News

Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch: Google launches a cheaper AI Plus plan in India, costing ~$2.21 per month for the first six months and ~$4.44 thereafter, to compete with ChatGPT Go  —  Google on Wednesday launched its more affordable AI Plus… Read More »Google launches a cheaper AI Plus plan in India, costing ~$2.21 per month for the first six months and ~$4.44 thereafter, to compete with ChatGPT Go (Ivan Mehta/TechCrunch)

Reece Rogers / Wired: Instagram launches Your Algorithm, which shows users an AI analysis of their activity to let them customize the topics shaping their Reels recommendations  —  In the battle for your attention, Instagram is betting that more control… Read More »Instagram launches Your Algorithm, which shows users an AI analysis of their activity to let them customize the topics shaping their Reels recommendations (Reece Rogers/Wired)

Heather Somerville / Wall Street Journal: How US startups like Oakland-based Brimstone are racing to develop sources of raw materials that the US needs for tech, an industry China has long dominated  —  Startups and venture capital are joining the… Read More »How US startups like Oakland-based Brimstone are racing to develop sources of raw materials that the US needs for tech, an industry China has long dominated (Heather Somerville/Wall Street Journal)

Jess Weatherbed / The Verge: Adobe launches free ChatGPT-integrated apps for Photoshop, Acrobat, and Express on desktop, the web, and iOS, after OpenAI added app integrations in October  —  Just describe your edits to ChatGPT, and the Photoshop, Acrobat, and… Read More »Adobe launches free ChatGPT-integrated apps for Photoshop, Acrobat, and Express on desktop, the web, and iOS, after OpenAI added app integrations in October (Jess Weatherbed/The Verge)

New York Times: Sources: Lip-Bu Tan’s dual roles as Intel CEO and tech investor cause consternation in the industry and at Intel; four ex-Intel execs say it caused them to exit  —  Lip-Bu Tan, who was appointed chief executive of… Read More »Sources: Lip-Bu Tan’s dual roles as Intel CEO and tech investor cause consternation in the industry and at Intel; four ex-Intel execs say it caused them to exit (New York Times)

Justina Lee / Bloomberg: Betting exchange Matchbook plans to launch a prediction market platform in the UK in January 2026 as a “road test” before a planned US launch as early as March  —  Matchbook, a sports betting exchange, is… Read More »Betting exchange Matchbook plans to launch a prediction market platform in the UK in January 2026 as a “road test” before a planned US launch as early as March (Justina Lee/Bloomberg)

Joe Wilkins / Futurism: McDonald’s Netherlands pulls an AI-generated Christmas ad, made by TBWANEBOKO with film production company Sweetshop, after backlash that the ad is distasteful  —  There’s just one issue: pretty much everybody hates it.  —  This year, McDonald’s… Read More »McDonald’s Netherlands pulls an AI-generated Christmas ad, made by TBWANEBOKO with film production company Sweetshop, after backlash that the ad is distasteful (Joe Wilkins/Futurism)

Joseph Menn / Washington Post: TTP: Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store host dozens of apps linked to US-sanctioned foreign companies; Google removed 17 apps and Apple removed 35  —  Watchdog finds firms and organizations in Apple and Google… Read More »TTP: Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store host dozens of apps linked to US-sanctioned foreign companies; Google removed 17 apps and Apple removed 35 (Joseph Menn/Washington Post)

The Information: Sources: DeepSeek is developing its new AI model using several thousand Nvidia Blackwell chips, which were smuggled into China via third-party countries  —  DeepSeek, the Chinese AI startup, has been developing its next major model using several thousand… Read More »Sources: DeepSeek is developing its new AI model using several thousand Nvidia Blackwell chips, which were smuggled into China via third-party countries (The Information)

Bloomberg: How President Trump’s tariffs ended China’s monopoly on making US game consoles, boosting Vietnam, whose exports jumped from $30M/month in 2024 to $400M in May  —  Millions of holiday shoppers across America are filling their baskets with pricey video… Read More »How President Trump’s tariffs ended China’s monopoly on making US game consoles, boosting Vietnam, whose exports jumped from $30M/month in 2024 to $400M in May (Bloomberg)