After X’s ban in Brazil, Tumblr reports ~350% user growth

Bluesky isn’t the only social networking service to benefit from X’s ban in Brazil, now under legal penalties. Tumblr this week is also reporting an increase in both active users and blog creation, the company tells technewss. According to Tumblr, in the days since the X ban in Brazil

LinkedIn has stopped grabbing UK users’ data for AI

The U.K.’s data protection watchdog has confirmed that Microsoft-owned LinkedIn has stopped processing user data for AI model training for now. Stephen Almond, executive director of regulatory risk for the Information Commissioner’s Office, wrote in a statement on Friday: “We&nbs

Microsoft taps Three Mile Island nuclear plant to power AI

The data centers that train the large language models behind AI consume unimaginable amounts of energy, and the stakes are high for big tech companies to ensure they have enough power to run those plants. That’s why Microsoft is now throwing its weight behind nuclear power. The tech giant on

Health insurance startup Alan reaches $4.5B valuation with new $193M funding round

Alan, the French insurance unicorn, just signed a multi-faceted deal with Belfius, one the largest banks in Belgium, that includes a distribution partnership along with a significant financial investment in the startup. Belfius is leading Alan's Series F funding round of €173 million (around

India’s Physics Wallah raises $210M at $2.8B valuation even as edtech funding remains scarce

Physics Wallah, an Indian edtech startup, has secured $210 million in fresh financing amid a tough funding environment for edtech companies in the country following the collapse of Byju’s, once the biggest company in the space. Physics Wallah said on Friday the Series B round was led by the

John Mulaney skewers San Francisco tech crowd at Dreamforce

Attendees of the giant, annual Dreamforce conference in San Francisco love being the butt of the joke. Last year, Seth Meyers entertained them during a 40-minute set that poked fun at the tech industry's liberal use of self-affirmations. “You are achieving, you are amplifying, you are acceler

Indian filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma abandons human musicians for AI-generated music

Indian filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma is ditching human musicians for artificial intelligence, saying he’ll use only AI-generated tunes in future projects, a move that underscores AI’s growing reach in creative industries. The filmmaker and screenwriter, known for popular Bollywood movies s

Chipmaker Qualcomm lays off hundreds of workers in San Diego

Qualcomm, which makes chips for smartphones, said it will lay off 226 workers in San Diego later this year, according to a California WARN notice published this week. The layoffs, which were first reported by The San Diego Union-Tribune, will take effect the week of November 12. The layoffs affect

SpaceX disputes $633K FAA fine, citing ‘systematic challenges’ with agency

SpaceX sent a letter to top congressional leaders on Wednesday denying allegations that it violated its launch licenses on two separate occasions last year, which has resulted in regulators seeking $633,009 in penalties from the company. Instead, the company asserts that the inability of the Feder

Elon Musk’s reposts of Kamala Harris deepfakes may not fly under new California law

California’s newest law could land social media users who post, or repost, AI deepfakes that deceive voters about upcoming elections in legal trouble. Governor Gavin Newsom suggests that AB 2839, which went into effect immediately after he signed it on Tuesday, could be used to reel in the re

FTC report on predatory social media data hoarding hints at future regulations

A new FTC report on how social media and streaming sites collect and monetize their hoards of user data doesn’t really feature a lot of surprises for anyone who’s followed the space. It’s more helpful to consider this part of a paper trail the agency is laying down in order to jus

This robotic knee exoskeleton is made from consumer braces and drone motors

Robotic exoskeletons are an increasingly popular method for assisting human labor in the workplace. Those that specifically support the back, however, can result in bad lifting form by the wearer. To combat this, researchers at the University of Michigan have built a pair of robot knee exoskeletons

Apple, Google wallets now support California driver’s licenses

California residents can now store their driver’s license or state ID in their Apple Wallet apps, the state’s government announced on Thursday. California started allowing digital IDs through Google Wallet just last month. Californians with an ID in the Apple Wallet or Google Wallet ap

Virtuous, a fundraising CRM for nonprofits, raises $100M from Susquehanna Growth Equity

I recently adopted a kitten from a local animal shelter. The modern, well-staffed three-story facility relies almost entirely on donations to operate. It’s just one of the 1.8 million nonprofits in the U.S. that need to continually solicit contributions from donors to maintain its services.