Tech
AI Summary
- AI continues to dominate headlines, with OpenAI facing scrutiny over its AI agents and security practices, while also making strides in areas like code generation and potential song watermarking.
- Significant funding rounds are fueling AI and cloud infrastructure startups, with Naïve raising $28.5M for company automation and Mirendil securing over $100M for Google Cloud AI scaling.
- Cybersecurity remains a critical concern, highlighted by a hacker pleading guilty to stealing data from numerous Snowflake customers and OpenAI's AI agents allegedly being exploited for hacking.
- Major tech players are exploring new consumer-facing AI applications, including Google Wallet's secure balances for kids and dating apps like Ditto leveraging AI for matchmaking.
- Hardware and infrastructure development are also in focus, with Tesla and SpaceX planning a massive chip factory in Texas and Meta launching Muse Code for large code bases.
Sources
TechCrunch
-
Naïve raises $28.5M to automate the grunt work of setting up and running a company
31 minutes ago
by Ram Iyer
AI, Fundraising, Startups, AI agents, AI infranstructureTaking vibe-coding a step further, Naïve claims its infra can automate most of the work in setting up and running a business.
-
Hacker pleads guilty to stealing data from more than 165 Snowflake customers
an hour ago
by Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai
Security, cybercrime, data breach, doj, In Brief, SnowflakeConnor Moucka pled guilty to hacking and stealing data from more than 165 Snowflake customers, which net him and his accomplices more than $2.5 million in ransom payments.
-
TikTok lays off 250 employees, shutters its Nashville office
an hour ago
by Aisha Malik
Apps, Social, In Brief, Layoffs, TikTokThe social media giant is shuttering an office that housed some members of TikTok’s content-moderation team.
-
Google Wallet now lets parents set up secure balances for their kids
2 hours ago
by Aisha Malik
Apps, google walletThe tech giant says the new feature will allow parents to teach their kids healthy financial habits while maintaining oversight over their child's spending with built-in safeguards.
-
Gen Z dating apps like Ditto ditch swiping in favor of AI matchmaking
2 hours ago
by Amanda Silberling
AI, Apps, Social, dating apps, dittoThis generation of twentysomethings is so disillusioned with swipe-based dating apps that they'll try literally anything else — even an AI matchmaker.
Hacker News
- Mario Meets Pareto 6 hours ago
- Launch HN: ProvenMetal (YC S26) delivers circuit boards in days instead of weeks 2 hours ago
- Show HN: The Channels SDK – Bring Any Agent to Any Channel (Slack, MS Teams) an hour ago
- Humans missed 1 in 3 threats approving AI agent commands across 40k game runs 6 hours ago
- Cities Are Ditching Flock, Replacing It with Axon License Plate Readers 33 minutes ago
The Verge
-
OpenAI is giving ChatGPT free users unlimited text chats
32 minutes ago
by Jay Peters
AI, News, OpenAIOpenAI is making a big change for ChatGPT users on its free and Go tiers: starting next week, users on those tiers will be able to have unlimited text chats with the chatbot, according to OpenAI . Right now, you may run into rate limits if you do too many text chats on those tiers, but those limits, just for text, will be going away soon. Messages that include things like file uploads and images will continue to have limits. Next week, OpenAI is also adding a "Think" button for free and Go users that they can use to "access
-
TikTok blames ‘moderator error’ on slow response to Perez Hilton livestream
an hour ago
by Emma Roth
Creators, News, Policy, Tech, TikTokTikTok says a "moderator error" delayed the removal of a livestream that appeared to show blogger Perez Hilton harming himself, as reported earlier by Wired . Jamie Favazza, a spokesperson for TikTok US, tells The Verge that the platform notified law enforcement about the situation and banned Hilton's account for violating its community guidelines. Hilton, or Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr., is known for the celebrity gossip blog he started in 2004, where he often posted photos of stars featuring his own often obscene or cruel drawings layered on top. Though some users claimed Perez's livestream aired for more than 30
-
Apple increases trade-in offers and adds new Android devices
2 hours ago
by Stevie Bonifield
Apple, iPad, iPhone, News, TechApple bumped up its trade-in offers for iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watches, and certain Android phones, with some devices now worth over $100 more, 9to5Mac reports. The Mac Studio's trade-in value increased the most, going up by $260. While some devices' offers are unchanged, most got an increase of around $5 to $20, with a few seeing an increase of over $100: MacBook Pro ($855, previously $690) Mac Pro ($2,195, previously $2,045) Mac Studio ($1,305, previously $1,045) Additionally, Apple is now offering trade-in credit for a handful of new Android devices: Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G ($95) Google Pixel 9
-
SoftBank donated $50 million to Trump’s library months before federal data center deal
3 hours ago
by Emma Roth
AI, News, Policy, PoliticsThe Portsmouth, Ohio site where SoftBank will build its data center. | Image: US Department of Energy SoftBank contributed $50 million to the Trump Presidential Library in January, just months before announcing that it's leasing land from the federal government to build a sprawling data center in Ohio. The Japanese company revealed the timing in response to a June letter from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM), which raised concerns about bribery. "Are we expected to believe it's a coincidence that two months after Softbank donated $50 million to the Trump library, his
-
It’s the last day to get a $350 gift card with your Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 preorder
3 hours ago
by Cameron Faulkner
Deals, Gadgets, Verge ShoppingSamsung’s latest foldable Android phones, the Z Fold 8, Fold 8 Ultra, and Flip 8, release tomorrow, August 7th. Today is the final day when you can place a preorder , and really the only reason we’re suggesting that is because you’ll get some freebies that will go away upon release. We have an entire article that breaks down what you’ll get with each phone, but we’ll put the major details here to make things easy. Amazon is including a $350 gift card with either the $2,099.99 Z Fold 8 Ultra or the $1,899.99 passport-style Z Fold 8. Best Buy
Wired
-
DeepMind Says Its AI Can Predict Hurricanes Earlier Than Everyone Else
an hour ago
by Victoria Turk
Science, Science / Environment, Looking, AheadIts WeatherNext model, which will be open-sourced, can accurately predict both a storm’s track and intensity using lower-resolution weather data. Researchers don't yet fully understand how it does this.
-
There’s No Good Way to Talk About Celebrities and Eating Disorders
2 hours ago
by Kat Tenbarge
Culture, Culture / Digital Culture, Media, DietOnline speculation over the weight loss of celebrities like Ariana Grande—even out of genuine concern—can make things worse for people struggling with eating disorders.
-
5 Best AI Notetakers (2026), Tested and Reviewed
5 hours ago
by Christopher Null
Gear, Gear / Buying Guides, Gear / Products / Home Office, Buying, GuideA growing collection of pocket-size gadgets lets you easily make recordings and extract info from them. Here are our favorites.
-
Meteor Showers, Eclipses, and More Are on the August 2026 Astronomical Calendar
6 hours ago
by Jorge Garay
Science, Science / Space, Eyes, on, the, SkyHere’s when some of this year’s most anticipated astronomical events will happen and the best way to observe them.
-
Best Android Charger: Wireless, Portable, Cable (2026)
6 hours ago
by Louryn Strampe
Gear, Gear / Products / Phones, Buying, GuideWhether you’re charging overnight at home or on the go, these are the fastest, most dependable Android chargers we’ve tested.