Startups

X restricts Groks image generation to paying subscribers only after drawing the worlds ire

Elon Musk's AI company has restricted Grok's controversial AI image-generation feature to only paying subscribers on X, after the tool invited heated criticism from across the world for letting users generate sexualized images of women and children.

The venture firm that ate Silicon Valley just raised another $15 billion

In a blog post published Friday morning, Ben Horowitz writes that as the American leader in Venture Capital, the fate of new technology in the United States rests partly on our shoulders. It's the kind of statement certain to cause agita at rival firms.

Anthropic adds Allianz to growing list of enterprise wins

Anthropic announces its first enterprise deal of 2026 which includes building agents and for, and giving Claude code, to Allianz.

Data security startup Cyera hits $9B valuation six months after being valued at $6B

Cyera raised another $400 million just six months after its last huge round.

Governments grapple with the flood of non-consensual nudity on X

For the past two weeks, X has been flooded with AI-manipulated nude images, created by the Grok AI chatbot and governments around the world are promising to take action.

GTMfundhas rewritten the distributionplaybook for the AI era

Building software products has never been easier, so why are so many well-funded startupsfailing to takeoff no matter how good their product is? In this season finale episode of Build Mode, our guest has an answer: Startups have focused too much on product development and not enough on distribution excellence. Paul Irving is partner and []

EverNitro is simplifying the process of crafting silky nitro coffee at CES 2026

Get that silky-smooth nitro coffee at home without the wasteful cartridges with EverNitro.

I watched LGs new home robot CLOid do laundry but I have questions

CES is always chock-full of robots, and this year electronics giant LG announced a new bot, dubbed CLOid, that it claims will revolutionize household chores (as in, you won't have to do them anymore).

Internet collapses in Iran amid protests over economic crisis

Internet monitoring firms and experts say Irans internet has almost completely shut down, as protests spread through major cities.

OpenAI to acquire the team behind executive coaching AI tool Convogo

OpenAI is acquiring the team behind executive coaching AI tool Convogo in an all-stock deal, adding to the firm's M&A spree.

Andurils Palmer Luckey thinks the future of tech is in the past

Luckey, who initially made his fortune in VR and now runs the defense contractor Anduril, and Ohanian both seemed to agree: Stuff was better in the old days.

Disney+ is launching short-form videos this year

The move comes as Disney launched a personalized vertical video feed in the ESPN app last year.

Illinois health department exposed over 700,000 residents personal data for years

The security lapse exposed personal information belonging to residents who received state benefits.

Nvidias reportedly asking Chinese customers to pay upfront its for H200 AI chips

Nvidia is now requiring its customers in China to pay upfront in full for its H200 AI chips even as approval Stateside and from Beijing remains uncertain.

Elon Musks lawsuit against OpenAI will face a jury in March

District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said there was evidence suggesting OpenAIs leaders made assurances that its original nonprofit structure would be maintained. The case will go to trial in March.

Former Bolt CEO Maju Kuruvillas startup triples to $100M valuation

Spangle has raised $15 million in a Series A round to expand its AI-generated shopping experiences.

JPMorgan Chase becomes the new issuer of the Apple Card

Apple expects the transition to take 24 months

Ford has an AI assistant and new hands-free BlueCruise tech on the way

Ford says the new generation of BlueCruise will be 30% cheaper to build than the current technology.

Discord and Mercor investor Niko Bonatsos departs General Catalyst, plans new VC firm

Bonatsos spent 15 years at GC, and until last year led the firm's seed investing strategy.

Larry Page loosens business ties to CA amid states proposed wealth tax, report

Larry Page is reportedly moving assets out of California over concern the state will vote in a tax on billionaires.

Yes, LinkedIn banned AI agent startup Artisan, but now its back

Several viral posts noticed that Artisan was banned. But the CEO tells us it wasn't for the reasons many thought.

Rokus $3 streaming service Howdy will be coming to other platforms, CEO says

At CES 2026, Anthony Wood, Roku's founder, chairman, and CEO, offered a hint about the future of the company's newest streaming channel, Howdy, and its ambition to become a broader competitor in the market.

Lux Capital lands $1.5B for its largest fund ever

The 25-year-old firm is an early investor in Anduril, Applied Intuition, and Runway AI.

