A federal district court in Northern California ruled in favor of Cameo, a platform that allows users to get personalized video messages from celebrities and ordered OpenAI to stop using “Cameo” in its products and features. OpenAI was using the “Cameo” name for its AI-powered video-generation app Sora 2. Users could use that feature to insert digital likenesses of themselves into AI-generated videos. In a ruling filed Saturday, the court said the name was similar enough to cause user confusion and rejected OpenAI’s argument that “Cameo” was merely descriptive, finding that “it suggests rather than describes the feature.” In November,the court granted a temporary restraining order to Cameoand stopped OpenAI from using the word. The AI company thenrenamed the feature to “Characters”after that order. “We have spent nearly a decade building a brand that stands for talent-friendly interactions and genuine connection, and we like to say that ‘every Cameo is a commercial for the next one,” Cameo CEO Steven Galanis said in a statement. “This ruling is a critical victory not just for our company, but for the integrity of our marketplace and the thousands of creators who trust the Cameo name. We will continue to vigorously defend our intellectual property against any platform that attempts to trade on the goodwill and recognition we have worked so hard to establish,” he noted. “We disagree with the complaint’s assertion that anyone can claim exclusive ownership over the word ‘cameo,’ and we look forward to continuing to make our case,” an OpenAI spokesperson toldReutersin response to the ruling. OpenAI has been involved in several intellectual property cases in recent months. Earlier this month, the company ditched “IO” branding around its upcoming hardware products, according to court documents obtained byWired. In November, digital library app OverDrive sued OpenAIover its use of “Sora”for its video-generation app. The company is also in legal disputes withvarious artists, [... 2,075 chars total]

On this February 18th, here's what's making waves across the tech world. A federal court in Northern California has sided with Cameo, the platform for personalized celebrity videos, and a trademark fight against OpenAI. The judge ordered OpenAI to stop using the word Cameo in its products, ruling that it was too similar to Cameo's brand and could confuse users. OpenAI had named a feature in its Sora 2 AI video tool Cameo, letting people insert digital versions of themselves into generated clips. The court rejected OpenAI's claim that the name was just descriptive, saying it actually suggested the service in a way that mimicked Cameo's vibe. Cameo CEO called it a huge win for their brand, which they built over nearly a decade on real connections with creators. He stressed they'll keep defending their name against copycats. OpenAI pushed back, arguing no one owns the word Cameo exclusively. Back in November, the same court issued a temporary order halting OpenAI's use, prompting them to rename the feature, characters. That quick change shows how seriously courts are taking these branding clashes in AI. OpenAI faces a wave of intellectual property battles lately, from ditching aisle branding for hardware, to fights over Sora from a digital library app, plus suits from artists and media groups worldwide. This Cameo ruling adds to the pressure as AI companies navigate trademarks. This episode is proudly sponsored by our partner, Headphones in a Pillow. Once you try it, it just makes sense. S-O-L-I, solelypillow.com.

SeatGeekannouncedon Wednesday a new integration with Spotify, bringing a seamless ticket-buying experience for Spotify users. Now when Spotify users browse an artist’s page or upcoming tour dates, they will see ticket links powered by SeatGeek for concerts at these participating venues, allowing for a streamlined purchase process. Currently, the integration is available for a select group of venues where SeatGeek serves as the primary ticket seller. Specifically, it covers SeatGeek’s 15 major U.S. venue partners, including State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Nissan Stadium in Nashville, and AT&T Stadium in Arlington. (So, although SeatGeek is a major player in the secondary ticketing space, this integration is exclusive to venues where it operates as the primary ticketing platform.) This is a strategic win for SeatGeek. With direct placement in the Spotify app, SeatGeek is positioned to reach millions of active music fans as they discover upcoming events, increasing the chances of converting listeners into ticket buyers. Although SeatGeek has made significant strides in the space, it continues to face competition from heavyweights Ticketmaster and AXS. These rivals command a greater share of the ticketing market, bolstered by long-term contracts with many top venues and event organizers. It’sestimatedthat Ticketmaster alone services 53 of the top 68 U.S. arenas. Even Barclays Center, which switched from Ticketmaster to SeatGeek in 2021,quickly reversed courseless than a year into a seven-year agreement and ended the deal to return to Ticketmaster. Notably, the latest partnership follows Spotify’sannouncementthat it has helped artists generate over $1 billion in ticket sales by linking fans with live events through its ticketing partners. The company works with more than 45ticketing partners, including Ticketmaster, AXS, Eventbrite, DICE, and Bandsintown. Spotify previously experimented withdirect ticket salesin 2022. This also isn’t SeatGeek’s first time teaming up with [... 2,455 chars total]

This is your tech update for February 18th. SeatGeek just announced a big new partnership with Spotify to make buying concert tickets super easy right inside the music app. Now, when you check out an artist's page or their upcoming tour dates on Spotify, you'll see direct ticket links powered by SeatGeek. This is rolling out first at 15 major US venues where SeatGeek handles primary ticket sales, like State Farm Stadium and Glendale Nissan, Stadium in Nashville, and AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Earlier this week, SeatGeek shared that this move puts them front and center for millions of music fans discovering shows. It's a smart place and SeatGeek usually focuses on secondary tickets, but here they're tapping into primary sales at these partner spots. Fans and industry watchers are buzzing about how this could boost live event attendance. SeatGeek gains a huge edge by reaching Spotify's massive audience of music lovers who might turn into ticket buyers on the spot. Still, they face tough competition from giants like Ticketmaster and AXS, who control most top arenas. Ticketmaster alone handles 53 of the top 68 in the US. Spotify has been pushing hard into live events, helping artists generate over $1 billion in ticket sales through more than 45. Partners, including Ticketmaster and Eventbrite. This isn't their first try, they experimented with direct sales back in 2022, and SeatGeek even linked up with Snapchat for in-app tickets in 2018. Meanwhile, Spotify's latest earnings show they're growing fast with 750 million monthly users and 290 million paid subscribers. They expect to hit 759 million users and 293 million subscribers this quarter, proving their focus on. Connecting fans to shows is paying off big time. The Daily News Now is presented by our sponsor, LinkedIn the Description. It is a pillow that plays your podcast and music with our earbuds, built for listening in bed. S-O-L-I-SOL-Pillow.com.

Nvidia is stepping up efforts to court India’s artificial intelligence startups earlier in their lifecycle, unveiling a string of partnerships this week aimed at reaching founders even before their companies are formally established. The push is intended to help the AI chipmaker cultivate relationships with future customers in one of the world’s fastest-growing developer markets. The latest move comes through a partnership with early-stage venture firmActivate, which plans to back about 25 to 30 AI startups from its $75 million debut fund while giving portfolio companies preferential access to Nvidia’s technical expertise. The collaboration follows other India-focused efforts unveiled this week, including work with nonprofit AI Grants India to support early-stage founders and new ties with venture firms focused on the South Asian nation. The flurry of activity comes as India hosts itsAI Impact Summitin New Delhi, drawing top technology companies including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang was slated to attend but skipped the event due to what the company called unforeseen circumstances. A senior delegation led by executive vice president Jay Puri attended in his place, meeting AI researchers, startups, developers, and partners on the ground. India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing pools of AI developers and startups, making it an increasingly important market for Nvidia as it looks to expand adoption of chips and computing software. By working more closely with founders at the earliest stages, the company is positioning itself to capture long-term demand as new AI-native companies scale. Aakrit Vaish, founder of Activate, said Nvidia’s engagement with startups in India has historically been relatively light-touch compared with the U.S., but the chipmaker is now looking to work with founders much earlier in their journey. Activate aims to leverage that shift by connecting portfolio startups directly with Nvidia experts. The VC [... 4,325 chars total]

It's February 20th, let's get into the latest tech headlines. Nvidia is wrapping up its push into India's booming artificial intelligence scene by partnering with startups right from the start, even before there. Officially formed, this week the chip giant announced a bunch of new deals to connect with founders early and build future customers in one of the world's hottest, developer markets. The news dropped during the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, which drew big names like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. Nvidia's CEO, Jensen Huang, was set to show up but had to skip due to unexpected issues. Instead, a top team led by executive vice president J. Perrestepped in, chatting with researchers, startups, and partners on site. India is exploding as a hub for AI talent and new companies making it prime territory for Nvidia to grow its chip and software sales. Researchers like Akred Vias from the venture firm activate, say Nvidia's approach here, used to be pretty hands off compared to the US, but now there. Jumping in much earlier to lock in loyalty, Nvidia's expanding its inception program, which already backs over 4000 Indian startups, with fresh ties to venture firms like Excel, Peak, XB, Z47, Elevation Capital, and Nexus. They're also teaming with AI grants India to help more than 10,000 early founders over the next 12 months. This move highlights the fierce race among tech giants to snack India's AI developers, setting Nvidia up for big wins as the startup scale in need. More computing power. Support for this D&N episode comes from our sponsor, Headphones in a pillow. Once you try it, it just makes sense. S-O-L-I-SOLY-PILLOW.COM

