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May 20, 2026, 4:25 PM
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| Wall Street Journal: |
Sources: OpenAI is preparing to file confidentially for an IPO as early as Friday; the company plans to be ready to go public as early as September — The artificial-intelligence giant is working with bankers at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley — ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has been working …
More: CNBC, Bloomberg, New York Times, Gizmodo, Capital Brief, PYMNTS, International Business Times, Decrypt, Business Insider, San Francisco Chronicle, Reuters, TechCrunch, Investor's Business Daily, Implicator.ai, Financial Times, Techstrong.ai, Barron's Online, Mashable, Watcher Guru, Axios, Blockonomi, Crypto Briefing, Benzinga, Yahoo Finance, and U.S. Home
Forums: Hacker News, r/wallstreetbets, r/technology, r/BetterOffline, and r/indotech
| Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer: |
GitHub confirms ~3,800 internal repositories were breached after one of its employees installed a malicious VS Code extension; TeamPCP claims responsibility — GitHub has confirmed that roughly 3,800 internal repositories were breached after one of its employees installed a malicious VS Code extension.
More: BleepingComputer, CyberScoop, HotHardware, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, The Verge, Decrypt, PCMag, Aikido Security's Blog, CSO, GovInfoSecurity.com, The Register, The Record, DevOps.com, The Hacker News, Cybersecurity Dive, PC Gamer, Security Affairs, SecurityWeek, Digit, Protos, Blockonomi, Tom's Hardware, Metacurity, Forbes, The Information, Infosecurity, and The Stack
X: @github, @github, @cz_binance, @evisdrenova, @vxdb, @h4x0r_dz, @rekdt, @fortysevenfx, @tdinh_me, @chribjel, @forgebitz, @richardartoul, @github, @dinodaizovi, @dyn___, @uwukko, @github, @quinnypig, @grahamhelton3, @marclou, @nickadobos, @jeffwsurf, @nathanmcnulty, @zachtratar, @var_epsilon, and @vxunderground
Bluesky: @baldurbjarnason.com, @ddsd.dolsen.net, @oysta.au, and @simoneb
Forums: Hacker News, r/webdev, and Slashdot
| Reuters: |
Internal memo: Intuit is laying off ~17% of its workforce, or ~3,000 employees worldwide, to streamline operations and sharpen its focus on key bets, like AI — Intuit (INTU.O) is laying off about 17% of its workforce, or about 3,000 employees worldwide, to streamline operations and sharpen focus … | Reuters: |
Samsung Electronics and its South Korean labor union reach a preliminary pay deal; the union says it has suspended a general strike and put the deal to a vote — Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and its South Korean labour union reached a preliminary pay deal on Wednesday … | Katie Paul / Reuters: |
Internal memo: Mark Zuckerberg told employees that he does not expect more company-wide layoffs this year — Meta (META.O) CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees in an internal memo on Wednesday that he does not expect more company-wide layoffs this year, according to a copy of the memo seen by Reuters.
More: Business Insider, CNBC, New York Post, Bloomberg, Financial Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Android Central, Futurism, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, The San Francisco Standard, Washington Times, New York Post, Livemint, Digit, ZeroHedge News, The Information, Common Dreams, Business Today, CTech, and New York Times
| OpenAI: |
OpenAI says an internal general-purpose reasoning model has disproved the Erdős unit distance conjecture, a central problem in discrete geometry posed in 1946 — Read the proof(opens in a new window)Read the companion remarks(opens in a new window) — Loading...
X: @openai, @tenobrus, @deanwball, @deryatr_, @alexwei_, @gdb, @joshgans, @emostaque, @polynoamial, @openai, and @openai
Forums: Hacker News, r/singularity, and r/OpenAI
| Tom Warren / The Verge: |
Internal memo: Xbox hires game industry analyst Matthew Ball as chief strategy officer, and names Scott Van Vliet, who led Azure AI infrastructure, as Xbox CTO — The second major Xbox leadership changes this month. … Microsoft has recruited game industry analyst Matthew Ball as Xbox chief strategy officer.
