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Tech

AI Summary

  • AI continues to drive major industry moves, with Microsoft pushing Copilot usage, Apple acquiring an AI startup, and Google integrating new generative AI tools across its products.
  • Elon Musk is in talks to merge xAI with SpaceX, consolidating his ventures while Tesla's energy storage division experiences significant growth.
  • Robotaxi services are expanding their reach to major locations like San Francisco International Airport, despite ongoing concerns and incidents regarding their safety.
  • Meta's Reality Labs is still incurring multibillion-dollar losses, but Mark Zuckerberg projects a future reduction as the company pivots more towards AI and AR glasses.
  • The AI industry is facing increasing legal scrutiny over copyright, highlighted by music publishers filing a substantial lawsuit against Anthropic for alleged content piracy.

TechCrunch


Hacker News


Engadget

  • Waymo begins service at San Francisco International Airport an hour ago by Will Shanklin
    Travel & Tourism, Transportation, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Will Shanklin

    As fans and media prepare to descend on the Bay Area for Super Bowl LX, what does a high-tech city like San Francisco do? Why, call in the robotaxis, of course. On Thursday, Alphabet's Waymo began offering fully autonomous rides at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). There are some limits. For now, SFO access is restricted to "a select number of riders." However, access will gradually expand over the coming months. The service is also limited to the SFO Rental Car Center (pickups and drop-offs) at launch. Waymo says it will expand to other airport locations, including terminals, "in the future." The

  • Apple acquires Q.ai for a reported $2 billion 2 hours ago by Anna Washenko
    Mergers, Acquisitions & Takeovers, Investment & Company Information, Technology & Electronics, Finance, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Anna Washenko

    Apple has acquired Israel-based startup Q.ai, a move that could provide a much-needed boost to the tech giant's capabilities in artificial intelligence. Although Apple has not disclosed terms of the deal, sources told Financial Times that the arrangement is reportedly valued at nearly $2 billion. If that figure is accurate, the Q.ai acquisition marks Apple's second largest acquisition to date, followed by its purchase of Beats for $3 billion back in 2014. Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware technologies, said in a statement that Q.ai "is a remarkable company that is pioneering new and creative ways to use imaging

  • Music publishers sue Anthropic for $3 billion over ‘flagrant piracy’ 2 hours ago by Lawrence Bonk
    Music, Business, Celebrities, Company Legal & Law Matters, Arts & Entertainment, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Lawrence Bonk

    A group of music publishers led by Concord Music Group and Universal Music Group are suing Anthropic, according to a report by Reuters. The suit accuses the AI company of illegally downloading more than 20,000 copyrighted songs, including sheet music, lyrics and compositions. These songs were then allegedly fed into the chatbot Claude for training purposes. There are some iconic tunes named by Universal in the suit, including tracks by The Rolling Stones, Neil Diamond and Elton John, among many others. Concord is an independent publisher that handles artists like Common, Killer Mike and Korn. The publishers issued a statement saying that

  • Google's Project Genie lets you generate your own interactive worlds 2 hours ago by Igor Bonifacic
    Technology & Electronics, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Igor Bonifacic

    This past summer, Google DeepMind debuted Genie 3. It’s what’s known as a world world, an AI system capable of generating images and reacting as the user moves through the environment the software is simulating. At the time, DeepMind positioned Genie 3 as a tool for training AI agents. Now, it’s making the model available to people outside of Google to try with Project Genie. To start, you’ll need Google’s $250 per month AI Ultra plan to check out Project Genie. You’ll also need to live in the US and be 18 years or older. At launch, Project Genie offers three

  • How to watch the 2026 Super Bowl: Patriots vs. Seahawks channel, start time, where to stream and more 3 hours ago by Liz Kocan
    American Football, Sports & Recreation, National Football League, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Liz Kocan

    The New England Patriots are headed to the 2026 Super Bowl. (Lauren Leigh Bacho via Getty Images) Lauren Leigh Bacho via Getty Images Drake Maye and the New England Patriots face Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks at Super Bowl LX, which will be held at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, CA this year. For those of you who don't have your calendars blocked off already, the game is on February 8, with kickoff scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET.  Like all other Sunday Night Football games this season, the championship game will be broadcast on NBC, and will stream live on Peacock. (Oh,


The Verge

  • The best foldable phone you can buy 26 minutes ago by Allison Johnson
    Buying Guides, Foldable Phones, Gadgets, Mobile, Tech, Verge Shopping