General Catalyst, a Silicon Valley-based venture firm with more than $43 billion in assets under management, has announced it plans to invest $5 billion in India over the next five years, sharply expanding its push into the country’s startup ecosystem less than two years aftermerging with local venture firm Venture Highway. The commitment, unveiled at theIndia AI Impact Summitin New Delhi on Friday, will target startups across artificial intelligence, healthcare, defense technology, fintech, and consumer technology. The announcement marks a significant increase from the $500 million to $1 billion the firm had previously earmarked for India. India, the world’s most populous country with more than a billion internet users, is positioning itself as a major AI investment destination. New Delhi aims toattract over $200 billion in AI infrastructure investmentsover the next two years as it hosts the India AI Impact Summit with participation from companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. “India will build the next generation of global platform companies,” General Catalyst CEO Hemant Taneja (pictured above) said, adding that the firm sees Indian founders as uniquely positioned to develop technology for markets serving enormous populations. General Catalyst said it sees India’s biggest AI opportunity in large-scale real-world deployment rather than in building so-called frontier models. The firm cited the country’s government-built digital infrastructure, vast domestic market, and deep services talent pool as reasons for that view. The push comes as India’s AI ambitions accelerate. At the summit, conglomeratesAdani GroupandReliance Industries, led by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, announced plans to invest more than $200 billion combined to build AI data center infrastructure in the country.OpenAI has separately partnered with Tata Group’s TCS— one of India’s largest tech companies — to develop a 100-megawatt AI data center as part of the expansion of its Stargate infra [... 2,949 chars total]

From the Daily News Now Network, this is Tech News Today. General Catalyst, the Silicon Valley venture firm managing more than $43 billion in assets, just announced plans to pour $5 billion dollars into India's startup scene over the next five years. This is a huge ramp up from the $500 million to $1 billion dollars they had set aside before, coming less than two years after merging with. Local firm, Bencher Highway. The news dropped at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on Friday, targeting startups in artificial intelligence, healthcare, defense technology, financial technology, and consumer tech. India, with over $1 billion internet users, is racing to become a top spot for AI investments, aiming to pull in $200 billion dollars for AI. Infrastructure in just the next two years. General Catalyst CEO, Hemantaneha, says Indian founders are perfectly placed to be built tech for massive markets and create the next wave of global, platform companies. The firm spots India's edge in rolling out AI a huge scale using real-world applications, thanks to strong government digital systems, a giant home, market, and tons of skilled talent. Meanwhile, other big players are jumping in too. Conglomerates like Adani Group and Reliance Industries plan over $200 billion dollars combined for AI data centers. Open AI teamed up with Tata Group's TCS for a 100 megawatt AI data center, and giants like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft have pledged tens of billions more for cloud and AI here. General Catalyst is already backing Indian companies in fast delivery, e-commerce, health tech, and deep tech, like Zepto and PB Health. Their India CEO, Nierage Aurora, says this cash lets them scale from early startups all the way to public markets while building frameworks to speed up. AI and key sectors through government partnerships. The Daily News Now is powered by our sponsor. Headphones in a pillow. Once you try it, it just makes sense. S-O-L-I, solely pillow.com.

Late last month, The Informationreported thatApple was developing an AI wearable — an AirTag-sized pendant with cameras that could be pinned to a user’s shirt. Now, Bloombergwrites thatthe development of such a device — along with two other AI-powered items — is accelerating as Apple looks to stay competitive with other tech giants that are racing to release similar products. In addition to the AI pin, Apple is also speeding up the development of its upcoming AI-powered smart glasses,which have been code-named N50, the report claims. Apple obviously has competition in this space, as other companies — including Meta (which is arguably the mostsuccessful playerwhen it comes to smart glasses) and Snap (whichplans to releaseits “Specs” later this year) — are working on similar products. Apple’s new smart glasses, which will supposedly include a high-resolution camera, may see a public release sooner rather than later, with Bloomberg reporting that the company is “targeting the start of production as early as December, ahead of a public release in 2027.” Additionally, Bloomberg reports that Apple is working on AirPods with new AI capabilities. All of these items will be designed to connect to the iPhone and will include Siri, the company’s virtual assistant, as a critical component of the user experience, the outlet notes. The glasses are being described as “more upscale and feature-rich” than the AirPods and the AI pendant, however. TechCrunch reached out to Apple for more information.

It's February 18th. Here's what's happening in tech. Apple is ramping up development on a trio of AI powered wearables to stay ahead in the tech race. The lineup includes a tiny pendant about the size of an air tag with built-in cameras that you can clip to your shirt. They're also fast tracking smart glasses code, named N50, and AirPods loaded with new AI features. Reports first surfaced late last month from the information. But now Bloomberg says Apple is accelerating everything to compete with rivals like Meta and Snap. Meta already leads in smart glasses, while Snap plans to launch its specs later this year. These devices face stiff competition, and everyday users are buzzing about what this means for hands-free tech. Imagine point-of-view cameras and AI smarts right on your face or ear, changing how we interact with our phones. On the glasses specifically, Apple aims to star production as early as December, eyeing a public launch in 2027. They'll pack a high resolution camera and position as a premium option. All three gadgets will tie into your iPhone and lean heavily on Siri for the core experience. The glasses sound like the star, described as more upscale, and packed with features, though Apple has not commented yet. The daily news now is presented by our sponsor, LinkedIn the description, Layback, Pressplay, let the pillow do the rest. Sound meets comfort, and so L.I.

Apple is taking on YouTube and Spotify with a new video podcast experience launching in the spring. Users will be able to switch between watching and listening to shows in the Apple Podcasts app, which will begin using the company’s HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) video technology. Users can also switch to a horizontal version of the podcast and download videos to watch offline. The move comes as video podcasting continues to gain popularity.Edison Researchrecently revealed that 51% of the U.S. population has consumed a video podcast, and that 37% consume video podcasts monthly. The updated video podcast experience will allow Apple to better compete with the likes of YouTube, Spotify, and even Netflix, all of which have already embraced the format. YouTube announced last year that it has more than1 billion monthly active viewersof podcast content. Spotify said last November that it has half a million video podcasts, which nearly 400 million users have watched. As for Netflix, the streaming giant has partnered withiHeartMediaandSpotifyto bring video podcasts to its platform. By bringing an enhanced video podcast viewing experience to its app, Apple is aiming to keep users from turning to rival platforms to watch their favorite shows. “Twenty years ago, Apple helped take podcasting mainstream by adding podcasts to iTunes, and more than a decade ago, we introduced the dedicated Apple Podcasts app,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Services, in a press release. “Today marks a defining milestone in that journey. By bringing a category-leading video experience to Apple Podcasts, we’re putting creators in full control of their content and how they build their businesses, while making it easier than ever for audiences to listen to or watch podcasts.” While the new video experience will officially launch in the spring, the update is available to test starting this week as part of betas for iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, and visionOS 26.4.

Tech Stories Making Headlines on February 17th. Apple is stepping up his game and podcasting with a new video experience coming to the Apple Podcasts app this spring. Users will be able to easily switch between watching and listening to shows, thanks to Apple's HTTP live streaming technology. You can even flip to a horizontal view or download videos for offline watching. Video podcasts are exploding in popularity right now. Even research from medicine shows that 51% of Americans have tried a video podcast and 37% tune in monthly. Apple wants to take on big rivals like YouTube, Spotify, and Netflix. YouTube has over 1 billion monthly viewers for podcasts. Spotify boasts half a million video podcasts watched by nearly 400 million users. Netflix has even teamed up with iHarmedia and Spotify for video content. This update helps Apple keep fans in its own app instead of jumping to competitors. It builds on their history. 20 years ago, they brought podcasts to iTunes and over a decade later launched the dedicated app. Now, creators get more control over their content and businesses. You can test it out starting this week in betas for iOS 17.4, iPadOS 17.4, and Vision OS 17.4 with the full rollout hitting this spring. This story is made possible by our sponsor, headphones and a pillow. Once you try it, it just makes sense, solypillo.com

Thrive Capital just raised $10 billion for a new fund — the largest fund it has ever raised and nearly double the size of its last fund. Of this, $1 billion is dedicated to early-stage investments, while the rest is for growth-stage investments, according to anannouncement from the firm. Thrive told Bloomberg that this latest fundraise wasoversubscribed. This is the firm’s 10th fund — called Thrive X — and comes as some of the firm’s biggest investments, including OpenAI, Stripe, and SpaceX, continue to soar in value. Some of the firm’s other notable investments include Databricks, Anduril, and Cursor. The firm also incubates companies, having spun up 12 so far, with at least six now having reached unicorn status. The firm’s strategy is to “commit deeply to a small number of founders,” the firm said in its announcement. “Concentration demands loyalty to the founders and missions we back.” Speaking to Bloomberg, Josh Kushner, founder of the firm, said he believed the winners of the AI boom would “be bigger than we can ever imagine,” and that the technology is still nascent. Thrive’s massive raise also hints at something else. IPO rumors have swirled around OpenAI and SpaceX in particular, bringing considerable interest from limited partners awaiting returns. These two companies could lead to an unprecedented flow of capital back tolimited partners. We’ve reached out to Thrive for more information.

It's February 18th. Here's your tech news in two minutes. Thrive Capital just closed its biggest fundraise ever, pulling in $10 billion for a new venture fund called Thrive X. That's nearly double the size of their previous fund, with $1 billion set aside for early stage startups and the rest aimed at growth stage. Companies. The firm made the announcement this week, marking their tent fund overall. The raise was oversubscribed, meaning investors wanted an even more than the target amount. This comes at a great time for Thrive, as their star investments like OpenAI, Stripe, and SpaceX keep skyrocketing in value. They've also backed hits like Databricks, Anderill, and Cursor, and even incubated 12 companies from scratch, with at least 6 hitting unicorn. Status. Thrive's approach is all about going deep, with the select few founders, staying loyal to their missions no matter what. Josh Kushner, the firm's founder, told Bloomberg he thinks the big winners in the AI boom will be way bigger than anyone imagines right now, since the tech is still in its early days. This huge fund also signals excitement around potential IPOs for companies like OpenAI and SpaceX. Investors are buzzing about the massive returns that could flow back to limited partners once those go public. We've reached out to Thrive for more details, so stay tuned for updates as this story develops. This DNN story is thanks to our sponsor details in the description. If sleep podcasts are your thing, this is your pillow, bill for comfort, and calm, SOLI, solelypillow.com.

A judge has denied Tesla’s request to overturn a$243 million jury verdictthat held the automaker partially responsible for a fatal crash involving its Autopilot driver assistance system. “The grounds for relief that Tesla relies upon are virtually the same as those Tesla put forth previously during the course of trial and in their briefings on summary judgment — arguments that were already considered and rejected,”Hon. Judge Beth Bloom’s decisionreads. “Furthermore, Tesla does not present additional arguments or controlling law that persuades this Court to alter its earlier decisions or the jury verdict.” Last August, a jury awarded a $243 million verdictagainst Teslaover its culpability in a 2019 fatal crash in Florida that killed Naibel Benavides and critically injured Dillon Angulo. The jury assigned the driver two-thirds of the blame, and attributed one-third to Tesla. Notably, the jury assessed punitive damages only against Tesla. Tesla’s lawyers argued, in its request to reverse the ruling, that the blame rested on the driver, who helped cause the crash.

Here's more tech news for February 20th. A judge has denied Tesla's request to overturn a $243 million jury verdict linked to a fatal crash involving its autopilot system. The ruling holds Tesla, partially responsible for the 2019 accident in Florida that killed Nibel Benavides and critically injured. Dylan Angolo. Judge Beth Bloom explained that Tesla's arguments for relief were the same ones already rejected during the trial and in earlier motions. She noted no new evidence or law to change the jury's decision. Last August, the jury split the blame, putting two-thirds on the driver and one-third on Tesla. They hit Tesla with punitive damages, but none for the driver. Tesla's lawyers pushed back, claiming the driver caused the crash by not paying attention. For now, the verdict stands, raising more questions about autopilot safety as Tesla eyes possible appeals. For this episode comes from our sponsor. See the description. Some chase piece, I put my head in it. S-O-L-I-SOLY-PILLOW.COM.

Google on Wednesdayintroducedits latest entry-level Pixel smartphone. The $499 Pixel 10a launches with new AI software capabilities and minor hardware updates. The smartphone is available for preorder now with shipments starting March 5.  It comes in Lavender, Berry, Fog, and Obsidian. The Pixel 10a features a completely flat back, which means the camera bar blends with the back of the phone and lies flat when you place it down on a surface. Google notes that the smartphone’s 6.3-inch Actua display is 11% brighter than the Pixel 9a. It also has faster charging than its predecessor, with more than 30 hours of battery life and up to 120 hours with the “Extreme Battery Saver” setting turned on. The Pixel 10a comes with the same Tensor G4 chip that powered last year’s Pixel 9a. It features a 48 MP main camera, which Google says is the best camera on a phone under $500, along with a 13 MP ultrawide camera. After debuting a set of AI-powered camera features on the Pixel 10 series last summer, Google is now bringing them to the A-series phone. The “Auto Best Take” feature captures multiple frames in one shutter press and automatically selects the best version so everyone looks good in a group photo, while the “Camera Coach” feature gives users step-by-step guidance on lighting and composition. Additionally, Google is bringingSatellite SOSto the A-series for the first time, allowing users to connect with emergency services even when they don’t have Wi-Fi or cellular service. As with recent Pixel phones, the Pixel 10a will come with seven years of software and security updates. It’s worth noting that the Pixel 10a doesn’t have the “PixelSnap” magnetic Qi charging feature on the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, and Pixel 10 Pro Fold. The smartphone’s arrival comes just ahead of Apple’s upcoming new entry-level phone,the iPhone 17e. The device is expected to cost $599, like last year’s iPhone 16e. Google also announced that it’s launchingPixel Buds 2ain two new colors, Berry and Fog, t [... 2,024 chars total]

This is your tech update for February 18th. Google just unveiled its latest budget smartphone, the Pixel 10A, priced at $499. It's available for pre-order now with shipment starting March 5th. It comes in four fresh colors, lavender, berry, fog, and obsidian. This model sports a completely flat back, so the camera bar sits flush and won't rock on a table. The 6.3-inch actual display shines 11% brighter than the Pixel 9A screen. Battery life lasts over 30 hours, or up to 120 hours with extreme battery saver on, and charging is faster than before. Powered by the same tensor G4 chip as last year's Pixel 9A, it packs a 48 megapixel main camera and 13 megapixel ultra-wide. Google claims it's the best camera setup under $500. Smart fans are buzzing, especially since it arrives right before Apple's pricier iPhone 17A at $599. Google brought flagship AI camera features to this A-series phone for the first time. Auto best take grabs multiple shots in one click and picks the best faces for group photos. Camera coach offers real-time tips on lighting and composition. You also get satellite SOS for emergency calls without seller Wi-Fi plus seven years of software updates. It skips magnetic charging though. To match, new Pixel Buds, 2A drop in Barion Fog. D&N is sponsored by our partner. Check out the episode description. Podcasts hit different when the sound comes from your pillow. Once you try it, it just makes sense. S-O-L-I, solely pillow.com.

India has set out an aggressive push to attract more than $200 billion in artificial-intelligence infrastructure investment over the next two years, as it seeks to position itself as a global hub for AI computing and applications at a time when capacity, capital, and regulation are becoming strategic assets. The plans were outlined on Tuesday by India’s IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw (pictured above) at the Indian government-backed five-dayAI Impact Summitin New Delhi, attended by senior executives from OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and other global technology firms. To attract investment, the government is rolling out a mix of tax incentives, state-backed venture capital, and policy support aimed at pulling more of the global AI value chain into the South Asian nation. India’s pitch comes as U.S. technology giants, includingAmazon,Google, andMicrosoft, have alreadycommitted about $70 billionto expand AI and cloud infrastructure in the country, giving New Delhi a foundation to argue it can combine scale, cost advantages, and policy incentives to attract the next wave of global AI computing investment. While the bulk of the projected $200 billion is expected to flow into AI infrastructure — including data centers, chips, and supporting systems, and encompassing the around $70 billion alreadypledgedby Big Tech companies — Vaishnaw said the Indian government also anticipates an additional $17 billion of investment into deep-tech and AI applications, highlighting a push to move beyond infrastructure and capture more of the value chain. The effort is backed by recent policy decisionsaimed at making India a more attractive base for AI computing, includinglong-term tax relief for export-oriented cloud servicesand a₹100 billion (about$1.1 billion)government-backed venture programtargeting high-risk areas such as AI and advanced manufacturing. Earlier this month, New Delhi alsoextended the period for which deep-tech companiesqualify as startups to 20 years and raised the revenue [... 3,773 chars total]

From the Daily News Now Network, this is Corey with Tech News Today. India is launching a major drive to attract more than $200 billion in artificial intelligence infrastructure investment over the next two years. The goal is to turn the country into a global hub for AI computing and applications. IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnao announced this at the Government-backed AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on Tuesday. The five-day event drew top executives from companies like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic. To lure the cash, India's offering tax breaks, state-back venture capital, and supportive policies. This aims to bring more of the worldwide AI supply chain to the South Asian nation. Around $70 billion has already been pledged by big tech firms for data centers, chips, and related systems. Those also expect $17 billion more for deep tech startups and AI apps. Venture capitalists are committing funds to startups, large solutions, and cutting-edge research. India plans to boost its shared compute power under the India AI mission. It currently has 38,000 GPUs, with 20,000 more coming in the next few weeks. A second phase will focus on research, innovation, and spreading AI tools to more users. These are the latest ways to help people with their own needs. The Minister noted India's energy mix, with over half from clean sources as a plus. Success here could reshape global AI landscapes amid rising costs and competition everywhere. This story is made possible by our sponsor. It is a pillow that plays your podcast in music without earbuds, built for listening and

