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Thu, Apr 23, 2026, 6:33 PM EDT

Tech

AI Summary

  • Meta is undergoing significant layoffs, cutting approximately 10% of its workforce, while Microsoft is also reportedly offering voluntary buyouts to a similar percentage of its US employees, signaling a period of restructuring in the tech industry.
  • OpenAI has unveiled GPT-5.5, a model that reportedly moves the company closer to its vision of an AI 'super app' and shows improvements in coding efficiency, though Anthropic's Mythos cybersecurity tool experienced an unauthorized access incident.
  • Regulatory scrutiny is increasing, with countries considering bans on social media for children and New York suing prediction markets for alleged illegal gambling, while investigations into AI companies like OpenAI are also underway.
  • Startups are actively seeking funding and developing new technologies, with Era raising $11M for AI gadgets and Salmon securing $100M for digital credit, alongside advancements in hardware like Framework's eGPU kit and new drone releases from DJI.
  • Security remains a critical concern across the tech landscape, highlighted by data breaches at Vercel and France's national agency, a compromise of the Bitwarden CLI, and concerns about sensitive data like UK Biobank health information appearing on GitHub.

TechCrunch


Hacker News


Engadget

  • Microsoft is reportedly offering voluntary buyouts to up to 7 percent of its employees 3 hours ago by Ian Carlos Campbell
    Internet & Networking Technology, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Ian Carlos Campbell

    Microsoft is planning to get rid of more US employees via its first voluntary buyout program, CNBC reports. The buyout program will reportedly be offered to US employees at "the senior director level and below whose years of employment and age add up to 70 or higher," and could cover up to 7 percent of the company's US workforce.  With around 125,000 employees in the US as of June 2025, that could mean up to 8,750 will be offered a paid exit when Microsoft begins its program in May. That's a smaller figure than the 15,000 or so employees the company

  • Meta is downsizing by about 10 percent 3 hours ago by Anna Washenko
    Technology & Electronics, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Anna Washenko

    Meta is making another steep cut to its staff, this time to the tune of a 10 percent reduction in its workforce. About 8,000 people will be laid off and about 6,000 open jobs will also be eliminated, according to Bloomberg. In an internal memo from Janelle Gale, Meta's head of human resources, the latest cuts are "part of our continued effort to run the company more efficiently and to allow us to offset the other investments we’re making." Those "other investments" are likely in artificial intelligence. Meta is building its own models and apparently training them on its own staff.

  • Titanium Court mashes together genres and cultural references to tell a strange, funny tale 4 hours ago by Kris Holt
    Video Games, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Kris Holt

    I would love to tell you everything about my favorite game of the year so far. But that would be doing a great disservice to Titanium Court. I'm not even sure I could explain it all, anyway. Titanium Court is a run-based game with elements of permanent progression, so it's technically a roguelite. However, you cannot really break Titanium Court like you can with Balatro. There are multiple ways to win a run, but you have to play by the rules. Gradually learning what those are — and how the game suddenly changes them — is a big part of what

  • X is shutting down its Communities feature 4 hours ago by Ian Carlos Campbell
    Software, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Ian Carlos Campbell

    X is closing its Communities feature in May, X Head of Product Nikita Bier has announced. Communities were introduced before Twitter was acquired and rebranded by Elon Musk, and act as a way for users to create, join and moderate public groups focused on a particular interest. Communities make it possible to follow a feed made up of only the people or subject matter you care about, but they haven't been used at the scale the social platform wanted. "Communities had a great vision, but they were used by less than 0.4% of users — yet contributed to 80% of spam

  • Apple, Amazon join push for looser greenhouse emissions reporting 5 hours ago by Anna Washenko
    Government Agencies, Government, Pollution & Waste, Climate Change, Environment, Nature & Environment, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Anna Washenko

    The Greenhouse Gas Protocol, a widely used international environmental standard for measuring and reporting emissions, is considering changes to how certain types of the emissions are reported. Advocates for the new guidance argue that the current rules make it too easy for businesses to overstate their commitments to environmentally friendly operations, such as being powered by renewable energy or making progress toward net-zero emissions.  Today, some major tech companies joined a call pushing back against the new guidance, asking for the new reporting rules to be optional rather than required. The joint statement argued that the proposed policies would reduce investments


The Verge

  • Claude is connecting directly to your personal apps like Spotify, Uber Eats, and TurboTax 28 minutes ago by Stevie Bonifield
    AI, Anthropic, News, Tech

    Claude users can access more apps with Anthropic's AI now thanks to new connectors for everything from hiking to grocery shopping. Anthropic already supported connecting numerous work-related apps to Claude, like Microsoft apps, but this expansion focuses on personal apps like Audible, Spotify, Uber, AllTrails, TripAdvisor, Instacart, TurboTax, and others. Some of these apps, such as Spotify, already have similar connectors in OpenAI's ChatGPT. Once an app is connected, Claude will suggest relevant connected apps directly in your conversations, like using AllTrails for hike recommendations. Anthropic notes in its blog post announcing the n … Read the full story at The Verge.

  • Brendan Carr’s war on wokeness targets inclusive children’s television an hour ago by Charles Pulliam-Moore
    Entertainment, Film, News, Policy, TV Shows

    Under the guidance of consummate bully / chairman Brendan Carr, the FCC is taking steps towards cracking down on children's entertainment that in any way explores the complexities of gender identity. On Wednesday, the FCC's Media Bureau announced that it is soliciting comments from the public about whether the TV ratings system has made sound decisions regarding children's programming with transgender or non-binary characters. In a statement about the commenting period the FCC said that it was soliciting feedback due to an alleged uptick in "significant concerns" about whether "controversial gender identity issues are being included or prom … Read the full

  • Sonos’ big sale on refurbished speakers is about to end 3 hours ago by Cameron Faulkner
    Deals, Gadgets, Verge Shopping

    The green model of the Move 2 shown here is sold out at Sonos’ refurbished site, but the black or white models are up for grabs. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Portable audio and home theater upgrades can be very pricey, which is why we make a habit out of telling readers when there are good deals happening. With that in mind, here’s a friendly reminder that a heap of refurbished Sonos gear is steeply discounted, and will be until the company’s sale ends April 24th. It’s an opportunity to get refurbished tech that is delivered in like-new condition,

  • Meta is laying off 10 percent of its staff 3 hours ago by Jay Peters
    AI, Meta, News, Tech

    Mark Zuckerberg presenting at Meta Connect on September 17th, 2025. | Bloomberg via Getty Images Meta is planning to layoff around 10 percent of employees in May, according to a memo from the company's chief people officer, Janelle Gale, published by Bloomberg. That means approximately 8,000 people will see their jobs cut. Meta will also be closing around 6,000 open roles, according to Gale. The cuts follow Meta's significant investments in AI, including spending huge sums to hire top talent and build data centers. The company forecast in January that it will spend $115 billion to $135 billion in capital expenditures in

  • ‘We Are Xbox’: read the memo defining Microsoft’s gaming future 4 hours ago by Tom Warren
    Gaming, Microsoft, News, Tech, Xbox

    Asha Sharma. | Image: The Verge, Microsoft Microsoft's new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has laid out a new strategy for what she describes as a "return of Xbox." In a joint memo with Xbox Chief Content Officer Matt Booty, Sharma and Booty lay out their vision for the future of Xbox that will be judged on daily active players and the priorities of hardware, content, experience, and services. "Players are frustrated," admits Sharma and Booty. "New feature drops on console have been less frequent. Our presence on PC isn't strong enough. Pricing is getting harder for people to keep up with. And


Wired


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