Salesforce’s $3.6B Fin Bet Beyond the CRM Seat
Salesforce’s agreement to acquire Fin for about $3.6 billion prices the shift from CRM seats to governed customer-service work. Models can answer; incumbents must control permissions, failures, and handoffs.
Android Moves the AI Gate Into the Phone
Google is turning Android into an AI control plane for agent permissions, entitlements and resource budgets. Alphabet’s £260 million Play settlement lands as AI-driven shortages tighten Android memory rules.
The 99.3% Test for Industrial AI Agents
Anthropic’s Model Hardware Standard has been tested on microscopes, quantum hardware, and robot arms. At QuEra, one early test reportedly improved laser stabilization from 58% to 99.3%.
OpenAI, Anthropic, AWS, Microsoft, and 100+ companies warn there is “a limited window” to prepare for AI-enabled cyberattacks and call for “collective action”
OpenAI, Anthropic, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft and more than 100 other companies warned Thursday …
Google launches Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash, which it says delivers studio-quality video production, including the ability to extend a scene, 4K upscaling, and more
Omni now delivers studio-quality video production, including the ability to extend a scene, first and last frame interpolation …
A US judge blocks the Pentagon from blacklisting Anthropic, ruling that its designation as a supply-chain risk was “illegal and baseless”
A U.S. judge on Thursday blocked the Pentagon's blacklisting of Anthropic, the latest turn in the Claude maker's high-stakes fight with the military over AI safety on the battlefield.
Sources: the Trump administration is weighing sweeping new tariffs on chips and other products like laptops and consoles, despite warnings from tech companies
The Trump administration is weighing a new round of sweeping tariffs on semiconductors, eight people familiar with discussions told POLITICO …
Sources: Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Tahnoon and co-investors back an entity owning 49%, the largest stake, in the company behind the Trump family's planned crypto bank
The Emirati ‘spy sheikh’ backs a 49% stake in the entity behind the new World Liberty bank — The Abu Dhabi royal sometimes referred …
Anthropic releases Model Hardware Standard, a framework to help AI agents use physical systems like microscopes, quantum computing hardware, and robot arms
The potential for AI to automate scientific research and manufacturing must be balanced with new risks, Anthropic says.
Nvidia stock closed up 8.74% on Thursday, adding ~$440B to Nvidia's market cap, after its revenue guidance reassured investors that AI demand remains strong
Nvidia shares rose nearly 9% Thursday after the chip giant's revenue guidance reassured investors that artificial intelligence demand will remain strong.
YouTube and TikTok are yet to publicly acknowledge Meta's proposed changes under its AG settlement; some US lawmakers signal an appetite for industry-wide rules
Meta, the social media giant, agreed to change the way children interact with its apps. That could be trouble if its competitors don't abide by the same rules.
Sources: Nvidia paused some deals with AI cloud providers in the revenue-sharing program it announced in July; Nvidia says the program is still in place
The company is rethinking the program less than two months after announcing it — Nvidia paused some deals in a new financing initiative …
Google adds Expert Intelligence to Gemini Notebook, letting users import eligible titles they own in Google Play Books to ask questions, generate podcasts, more
Gemini Notebook's new ‘Expert Intelligence’ feature pulls information from the books you've purchased.
a16z creates a $1.1B Machine Age fund focusing on hardware to “open the throttle and accelerate the physical buildout of AI”
Andreessen Horowitz has launched a new “Machine Age” fund with $1.1 billion raised. The firm's aim with the new fund is to “open the throttle and accelerate the physical buildout of AI.”
Hugging Face unveils Microduck, a $400, 1.7lb, 10-inch-tall bipedal robot developed in part by Pollen Robotics and manufactured by Shenzhen-based Seeed Studio
Artificial intelligence platform Hugging Face Inc. unveiled a singing $400 bipedal robot that can be taught tricks …
The UK Treasury tells the Bank of England to boost innovation in payment systems and digital money, as it seeks to promote the UK as a hub for stablecoins
Treasury gives central bank a new legal objective as part of effort to promote UK as hub for stablecoins
Google launches a pilot of double-blind AI evaluations, keeping external evaluations in a cryptographic “box” to stop benchmark contamination and protect IP
Building trust in proprietary model benchmarks using cryptographically secure environments — Imagine a student is set to take a high-stakes exam.
YouTube adds Amazon to its shopping affiliate program, enabling US creators to tag Amazon products in Shorts, longform videos, and livestreams
The retailer just finally joined YouTube Shopping's affiliate program. — YouTube has landed one of the biggest possible gets for its creator ecommerce platform.