When the first Toy Story movie came out in 1995, Google didn’t exist yet and Apple was on the verge of bankruptcy. No one could have predicted that over 30 years later, Pixar would still be making Toy Story movies, nor could anyone have known that the latest installation in the franchise would pit Buzz Lightyear and a balding Woody against an evil AI tablet called Lilypad. But sure enough, “Toy Story 5” confronts old-school toys like Mrs. Potato Head, Rex, and Slinky Dog against the sinister threat oftechnology. The trailer shows Bonnie, the young girl who inherited Andy’s toys when he left for college in “Toy Story 2,” playing outside with her toys when a surprise package with the Lilypad tablet arrives for her. She becomes completely enraptured by the tablet, not even looking up from the screen when her parents tell her that screen time is over. The “Toy Story 5” trailer makes the Lilypad — or, Lily — out to be a sinister villain. When Jessie confronts the tablet about Bonnie’s well-being, Lily seems not to be paying attention, so the cowgirl demands that the tablet listen to her. “I’m always listening,” Lily says ominously, regurgitating Jessie’s impassioned speech in a computerized tone… and then translates it into Spanish. “Tech’s invaded our house,” Jessie tells Woody. “I’m losing Bonnie to this device.” Woody replies, “Toys are for play, but tech is for everything.” Could “Toy Story 5” pull at the heartstrings of young children and get them to think twice about the consequences of excessive screen time? That may be a stretch. But at least it gives them something to watch that’s not as mind numbing as Cocomelon.

On February 20th, here's the latest in technology news. Back in 1995, when the first Toy Story movie hit theaters, Google didn't even exist yet, and Apple was teetering on the edge of. bankruptcy. No one dream Pixar would still be churning out Toy Story films over 30 years later. Now the trailer for Toy Story 5 pits worn out favorites like a balding woody and buzz light year against the sinister new villain, an evil AI tablet called Lily Pad. The story brings back classic toys, such as Mrs. Potato Head, Rex and Slingke Dog, all facing off against the creeping threat of modern technology. Bonnie, the little girl who inherited Andy's toys after college, is outside playing when a surprise package delivers the shiny new tablet right to her. Doorstep. She gets instantly glued to the screen, barely glancing up even when her parents call time on screen time. The device chimes in with an eerie robotic voice, claiming it's always listening, and it eerily echoes one of Jesse's old lines before translating it. Into Spanish. Jesse pulls woody aside, and warns him that tech has invaded their home, and they're losing Bonnie to this glowing gadget. Woody fires back the toys are meant for play, while tech sings built for absolutely everything else. Fans are buzzing about this fresh take on toys versus screens, blending nostalgia with a timely nod to our gadget obsessed world. Toy Story 5 promises more heartfelt adventures when it hits theaters. Dean in a sponsored by our partner, check out the episode description. It looks like a pillow, it sounds like headphones, build for comfort and sound. S-O-L-I, solely pillow.com.

Data centers face a conundrum: how to power increasingly dense server racks using equipment that relies on century-old technology. Traditional transformers are bulky and hot, but a new generation of solid-state transformers promises to address both problems while making power management more flexible. One solid-state transformer startup,DG Matrix, has raised $60 million in a Series A round, TechCrunch has exclusively learned. Engine Ventures led the round with ABB, Cerberus Ventures, Chevron Technology Ventures, Clean Energy Ventures, Fine Structure Ventures, Helios Climate Ventures, MCJ, and Piedmont Capital participating. The company also recently announced a deal to provide its Interport device to Exowatt, the startupbuilding solar-plus-storage containersto supply data centers with 24/7 electricity. The Interport device acts as a router for power, Subhashish Bhattacharya, co-founder and CTO of DG Matrix, told TechCrunch. One Interport can handle up to 2.4 megawatts of connections. For example, it could accumulate 600 kilowatts from solar panels and 600 kilowatts from grid-scale batteries to feed power to 12 racks drawing 100 kilowatts each. Because Interport can integrate electricity from a variety of sources, including large batteries, DG Matrix says it can eliminate uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and the equipment needed to support them. Altogether, one Interport can cut down the amount of space devoted to power conversion in a data center. Two 4-by-30-foot skids laden with power conversion equipment can be replaced by a single four-by-four-foot Interport device, DG Matrix co-founder and CEO Haroon Inam told TechCrunch. By eliminating several devices, the company can boost the system’s overall efficiency. All the legacy devices chained together can achieve about 82% to 90% efficiency, Inam said, while Interport is 95% to 98% efficient. He said that reliability should improve, too. “When you are using only 10%, 15% of the components that legacy is using, y [... 2,861 chars total]

Hey, it's Cory with Tech News today. The biggest tech stories every day. Data centers are facing a tough challenge powering their super dense server racks without dated equipment that's over a century old. Traditional transformers are bulky, run hot, and limit flexibility, but a new wave of SalisDate transformers is changing that. One startup called DG Matrix just raised $60 million in a series A funding round, led by engine ventures with backers like ABB, Chevron, technology ventures, and others. The company also aimed to deal to supply its interport device to ExoWet, which builds solar plus storage containers for round the clock data center, power. Interport works like a smart router for electricity, handling up to 2.4 MW from mixed sources. For example, it can blend 600 kW from solar panels and 600 kW from big batteries to feed 12 server racks, pulling one, 100 kW each. This setup lets data centers ditch bulky, uninterruptible power supplies and all the gear they need. The impact is huge on space too. DG Matrix says, one compact 4x4 foot interport can replace two massive 4x30 foot skids full of power conversion equipment, freeing, up room for more servers. They're rolling out initial units to customers this June, with a sidecar product next to directly power racks. Beyond data centers, leaders see potential to cut costs on big transmission lines and tackle energy poverty in remote areas. We'd like to thank our sponsor for making this episode possible. Your bedtime ritual just got better. Built in sound, built in comfort, SOLI, solely pillow.com

Sarvam, an Indian AI startup focused on building models for local languages and users, on Friday launched its Indus chat app for web and mobile users, entering a fast-growing market dominated by global players including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. The launch comes as India has become a key battleground for generative AI adoption. Recently, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman saidChatGPT has more than 100 million weekly active usersin India, while Anthropic saidIndia accounts for 5.8% of total Claude usage, second only to the U.S. Indus serves as a chat interface for its newly announced Sarvam 105B model, the company’s 105-billion-parameter large language model. The app’s launch comes two days after Bengaluru-based Sarvamunveiledits 105B and 30B models at theIndia AI Impact Summitin New Delhi earlier this week. At the summit, the startup also outlined enterprise initiatives and hardware plans and announced partnerships with companiesincluding HMD to bring AI to Nokia feature phonesand Bosch for AI-enabled automotive applications. Currently available in beta oniOS,Android, and theweb, the Indus app allows users to type or speak queries and receive responses in text and audio. Users can sign in using their phone number, Google or Microsoft account, or Apple ID, though the service appears to be limited to India for now. The app currently comes with some limitations. Users cannot delete their chat history without deleting their account, and there is no option to turn off the app’s reasoning feature, which can sometimes slow response times. Sarvam has also warned that access may be restricted as it gradually expands its compute capacity. “We’re gradually rolling out Indus on a limited compute capacity, so you may hit a waitlist at first. We will expand access over time,” Sarvam co-founder Pratyush Kumarwroteon X, adding that the company is seeking feedback from users. Founded in 2023, Sarvam hasraised $41 millionto date from investors, including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Peak XV [... 2,291 chars total]

Today is February 21st. Here's what's trending in technology. Indian AI Startup Sarvam just launched its Indus Chat app for web and mobile users. The app runs on their new 105 billion parameter, large language model, designed for local languages and Indian users. It enters a crowded market, led by big names like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. India is a huge hotspot for generative AI right now. OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, revealed ChatGPT, has over 100 million weekly active users there. Anthropic says, India makes a 5.8% of clogged total usage, second only to the United States. This launch follows Sarvam's big reveal of their 105 billion and 30 billion parameter models at the India AI Impact Summit in New. Delhi earlier this week, they also announce partnerships, like with HMD for AI on Nokia feature phones and Bosch for CAR Tech. Founded in 2023, Sarvam has raised $41 million from top investors. The beta app works on iOS, Android, and Web, mainly in India for now. Users can type or speak questions and get text or audio replies, signing in with a phone number, Google, or Apple ID. Sarvam warns of limits like no chat history without closing your account. No way to disable the reasoning feature that slows things down, and a waitlist due to compute capacity. Co-founder Pratush Kumar says they're expanding access soon and want user feedback as they grow. The Daily News Now is grateful to our sponsor for today's episode. A pillow that plays your podcast, music, or white noise privately, no earbuds required. S-O-L-I-SOLY-PILLOW.COM

Jack Altman and Benchmarkannounced todaythat he would be joining the firm as a general partner. This news is a big deal, especially since Altman has been running his own VC firm, Alt Capital, since at least 2024. The fund raised a $150 million Fund I in early 2024 and then, just last September,announced a $274 million Fund II, raised in just a week. On LinkedIn,Altman called the past two yearsrunning Alt Capital “the most rewarding” of his life, adding that he loved “new ideas and being part of a team with a mission.” Alt Capital invested in at least 52 companies, according to PitchBook, including Rippling, Antares Nuclear, and CompLabs. It’s unclear what happens to Alt Capital or whether Benchmark has acquired its portfolio, as Altman also announced that his teammates from the fund will be following him to Benchmark. (That’s also unusual, given Benchmark has historically been structured as a flat firm with primarily GPs only, versus layers of investors.) Altman also said he will retain the board seats at the companies he backed while at Alt Capital. Altman did not respond to requests for comment earlier today; Benchmark declined to comment. Altman, a younger brother of OpenAI co-founder Sam, is also the founder of the HR platform Lattice, which he still chairs, per his LinkedIn profile.

