Techmeme
January 21, 2025, 11:15 PM

Top News

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle announce The Stargate Project, a JV to invest in US AI infrastructure, committing $100B now and up to $500B in the next four years  —  OpenAI says that it will team up with both the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank and with Oracle, along with others, to build multiple data centers for AI in the U.S.
New York Times:
Trump grants a pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the creator of Silk Road and a cryptocurrency cult hero, serving a life sentence on money laundering and drug charges  —  Ross Ulbricht was serving a life sentence for creating a site in a shady corner of the internet to sell heroin, cocaine and other illicit substances.
Bloomberg:
Trump says he would be open to Elon Musk or Larry Ellison purchasing TikTok US as part of a joint venture that would give the US government 50% ownership  —  “I have the right to make a deal,” Trump said at an event alongside Ellison at the White House on Tuesday.
Alexandra S. Levine / Bloomberg:
MrBeast joins an investor group led by Employer.com founder Jesse Tinsley in an all-cash bid to acquire TikTok US operations; several groups have shown interest  —  - YouTube star is part of investor group run by Jesse Tinsley  — TikTok has less than three months to sell or face a US ban
Washington Post:
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Netflix reports Q4 revenue up 16% YoY to $10.2B and 301.6M global subs, adding 18.9M subs, more than doubling Wall Street estimates; NFLX jumps 14%+ after hours  —  - Netflix is raising subscription prices in its biggest market  — Report marks the end of regular quarterly customer updates
Nicole Sperling / New York Times:
Netflix raises prices in the US, Canada, Portugal, and Argentina; the standard US plan rises from $15.49 to $17.99, standard with ads jumps a dollar to $7.99  —  The company said those results were buoyed by programming in recent months that exceeded internal expectations.
Drew Lerner / Awful Announcing:
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Microsoft says it has a new deal with OpenAI that gives Microsoft “right of first refusal”, meaning it's no longer OpenAI's exclusive cloud provider  —  Microsoft was once the exclusive provider of data center infrastructure for OpenAI to train and run its AI models.  No longer.
Washington Post:
Sources: a deep philosophical rift over how DOGE should operate helped spur Vivek Ramaswamy's exit, with Donald Trump's Jan. 20 EO embodying Elon Musk's vision  —  A deep philosophical rift between the two billionaire leaders of the “Department of Government Efficiency” left Musk to run the group.
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Meta aims to debut glasses with a built-in display and new Oakley-branded smart glasses for athletes in 2025; it has resumed work on watches, earbuds  —  - Company resumes work on smartwatch and develops AirPods rival  — First real AR glasses, dubbed ‘Artemis,’ are planned for 2027
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Survey of 3,000+ game devs: 11% were laid off in the past year, 58% back unionization, 30% say generative AI is having a negative impact on the industry, more  —  The 2025 GDC survey revealed the impact of industry-wide layoffs in 2024 where one of every 11 game developers lost a job.
Radhika Rajkumar / ZDNET:
DeepSeek's new MIT-licensed AI models can be accessed via DeepSeek's API at a fraction of the cost of comparable OpenAI models but there are censorship concerns  —  Open-source artificial intelligence (AI) has reached another milestone — and the cost differences it represents could shake up the industry.
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Apple says installing macOS Sequoia 15.3, iOS 18.3, or iPadOS 18.3 will turn on Apple Intelligence automatically on compatible devices; users can opt out later  —  When installing macOS Sequoia 15.3, iOS 18.3, or iPadOS 18.3, Apple Intelligence will be turned on automatically on compatible devices …
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Meta says it will offer eligible TikTok creators free verification, content deals, and up to $5,000 in bonuses to post Reels  —  Meta is luring TikTok creators over to its platforms with the promise of cash bonuses, content deals, and support to grow their communities.
Jeff Cox / CNBC:
The SEC launches a “Crypto 2.0” task force led by SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, to create a “comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto assets”  —  The Trump administration took its firs steps Tuesday toward an expected lowering of regulatory barriers for cryptocurrency.
Anna Gross / Financial Times:
The UK debuts digital driving licenses and veteran ID cards, launching in 2025 via the GOV.UK Wallet, and AI tools, nicknamed “Humphrey”, to help civil servants  —  New app will also include documents showing criminal record checks and proof of eligibility for state benefits
MK Manoylov / The Block:
Crypto.com launches its institutional exchange service for US customers; it had closed the service in June 2023 due to “limited demand”  —  - Crypto.com Exchange gives users access to over 300 cryptocurrencies and 480 trading pairs, acting as a complement to the existing retail-focused Crypto.com App for U.S. customers.
Mike Wheatley / SiliconANGLE:
Render, which offers developers cloud services for building, deploying, and running apps and websites, raised an $80M Series C led by Georgian  —  Developer-focused cloud infrastructure startup Render Services Inc. says it's ready to disrupt traditional giants such as Amazon Web Services Inc …
More: Render

Sponsor Posts

Termina:
AI Powered Diligence at Scale  —  VCs and founders deploy Termina AI Scans on >12% of all known series A+ deals to uncover hidden risks and opportunities.  Explore how you too can invest and build better companies with AI.
Zoho:
Top live chat software in 2025  —  When it comes to customer communication, every second counts for businesses because it leads to either a treasure trove or an empty cave.  To help with this …
SBS Comms:
Expect Better: SBS Comms  —  The media landscape is changing fast, so don't be slow — out with the old, in with the new.  SBS helps tech companies like GitHub, Cloudflare, Flexport, Ramp and more modernize comms and secure impactful results.
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.

Featured Podcasts

Lenny's Podcast:
A founder's guide to crisis management | Uri Levine (Waze co-founder, serial entrepreneur)
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
Techmeme Ride Home:
Arm Upends The Entire Semiconductor Industry
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe to Techmeme Ride Home.
The Logan Bartlett Show:
Andy Price (Artisanal): Executive Hiring Advice from the Founder of Tech's Top Recruiting Firm
A podcast hosted by Logan Bartlett, an investor at Redpoint Ventures, covering tech with industry insiders.
Subscribe to The Logan Bartlett Show.
Decoder with Nilay Patel:
The FCC is a weapon in Trump's war on free speech
A show from the Verge about big ideas - and other problems.
Subscribe to Decoder with Nilay Patel.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 11:15 PM ET, January 21, 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.

More News

Maxwell Zeff / TechCrunch:
Max Goldbart / Deadline:
Lauren Feiner / The Verge:

Earlier Picks

Krisztian Sandor / CoinDesk:
James Hunt / The Block:
Noah Smith / Noahpinion:
Lauren Feiner / The Verge: