|
December 18, 2025, 1:10 PM
|
Mediagazer
memeorandum
WeSmirchTop News
| 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, Wall Street Journal, Decrypt, Associated Press, TechCrunch, Al Jazeera, New York Post, Blockchain.News, NDTV Profit, New Republic, Mediaite, Forbes, ZeroHedge News, Media Play News, Fast Company, Yahoo Finance, Investing.com, Fortune, Agence France-Presse, NucNet, The Independent, Telegraph, UPI, Variety, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Guardian, Channel NewsAsia, Quartz, Dow Jones Newswires, Politico, Newser, Blockonomi, Financial Post, Fox Business, Crypto Briefing, Forbes Middle East, NewsMax.com, and CBS News
X: @shanumathew93, @jsneedles, and @tae
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, ZeroHedge News, Cautious Optimism, Blockonomi, Implicator.ai, Implicator.ai, Modern Diplomacy, WinBuzzer, Tom's Hardware, The Information, TechEBlog, DigiTimes, The Japan Times, TechPowerUp, Engadget, Politico, Wccftech, Benzinga, 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, @jamesomalley.co.uk, @petertl, 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, Eurogamer.net, GamesRadar, Video Games Chronicle, GamesIndustry.biz, KitGuru, Polygon.com, Screen Rant, Gameranx, TheGamer, GameSpot, Dexerto, TechRaptor, Kotaku, Tech4Gamers, games fray, GamingBolt, Rock, Paper, Shotgun, Push Square, Engadget, and PlayStation LifeStyle
Bluesky: @jaypeters.net. Forums: r/LIGHTOFMOTlRAM, r/TwoBestFriendsPlay, 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, Engadget, AppleInsider, Apple Support, Business Today, MacTech.com, Silicon UK, Benzinga, Mobile World Live, iClarified, Bloomberg, Japan Today, Financial Times, Finimize, AppleInsider, MacDailyNews, 9to5Mac, and Reuters
X: @mattcassinelli and @mrjefago
Forums: r/apple, Slashdot, and MacRumors Forums
| Tim Sweeney / @timsweeneyepic: |
More: Windows Central, Thurrott, 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, Engadget, AIN, TestingCatalog, Livemint, 9to5Mac, Fast Company, Android Headlines, SammyGuru, TechRadar, Digital Trends, Digit, WinBuzzer, The Decoder, Entrepreneur, PYMNTS.com, Analytics India Magazine, iClarified, Bloomberg Law, TipRanks Financial, and KnowTechie
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 A.V. Club, The Guardian, Reuters, FedScoop, and New Republic
Bluesky: @karlbode.com, @karlbode.com, and @stevekovach
Forums: Hacker News, r/law, r/politics, and Slashdot
| 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 … | 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, Tech Funding News, StrictlyVC, The Decoder, and Benzinga
X: @edzitron, @amir, @kakashiii111, @firstadopter, @jimcramer, @stwboerse, @logicalthesis, @hypertechinvest, @jimcramer, @kimmonismus, and @ralph_grabowski. Bluesky: @edzitron.com
| 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
| 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, Proactive, 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
| 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 … | 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
| 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 … | 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, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Yahoo Finance
| Todd Spangler / Variety: |
Netflix hires ESPN anchor Elle Duncan as its first on-air host for live sports and cultural events; she has appeared on SportsCenter, College GameDay, and more — Netflix execs used to dismiss the idea that they would acquire live sports rights. Now the world's biggest premium streamer … | 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.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!
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!
F5:
Accelerate AI Adoption at F5's AI Virtual Summit — Learn how to architect, secure, and scale AI for production with real-world insights from industry leaders on June 23. Register now to save your spot.
Accelerate AI Adoption at F5's AI Virtual Summit — Learn how to architect, secure, and scale AI for production with real-world insights from industry leaders on June 23. Register now to save your spot.
Zoho:
Zoho RPA named a Leader in the 2026 RPA Technology Value Matrix by Nucleus Research — Zoho RPA has been named a Leader in the 2026 RPA Technology Value Matrix, published by Nucleus Research …
Zoho RPA named a Leader in the 2026 RPA Technology Value Matrix by Nucleus Research — Zoho RPA has been named a Leader in the 2026 RPA Technology Value Matrix, published by Nucleus Research …
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.
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
Big Technology Podcast:
SpaceX's IPO Triumph, Anthropic's Fable Fumble, OpenAI's Price War
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.
Access:
A top iPhone app developer reacts to Apple's new Siri
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Hard Fork:
'Hard Fork' Live, Part 1: Satya Nadella and Cindy Cohn
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:
TBC's Alex Ksendzovsky: The Neurosurgeon Using Brain Cells To Build Better AI
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.
BG2 Pod:
The SpaceX IPO, Fable 5, AI Capex Update & Market Check w/ Gavin Baker, Andrew Fox & Clark Tang
Open-source podcast on all things tech, markets, investing, and capitalism, hosted by Brad Gerstner.
Subscribe to BG2 Pod.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
AI's Mythos Moment: Rishi Sunak on preparing governments for AI
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.
About This Page
This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 1:10 PM ET, December 18, 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
Gary Baum / The Hollywood Reporter:Daniel Arkin / NBC News:
Aidan Ryan / The Boston Globe:
Upcoming Tech Events
More News
| Issie Lapowsky / Rest of World: |
X: @restofworld, @restofworld, @restofworld, @restofworld, @restofworld, and @rinachandran. LinkedIn: Anup Kaphle
Bluesky: @mvzelenko and @issielapowsky
Earlier Picks
| Harry McCracken / Fast Company: |
| Jody Godoy / Reuters: |
More: PCMag, Engadget, Proactive, Benzinga, PYMNTS.com, TechCrunch, Digital Trends, The Food Institute, Silicon UK, ZeroHedge News, Tech in Asia, San Francisco Business Times, and CNBC
X: @dseetharaman, @leehepner, @ronomaz, @alexsjacquez, @owenslindsay1, and @fuckyouiquit. Bluesky: @groundwork
| Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch: |
More: The National, BBC, Telegraph, Social Media Today, Mashable, Engadget, Hypebot, Press Gazette, Tech Times, KnowTechie, and MediaPost
X: @indianidle, @klemensarro, @simonowens, and @chafkin
Bluesky: @socialmedialab.ca, @flyingtrilobite.com, and @utopia-defer.red