Google expands NotebookLM Plus to individual users

Google has expanded NotebookLM Plus, a paid version of its AI-based note-taking and research assistant, to individual users subscribed to the Google One AI Premium plan — almost two months after its debut for enterprises on Google Cloud and via Google Workspace. First announced in December

Bird cuts 120 jobs as part of ‘strategic realignment’

Cloud communication service Bird has cut 120 jobs — roughly one-third of its total workforce. The Amsterdam-based firm — formerly known as MessageBird — plans to realign its global operations amid the ongoing AI boom, technewss has exclusively learned. Bird has since confirmed th

Apple fixes iPhone and iPad bug used in an ‘extremely sophisticated attack’

On Monday, Apple released updates for its mobile operating systems for iOS and iPadOS, which fixed a flaw that the company said “may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals.” In the release notes for iOS 18.3.1 and iPadOS 18.3.1, the compa

Macron urges Europe to simplify its regulations to get back into the AI race

All eyes were on French President Emmanuel Macron Sunday at the end of the first day of the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris after he announced a €109 billion investment package (around $112 billion at current exchange rates) in the French AI ecosystem. He reiterated this financial

Rivian opens commercial van sales to all businesses

Rivian will sell its commercial electric vans to any U.S. business that wants one — more than a year since ending an exclusivity deal with backer Amazon. The company will sell two vans — the smaller 500 and the larger 700 — but buyers will have to be registered businesses, according to the c

Perplexity’s Super Bowl ‘tweet’ increased app installs by 50%

Perplexity’s Super Bowl contest managed to move the needle on its app’s downloads. Unlike OpenAI and Google, the AI search engine chose to forgo an expensive Super Bowl ad in favor of a tweet — sorry, an X post — encouraging users to download its app and enter a contest that

Mistral gets down to business

Hundreds of heads of states, tech CEOs, and nonprofits have flocked to Paris for the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit. So far, the winner of this week's diplomatic and business parade seems to be Mistral. In business lingo, we would say that the French AI unicorn is experiencing tailwinds.

Revel nabs $60M in New York state funding to build more EV chargers

As President Donald Trump attempts to freeze funding for a $5 billion federal EV charging infrastructure program, some states are stepping up. EV charging infrastructure startup Revel secured on Monday a $60 million loan from New York’s clean energy investment fund NY Green Bank to more than

Tech giants and startups join forces to call for simpler EU rules on AI, data

As the AI Summit got underway in Paris on Monday, some 60 European companies — from incumbent industrial giants to AI startups (including France’s large language model maker Mistral) — signed up to an initiative to help establish Europe as a leader in AI. But the fact that they felt

Global police operation seizes 8base ransomware gang leak site

A group of international law enforcement agencies have seized the dark web leak site of the 8base ransomware gang as part of a takedown operation.  “This hidden site and the criminal content have been seized by the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office on behalf of the Office of the Public

Google-backed public interest AI partnership launches with $400M+ for open ecosystem building

Make room for yet another partnership on AI. Current AI, a “public interest” initiative focused on fostering and steering development of artificial intelligence in societally beneficial directions, was announced at the French AI Action summit on Monday. It’s kicking off with an in

UK’s secret Apple iCloud backdoor order is a global emergency, say critics

In its latest attempt to erode the protections of strong encryption, the U.K. government has reportedly secretly ordered Apple to build a backdoor that would allow British security officials to access the encrypted cloud storage data of Apple customers anywhere in the world. The secret order — i

AI-driven ads take the field during the 2025 Super Bowl

We've officially experienced an AI Super Bowl, people. As everyone tuned in to watch the annual championship game, the biggest buzz wasn't just about the Eagles’ blowout win and Kendrick Lamar performing his Grammy-winning diss track at the halftime show. It was also about AI being

Lyft to launch Mobileye-powered robotaxis ‘as soon as 2026,’ starting with Dallas

Ride-hail giant Lyft plans to bring fully autonomous robotaxis, powered by Mobileye, to its app “as soon as 2026” in Dallas, with more markets to follow, technewss has exclusively learned. The news comes a day before Lyft reports its fourth-quarter financial results, coinciding with Waymo'