Tech
AI Summary
- The tech industry is deeply immersed in the AI revolution, with companies like Google integrating Gemini across its products and services, while others grapple with AI security implications and the ethical considerations surrounding its use, as highlighted by the Pope's recent encyclical on the subject.
- Major tech players are making significant strategic moves, evidenced by Amazon's competitor Stord raising substantial funding, Airbnb expanding its service offerings into hotels and groceries, and SpaceX's continued development and testing of its Starship rocket.
- The future of work is under scrutiny, with insights drawn from mass layoffs at companies like ClickUp and discussions around AI's role in the workplace, including the emergence of mandatory AI training and the challenges of justifying AI spending.
- Innovation in consumer tech continues with advancements in smartglasses by Xreal and Google, new wearable devices like Amazon's Bee, and personal audio upgrades from Sennheiser, alongside intriguing developments in gaming with remakes and new engine releases.
- While AI dominates headlines, other sectors are seeing significant VC interest, such as India's rooftop solar market with SolarSquare's funding talks, and the burgeoning electric vehicle market, exemplified by Ferrari's new EV designed with input from Jony Ive.
Sources
TechCrunch
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Amazon fulfillment competitor Stord raises $250M at $3B valuation
an hour ago
by Julie Bort
TC, Venture, e-commerce, Startups, Stord, Strike CapitalStord was founded in 2015 by then-college students CEO Sean Henry and CTO Jacob Boudreau while they were still at Georgia Tech.
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What ClickUp’s mass layoff tells us about the future of work
21 hours ago
by Marina Temkin
Startups, AI, layoff, ClickUpThe nine-year-old startup is replacing hundreds of employees with thousands of AI agents.
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The pope’s AI encyclical isn’t really about AI
a day ago
by Rebecca Bellan
AI, ai encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, pope leo xiv, the vaticanPope Leo XIV's first encyclical uses AI as a lens to diagnose older problems: concentrated power, eroding democracy, and a tech elite that shapes the world to its own advantage.
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The pitch trick that helped an eSports startup raise $20M when VCs only wanted AI
a day ago
by Julie Bort
Startups, Venture, esports, esports tournaments, ark investEarlier this year, Lucra Sports founder and CEO Dylan Robbins did something that no one else has ever done. And he shared several secrets on how he did it.
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Startup Battlefield 200 applications close in days: Apply before May 27
a day ago
by TechCrunch Events
TC, Startups, Crypto, Climate, Fintech, Biotech & Health, AI, Robotics, Fundraising, Startup Battlefield, TechCrunch Disrupt 2026The deadline to apply or nominate for Startup Battlefield 200 is May 27. This is your shot at VC access, global visibility, TechCrunch coverage, and $100,000. Apply now.
Engadget
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Spotify is adding long-form articles to its audiobook library
an hour ago
by Mariella Moon
NewsSpotify has teamed up with publications, including Rolling Stone, Variety, Billboard, WIRED and Pitchfork to offer subscribers narrated articles.
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Ferrari Luce unveiled: Here's the first car from Jony Ive's design house
17 hours ago
by Tim Stevens
EVs and TransportationOur first look at a complete version of Ferrari's upcoming luxury EV that was designed by LoveFrom.
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Chicks hatched from artificial eggshells, a new mission to study Earth's magnetosphere and more science stories
3 days ago
by Cheyenne MacDonald
ScienceThis week's science news.
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Myst and Riven remakes, the return of Bubsy and other new indie games worth checking out
3 days ago
by Kris Holt
GamingAmong the indie games we've seen worth checking out is a puzzle platformer inspired by mental health challenges and turning failures into progress.
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Oppo Find X9 Ultra vs. Vivo X300 Ultra: Battle of the telephoto smartphones
4 days ago
by Mat Smith
SmartphonesWe put the Oppo Find X9 Ultra up against the Vivo X300 Ultra to see which telephoto smartphone reigns supreme.