    A foldable phone isn’t for the faint of heart. They’re generally heavier, pricier, and have less capable cameras than a standard slab-style phone. They’re also still not as durable as regular smartphones, though they’re not nearly as fragile as they once were. In fact, thanks to Google, we finally have a foldable phone we can take with us to the beach. There are basically two kinds of foldables at the moment — the kind that fold like books and the ones that fold clamshell style, like your old flip phone. Here’s how I think of it: a book-style foldable is like

  • Elon Musk’s SpaceX and xAI might merge into one company an hour ago by Jay Peters
    AI, Elon Musk, News, Science, Space, SpaceX, Tech, xAI

    SpaceX and xAI, which are both led by Elon Musk, are "in discussions to merge" ahead of SpaceX's IPO that's planned for later this year, Reuters reports. The merger would help with SpaceX's plans to launch data centers into space, according to the publication. The specific timing and value of the potential merger are unclear. SpaceX is considering an IPO date in mid-June, the Financial Times reported this week. xAI and SpaceX didn't immediately reply to a request for comment from The Verge. If SpaceX merges with xAI, it would put the rocket company in the same house as Grok, which is

  • Apple’s second biggest acquisition ever is an AI company that listens to ‘silent speech’ an hour ago by Richard Lawler
    AI, Apple, Audio, Business, News, Tech

    Apple's biggest acquisition ever is still its $3 billion Beats buy in 2014, but now the second biggest deal is bringing in Q.ai, a four-year-old AI audio startup. Apple did not disclose the terms, but Financial Times reports that Apple is spending $2 billion on the company. It also mentioned Q.ai patents for optical sensor technology that could be built into headphones or glasses to recognize "facial skin micro movements," allowing for non-verbal discussions with an AI assistant, for example. The founders of Q.ai will join Apple, including CEO Aviad Maizels, who founded PrimeSense. Apple bought that company in 2013 and

  • Obsbot’s new gimbal webcam doesn’t justify its $350 price an hour ago by Cameron Faulkner
    Gadgets, Hands-on, Reviews, Tech

    Webcam company Obsbot recently launched two new gimbal-equipped webcams, the $349 Tiny 3 and the $199 Tiny 3 Lite. It claims that the priciest model is the smallest pan, tilt, zoom (PTZ) 4K webcam ever made, weighing 63 grams. Ironically, the Tiny 3 Lite is heavier and bigger. I've been testing the Tiny 3 for a couple of weeks, and here's what you should know about it. Compared to Insta360's newish $249 Link 2 Pro, the Tiny 3 has a slightly bigger sensor and more AI-powered features, including voice control and voice tracking. It also has MEMS mics, which are supposedly

  • Everything is gambling now: the latest news on prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi 2 hours ago by Verge Staff
    Business, Crypto, News, Policy, Tech

    Prediction markets will let you bet on just about anything, from how many tweets Elon Musk will post this week to the next president of the United States, with predictions sometimes showing shockingly (or suspiciously) spot-on accuracy. Polymarket’s CEO Shayne Copland has even claimed that prediction markets are “the most accurate thing we have as mankind right now.” However, these platforms blur the lines — in terms of both function and regulation — between gambling and stock trading. As Bloomberg’s Joe Weisenthal said on The Vergecast, “All of the lines between trading, speculating, [and] gambling are just being completely torn apart.” There


Wired

  • The 45 Best Movies on HBO Max Right Now (February 2026) 44 minutes ago by Jennifer M. Wood, WIRED Staff
    Culture, Culture / Movies, Guides

    One Battle After Another, The Smashing Machine, and Sinners are just a few of the movies you should be watching on HBO Max this month.

  • AI-Generated Anti-ICE Videos Are Getting the Fanfic Treatment 2 hours ago by Jason Parham
    Culture, Culture / Digital Culture, Alternate, Reality

    Across Instagram and Facebook, AI-generated videos show people of color putting ICE agents in their place. Are they cathartic or just adding to a stew of misinformation?

  • A Yann LeCun–Linked Startup Charts a New Path to AGI 2 hours ago by Joel Khalili
    Business, Business / Artificial Intelligence, Model, Behavior

    As the world’s largest companies pour hundreds of billions of dollars into large language models, San Francisco-based Logical Intelligence is trying something different in pursuit of AI that can mimic the human brain.

  • Our Favorite Open Earbuds Are $60 Off 2 hours ago by Brad Bourque
    Gear, Gear / Deals, Gear / Products, Gear / Products / Headphones, Gear / Products / Audio, Deal, of, the, Day

    The Anker Soundcore Aeroclip earbuds boast great sound without cutting you off from the outside world.

  • ICE Pretends It’s a Military Force. Its Tactics Would Get Real Soldiers Killed 3 hours ago by John Publius
    The Big Story, Security, All, Hat,, No, Cattle

    WIRED asked an active military officer to break down immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis and elsewhere.


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