Starbucks Faces New Strike as Labor Dispute Over Pay and Staffing Pressures Turnaround Efforts
Starbucks is confronting another strike from unionized baristas at a moment when the company is attempting to revive sales through faster service, store updates, and a renewed emphasis on its…
Skims Reaches $5 Billion Valuation After Raising $225 Million in New Funding
Skims, the shapewear company co-founded by Kim Kardashian, has secured $225 million in new investment, pushing its valuation to $5 billion. The funding round, which includes backing from a Goldman…
Deepwatch Cuts Dozens of Jobs as Company Shifts Resources Toward AI Automation
Cybersecurity company Deepwatch has laid off dozens of employees as part of a restructuring effort tied to expanding its investment in AI and automation. The company, which develops an AI-powered…
Researcher Develops Bat-Inspired Robots for Search and Rescue Missions
A researcher at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is designing small flying robots modeled after bats to support search and rescue teams in places where smoke, dust, rough terrain, or harsh…
Apple Rolls Out Digital ID for Passport Verification at 250+ TSA Checkpoints
Apple has introduced Digital ID, a passport-on-phone feature that lets travelers use their iPhone or Apple Watch to present a digital copy of their U.S. passport at TSA checkpoints in…
Anthropic Commits $50 Billion to U.S. Data Centers in Partnership With Fluidstack
Anthropic has announced a $50 billion data center buildout across the United States through a new partnership with U.K.-based neocloud provider Fluidstack, marking its largest infrastructure investment to date. The…
Airbnb Tests Kitchen Stocking Service With Instacart for U.S. Guests
Airbnb is launching a pilot program with Instacart that allows guests to order groceries directly through the Airbnb app before or during their stay, marking the latest expansion of Airbnb’s…
Elden Ring: Nightreign DLC ‘The Forsaken Hollows’ Arrives December 4
FromSoftware has announced The Forsaken Hollows, the first major DLC for Elden Ring: Nightreign, its co-op survival spinoff of the acclaimed open-world RPG. The expansion will release on December 4,…
ElevenLabs Launches AI Marketplace for Licensing Celebrity Voices in Ads
AI audio company ElevenLabs has unveiled the Iconic Voice Marketplace, a new online platform that allows brands to legally license and use AI-replicated voices of famous figures in advertisements and…
Researchers Warn AI Chatbots Are Enabling Eating Disorders and Deepfake ‘Thinspiration’
AI chatbots are increasingly being used in ways that can conceal or sustain eating disorders, according to new research from Stanford University and the Center for Democracy & Technology. The…
Google Introduces Private AI Compute to Balance Privacy and Performance
Google is rolling out a new cloud-based platform designed to power advanced AI features while maintaining strong user privacy protections. The system, called Private AI Compute, functions similarly to Apple’s…
Threads Targets Podcasters With New Features to Foster Show Discussions
Meta’s social platform Threads is turning its attention to podcasters, introducing new features designed to make the app a central hub for podcast-related conversations and community engagement. Announced Tuesday, the…
Google Photos Expands AI Editing and Search Features to More Users Worldwide
Google Photos is rolling out a new set of AI-powered tools designed to make editing and searching photos more intuitive across devices. The update introduces enhanced object and people editing,…
Meta’s Chief AI Scientist Yann LeCun Reportedly Planning to Leave to Start His Own AI Venture
Yann LeCun, Meta’s chief AI scientist and one of the most influential figures in artificial intelligence, is reportedly preparing to leave the company to launch his own startup, according to…
Former Harvard Physician Launches Robyn, an Empathetic AI Companion Focused on Emotional Connection
A former physician and Harvard resident, Jenny Shao, has left her medical career to launch Robyn, an AI companion designed to provide empathetic, emotionally intelligent support for users seeking personal…
Hacker Turns $3 Wi-Fi Light Bulb Into a Working Minecraft Server
Minecraft’s reputation for running on almost anything just got a new benchmark. A hardware enthusiast known as vimpo has successfully turned a cheap Wi-Fi light bulb into a functioning Minecraft…
Wikipedia Urges AI Companies to Stop Scraping and Use Its Paid API Instead
Wikipedia’s parent organization, the Wikimedia Foundation, has issued a public call for AI developers to access its vast trove of content through its paid Wikimedia Enterprise API rather than scraping…
YouTubers Move Beyond Ads: Creators Turn to Brands, Businesses, and Billion-Dollar Ventures
YouTube’s creator economy continues to grow, but many of its biggest stars are no longer relying on ads and sponsorships for income. As advertising policies shift and monetization becomes less…
Google Maps Introduces AI Tools for Building Interactive, Map-Based Projects
Google Maps has launched a suite of AI-powered developer tools designed to make it easier to create interactive, data-driven projects using Maps data and APIs. The updates, announced Monday, include…
Venmo Launches “Venmo Stash” Rewards Program, Offering Up to 5% Cash Back on Debit Card Purchases
Venmo is expanding its payment ecosystem with a new cash back rewards program for debit card users. Announced Monday, the feature — called Venmo Stash — offers up to 5%…