Lawmakers warn Democratic governors that states are sharing driver data with ICE
A group of Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to several state governors, including Arizona, California, Colorado and Wisconsin, warning that their states are inadvertently sharing driver data with federal immigration authorities. The letter, first reported by Reuters, told governors that each state provides U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agencies with “fleet […]
Anthropic announces $50 billion data center plan
Anthropic on Wednesday announced an ambitious new data center partnership with UK-based neocloud provider Fluidstack, committing $50 billion to build facilities across the United States to meet growing computing needs. The data centers will be located in Texas and New York and are expected to be operational throughout 2026. The company described these sites as […]
Airbnb is testing a ‘kitchen stocking’ service that allows guests to order on Instacart before staying
Airbnb is piloting a service with Instacart that lets guests order groceries directly through the Airbnb app before and during their stay, the company confirmed to TechCrunch on Wednesday. “We regularly test new product updates, categories, and initiatives to provide our community with the best experience possible,” an Airbnb spokesperson said in an email. “As […]
Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs accelerates the global model race with its first commercial product, Marble
World Labs, a startup founded by AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li, launches its first commercial world model product. Marble will be available in freemium and paid levels, allowing users to transform text prompts, photos, videos, 3D layouts, or panoramas into editable and downloadable 3D environments. The launch of Generative World Models, which was first released in […]
Australian spy chief warns Chinese hackers are ‘probing’ critical networks for espionage and sabotage
Australian Intelligence Secretary Mike Burgess has warned that Chinese-backed hackers are “probing” and in some cases gaining access to the country’s critical infrastructure. Mr Burgess, head of the country’s main intelligence agency, the Australian Security Intelligence Agency, said at least two Chinese government-backed hacker groups were preparing sabotage and espionage operations. The comments, made in […]
Red Bull Racing’s secret weapon? Engineers treat workflow like lap time
There’s a moment backstage at Web Summit when a member of the production staff (well twice Laurent Mequise’s size) puts a thick arm around the shoulders of the CEO of Oracle Red Bull Racing and guides him toward the soundboard to pull out his cell phone for a selfie. Most executives leading organizations of 2,000 […]
Softbank’s sale of NVIDIA causes market confusion and questions arise
Masayoshi Son’s popularity is middling. The SoftBank founder’s career is littered with eyebrow-raising gambles, each one looking more outrageous than the last. His latest move is to liquidate his $5.8 billion in Nvidia stock and focus all his efforts on AI. And while it took the business world by surprise on Tuesday, it might not […]
Threads targets podcasters with new features and aims to become a hub for show discussions
Meta’s X competitor, Threads, starts targeting a specific type of creator: podcasters. The company announced Tuesday that Threads will focus on bringing more podcast discussions to the app and helping creators promote their shows. First, Threads plans to roll out some new features to help on this front. For one, it gives podcast links in […]
Immortal startup Eternos wins $10.3 million as it pivots to personal AI that sounds like you
Robert LoCascio will step down as CEO of LivePerson, a public company known for pioneering web chat in 1997, in 2023 after serving as CEO of the company he founded in 1997. Advances in generative AI inspired his next project. He calls it technology’s “highest hurdle.” It’s about replicating a human being with a life […]
A better way to think about AI bubbles
People often think of tech bubbles in apocalyptic terms, but they don’t have to be that serious. In economic terms, a bubble is when the stakes are so high that supply exceeds demand. The result: It’s not all or nothing. Even a good bet can go against you if you are not careful with your […]