It's February 18th, and here's what's happening across tech right now. Big news in the venture capital world today. Jack Altman is joining Benchmark as a general partner. He's the founder of his own firm, Alt's Capital, which he started running around early 2024. Alt Capital moved fast. They raised $150 million for their first fund that year. Then, just last September, they closed a $274 million second fund in only one week. Ben shared on LinkedIn that the past two years as an investor there were the most rewarding of his life. He loved chasing new ideas and building a team with a real mission. The firm backed at least 52 companies, including Rippling, Antare's, Nuclear, and Complabs. His teammates from Alt Capital are coming along to Benchmark too, which is a bit unusual. Benchmark has always been a flat organization with mostly general partners and no extra layers. Altman will keep his board seats at the company's he invested in. It's not clear yet what happens to Alt Capital or its portfolio. Maybe Benchmark picks them up, but no word on that. Altman is the younger brother of OpenAI co-founder, Sam Altman. He also founded the HR platform, Lattice, where he still serves as chair. Neither Altman nor Benchmark commented on the move. The Daily News Now is presented by our sponsor. Some people meditate. I just lay down and press play, S-O-L-I, solelypillo.com.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles will not suspend Tesla’s sales and manufacturing licenses for 30 days because the EV maker has stopped using the term “Autopilot” in the marketing of its vehicles in the state. The decision,issued late Tuesday, means Tesla can continue selling its EVs in California without interruption and officially settles a case that has been dragging on for nearly three years. California is Tesla’s biggest U.S. market. In November 2023, the DMV filed accusations that Tesla violated state law by using deceptive marketing of Autopilot, its basic advanced driver-assistance system, as well as its more capable Full Self-Driving driver-assistance software. The state regulator argued that the terms misled customers and distorted the capabilities of the advanced driver-assistance systems. Tesla stopped using the term “Full Self-Driving Capability” and instead used Full Self-Driving (Supervised) to more accurately describe the system and clarify that drivers were still required to monitor it. But Tesla held on to the Autopilot term, prompting the DMV to refer the case to an administrative law judge at the California Office of Administrative Hearings. In December, the administrative law judge agreed with the DMV’s request to suspend Tesla’s sales and manufacturing licenses in the state for 30 days as a penalty for its actions. The DMV agreed with the ruling but didn’t pounce; instead, the state regulator gave Tesla 60 days to comply. “Since then, Tesla took corrective action and has stopped using the misleading term ‘Autopilot’ in the marketing of its electric vehicles in California,” the DMV stated in a release posted on its website. “Tesla had previously modified its use of the term ‘Full Self-Driving’ to clarify that driver supervision is required. By taking this prescribed action, Tesla will avoid having its dealer and manufacturer licenses suspended in the state for 30 days by the DMV.” Tesla didn’t just stop using the term Autopilot, thoug [... 2,506 chars total]

It's February 18th, and here's what's happening across tech right now. The California Department of Motor Vehicles has decided not to suspend Tesla's sales and manufacturing licenses for 30 days. This comes after Tesla stopped using the term autopilot in its vehicle marketing across the state. The ruling means Tesla can keep selling its electric vehicles in California without any hiccups. This wraps up a case that's been going on for nearly three years. Back in November 2023, the DMV accused Tesla of misleading customers with his autopilot and full self-driving names. They said the terms made the driver assistance system sound more capable than they really are. California is Tesla's largest market in the United States, so this is a huge relief for the company. A judge had sided with the DMV and recommended the 30-day suspension as a penalty, but the DMV gave Tesla 60 days to fix things instead of jumping straight to punishment. Tesla first changed full self-driving to full self-driving supervised to make it clear drivers still need to watch the road. Then they dropped autopilot from California marketing altogether, which satisfied the regulators. Meanwhile, Tesla took it further by discontinuing autopilot nationwide in the United States and Canada back in January. Now they're pushing the supervised version with a $99 monthly subscription, which could rise as the tech improves. Dean in is brought to you by our sponsor. No earbuds, no headbands, no awkward sleeping positions, just a pillow that plays your sound. S-O-L-I. S-O-L-I-Pillow.com.

The Duke community might just be getting a little bigger. The University is close to finalizing an agreement with Durham Technical Community College to guarantee admission into the Pratt School of Engineering for select community college students graduating with an Associate of Engineering degree. Should Duke finalize the partnership, it would be the first formalized community college transfer agreement for full-time undergraduate students among universities in the U.S. News and World Report’s ranking of Top 10 colleges and universities; it would also be one of the first guaranteed admission programs among elite private universities in the country. The program would allow students to spend two years at Durham Tech before transferring to Duke, where they would study for three more years to complete a bachelor’s degree in engineering. The institutions plan to recruit their first cohort of students this fall. They would begin their journeys at Duke in fall 2028. “There are any number of ways that Duke and Durham Tech work together to address community challenges and priorities,” Durham Tech President J.B. Buxton said. “The student transfer program is, in some ways, the last frontier of that … and creates a whole new opportunity for our students.” The Duke-Durham Tech engineering agreement will open a selective guaranteed admissions pathway. Initial admission into the program will be competitive, with final selections made by Duke. Transferring to Duke will be contingent on students completing their associate’s degree and maintaining other minimum academic criteria. The agreement is modeled off of existing partnerships between Durham Tech and other universities in the Triangle. At a recent INDY Weekevent, Buxton pointed to numerous N.C. public universities that partner with local community colleges through the North CarolinaComprehensive Articulation Agreement, a statewide agreement allowing for the transfer of credits between public and private universities. Additional [... 5,206 chars total]

Reporting from the Daily News Now, I'm Corey with the latest in Durham. Duke University is on the verge of a groundbreaking partnership with Durham Technical Community College. It would guarantee admission to the Pratt School of Engineering for select students who earn an associate of engineering degree there. This would mark the first such formalized transfer agreement for full-time undergrads at any top-ten university in the U.S. news rankings and one of. The first among elite private schools nationwide, students would spend two years at Durham Tech then transfer to Duke for three more years to finish their bachelor's in engineering. The school's plans to recruit their first small group of students this fall, with those kids starting at Duke in fall, 2028. Admission will be competitive, based on completing the degree and meeting academic standards set by Duke. Leaders from both schools are thrilled about this step. Duke's first-time tech president called it the last frontier in their collaborations to tackle local challenges and open doors for students. Duke officials say a mirror's successful programs like North Carolina State University's C-3 partnership and the University of North Carolina at Chapel. Hills C-Step, but on a smaller scale at first. The focus is on low-income students from the local Durham community, especially North Carolina residents. Duke already offers tuition-free attendance for families in North Carolina and South Carolina making under $150,000 a year. This new path aims to spot talent everywhere and provide the support needed to succeed. Looking ahead, both sides want to expand beyond engineering, maybe even to Duke's Trinity College. They're planning scholarships, mentoring, and a dedicated staff position to help students build confidence and connections before transferring. Boosting economic mobility for the whole region. The daily news now is powered by our sponsor. A pillow that plays your podcasts, music, or white noise privately. No [... 2,040 chars total]

