Waymo may use interior camera data to train generative AI models, but riders will be able to opt out

Waymo is preparing to use data from its robotaxis, including video from interior cameras tied to rider identities, to train generative AI models, according to an unreleased version of its privacy policy found by researcher Jane Manchun Wong, raising fresh questions about how much of a rider’s

Mira Murati’s AI startup gains prominent ex-OpenAI advisers

Ex-OpenAI CTO Mira Murati’s new AI venture, Thinking Machines Lab, has gained two new prominent advisers: Bob McGrew, previously OpenAI’s chief research officer, and Alec Radford, a former OpenAI researcher behind many of the company’s more transformative innovations. Thinking Ma

Amazon unveils a new AI voice model, Nova Sonic

On Tuesday, Amazon debuted a new generative AI model, Nova Sonic, capable of natively processing voice and generating natural-sounding speech. Amazon claims that Sonic’s performance is competitive with frontier voice models from OpenAI and Google on benchmarks measuring speed, speech recognit

Snapchat rolls out Sponsored AI Lenses for brands

Snapchat is introducing Sponsored AI Lenses, a new ad format that lets brands engage with consumers in an immersive way. While Snapchat has offered brands the opportunity to pay for sponsored lenses on the platform for years, now they can leverage AI-generated experiences powered by Snap’s pr

Blackbird gobbles up $50M for its blockchain-based payment-loyalty app for restaurants

A founder who has carved out a name for himself building products to help restaurants connect better with would-be diners has raised $50 million for his latest startup: a new take on the idea of customer loyalty.  Blackbird Labs has built a payments-meets-loyalty-meets-blockchain platform for

Sizl raises $3.5M to expand its cook-to-order food delivery service

Dark kitchens — also referred to as ghost kitchens, cloud kitchens, or virtual kitchens — often receive criticism for their food quality. Sizl, a cook-to-order delivery service based in Chicago, seeks to change this perception by delivering meals made with fresh ingredients in around 30

XL Batteries is using petrochemical infrastructure to store solar and wind power

Plenty of materials — from sulfur and sodium to manganese and organic molecules — have tried to topple the ubiquitous lithium-ion battery. And, so far, they've all failed. Organic batteries, which are built from some of the most abundant chemicals here on Earth, including carbon, oxygen, a

Meta introduces restricted Teen Accounts to Facebook and Messenger

Meta is introducing Teen Accounts to Facebook and Messenger. The feature, which automatically enrolls young users into an app experience with built-in protections, will be available on these platforms in the U.S., U.K., Australia, and Canada before expanding to additional regions in the future. Te

Turkey’s Sipay raises $78M to expand its Stripe-like services into emerging markets

Billing itself as “Stripe for emerging markets,” Turkish fintech Sipay has raised a $78 million Series B funding round, claiming a valuation of $875 million in the process. This round is significant, as Sipay plans to expand into markets outside of Turkey, offering additional services

IBM releases a new mainframe built for the age of AI

IBM is releasing the latest version of its mainframe hardware that includes new updates meant to accelerate AI adoption. The hardware and consulting company on Monday announced IBM z17, the latest version of its mainframe computer hardware. This fully encrypted mainframe is powered by an IBM Telum

Amazon says its AI video model can now generate minutes-long clips

Amazon has upgraded its AI video model, Nova Reel, with the ability to generate videos up to two minutes in length. Nova Reel, announced in December 2024, was Amazon’s first foray into the generative video space. It competes with models from OpenAI, Google, and others in what’s fast be

Nikola founder Trevor Milton wants to buy the bankrupt startup’s assets

Nikola founder Trevor Milton, who was recently pardoned after being convicted of securities fraud, is trying to buy the assets of his former company out of bankruptcy, according to new court filings and a person familiar with the matter. Nikola filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Februar

Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen's high-stakes test amid tariff turmoil: ‘You can't be freaking out’

At 11 a.m. in California last Thursday, the day after President Donald Trump declared sweeping new tariffs under what he dubbed “Liberation Day,” Ryan Petersen was live on camera, fielding questions from a virtual room packed with more than 2,300 anxious customers. The founder and CEO of Flexpo

Meta exec denies the company artificially boosted Llama 4’s benchmark scores

A Meta exec on Monday denied a rumor that the company tuned its new AI models to present well on specific benchmarks while concealing the models’ weaknesses. The executive, Ahmad Al-Dahle, VP of generative AI at Meta, said in a post on X that it’s “simply not true” that Met