The Verge
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AI warfare is already here
an hour ago
by Hayden Field
AI, Analysis, Anthropic, Law, OpenAI, Policy, ReportThe Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, an international forum that focuses on lethal autonomous systems, is hosted twice a year at the United Nations in Geneva. When Branka Marijan attended in November 2017, she thought the five-day sessions - which dealt largely in hypotheticals, speculating on a world where warfare was fought with killer robots - would be business as usual. After all, this was technology some thought might never be developed, and likely never deployed. That year, she quickly realized, was different. That distant, imagined future was suddenly closer and realer than ever. On the first day, some attendees
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Spotify is narrating magazine articles now
an hour ago
by Jess Weatherbed
Entertainment, News, Spotify, StreamingWould you listen to magazine articles on Spotify? The streaming platform certainly hopes so, as it's launching a new format for narrated long-form articles , alongside its usual array of music, podcasts, and audiobooks. Starting today, more than 650 articles from publications including Rolling Stone , The Atlantic , Vogue , Variety , Billboard , Vibe , GQ , Wired , Vanity Fair , and Pitchfork will be available in English in regions where Spotify's audiobooks are available. The narrated articles are all under two hours long, and available under the monthly audiobook allowance for Premium users. Spotify says that
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Uber president says AI spending is getting ‘harder to justify’
3 hours ago
by Jess Weatherbed
AI, Business, News, Ride-sharing, Transportation, UberUber president Andrew Macdonald (pictured) says its “hard to draw a line” between AI spending and deliverable features. | Photo: Zed Jameson/ Bloomberg via Getty Images After reportedly exhausting its annual AI budget just four months into 2026, Uber is now questioning whether it's actually seeing meaningful returns on its investments. In an interview with Rapid Response , Uber president and chief operating officer Andrew Macdonald said the company isn't seeing a connection between rising token consumption for Claude Code and more useful features being delivered to consumers. "That link is not there yet, right? I think maybe implicitly there
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A battery-powered Starlink Mini is likely on the way
4 hours ago
by Thomas Ricker
Science, Space, SpaceX, TechThis, but no cable. | Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge Code in recent Starlink firmware suggests that SpaceX might soon release a version of its smallest internet dish with an integrated battery. A battery-powered Starlink Mini would offer untethered portability for vanlifers, emergency responders, and anyone who wants fast, low-latency internet from almost anywhere on the planet. University researcher Jinwei Zhao spotted a number of strings hinting at the integrated battery in a May firmware release, according to PCMag . The " message DishBatteryStats " line suggests code designed to return specific fields from an integrated battery, including
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Sennheiser’s new Momentum 5 headphones have upgraded ANC and a replaceable battery
15 hours ago
by Andrew Liszewski
Audio, Gadgets, Headphones, News, TechSennheiser is sticking with the redesign it introduced with the Momentum 4 Wireless. | Image: Sennheiser Nearly four years after the last version of Sennheiser's Momentum headphones debuted with a redesign that traded a retro aesthetic for a more contemporary and comfortable design, the company has announced its Momentum 5 Wireless headphones. They look very similar to their predecessors, the Momentum 4 , with large ear cups and a design that doesn't quite stand out from the competition. But under the hood there are welcome upgrades, including improved ANC and, for the first time, a user-replaceable battery to extend their
Wired
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The Cookware Industry Has a Major Fight Brewing Over PFAS Claims
2 hours ago
by Molly Taft
Science, Science / Environment, Sticky, SituationThere’s a new front in the war over the safety of chemicals used to make nonstick pans.
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AI Agents Plunged the Tech World Into Chaos. Here’s Exactly How That Happened
3 hours ago
by Steven Levy
The Big Story, Business, Business / Artificial Intelligence, Bot, InvasionThe definitive story of how Claude Code and OpenClaw kicked off computing’s biggest transformation possibly ever.
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Quiz: Will AI Destroy Your Career?
3 hours ago
by Maddy Varner
Business, Business / Artificial Intelligence, OccupiedSome jobs may be toast. Some will survive. Click your answers to learn your fate.
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AI Is Taking Over the Most Cursed Job in the World
3 hours ago
by Kate Knibbs
The Big Story, Business, Business / Artificial Intelligence, Eve, JobsThere’s a mad dash to automate the world’s most hated calls. Have an unpaid bill? You’ll hear from an AI debt collector sometime soon.
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I Spent a Week Recording Myself Doing Chores for Money. Who's the Robot Now?
3 hours ago
by Reece Rogers
The Big Story, Business, Business / Artificial Intelligence, I,, RobotCooking. Doing laundry. Tidying up. All your household tasks can be turned into data to train future humanoids—if you’re prepared for the consequences.