Startups

Musk wants up to $134B in OpenAI lawsuit, despite $700B fortune

Musk's legal team argues he should be compensated as an early startup investor who sees returns many orders of magnitude greater than his initial investment.

AI cloud startup Runpod hits $120M in ARR and it started with a Reddit post

Their startupjourneyis a wild example of how if you build it well and the timing is lucky, they will definitely come.

California AG sends Musks xAI a cease-and-desist order over sexual deepfakes

The flood of AI-generated sexual imagery has spurred concern from state and Congressional officials alike.

Snowflake, Databricks challenger ClickHouse hits $15B valuation

The $400 million round was led by Dragoneer.

TikTok quietly launches a micro drama app called PineDrama

Think TikTok, but every single video you come across is a short episode of a fictional story.

EPA rules that xAIs natural gas generators were illegally used

Elon Musk's AI company had installed and operated 35 natural gas turbines without permits, something the EPA now says was illegal.

Supreme Court hacker posted stolen government data on Instagram

Nicholas Moore pleaded guilty to stealing victims information from the Supreme Court and other federal government agencies, and then posting it on his Instagram @ihackthegovernment.

ChatGPT users are about to get hit with targeted ads

OpenAI says that users impacted by the ads will have some control over what they see.

Trump administration wants tech companies to buy $15B of power plants they may not use

In an attempt to alleviate rising electricity prices, the White House wants grid operator PJM to hold an auction for new generating capacity, and it wants tech companies to bid.

The AI healthcare gold rush is here

AI companies are clustering around healthcare and fast. In just the past week, OpenAIbought health startup Torch, Anthropic launchedClaude for healthcare, and Sam Altman-backedMergeLabs closed a $250 million seed roundat an $850 million valuation. The money and products are pouring into healthand voice AI, but so are concerns about hallucination risks, inaccurate medical information, and []

How a hacking campaign targeted high-profile Gmail and WhatsApp users across the Middle East

The phishing campaign targeted users on WhatsApp, including an Iranian-British activist, and stole the credentials of a Lebanese cabinet minister and at least one journalist.

X is down for the second time this week

Elon Musk's X, formerly Twitter, is down for the second time this week. Nearly 80,000 reports have spiked on Down Detector since around 10 a.m. ET Friday morning.

Chinese EVs inch closer to the US as Canada slashes tariffs

The country is dropping its import tax from 100% to just 6.1%, with an initial annual cap of 49,000 cars.

YouTube relaxes monetization guidelines for some controversial topics

These controversial topics include self-harm, abortion, suicide, and domestic and sexual abuse.

Italy investigates Activision Blizzard for pushing in-game purchases

Italy has launched two investigations into Microsoft's Activision Blizzard, alleging the company has engaged in misleading and aggressive sales practices for two of its most popular smartphone games.

The rise of micro apps: non-developers are writing apps instead of buying them

A new era of app creation is here. It's fun, it's fast, and it's fleeting.

Anthropic taps former Microsoft India MD to lead Bengaluru expansion

Irina Ghose joins Anthropic as India managing director after 24 years at Microsoft.

Silicon Valleys messiest breakup is definitely headed to court

OpenAI and Microsoft tried to dodge a courtroom showdown with Elon Musk, but a federal judge on Thursday rejected their requests to dismiss the case.

AI journalism startup Symbolic.ai signs deal with Rupert Murdochs News Corp

The startup claims its AI platform can help optimize editorial processes and research.

The AI lab revolving door spins ever faster

AI labs just can't get their employees to stay put. Yesterdays big AI news was the abrupt and seemingly acrimonious departure of three top executives at Mira Muratis Thinking Machines lab.

Taiwan to invest$250B in US semiconductor manufacturing

The U.S. struck a trade deal with Taiwan as the country looks to help boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing.

AI video startup, Higgsfield, founded by ex-Snap exec, lands $1.3B valuation

Higgsfield says its on a $200 million annual revenue run rate. So it opened its previous Series A round back up and sold another $80 million in shares.

The USimposes 25% tariff on Nvidias H200 AI chips headed to China

The Trump administration formalized its 25% cut of H200 chip sales in China with a tariff that applies to certain semiconductors.

OpenAI invests in Sam Altmans brain computer interface startup Merge Labs

OpenAI is participating in a $250 million seed round into Merge Labs, Sam Altman's brain computer interface startup. The startup is valued at $850 million.

After Italy, WhatsApp excludes Brazil from rival chatbot ban

WhatsApp is allowing AI providers to continue offering their chatbots to users in Brazil, days after the country's competition agency ordered the company to suspend its new policy that bars third-party, general-purpose chatbots from the app.

Indian SpaceX rival EtherealX hits 5x valuation as it readies engine tests

EtherealX is ramping engine tests and building a 150-acre rocket campus in India as it targets a 2027 launch mission.

Microsoft taps Indias Varaha for Asia-first durable carbon removal offtake

Microsoft is buying over 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide removal credits from India's Varaha over the next three years.

Mira Muratis startup, Thinking Machines Lab, is losing two of its co-founders to OpenAI

The abrupt change in personnel was in the works for several weeks, according to an OpenAI executive.

The FTCs data-sharing order against GM is finally settled

The order, first proposed a year ago, bans GM from collecting and then selling geolocation data to third parties, like data brokers and insurance companies.

