Techmeme: Trump claims he and Xi Jinping approved a deal for TikTok's US operations; Chinese media's readout only says that China respects the wishes of businesses (Ben Berkowitz/Axios)

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September 19, 2025, 5:55 PM

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The Information:

Sources: OpenAI is recruiting from Apple's hardware, design, manufacturing, and supply chain teams, as it targets late 2026 or early 2027 for its first devices — As OpenAI's plans to make devices infused with its artificial intelligence get closer to reality, the company is increasingly plucking talent …

More: The Verge, MacRumors, PYMNTS.com, Tom's Hardware, Reuters, MacTech.com, Digital Trends, Tom's Guide, Implicator.ai, Yahoo Finance, Quartz, iPhone in Canada, Forbes Middle East, AppleInsider, iThinkDifferent, Apple Must, MacDailyNews, and Sherwood News

X: @aatilley and @amir

Bluesky: @quinnypig.com and @marypcbuk

Forums: r/artificial, r/OpenAI, and MacRumors Forums

Marcus Mendes / 9to5Mac:

Report: OpenAI has considered building glasses, a digital voice recorder, and a pin, and has signed a deal with Luxshare to assemble at least one of its devices — A few months ago, OpenAI teamed up with Jony Ive to build the next generation of AI-powered hardware, under the brand io.

More: Android Headlines. X: @andrewcurran_. Bluesky: @edzitron.com

Jez Corden / Windows Central:

Microsoft plans to raise Xbox Series X price by $50 to $649.99 and Series S by $20 to $399.99 starting Oct. 3, citing “changes in the macroeconomic environment” — Microsoft cites challenging “macroeconomic” environment for the price increases, which sees the Xbox Series X hit a whopping $649.99.

More: Xbox Support, The Verge, PCMag, Reuters, Game Developer, CNET, Ars Technica, Android Police, Engadget, Gizmodo, Video Games Chronicle, Variety, Tech4Gamers, GamesRadar, XboxEra, iPhone in Canada, Comic Book, 9to5Toys, GameSpot, Destructoid, CNBC, Kotaku, Polygon, Screen Rant, Bloomberg, IGN, Insider Gaming, Push Square, GamingBolt, Game Rant, and Notebookcheck

X: @zhugeex, @milesdompier, @thicc_stick_boi, @ethangach, @legacykillahd, @bdsams, @colteastwood, @genepark, @realradec, @dmc_ryan, and @tomwarren

Bluesky: @ridertoast, @tcgamer, @vegandroid, @pppgrifter, and @davelee.me

Forums: r/hardware, r/LinusTechTips, r/gaming, r/Games, and r/xbox

Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:

Meta CTO says the technical issues during live demos of its new smart glasses were due to a self-inflicted DDoS and a bug that put Zuckerberg's glasses to sleep — Meta ran into some spectacularly embarrassing technical issues during the live demos of its new smart glasses this week, and now we know why.

More: Engadget, UploadVR, TechCrunch, Business Insider, Android Police, Quartz, CNET, PCMag, Sherwood News, New York Post, iPhone in Canada, Analytics Insight, TechRadar, Defector, PC Gamer, GovTech, Fox Business, and Pixel Envy

X: @dhh, @markgurman, @purplemikey, @basedbeffjezos, @jasteinerman, @theo, @omooretweets, @basedbeffjezos, @zoink, @shauseth, @chshersh, @mcjamez, @krishnanrohit, @yuchenj_uw, @benz145, @gergelyorosz, @zenfuturist, and @tjparker

Bluesky: @harmonygritz, @vanders, and @karlstanley. Threads: @katienotopoulos

Kif Leswing / CNBC:

Sources: xAI has raised $10B at a post-money valuation of $200B, weeks after reportedly raising $10B in debt and equity at a ~$150B valuation — Elon Musk's xAI is raising $10 billion from investors in a round that values the artificial intelligence startup at $200 billion, sources told CNBC's David Faber.

More: Bloomberg, The Information, Reuters, Blockchain.News, CryptoSlate, Implicator.ai, San Francisco Business Times, Forbes, and Crypto Briefing

X: @elonmusk and @deredleritt3r. Forums: r/singularity

New York Times:

Inside xAI's chaotic summer: Musk reorganized xAI on the fly, researchers left because xAI abandoned science in favor of attention-grabbing products, and more

More: Gizmodo, Financial Express, Implicator.ai, The Decoder, Moneycontrol, and Sherwood News

Bluesky: @tomscocca, @teslatakedown.com, and @rmac. Forums: r/BetterOffline

Ben Berkowitz / Axios:

Trump claims he and Xi Jinping approved a deal for TikTok's US operations; Chinese media's readout only says that China respects the wishes of businesses — President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke about a TikTok deal Friday, but details on the social media platform's U.S. future remain unclear.

