OpenAI Scrambles for Computing Power - DTNS 5119

OpenAI’s new hardware and apps will need data centers, and OpenAI is signing the deals. Plus Tim Cook’s successor.

Starring Tom Merritt and Rob Dunewood.

TOM: This is the Daily Tech News for Monday, October 6, 2025. We tell you what you need to know, follow up on the context of those stories, and help each other understand.

ROBB: Today, OpenAI is desperate for more servers, and who might take over for Apple’s Tim Cook.

I’m Tom Merritt,

I’m Robb Dunewood.

TOM: Let’s start with what you need to know with the big story.

[[BIG STORY]]
[[SOLO story of the day. Basic details, monitor commentary, and sound when possible.]]

OpenAI, Jony Ive struggle with technical details on secretive new AI gadget - Ars Technica

A trio of OpenAI-related stories for you from this weekend.

The Financial Times has a report on the status of OpenAI’s hardware effort, which is centered around a team it acquired from Jonny Ive’s company in May. FT’s sources say it’s a palm-sized device, about the size of a smartphone with no screen but cameras, a mic, and speakers. It would be meant to sit on a desk, though you could carry it. It would always be on, to collect data, and would not need a wake word to interact with.

It had previously been reported that the device might arrive in 2026, but FT says it may be later. One challenge is deciding on the voice and mannerisms of the device’s personality. Without a wake word, it needs to know when to talk and be useful. Another challenge is how to balance privacy with the utility of letting the model know a lot about the user. Another problem is how to get enough computing power to make the model work well for large numbers of users. Sources told FT that all these seem like normal problems in any product development process.

[[DISCUSS]]

Sora now lets users limit how their AI double is used | The Verge
OpenAI Reverses Stance on Use of Copyright Works in Sora - WSJ

OpenAI’s Sora app for generating ten-second videos that you can put yourself and friends in shot to the top of the Apple App Store over the weekend. As usage increased, OpenAI has made adjustments to the app, including tightening restrictions against copyright infringement, including changing copyright figures to be like public figure likenesses, which require the rightsholder to opt-in to letting people use it. OpenAI said it will add controls for those rightsholders to let people use their work for some kinds of videos but not others. It also added a feature that lets you restrict what kind of content your cameo - the video representation of yourself- can be used in. For instance, Justin in Robert Young could stop all of us from putting him in videos with mayonnaise.

[[DISCUSS]]

AMD, OpenAI Announce Massive AI-Chip Deal - WSJ
OpenAI looks to take 10% stake in AMD through AI chip deal
OpenAI Stargate data center buildout infrastructure lead Keith Heyde

Finally, OpenAI continues to strike deals to add more computing power. The latest has OpenAI announcing its intent to purchase 6 gigawatts of AMD chips for data centers, starting with the MI450 in the coming year, for the purpose of inferencing, aka interpreting queries to OpenAI models. OpenAI will receive stock options that could see it take up to a 10% stake in AMD. OpenAI has announced deals in the last few weeks with Nvidia as its preferred chip provider, Oracle, and Broadcom. CNBC reports it has narrowed down sites for new data centers in its Softbank-funded Stargate project to 20 sites.

[[QUICK REACTION]]

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TOM: There’s more we need to know today, let’s get to the briefs.

[[BRIEFS]]
[[3-9 more solo reads with sound to complete the day in tech news. These are informational with minor commentary.]]

Who Will be Apple’s Next CEO After Tim Cook? Apple Shelves Vision Air; M5 iPad - Bloomberg
Apple Faces French Investigation Over Siri Voice Recordings - Bloomberg

ROBB: A couple of interesting pieces of Apple news. An investigation into Apple’s collection of user recordings for Siri has been referred to the Office for Combating Cybercrime in Paris. Apple requires users to opt in to a program to let Apple retain recordings for up to two years to help improve Siri. A complaint says a sensitive conversation can be listened to by contractors.

And Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says his sources say that Apple’s COO Jeff Williams is leaving at the end of the year; Apple needs to find a new potential successor to CEO Tim Cook. Gurman believes the most likely candidate is hardware engineering chief John Ternus. [[Possible clip of him from the Apple announcement]] Ternus introduced the iPhone Air in the latest Apple announcement. He is 50 years old and trusted by Cook to contribute to product maps, beyond the scope of the hardware chief.

