X updates its ToS to claim rights to the “Twitter” trademark and countersues Operation Bluebird after the 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.
Jill R Shah / Financial Times:
Dune and Keyrock: bets placed on prediction markets rose from <$100M per month in early 2024 to $13B per month in November, as Polymarket and Kalshi compete  —  Value of bets soars from $100mn to $13bn a month  —  Prediction markets have ballooned 130 times in size over the past two years …

Sponsor Posts

Soxton:
Fast, affordable law for startups  —  Soxton automates startup legal so founders can move faster and sleep better.  We handle incorporation, advisor, employment and commercial contracts.  Join the waitlist for early access!
Equals:
Stop vibe coding analytics  —  Equals AI turns questions about your business into auditable spreadsheet models and dashboards.  Build once, iterate for years.
Zoho:
Zoho Mail MCP: Make your inbox work for you  —  Maya is the head of operations at a 500-person B2B software company.  She's sharp, she's busy, and she starts every morning the same way-with her coffee, laptop, inbox.Not to work.
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.

Featured Podcasts

Grit:
Airwallex's Jack Zhang on Fintech, Failure, and Growth
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
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.
Lenny's Podcast:
OpenAI Codex lead on the new shape of product work | Andrew Ambrosino
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.
Big Technology Podcast:
Anthropic's Mythos is Back, OpenAI Releases GPT 5.6, Apple's Price Increases
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:
'The Daily' and 'The Opinions': How A.I. Is Changing Loneliness and Taste
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.
The Upstarts Podcast:
Writer's May Habib: Building AI Tools For Corporate 'Normal People' The Labs Leave Behind
Veteran tech reporter Alex Konrad sits down with breakout entrepreneurs taking on the status quo to shake up their fields in AI, design, nuclear energy, space, and more.
Subscribe to The Upstarts Podcast.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 7:40 AM ET, December 17, 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.

More News

Xiaomi Mimo:
Spencer Soper / Bloomberg:

Earlier Picks

Jessica Testa / New York Times:
Financial Times:
Natalie Lung / Bloomberg:
The Information:
Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg: