Startups

Databricks hits $188B valuation, extending its run as AIs favorite second act

Databricks has remade its image into an AI company and has published research on the cost savings of open weight AI models for coding.

The Zoom hack that says, Dont record me

If every meeting, watercooler conversation, and date gets transcribed and summarized, who's actually reading any of it?

FBI arrests man accused of using Steam games to drain victims crypto wallets

Prosecutors accused 21-year-old student Zyaire Wilkins of publishing on Steam several fake video games that contained malware, infecting thousands of victims, and stealing crypto from some of them.

Parents want safer phones for kids. These companies are answering the call.

As parents look for alternatives to unrestricted smartphones, a growing number of companies are building phones designed specifically for kids, from feature-limited mobile devices to minimalist home phones.

Amazon fixing bug that billed some AWS customers billions of dollars

Some Amazon customers logged on Friday to a surprise bill estimate claiming that they owed the tech and cloud giant billions in fees.

Patreon stops asking AI bots not to scrape and starts blocking them

Patreon is strengthening its defenses against AI scraping by working with Cloudflare to block bots that train AI models on creators content without permission. The move marks a shift away from relying on websites using robots.txt alone to actively block unauthorized AI training.

Zoox issues software recall after a robotaxi got confused by heavy smoke

The recall comes as the top automotive safety regulator in the U.S. has warned AV companies about their vehicles interfering with first responders.

San Francisco mayor pushes for tougher rules after the Waymo traffic fiasco

In the wake of a massive hours-long gridlock event, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has told state regulators its time to put more requirements on robotaxi operators like Waymo.

SpaceX suddenly aborts second Starship V3 launch after ignition

The company didn't immediately say what went wrong. SpaceX's stock plunged more than 4% in after-hours trading before paring losses.

Coca-Cola suspended production at its Fairlife dairy after a ransomware attack

Coca Cola said dairy production at its Fairlife unit will emain suspended in the United States following a hack.

Founders Fund hires former OpenAI exec Ryan Beiermeister (and not because of her Mafia skills)

Ryan Beiermeister, who demonstrated cool analysis in the Founders Fund YouTube series Mafia, has joined the firm as a partner.

Google Vids now lets you star in your own AI videos

Google is adding personalized AI avatars to Vids that let users create videos starring a digital version of themselves, alongside Gemini Omni-powered tools for generating and editing videos from prompts and reference images.

Roblox launches an AI-powered game creation feature in its mobile app

Roblox's new Build feature lets users generate basic games using a single text prompt.

Oil giant BP shutters its corporate venture arm after 20 years

BP Ventures is shutting down, ending a nearly 20-year run that was marked by reportedly lackluster returns.

Newsletter platform Beehiiv now lets subscribers chat with each other, adds AI

Beehiiv is launching an AI Copilot to help publishers with user growth and analytics.

X cracks down on creators who steal content

X will use Grok AI to better detect stolen content, redirect payouts to original creators, and crack down on engagement bait.

AI-powered travel agency Fora hits unicorn status, raises $60M

Travel agency Fora announced a $60 million Series D round led by Forerunner and Tactile Ventures, valuing the company at $1 billion.

Googles AI Mode now lets you link and interact with select apps

With this new update, Google is expanding AI Mode beyond answering questions and into completing tasks across the apps they use regularly.

Google continues its renaming streak by turning NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook

Google said users can soon access their notebooks through AI Mode in Search.

Yes, you can now order DoorDash from the command line

DoorDash is opening a limited beta of dd-cli, a command-line tool that lets developers and AI agents search stores, build carts, and place orders from the terminal, marking another step toward software designed for AI agents instead of just humans.

UK cops say arrest of two young hackers disrupted the operations of an infamous hacking group

Owen Flowers and Thalha Jubair, two members of the prolific Scattered Spider hacking group, pleaded guilty and were sentenced to five years and six months in jail for hacking Londons metropolitan transit system.

Period tracker Stardust shares users health data with analytics firm, says Mozilla research

One period tracker app tested by Mozilla was 'squeaky clean,' while another app was seen sharing users' health data with an analytics company, underscoring vast differences in user privacy among these apps.

How a former DeepMind researcher raised at a $300M pre-seed valuation before launching a product

Drawing on more than a decade spent helping build some of the world's most influential AI systems, including research that later informed the development of ChatGPT, Andrew Dai explains why he believes visual AI is one of the next major frontiers in artificial intelligence.

