Open Links In New Tab
Mobile Archives Advertise Site News
Techmeme
May 21, 2026, 8:30 PM
Mediagazer memeorandum WeSmirch
Home River Leaderboards About Events Newsletter

Top News

Wall Street Journal:
The US Commerce Department plans to award $2B in grants to nine quantum computing companies and will take equity stakes; IBM is set to get $1B of the package  —  Trump administration hopes to spur ‘a new era of American innovation,’ Commerce's Lutnick says  —  WASHINGTON—The Trump administration …
Jem Aswad / Variety:
Spotify and UMG plan to let Premium users create AI covers and remixes using music from participating UMG artists as a paid add-on, without giving a launch date  —  Spotify and Universal Music Group have announced a major recorded-music and music-publishing licensing agreements …
Samantha Subin / CNBC:
Spotify closes up 13% after announcing new features and 2030 guidance, forecasting a compound annual growth rate in the mid-teens and gross margins of 35%-40%  —  Spotify shares jumped 15% on Thursday after the music streaming platform laid out guidance for 2030 and reached an artificial intelligence deal …
Ethan Millman / The Hollywood Reporter:
Spotify partners with Live Nation to launch Reserved, a new feature that sets aside tickets for the most dedicated fans, starting with Premium users in the US  —  The streaming service will use streams and shares to determine an artist's most dedicated fans and set aside pairs of tickets …
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Spotify Labs launches Studio, a NotebookLM-like desktop app to generate private, AI-powered podcasts, in research preview across 20+ markets
Ashley Gold / Axios:
The White House postpones a planned Thursday ceremony for Trump to sign a new EO on AI and cybersecurity; Trump says “I didn't like certain aspects of it”  —  The White House has cancelled its planned ceremony for President Trump to sign a new executive order on AI and cybersecurity, per a note seen by Axios.
Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer:
GitHub links the breach of 3,800 internal repositories to the TanStack npm supply-chain attack, saying hackers used a malicious Nx Console VS Code extension  —  GitHub says the hackers who breached 3,800 internal repositories gained access via a malicious version of the Nx Console VS Code extension …
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Apple plans to broadcast an MLS game on Saturday shot entirely on 15 iPhone 17 Pros, the first major live sports event to be captured using only smartphones  —  Apple has frequently touted the use of professional-grade iPhones by filmmakers to make shorts, commercials and even feature-length movies.
Cecilia Kang / New York Times:
Gavin Newsom signs an EO mandating state agencies work with the AI industry and others to study subsidies for companies that don't replace workers with AI  —  Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order to explore an overhaul of labor policies to deal with potential mass job displacement from artificial intelligence.
Robert Booth / The Guardian:
London Mayor Sadiq Khan blocks the Met police's £50M Palantir deal to automate intelligence analysis, citing a “clear and serious breach” of procurement rules  —  Exclusive: Scotland Yard criticises London mayor's decision as disappointing and warns it could hit policing
Logan Hitchcock / Decrypt:
Crypto exchange Blockchain.com confidentially files for a US IPO; the UK-based company founded in 2011 was once valued at $14B  —  Long-running crypto exchange Blockchain.com has confidentially filed to take its business public via the U.S. markets.  —  In brief
Mark Tyson / Tom's Hardware:
Flipper unveils the Flipper One, a pocketable open Arm Linux computer with similar performance to a Raspberry Pi 5, and welcomes feedback to get it market-ready  —  But the devs admit there's still a lot of work to be done to get the Flipper One market-ready, and they are looking for contributors.
James Peckham / PCMag:
Adobe, Canva, and CapCut announce Gemini integrations to let users access the companies' image and video editing tools within the Gemini app  —  Adobe, Canva, and CapCut all plan to connect to Gemini in the near future.  Each aims to bring their editing capabilities directly to where people are making creative decisions with AI.
Waylon Cunningham / Reuters:
Sources: Starbucks shut down an AI program for automating inventory counts, nine months after deploying it, after it frequently miscounted and mislabeled items  —  Starbucks (SBUX.O) terminated an AI program workers used for automating certain inventory counts this week …
More: Engadget
Steven Lee Myers / New York Times:
Bluesky and Clemson University researchers detail a novel Russian influence campaign that hijacked influential Bluesky accounts to spread pro-Kremlin propaganda  —  The company said it was fighting Russian efforts to hijack real users' accounts to post fake content, an apparently novel tactic.
Erin Mulvaney / Wall Street Journal:
Meta joins TikTok, Snap, and YouTube in settling with a Kentucky school district to avoid a trial over claims the platforms were designed to addict kids  —  Meta, TikTok, Snap and YouTube reached deal to avoid first of more than 1,200 consolidated lawsuits by school districts
Ofcom:
Ofcom says Meta, Snap, and Roblox have agreed to adopt stronger anti-grooming measures, while TikTok and YouTube “failed to commit to any significant changes”
Zaheer Kachwala / Reuters:
Take-Two reports Q4 bookings flat YoY at $1.58B, forecasts FY 2027 bookings below est., reiterates GTA VI's November 19 launch date; TTWO jumps 6%+ after hours  —  Take-Two Interactive (TTWO.O) forecast annual bookings below Wall Street expectations on Thursday, but reiterated …
Rachel Metz / Bloomberg:
Source: Cursor reached $3B in annualized revenue in late April and now has 3,000+ customers paying at least $100K each for its software on an annualized basis  —  Cursor's annualized revenue hit $3 billion in late April, according to a person familiar with the matter, indicating growing demand …
CNBC:
Jeff Bezos dismisses AI job fears, defends billionaires against “vilification”, proposes eliminating income taxes for low earners, and praises President Trump  —  VIDEO 54:38  —  Watch CNBC's full interview with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos  —  Ultrabillionaire Jeff Bezos …
Bloomberg:
Analysis: Samsung is set to distribute ~$26.6B to its 78,000 chip employees, or a ~$340K bonus to each, in early 2027 as part of a last-minute labor union deal  —  Samsung Electronics Co. could distribute about 40 trillion won ($26.6 billion) to chip employees as a bonus for this year …
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
ElevenLabs, which aims to build an all-in-one AI voice app, licensed 200K human-voiced audiobooks from major publishers, available in ElevenReader for $11/mo.  —  ElevenLabs is taking on Spotify and Audible in a looming battle over becoming the go-to platform for audiobooks  —  Welcome back to Soundbite.
Jordan Novet / CNBC:
Workday reports Q1 revenue up 13% YoY to $2.54B vs. $2.52B est., and lifts its full-year forecast, saying its AI strategy is working; WDAY jumps 9%+ after hours  —  Workday shares surged as much as 14% in extended trading on Thursday after the finance and human resources software maker reported results …
Kyt Dotson / SiliconANGLE:
August Robotics, which makes autonomous robots for construction and industrial applications, raised $30M led by Big Pi Ventures  —  August Robotics Ltd., a robotics automation company for construction and industrial applications, today announced it raised $30 million in new funding led by Big Pi Ventures.

