Techmeme
March 16, 2026, 10:20 AM

Top News

Apple:
Apple unveils the $549 AirPods Max 2, with an H2 chip, up to 1.5x more effective ANC, studio-quality audio recording, and camera remote, shipping in early April  —  Powered by H2, AirPods Max are better than ever with more effective ANC, enhanced sound quality, and new features like Adaptive Audio and Live Translation
Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:
Amsterdam-based Nebius says Meta plans to spend up to $27B over the next five years to access AI infrastructure, starting with $12B of capacity in early 2027  —  Meta Platforms Inc. will pay as much as $27 billion over the next five years for access to cutting-edge artificial intelligence infrastructure …
Horace Dediu / Asymco:
As AI models commodify, Apple's plans to spend just $14B on 2026 capex, far below hyperscalers' combined $650B, or 90%+ of their cash flow, may be a genius move  —  The 3rd? most valuable company on Earth watched as its rivals lit $650 billion on fire and did nothing.
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: OpenAI faced intense backlash from its advisory council over a planned ChatGPT “adult mode”, delayed earlier in March due to technical and other issues  —  Warnings surface that the company risks creating a ‘sexy suicide coach’ if it begins allowing sexually explicit chats
Theodore Schleifer / New York Times:
How tech billionaires are turning on the Giving Pledge, promoted by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett; Peter Thiel says he privately told ~12 signers to undo it  —  Just a few months after Warren Buffett convened a series of high-end dinners across America to collect signatures for something called …
Sherry Qin / Wall Street Journal:
Foxconn reports Q4 revenue up 22% YoY to ~$81B, net profit down 2% YoY to ~$1.4B, below ~$1.9B est., due to a higher tax expense, and a 5.9% gross profit margin  —  The company generates a significant share of its revenue making AI servers for the likes of Nvidia and Amazon
Timmy Shen / The Block:
Reliz, which operates crypto lender BlockFills, files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, reporting $50M to $100M in estimated assets and $100M to $500M in liabilities  —  Quick Take  — Chicago-based BlockFills has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
Sam Sabin / Axios:
Google, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Meta, Amazon, OpenAI, Adobe, and Match sign a voluntary pledge to share threat intelligence about how scammers abuse their services  —  Eight major technology companies — including Google, Amazon and OpenAI — have signed a new pledge promising to share threat intelligence …
Fanny Potkin / Reuters:
Sources: Hua Hong is readying a 7nm process at its Shanghai fab with Huawei's help, which would make it China's second chipmaker with such tech, after SMIC  —  China's Hua Hong Group has developed advanced chip manufacturing technologies that can be used to produce artificial intelligence chips …
Kenrick Cai / Reuters:
President Trump accuses Iran of using AI as a “disinformation weapon” to make fake images of wartime successes against the US, saying “AI can be very dangerous”  —  U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday accused Iran of using artificial intelligence as a “disinformation weapon” …
Washington Post:
GovAI and Brookings: many of the people most at risk if AI transforms work are also the best placed to find new jobs, as researchers disagree over AI's impact  —  No one has a perfect road map to the future, but researchers at GovAI, which studies technology policy, and the Brookings Institution …

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Featured Podcasts

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.
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Hard Fork:
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The Upstarts Podcast:
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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.
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More News

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Earlier Picks

Reuters:
Clinton Nwachukwu / Ventureburn:
Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch: