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May 20, 2025, 2:11 PM
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Google on YouTube:
A livestream of the Google I/O 2025 keynote  —  It's time to I/O!  Tune in to learn the latest news, announcements, and AI updates from Google.
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google launches Google AI Ultra, a subscription plan with the highest usage limits and access to its most capable models, rolling out in the US for $250/month  —  To date, AI Premium is how you access the latest features from Google.  At I/O 2025, that subscription tier is being renamed to …
The Verge:
A live blog of Google I/O 2025, where announcements about Gemini, Android XR, and more are expected
Maxwell Zeff / TechCrunch:
Google says Project Astra will power new capabilities in Search, including a new Search Live feature, as well as in the Gemini AI app and third-party products
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple plans to unveil at WWDC an SDK and related frameworks to let third-party devs build AI features based on LLMs it uses for Apple Intelligence  —  Apple Inc. is preparing to allow third-party developers to write software using its artificial intelligence models …
Emanuel Maiberg / 404 Media:
Civitai will “pause” credit card payments starting May 23, as its current payment processor won't “support platforms that allow AI-generated explicit content”  —  Civitai, an AI model sharing site backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) that 404 Media has repeatedly shown …
More: Civitai
Lauren Feiner / The Verge:
Trump signs the Take It Down Act, criminalizing the distribution of nonconsensual intimate images and requiring platforms to promptly remove them when notified
Wall Street Journal:
Analysis: four of the world's top 50 tech companies are European, and none of the top 10 quantum companies are in Europe, as the continent lags the US and China  —  A risk-averse business culture and complex regulations have stifled innovation on the continent, weighing on its future
Bloomberg:
Sources: Nintendo picked Samsung to produce the Switch 2's main chips, aiming to sell 20M+ units by March 2026, a key win for Samsung as it competes with TSMC  —  Securing a contract for one of the summer's hottest new gadgets will likely help lift utilization or boost business for the Korean conglomerate's chip foundries.
Financial Times:
UK tech unicorn Builder.ai, backed by Microsoft, Qatar, and others, says it is entering insolvency proceedings due to financial and past leadership “problems”  —  Once high-flying group founded by Sachin Dev Duggal says its was unable to recover from ‘past decisions’
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
The ad-supported web is dying, and the next development to accelerate this may be the agentic web, which Microsoft is pushing via NLWeb and MCP support  —  Ethan Zuckerman wrote in The Atlantic in 2014: … Marc Andreessen, who was there when the web was born, explained in a 2019 podcast …
Bloomberg:
Chinese government data: smartphone exports including iPhones fell 72% MoM to $688.5M in April, the lowest since 2011, outpacing a 21% drop in overall shipments  —  Smartphone exports slid 72% to just under $700 million last month, sharply outpacing an overall 21% drop in Chinese shipments to the US …
New York Times:
President Trump's recent Middle East trip helped Elon Musk's SpaceX and Neuralink cut lucrative deals, deepening Musk's ties to the Gulf's autocratic monarchies  —  The world's richest man inked new deals as he tagged along on President Trump's tour of the Gulf.
Politico:
France says it banned Telegram founder Pavel Durov on May 12 from going to the US for “negotiations with investment funds”, after arresting him in August 2024  —  The Russian-born entrepreneur is not allowed to leave France without permission following his August arrest.
Steven T. Dennis / Bloomberg:
The US Senate advances the GENIUS Act, a stablecoin bill, after a group of Democrats dropped their opposition on May 19, a major victory for the crypto industry  —  Stablecoin legislation overcame a procedural blockade in the US Senate, marking a major victory for the crypto industry …
Emma Roth / The Verge:
Spotify says Apple approved an update that lets US users buy individual audiobooks and see audiobook prices inside its iOS app, after the Epic v. Apple ruling  —  You'll see a ‘Buy’ button alongside an audiobook's price. … It's finally possible to purchase an audiobook from Spotify's iPhone app with just a few taps.
Bloomberg:
Malaysia downplays its deal to use 3,000 Huawei chips to build a first-of-its-kind AI system by 2026, underscoring its delicate position in the US-China AI race  —  Malaysia declared it'll build a first-of-its-kind AI system powered by Huawei Technologies Co. chips, only to distance itself …
Clare Duffy / CNN:
The US House Budget Committee advances a budget bill that would ban US states from enforcing any law regulating AI for 10 years; the bill now goes to the House  —  New York CNN —  —  More than 100 organizations are raising alarms about a provision in the House's sweeping tax …
Victoria Song / The Verge:
Google says it is partnering with Samsung, Gentle Monster, Xreal, and Warby Parker to create Android XR smart glasses, offering AI assistance via Gemini  —  With smart glasses, Google seems to be taking a page out of Meta and Ray-Ban's book. … Google's second era of smart glasses is off to a chic start.

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This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 2:11 PM ET, May 20, 2025.

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From Mediagazer

Financial Times:
Sources: WBD's board wanted a proposal it could sign immediately, and Netflix was the only bidder whose paperwork was fully executable the night of December 4

John Koblin / New York Times:
The Netflix-WBD deal should quiet concerns, for now, from CNN employees worried about the prospect of Paramount combining CBS News and CNN in a WBD acquisition

Pamela McClintock / The Hollywood Reporter:
A look at Paramount's culture shift under David Ellison, where the focus is on male-driven action movies, and not on prestige films seen as critics' darlings

More News

Billy Steele / Engadget:
Google brings live translation to Google Meet, matching the user's tone and cadence, first in beta for Spanish and English on Google AI Pro and Ultra plans
Ryan S. Gladwin / Decrypt:
Michael Arrington says Coinbase's recent data breach “will lead to people dying”, calls for KYC rules reassessment and prison for execs failing to protect users

Earlier Picks

Todd Spangler / Variety:
SAG-AFTRA files an NLRB unfair labor practice charge against Epic's Llama Productions for using AI to recreate James Earl Jones' Darth Vader voice in Fortnite
Washington Post:
Investigation: for two years, New Orleans police secretly scanned city streets using 200+ facial recognition cameras, seemingly violating a 2022 city ordinance
Lawrence Abrams / BleepingComputer:
Microsoft open sources the Windows Subsystem for Linux, launched in August 2016, and releases its code on GitHub, except for a few Windows-specific components
Dean Seal / Wall Street Journal:
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals says it will acquire 23andMe's assets, including its Personal Genome Service, for $256M, set to close in Q3, in the bankruptcy auction
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