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December 18, 2025, 12:40 PM
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| Financial Times: |
Trump Media agrees to merge with Google-backed fusion energy company TAE in a $6B deal and build the “world's first utility-scale fusion power plant” in 2026 — Trump Media & Technology Group's shares rise 37% after deal with TAE Technologies — The Trump family media group …
More: New York Times, TAE Technologies, The Verge, CNBC, Benzinga, Reuters, Decrypt, Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, Associated Press, New York Post, Blockchain.News, New Republic, Mediaite, Forbes, Fast Company, ZeroHedge News, Yahoo Finance, Investing.com, Media Play News, Fortune, Agence France-Presse, Telegraph, NucNet, Variety, The Independent, UPI, Daily Caller News Foundation, Newser, Financial Post, Blockonomi, The Guardian, Channel NewsAsia, Quartz, Dow Jones Newswires, Politico, Fox Business, Crypto Briefing, NewsMax.com, Forbes Middle East, CBS News, and BelfastTelegraph.co.uk
X: @shanumathew93, @tae, and @jsneedles
Bluesky: @mattmcneilshow, @mgsiegler.com, @robpegoraro.com, and @terrybsrq
Forums: r/politics, r/wallstreetbets, and r/neoliberal
| Fanny Potkin / Reuters: |
Sources: China built a working prototype of an EUV machine in early 2025 with a team of former ASML engineers who reverse-engineered the company's EUV machines — In a high-security Shenzhen laboratory, Chinese scientists have built what Washington has spent years trying to prevent …
More: PC Gamer, Cautious Optimism, Blockonomi, Implicator.ai, Implicator.ai, Tom's Hardware, Modern Diplomacy, WinBuzzer, The Information, TechEBlog, DigiTimes, The Japan Times, TechPowerUp, Engadget, Politico, Wccftech, Benzinga, Notebookcheck, and Sherwood News
X: @kyleichan, @alexandernl, @niubi, @newlefteviews, @dancollins2011, @curtis_yarvin, @shaunrein, @andrewcurran_, @rnaudbertrand, @richten_nach, @jcmittelstaedt, @plzbepatient, @jukan05, @zephyr_z9, @okaythenfuture, @mmjukic, @hsu_steve, @astrogrant, @aureliano451, @bubbleboi, @glennluk, @thedailymao, @byron_wan, @rickjoe_pla, @whyvert, @bgmasters, @lukolejnik, @arctotherium42, @pythiar, @kimmonismus, @emiyazono, @noahpinion, @gustaftweets, @ruima, @hsu_steve, @tisktusk, @jukan05, @industrlpolicy, @zephyr_z9, @zephyr_z9, and @asymmetricinfo
Bluesky: @carnage4life, @petertl, @jamesomalley.co.uk, and @raphae.li
| Jay Peters / The Verge: |
Filing: Sony and Tencent reach a “confidential settlement” over Tencent's Light of Motiram, a game that Sony alleged was a “slavish clone” of its Horizon series — Sony and Tencent have reached a ‘confidential settlement,’ and Light of Motiram is no longer listed on Steam or the Epic Games Store.
More: Game Developer, The Game Post, Game World Observer, GamesIndustry.biz, GamesRadar, Eurogamer.net, KitGuru, Polygon.com, Screen Rant, Gameranx, TechRaptor, TheGamer, Dexerto, GameSpot, Push Square, Kotaku, Tech4Gamers, games fray, GamingBolt, Rock, Paper, Shotgun, Engadget, Video Games Chronicle, and PlayStation LifeStyle
Bluesky: @jaypeters.net. Forums: r/TwoBestFriendsPlay, r/LIGHTOFMOTlRAM, r/Games, r/gaming, r/pcgaming, r/HorizonForbiddenWest, r/horizon, and r/PS5
| Rebekah Valentine / IGN: |
Circana: Xbox Series console sales fell 70% YoY to an all-time low in November, compared to the PS5's 40% YoY drop and Switch 1 and 2's combined 10% YoY fall — Down again. — This morning, we learned that November was a surprisingly bad month for video game spending across the board.
More: The Verge, Video Games Chronicle, GamingBolt, TheGamer, GamesIndustry.biz, Push Square, GamesBeat, CNET, Game File, and Bloomberg
| Juli Clover / MacRumors: |
Apple makes iOS changes in Japan to comply with local laws, including alternative app stores and payment options, a new fee structure, and new default controls — Apple today introduced several changes to the App Store in Japan to meet the requirements of the Mobile Software Competition Act (MSCA) that goes into effect on December 18.
More: Apple, AppleInsider, Apple Support, Benzinga, Business Today, MacTech.com, Silicon UK, Mobile World Live, iClarified, Bloomberg, MacDailyNews, Japan Today, Financial Times, Finimize, AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, Reuters, and The Keyword
X: @mattcassinelli and @mrjefago
Forums: r/apple, Slashdot, and MacRumors Forums
| Tim Sweeney / @timsweeneyepic: |
More: TechCrunch, Apple Developer, The Verge, 9to5Mac, and The Japan Times
X: @timsweeneyepic, @zkurishi, and @timsweeneyepic
| OpenAI: |
OpenAI opens app submissions for review and publication in ChatGPT, where users can discover or search for apps in a new app directory — We're opening app submissions for review and publication in ChatGPT, and users can discover apps in the app directory. — Earlier this year at DevDay, we introduced apps in ChatGPT.
More: The Verge, CNET, Thurrott, AIN, Engadget, TestingCatalog, Livemint, 9to5Mac, Fast Company, Android Headlines, SammyGuru, TechRadar, Digital Trends, Digit, WinBuzzer, Entrepreneur, The Decoder, PYMNTS.com, Analytics India Magazine, iClarified, Bloomberg Law, KnowTechie, TipRanks Financial, Digital Music News, and nextbigwhat
X: @ibuildthecloud, @gdb, @liadyosef, @romainhuet, @0xidanlevin, @testingcatalog, @kentcdodds, @therealadamg, @nickadobos, @openaidevs, and @firt. Mastodon: @shish@techhub.social. Forums: Hacker News
| Financial Times: |
Sources: Yann LeCun is in early talks to raise €500M for his startup at a ~€3B valuation, and plans to name Alexandre LeBrun as CEO, ahead of a January launch — Turing award winner is in early talks to raise €500mn ahead of January launch — Meta's chief artificial …
More: PYMNTS.com, Benzinga, Sifted, Blockonomi, and Reuters
| Niko Gallogly / New York Times: |
Stockholm-based vibe coding startup Lovable raised $330M led by CapitalG and Menlo Ventures at a $6.6B valuation, up from $1.8B after raising $200M in July — The Swedish company is now valued at $6.6 billion, more than triple its $1.8 billion valuation set by investors in July.| Chance Miller / 9to5Mac: |
Apple says it will roll out more App Store ads in 2026 “to increase opportunity in search results”; Apple's website says 800M+ users visit the App Store weekly — Apple is expanding the number of ads that appear in App Store search results. In an update on its Apple Ads website today … | Axios: |
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr tells a Senate committee the FCC “is not an independent agency”; the agency removed “independent agency” from its site as he testified — FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in his Wednesday Senate testimony that the agency he governs “is not an independent agency, formally speaking.”
More: New York Times, Ars Technica, Washington Post, Poynter, CNBC, The Guardian, The A.V. Club, Reuters, FedScoop, New Republic, Wall Street Journal, Raw Story, and The Independent
Bluesky: @karlbode.com, @karlbode.com, and @stevekovach
Forums: Hacker News, r/law, r/politics, and Slashdot
| The Information: |
Sources: OpenAI has held preliminary discussions with investors about raising tens of billions of dollars, and as much as $100B, at a valuation of around $750B — OpenAI has held preliminary discussions with some investors about raising new funding at a valuation of around $750 billion …
More: Bloomberg, Fortune, Proactive, New York Post, Windows Central, Reuters, WinBuzzer, Tech in Asia, StrictlyVC, Tech Funding News, Benzinga, The Decoder, and nextbigwhat
X: @edzitron, @amir, @kakashiii111, @firstadopter, @jimcramer, @stwboerse, @logicalthesis, @hypertechinvest, @jimcramer, @kimmonismus, and @ralph_grabowski. Bluesky: @edzitron.com
| MacKenzie Sigalos / CNBC: |
Coinbase rolls out stock trading, more advanced trading tools, prediction markets via Kalshi, and other features, amid a push to be a one-stop financial app — Coinbase is making its biggest push yet to reposition itself as a mainstream trading and financial platform, moving beyond crypto …
More: Coinbase, Benzinga, CoinDesk, Blockonomi, Bitcoin Insider, Coinpedia Fintech News, The Crypto Basic, CryptoNinjas, The Crypto Times, Inside Bitcoins, Crypto Briefing, crypto.news, DL News, Cryptonews, Tech in Asia, Yahoo Finance, Wall Street Journal, The Information, Investor's Business Daily, CoinCentral, The Block, Fortune, and CoinDesk
X: @coinbase, @solana, @brian_armstrong, @jerallaire, @brian_armstrong, @0xcryptosam, @coinbase, @jessepollak, @j0hnwang, @kalshi, @garrytan, @luanalopeslara, @brian_armstrong, @altcoinpsycho, @jupiterexchange, @elliotrades, @jinglejamop, @matt_hougan, @brian_armstrong, @1crypticpoet, @cryptocurb, @0xaneri, and @therollupco
Forums: r/Buttcoin and r/StockMarket
| Chainalysis: |
North Korean hackers stole a record $2.02B in crypto in 2025, a 51% YoY rise that takes its cumulative stolen total to $6.75B; individual wallet hacks hit 158K — TL;DR — North Korean hackers stole $2.02 billion in cryptocurrency in 2025, a 51% year-over-year increase … | Jake Bleiberg / Bloomberg: |
Amazon CSO Stephen Schmidt says subtle keystroke data lag, measuring 110ms instead of the expected tens of milliseconds, helped catch a North Korean IT worker — Security personnel tracked connections from a contractor. — An infinitesimal delay in the typed commands of a new IT worker provided …
More: Tom's Hardware
| Jeremy Kahn / Fortune: |
Endra, whose AI tools automate mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design for commercial buildings, raised a $20M seed led by Notion — Their startup just raised a $20 million seed funding round led by Notion Capital.PHOTO COURTESY OF ENDRA — When architects design a commercial building … | Sean O'Kane / TechCrunch: |
Rivian launches Universal Hands-Free driving for second-generation R1 EVs, expanding coverage from 135,000 highway miles to 3.5M+ miles across the US and Canada — Rivian's new second-generation R1 EVs are receiving an update today that brings the new “Universal Hands-Free” driving software …
More: Electrek
| Justine Calma / The Verge: |
Study: AI's 2025 power demand could hit 23GW, above 2024 Bitcoin mining levels, and AI carbon emissions could hit 32.6M to 79.7M tons, compared to NYC's 50M — A new study estimates the environmental impact of AI in 2025 and calls for more transparency from companies on their pollution and water consumption.
