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August 21, 2025, 8:30 PM
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Top News

Casey Crownhart / MIT Technology Review:
Google says the median Gemini app text prompt consumes 0.24Wh of energy, about the same as running a microwave for a second, and emits 0.03g of CO2 equivalent  —  Google has just released a technical report detailing how much energy its Gemini apps use for each query.
Tripp Mickle / New York Times:
Nine current and ex-Apple staffers accuse VP of Fitness Tech Jay Blahnik of bullying and inappropriate behavior; Apple settled a sexual harassment complaint  —  Three circular bands came to define fitness on the Apple Watch.Dünzl/Ullstein Bild, via Getty Images
Gregory Korte / Bloomberg:
Trump signs an EO creating the National Design Studio to improve “websites and physical sites”; sources say he's tapping Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia to lead it  —  President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday creating a new post for the government's chief design officer …
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google expands AI Mode to 180 countries and territories in English, following the US, the UK, and India, and plans to add more languages and regions “soon”  —  After launching in three countries, Google is now bringing AI Mode to many more countries around the world …
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Apple raises the price of Apple TV+ in the US and some markets globally after previously raising the price in 2023; in the US, the price will rise $3 to $12.99  —  Apple TV+, the tech giant's money-losing streaming service, is bumping up its price by 30%: For U.S. customers, it will now be $12.99 per month, up $3 from $9.99.
Bloomberg:
Sources: Anthropic is in talks to raise $10B, significantly above the previously reported $5B, due to strong investor demand  —  Anthropic is nearing a deal to raise as much as $10 billion in a new round of funding, according to people familiar with the matter, a higher than expected sum …
Julia Shapero / The Hill:
Google will provide Gemini for Government to US federal agencies at $0.47 per agency through 2026; OpenAI and Anthropic are offering their products for $1/year  —  Google will provide a suite of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud services to federal agencies for 47 cents each …
The Information:
Source: Meta has signed a deal with Google, worth more than $10B over six years, to use Google Cloud's servers, storage, networking, and other services  —  Google has struck a major cloud computing deal with Meta Platforms, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Bloomberg:
Interviews with three Google executives on the new Pixel phones, why Pixel won't ever be a “giant player”, improving the devices by ~30% each year, AI, and more  —  The search giant discusses an AI-powered world beyond the smartphone.  —  Google's Pixel 10 marks the phone's 10th generation …
Brody Ford / Bloomberg:
Zoom reports Q2 revenue up 5% YoY to $1.22B, Enterprise revenue up 7% to $730.7M, vs. $716.7M est., raises FY 2026 forecast above est.; ZM jumps 6%+ after hours  —  Zoom Communications Inc. gave a stronger-than-expected annual outlook for sales growth, and raised its fiscal-year forecast …
Dan Primack / Axios:
Thoma Bravo agrees to acquire HR software provider Dayforce for $12.3B, paying $70 per share, a 32% premium to Dayforce shares before reports of a possible deal  —  Thoma Bravo has agreed to buy Dayforce, a Minneapolis-based HR software provider, for $12.3 billion.
John Collison / Cheeky Pint:
Q&A with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong on starting the company, battling North Korean hackers, stablecoin adoption, the GENIUS Act, pro-crypto Congress, and more  —  Brian Armstrong joins John Collison to talk about what's happening behind the scenes at Coinbase: battling North Korean hackers …
Rafe Uddin / Financial Times:
Autonomous driving tech startup Nuro closed its $203M Series E at a $6B valuation, adding $97M from Uber, Nvidia, and others to the $106M tranche from April  —  California start-up secures new funding amid growing investor appetite in autonomous vehicle technology
Bloomberg:
DeepSeek details V3.1 and says it surpasses R1 on key benchmarks and is customized to work with next-gen Chinese-made AI chips, after unveiling it on August 19  —  DeepSeek unveiled an update to an older model that it says surpasses the seminal R1 on key benchmarks, keeping the Chinese startup …
Trishla Ostwal / Adweek:
In a UK tribunal filing, former Meta employee Samujjal Purkayastha alleges Meta misled advertisers by inflating its Shops ads metrics and bypassed Apple's ATT  —  After Apple rolled out its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature in 2021, Meta executives scrambled for what they called …

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This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 8:30 PM ET, August 21, 2025.

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From Mediagazer

Angela Fu / Poynter:
A look at what a Democratic-controlled Congress could focus on to protect press freedom, including investigating the FCC and reforming transparency laws

Linda Hourani / The Kyiv Independent:
Russia is bringing young foreign influencers to occupied Ukraine, encouraging them to share their highly curated experiences, to legitimize its occupation

Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net:
Newsmax reported Q3 net income of $15.2M and revenue up 52.5% YoY to $69M, including a one-time $14M termination payment for a canceled ad deal; NMAX rose 31.4%

More News

Matt Burgess / Wired:
CBP data: between April and June 2025, CBP searched 14,899 devices carried by international travelers, up from a record 12,766+ between January and March 2022
Jason Schreier / Bloomberg:
Sources: Take-Two lays off 80+ staff at BioShock studio Cloud Chamber, or ~33% of its ~250 staff, and delays the next BioShock game to late 2026 or early 2027

Earlier Picks

Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch:
India's lower house of parliament passes a sweeping online gaming bill that imposes a blanket ban on real-money games nationwide, threatening a ~$23B industry
Financial Times:
Sources: China's H20 curbs were triggered by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's not selling China the “best stuff” remark, which officials found “insulting”
Jesse Hamilton / CoinDesk:
TRM Labs launches Beacon Network, a real-time alert system for illicit crypto activity, partnering with law enforcement and exchanges like Binance and Coinbase
Meghan Bobrowsky / Wall Street Journal:
Meta froze hiring in its AI division last week with sources saying exceptions need Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang's permission; the freeze's duration is unclear
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Google's new AI features for Pixel include Magic Cue for contextual suggestions across apps, Voice Translate for calls, and Visual Overlays for the camera
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Sony raises PlayStation 5's prices by $50 in the US due to the “challenging economic environment”: PS5 is $550, PS5 Digital Edition is $500, and PS5 Pro is $750
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft and Asus plan to launch the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X handhelds on October 16; leaks suggest the Ally and Ally X will cost €599 and €899, respectively
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