Salesforce stock closed up 22.6% on Thursday, its second-best day ever, after the company reported a beat on Q2 earnings and expanded its Anthropic partnership
Shares of Salesforce jumped 22% Thursday after the company reported a beat on second-quarter earnings and announced …
Source: Nvidia plans an employee-funded political action committee called NVPAC, as it seeks to step up its efforts to influence US policy
Tech company Nvidia will start an employee-funded political action committee, a source familiar with the plans told Reuters, as the company seeks to step up its efforts to influence U.S. policy.
Alphabet agrees to pay £260M to settle a UK class action lawsuit claiming it levied “unfair” charges on software downloaded from the Google Play app store
Group's Google business was accused of overcharging developers who made software for the Google Play app store
Apple TV raises prices in the US, with the monthly price up by $2 to $14.99, its fourth increase in four years; the individual Apple One tier rises $2 to $21.95
Tech giant also ups price of Apple One multi-service bundle's individual plan — It's going to cost Americans a few more bucks to watch …
BitGo agrees to buy NYDIG's institutional trading business and related assets, expanding BitGo's derivatives offerings; ~30 NYDIG employees are joining BitGo
The crypto infrastructure firm BitGo has agreed to buy the institutional trading business and related assets of NYDIG, CNBC has learned.
Sources: the FTC has been investigating whether YouTube broke consumer protection laws by violating its own policies when suspending accounts or banning content
The US Federal Trade Commission has been investigating whether Alphabet Inc.'s YouTube violated consumer protection laws …
Bluesky launches a feature to let users hide their posts from non-followers in its Discover feed; other AT Proto apps can choose whether to respect the opt-out
After adding support for longer videos just yesterday, open social network Bluesky on Thursday introduced a new algorithmic opt …
Sources: Advent and Stripe are no longer pursuing a deal to acquire PayPal; the group offered to pay $60.50/share in July, valuing PayPal at $53B
A consortium of buyout firm Advent and payment processor Stripe has decided to abandon its pursuit of fintech pioneer PayPal Holdings Inc. …
South Korea unveils a project with KT, SK Telecom, and Kakao to provide premium AI tools to the public for free, a move that treats AI like a public utility
Seoul wants to direct use of homegrown AI chatbots to reduce reliance on U.S. or Chinese options, footing the bill and offering unlimited tokens
Australian Federal Police arrest two Western Australia men, aged 21 and 23, believed to be members of TeamPCP, a prolific cybercrime and data extortion group
Chinese memory chipmaker CXMT reports H1 revenue of ~$22.4B, more than double its 2025 sales, and ~$11.5B in profit, compared to a loss a year earlier
CXMT Corp.'s first-half revenue leapt almost 10-fold while profit surged, reflecting a rush for AI hardware that's made the memory chipmaker China's most valuable business.
Google announces new performance thresholds for Android apps, including memory-use limits, citing “significant hardware supply constraints” due to the AI boom
Google is making changes to its requirements for Android apps as developers face industry-wide memory chip shortages driven by the AI data center boom.
Japan's Kioxia and Sandisk plan to spend $31B+ in Japan through 2032 to drive chip tech and expand production capacity, including an $11.3B Kitakami plant
Japan's Kioxia (285A.T) and U.S.-based Sandisk (SNDK.O) said on Thursday they planned to invest more than $31 billion in Japan through 2032 …
Sources: Meta internally projected that it could spend as much as $10B annually on Anthropic's AI models, even as Zuckerberg publicly criticized Anthropic
The social networking giant projected it could spend $10 billion annually on Anthropic's tools, illustrating the friend-foe relationships underlying the A.I. race.
CISA says that cyberattacks on critical US infrastructure targeted 100+ internet-exposed water and wastewater systems in July, largely attacking PLCs
U.S. cybersecurity agency CISA said it has observed cyberattacks targeting over 100 internet-exposed systems across the U.S. water and wastewater sector …
Sources: Anthropic has been working on a plan to allow secondary stock sales in its IPO while also considering lockup periods longer than the standard 180 days
Anthropic has been working on a plan to let existing shareholders sell some stock in its blockbuster initial public offering …
Sources: the US is drafting a rule to close an export controls loophole that lets Chinese companies access AI chips via data centers in countries like Thailand
Soon after President Donald Trump began his second term in office in 2025, the White House announced it would undo export controls …
Sources: Meta is testing robots from ABB and others to handle data center tasks such as swapping cables and resetting servers as it seeks to lower labor costs
The company is testing robots that can swap cables, reset servers, and take on other tasks performed by technicians …
Stock trading app Ajaib raised a $270M Series C from SBI Holdings, the largest round since 2022 in Indonesia, where startups raised just ~$340M last year
Ajaib, an Indonesian online stock trading platform, scored $270 million in the country's largest tech fundraising round since 2022 …
Meta's India and Southeast Asia VP Sandhya Devanathan is joining OpenAI to oversee consumer growth and enterprise adoption across SE Asia and Australia
Meta's India and Southeast Asia vice president, Sandhya Devanathan, is leaving the social media giant to join OpenAI, the ChatGPT maker told TechCrunch.