More: The Game Business, GamesIndustry.biz, Thurrott, Game Developer, Pure Xbox, and DayOne
X: @timsweeneyepic and @timsweeneyepic
| Jacob Passy / Wall Street Journal: |
Airbnb says it is adding luggage storage, airport pickups, car rentals, grocery delivery, and thousands of boutique and independent hotels to its platform — Platform ramps up hotel-booking options, car rentals and AI-enabled features, expecting World Cup to drive record use| The Guardian: |
Granta and the Commonwealth Foundation say they can't determine yet if AI was used to write a prize-winning short story after critics pointed to signs of AI use — Granta publisher says ‘perhaps we never will know’ true authorship of work that won Commonwealth prize
More: Wired, Inc, Granta, Granta, Newser, Futurism, Commonwealth Foundation, The Free Press, ArtReview, The Hindu, UnHerd, Vulture, Boing Boing, The Bookseller, Literary Hub, Telegraph, Lawyers, Guns & Money, and ThePrint
X: @nabeelqu, @cwfcreatives, @serialsevens, @krishnanrohit, @krishnanrohit, @albatrossalex, @curtis_yarvin, @nabeelqu, @delicious_tacos, @krishnanrohit, @ednewtonrex, @krishnanrohit, @bobo_circus, @allgarbled, @nabeelqu, @atabarrok, @mushtaqbilalphd, @afinetheorem, @dioscuri, @max_spero_, @drmtown, @thestalwart, @justinnisly, @yokaihainen, @la_leere, @thelincoln, @mcmansionhell, @brunellaism, @tszzl, and @amhcrane87. LinkedIn: Fran Mulhern
Bluesky: @kjcharleswriter.com, @vajra.me, @kjcharleswriter.com, @nickevershed, @vajra.me, @john-self, @vajra.me, @vajra.me, and @kirstenbakis.com. Mastodon: @peterrenshaw@ioc.exchange
Forums: r/TrinidadandTobago, r/RSbookclub, and Slashdot
| Anu Adegbola / Search Engine Land: |
Google says it is testing new ad formats in search results and AI Mode, including Conversational Discovery ads, Highlighted Answers, and AI-powered Shopping ads — Google is introducing a new generation of Gemini-powered ad formats across AI Mode and Search designed to make ads feel more conversational … | Luz Ding / Bloomberg: |
Alibaba's chipmaking unit T-Head unveils the Zhenwu M890 for AI training and inference, saying it is well-suited for agentic tasks, and plans annual upgrades — Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. added a new processor to its expanding AI technology stack, enhancing a push to cover every aspect of artificial intelligence development.
More: Reuters, Qwen, The Information, Wall Street Journal, Blockonomi, WinBuzzer, Techstrong.ai, AI News, The Motley Fool, DigiTimes, and Alizila
| Reuters: |
Ubisoft reports a record operating loss of $1.40B for the year to March and says sales in 2026-27 will fall by about 8% to 9%; UBI falls 6%+ — French videogame publisher Ubisoft warned on Wednesday of another year of losses and lower sales after a record annual operating loss, deepening pressure on the company as it restructures.
More: The Economic Times, Game Developer, GamesBeat, and Wall Street Journal
| The Register: |
Cloud provider Railway says Google Cloud suspended its account without cause, resulting in an outage; in 2024, GCP deleted an Australian pension fund's account — PaaS platform Railway says Google temporarily suspended its account on Wednesday without cause, inducing a major outage.