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: investors in the TikTok US deal are expected to pay the Trump administration a multibillion-dollar fee for negotiating a deal with China

Bluesky: @paleofuture

Tim Bradshaw / Financial Times:

Sources: Nvidia is in advanced discussions to invest $500M in UK self-driving car startup Wayve, as part of a £2B pledge for UK startups; Wayve is evaluating — AI chipmaker's chief tells London audience that UK's first trillion-dollar company will be an AI business

Bloomberg:

Sources: Oracle is in discussions with Meta to provide computing power for training and deploying AI models, in a deal worth about $20B — Oracle Corp. is in discussions with Meta Platforms Inc. for a cloud computing deal worth about $20 billion, providing further evidence that the company …

More: The Information and Reuters

The Information:

Sources: Apple told at least two suppliers to boost their daily output of entry-level iPhone 17 by at least 30%, after strong pre-orders last weekend — Apple is rushing to boost production of its newly released entry-level model iPhone 17 after strong pre-orders last weekend.

More: AppleInsider, Reuters, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, Investopedia, Sherwood News, and DigiTimes

X: @waynema and @theinformation. Forums: MacRumors Forums

Annie Palmer / CNBC:

Pattern, which helps brands optimize their sales on online marketplaces, closes up 11.6% at $15.63 per share in its Nasdaq debut, after raising $300M in its IPO — Pattern Group, one of the leading resellers on Amazon, took the plunge into the public markets Friday and saw its stock rise slightly in its Nasdaq debut.

More: Bloomberg, Reuters, Deseret News, and Bloomberg

Sri Muppidi / The Information:

Sources: OpenAI plans to spend ~$100B on backup servers rented from cloud providers through 2030, in addition to the $350B already projected for server rentals — When OpenAI in March released ChatGPT features that could turn photos into animated characters, a spike in usage forced the company to put temporary limits on the features.

More: Reuters and DatacenterDynamics

X: @amir and @kylebrussell

Bluesky: @carnage4life, @carljanderson, @quinnypig.com, and @edzitron.com

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Mastodon, the nonprofit that maintains the social network, plans to offer paid hosting, moderation, and support services for organizations joining the fediverse — Mastodon, the non-profit organization that maintains the software powering the decentralized alternative to social networks like Threads and X …

More: Mastodon Blog and Tech.eu

Mastodon: @Mastodon@mastodon.social, @renchap@oisaur.com, @Shrigglepuss@godforsaken …, @EveHasWords@toot.cat, @altstore@fosstodon.org, @rauschma@fosstodon.org, @haubles@hachyderm.io, @brembs@mastodon.social, @dansup@mastodon.social, and @Setok@attractive.space

Bloomberg:

Corporate travel and expense management service Navan, formerly known as TripActions, files for a US IPO, reporting a $99.9M net loss on $329.4M revenue in H1 — Navan Inc. a business travel and expense management software maker, filed publicly for a US initial public offering.

More: The Information, CNBC, Reuters, and Skift

Ike Swetlitz / Bloomberg:

Neuralink plans a US clinical trial in October to test a brain implant that translates thoughts into text, hoping to put its device in a healthy person by 2030 — Neuralink Corp., Elon Musk's brain implant company, plans to launch a clinical trial in the US in October aiming to use its device …

More: Engadget, Reuters, and Inc.com

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From Mediagazer

Gene Maddaus / Variety:

A US judge orders a temporary halt to the Paramount-WBD merger, as a 12-state coalition, led by California, argues it would violate federal antitrust law

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:

Unsealed docs: the DOJ sought phone records of NYT reporters and their relatives in an extraordinary attempt to unmask sources of NYT's Air Force One coverage

MJ Franklin / New York Times:

How publishers are cashing in on surging public interest in The Odyssey through splashy reissues; Circana BookScan says sales of The Odyssey rose by 76% YoY

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More News

Bloomberg:

Meta files an application for authorization “to sell energy, capacity, and certain ancillary services” in the US amid rising energy demand for AI datacenters

More: The Register and Yahoo Finance. LinkedIn: Naureen S. Malik

Bloomberg:

A look at China's brain-computer interface industry as startups like BrainCo grow with state support; CCID says the sector is worth ~$450M, growing 20% annually

More: Semafor. LinkedIn: Amber Tong

Vanessa Hand Orellana / CNET:

How Apple tests the Apple Watch's Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 5G, and satellite connectivity, like in a 15-by-15-meter Global Navigation Satellite System simulation room

Reuters:

China says that Xiaomi will issue a software update for 115K+ SU7 EVs to fix assisted driving safety issues, its second recall-tied fix since SU7's 2024 launch

More: Agence France-Presse, Reuters, South China Morning Post, Bloomberg, EV, Automotive World, and Notebookcheck

Mat Di Salvo / Decrypt:

Canadian law enforcement seizes ~$40.5M in digital assets after shutting down the crypto exchange TradeOgre, making it Canada's biggest crypto seizure to date

