Is OpenAI a Modern Yahoo? - DTNS 5102

We wonder if a Google is lurking to take on OpenAI’s Yahoo. Plus, Andy Beach describes Pocket FM’s attempt to customize novels for everyone based on who and where they are.  [23:00]

Starring Tom Merritt, Huyen Tue Dao, and Andy Beach.

TOM: This is the Daily Tech News for Thursday, September 11, 2025. We tell you what you need to know, follow up on the context of those stories and help each other understand.

HUYEN: Today Andy Beach tells us how Pocket FM will use AI to become the Netflix of audio, and Oracle risks its future on OpenAI’s success.

I’m Tom Merritt,

I’m Huyen Tue Dao.

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.]]

Oracle's 'truly awesome' quarter stuns Wall Street, sending stock up 36% and making Ellison world's richest man
Exclusive | Oracle, OpenAI Sign $300 Billion Cloud Deal - WSJ
Oracle retreats after record run toward $1 trillion club on AI cloud boom
AI’s $344 Billion ‘Language Model’ Bet Looks Fragile - Bloomberg

TOM: It was a heady Wednesday for Oracle and its CEO, Larry Ellison. Oracle earnings get pretty wonky, but the important bit seems to be that because of a bunch of contracts that have been signed but haven't started generating revenue yet, Oracle projects its cloud infrastructure business will grow 77% to $18 billion this year and then skyrocket to $144 billion by 2030.

Oracle said it signed four multibillion-dollar contracts with three different customers, and while it didn't name those three, it did roll off the list of its "significant" customers, including OpenAI, X, Meta, Nvidia, AMD, and more.

The Wall Street Journal found sources that tell it that the OpenAI contract is one of the multibillion-dollar ones. In fact, it's the majority of Oracle's future revenue, reportedly bringing in $300 billion over five years, starting in 2027.

All of this led to an Oracle stock surge, which briefly made CEO Larry Ellison worth more than Elon Musk, before the stock fell back a bit from its peak.

OpenAI and, apparently, Oracle, believe that OpenAI will increase its revenue from the $10 billion it's making now. CEO Sam Altman has previously said he expects OpenAI to become profitable in 2029.

Oracle plans to work with data center builder Crusoe to locate new facilities in Wyoming, Pennsylvania, Texas, Michigan, and New Mexico.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg's Parmy Olson has a detailed opinion piece about the risk of companies like OpenAI relying too much on Large Language Models.

Olson cites examples like Covariant, which is working on computer vision to sense surroundings, and the UK's Atman Labs is betting on alternatives like game-playing and reinforcement learning. Olson quotes Meta's chief AI scientist, Yann LeCun, saying that large language models are a "dead end" and “token generators,” because they don't understand their surroundings.

The money is certainly on OpenAI right now, but it's intriguing to think of OpenAI as Yahoo with a lurking Google out there somewhere.

[[DISCUSS]]

HUYEN: DTNS is made possible by you the listener. Thanks to
Jony Hernandez
High Tech Okie
Kris Zaragoza
New Patron: TM
And a raise from: Yukit

[[BREAK]]
[[PAUSE]]

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.]]

Microsoft waives fees for Windows devs publishing to Microsoft Store
Microsoft previews Visual Studio 2026: Now with deeper AI • The Register
Microsoft 365 Copilot Subscription to Integrate Sales, Service and Finance Solutions

HUYEN: A few Microsoft announcements to note today. Developers may now submit apps to the Microsoft Store without having to pay a registration fee. Microsoft will also handle hosting and signing for the apps. And if it's not a game, you can still use your own in-app payment system. Developers will need to verify their identity with a government ID and selfie.

Microsoft also released the first preview of Visual Studio 2026, the first major version update since 2021. The Register reports that it has more hooks to Copilot and a refreshed design, but still runs on the .Net Framework. And lastly, Microsoft is integrating previously standalone Sales, Service, and Finance Copilot tools into Microsoft 365 Copilot commercial.

Live Translation with AirPods won't come to EU-based Apple users
Apple’s faster MagSafe Charger can now charge other phones at 25W | The Verge
Apple is slowly morphing AirPods into an always-on wearable
Apple Starts Getting Shoppers Used to the Idea of $2,000 iPhones - Bloomberg

TOM: A few more trailing pieces of news from the Tuesday Apple announcement. RW Nash noted on our subreddit that the iOS feature compatibility page says that live translation for AirPods will not be available "if you are in the EU and your Apple Account Country or Region is also in the EU." Apple did not make clear why, but the EU has stricter compliance rules for AI than other regions. Apple Intelligence did not launch in the EU until this past March.

Also, the new MagSafe charger from Apple is now fully Qi 2.2 compliant, meaning it will not only charge iPhones at 25Watts but compatible Android phones as well.

And a couple of think pieces that are worth looking at. Engadget's Ian Carlos Campbell argues that the addition of features to AirPods like conversation ducking, Hearing Assistance, Live Translation, and Heart monitoring is moving AirPods from being headphones to an always-on wearable. And Bloomberg's Mark Gurman notes that while the iPhone starting prices haven't risen much in 8 years, the top-end prices have. The iPhone 17 Pro Max with 2TB of storage sells for $2000, the first time an iPhone has reached that price.

