DataLane, which is using AI to build an identity graph to map local businesses across the US, raised a $22.5M Series A led by Amplify Partners (Chris Metinko/Axios) https://www.axios.com/pro/enterprise-software-deals/2025/12/16/datalane-amplify-local-business-data
Techmeme
DataLane, which is using AI to build an identity graph to map local businesses across the US, raised a $22.5M Series A led by Amplify Partners
By Chris Metinko / Axios. View the full context on Techmeme.
Waymo says it temporarily suspended its ride-hailing service in San Francisco during a citywide blackout, as downed traffic lights appeared to halt its vehicles (Joe Rivano Barros/Mission Local)
Mission Local
Waymo halts service during massive S.F. blackout after causing traffic jams
Numerous autonomous vehicles caused traffic jams across San Francisco after a PG&E outage hit 1/3 of the city.
Techmeme
Waymo says it temporarily suspended its ride-hailing service in San Francisco during a citywide blackout, as downed traffic lights appeared to halt its vehicles
By Joe Rivano Barros / Mission Local. View the full context on Techmeme.
A look at Tokyo-based neocloud provider Datasection, which sources say has a $1.2B+ contract giving Tencent access to a large share of its 15K Blackwell chips (Financial Times)
Client Challenge
Techmeme
A look at Tokyo-based neocloud provider Datasection, which sources say has a $1.2B+ contract giving Tencent access to a large share of its 15K Blackwell chips
From Financial Times. View the full context on Techmeme.
METR: Claude Opus 4.5 has a 50% task completion time horizon of about 4 hours and 49 minutes, more than double that of Claude Opus 4 released earlier this year (@metr_evals)
X (formerly Twitter)
METR (@METR_Evals) on X
We estimate that, on our tasks, Claude Opus 4.5 has a 50%-time horizon of around 4 hrs 49 mins (95% confidence interval of 1 hr 49 mins to 20 hrs 2...
Techmeme
METR: Claude Opus 4.5 has a 50% task completion time horizon of about 4 hours and 49 minutes, more than double that of Claude Opus 4 released earlier this year
From @metr_evals. View the full context on Techmeme.
Chinese AI chipmaker Moore Threads announces a new generation of chips slated for mass production from 2026, just weeks after its blockbuster IPO in China (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg.com
Ex-Nvidia Billionaire Unveils New AI Chips After China IPO Debut
Moore Threads Technology Co. introduced a new generation of chips aimed at reducing artificial-intelligence developers’ dependence on Nvidia Corp...
Techmeme
Chinese AI chipmaker Moore Threads announces a new generation of chips slated for mass production from 2026, just weeks after its blockbuster IPO in China
From Bloomberg. View the full context on Techmeme.
Surveillance tools exported by China, based on US tech and obtained by Chinese companies, to countries like Nepal are being used to stifle Tibetan refugees (Associated Press)
AP News
US tech enabled China’s surveillance empire. Now Tibetan refugees in Nepal are paying the price
Nepal is just one of at least 150 countries to which Chinese companies are supplying surveillance technology, from cameras in Vietnam to censorship...
Techmeme
Surveillance tools exported by China, based on US tech and obtained by Chinese companies, to countries like Nepal are being used to stifle Tibetan refugees
From Associated Press. View the full context on Techmeme.
A profile of Josh Woodward, the head of Google Labs who is credited with turning around the Gemini app, growing its MAUs from 350M in March to 650M by October (Jennifer Elias/CNBC)
CNBC
Google was at risk of losing its dominance β€” until it promoted this AI executive
Josh Woodward, a 16-year Google veteran, is tasked with running the Gemini app and going head-to-head with OpenAI in the booming generative AI market.
Techmeme
A profile of Josh Woodward, the head of Google Labs who is credited with turning around the Gemini app, growing its MAUs from 350M in March to 650M by October
By Jennifer Elias / CNBC. View the full context on Techmeme.
S&P Global: data center deals hit $61B globally in 2025; debt issuance nearly doubled YoY to $182B, with Meta raising $62B debt since 2022, ~50% of that in 2025 (April Roach/CNBC)
CNBC
Data center deals hit record $61 billion in 2025 amid construction frenzy
Hyperscalers are increasingly turning to outside capital in the form of debt to fund the energy-intensive infrastructure.
Techmeme
S&P Global: data center deals hit $61B globally in 2025; debt issuance nearly doubled YoY to $182B, with Meta raising $62B debt since 2022, ~50% of that in 2025
By April Roach / CNBC. View the full context on Techmeme.
Google advises some employees on visas, including H-1B visas, not to travel outside the US due to processing delays, following new social media screening rules (Business Insider)
Business Insider
Google and Apple are warning some visa employees not to leave the US due to 'significant' return delays of up to a year
The US State Department said it was "prioritizing thoroughly vetting" each visa case, which could cause delays.
Techmeme
Google and Apple advise employees on H-1B and other visas not to travel outside the US due to processing delays, following new social media screening rules
From Business Insider. View the full context on Techmeme.
The RAISE Act requires AI companies with $500M+ in revenue to publish safety protocols and disclose safety incidents within 72 hours, with fines up to $3M (Isabelle Bousquette/Wall Street Journal) https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-signs-ai-safety-bill-into-law-ignoring-trump-executive-order-f1ece21d
Techmeme
The RAISE Act requires AI companies with $500M+ in revenue to publish safety protocols and disclose safety incidents within 72 hours, with fines up to $3M
By Isabelle Bousquette / Wall Street Journal. View the full context on Techmeme.