Sheryl Sandberg leads $10 million investment in AI-powered vehicle inspection service

The startup, founded in 2021, lets enterprise customers use smartphones to scan and spot vehicle damage.

Why AMI Labs Alexandre LeBrun wont call his AI AGI or superintelligence

While everyone in AI is chasing superintelligence, Alexandre LeBrun, CEO of Yann LeCuns world model startup, AMI Labs, dismisses the word.

Moonshots upcoming Kimi 3 is expected to close the gap with Anthropics Opus 4.8

The FT reports Kimi K3 will be the largest open AI model from China, with a parameter count between 2 trillion and 3 trillion.

Apple Intelligence approved for launch in China with Alibaba and Baidu

The deal, which was rumored to be in the works last year, marks an important step for Apple's AI ambitions in a key market.

Ultrahumans former hardware VP raises $5.5M for devices that control AI agents, not just record you

Aina is going to pilot a new device in the coming weeks.

Meta now alerts parents if their teen discussed suicide or self-harm with its AI chatbot

The updates come as Meta and other tech companies are facing scrutiny from regulators and parents around how AI chatbots respond to users in crisis, particularly teenagers.

Phone maker OnePlus says it wont release new phones in the U.S. and Europe

OnePlus could also wind down its operations in India by 2027.

Lululemon backs nylon recycling startup Syntetica in $30M Series A

Syntetica, a French startup that has developed a novel approach to recycling nylon, has already obtained big-name partners and investors.

Why Greylock capped its new fund at $1.5B when it says it could have raised more

By keeping the number of investments to about 25 per fund, Greylock aims to remain what it calls he most important partner to its founders.

Microsoft is reportedly training salespeople to talk down OpenAI and Anthropic

Microsoft is looking to sell its in-house AI models as more efficient and cost-effective than its competitors' models.

Tesla driver in fatal Texas crash pressed accelerator 100%, NTSB confirms

The safety board confirmed Tesla's account of the crash, which the company shared days after it happened last month.

Daniel Eks body-scanning startup Neko Health raises another $700M

Neko Health has developed proprietary body-scanning technology, which it couples with bloodwork, to assess a person's health.

Amid hardware legal battle, OpenAI releases a $230 keyboard for Codex

OpenAI, which is in the middle of a legal battle with Apple over hardware trade theft allegations, just released a light-up keyboard designed to be paired with its agentic coding app.

Microsoft patches bug in video game Age of Empires II

The vulnerability in the decades-old game could have allowed hackers to take over victims computers with a malicious game invite.

Apple quietly reveals how its Maps ads will differ from Googles

Apple has published the policies governing its upcoming Maps advertising business, revealing a strategy that differs from Googles. The new rules prohibit home services businesses like plumbers, electricians, locksmiths, and roofers from advertising on Apple Maps, along with several other sensitive categories, suggesting Apple is taking a more curated approach to these ads.

Thinking Machines amps up its bet against one-size-fits-all AI with its first open model, Inkling

It's the company's first public proof point after a year and a half spent building AI infrastructure largely out of public view.

Phone maker OnePlus reportedly plans to wind down US and Europe operations

OnePlus could also wind down its operations in India by 2027

Googles biggest clean power project is 40 miles north of xAIs unpermitted gas power plant

Google's biggest solar and battery project stands in sharp contrast with xAI's nearby unpermitted power plant.

Hack suggests AI music generator Suno scraped YouTube for training data

The hacker used an employee's credentials to access source code, which revealed how Suno scraped decades of audio.

Whatnot acquires Shaped to power real-time live shopping recommendations

Livestream shopping platform Whatnot has acquired AI startup Shaped, a machine learning company focused on real-time recommendations and search. The deal will bolster Whatnots personalization and discovery features as it expands into new product categories.

Microsoft patches record number of security vulnerabilities, citing its use of AI

Microsoft's monthly release of security fixes, dubbed Patch Tuesday, resolved a record 570 security vulnerabilities across the company's product line, thanks to discoveries with AI.

