Alphabet’s record-breaking $85B raise for Google’s AI business is a helluva good signal
If Alphabet’s record-breaking, $85 billion stock sale signals investor appetite for AI-related offerings, we can see that investors are ready to chow.
Tech
Meta mercifully spun out VR fitness game Supernatural instead of just killing it
Meta appears to have listened to the Supernatural users who protested the app’s sad fate after sweeping layoffs.
Substack’s new ‘Reply Rules’ feature lets creators control how people respond
Substack’s new Reply Rules feature is currently available for all English-language publications and is designed to give creators greater control over how their audiences respond.
Google’s Dreambeans, its weirdest-named AI tool to date, will turn your life into a cartoon
Dreambeans is a curated list of AI-illustrated “stories” culled from the personal data in your Google account.
The best Qi2 batteries for iPhone and Pixel
Compact power banks have gotten a lot faster in the past year — and it’s not just their USB-C charging speeds that have received a boost. The newest Qi2.2-certified models can wirelessly charge an iPhone 16 or later at up to 25W. Combine that with their ability to magnetically snap on via MagSafe, and you’ve […]
As AI gets better, it reveals an empty promise
This week we’ve got tandem hands-ons with Google’s new Gemini AI agent – Spark – from my colleagues David Pierce and Jay Peters. Their takeaways are similar: It’s so effective that it’s scary. Spark knew that David’s dog is named Frida and knew the first name of Jay’s wife, even though neither of them explicitly […]
Ultrahuman says hackers accessed customers’ wellness data via internal tool
The breach at wearable ring maker Ultrahuman stemmed from credentials stolen from a malware-infected employee laptop.
Carvana ties up with Bezos-backed Slate Auto as it plans new car sales
Carvana was granted a warrant to buy shares in Slate last year, according to documents obtained by TechCrunch. Guggenheim Partners CEO Mark Walter is heavily invested in both companies.
Instagram is alerting users who were targeted by hackers during AI chatbot attacks
Hackers appeared to take over victims’ accounts even after Meta said it fixed its AI-powered support chatbot, which granted hackers access to victims’ accounts.
Amazon’s search bar will invent AI-generated products you can’t buy
Amazon’s updated search bar will now show you AI-generated images of products as you describe them. For now, the in-app feature only surfaces AI images of clothing and home goods, allowing you to tap on the image that best matches what you’re looking for and search for similar-looking items. In a blog post, Amazon positions […]