YouTube’s multi-language audio feature for dubbing videos rolls out to all creators | TechCrunch

HUYEN: After two years in testing, YouTube has fully launched its multi-language audio feature. Over the coming weeks, all YouTube creators will have the option of adding a generated translation in multiple languages that uses Gemini to replicate voice and tone. YouTube says those who have tested the feature saw 25% of their views come from people watching using the generated language. YouTube is also testing thumbnails that can display text in multiple languages based on the user's default.

Gmail gets a dedicated place to track all your purchases - Ars Technica

TOM: Google will now add a separate view to Gmail to show you any tracking information it's aware of based on shipment emails you get. You'll continue to see shipment notifications at the top of Gmail when they're arriving within 24 hours. A new Purchases tab will be available in the navigation list that shows all your recent orders. And the promotions tab will now be sorted by "most relevant" based on the senders you engage with more often. It will also include "nudges" similar to what you get in the main inbox for emails that haven't been responded to.

Qualcomm brings cooler charging to the phone you already own

HUYEN: Qualcomm announced updates to its QuickCharge feature for mobile chips. Chips with QuickCharge 5+ aim to reduce the risk of overheating from the 100W fast charging it supports. Qualcomm says it adapts to use lower voltages at higher currents to minimize heat generation. And it can come to existing Qualcomm-powered devices with a firmware update for any device newer than QuickCharge 1.0.

Opera GX Gets Smart Home Integration - Thurrott.com

TOM: Opera GX is a gaming-focused version of the browser, but it just added some smart home features. If you have a smart home system that supports MQTT, like Home Assistant, Node Red, and Homebridge, you can enable support in the Early Bird version of Opera GX, connect it to an MQTT broker, and then install Opera's Smart Home extension from GitHub. So, still a little DIY. But if you do that, you can play around with features like closing your browser if your door sensor detects an open, sync your room lights to your Opera GX theme colors, automatically dim lights when you press play on a movie in the browser... you get the idea.

TOM: Trying something new today, with a quick look at some stories that you should know exist, because they’ll help you understand other stories in the future.

[[THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW]]

Sweden's Klarna Shifts AI Focus From Cost Cuts to Growth

HUYEN: Sweden's Buy-now-pay-later company, Klarna, debuted on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday. Klarna's CEO said the company "over-indexed" on using AI and is "trying to course correct."

Jack Ma-Backed Ant Showcases First Entry in China’s Robot Race - Bloomberg

TOM: Jack Ma's Ant Group showed off its first humanoid robot, the R1, at a conference in Shanghai. Built entirely with parts from Chinese suppliers, R1 can act as a tour guide, sort medicine, and perform basic medical kitchen tasks. Ant is focusing on developing the intelligence for robotic systems.

ETtech in-depth: Rapido races to the top, keeping Uber on edge - The Economic Times

HUYEN: India's Bike taxi company Rapido now has 50 million monthly active users in the market, vs. Uber's 30 million. And it's making inroads in 4-wheel rides with 30% of the market there, compared to Uber's 50%, with the rest going to Ola.

Children hacking their own schools for 'fun', watchdog warns

TOM: The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued a warning about what it calls the "worrying trend" of students hacking their own school and college IT systems for fun. The ICO did not add, "Kids these days," but did warn that it does not think teachers understand the "insider threat."

Samsung takes market share from Apple in U.S., foldable phone momentum

HUYEN: Yesterday, we mentioned Google's rise in worldwide premium phone market share. Today, further numbers from Counterpoint Research show Samsung raised its US smartphone market share from 23 to 32%, while Apple's market share declined from 56 to 49%.

China's Xiaohongshu app penalised by cyberspace authority

TOM: China's cyberspace authority has penalized social media company Xiaohongshu, which markets its app as Red Note in English. The regulator said the company was "damaging the internet ecology".

Google, Meta, OpenAI Face FTC Inquiry on Chatbot Impact on Kids - Bloomberg

HUYEN: And the US Federal Trade Commission ordered Google, OpenAI, Meta, Snap, X and Character Technologies to submit information about the impact of chatbots on children. The FTC wants to evaluate how the companies test and monitor their chatbots and what steps they take to limit use by children and teens.

Nothing Ear (3) case has a 'talk' button for some reason [Video]

TOM: Nothing released a teaser for its earbuds, Nothing Ear (3), that shows a "talk" button on the case, which Nothing calls a "Super Mic." Nothing will detail what it actually does at the official launch on September 18th.

TOM: Those are the essentials for today. Let’s dive a little deeper.

[[SEGMENT A - FROM SCHEDULE]]

HUYEN: Pocket FM wants to be the Netflix of audio—but to scale up its production, it’s turning to AI. Andy Beach has the details. [TRT 7:42]

[[PROMO]]

TOM: If you have feedback about anything that gets brought up on the show… Get in touch with us on the socials. @DTNSshow on X, Instagram, Threads!, Blue Sky and Mastodon. For Tik Tok and YouTube you can find us at Daily Tech News Show.

[[BREAK]]
[[PAUSE]]

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

HUYEN: We end every episode of DTNS with some shared wisdom. We continued to get a lot of great examples of how people say they would use the AirPods live translation feature. Today we want to highlight Dean’s unique use case.

TOM: Dean commented on Patreon:
Currently on vacation in France, there's a couple of times that I've been eavesdropping a tour group that isn't in English. Live translation would be good to learn a little more.

[[DISCUSS]]

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

TOM: Thanks to Dean and Andy Beach 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, at Patreon.com/dtns