World releases “super app” including crypto pay and encrypted chat features
World, the biometric identity verification project co-founded by Sam Altman, today released the latest version of its app, debuting several new features including encrypted chat integration and expanded Venmo-like functionality for sending and requesting cryptocurrencies. World was created by startup Tools for Humanity in 2019 and originally released the app in 2023. The company says […]
Stanford University’s star reporter takes on Silicon Valley’s ‘money-filled’ startup culture
Theo Baker is truly an anomaly. While journalism as a major has been in decline for years, with some schools even dropping it altogether, Baker, a senior at Stanford University, has focused on old-fashioned investigative reporting, and it’s paying off. Baker first gained attention as a freshman when his reporting in the Stanford Daily led […]
Google launches deepest AI research agent ever — same day OpenAI removes GPT-5.2
Google on Thursday released a “reimagined” version of its research agent Gemini Deep Research, which is based on its much-hyped cutting-edge platform model Gemini 3 Pro. This new agent wasn’t just designed to create investigative reports. However, it is possible. This allows developers to incorporate Google’s SATA model exploration capabilities into their own apps. This […]
1X has a contract to send humanoids from their “homeland” to factories and warehouses.
Robotics company 1X has identified several potential buyers for its humanoid robots designed for consumers. This is a portfolio company of one of our investors. The company announced Thursday a strategic partnership to make thousands of humanoid robots available to EQT portfolio companies. EQT is a leading Swedish multi-asset investor and its venture fund EQT […]
OpenAI hits back at Google with GPT-5.2 after ‘Code Red’ memo
OpenAI launched its latest Frontier model, GPT-5.2, on Thursday as competition from Google intensifies, touting it as its most advanced model yet and one designed for developers and everyday professionals. OpenAI’s GPT-5.2 is available via API to ChatGPT paid users and developers in three flavors: Instant is a speed-optimized model for everyday queries such as […]
Rivian uses custom silicon, LIDAR, and robotaxi tips to significantly enhance autonomy
Rivian on Thursday detailed how it plans to make its electric vehicles self-driving. CEO RJ Scaringe said it’s an ambitious effort that includes new hardware, including lidar and custom silicon, with the company ultimately looking to enter the self-driving ride-hailing market. The announcement, made at the company’s first Autonomy & AI Day event in Palo […]
Disney signs deal with OpenAI to allow Sora to generate AI videos featuring characters
The Walt Disney Company announced Thursday a three-year partnership with OpenAI to bring the company’s iconic characters to its Sora AI video generator. Disney has also made a $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI. Released in September, Sora allows users to create short videos using simple prompts. The new deal gives users access to more […]
Security flaw in Freedom Chat app exposes users’ phone numbers and PINs
Messaging app Freedom Chat has fixed two security flaws. One allowed security researchers to guess registered users’ phone numbers, and the other allowed users to set a PIN and make it available to other users on the app. Released in June, Freedom Chat advertises itself as a secure messaging app, and its website claims that […]
Opera wants you to pay $20 a month to use its AI-powered browser Neon
Norway-based browser company Opera has finally released its AI-powered browser Neon to the public after months of testing. However, you have to pay $19.90 per month to use it. Opera first announced Neon in May of this year and opened early access to some users in October. Like other AI-first browsers like Perplexity’s Comet, OpenAI’s […]
Interest in Spoor’s bird monitoring AI software is growing
Spoor was founded in 2021 with the goal of using computer vision to reduce the impact of wind turbines on local bird populations. Now, the startup has proven its technology works and is also seeing demand from wind farms and other sectors. Spoor, based in Oslo, Norway, has built software that uses computer vision to […]