More: The Block, Blockworks, crypto.news, The Rage, Coinpedia Fintech News, The Crypto Times, Blockonomi, Cointelegraph, BeInCrypto, Cryptonews, and Global News

Krystal Hu / Reuters:

SoftBank plans Vision Fund layoffs; sources: nearly 20% of staff will be impacted as SoftBank shifts resources to Masayoshi Son's large-scale AI bets in the US

More: Nikkei Asia, The Economic Times, Finextra, and Bloomberg

Bluesky: @edzitron.com and @jawnpaulsarte. Forums: Slashdot

Dean Takahashi / GamesBeat:

LA-based Lingokids, an interactive learning app for kids aged 2-8, raised $120M led by Bullhound Capital and General Catalyst to help expand its IP partnerships

More: FinSMEs, GlobeNewswire News Room, Kidscreen, and PocketGamer.biz

Earlier Picks

Alex Wickham / Bloomberg:

MI6 launched Silent Courier, an online portal on the dark web and designed to let potential spies from Russia and elsewhere to send the agency messages securely

More: The Record, BBC, CNET, The Register, Newser, TechRadar, Metro.co.uk, The Kyiv Independent, CNN, Courthouse News Service, Al Jazeera, The i Paper, Reuters, Irish News, Associated Press, and The Sun. Bluesky: @alexmartin

Ben Thompson / Stratechery:

Q&A with YouTube CEO Neal Mohan on YouTube's new AI tools for creators, its streaming dominance on TVs, helping creators better monetize sponsorships, and more

More: ICYMI. X: @nealmohan

Kieran Smith / Financial Times:

The US DOJ charges a UK teen allegedly tied to Scattered Spider over 120+ cyberattacks and the UK charged him and another teen over a Transport for London hack

More: US Department of Justice, Ars Technica, The Register, National Crime Agency, Cyber Daily, The Record, BBC, KnowTechie, Silicon Republic, Tom's Hardware, Security Affairs, CyberInsider, SecurityWeek, Silicon UK, The Hacker News, The Register, The Verge, The Times, Sky News, The Guardian, PCMag, TechCrunch, CyberScoop, Infosecurity, The Cyber Express, DeviceSecurity.io, BleepingComputer, TechRadar, and Hackread

X: @nca_uk, @citypolice, @vxunderground, @vxunderground, @vxdb, @vxunderground, @vxunderground, @vxunderground, @vxunderground, @dojcrimdiv, @racheltobac, and @fbi. LinkedIn: Ray Lewis

Mastodon: @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social, @zackwhittaker@mastodon.social, @briankrebs@infosec.exchange, @briankrebs@infosec.exchange, @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social, @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social, and @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social. Forums: r/cybersecurity

Jordan Novet / CNBC:

Notion launches customizable agents that can create documents and perform other actions in the background, and says it has passed $500M in annualized revenue

More: Notion, How-To Geek, The Decoder, Datamation, Tech in Asia, Thurrott, The Verge, TechCrunch, Notion, and Fast Company

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Yaël Bizouati-Kennedy / Sherwood News:

Rex-Osprey launches the first spot dogecoin and XRP ETFs in the US, after the SEC approved the Generic Listing Standards, paving the way for speedier listings

Reece Rogers / Wired:

Google unveils new AI features for Chrome, including a Gemini button and AI Mode for US desktop users, and plans to add agentic features in the next few months

More: The Keyword, The Keyword, Computerworld, Search Engine Land, The New Stack, Ars Technica, PYMNTS.com, Google Chrome on YouTube, CNBC, The American Bazaar, Datamation, Implicator.ai, Constellation Research, Search Engine Roundtable, The Decoder, BGR, Tech Times, Moneycontrol, Cautious Optimism, The Rundown AI, Digit, iThinkDifferent, Android Police, Business Today, 9to5Google, Analytics India Magazine, Tom's Guide, Bloomberg, TestingCatalog, Engadget, The Register, MacRumors, Search Engine Journal, UPI, Android Headlines, Reuters, Thurrott, iPhone in Canada, Android Authority, Chrome Unboxed, ZDNET, Android Central, PCWorld, 9to5Google, PCMag, The Verge, Business Insider, and TechCrunch

X: @googleai, @googlechrome, @google, @geminiapp, @buccocapital, @sundarpichai, @backlon, @_philschmid, @google, @backlon, and @laparisa

LinkedIn: Emil Protalinski, Jennifer Elias, Yana Yushkina, Mike Torres, Janice Wong, and Yaowu Xu

Bluesky: @pileofgarbage.net, @carnage4life, @beny23.github.io, and @infrequently.org

Mastodon: @hywan@floss.social and @slightlyoff@toot.cafe

Forums: Hacker News, r/singularity, r/perplexity_ai, r/chrome, r/technews, r/technology, r/diabrowser, r/GeminiAI, and r/Bard