Tech Pulse Daily - December 19, 2025

AI Dominance and Advancements

OpenAI has once again captured the tech world's attention with the release of GPT-5.2. This new model is designed to automate a wide range of jobs, raising both excitement and concerns about the future of work. The release follows a "code red" alert from Google, which has been rapidly advancing its own AI capabilities. In a move that highlights the increasing integration of AI into entertainment, OpenAI has also signed a deal to bring Disney characters to its Sora and ChatGPT platforms.

Not to be outdone, Google has launched Gemini 3 Flash, a new AI model that emphasizes speed and multimodal capabilities. Gemini 3 Flash has achieved an impressive 78% on the SWE-bench Verified test and is significantly more cost-effective than competing models. Google also announced an experimental "Disco" browser that will feature "GenTabs" powered by the new Gemini 3.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is reportedly scaling back its AI ambitions due to low usage of its Copilot assistant. This development suggests that even the biggest players in the tech industry are still grappling with how to best monetize and integrate AI into their products.

Hardware and Infrastructure

The U.S. is reviewing Nvidia's H200 chip shipments to China, a move that could have significant implications for the global AI hardware market. This development underscores the strategic importance of hardware access, which has been further highlighted by Google's recent Gemini rollout. In response to these pressures, China is accelerating its efforts to build EUV lithography capability, a key technology for semiconductor manufacturing.

In other hardware news, researchers are developing photonic latch memory, which could enable optical processor caches to operate at speeds of up to 60 GHz. While the technology is still in its early stages, it has the potential to revolutionize computing performance.

Big Tech and Regulation

ByteDance has signed a binding agreement to shift control of TikTok U.S. into a new joint venture. Oracle is reportedly among the investors in this new entity, which is being created to address U.S. national security concerns.

In Europe, Austria's top court has ruled that Meta's personalized ad model is illegal. The court has ordered the company to make EU-wide changes to its advertising practices. This ruling is a major victory for privacy advocates and could have a significant impact on the online advertising industry.