More: Railway Blog. X: @_swanand, @railway, @mikejulian, @nick_white, @gergelyorosz, @pragmatic_eng, @quinnypig, @oscargws, @championswimmer, @jazzychad, @dexhorthy, @gergelyorosz, @neetcode1, @railway, @justjake, @richardartoul, @simistern, and @railway
Forums: Hacker News and Hacker News
| Jemima McEvoy / The Information: |
Sam Altman says OpenAI offered to invest $2M in tokens in each startup in the current YC batch; a source says the offer is in exchange for equity via a SAFE — OpenAI cofounder and CEO Sam Altman late Tuesday offered to invest $2 million in every startup currently in the Y Combinator startup …
More: Business Insider, Inc.com, and The Economic Times
X: @sama, @bosmeny, @jason, @agupta, @t_blom, @garrytan, @matthewberman, @yoeven, @gdb, @natebjones, @stanine, @the_ai_investor, @brycent, @lauramodiano, @autismcapital, and @benitoz
| Nan Ransohoff / Nan's Substack: |
An analysis based on OpenAI's and Anthropic's current valuations suggests ~$370B of philanthropic assets tied to the two AI companies could soon become liquid — AI is about to generate hundreds of billions in new philanthropic funding. We have a huge amount of work to do to make the most of it.
X: @deanwball, @janeaflegal, @alexisohanian, @alecstapp, @tszzl, @gladstein, @logangraham, @andy_matuschak, @nanransohoff, @zebriez, @jacksondahl, @dwarkesh_sp, @patrickc, and @albrgr. LinkedIn: Jennifer Doleac. Forums: r/neoliberal
| Hugh Son / CNBC: |
Mercury, which provides banking services to startups, raised a $200M Series D led by TCV at a $5.2B valuation, up from $3.5B in March 2025 — Mercury, a fintech firm that provides banking services to startups, has raised $200 million in funding at a $5.2 billion valuation, CNBC has learned exclusively.
More: Axios, Crunchbase News, Business Wire, PYMNTS, Reuters, and Mercury
| Todd Bishop / GeekWire: |
S. “Soma” Somasegar, who led Microsoft's Developer Division for 12 years as part of his 27-year tenure at the company before leaving in 2015, has died at age 59 — S. “Soma” Somasegar, a fixture in the Seattle tech community who led Microsoft's Developer Division as part …
More: Madrona. X: @donasarkar, @tomwarren, @headinthebox, @stevesi, @deedydas, @theashbhat, @mela_ventures, @baxiabhishek, @jesseproudman, @cschleiden, @nikitabase, @sriramk, and @mukund
| Brendan Bordelon / Politico: |
OpenAI's Chris Lehane says he is pursuing “reverse federalism”, lobbying blue states to pass AI safety laws and create a de facto US standard, as DC dithers — OpenAI's effort comes after nearly a year in which the tech lobby has pressured Congress to block states from passing AI laws … | Ryan Christoffel / 9to5Mac: |
Apple says the App Store prevented over $2.2B in potentially fraudulent transactions in 2025, rejected over 2M problematic app submissions, and more — Ahead of Apple's annual developer conference next month, Apple has shared an update on how the App Store serves users and developers alike with numerous protections.
More: Apple, AppleInsider, PYMNTS, Michael Tsai, iPhone in Canada, MacRumors, iClarified, Apple Must, and Cult of Mac
| Bloomberg: |
Exa, which offers a search engine that is designed for AI agents, raised $250M led by a16z at a $2.2B valuation, up from $700M in September 2025 — Exa Labs Inc., a San Francisco-based startup that wants to build a search engine tailor-made for the age of artificial intelligence … | Mariella Moon / Engadget: |
Kickstarter retracts its stricter rules on mature content after creator backlash, and says it adopted the tougher rules because of its payment processor Stripe — It explained that it created the new rules due to Stripe's policy. — Kickstarter has retracted the new set of rules around mature content …
More: Kickstarter Blog, Kotaku, PR Daily, TheGamer, TheGamer, Kotaku, The Verge, and Graphic Policy
Bluesky: @mrhands31, @beesmygod, @newsnerd, @emberwickart, @kellywhyte, @seanmedgar, @owenkcstephens, @actualadultjd, and @plusoneexp
Mastodon: @lilithsaintcrow …, @neil@mastodon.neilzone.co.uk, and @BenRiceM@mastodon.social
Forums: r/TwoBestFriendsPlay, r/boardgames, and r/otomegames
| Samantha Kelly / Bloomberg: |
