AI sector minted 50+ new billionaires in 2025; Crunchbase: investors poured $200B+ into AI startups in 2025, or about 50% of global funding, up from 34% in 2024 — Record activity in the AI sector this year has boosted dozens of founders and business executives into the billionaire ranks.
Tesla's robotaxi service in Austin significantly trails Waymo, deploying an estimated 30 cars with safety drivers, vs. Waymo's 200 cars without human monitors — Shares of Tesla have hit new highs on optimism about the company's self-driving taxis. But experts say Tesla is far behind Waymo, which has a big head start.
A look at the humans employed to rescue robotaxis; Waymo uses the Honk app to pay $20 to $24 to manually close robotaxi doors and $60 to $80 to tow its cars — A recent power outage in San Francisco shows how vulnerable self-driving vehicles can be when problems arise.
A look at Detroit's Apple Developer Academy, launched after the BLM protests, which spends $20K per student, nearly 2x the budget of local community colleges — Apple, Michigan taxpayers, and one of Detroit's wealthiest families spent roughly $30 million training hundreds of people to build iPhone apps.
Italy's antitrust authority orders Meta to suspend contractual terms that bar rival AI chatbots from WhatsApp; Meta calls the decision “fundamentally flawed” — Italy's antitrust authority (AGCM) on Wednesday ordered Meta Platforms (META.O) to suspend contractual terms …
Sources: India raises concerns about the misuse of Indian phone numbers on WhatsApp, which banned 9.8M Indian accounts per month on average in 2025 to October — The Indian government is concerned about the widespread misuse of Indian mobile numbers on platforms like WhatsApp, with millions of accounts banned monthly for violations.
The European Commission says Apple will bring AirPods-like pairing and iPhone notification access to third-party devices under the DMA in iOS 26.3 in 2026 — The European Commission today praised the interoperability changes that Apple is introducing in iOS 26.3, once again crediting the Digital Markets Act …
How AI can work across scales, from individuals to organizations to economies, like steel and the steam engine before it, as AI arrives as “infinite minds” — Steam, Steel, and Infinite Minds
How the global AI boom is driven by thousands of newcomers, diluting Big Tech's infrastructure dominance; US data center credit deals hit $178.5B in 2025 so far — In the golden hills of Puglia, a southern region of Italy known today for its olive trees, white cliffs and turquoise mediterranean coves …
Google's TPUs and Gemini are competitive but Nvidia's and OpenAI's first-mover advantage makes their lead seem durable, and Google faces the innovator's dilemma — Two prevailing narratives have driven markets recently. The first is that Nvidia Corp.'s moat is eroding primarily thanks …
Sources detail SoftBank's efforts to raise funds as it races to close its $22.5B funding commitment to OpenAI by the end of this year — SoftBank Group (9984.T) is racing to close a $22.5 billion funding commitment to OpenAI by year-end through an array of cash-raising schemes …
Sources: tech lobbyists say that David Sacks' push for an EO blocking state AI laws undercut their efforts to craft a permanent, bipartisan federal solution — President Donald Trump's aggressive move to block states from regulating artificial intelligence is splitting the tech lobby …
Q&A with Blizzard President Johanna Faries on company staff bonus transparency, working under Xbox leadership, restoring the NetEase partnership, and more — Johanna Faries, who took over as president of Blizzard in 2024, reveals what's coming from the storied studio — Hi everyone.
US CHIPS Act-funded SMART USA Institute, focused on digital twins for chipmaking, says the Department of Commerce will terminate its $285M five-year contract — SMART USA, a $285-million center devoted to digital twins, loses funding — The head of a U.S. CHIPS and Science Act-funded center devoted …
Inside NeurIPS 2025, and how it has transformed from a small academic conference into a massive industry event with 24,000+ attendees, yacht parties, and more — It used to be a small gathering just for nerdy researchers. Now there are yacht parties—and everyone is feeling bubbly.
New York Times : Sources: the US State Department ordered embassies to push back against foreign influence campaigns, as officials worry ...
