Techmeme
June 26, 2026, 5:16 PM

Top News

OpenAI:
GPT-5.6 Sol matches Mythos Preview on ExploitBench, adds Ultra mode with subagents for complex workflows, and max reasoning for deep problem-solving  —  We're beginning a limited preview of the GPT-5.6 series: Sol, our flagship model; Terra, a balanced model for everyday work; and Luna, a fast and affordable model.
Axios:
OpenAI releases three versions of GPT-5.6, called Sol, Terra, and Luna, as a limited preview to ~20 companies, with participants disclosed to the US government  —  OpenAI is rolling out GPT-5.6 Friday, but says it's limiting access to all three versions of the new model at the behest of the U.S. government.
Amrith Ramkumar / Wall Street Journal:
OpenAI hopes to make GPT-5.6 generally available in the coming weeks and says “this kind of government access process” should not become the long-term default  —  Company says White House review of AI releases shouldn't become long-term default; ban on Anthropic's Mythos model remains
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple's 14" and 16" OLED touch screen MacBook Pros will be powered by the existing M5 Pro and M5 Max chips and have an updated industrial design  —  Apple Inc.'s first-ever touch-screen laptop will rely on the company's current high-end M5 chips, rather than next-generation silicon …
Dean W. Ball / Hyperdimensional:
How US federal AI policy has gone from implausibly libertarian to increasingly draconian and opaque, and how to fix it, including using independent auditors  —  35 thoughts on what has happened and what America should do  —  Nothing below is an official or unofficial view of OpenAI.
Financial Times:
Sources: during SpaceX's IPO roadshow, COO Gwynne Shotwell told investors that it may launch a Starlink mobile service and build its own terrestrial US network  —  Move would test whether group can turn sky-high ambition into a mass-market phone business  —  Elon Musk's SpaceX has told investors …
Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:
President Trump threatens to impose a 100% tariff on any country that imposes a digital services tax on US companies  —  President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to impose a “100% TARIFF” on the goods of any country that imposes a digital services tax on U.S. companies.
Tim Clark / PC Gamer:
Q&A with Tim Sweeney on his vision for a cross-platform gaming social system, Unreal Engine 6, AI's PR challenges, the state of AAA game development, and more  —  The Epic Games CEO discusses his vision for “Team Open,” his objections to Steam's AI disclosure requirement, and the huge problems facing AAA game development.
Anna Bawden / The Guardian:
A study of 408 teens in Australia finds 80%+ were still using social media three months after the ban came into force, citing inadequate age verification checks  —  Experts say law not enough to stop children accessing harmful content online and more ‘convincing strategy is required’
Kenneth Shepard / Kotaku:
Microsoft says it will increase the prices of Xbox consoles on August 1 by $100 for 512GB models and $150 for 1TB models, the third price hike since May 2025  —  Microsoft is increasing the prices of Xbox Series consoles once more and introducing a ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ option
New York Times:
Sources: Russian hackers were behind a 2025 ransomware attack on Jaguar Land Rover that used “mind-blowing” encryption and cost UK's economy an estimated $2.5B  —  A loose collective of cybercriminals initially took credit for crippling Jaguar Land Rover last year.
Jordan Novet / CNBC:
Oracle's stock fell 19% this week, the steepest weekly drop since a 20% plunge in August 2001, amid concerns about its debt load and AI investments  —  Oracle just wrapped up its worst week on Wall Street in 25 years as concerns continue to mount about the software company's debt load …
Thomas Claburn / The Register:
OpenAI says 97.9% of its employees are now using Codex, up from ~40% in August 2025; non-developer Codex usage is up 137x for individuals and 12x within OpenAI  —  Codex, it's not just for developers, really  —  A company can learn a lot about the market by looking at its own employees.
More: OpenAI, Tech Times, The Deep View, and WinCentral
X: @steph_palazzoloLinkedIn: Chris Kraft and Julian BrophyBluesky: @stokel
Financial Times:
Binance tells EU customers that it will stop providing services for them from July 1, after Greece rejected its application for a bloc-wide license last week  —  World's biggest crypto exchange tells customers how to withdraw their money as MiCA rules set to come into force
Bloomberg:
The FTC fast-tracks approval for SpaceX to acquire Mesh, which raised a $50M Series A in February to make high-efficiency optical transceivers for data centers  —  Elon Musk received a regulatory greenlight to acquire startup Mesh Optical Technologies, a company founded by former SpaceX engineers working …
Aya Wagatsuma / Bloomberg:
Natalie Lung / Bloomberg:
Uber expands the list of criminal convictions that disqualify US drivers and expands the background-check timeline, possibly removing ~0.5% of active US drivers  —  Uber Technologies Inc. is tightening driver background checks in the US and applying the new standards retroactively to existing workers …

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Earlier Picks

Justin Lahart / Wall Street Journal:
Sean O'Kane / TechCrunch:
MacKenzie Sigalos / CNBC:
Zac Bowden / Windows Central:
Ethan Gach / Kotaku: