Tech / Ars Technica ·
It's a weird time to buy a laptop, but the new MacBook Pro doesn't skimp on quality
It has the best laptop screen we've used, but there may be reasons to wait.
Latest news
Everything new in tech, AI and startups, newest first.
Tech / The Next Web ·
Paris start-up Physicl raises $10M to make training data for physical AI
Physicl, a Paris-based start-up that creates training data for AI systems that work in the physical world, has raised $10M in seed funding. Inovia Capital led the round, announced on Friday, with U.S. Venture Partners also taking part. The company focuses on what researchers call edge cases. These…
AI / The Verge ·
All the latest updates on AI data centers
Massive new data centers are the physical foundation for tech companies’ hopes and dreams for AI. But the rush to expand warehouses full of energy-hungry servers has also kicked up fights across the world over their impact on power grids, utility bills, nearby communities, and the environment.…
Tech / The Next Web ·
Nothing will ship its first AI device in December, and it’s built for work
Nothing will ship its first AI device in December, and it is built for work. Chief executive Carl Pei announced it on Wednesday in a long essay on X. He gave no name, price or launch date. “It’s a tool, but one built with the personality and care that have come to define a Nothing […] This story…
Tech / The Verge ·
Shure’s popular podcasting and streaming mic is almost $50 off
While the Shure Mv7 Plus is popular with streamers and podcasters, it’s equally good at impressing your friends and coworkers on meetings and Discord calls. It’s currently marked down to $255 at various retailers, including Amazon, Guitar Center, and directly from Shure. That’s almost $50 lower than…
Tech / The Next Web ·
Meta buys Conductor, whose app runs AI coding agents in parallel
Meta has bought Conductor, a startup whose app lets software engineers run several AI coding agents at once. Its team will join Meta Superintelligence Labs, chief executive Charlie Holtz said. Axios first reported the deal on Wednesday, and Meta did not disclose the price. Holtz confirmed the deal…
Business / Fortune ·
‘Pick another protein’: A cattle rancher senator’s answer on beef prices could give Democrats their first Mississippi Senate win since 1982
Trump called affordability a ‘fake word.’ Scott Colom’s ad turned her ‘so many proteins’ line into the race’s defining moment.
Tech / The Next Web ·
Researcher finds Apple list of phrases the iPhone keyboard won’t suggest
Apple keeps a hidden list of around 100,000 words and phrases that its iPhone keyboard will not suggest to users, according to an independent researcher. The list includes political expressions such as “Dictator Trump” and “Sleepy Joe”, Reuters reported today. The restrictions do not prevent users…
Tech / Wired ·
RIP Cybertruck. You Were Unloved, Unwanted, and Utterly Absurd
The decision to halt production of Tesla’s polarizing polygonal pickup marks the end of an error.
Tech / The Next Web ·
Sam Altman becomes ‘Ram Altman’ and says his memory remark was misread
Sam Altman says people took his remark about memory in home computers out of context. The OpenAI chief executive made the point on X on Wednesday. Hours earlier, he had renamed himself “Ram Altman” on the platform. “i actually do want the world to have tons of memory and people to put as much as […]…
Tech / Ars Technica ·
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang summoned by Congress over Chinese espionage concerns
Lawmakers want answers about Jensen Huang’s ties to an alleged Chinese intelligence asset.
AI / TechCrunch ·
After blocking Muse, Amazon now lets users text Alexa to help them shop
Amazon said that the feature will roll out to millions of users in coming weeks.
Tech / The Next Web ·
Titan OS raises $46M to take its smart TV software beyond Europe
Barcelona-based Titan OS, which makes an operating system for smart TVs, has raised $46M (about €40M). Existing investors Highland Europe and Mangrove Capital Partners put in equity. Funds and accounts managed by BlackRock added a credit facility, the company announced on Wednesday. The round brings…
Tech / The Next Web ·
TikTok faces EU fine over “For You” feed ‘rabbit hole’ effect
The European Commission has preliminarily found that TikTok breaks EU online safety rules by repeatedly recommending similar videos, potentially trapping users in harmful content loops. The findings, published on Friday, follow a long-running investigation under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The…
Tech / Ars Technica ·
No more Cybertrucks; Musk moves on from the angular metallic flop
Tesla wanted to unseat the Ford F-150, instead it made the Edsel look successful.
Tech / The Verge ·
Lame-duck Congress might actually do something: speed up energy projects
A massive permitting bill that could help energy projects come online much quicker and potentially lower utility bills for Americans is advancing with bipartisan support. And while it could be a catalyst for lots of clean energy, it could also speed up polluting projects and limit oversight of new…
AI / The Decoder ·
METR finds Anthropic may have crossed its own AI acceleration warning threshold back in July
Nonprofit METR spent eleven weeks auditing Anthropic's internal research data and concluded that the pace of model development has roughly doubled, with about 80 percent of the speedup driven by AI-assisted research. Anthropic redacted the most informative evidence, though, which means the public…
Sifted
Startups / Sifted ·
Sequoia is leaving London. Should Europe be worried?
Tech / The Next Web ·
A Chinese inquiry halted OPay’s $304M US IPO, Bloomberg reports
A Chinese regulator’s inquiry led OPay to halt its $304M New York listing hours after pricing it, Bloomberg reported. The Nigeria-focused payments company has no operations or revenue in China, according to the report. Loni Prinsloo and Julia Fioretti reported for Bloomberg that OPay’s only link…
Tech / Ars Technica ·
Rocket Report: Artemis II literally tore through the atmosphere; New Glenn delay
Interstellar Technologies announces more government funding for the Japanese Zero rocket.
Business / Fortune ·
The government can lower grocery prices. It doesn’t have to run the stores
It’s a Costco card, with Washington as the buying club.
AI / The Decoder ·
Thinking Machines' Inkling 2 Small claims top spot among western open-weight models
Thinking Machines, the startup from former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, is releasing Inkling 2 Small, a mixture-of-experts model with 594 billion parameters. The company claims it's the strongest western open-weight model. Better agentic performance comes at a price, though, with token usage rising…
Business / Fortune ·
Cava hit 500 restaurants ahead of schedule. Its CFO explains how it plans double in size by 2032
Cava's CFO Tricia Tolivar on reaching the halfway mark to 1,000 restaurants early.
Tech / The Next Web ·
UK now puts AI’s 2030 boost at £120bn, not the £400bn from a Google report
The UK government now expects AI to add £55bn to £140bn to the economy by 2030. Its central estimate is £120bn. Its AI Opportunities Action Plan put the gain at £400bn, and AI minister Kanishka Narayan has now confirmed that Google commissioned the report behind that number. Narayan gave both…