For many, it would have been enough to beat the reigning national champion, Notre Dame. It would have been enough to beat an archrival, North Carolina. But that wasn’t enough for Duke. An opening loss to a lower-ranked team, an afternoon upset of the No. 1 team in the nation and an emotionally-charged tiebreaker fence-off capped off Duke’s men’s fencing's run to a third conference title, the first for head coach Omar Elgeziry. Coming in as the second-to-last seed, no one expected this ending. The men finished 3-1 as they fenced their way to the top finish in Cameron Indoor Stadium, while the women's team finished 3-1 as runner-up to an undefeated Notre Dame squad. “I really don’t have words to say. I am very emotional … not only because we won [the] ACC, but we won [the] ACC in Cameron Indoor Stadium,” Elgeziry said. In men’s individual fencing Saturday morning, Justin Glozman, Isaac Lief and Giulio Pech made it out of their respective pools into the elimination quarterfinal round. All three lost in the first elimination round, including top-seeded Glozman, who narrowly dropped a 15-14 decision to North Carolina’s Elden Wood. To start the team campaign Sunday, Elgeziry’s squad suited up against Boston College. Little did the Blue Devils know, this wouldn’t be the only time they faced the Eagles Sunday. It was a rough start for Duke. Failing to get much of anywhere in sabre and foil, the only strong performances came from the epee fencers: Ethan Boroditsky, Kyran Lin, Kozmo Rhyu and Peyton Young. While the team as a whole would lose 16-11 in this round, this wasn’t the end of the story. In fact, it was only the beginning. “We have a chance to turn this around,” Elgeziry told his team after the initial loss. “And if we don’t, then we will … just have the privilege to compete in Cameron.” Duke would go on to win its next two matches and, after a bye, go into round five against North Carolina with a 2-1 record. The team had already made it past Notre Dame, a thrilling 1 [... 6,349 chars total]

From Durham, this is your February 23rd update. Duke's men's fencing team made history at the ACC Championship, grabbing their third conference title and the first underhead coach, Omar El-Gaziri. As a low seed at Cameron indoor stadium, they shocked everyone by upsetting number one Notre Dame and arch rival North Carolina to finish three wins and one loss on top. The women's team also went three in one but settled for runner-up behind the undefeated fighting Irish. It kicked off with a tough loss to Boston College but the blue devils turned it around fast. The edge Notre Dame in a thrilling 14-13 match then took on North Carolina with everything on the line. Down the stretch and foil, Joseph Glasson scored the decisive touch against Peter Brook to clinch it at 13-10. Tied with Boston College at three and one, Duke won the title in a high-stakes fence off. They sent out their top fensers, Lev Irmakov in Sabre, Ethan Borditsky in Eppie, and Abdo Raman Toba in foil, and dominated to seal the deal. The crowd roared as teammates mobbed Toba after his win. Coach El-Gaziri could barely speak through the emotion, overwhelmed by the home victory. Fans packed Cameron got louder as the stakes rose, feeding off the rivalry energy. The women fought hard too, crushing Stanford 18-9, Boston College 19-8, and North Carolina 15-12 before Nother. Dame proved too strong again. This marched the women's fifth straight runner up to the top ranked Irish. Both squad saved their best for team events and now head to the NCAA Mid-Atlantic South Regional on March 7th in Haverford, Pennsylvania. Strong showings there could punch tickets to Nationals hosted by Notre Dame later in March. D&N is brought to you by our sponsor. Some chase peace. I put my head in it. S-O-L-I-SOLYPILLOW.COM

Indian conglomerate Adani Group said on Monday it would invest $100 billion over the next decade to build data centers specialized for AI across the country, a move that underscores India’s ambition to play a larger role in the global AI race. The investment, which will run through 2035, is aimed at building renewable-energy-powered data centers designed to support AI workloads, the company said. It expects the plan to catalyze an additional $150 billion in related investments and result in a $250 billion AI infrastructure ecosystem in India over the decade. Adani is making this commitment against a backdrop ofskyrocketing investments in AI infrastructureas companies increasingly look beyond the U.S. for computing power, energy, and friendly regulation. India, with its expanding digital economy and growing renewable-energy capacity, hasemerged as a major destination for data centersandAI-related infrastructureover the past couple of years. The announcement coincides with India’s ongoingAI Impact Summitin New Delhi this week, where leaders from some of the world’s top AI companies, including OpenAI, Nvidia, Anthropic, Microsoft, and Google, are meeting policymakers and industry executives. Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani (pictured above) described the plan as a long-term bet on the convergence of energy and computing. “India will not be a mere consumer in the AI age,” he said, adding that the group aims to help build a domestic AI infrastructure base. The plan is to build atop Adani’s own existing data-center platform and its partnerships with companies like Google and Microsoft. The conglomerate is developing large-scale AI data-center campuses inVisakhapatnamand Noida, and has plans for more facilities in Hyderabad and Pune. An expanded partnership with Walmart-owned Flipkart will focus on another AI data center. Adani said the broader plan calls for deploying up to 5 gigawatts of data-center capacity. The company said the facilities will be developed as a unifie [... 3,231 chars total]

On this February 17th, here's what's making waves across the tech world. Indian conglomerate, a Donnie group, just announced a massive $100 billion investment over the next decade to build AI data centers all. Across India, this move highlights India's big push to compete in the global AI race, with facilities powered by renewable energy and tailored for heavy AI. Workloads. The plan stretches through 2035 and should spark another $150 billion in related investments, building a 2, $150 billion AI infrastructure ecosystem in the country. Companies worldwide are looking past the United States for cheaper computing power, reliable energy, and easier regulations. India's booming digital economy and growing renewables have turned it into a prime spot for data centers over the last couple of years. The news dropped right during India's AI Impact Summit in New Delhi this week, where execs from open AI, Nvidia, and Thropic, Microsoft, and Google are chatting with policymakers. Adonis Chairman sees it as a smart long-term play, tying energy and computing together to make India an AI powerhouse, not just a user. They're expanding on current projects and partnerships with Google, Microsoft, and Flipkart, targeting five gigawatts of capacity in spots like Bisa Kapa Nam, Noida, Hyderabad, and Pune. Back by Adonis, huge 30-gigawatt renewable hub, with over 10 gigawatts already running. Plus plans for local manufacturing of key parts too. Dodge global supply issues. The Daily News Now is powered by our sponsor, Link in the Description. Some people meditate. I just lay down and press play, S-O-L-I-SOLI-PILLOW.com.

Amazon is rolling out a new user interface for its Fire TV streaming devices, designed to put more focus on the content, while also simplifying navigation. The update, which is initially available to Fire TV owners in the U.S., represents the first major Fire TV redesign in years. The changes arrive after an explosion of streaming content has made it more difficult to know what’s available to watch on which service, requiring streaming platforms like Fire TV to serve more as a discovery hub than just a tool to launch streaming apps. The companyfirst previewed the new designat the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, showing off an interface intended to make Fire TV feel less cluttered. The updated design features rounded corners, varied gradients, consistent typography, and increased spacing between content, and it adds more space for pinned apps. Previously, Fire TV users could only pin six apps to the home screen. Now, with smaller app icons, the update expands that to 20 slots for apps, accommodating services like Netflix, Disney+, YouTube, Prime Video, Hulu, HBO Max, and other top streamers. In addition, the navigation bar at the top of the screen has been simplified into categories marked with simple icons, including  Movies, TV, Live TV, Sports, and News. The search button is also easily within reach to the left of the Home tab. Within these tabs, Fire TV surfaces the content you’re already watching and displays other suggestions drawn from the services you’ve subscribed to, organized in rows labeled “For You.” The tabs also highlight free movies to stream, top movies and shows, and other paid content you might enjoy. The Live TV tab, meanwhile, centralizes access to the live content that’s available across your streaming services, plus broadcast or cable TV, if you subscribe or use an antenna. Less frequently used features live under a three-line “hamburger” menu on the left, and include Games, Art & Photos, the Appstore, Music Video & Audio, a [... 3,338 chars total]

It's February 17. Here's what's happening in tech. Amazon just rolled out a fresh user interface for its fire TV streaming devices, putting the spotlight right on your favorite content while making. Navigation way simpler. This is the first big redesigning years, and it's starting with fire TV owners in the United States. The update comes at a perfect time, with streaming services exploding and making it tough to find what to watch where. Amazon first showed it off at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas back in January, featuring cleaner looks like rounded corners, smooth. Gradients, consistent fonts, and more breathing room between items. Users are loving the extra space for pin apps, jumping from just six slots before to 20 now, so you can line up Netflix, Disney Plus, YouTube. Prime Video, Hulu, and more without the clutter. It turns fire TV into a real discovery hub instead of just an app launcher. The top navigation bar keeps it simple with easy-to-spot icons for movies, TV, live TV, sports, and news, plus a search button right next to the home. Tab. Inside those, you'll see rows of 4U suggestions from your subscriptions, free movies, top picks, and centralized live TV from all your services. This rolls out first on devices like the Fire TV Stick, 4K Plus, Fire TV Stick, 4K Max, second generation, and Fire TV Omni Mini LED series. Expect it to hit more countries and gadgets this spring, including other Fire TV players and TVs from partners like High Sense and TCL, plus the new. Amazon Ember Artline, TVs that double as wall art. DNN is sponsored by our partner. Check out the episode description. Get in, sound on, lights out. That is the routine, S-O-L-I, solelypillo.com.