Indias Emversity doubles valuation as it scales workers AI cant replace

Emversity has raised $30 million in a new round as it scales job-ready training in India.

OpenAI signs deal, worth $10B, for compute from Cerebras

The collaboration will help OpenAI's models deliver faster response times for more difficult or time-consuming tasks, the companies said.

Netflixs first original video podcasts feature Pete Davidson and Michael Irvin

As Netflix tries to take down YouTubes dominance in the podcast space, it's getting new originals with Pete Davidson and Michael Irvin.

App downloads declined again in 2025, but consumer spending soared to nearly $156B

Global app downloads were down, but consumer spending was up to nearly $156B in 2025.

AI models are starting to crack high-level math problems

Since the release of GPT 5.2, AI tools have become inescapable in high-level mathematics.

Blackstone, General Atlantic-backed Liftoff Mobile files for IPO

The company offers a platform that helps mobile app developers market their wares and has an army of bankers working on its IPO.

Digg launches its new Reddit rival to the public

Digg, a reboot of an earlier social news site, is now relaunching as a Reddit competitor focused on communities.

Googles Trends Explore page gets new Gemini capabilities

The Trends Explore page for users to analyze search interest just got a major upgrade. It now uses Gemini to identify and compare relevant trends.

Bandcamp takes a stand against AI music, banning it from the platform

We want musicians to keep making music, and for fans to have confidence that the music they find on Bandcamp was created by humans, the company said.

Robotics software makerSkildAI hits $14B valuation

Skild AI, which is building general-purpose robotic software, just raised a $1.4 billion funding round led by SoftBank.

Geminis new beta feature provides proactive responses based on your photos, emails, and more

Personal Intelligence is off by default, as users have the option to choose if and when they want to connect their Google apps to Gemini.

AI security firm, depthfirst, announces $40 million Series A

The company used an AI-native platform to help companies fight threats.

US cargo tech company publicly exposed its shipping systems and customer data to the web

Shipping tech company Bluspark left internal plaintext passwords, including those of executives, exposed to the internet, at a time when hacks in the shipping industry are on the rise.

YouTube now has a way for parents to block kids from watching Shorts

Parents will be able toggle the Shorts time limit on connected children's accounts.

Tesla will only offer subscriptions for Full Self-Driving (Supervised) going forward

It's a huge change to Tesla's approach with FSD, and it could impact Musk's $1T pay package and the company's myriad legal troubles.

VoiceRun nabs $5.5M to build voice agent factory

VoiceRun, a startup that creates voice agents, raised $5.5 million in a round led by FlyBridge.

Meta to reportedly lay off 10% of Reality Labs staff

Meta is laying off 10% of staff in its Reality Labs division, which is core to developing the company's VR and metaverse products.

Microsoft announces glut of new data centers but says it wont let your electricity bill go up

The tech giant has pledged to be a good neighbor as it continues to invest in AI infrastructure throughout the country.

A consumer watchdog issued a warning about Googles AI agent shopping protocol Google says shes wrong

A consumer economics watchdog says Google's new Universal Commerce Protocol is ripe for misuse where consumers could pay more for items. Google denies this.

Neo humanoid maker 1X releases world modelto help botslearn what they see

1X released a new world model that it says is a solid step toward its robots being able to teach themselves new tasks.

Googles update for Veo 3.1 lets users create vertical videos through reference images

Google is now allowing users to create vertical videos using references image.

India reportedly tells quick-commerce firms to drop 10-minute delivery promise

India's labor ministry is pushing the country's booming quick-commerce sector to prioritize the wellness and safety of its gig workers.

ElevenLabs CEO says the voice AI startup crossed $330 million ARR last year

The company said it took only five months to go from $200 million to $330 million in annual recurring revenue.

Apple launches Creator Studio bundle of apps for $12.99 per month

The bundle includes access to Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and Pixelmator Pro on Mac and iPad, as well as Motion, Compressor, and MainStage on Mac.

Deepgram raises $130M at $1.3B valuation and buys a YC AI startup

Deepgram is raising its Series C round at a $1.3 billion valuation.

Superorganism raises $25M to backbiodiversity startups

Superorganism launched in 2023 as what it claims is the first venture capital firm focused on biodiversity, aiming to serve as the conservationist on the cap table for nature-friendly startups. Now, the firm has closed its first fund, securing $25.9 million in capital commitments from Cisco Foundation, AMB Holdings, and Builders Vision, among others, along []

Brazil orders Meta to suspend policy banning third-party AI chatbots from WhatsApp

Brazil's competition watchdog has ordered WhatsApp to put on hold its policy that bars third-party AI companies from using its business API to offer chatbots on the app. The agency has also started an investigation against the company to determine if the policy is anti-competitive.

Converge Bio raises $25M, backed by Bessemer and execs from Meta, OpenAI, Wiz

AI drug discovery startup Converge Bio raised $25 million in a Series A led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with additional backing from executives at Meta, OpenAI, and Wiz.

Meta-backed Hupo finds growth after pivot to AI sales coaching from mental wellness

Hupo, backed by Meta, pivoted from mental wellness to AI sales coaching for banks and insurers, and secured a $10M Series A led by DST Global