More: Tom's Hardware, The Guardian, and Digiconomist
| Shakeel Hashim / Transformer: |
UK AI Security Institute report: AI models are rapidly improving at potentially dangerous biological and chemical tasks, and show fast jumps in self-replication — AI models are rapidly improving at potentially dangerous biological and chemical tasks, and also showing fast increases … | Gavin Bonshor / More Than Moore: |
An in-depth look at a recent research paper that offered a roadmap to the viability of 3D HBM-on-GPU integration for improved AI performance and utilization — Five Things You Should Know Before Reading: — “3D HBM” Now Feasible: Offers improved AI performance and utilization.| Ian Allison / CoinDesk: |
Wall Street clearinghouse DTCC selects the Canton Network blockchain as a real-world asset tokenization partner after receiving a No-Action Letter from the SEC — Canton creator Digital Asset will help tokenize DTC-custodied U.S. Treasury securities. — What to know:| Paayal Zaveri / Bloomberg: |
Imprint, which helps retailers like Brooks Brothers offer co-branded credit cards and manage loyalty programs, raised $150M led by Khosla at a $1.2B valuation — Fintech startup Imprint Payments Inc., which helps retailers like Brooks Brothers offer co-branded credit cards …
More: PYMNTS.com, FinSMEs, Tech in Asia, Tech Funding News, and Silicon Republic
| Mary Ann Azevedo / Crunchbase News: |
Nirvana, which uses real-time driving telematics to build insurance policies for truckers, raised a $100M Series D at a $1.5B valuation, up from $830M in March — Nirvana Insurance, an AI-based commercial insurance platform for the trucking industry, has raised a $100 million Series D round …
More: SiliconANGLE, Yahoo Finance, and Lightspeed Venture Partners
| Ben Glickman / Wall Street Journal: |
Boat rental services Boatsetter and GetMyBoat plan to merge; Boatsetter CEO Michael Farb says the combined company is set to have $100M+ in bookings in 2025 — Boatsetter and GetMyBoat are on track for more than $100 million of combined bookings this year — Two peer-to-peer boat-rental platforms are merging.| Michael Nuñez / VentureBeat: |
Anthropic launches Agent Skills, which let AI assistants perform specialized tasks using modular instructions, and says Microsoft, Cursor, and others use them — Anthropic said on Wednesday it would release its Agent Skills technology as an open standard, a strategic bet that sharing …
More: The New Stack, ZDNET, and Axios
| Dakin Campbell / Business Insider: |
Fermi CEO Toby Neugebauer says Amazon canceled a $150M advance for a Texas AI data center campus; FRMI fell 34% on December 12 after saying a tenant canceled — - Amazon has been in talks to become the “first tenant” at Fermi America's Texas data centers, Fermi CEO Toby Neugebauer told BI.| The Information: |
Sources describe tensions between OpenAI's research and ChatGPT product groups, leading to the “code red”; OpenAI is set to beat its 2025 revenue goal of $13B — Over the past year, some OpenAI staffers noticed a concerning change in the way people who used ChatGPT were reacting to improvements in the chatbot.
X: @steph_palazzolo and @loyndsview
| Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch: |
Luma AI launches Ray3 Modify, which allows users to modify existing footage by providing character reference images; users can also define start and end frames — Luma, the a16z-backed AI video and 3D model company, released a new model called Ray3 Modify that allows users to modify existing footage … | Issie Lapowsky / Rest of World: |
Sources detail how Tiger Global fueled the COVID-era unicorn bubble that burst ahead of the AI boom; the firm recently shared its $12.7B 2021 fund is now up 16% — The fast-money pandemic era helped build billion-dollar startups around the world — then brought many down just as quickly.
X: @restofworld, @restofworld, @restofworld, @restofworld, @restofworld, and @rinachandran. LinkedIn: Anup Kaphle
Bluesky: @mvzelenko and @issielapowsky
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