Duke University agreed to end its partnership with The Ph.D. Project nearly a year after the Department of Education placed itunder investigationfor engaging in alleged “race-exclusionary practices.” The White HouseannouncedThursday that 31 of 45 universities partnered with the program have now ceased their affiliation after they were placed under investigation for alleged Title VI violations in March 2025. The move reflects growing pressure on universities to eliminate diversity initiatives the Trump administration has characterized as discriminatory. Founded in the 1990s, The Ph.D. Project has helped students from underrepresented backgrounds earn doctorates in business by providing mentorship and networking opportunities. In February 2025, the Trump administration issued a “Dear Colleague” letter to U.S. schools urging them to terminate all diversity initiatives or risk losing federal funding. One month later, the Department of Education claimed the program “unlawfully limits eligibility based on the race of participants” and opened an investigation. In the past, The Ph.D. Project’s conferences have been limited to Black, Latino and Indigenous participation, but the group’s current programming is open to students of any race interested in pursuing a business doctorate. Through the agreement announced Thursday, Duke and the 30 other universities also agreed to review their partnerships with all other external organizations for any potential violations of Title VI. According to documentation about the agreement obtained byThe Washington Post, should a university find a partnership in violation, it must “either sever those relationships or explain why they won’t.” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon applauded the agreement in thepress release: “This is the Trump effect in action: institutions of higher education are agreeing to cut ties with discriminatory organizations, recommitting themselves to abiding by federal law, and restoring equality of opportunity o [... 3,424 chars total]

It's February 20, at the Durham. Let's get into the news. Duke University has ended its partnership with the PhD project. Almost a year after the Department of Education started investigating it for alleged race-based exclusion. This comes as the White House announced that 31 out of 45 universities tied to the program have now cut their affiliations following. Probes into possible Title Six violations back in March 2025. The PhD project started in the 1990s, aims to help students from underrepresented groups earn business doctorates through mentoring and networking. It faced heat after the Trump administration sent a dear colleague letter in February 2025, warning schools to drop diversity programs or lose federal funds. Investigators claimed the program wrongly limited spots based on race, even though its current events are open to everyone chasing a business PhD. US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon praised the move, calling it the Trump effect in action and a step toward equal opportunity on campuses. Duke has commented on this or other potential cuts, but it's part of a bigger wave of changes at the school amid federal pressure on diversity, efforts, efforts. Meanwhile, Duke has scrubbed the term DEI or diversity, equity, and inclusion from its language, switching to an inclusive excellence model that keeps programs open to all. The university also ended a full-ride scholarship just for black undergrads after the Supreme Court's 2023 ruling on affirmative action. On top of that, probes lost in July 2025, targeted Duke, its law journal, and health system for race discrimination claims. Programs like the Baldwin Scholars, once for female identifying students, now welcome all undergrads. Duke seems to be going along with the administration's push against DEI, though it hasn't taken a public stand yet. This episode is brought to you by our sponsor. See the episode description. Press play. Put your head down. The sound is already there. S-O-L-I-SOLY-PILLOW.com.

OpenAI seems to have found product-market fit with young Indians. The company said on Friday that users between 18 and 24 years of age accounted for nearly 50% of messages sent to ChatGPT in the country, and users under 30 accounted for 80%. The AI lab said Indians use ChatGPT mostly for work, with 35% of all messages relating to professional tasks, compared to 30% globally. In particular, the company’s coding assistant, Codex, is seeing strong traction: OpenAI said Indians use Codex three times more than the global median, and weekly usage has increased by four times since the toolgot a Mac apptwo weeks ago. Users in India are also asking three times as many coding-related questions as the median. This is in line with findings from Anthropic, which earlier this week said45.2% of Claude’s tasks map to software-related use casesin India. OpenAI said outside of work tasks, 35% of messages to ChatGPT from Indians requested guidance, 20% concerned questions about general information, and 20% were requests for the bot to produce or help with writing. India is OpenAI’s second-largest market with more than 100 million weekly users, and the company has been actively trying to court Indians for its AI tools and services. The company offersa sub-$5 subscription tierin the country, and last year evenran promotional campaignsto spur adoption. “AI adoption is moving faster than our ability to measure it – and that’s a challenge for anyone trying to make smart decisions. Signals is our way of putting real-world evidence on the table, so India’s AI debate can be grounded in facts, not hype,” OpenAI’s chief economist Ronnie Chatterji said in a statement. OpenAI has had a busy few days in India, which is hosting a majorAI Impact Summitin New Delhi this week. The company is opening new offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru this year, and has signed a major partnership with conglomerate Tata Group tosecure 100 megawatts’ worth of AI compute capacityand distribute ChatGPT Enterprise within T [... 2,304 chars total]

On this February 20th, here's what's making waves across the tech world. OpenAI is seeing huge success with young people in India. Users between 18 and 24 years old make up nearly 50% of all messages sent to ChatGPT there. And those under 30 account for 80%. India is now OpenAI's second biggest market, with over 100 million weekly users. Indians are using ChatGPT mostly for work stuff, with 35% of messages tied to professional tasks. That's higher than the global average of 30%. Their coding tool Codex is a big hit too. Indians use it three times more than the global average, and weekly usage has jumped four times since the Mac app launched two weeks ago. They're also asking three times as many coding questions. This lines up with what Anthropic found earlier this week. Nearly 45% of their claw tasks in India relate to software work. OpenAI has been pushing hard to win over Indians, offering a subscription for under $5 and running promo campaigns last year. Lately, OpenAI has been super active in India. They're opening new offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru this year. They've also teamed up with the Tata Group for 100 Megawatts of AI Computing Power, and to bring ChatGPT Enterprise to Tata's IT ARM, TCS. Meanwhile, partnerships keep rolling in with companies like Fintech Pine Labs, travel sites X to go and make my trip, and food delivery service, eternal. Plus, deals with schools will get tools to over 100,000 students in the next six years. All this as New Delhi hosts a major AI impact summit this week. This DNN story comes to you thanks to our sponsor. If earbuds fall out when you sleep, this is for you, a pillow with built-in sound. S-O-L-I-SOLY-PILLO.COM

Airbnb said on Tuesday that it is launching its “Reserve Now, Pay Later” feature — which lets users secure bookings without immediate payment — globally. This allows users to cancel their bookings if there is a change of plans without losing money up front. The company launched the feature in the U.S. last yearfor domestic travel. Airbnb said that properties with a “flexible” or “moderate” cancellation policy are eligible for the upfront reservation. With this option, users get charged closer to their check-in date rather than at the time of booking. The feature mirrors “buy now, pay later” payment plans that have become popular in e-commerce, making expensive travel more accessible by spreading out costs. The company noted that since the launch, the feature saw 70% adoption for eligible bookings. During its earnings calls for Q4 2025, Airbnb said that the feature helped grow nights booked in the quarter. “Reserve Now, Pay Later saw significant adoption among eligible guests in Q4. It’s also led to longer booking lead times and a mix shift towards larger entire homes, especially those with four or more bedrooms, contributing to the increase in average daily rate,” Ellie Mertz, CFO of Airbnb, said during the call. Mertz noted that Airbnb’s overall cancellation rate jumped from 16% to 17% for the quarter, and it was higher among customers who use the upfront booking product. However, she said that this was “not hugely material relative to the broader cancellations on the platform.” Last year, the company surveyed U.S. travelers along with Focaldata, a London-based market research and polling company. Of those surveyed, 60% of participants said that a flexible payment option is important while booking a holiday, and 55% said they would use a flexible payment option. The company has been experimenting with pay-later products for years now. Back in 2018, Airbnb launched a product that allowed users to book a property by paying20% or 50% of the total chargesup front, with [... 2,145 chars total]

Hey, it's Cory with Tech News today. The biggest tech stories every day. Airbnb just announced. It's taking its reserve now pay later, feature global. This handy option lets you lock in the booking without paying a front, so you can cancel for free if plans change, as long as the listing has a flexible, or moderate policy. The feature launched in the U.S. last year for domestic trips, and it's seen huge uptake with 70% of eligible bookings using it. Let's get charged closer to check in instead of right away, much like those popular buy-now-pay later plans for online shopping. Travelers love the flexibility. A survey last year found 60% say it's important for booking vacations, and 55% would jump on it. That demand has clearly paid off for Airbnb. During its fourth quarter earnings call, the chief financial officer highlighted how it drove more nights booked, longer booking lead times, and A. Shift toward bigger, entire homes, with four or more bedrooms, boosting average daily rates. Cancelations rose slightly from 16 to 17% overall, and a bit higher for these users, but officials called it no big deal. Airbnb has experimented with pay later options for years, including partial payments back in 2018, and a car in a partnership in 20. 23. This episode is supported by our sponsor. Headphones in a pillow, simple idea, surprisingly addictive. S-O-L-I-SallyPillow.com