An interview with Match Group CEO Spencer Rascoff about plans for Tinder, including a redesign, AI features, live events, and group dating to win over Gen Z — The dating app's turnaround bets on live events, group dating and an AI-heavy redesign. — At a pickleball venue near Santa Monica State beach … | Julie Bort / TechCrunch: |
NanoClaw creator NanoCo raised a $12M seed led by Valley Capital and says it is booking enterprise customers; co-founders say they rejected a $20M buyout offer — NanoCo, the company behind security-focused OpenClaw alternative NanoClaw, has raised an oversubscribed $12 million seed round following …
More: Fortune, Business Insider, SiliconANGLE, CTech, Unite.AI, and VentureBeat
| Dylan Butts / CNBC: |
Singapore announces a National AI Partnership with Google and an MoU with OpenAI, which will set up an AI lab and commit $234M+ to the city-state's AI ecosystem — Singapore has inked separate agreements with Google and OpenAI to strengthen its position as a global artificial intelligence hub …
More: CNBC, Investing.com, Yahoo Finance, Benzinga, Blockonomi, MarketWatch, and Bloomberg
X: @gabrielchua, @gabrielchua, and @gabrielchua
| Financial Times: |
Sources: Nvidia's business development group, not its VC arm NVentures, has led much of its ~$90B dealmaking push across 145+ companies over the past 16 months — Nvidia's Huang bankrolls AI boom with $90bn deal spree
More: Semafor and Financial Times
| Ashley Gold / Axios: |
Sources: a draft White House EO would create a “voluntary framework” for AI companies to give government agencies early access to models before public release — The White House plans to release its much-discussed executive order on cybersecurity and AI safety as soon as this week …
More: Nextgov/FCW, Reuters, The Information, Gizmodo, Crypto Briefing, ZeroHedge News, and NewsMax.com
| Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch: |
Stability AI releases a new family of audio models called Stable Audio 3.0 that is trained on licensed data; the top model can generate six-minute songs — Stability AI, the company behind Stable Diffusion, is releasing a new family of audio models, called Stability Audio 3.0.
More: eWeek, Billboard, The Decoder, Stability AI, and Crypto Briefing
| Lauren Feiner / The Verge: |
The Take It Down Act, a US law forcing social networks to remove nonconsensual intimate images within 48 hours of reporting or face fines, took effect on May 19 — The Take It Down Act is in full force, but it could be a gift to government censors — not victims of image-based sexual abuse.| Dina Bass / Bloomberg: |
Socket, which helps companies safeguard open-source code against hackers, raised $60M led by Thrive Capital at a $1B valuation — Socket, a cybersecurity startup that sells technology to help safeguard open-source code against hackers, has raised a new round of funding that values the company at $1 billion.| John Timmer / Ars Technica: |
Two research papers describe how Google's Co-Scientist and nonprofit FutureHouse's AI tools can succeed at drug retargeting by developing and testing hypotheses — Both tools generate hypotheses; one goes on to analyze some of the data. — On Tuesday, Nature released …
More: Nature, Tech Times, Google DeepMind, Nature, Engadget, Nature, and Nature
X: @andrewwhite01, @ckbjimmy, @ymatias, @dr_alphalyrae, @futurehousesf, and @andrewwhite01. Forums: Ars OpenForum
| Alexander Martin / The Record: |
Sources: an attack exploiting a previously unknown vulnerability in Huawei router software caused a three-hour nationwide telecoms outage in Luxembourg in 2025 — An attack exploiting a previously unknown vulnerability in Huawei enterprise router software caused a nationwide telecoms outage …
Bluesky: @alexmartin and @alexmartin
| Damisola Sulaiman / Sifted: |
London-based Primer, which helps e-commerce merchants connect and manage multiple payment providers, raised a $100M Series C led by Sofina — The London-based fintech is doubling down on AI in payments — London-based payments infrastructure provider Primer has raised $100m …
More: The Next Web, FinTech Global, FinSMEs, Tech Funding News, Tech in Asia, and Business Wire
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