Discords IPO could happen in March

Discord reportedly filed confidential IPO paperwork and has pinned its hopes on a debut in March.

Shopify competitor Swap raises $100M six months after raising $40M

VC firms DST Global and Iconiq are piling into e-commerce startup Swap Commerce, which is going up against Shopify.

Where VCs think AI startups can win, even with OpenAI in the game

Vanessa Larco,partner atPremiseand former partner at NEA, thinks 2026 will finally be the year of consumer AI. Larco, whos been investing in consumer and prosumer for years, thinks were about to see a shift in how consumers spend time online, with AI powering concierge-like services. The question is, will legacy consumer products like WebMD and []

Anthropic reportedly raising $10B at $350B valuation

Anthropic is reportedly in talks to raise $10 billion at a $350 billion valuation, marking its third mega-round in a year.

Skylight debuts Calendar 2 to keep your family organized

Skylight, known for its digital picture frame, has a new digital product that puts software and AI at the center.

Google Classrooms new tool uses Gemini to transform lessons into podcast episodes

Google Classroom now offers a Gemini-powered tool that generates podcast-style audio lessons for teachers to deepen engagement with students.

Caterpillar taps Nvidia to bring AI to itsconstruction equipment

Caterpillar is piloting Cat AI, a system of AI agents in one of its excavators built on Nvidia's physical AI platform.

WhatsApp rolls out new group chat features, member tags

You can choose a tag that gives others in the group chat more context about who you are.

Spotify now lets you share what youre streaming in real time with friends

You can tap a friends listening activity to play the track, save it, open the menu, or react with an emoji.

Warner Bros. Discovery rejects Paramounts bid again, calls it a leveraged buyout

The studio's board unanimously rejected Paramount Skydance's revised $108.4 billion bid, calling the proposal a leveraged buyout that would saddle the company with $87 billion in debt.

Spotify lowers monetization threshold for video podcasts

Spotify is dropping the minimum episode requirement to three, minimum consumption hours to 2,000, and engaged audience member threshold to 1,000 over the last 30 days.

Intel spinout Articul8 raises more than half of $70M round at $500M valuation

Articul8's valuation for its current funding round marks a roughly fivefold increase since its Series A.

Roblox now requires all users globally to complete age checks to access chat

Once users complete an age check, they can access age-based chat, which means they can only communicate with others in a similar age group.

McKinsey and General Catalyst execs say the era of learn once, work forever is over

Calacanis, General Catalyst's Taneja, and McKinsey's Sternfels discussed how AI is reshaping technology and the labor force.

Metas Manus news is getting different receptions in Washington and Beijing

Chinese officials are reportedly reviewing whether the Meta deal violates technology export controls, potentially giving Beijing leverage it wasn't initially perceived as having.

Wearable health devices could generate a million tons of e-waste by 2050

The most surprising part is that the plastic isn't the biggest problem.

A viral Reddit post alleging fraud from a food delivery app turned out to be AI-generated

When fake content goes viral, the damage has already been done, even if the post is debunked.

Mobileye acquires humanoid robot startup Mentee Robotics for $900M

Mentee Robotics was co-founded by Mobileye president Amnon Shashua.

xAI says it raised $20B in Series E funding

Nvidia is among the many investors, but xAI has not disclosed if these investments come in the form of equity or debt.

California lawmaker proposes a four-year ban on AI chatbots in kids toys

Our children cannot be used as lab rats for Big Tech to experiment on, Senator Steve Padilla said. He just introduced a bill to ban AI chatbots in toys until safety regulations are developed.

The most bizarre tech announced so far at CES 2026

From an AI panda pet to an anime girl hologram for your desk, here are the wildest products at CES 2026.

Intel is building a handheld gaming platform including a dedicated chip

Intel has been building chips designed for gaming PCs for years but the company is now moving into handheld devices too.

LMArena lands $1.7B valuation four months after launching its product

LMArena, which started as a UC Berkeley research project, has raised about $250 million total and become a unicorn in about seven months.

Amazons Ring doorbells get fire alerts, an app store and new sensors

The new Ring Sensors can detect motion, openings, glass breakage, and smoke, and can also monitor carbon monoxide levels, leaks, temperature changes, and air quality.

Narwal adds AI to its vacuum cleaners to monitor pets and find jewelry

Narwal's new robo vacuum cleaner switches to quiet mode near a baby's crib.