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20 Stories IndexedLachy Groom backs Indian startup aiming to keep aircraft aloft for a year
Founded by a 20-year-old, Alteon is developing autonomous aircraft that hopes to harvest wind energy to stay aloft for several months.
Apple shares ‘shocking evidence’ against former employee accused of stealing company data for OpenAI
Apple alleges a former employee stole proprietary data and tried to destroy evidence after learning of an internal investigation. The company says the theft was intended to benefit OpenAI.
Polymarket reportedly raises $300 million from Donald Trump Jr.’s investment fund
The firm, 1789 Capital, led the funding round that reportedly will total around $1 billion.
a16z brings growth fund to $8.5B days after launching new $1.1B fund
Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz has successfully raised significant new capital for its investment portfolios. This development follows the recent launch of a separate $1.1 billion fund, further expanding the firm's financial capacity to support emerging companies.
A group funded by Andreessen, Horowitz, and Brockman plans data center ads to sway midterms
Build American AI plans to lobby voters in select states about the virtues of data centers by spending millions of dollars on ads.
FTC accuses Amazon of running a ‘secret ad surcharge scheme’ in new lawsuit
The Federal Trade Commission and 22 states have filed a lawsuit against Amazon, alleging that the company covertly imposed higher fees on businesses for its advertising services. The complaint claims Amazon concealed the surcharge from advertisers, effectively charging them more than disclosed. Amazon has not yet responded to the allegations.
The Pentagon now has its own version of ChatGPT and Grok
The Department of Defense has added its own versions of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and SpaceXAI’s Grok to the Pentagon’s central AI portal, joining Google’s Gemini. The portal consolidates multiple generative‑AI tools for use across the military. The expansion increases the range of AI resources available to defense personnel.
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Apple’s top App Store exec, Phil Schiller, follows wave of exits as CEO Tim Cook steps down
The longtime executive won't be leaving Apple just yet but staff at the company say it's a step closer to Schiller retiring.
Microsoft tests fix for latest hours-long Outlook outage
Microsoft is testing a solution for the recent Outlook service disruption. The outage caused delays and failures in sending and receiving emails for many users. The company says the fix is being evaluated before broader deployment.
Kalshi bans George Santos for life over State of the Union bets
Kalshi, a regulated event trading platform, has permanently barred former congressman George Santos from using its services after he placed bets on the outcomes of the State of the Union address. The ban follows a recent settlement in which the Commodity Futures Trading Commission resolved charges against Santos related to his trading activities.
Harvard Law dropout raises $6M for Blue Voice to build a ‘Harvey for police officers’
The seed round for the app that provides real-time legal and policy guidance to officers was led by SignalFire and Las Olas VC.
Hackers claim millions of patient records stolen during data breach at healthcare giant McKesson
The company, which distributes medicines and medical devices to hospitals and healthcare practices across the U.S., said it was hacked and expects intermittent service degradation.
Ryan Breslow is raising up to $27M in pay-to-play bridge funding to save Bolt
Bolt founder Ryan Breslow is personally investing $5 million into a new pay-to-play bridge funding round to rescue the checkout startup. The company previously achieved a valuation of $11 billion before facing significant controversy and financial challenges.
Tim Cook’s parting message: Apple is in the hands of a product builder
Tim Cook’s farewell memo to Apple staff emphasizes that his successor, John Ternus, should be viewed as a seasoned product builder. The note highlights Ternus’s experience across major hardware lines such as the iPhone, Mac, and AirPods. Cook frames the transition as a continuation of Apple’s focus on hardware development.
VLC crosses 7 billion downloads
In our world of expensive streaming platforms, the very free and offline VLC media player has crossed 7 billion downloads.
How AI could make it harder for governments to use hacking tools
AI is proving effective at finding and exploiting vulnerabilities. Some say this will make it harder for governments to use hacking tools and spyware and could reignite calls to backdoor devices.
MapQuest’s app surges to No. 1 in Navigation after refusing to rename Lake Ontario
MapQuest’s navigation app has risen to the top spot in its category. The boost follows the company’s refusal to adopt President Trump’s proposed renaming of Lake Ontario. Users appear to be rewarding the stance by choosing the app over competitors.
Meeting notetaker Circleback adds a free tier to attract more customers
Circleback is also introducing new pricing plans starting from $14 per month
The U.S. is building barriers around drones and robots, but China has scale to get around them
American restrictions on foreign-made drones and unmanned systems are increasing. However, China's vast manufacturing capacity allows its robotics industry to shift focus to other international markets. As a result, global competition is likely to persist outside of the United States.