Week 12, 2025
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key developments
1
Growing confusion over 'AI agent' definition
Tech giants are each defining "AI agent" to suit their products, creating market confusion. OpenAI, Microsoft, and Salesforce are crafting competing narratives, prioritizing market position over clarity. This ambiguity is inflating customer expectations beyond technical reality.
2
The rise of 'vibe coding'
Silicon Valley is embracing "vibe coding," a new paradigm powered by LLMs that enables creating apps, games, and websites using only text prompts. OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy introduced the term last month, defining it as "fully giving in to the vibes, and forgetting that the code even exists." Vibe coding has sparked a creative explosion, with amateurs now building sophisticated projects without development knowledge.
3
Oracle emerges as leading contender
Oracle leads in negotiations to acquire TikTok's US operations, with White House talks advancing quickly. Founder Larry Ellison's Trump connections and Oracle's existing role hosting TikTok's infrastructure strengthen its position. ByteDance prefers Oracle, though China's opposition to tech transfer remains the key hurdle.
4
Trump-Binance pardon deal?
The Trump family is reportedly discussing acquisition of Binance US shares, talks that began when Binance approached Trump associates after the election. This timing has sparked controversy as it coincides with Binance founder CZ seeking pardon from the White House, raising conflict of interest concerns. CZ served a four-month US prison sentence for US anti-money laundering violations. Binance denies any discussions about such a transaction.
5
DeepSeek researchers locked down
DeepSeek is restricting its R&D employees from traveling abroad with parent company HighFlyer holding their passports. These measures tightened after January's R1 model launch gained global attention. China is also discouraging AI talent from visiting the US and allies, highlighting its commitment to protecting AI assets amid escalating tech competition.
6
India, here we come
Starlink is entering India through deals with the country's top two telecom providers, with SpaceX focusing on rural internet access in what it considers its largest growth market. Simultaneously, Coinbase has registered with India's Financial Intelligence Unit and will resume crypto services after a three-year absence, promising full regulatory compliance.
7
Tesla turmoil continues
Tesla's once-soaring stock has plummeted 35% over seven weeks, while Chinese rival BYD rose 32.3% during the same period. Musk's controversial political activities have damaged the brand's image, triggering customer boycotts. Existing owners are rushing to sell their vehicles, causing used Tesla prices to collapse. Adding to these troubles, Cybertruck deliveries have been suspended due to parts falling off.
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by category
AI - Tech
OpenAI debuts Responses API
—helping devs build own AI agents
Google unveils lightweight Gemma 3
—runs 27B model on just one H100
Gemini offers personalized answers
—based on users' search history
DeepMind unveils new robot AI
Baidu releases reasoning model Ernie X1
Alibaba unveils emotion-reading R1-Omni
Alibaba revamps AI agent app Quark
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AI - Business
Anthropic reaches $1.4B ARR
Google owns 14% of Anthropic
Manus agent uses Claude 3.7
Manus partners w/ Alibaba Qwen
OpenAI submits AI policy proposal
—wants loosened copyright rules
—and banning of Chinese AI
OpenAI reveals new creative writing model
Gemini to completely replace Google Assistant
Google makes Gemini chatbots free
Google makes Deep Research free
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AI - Other
Vague definition of 'agent' confuses users
AI chatbots are often confidently wrong
Meta sued by French publishers
China mandates AI content labeling
DeepSeek restricts R&D staff travel
80% of recent YC batch is AI focused
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Chips / Infrastructure
Intel appoints Lib-Bu Tan as new CEO
—shares up 11%+
TSMC pitches Intel Foundry JV
—to Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom, Qualcomm
Meta tests in-house AI training chip
—manufactured by TSMC
OpenAI signs $12B deal w/ CoreWeave
MS spends $300M/yr on quantum research
SoftBank turns ex-Sharp plant into AI hub
Nvidia names next chips after Vera Rubin
—astronomer who discovered dark matter
Texas Instruments unveils smallest MCU
—size of a black pepper flake
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Social Media
Oracle leading TikTok bid
—most preferred by by ByteDance
Meta rolls out Community Notes
—unapologetically copying X
—will use X's algorithm
TikTok adds bedtime reminders for teens
Snap launches AI video lenses
Reddit lets users hide ads
Whatsapp developing message threads
Bluesky to give users control over data
Bluesky sells out Zuck-trolling shirt
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Content / Entertainment
Niantic sells Pokemon Go for $3.5B
Netflix's first gaming chief leaves
MS announces Copilot for Gaming
Roblox CEO defends platform's safety
—but admits risks exist
Sony PS experiments AI characters
Spotify paid $10B+ in royalties in 2024
—largest in music history
—60% of total revenue
Amazon/Netflix court popular YouTubers
Amazon Prime streams 'The Apprentice"
Apple Music Classical launches web version
Apple Vision Pro releases Metallica concert
Google releases fix for broken Chromecast
Sonos cancels video streaming device
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Device / Hardware
Google to acquire AdHawk
—eye-tracking startup worth $115M
—signals renewed XR gear ambitions
Huawei teases rollable screen device
—to be launched on Mar 20
—watch teaser video
Amazon Echo drops local voice processing
—all voice recording will be sent to cloud
Apple AirPods to offer live-translation
Samsung launching bone conduction headphones
Asus to launch Xbox-branded phone
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App / Platform
Apple plans major redesign for iOS 19
Google challenges app store age-verification bill
Xiaomi to preinstall local app store in India
—instead of its own GetApps store
Google Chrome bans secret affliliate links
—targeting PayPal's Honey extension
Adobe Q2 earnings disappoint
—shares down 12%
Uber cancels $950M Foodpanda acquisition
Asana CEO Muskovitz resigns
—stock plunges 25%+
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EV / Autonomous
Trump buys Tesla in show of support
—while Tesla raises tariff concerns
Tesla used car prices plummet
—embarrassed owners are rushing to sell
Cybertruck deliveries halted due to defects
Waymo got 589 parking tickets in SF
Waymo expands Silicon Valley operation
Rivian adds hands-free driving features
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Space
Starlink enters India
SpaceX to send Starship to Mars next year
EU seeking Starlink alternatives
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Energy / Environment
US solar capacity hits record 50GW
Big Tech to triple nuclear capacity by 2050
EPA cancels $20B in climate grants
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Crypto
Binance sells minorty stake to MGX
—Abu Dhabi investor's first Crypto bet
Garantex co-founder arrested in India
David Sachs sold $200M in digital assets
—before taking job as WH Crypto Czar
Coinbase back in India
—to launch its retail trading platform
USDT/USDC trading approved in Thailand
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Policy / Regulation
FTC continues MS antitrust probe
—new chair continues big tech scrutiny
FTC to meet Amazon Prime case deadline
YC urges WH to support Europe's DMA
Spain to fine non-labeled AI content
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Etc
Musk retweets Holocaust denial claim
Meta tries to bury whistleblower book
—it's now on Amazon's best seller list
Google may bring back in-person interview
—to prevent cheating w
Block expands consumer lending
Klarna files for IPO
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