Salt Lake City, which faces a staffing shortfall, plans to implement AI-assisted 911 call triaging to handle ~30% of about 450K non-emergency calls per year — Move to artificial intelligence for some nonemergency calls is expected to help human responders focus on the urgent ones.
A profile of Chess.com, which has popularized online chess among pro athletes, as CEO Erik Allebest says the site has over $100M in annual revenue and 35M MAUs — Social media is a minefield for pro sports players. But online chess offers rankings, instant analysis, wholesome interactions and few trolls.
How Chinese AI companies bypass US chip restrictions by transporting hard drives with AI training data to Malaysian data centers housing advanced Nvidia chips — Engineers carry data to countries where Nvidia chips are available, frustrating Washington's aims
The Army Reserve launches Detachment 201, an innovation corps with Palantir CTO, Meta CTO, and other tech execs advising on AI and tech as lieutenant colonels — Silicon Valley executives are joining a new innovation corps in Army Reserve — The nerd brigade is reporting for duty.
Google plans to shut down Android's Instant Apps, which let users launch apps without installing them, later this year citing low usage and engagement — The installation-free apps will join the Google graveyard in December. … Google has confirmed that it plans to shut …
Sources: Tencent is in early talks to acquire Nexon, the South Korean gaming giant behind Dungeon & Fighter Mobile; Tencent pursued a Nexon acquisition in 2019 — Shenzhen-based Tencent has reached out to the family of Nexon's late founder Kim Jung-ju to discuss the possibility of an acquisition …
Sources: Walmart, Amazon, and Expedia have recently explored issuing or using stablecoins in the US to potentially save fees from cash and card transactions — Corporate coins could take payments activity away from banks and the traditional financial system
SAG-AFTRA ends the 300+ day video game actors strike after reaching a tentative deal for a new Interactive Media Agreement with the major video game companies — The union had taken a stand on artificial intelligence, among other concerns, as it looked to advocate for voice and performance capture workers.
A profile of Twitch streamer and YouTuber Ross Minor, blind since age 8, who is an advocate and consultant for blind-accessible video games like Sea of Thieves — Ross Minor lost his eyesight at 8 years old. Today, he's a hardcore gamer who runs YouTube and Twitch channels and consults for big studios.
macOS Tahoe 26 hands-on: Liquid Glass is slick but slightly overwrought, and the new Spotlight search features are nifty and useful, but fall short of Raycast — Tahoe is all about power users and theme options borrowed from the iPhone. … At WWDC, Apple announced its new Liquid Glass design language …
UK retailer M&S begins accepting online orders again, seven weeks after disclosing a sustained cyberattack that cost it up to £300M in this financial year — Retailer says it will take ‘weeks’ to restore some online services as fashion ranges return
Protesters against immigration raids in LA damaged and set several Waymo autonomous taxis on fire on Sunday; Waymo says it is working with law enforcement — As police struggled with another day of unrest in downtown L.A., several Waymo autonomous taxis were set on fire, sending thick plumes of black smoke billowing high into the air.
Maryland-based quantum computing company IonQ agrees to acquire Oxford Ionics, which spun out of Oxford University, in a $1.07B all-stock deal, closing in 2025 — Acquisition of Oxford Ionics for $1.1bn shows advances in processing are kick-starting dealmaking
Treefera, which uses satellite imagery, drone imagery, and AI to provide real-time insights into supply chains, raised a $30M Series B led by Notion Capital — Treefera delivers real-time, first-mile traceability using adaptive AI, satellite imagery and financial-grade risk modelling.
A look at the intensifying race for super apps in the Gulf, as Careem, Talabat, Amazon, Botim, and Noon consolidate various services into single platforms — From Dubai to Riyadh, apps are consolidating ride-hailing, payments, and delivery into single platforms. — The race for super-apps is intensifying in the Middle East.
Meir Orbach / CTech : Docs: Israeli AI chip startup Hailo is pursuing an urgent IPO via a SPAC merger at a valuation of less than $500M; ...