Stripe and Advent reportedly offered to buy PayPal for around $53.4B

Stripe and private equity firm Advent International have reportedly submitted a joint bid to acquire PayPal in a deal valued at approximately $53.4 billion. Reuters reports that the offer was submitted earlier this month and is backed by roughly $50 billion in committed bank financing. Under the proposal, Stripe and Advent would jointly own PayPal, []

Apple Intelligence approved for launch in China with Alibabas Qwen AI

Apple Intelligence is headed to China after regulators approved Apples AI services through a partnership with Alibaba. The long-rumored deal will bring Alibabas Qwen AI models to Apples operating systems, marking a major expansion of the companys generative AI platform into one of its most important markets.

India bets billions on breaking Chinas grip on smartphone manufacturing

New Delhi announced a $6.5 billion smartphone manufacturing program and a $13.3 billion semiconductor push to deepen India's electronics supply chain.

US charges Russian bulletproof web hosts over cyberattacks that netted $62M from cybercrime victims

The 2024 indictment, now unsealed, accuses three Russians and two web hosts of aiding hackers and profiting from cybercrime.

Anthropic, Blackstone bet the next trillion-dollar AI business is implementation, not just models

Anthropic-backed Ode launches as AI labs bet that embedding forward-deployed engineers inside enterprises is the key to accelerating enterprise AI adoption.

Reelfuls AI turns your camera roll into short-form videos for social media

The app is designed for people who want to create social content, but find traditional video editing tools too complex or time-consuming.

Rime picks up $24M Series A to help enterprises field customer calls

Rime is handling over 100 million calls each month across multiple companies.

OpenAI researcher Miles Wang in talks to launch AI drug discovery startup valued at $2B

Lightspeed is in discussions to lead the funding round, sources say.

Lorde says AI glasses are not sexy

Increasingly in our world, it gets harder and harder to know what is real, Lorde said onstage.

OpenAIs first hardware device is reportedly a screenless speaker that can move

OpenAI's first hardware device is reported to be a screenless, AI-guided smart speaker that can move. Weird enough for you?

OpenAIs new flagship model deletes files on its own, people keep warning

A number of social media posts claim that GPT-5.6 Sol deleted files and data without warning. OpenAI had basically disclosed the problem in June.

Apple opens its new Siri AI to everyone with the iOS 27 public beta

If youve been waiting to try Apples revamped Siri without installing a developer beta, you now can. The company on Tuesday released the iOS 27 public beta, giving iPhone owners early access to its AI-powered assistant and other new features before the softwares official launch this fall.

Anthropics newest ad is creeping people out

Anthropic's latest advert is stirring up high emotions which is undoubtedly what it was designed to do.

DeepMind CEO calls for an independent standards body to regulate frontier AI

DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis is proposing an AI standards body modeled after FINRA, to test frontier models and develop best practices for their release.

DeepSeek reportedly in talks to raise $1.5B, then IPO

DeepSeek, the Chinese large language model developer, is said to be preparing for a 2027 IPO debut as it also looks to raise around $1.5 billion in new funds at a $71 billion valuation.

The real AI race may no longer be at the frontier

Hugging Face CEO Clem Delangue says enterprises increasingly want open models, due to cost, accessibility, and ownership. Do frontier models still matter if most production AI ends up running on open models?

Pinwheel launches a retro-inspired landline phone for kids

Kid-friendly tech company Pinwheel announced the launch of a new landline phone designed to let children stay connected without the distractions of a smartphone.

Already rich, already successful, why the last wave of tech winners is grinding again

They're rolling up their sleeves again, seemingly out of fear of missing AI's defining moment and, presumably, the irresistible allure of making even more money -- potentially a lot more.

Xovian Aerospace Raises $2 Mn To Launch RF Satellite

Spacetech startup Xovian Aerospace has secured $2 Mn (about 18.7 Cr) in a fresh funding round led by ace investor

SIP Investing Guide: Young Professionals Aged 21-35 Earning 20K-75K Monthly

AMFI-registered mutual fund distributor's SIP guide: 21-35 yr olds 20K-75K. SEBI-compliant education on categories, allocation, step-up strategy. The post SIP Investing Guide: Young Professionals Aged 21-35 Earning 20K-75K Monthly appeared first on Startup Success Stories India - News & Updates for Indian Entrepreneurs .

NODWINs Pre-IPO Round, Funding Tanks In Q1 2026 & More

NODWINs Pre-IPO Funding Meal NODWIN Gaming is moving beyond gaming and esports. Emerging from the shadows of its former parent