Open Links In New Tab
Mobile Archives Advertise Site News
Techmeme
December 17, 2025, 11:16 AM
Mediagazer memeorandum WeSmirch
Home River Leaderboards About Events Newsletter

Top News

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.
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google unveils Gemini 3 Flash that it says offers Pro-level performance with lower latency, higher efficiency, and reduced costs compared to 2.5 Pro  —  Following last month's launch of Gemini 3 Pro, Google today announced Gemini 3 Flash for consumers and developers.
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
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 …
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 …
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 TPUs  —  Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google is working on a new initiative to make its artificial intelligence chips better at running PyTorch …
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
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: 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 …
Bloomberg:
Sources: Waymo is in discussions to raise $15B+ led by Alphabet at a ~$100B valuation, up from 45B+ in October 2024, and has a $350M+ annual revenue run rate  —  Waymo, Alphabet Inc.'s autonomous driving unit, is in discussions to raise more than $15 billion at a valuation near $100 billion …
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?
Kevin Collier / NBC News:
Google sues the Chinese-speaking cybercriminal group known as Darcula, behind an alleged 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.
More: WWL-TV
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 …
Vlad Savov / Bloomberg:
Circana: US game console spending fell 27% in November to $695M, the lowest in the pivotal month for holiday shopping since 2005, after a tough year for makers  —  US spending on video game consoles fell 27% last month, marking the worst November in two decades as tariffs and rising component costs pushed prices to record highs.
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
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, calendar, and docs  —  Google's new AI agent delivers a morning briefing personalized using your emails and calendar.
Lora Kolodny / CNBC:
California's DMV says a California administrative law judge ruled that Tesla engaged in deceptive marketing around its Autopilot and “Full Self-Driving” systems  —  A California administrative law judge recently ruled recently that Tesla's marketing around its “Autopilot” and …

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

Channels with Peter Kafka:
 "Neither Side Is Used to Losing." Lucas Shaw on What's Next for Netflix and Paramount in the Battle for Warner Bros.
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.
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.
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 11:16 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.

From Mediagazer

Associated Press:
A US federal judge denied Sarah Palin's bid for a new libel trial against the NYT and rejected her motion for his recusal, after a jury found no libel in April

Joseph Berger / New York Times:
Norman Podhoretz, who transformed Commentary magazine into a controversial and influential neoconservative voice as its EIC from 1960 to 1995, has died at 95

BBC Press Office:
BBC News hires Lindsay McIntosh, previously Head of News at The Sunday Times, as its Executive News Editor

More News

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

Earlier Picks

Xiaomi Mimo:
Xiaomi releases MiMo-V2-Flash, an open-weight MoE model with 309B total and 15B active parameters, saying it excels in reasoning, coding, and agentic scenarios
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
X updates its ToS to claim the rights to the “Twitter” trademark and countersues Operation Bluebird after the startup filed an application to trademark the term
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
New York Times:
The US threatens penalties against European companies, like Mistral and Spotify, if the EU does not roll back regulations and lawsuits targeting US tech giants
Mediagazer memeorandum WeSmirch
Home River Leaderboards About Events Newsletter