| Karl Bode / Techdirt: |
The TikTok deal is the worst of all possible outcomes, shifting ownership of TikTok to Trump's allies, while maintaining the supposed problematic links to China — There were rumblings about this for a while, but it looks like the Trump TikTok deal is done, and it's somehow the worst … | Sara Fischer / Axios: |
Internal memo: TikTok has signed a deal to sell its US unit; Oracle, Silver Lake, MGX will collectively own 45% of the US entity, and ByteDance will retain ~20% — TikTok has signed a deal to divest its U.S. entity to a joint venture controlled by American investors, per an internal memo seen by Axios.| Financial Times: |
Memo: TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew says ByteDance's US entities will retain direct control over core US revenue drivers, including ecommerce, ads, and marketing — Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX to invest in new data security joint venture as part of Trump-brokered deal| Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter: |
| Financial Times: |
Sources: UK officials believe China was behind the October cyber attack on the UK's Foreign Office, which aimed to access tens of thousands of sensitive files — The UK's Foreign Office was the victim of a major cyber attack in October, which officials believe was carried out by Chinese hackers.| Adamya Sharma / Android Authority: |
Samsung unveils the Exynos 2600, the world's first smartphone SoC built on a 2nm Gate-All-Around process, expected to power some Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus models — Galaxy S26 could get Samsung's boldest chip yet: Meet the 2nm Exynos 2600. — • — TL;DR| Sarah Perez / TechCrunch: |
Netflix acquires avatar creation platform Ready Player Me to let its subscribers carry their personas and fandoms across games; the startup raised $72M — After shifting its gaming strategy to focus more on games played on the TV, Netflix announced it's acquiring Ready Player Me, an avatar creation platform based in Estonia.| Olga Kharif / Bloomberg: |
Coinbase sues Connecticut, Illinois, and Michigan over attempts to regulate prediction markets, arguing that the markets fall under CFTC's jurisdiction — Coinbase Global Inc. said it is suing the US states of Michigan, Illinois and Connecticut over their attempts to regulate prediction markets.| Eleanor Olcott / Financial Times: |
Sources: China is retrofitting older models of ASML's DUV machines to produce advanced smartphone and AI chips, exposing cracks in US-led export controls — Restricted chipmaking tools are being retrofitted to make advanced AI chips, exposing cracks in US-led export controls| Chris McGuire / Council on Foreign Relations: |
| Bloomberg: |
Sources: ByteDance is on track for ~$50B profit in 2025 after generating a ~$40B net income in the first three quarters, surpassing its internal target for 2025 — ByteDance Ltd. is on track for profits of roughly $50 billion in 2025, capping a record year for a Chinese social media leader … | Erin Woo / The Information: |
Sources: Google has formed a new executive council to allocate computing capacity given a critical shortage; members include Thomas Kurian and Demis Hassabis — Earlier this year, Google convened a group of its top executives to address what some staffers see as an existential problem … | Beatrice Nolan / Fortune: |
Cursor-developer Anysphere acquires code review startup Graphite and says Graphite will continue operating as an independent product — The AI coding market is booming amid enterprise adoption.GRAPHITE — Anysphere, the company behind Cursor, is buying code review startup Graphite in a deal … | Kenrick Cai / Reuters: |
Google Cloud and Palo Alto Networks strike a deal that a source says is Google Cloud's largest security services deal “approaching $10B” over several years — Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) cloud computing unit and cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks (PANW.O) on Friday announced … | Brock E.W. Turner / Axios: |
Boston-based Neurable, which builds an OS for brain-computer interfaces, raised a $35M Series A led by Spectrum Moonshot Fund, bringing its total raised to $65M — Neurable, a neurotechnology company, raised a $35 million Series A round led by the Spectrum Moonshot Fund, CEO Ramses Alcaide tells Axios Pro exclusively.| Emily Mullin / Wired: |
Source: Sam Altman's Merge Labs, which seeks to read brain activity using ultrasound, is being spun out of LA-based nonprofit Forest Neurotech — Merge Labs, a brain-computer interface startup that seeks to read brain activity using ultrasound, is being spun out of Forest Neurotech, a Los Angeles nonprofit.| Chris Metinko / Axios: |
Neural Concept, whose 3D product design software uses deep learning to help cut development times, raised a $100M Series C, bringing its total funding to $130M — Neural Concept closed a $100 million Series C led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives as the engineering intelligence startup looks … | Jesse Hamilton / CoinDesk: |
The US Senate confirms FDIC acting chairman Travis Hill to lead the agency, which regulates stablecoin issuers and impacts how the crypto industry is banked — In a package of confirmations, the U.S. Senate approved Mike Selig to lead the CFTC and Travis Hill to run the FDIC, both with major potential reach into crypto.| Lydia Beyoud / Bloomberg: |
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| Miranda Bryant / The Guardian: |
| Alex Heath / Sources: |
| Vicky Ge Huang / Wall Street Journal: |
| Cecilia D'Anastasio / Bloomberg: |
| Suzanne Smalley / The Record: |
| Mistral AI: |
| Meghan Bobrowsky / Wall Street Journal: |
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| Jake Bleiberg / Bloomberg: |