Sponsor Posts

Soxton:
Fast, affordable law for startups  —  Soxton automates startup legal so founders can move faster and sleep better.  We handle incorporation, advisor, employment and commercial contracts.  Join the waitlist for early access!
F5:
Accelerate AI Adoption at F5's AI Virtual Summit  —  Learn how to architect, secure, and scale AI for production with real-world insights from industry leaders on June 23.  Register now to save your spot.
Zoho:
Meet the all-new Zia: Your AI-powered HR for smarter work  —  HR is evolving.  It's no longer just about managing processes like hiring, attendance, payroll, and performance.  Today, it's about delivering better …
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.
Sponsor Techmeme

Featured Podcasts

Access:
 AI is turning sketches into real-world products
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
The Nick, Dick and Paul Show:
 Is AI Conscious?
Nick Bilton, Dick Costolo, and Paul Kedrosky pull back the curtain on AI, startups, and the future rushing toward us, all with healthy dose of irreverence.
Subscribe to The Nick, Dick and Paul Show.
Big Technology Podcast:
 AI Pioneer Geoffrey Hinton: AI Is Conscious, Superintelligence is Coming, And We Should Be Worried
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
 How Dhar Mann Turned After-School Specials Into A Billion-View Business
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
Invest Like the Best:
 Dara Khosrowshahi - Uber's Bet on AVs, AI, and Building a Super-App
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
 AI's Mythos Moment: Rishi Sunak on preparing governments for AI
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
Add your podcast here
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 8:30 PM ET, May 21, 2026.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

From Mediagazer

Page Six:
Sources: Nick Bilton is making $2.5M to lead 60 Minutes, or $1M more than Tanya Simon was paid for the same job before being ousted

Connor Hart / Wall Street Journal:
Hasbro launches Sixth Wall, an AI studio working with ElevenLabs and voice actors to create and license AI-native versions of its characters and franchises

Tyler Falk / Current:
NPR is overhauling its dues model so that fees are based on news stations' broadcast reach rather than donor revenues and projects dues will fall 15% to 18%

More News

Ryan Autullo / Bloomberg Law:
Texas AG Ken Paxton sues Meta, accusing WhatsApp of marketing its services as secure but failing to “deliver on those promises” by accessing encrypted messages
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Source: smart ring maker Oura filed confidentially for a US IPO, set for later in 2026; SF- and Finland-based Oura had an $11B valuation in September 2025
Reuters:
Federal records: Grok was utilized in only 3 of 400+ publicly identified federal AI use cases in 2025, behind 234 for ChatGPT, 33 for Gemini, 26 for Claude
Anne Steele / Wall Street Journal:
Netflix and iHeartMedia say Charlamagne tha God's The Breakfast Club will stream live on Netflix on weekdays from June 1, the service's first daily live show

Earlier Picks

Bloomberg:
SpaceX S-1: Valor Equity founder Antonio Gracias, a longtime Elon Musk ally, controls a 4% stake in SpaceX, the second-largest disclosed holder after Musk
Sherry Qin / Wall Street Journal:
AMD pledges to invest $10B+ in Taiwan's chip industry to make advanced chip packaging for AI, and says TSMC will ramp up production of its next-gen Venice chips
Mediagazer memeorandum WeSmirch
Home River Leaderboards About Events Newsletter