Tech Brew Ride Home

1h ago

Has TikTok finally been sold, episode number 47… The Pennsylvania supreme court says police don’t need a warrant to read your search history. YouTube terminates some big accounts over AI usage. A new League of Legends is coming. And in the longreads, and in the show, a look at how Zuck’s big bet on AI is coming along. Scoop: TikTok signs deal for U.S. unit after yearslong saga (Axios) TikTok U.S. Deal to Close Next Month: Oracle and Silver Lake Confirmed in Buyer Consortium (The Hollywood Reporter) Pa. high court rules that police can access Google searches without a warrant (The Record) Meta Is Developing a New AI Image and Video Model Code-Named ‘Mango’ (WSJ) YouTube Shuts Down Channels Using AI To Create Fake Movie Trailers Watched By Millions (Deadline) Riot Has a Secret Plan to Remake Its ‘League of Legends’ Game (Bloomberg) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Inside Mark Zuckerberg’s turbulent bet on AI (FT) Economics of Orbital vs Terrestrial Data Centers (Andrew McCalip) Feeding the Machine (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1d ago

Has China cracked a major puzzle for chip parity? Trump Media merges with a… Fusion Energy startup? Coinbase continues its efforts to let you trade everything. OpenAI is turning on the fundraising afterburners. And how to catch a North Korean IT infiltrator. China may have reverse engineered EUV lithography tool in covert lab, report claims — employees given fake IDs to avoid secret project being detected, prototypes expected in 2028 (Tom's Hardware) Trump media group agrees $6bn merger with Google-backed fusion energy company (FT) Coinbase adds prediction markets and stock trading in push to be one-stop trading app (CNBC) OpenAI Has Discussed Raising Tens of Billions at Valuation Around $750 Billion (The Information) Amazon Caught North Korean IT Worker By Tracing Keystroke Data (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2d ago

ChatGPT ups its image generation game. Now it’s Amazon’s turn to invest in OpenAI. WBD says it still wants to go with the Netflix offer. Waymo’s raising money again. And the new AI sort of newsletter Google wants to put in your inbox every morning. OpenAI’s ChatGPT Updated to Make Images Better and Faster (Bloomberg) ChatGPT Images just got a major upgrade — and it could change how we all create (TechRadar) OpenAI in Talks to Raise At Least $10 Billion From Amazon and Use Its AI Chips (The Information) Coursera to buy Udemy, creating $2.5 billion firm to target AI training (Reuters) Warner Rejects Paramount’s Hostile Bid, Saying Netflix Deal Still Superior (WSJ) Waymo Seeking Over $15 Billion Near $100 Billion Valuation (Bloomberg) Waymo in talks to raise funds at $100bn valuation (FT) U.S. Threatens Penalties Against European Tech Firms Amid Regulatory Fight (NYTimes) Google wants its AI assistant CC to replace your morning scroll (The Verge) Betting on prediction markets has exploded over past two years (FT) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3d ago

Tech continues to be a major geopolitical stumbling block, this time with the UK. Are we currently in the midst of the second mini-tech recession of the year? If Ford can pivot from EV’s to servicing datacenters, maybe you can too. And the civil war lining up in Hollywood, over AI. U.S.-U.K. Trade Deal Hits Stumbling Block (NYTimes) AI infrastructure selloff continues on Wall Street as Broadcom, Oracle shares slide (CNBC) CoreWeave’s Staggering Fall From Market Grace Highlights AI Bubble Fears (WSJ) Ford is starting a battery storage business to power data centers and the grid (TechCrunch) AI has the entertainment industry torn between keeping up and keeping talent happy. (BloombergBusinessweek) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4d ago

Your Roomba is circling the drain with iRobot filing for bankruptcy. Remember credit default swaps? Turns out they’re not just for hedging housing anymore. Nano Banana looks so realistic because it’s mimicking your sub-par smartphone camera output. And why can’t everybody participate in early stage startup investing? Roomba Maker iRobot Files for Bankruptcy and Will Go Private (Bloomberg) How iRobot lost its way home (TechCrunch) Investors seek protection from risk of AI debt bust (FT) Kindle’s New AI Feature Can Answer Questions About Your Books (Whether Authors Want It or Not) (PCMag) AI image generators are getting better by getting worse (The Verge) Inside the Invitation-Only Stock Market for the Wealthy (WSJ) 🎧 The Ride Home - 2025 Wrapped Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 12

Ok, fine, says Sam, here’s a new GPT model so you’ll hopefully stop saying we’re behind. Broadcom as another AI bellwether. Now that Disney is in bed with OpenAI, they’re ceasing and desisting Google. And, of course, The Weekend Longreads Suggestions. OpenAI Launches GPT-5.2 as It Navigates ‘Code Red’ (Wired) GPT-5.2 is OpenAI’s latest move in the agentic AI battle (The Verge) Trump threatens funding for states over AI regulations (Reuters) Broadcom beats on earnings and revenue, says AI chip sales will double in current quarter (CNBC) Disney Accuses Google of Using AI to Engage in Copyright Infringement on ‘Massive Scale’ (Variety) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Want This Hearing Aid? Well, Who Do You Know? (Wired) Tech bros head to etiquette camp as Silicon Valley levels up its style (The Washington Post) Why AGI Will Not Happen (Tim Dettmer) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 11

Disney signs a blockbuster deal to license characters to OpenAI AND invest $1 billion dollars in the company. Oracle as the new bellwether for thinking about OpenAI’s prospects. More on the whole Data Centers In Space phenomenon. And let me introduce you to the Model Context Protocol to make the web safe for AI agents. Disney Inks Blockbuster OpenAI Deal to Bring More Than 200 Characters to Sora Video Platform, Will Invest $1 Billion in AI Company (Variety) Disney to Invest $1 Billion in OpenAI, License Suite of Characters for Sora in Landmark Deal (The Wrap) Oracle Can’t Escape OpenAI’s Shadow (WSJ) Spotify tests more personalized, AI-powered ‘Prompted Playlists’ (TechCrunch) Bezos and Musk Race to Bring Data Centers to Space (WSJ) MCP has already taken the industry by storm, and now Anthropic is giving it away. (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 10

Instagram is giving you some control over your algorithm. Is Instacart using algorithmic pricing? SpaceX thinks it will be worth $1.5 trillion. Has DeepSeek been smuggling chips? And what if your startup’s side-hustle can plug into the AI CAPEX bonanza? Instagram Will Start Letting You Pick What Shows Up in Your Reels (Wired) Same Product, Same Store, but on Instacart, Prices Might Differ (NYTimes) SpaceX to Pursue 2026 IPO Raising Far Above $30 Billion (Bloomberg) DeepSeek is Using Banned Nvidia Chips in Race to Build Next Model (The Information) Boom Supersonic raises $300M to build natural gas turbines for Crusoe data centers (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices