Techmeme
December 19, 2025, 3:00 PM

Top News

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Internal memo: TikTok has signed a deal to sell its US unit; Oracle, Silver Lake, MGX will collectively own 45% of the US entity, and ByteDance will retain ~20%  —  TikTok has signed a deal to divest its U.S. entity to a joint venture controlled by American investors, per an internal memo seen by Axios.
More: CNBC, Reuters, Ars Technica, Semafor, Bloomberg, Bloomberg Law, Silicon Republic, CNN, Inc, 9to5Google, Thurrott, Benzinga, Observer, Gizmodo, The Week, Nerdist, PC Gamer, HotAir, Tom's Guide, Cautious Optimism, The Shortcut, DatacenterDynamics, Spyglass, NPR, The Hill, Entrepreneur, TechCrunch, Social Media Today, Capacity, Music Ally, TVREV, Quartz, Wall Street Journal, PR Daily, PetaPixel, Proactive, Telegraph, Investor's Business Daily, Digital Trends, IWCP Online, Investing.com, BGR, Blockonomi, AR Insider, Finance Magnates, Sharecast, New York Times, Mediaite, BBC, Pixel Envy, iClarified, Yahoo Finance, KnowTechie, NBC News, Straight Arrow News, The Information, Associated Press, Nairametrics, Forbes Middle East, The Verge, CGTN, Times of India, Ukrainian National News, ABC News, TRT World, UPI, TechRadar, MacRumors, Blockchain.News, International Business Times, Dexerto, Tech in Asia, Telecompaper, The National, 9to5Mac, Mashable, Cord Cutters News, Livemint, Sinocism, Variety, The Independent, Washington Examiner, and The Straits Times
Financial Times:
Memo: TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew says ByteDance's US entities will retain direct control over core US revenue drivers, including ecommerce, ads, and marketing  —  Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX to invest in new data security joint venture as part of Trump-brokered deal
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Financial Times:
Sources: UK officials believe China was behind the October cyber attack on the UK's Foreign Office, which aimed to access tens of thousands of sensitive files  —  The UK's Foreign Office was the victim of a major cyber attack in October, which officials believe was carried out by Chinese hackers.
Adamya Sharma / Android Authority:
Samsung unveils the Exynos 2600, the world's first smartphone SoC built on a 2nm Gate-All-Around process, expected to power some Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus models  —  Galaxy S26 could get Samsung's boldest chip yet: Meet the 2nm Exynos 2600.  —  •  —  TL;DR
Olga Kharif / Bloomberg:
Coinbase sues Connecticut, Illinois, and Michigan over attempts to regulate prediction markets, arguing that the markets fall under CFTC's jurisdiction  —  Coinbase Global Inc. said it is suing the US states of Michigan, Illinois and Connecticut over their attempts to regulate prediction markets.
Chris McGuire / Council on Foreign Relations:
Erin Woo / The Information:
Sources: Google has formed a new executive council to allocate computing capacity given a critical shortage; members include Thomas Kurian and Demis Hassabis  —  Earlier this year, Google convened a group of its top executives to address what some staffers see as an existential problem …
Emily Mullin / Wired:
Source: Sam Altman's Merge Labs, which seeks to read brain activity using ultrasound, is being spun out of LA-based nonprofit Forest Neurotech  —  Merge Labs, a brain-computer interface startup that seeks to read brain activity using ultrasound, is being spun out of Forest Neurotech, a Los Angeles nonprofit.
Lydia Beyoud / Bloomberg:

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