Techmeme
September 23, 2026, 6:35 PM

Top News

Ben Fritz / Wall Street Journal:
YouTube rolls out tools for microdramas, an AI storytelling assistant for script analysis, video A/B-testing, and more, as it battles Netflix over top creators  —  Google-owned platform rolling out better tools for digital producers that could help it keep more of their content exclusively
Reece Rogers / Wired:
At its Made on YouTube event, YouTube unveils Custom Feeds, an LLM-powered feature that lets users generate and save tailored homepage video feeds, for US users  —  In YouTube's latest update, viewers can tweak what the algorithm shows on their front page and curate it to a specific vibe.
Robert Hart / The Verge:
Anthropic says Claude autonomously discovered a new enzyme system in the DNA of bacteriophages, somewhat similar to CRISPR, the first result from its new biolab  —  It took nearly 1,000 Claude agents 21 hours and 210 million tokens to uncover the ‘novel enzyme system.’
Google:
Google releases Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS and Gemini 3.8 Flash-Lite TTS, its “most expressive audio generation models yet”, with support for more than 100 languages  —  Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS and Gemini 3.8 Flash-Lite TTS are our most expressive audio generation models yet.
The Age:
Australian PM Anthony Albanese says an OpenAI agent gained unauthorized access to a public-facing Medicare portal in June, accessing public and non-public files  —  Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has revealed that an artificial intelligence agent developed by OpenAI infiltrated …
Ezra Klein / New York Times:
Q&A with Jensen Huang on AI creating more jobs than it destroys, pushing back against AI doomerism, Chinese open models, the Hugging Face acquisition, and more  —  This is an edited transcript of “The Ezra Klein Show.”  You can listen to the episode wherever you get your podcasts.
Reuters:
A sample of FBI data allegedly stolen by ShinyHunters includes granular detail on officials' job assignments on China, Russia, cartels, cyber, and other issues  —  FBI data allegedly stolen by the hacking group ShinyHunters carries granular detail about scores of bureau officials' job assignments …
Rick Porter / The Hollywood Reporter:
Disney raises Disney+ and Hulu prices, the fourth price hike in as many years; the ad-free tiers will each cost $21.49/month, an increase of $2.50  —  Subscribing to a bundle is now almost exactly half the price of individual plans for each streamer.
Sam Yam / @samyamiam:
Patreon co-founder Sam Yam says he is joining OpenAI to lead Creator Product, alongside Patreon's Head of Product Drew Rowny and Head of Engineering Shannon Ma  —  1/ I'm joining @OpenAI to lead Creator Product after over 13 years since starting @Patreon. Coming with me are my favorite crew Drew Rowny and Shannon Ma, Patreon's (now former) Head of Product and Head of Engineering. We're going to build together with Creators at OpenAI and share early access to ...
Bloomberg:
Sam Altman and Dario Amodei tell the UN Security Council that governments and industry should coordinate on AI safety standards and critical decisions  —  OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman and Anthropic PBC CEO Dario Amodei urged world leaders to work together on artificial intelligence …
Mark Bergen / Bloomberg:
Microsoft plans to invest more than $10B through 2030 in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE, including a $7.9B UAE investment it announced last year  —  Microsoft Corp. pledged about $2 billion in additional spending in the Middle East, providing the first significant update on its business …
Todd Bishop / GeekWire:
At its Accelerate conference, Amazon says it is opening its seller tools to third-party AI agents, starting with Claude, in beta for US merchants  —  Amazon announced new AI tools for its independent sellers Wednesday, led by a plugin that lets them run their Amazon businesses from Anthropic's Claude or Amazon's own Quick assistant.
Damien Cave / New York Times:
Gallup survey of 37 countries: in 34, positive AI sentiment outweighed the negative; 90%+ of people in China and 66%+ in Nigeria say AI will improve daily life  —  A Gallup poll found that a majority of people surveyed across 37 countries said they were curious or excited about artificial intelligence, more than scared or worried.
Brian Kennedy / Pew Research Center:
Angus Whitley / Bloomberg:
The US criticizes Australia's digital duty-of-care proposal, which has a provision that would require social media platforms to let users opt out of algorithms  —  The US government criticized Australia's plan to clamp down on social media algorithms and harmful content online …
Kate Clark / Wall Street Journal:
Pilgrim, whose device combines air sampling and genomic sequencing to detect biological threats, raised a $25M seed led by Buckley at a $150M valuation  —  Pilgrim has raised $25 million and has developed a 50-pound device that detects biological threats  —  Two Anthropic leaders are investing …
Rohan Goswami / Semafor:
Sources: Flock Safety is weighing a potential sale and has held preliminary talks with outside advisers  —  THE SCOOP  —  Flock Safety, which is facing scrutiny over the proliferation and alleged abuse of its cameras, is weighing whether to sell itself, according to people familiar with the matter.
@openai:
OpenAI says ChatGPT Voice can now be powered by GPT-6 Astra, Sol, and Luna, use plugins like email and calendar, and be used in ChatGPT Work on web and mobile  —  We heard you loud and clear. ChatGPT Voice can now: - Use plugins like your email, calendar, and Slack. - Be powered by GPT-6 Astra, Sol, and Luna. - Be used in ChatGPT Work on web and mobile, so you can create docs, decks, sites, and spreadsheets or tackle complex tasks in the browser, just by ...
Zoe Kleinman / BBC:
OpenAI says it will give its AI cyber defense system Daybreak and GPT-5.6 Sol to the Ukrainian government for free to help it protect civilian infrastructure  —  The tech giant OpenAI will share its AI cyber defence system Daybreak for free with the Ukraine government to help …
Sana Pashankar / Bloomberg:
Seattle-based satellite startup Hubble, which is working to enable global Bluetooth connectivity, raised $200M at a $1.6B valuation, for $300M in total funding  —  Satellite startup Hubble Network raised $200 million in a new funding round, taking the company's valuation to $1.6 billion …
Financial Times:
Sources: China's SASAC, which oversees state-owned companies, is surveying the number of Broadcom switches in state-backed data centers amid a domestic AI drive  —  Survey comes amid drive to boost domestic players and reduce reliance on foreign AI infrastructure
Marina Temkin / TechCrunch:
Colorado-based Enveda, which uses AI to discover new drugs in the natural world, raised a $311M Series E at a $2B valuation, double its valuation a year ago  —  Enveda, a biotech startup that uses AI to discover new drugs in the natural world, has raised a $311 million Series E at a $2 billion valuation.
Rebecca Torrence / Bloomberg:
Source: 1789 Capital, where Donald Trump Jr. is a partner, is in talks to raise $3B for its second growth fund and has already raised $2B of that target amount  —  Investment firm 1789 Capital, where Donald Trump Jr. is a partner, is in talks to raise $3 billion for its second growth fund …
Natasha Mascarenhas / Bloomberg:
Bessemer raised $5.75B, allocating $4B to growth-stage funding, including young companies raising large rounds at high valuations, and $1.75B for early-stage  —  Bessemer Venture Partners is set to announce $5.75 billion in fresh funding to support a broader shift towards more growth stage investments …
Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch:
Ema, which uses AI agents to automate corporate processes across HR, IT, and finance, raised a $77M Series B led by Creaegis, taking its total funding to $140M  —  Ema, a startup that uses teams of AI agents to automate corporate processes across HR, IT, and finance, has raised $77 million …
Anna Washenko / Engadget:
Discord is rolling out its updated age-verification policy this week, sorting users into either the Adult or Teen group based on account age, activity, and more  —  It will offer several privacy-focused options for users who aren't automatically confirmed as adults.

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