Workday reports Q2 revenue up 12.8% YoY to $2.65B vs. $2.63B est., and total subscription revenue backlog up 8% YoY to $27.4B, vs. $28.6B est.
Workday Inc., a maker of workplace management software, reported a measure of future sales that fell short of analysts' projections …
Sources: some tech companies are courting Democrats and hiring advisers to prepare for potential investigations if Republicans lose control of the House
Tech firms are courting Democrats and hiring advisers to prepare for potential investigations if Republicans lose control of the House
How Meta founded FAIR in 2013, fell behind as it was distracted by the metaverse, and is spending an unprecedented amount of money trying to catch up
Meta's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, posted an AI manifesto to his company's website in August. The 6,537-word missive resembled similar proclamations …
FIling: Lone Palm Labs, the startup behind friend-focused photo sharing app Retro, raised a $21M Series A from Thrive Capital and others
There's a social media app I like using more than Instagram or TikTok — and it's attracted serious investor interest.
Internal memo: Meta's AI agent Hatch “has its own computer” to perform tasks, works when the app is closed, can connect to email, Instagram, OpenTable, and more
It can DJ. It can order food. It can book you a table at a restaurant. And of course, it can access your Instagram.
A look at Beijing's AGI Bar, the unofficial clubhouse for China's AI industry where entrepreneurs trade gossip, recruit talent, and court investors over beers
Beloved by entrepreneurs, coders and investors, AGI Bar offers a window into the startup ecosystem challenging Silicon Valley.
Meta's AG settlement says its age verification framework will use “reliable age signals” shared with it by “OS and app stores operated by Apple and Google”
And within days, they're running full …
Anthropic releases findings from a pilot that let external researchers run studies on Claude usage; one study found users delegate high-stakes tasks
Tencent releases Hy4 Preview, a 770B-parameter open model with 1M context window, and says it outperforms Z.AI and Moonshot models in internal tests
Tencent Holdings Ltd. released a foundation model it says outperforms rivals Z.AI Co. and Moonshot AI in internal tests …
OpenAI is testing a “Persistent mode” in Codex, designed to let AI agents “continue working until put to sleep” and proactively generate follow-up tasks
Samsung unveils the Galaxy S26 FE, offering an Exynos, not Qualcomm, chipset, 12GB of RAM, a dialed-back camera system from the S26, for $700+, a $50 price jump
How Shein pivoted to a Hong Kong IPO and sought to build Chinese government ties, after its New York and London bids failed to secure Beijing's approval
X launches NFL Gametime, an integrated NFL feed and hub featuring live data, scores, statistics, creator content, and more through to the 2027 Super Bowl
Plaud unveils Plaud One, a $250 pair of 4G, eSIM-enabled AI earbuds with coverage in 80+ countries and $200 in AI feature credits; Plaud is making 2,000 units
Nvidia says its commitments to component suppliers for its AI chips and systems hit $279B in Q2, up from $119B in Q1, $95.2B in Q4 2025, and $50.3B in Q3 2025
and what it means for enterprise IT buyersTobias Burns /CNBC:Nvidia's blowout earnings contained some red flagsJim Osman /Forbes:Nvidia Stock Blowout Earnings Reveal A $279 Billion Bet On AIAdam Clark...
Gambit Security: Russian-speaking ransomware gang Aur0ra used SpaceX's Cursor AI coding assistant to breach at least seven companies between April 8 and May 21
Kalshi partners with Weather Co. to verify climate and weather prediction market settlements; Kalshi says weather vertical trading volume will hit $1.1B in 2026
Uber says weekly AI agent requests have grown 9.4x since February, but total AI spending has stayed stable since April, after using up its 2026 AI budget in Q1
After burning through its IT budget in the first quarter of the year, Uber has now stabilized its AI bills even as usage surges, the company tells Axios.
Sources: federal authorities prepare to charge a US serviceman and a KPMG employee with insider trading on prediction markets, as part of a new batch of cases
Nevada-based identity verification and fraud prevention startup Socure raised $156M at a $5.2B valuation and acquires Austin-based agentic AI startup Fravity
Sources: Town, which develops enterprise personal AI assistants, is in talks to raise at a $1B valuation in a round led by Index Ventures
Sources: DeepSeek is set to soon raise $7.4B at a $74B valuation from existing and new investors to fund R&D and its expansion into computing infrastructure
Cybersecurity stocks surge, with Okta up 29% and CrowdStrike up 20.5%, after earnings showed that AI adoption is driving attacks and spending on security tools
Here's Why He Says Anthropic Is ResponsibleBrandon Evans /Seeking Alpha:CrowdStrike rockets as Q2 results demonstrate AI-related market share gains: analystsMalik Ahmed Khan /Morningstar:CrowdStrike E...