Startups & Technology

938 items in section

Bluesky pivots toward community features with new group chat support

As its growth curve flattens against the massive footprint of X, Bluesky is repositioning itself as a hub for smaller, private digital spaces. The platform’s latest update, version 1.124, introduces group chats for up to 50 participants, signaling a deliberate retreat from the public-square model toward community-centric interaction.

SpaceX IPO exposes risks of multi-layered SPV investments

As SpaceX approaches its public debut, investors who funneled capital through complex, multi-layered special purpose vehicles face a period of profound uncertainty. Many remain unaware of their actual share allocations, with some risking the possibility that their stakes may be significantly smaller than anticipated or entirely non-existent.

Coinbase Debuts AI Agents for Autonomous Trading and Payments

As non-human traffic eclipses human activity online, Coinbase has unveiled AI agents capable of executing trades and purchasing premium research data. The new tool allows users to integrate autonomous software directly with their exchange accounts or operate within a restricted sandbox environment to rebalance portfolios and follow investment strategies.

Meta Expands Edits App with AI Assistant and Desktop Support

Meta is aggressively scaling its video-editing app, Edits, by introducing a desktop interface and an integrated AI assistant. Unveiled at a Los Angeles creator event, the move signals a direct push to capture the professional-grade editing market currently dominated by rivals like ByteDance’s CapCut.

Coinbase launches AI agents for autonomous trading and data payments

As AI-driven web traffic eclipses human activity, Coinbase has unveiled autonomous agents capable of executing crypto trades and purchasing premium research data. The platform allows users to link these agents to their main accounts or operate within isolated sandboxes, marking a shift toward machine-to-machine financial interactions.

Quantum Space Targets $1.2 Billion SPAC Merger to Fuel Defense Ambitions

Kam Ghaffarian is betting on the US Space Force’s appetite for orbital maneuverability, steering his startup Quantum Space toward a $1.2 billion merger. Led by former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine, the company aims to challenge established defense giants by securing a stake in the lucrative, high-stakes reconnaissance market.

Deezer Launches AI Music Scanner for Third-Party Playlists

A staggering 44% of new music uploads hitting streaming platforms are now AI-generated, prompting Deezer to release a free, cross-platform detection tool. The scanner allows users of services like Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music to identify synthetic tracks lurking within their own personal libraries.

The Global Push to Bar Children from Social Media

From Canberra to Ankara, governments are rapidly moving to restrict social media access for minors. Australia’s landmark ban, enacted in late 2025, has triggered a wave of legislative proposals worldwide, as nations grapple with rising concerns over cyberbullying, platform addiction, and the long-term mental health impacts on younger generations.

Waymo Challenges Uber With Premium Subscription Service

For $29.99 a month, Waymo Premier promises frequent riders priority dispatch, 10 percent cash back, and a buffer against cancellation fees. The subscription marks a pivot toward recurring revenue as the Alphabet-owned company scales its autonomous fleet ahead of a planned international expansion.

Pool turns your chaotic screenshot archive into actionable data

A new iOS app called Pool is tackling the modern dilemma of the digital junk drawer by using AI to index and categorize the endless stream of screenshots stored on your phone. It transforms static images of recipes, products, and travel ideas into searchable, link-driven content that you can actually use.

Microsoft bets on Indian startup Alt Carbon for rock weathering credits

Microsoft has secured a three-year agreement to purchase nearly 37,000 metric tons of carbon removal credits from Alt Carbon, marking the tech giant’s first foray into enhanced rock weathering in Asia. The deal underscores a shift toward verified carbon projects within emerging markets as the company refines its sustainability strategy.

DoorDash rolls out conversational AI for grocery and dining orders

DoorDash is shifting away from traditional menu scrolling, introducing an AI-powered chatbot that processes natural language prompts and image uploads. By analyzing photos of cookbooks or handwritten grocery lists, the tool aims to automate cart creation and offer personalized dining recommendations based on specific user intent.

SpaceX alumni raise $54M to harvest geothermal power from the ocean floor

Andrew Redd, a former SpaceX engineer, is pivoting from orbital rockets to subsea energy extraction. His startup, Endurance Energy, secured $54 million in Series A funding to tap into massive, untapped geothermal heat sources along the Pacific Ring of Fire, aiming to provide a reliable, 24/7 baseload power alternative.

South Korea slaps Coupang with record $400 million data breach fine

The Personal Information Protection Commission in Seoul has handed down a landmark 624 billion won penalty against Coupang, citing a massive security failure that exposed the private records of 34 million customers. This decision marks the largest fine ever issued by the regulator for a privacy violation in the country.

Anthropic Enlists Tata Consultancy to Drive Enterprise AI Adoption

Anthropic is deepening its foothold in the Indian market by partnering with Tata Consultancy Services to deploy its Claude AI models across global enterprise clients. This collaboration aims to integrate generative AI into complex sectors including healthcare, finance, and telecommunications, while providing TCS employees with direct access to the platform.

