Techmeme
December 17, 2025, 7:40 AM

Top News

The Information:
Sources: Amazon is in talks to invest $10B+ in OpenAI at a $500B+ valuation, with OpenAI using AWS Trainium chips; Microsoft keeps rights to sell OpenAI models  —  Amazon is in talks to invest $10 billion or more in OpenAI, according to three people familiar with the discussions.
Rachel Metz / Bloomberg:
OpenAI updates ChatGPT Images to generate images up to 4x faster and edit more precisely, and adds a new section in ChatGPT's app and website for images  —  OpenAI is rolling out an update to ChatGPT that's intended to generate images better and faster, the latest move by the artificial intelligence developer …
OpenAI:
Wall Street Journal:
WBD recommends shareholders reject Paramount's unsolicited cash bid, calling the offer “illusory” and saying it believes Netflix's proposal is still superior  —  Warner raised concerns about the credibility of Paramount's ‘illusory’ offer and its backing from the Ellison family
Bloomberg:
Sources: Waymo is in discussions to raise more than $15B led by Alphabet at a valuation near $100B, and has achieved an annual revenue run rate above $350M  —  Waymo, Alphabet Inc.'s autonomous driving unit, is in discussions to raise more than $15 billion at a valuation near $100 billion …
Bloomberg:
Sources: 6+ Chinese AI companies, including chip firms Montage and GigaDevice, are set to go public in Hong Kong in the coming weeks, aiming to raise up to $1B  —  At least six Chinese companies related to artificial intelligence are set to go public in Hong Kong in the coming weeks …
Bloomberg:
New York Times:
The US threatens economic penalties against European companies like Spotify if the EU does not roll back regulations and lawsuits targeting US tech giants  —  U.S. officials excoriated the European Union for discriminating against American technology companies and threatened …
Robert Hart / The Verge:
Google launches CC, an experimental AI assistant that delivers a personalized daily “Your Day Ahead” briefing email based on users' emails and calendar  —  Google's new AI agent delivers a morning briefing personalized using your emails and calendar. … Google wants you to start your day with AI.
Reuters:
Crypto exchange HashKey closed flat in its Hong Kong debut, after rising as much as 6.6% before falling 8.4% intraday, amid a weakness in digital assets  —  Cryptocurrency exchange HashKey Holdings Ltd (3887.HK) made a flat debut in Hong Kong on Wednesday amid recent weakness in digital assets …
Jennifer Maas / Variety:
Sources: Disney has been hesitant to license its IP to Roblox because it doesn't consider it a safe platform, bucking the trend followed by Netflix and others  —  Here's a stat that might shock anyone who isn't the parent of a Gen Alpha kid: As of October 2025, online gaming platform Roblox boasted …
More: Dexerto and Glossy
Lora Kolodny / CNBC:
California's DMV says a California administrative law judge recently ruled that Tesla engaged in deceptive marketing around its Autopilot and FSD systems  —  A California administrative law judge recently ruled recently that Tesla's marketing around its “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving” …
Vismaya V / Decrypt:
Bhutan unveils a pledge of up to 10,000 bitcoin to develop Gelephu Mindfulness City; Arkham says Bhutan holds 5,984 bitcoin, ranking 7th among sovereign holders  —  The 10,000 BTC will generate yields for GMC's growth while being held long-term, with Bhutan ruling out selling the reserves.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
X updates its ToS to claim rights to the “Twitter” trademark and countersues Operation Bluebird after the startup filed an application to trademark the term  —  Elon Musk's X is updating its Terms of Service to indicate it still lays claim to the “Twitter” trademark.
Jill R Shah / Financial Times:
Dune and Keyrock: bets placed on prediction markets rose from <$100M per month in early 2024 to $13B per month in November, as Polymarket and Kalshi compete  —  Value of bets soars from $100mn to $13bn a month  —  Prediction markets have ballooned 130 times in size over the past two years …

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Jessica Testa / New York Times:
Financial Times:
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The Information:
Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg: