Detroit startup Grounded has a Lego-like way of designing EV vans for small businesses

When Also Capital managing partner Mike Annunziata walks around New York City these days, he sees lots of vans — and opportunity. It’s something he admits he never noticed until he met former SpaceX engineer Sam Shapiro, who is the founder of a new Detroit-based modular electric RV sta

Swiggy escalates India quick-commerce battle with 10-minute meals

Swiggy, India’s leading food delivery startup, said Friday it has started to deliver meals in 10 minutes across parts of major cities, intensifying the quick-commerce race in the world’s second-largest internet market.  The Bengaluru-headquartered startup, which is targeting to go pub

Facebook launches a Gen Z-focused redesign

Facebook wants to woo more younger users to join its social network, instead of spending all their time on TikTok, Instagram, and other social apps. To do so, parent company Meta on Friday announced a series of changes to the older social network which will put greater emphasis on local community i

Kenya fines Baltic fintech Eleving’s local arm for misleading customers

Kenya’s competition authority has fined Baltic lender Eleving‘s Kenyan subsidiary for misleading its customers, casting a spotlight on the continuing unethical operations of a section of digital lenders in the country despite a new law. The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) imposed

Gmail users on iOS can now ask Gemini questions about their emails

Select Gmail users on iOS can now chat with Google’s Gemini chatbot about their inbox directly within the app, the company announced this week. The feature, which is called Gmail Q&A, was first rolled out to Android users back in August. Now, it’s available on iOS to Google One AI

The Browser Company launches Arc Search on Android

The Browser Company, the startup behind the alternative web browser Arc, announced on Thursday it’s launching its Arc Search browser on Android in open beta in a move to become a cross-platform app. Arc, already had apps in the Apple ecosystem until last year, then launched a Windows cl

Meta’s Movie Gen model puts out realistic video with sound, so we can finally have infinite Moo Deng

No one really knows what generative video models are useful for just yet, but that hasn’t stopped companies like Runway, OpenAI, and Meta from pouring millions into developing them. Meta’s latest is called Movie Gen, and true to its name turns text prompts into relatively realistic vide

Many companies won’t say if they’ll comply with California’s AI training transparency law

On Sunday, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill, AB 2013, requiring companies developing generative AI systems to publish a high-level summary of the data that they used to train their systems. Among other points, the summaries must cover who owns the data and how it was procured or licen

Rivian deliveries fall as component shortage slows production

Rivian said on Friday it will build fewer vehicles this year than it did in 2023 due to a supply chain problem that popped up in the third quarter and has now “become more acute in recent weeks.” The company did not specify the components impacted, only saying that it is one shared by

Meta faces data retention limits on its EU ad business after top court ruling

The European Union’s top court has sided with a privacy challenge to Meta’s data retention policies. It ruled on Friday that social networks, such as Facebook, cannot keep using people’s information for ad targeting indefinitely. The judgement could have major implications on the

Waymo’s next robotaxi will be the Hyundai Ioniq 5

Waymo has struck a deal with Hyundai to bring the Ioniq 5 EV to its robotaxi network, adding another autonomous vehicle option as it scales up its business. The autonomous vehicle company announced Friday that it expects to start on-road testing a Waymo-equipped Ioniq 5 by late 2025, with the AV b

159 employees are leaving Automattic as CEO’s fight with WP Engine escalates

Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg said on Thursday that 159 employees (roughly 8.4% of staff) accepted a severance package that the company had offered to those who disagreed with his direction of WordPress and his handling of the tussle with web hosting provider WP Engine. In a blog post, Mullenweg s

Even the ‘godmother of AI’ has no idea what AGI is

Are you confused about artificial general intelligence, or AGI? It’s that thing OpenAI is obsessed with ultimately creating in a way that “benefits all of humanity.” You may want to take them seriously since they just raised $6.6 billion to get closer to that goal. But if you

Apple plans four new retail stores in India

Apple is planning to open four new retail stores in India and has begun manufacturing the iPhone 16 Pro models domestically, the company said as it deepens its presence in the world’s second-largest smartphone market. The U.S. tech giant plans to launch stores in Bengaluru, Pune, Delhi-NCR,