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Stripe Mafia Backs Duna; Gemini Soars; Steam Machine Stalls

Google's Gemini App Surpasses 750 Million Monthly Active Users; Alphabet Remains Silent on Apple AI Deal

Google's AI chatbot, Gemini, has exceeded 750 million monthly active users (MAUs), according to the company's fourth-quarter 2025 earnings, illustrating the rapid consumer adoption of the AI platform. This figure represents substantial growth from the 650 million MAUs reported last quarter, according to TechCrunch. While Gemini is gaining traction, it still trails behind its biggest rival, ChatGPT, which is estimated to have around 810 million MAUs in late 2025, according to TechCrunch. The recently revealed number comes on the heels of the launch of Gemini 3, which showcases the company's most advanced model yet, providing responses that the company claims exhibit an un.

During the same earnings call, Alphabet declined to answer an investor's question about Google's AI deal with Apple, according to TechCrunch. The question, which focused on how the tech giant is thinking about AI partnerships, such as the one with Apple to power AI for Siri, was completely ignored. According to TechCrunch, "That decision tells us something, though Alphabet isnt ready to talk about how this partnership will impact its core business, which is increasingly focused on AI." The relationship between Google and Apple has been mutually beneficial over the years. Filings from the Department of Justice's lawsuit against Google revealed that the search giant paid Apple $20 billion to be the default search engine on Apple devices, according to TechCrunch.

In other tech news, Duna, a business identity verification startup founded by Stripe alumni Duco Van Lanschot and David Schreiber, raised a €30 million Series A, according to TechCrunch. The funding round was led by Alphabet's growth fund CapitalG, which has also backed Stripe since co-leading its Series D in 2016. Based in Germany and the Netherlands, Duna's customers include Plaid, according to TechCrunch.

Meanwhile, the Internet Archive, a nonprofit devoted to archiving the internet, announced a new tool designed to help WordPress users keep their articles in peak digital health, according to TechCrunch. The Archive's Wayback Machine has partnered with Automattic, the company behind WordPress, to launch a new WordPress plug-in called the Link Fixer, according to TechCrunch. The Link Fixer is designed to combat link rot, the phenomenon whereby online articles become populated by broken links, according to TechCrunch.

Valve's Steam Machine has been delayed, and the RAM crisis will impact pricing, according to The Verge. Valve says it has to revisit its shipping schedule and pricing plans for the Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and Steam Controller. When Valve first announced its impressive-looking Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and Steam Controller hardware in November, the company said.

AI-Assisted Journalism

This article was generated with AI assistance, synthesizing reporting from multiple credible news sources. Our editorial team reviews AI-generated content for accuracy.

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