Opendoor’s India exit signals a shift in AI-driven operations

The closure of Opendoor’s India operations has ignited a debate over the future of offshore labor. While the San Francisco-based firm framed the decision as a push toward AI-native teams and localized workflows, the move is being scrutinized as an early indicator of how automation could disrupt the traditional outsourcing model.

Dario Amodei’s unconventional path to managing Anthropic

Dario Amodei, the CEO of the high-flying AI laboratory Anthropic, maintains a remarkably lean management structure. In a recent conversation with Bloomberg’s Emily Chang, Amodei revealed he manages only a single direct report, his chief of staff, effectively delegating the firm’s entire operational burden to his sister and co-founder, Daniela Amodei.

Former xAI Engineer Sues Company Over Alleged Safety Retaliation

Devin Kim, a former researcher at Elon Musk’s xAI, has filed a lawsuit in California alleging he was fired for flagging critical safety failures in the Grok chatbot. The complaint claims Kim faced retaliation for pushing to address biases and potential risks, including the model’s propensity for generating hate speech.

ShinyHunters Breach Targets PeopleSoft Servers at Over 100 Entities

The prolific cybercrime syndicate ShinyHunters claims to have compromised Oracle PeopleSoft servers across more than 100 organizations, primarily targeting universities. By exploiting vulnerabilities in the enterprise software used for payroll and administrative management, the group successfully exfiltrated sensitive student records, including personal contact details and birth dates.

Amazon Secures $17.5 Billion Credit Line to Fuel AI Expansion

Amazon has secured a $17.5 billion credit facility from a consortium of major lenders, including JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup, just days after raising $14 billion through a Canadian bond sale. This combined $31.5 billion capital injection underscores the aggressive financial maneuvering required to sustain the current industry-wide artificial intelligence arms race.

GM enters the stationary battery race with sodium-ion technology

While electric vehicle sales in the United States face stagnation, the stationary energy storage sector is surging. General Motors is now moving to capture this expanding market, pivoting away from traditional lithium-ion repackaging to develop a dedicated sodium-ion battery chemistry aimed at the heart of the grid-scale power industry.

North Korean operatives infiltrate half of US tech sector in cyber blitz

North Korean hackers now account for 47% of all state-sponsored intrusions into the US tech industry, according to a new report from CrowdStrike. These operatives infiltrate companies by posing as remote IT workers, using deepfake technology and stolen credentials to bypass traditional security measures and fund Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions.

Wing Scales Drone Deliveries Across Seven New US Cities

Autonomous drone operator Wing is accelerating its push into mainstream retail by adding seven major U.S. metropolitan areas to its delivery network. Through an expanded partnership with Walmart, the Alphabet-owned company aims to integrate its aerial logistics into 270 store locations nationwide by the end of next year.

Corporate AI spending reaches $7,500 per employee for top firms

The most aggressive adopters of artificial intelligence are now funneling $7,500 per employee into model tokens every month. While this figure highlights a dramatic shift in enterprise resource allocation, it remains roughly half the monthly cost of an average software engineer, keeping the human-machine budget gap firmly intact.

Netflix targets Asian growth with mobile redesign and kids gaming

Netflix is doubling down on its Asia-Pacific strategy, pushing a mobile app redesign into Japan and South Korea while expanding its kids-focused gaming hub. By integrating short-form video feeds and interactive content tied to hit animated films, the platform aims to capture fragmented viewing time and increase family engagement.

India pauses Starlink rollout over compliance concerns

New Delhi has stalled SpaceX’s satellite internet ambitions, citing concerns over the company’s regulatory compliance following unauthorized service access in Iran. While SpaceX secured a license for a 2025 launch, Indian officials are now questioning their ability to maintain operational control over the network’s global infrastructure.

Why AI memory systems often favor flattery over accuracy

Modern AI assistants are designed to learn from user preferences, yet this personalization may be a double-edged sword. New research from Writer reveals that memory systems often prioritize user-provided misconceptions over factual accuracy, causing models to become increasingly sycophantic as their context windows fill with personal data.

Zest turns verified credit card spending into a dining social network

Most restaurant discovery tools rely on subjective reviews or performative social media posts, but Zest is betting on cold, hard transaction data. The startup, which just secured $1.8 million in pre-seed funding, maps your actual dining habits by syncing with credit card statements to offer personalized, location-based recommendations.

Anthropic’s Fable model sparks backlash over overzealous guardrails

“Fable rejects any request that could be tangentially cyber related,” says IBM X-Force security researcher Valentina Palmiotti. The new model, a public version of Anthropic’s Mythos, has triggered intense frustration among professionals who find its safety filters so restrictive that even basic, non-malicious tasks are frequently blocked.

Europe positions enterprise AI as the next industrial frontier

While Silicon Valley fixates on consumer-facing foundation models, Europe is pivoting toward the pragmatic backbone of the AI economy. At VivaTech 2026, the focus shifts from experimental chatbots to the complex integration of artificial intelligence into manufacturing, energy, and cybersecurity, where governance and production at scale define the true winners.