Docs: Israeli AI chip startup Hailo is pursuing an urgent IPO via a SPAC merger at a valuation of less than $500M; it was last valued at $1.2B in 2024 — Israeli firm seeks critical funding through a SPAC merger amid mounting market pressures. — Israeli chip company Hailo …
A US bill seeks to ban exports of DUV lithography tech to China, whose imports of chipmaking equipment reportedly grew from $10.7B in 2016 to ~$51.1B in 2025 — The MATCH Act would tighten existing restrictions on a critical choke point for the AI industry, banning exports of certain manufacturing tools across China.
Some startups and researchers who can't access the most advanced chips are adopting a “frugal AI” approach, building smaller models on open-weight systems — Amid a widening global divide in AI adoption, low-cost AI models that can deliver sovereignty and efficiency …
The US NLRB rules that Amazon must negotiate with the Amazon Labor Union, which represents ~5K workers at its Staten Island warehouse; Amazon plans to appeal — Amazon (AMZN.O) must negotiate with a labor union representing some 5,000 workers at a company warehouse on Staten Island …
Sources: the US State Department ordered embassies to push back against foreign influence campaigns, as officials worry anti-US views are taking root worldwide — The war in Iran has exposed the need to mount a defense against foreign influence campaigns, officials and experts say.
Alibaba releases Qwen3.6-Plus, its third proprietary, closed-source AI model launched within a three-day period, saying it “drastically enhanced” agentic coding — Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has released its third proprietary AI model in as many days, reinforcing the company's intent …
Sources: amid the Iran war, Asian bankers say rising power prices and energy security are becoming a bigger consideration in data center financing decisions — The energy shock sparked by the Iran war is increasingly coming up in conversations about data center deals for Asian bankers …
Microsoft says it is on track to invest $5.5B in cloud and AI infrastructure in Singapore through 2029, after announcing plans to invest $1B+ in Thailand — The investment will also go toward ongoing operations, it said — Microsoft is on track to invest $5.5 billion in cloud …
UK accountancy regulator FRC says auditors can't blame AI for audit failures, after it published what it called the world's first guidance on auditor AI usage — Financial Reporting Council issues guidance stressing need for human oversight — The UK's accountancy regulator has told auditors …
AI has led some employers like L'Oréal to return to in-person assessments during recruiting, as senior HR leaders see a steep rise in AI-generated applications — Employers wading through job applications are returning to in-person and practical assessments
A look at Coinbase One and other insurance-like plans for crypto users that typically exclude coverage for many kinds of account hacks, including phishing scams — When Matthew Allan realized nearly $100,000 in Bitcoin was missing from his Coinbase account, he wasn't too worried.
Bluesky's CEO talks about their new app, Attie, an agentic social app built on Bluesky's AT Protocol, which uses Claude and enables users to build custom feeds — The team from Bluesky has built another app — and this time, it's not a social network, but an AI assistant that allows …
Hong Kong-listed AI drug discovery company Insilico Medicine and Eli Lilly sign a drug co-development deal worth up to $2.75B, with $115M in upfront payments — BEIJING — U.S. pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly has reached a $2.75 billion deal to bring drugs developed using artificial intelligence …
An AI-generated TikTok parody of reality series Love Island, called Fruit Love Island, averaged 10M+ views across its first 21 episodes after debuting last week — ‘Fruit Love Island’ averages over 10 million views for each of its episodes — A new viral dating show featuring sexy …
Sources: Ross Nordeen, the last remaining cofounder at xAI, left the company on Friday; Nordeen reported directly to Elon Musk as his right-hand operator — Follow Grace Kay … - Elon Musk started xAI with 11 cofounders in 2023. — The last remaining one, Ross Nordeen, has now exited the company.
Madison Mills / Axios : Google's philanthropic arm, Google.org, commits $50M to help train 300K+ skilled trade workers across the US,...