NIRS fire destroys government’s cloud storage system, no backups available

TOM: South Korea’s Ministry of the Interior and Safety reported Wednesday that a fire at the National Information Resources Service (NIRS)’s Daejeon headquarters destroyed a G-Drive cloud storage system that contained work files for more than 750,000 civil servants. The system has been in use since 2018, and gives each worker up to 30 GB of storage. No external backups were maintained because of the large capacity. Not all ministries relied on the system exclusively, but some did. Some official documents were also stored in the government’s Onnara system and may be recoverable once that system is restored.

Instagram updates its Map feature to make it easier to tell if you’re sharing your location | TechCrunch

ROBB: Instagram will update its Map feature to make it easier to see if you are sharing a location. An indicator whether you are sharing location or not will show at the top of the map, under the profile photo in the Notes tray, and on the DMs page. Location is off by default. Instagram also removed profile photos from the map to make it clear that locations are not real-time. And a reminder will show when you add a location to a post, if you have location on for that post. The map feature, which is available in Canada and the US, is expanding to India as well.

The Big AI Trade in Europe Is All About Data Centers and Power - Bloomberg
European private capital firms target €17bn in data centre deals
China bets on Europe for self-driving tech expansion | Reuters

TOM: Europe is getting increased attention from multiple tech sectors. A track of shares for European data center and infrastructure operations is up 23% on the year. Power generators in particular lead the charge as investors expect there to be a lot of data centers built in Europe, and new power capacity for them. And Reuters reports Chinese autonomous car makers are targeting Europe for expansion of their sales.

TOM: And finally, some quick headlines that are just good to know if you want to understand the news in the future.

Google is also removing apps used to report sightings of ICE agents

ROBB: Google followed Apple in removing apps from its app store that let users track and report sightings of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, after they violated Google policies over user-generated content moderation.

Microsoft Addresses Next-Gen Xbox Cancellation Rumors

TOM: Microsoft felt compelled to tell Windows Central over the weekend that, “We are actively investing in our future first-party consoles and devices designed, engineered and built by Xbox.”

Wish there was a Cosmic Orange Pixel 10? dbrand to the rescue - Android Authority

ROBB: Dbrand has put together an orange skin for Pixel phones that is color-matched to Apple’s Cosmic Orange. The color is also available for the Switch 2, AirPods case, the Galaxy S25, laptops, and more.

Google DeepMind unveils CodeMender, an AI agent that autonomously patches software vulnerabilities - SiliconANGLE

TOM: DeepMind released details of a research project called CodeMender, which can automatically detect, patch, and rewrite vulnerable code.

Minecraft streamer completes 14-year journey to the Far Lands

ROBB: On Saturday, October 4th, YouTube streamer KurtJMac finished his 14-year walk in Minecraft to the edge of the map, which he began in March 2011.

‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ Sets Olympics Licensing Deal

TOM: Sega and the International Olympic Committee have reached a licensing deal to sell official Olympic Merchandise with Sonic the Hedgehog and the Olympic Rings.

Verizon Names Dan Schulman CEO Replacing Hans Vestberg (VZ) - Bloomberg

ROBB: And Former PayPal CEO Dan Schulman will take over as CEO of Verizon, from Hans Vestberg, who will depart the company on October 4th, 2026.

TOM: What do YOU want to hear us talk about on the show? One way to let us know is in our subreddit. Submit stories and vote on them at www.reddit.com/r/DailyTechNewsShow/

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[[HELPING EACH OTHER UNDERSTAND]]
[[Short missives from people with experience. Could be written email or pre-recorded from the person.]]

ROBB: We end every episode of DTNS with some shared wisdom. Today Mohan shares a concern about Amazon’s streaming apps for its new VegaOS-powered Fire TV stick:

TOM: Mohan Writes:
Yes Tom we can’t watch our shows if the Internet is down, but streaming the app on Amazon’s LunaOS is great idea till AWS goes down.

[[DISCUSS]]

ROBB: What are you thinking about? Got some insight into a story? Share it with us feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com

TOM: Thanks to Mohan for contributing to today’s show. And thank YOU for being along for Daily Tech News Show. You can keep us in business by becoming a patron, atPatreon.com/dtns