Threadsalready has over400 million monthly users, but Meta wants to push that number even higher. With the launch of a new Threads feature this week, the company is making it easier for Threads users to share posts on the app to their Instagram Stories — a move that could capitalize on Instagram’s larger user base to bring more people to Meta’s X competitor. The companyannouncedon Thursday a new feature that lets you share a Threads post to your Instagram Story without having to leave the Threads app, instead previewing how the post would look on your Story directly within the Threads app. The app previously allowed you to share anyone’s Threads post to your Instagram Story similar to how you would reshare someone’s Instagram post to your Story. It also already offered tools for sharing posts to your Instagram Feed or DMs. Meta’s text-first, Twitter-like app Threads firstlaunched in July 2023and benefited from its ties with Instagram to rapidly grow its initial user base. To sign up, users had to authenticate with their Instagram credentials, which allowed Threads to populate with account details, like username, bio, and photo, as well as verification status and followers. With one tap, users could immediately follow the accounts they already followed on Instagram — and those not on Threads would get a notification that someone had added them. In the months and years following its launch, Meta has heavily leaned on its other, bigger social platforms to continue to grow Threads, including bydisplaying popular Threads posts on Facebookand adding a similar carousel ofThreads posts to Instagram users. The company also made it easy for users tocross-post from Instagram and Facebook to Threads, which also helped boost adoption. These moves have paid off. Data from market intelligence provider Similarweb last month indicated thatThreads is now seeing more daily usagethan Elon Musk’s X on mobile devices. (X still dominates on the web, however.) Threads’ numbers overall have [... 2,236 chars total]

Tech stories making headlines on February 20th. Threads has hit over 400 million monthly users, and meta is rolling out a fresh feature to keep the momentum going. This week, they launched a tool that lets you share any threads post directly to your Instagram story right from inside the Threads app. You even get a preview of how to look on your story without switching apps. Previously, threads let you share posts to Instagram stories, but it was more like resharing from Instagram itself. Now it's seamless, and you could already send stuff to your Instagram feed or direct messages. This taps into Instagram's huge audience to pull more folks over to threads, Metis Answer to X. Threads kicked off back in July 2023, tied tightly to Instagram from day one. To join, you logged in with your Instagram account, which auto-filled your profile and let you follow your existing contacts with one tap. New users got notifications too, sparking quick growth. Metis kept pushing by showing popular threads posts on Facebook and Instagram feeds. They also made it super easy to cross-post from Instagram or Facebook straight to threads. All this has worked wonders for adoption. Recent data from SimilarWeb shows Threads now beats X in daily mobile usage, though X leads on the web. Monthly users doubled from 200 million in August 2024 to 400 million by August 2025. Metis also shared that threads reached 150 million daily active users in October. This CNN story comes to you thanks to our sponsor, Your Pillow, Your Podcast, Your Moment, Made for Listening in Bed, S-O-L-I-SoliPillow.com

Indian IT giant Infosys said on Tuesday it has partnered with Anthropic to develop enterprise-grade AI agents, as automation driven by large language models reshapes the global IT services industry. Under the partnership, Infosys plans to integrate Anthropic’s Claude models into its Topaz AI platform to build so-called “agentic” systems. The companies claim these agents will be able to autonomously handle complex enterprise workflows across industries such as banking, telecoms, and manufacturing. The tie-up was announced at India’sAI Impact Summitin New Delhi this week, which will see top executives from AI companies and Big Tech alike in attendance. The deal comes amid fears that AI tools, especially those built by major AI labs like Anthropic and OpenAI,will disrupt India’s heavily-staffed, $280 billion IT services industry, raising questions about the future of labor-intensive outsourcing business models. Earlier this month, shares of Indian IT companies went intofreefallafter Anthropic launched a suite of enterprise AI tools that claimed to automate tasks across legal, sales, marketing, and research roles. The partnership would give Infosys, one of the world’s largest IT services businesses, access to Anthropic’s Claude models, and developer tools for building AI agents tailored for large enterprises. Infosys said it would use Anthropic’s Claude Code to help write, test, and debug code, and said it is already deploying the tool internally to build expertise that will be applied to client work. Infosys also detailed how AI is contributing to its business: AI-related services generated revenue of ₹25 billion (around $275 million), or 5.5% of the company’s total revenue of ₹454.8 billion (about $5 billion) in the December quarter. Rival Tata Consultancy Services previously said its AI services generate about $1.8 billion annually, or around 6% of revenue. For Anthropic, the partnership offers a route into heavily regulated enterprise sectors where deploying AI syst [... 2,937 chars total]

This is your Tech Update for February 17th. Indian IT Giant Infosys has teamed up with Anthropic to build advanced AI agents for big businesses. The partnership integrates Anthropics Cloud Models into Infosys' Topaz AI platform. These agents are designed to handle complex tasks on their own, and fields like banking, telecoms, and manufacturing. The deal was announced this week at India's AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. Infosys gets full access to clause tools, including one for writing, testing, and debugging code. They're already using it inside the company to build skills for customer projects, and Anthropics CEO, Dariel Amadi, highlighted the challenge of moving AI from demos to real world regulated industries. Infosys' deep experience in finance, telecoms, and manufacturing helps close that gap, making safe, scalable AI possible for enterprises. This move gives both companies a boost in the fast-changing IT services world. Infosys can offer cutting-edge automation, while Anthropic taps into strict sectors needing strong governance. No word yet on roll-out timelines or deal costs, but it's like other Indian IT partnerships, such as H.Shield Tech, with OpenAI last year. Expect more AI's shakeups ahead. This episode is supported by our sponsor. When you want calm, do not reach for your phone. Lay back and listen, soliplow.com.

Meta is shutting down its standalone Messenger website, the company shared in ahelp page. Starting April 2026, the website will no longer be available. If users still want to send and receive messages on the web, they can do so while logged into Facebook. “After messenger.com goes away, you will be automatically redirected to usefacebook.com/messagesfor messaging on a computer,” the help page reads. “You can continue your conversations there or on the Messenger mobile app.” If you use Messenger without a Facebook account, then you’ll only be able to continue your conversations on the Messenger mobile app. Users can restore their chat history on any platform using the PIN they entered when they first created a backup on Messenger. If you can’t remember your PIN, you can reset it. The move comes a few months afterMeta shut down Messenger’s standalone desktop appsfor Windows and Mac. The writing may have been on the wall at the time, as Meta had been redirecting existing desktop app users to the Facebook website to continue using the messaging service, rather than the Messenger website. The change was first spotted by reverse engineerAlessandro Paluzzi. Meta is notifying users of the update via a pop-up message on the Messenger website and app. Users have taken to social media toexpress their frustrationwith the update, withmany sayingthey don’t want to rely on the Facebook website to send and receive Messenger chats on the web, especially those who have deactivated their Facebook accounts. While Meta’s decision to shut down various Messenger platforms is frustrating for users, it allows the tech giant to reduce costs by leaving it with fewer platforms to maintain. Messenger first launched as “Facebook Chat” back in 2008, and Facebook (now Meta) launched Facebook Messenger as a standalone app in 2011. Over the years, the tech giant positioned Messenger as its own service outside of Facebook, and in 2014, the social network removed messaging capabilities from its main m [... 2,206 chars total]

On this February 19th, here's what's making waves across the tech world. Meta is shutting down its standalone messenger website, starting in April 2026. After that, anyone trying to access messenger.com on their computer will get automatically redirected to Facebook.com slash messages. Users can keep chatting there or stick with the Messenger Mobile App. If you use Messenger without a Facebook account, you'll only be able to message on the mobile app going forward. You can restore your chat history anywhere using the pin you set up for backups. And if you forget it, there's a reset option. Plenty of users are upset about this change, venting on social media that they don't want to log into Facebook just to message on the web. Many have deactivated their Facebook accounts and preferred the separate messenger site. This follows Meta's recent shutdown of the standalone messenger desktop apps for Windows and Mac. Back then, they already started pushing people to the Facebook website instead of messenger.com. The update was first spotted by Reverse Engineer Alessandro Palucci, and Meta is now notifying folks through pop-up messages on the site and app. While it's frustrating for users, it helps Meta cut costs by maintaining fewer platforms. The Daily News Now is presented by our sponsor. Your favorite podcasts, music, or sleep sounds coming from your pillow, no earbuds, no distractions. Just listen. S-O-L-I-SOLYPILLOW.com.

U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., evaluated the Trump administration’s foreign policy agenda at a Friday event hosted by the Duke Program in American Grand Strategy. After casting a vote against the “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act” in June, Tillis said he would not seek reelection. Since this announcement, he has beenmarkedly more outspokenon his disagreements with the Trump administration’s actions, both domestically and abroad. The event was moderated by Peter Feaver, professor of political science and public policy and AGS director. Tillis largely focused on one of his “signature issues”: international affairs. He stressed the importance of the U.S. relations with the European Union, NATO and the annual Munich Security Conference, which took place from Feb. 13 to Feb. 15. Tillis compared Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s speech at this year’s conference with Vice President J.D. Vance’sspeechfrom 2025 — during which VancelambastedEurope for alienating far-right political parties, immigration policy and free speech law. He called Vance’s speech "embarrassing." The senator described himself as a “management consultant” and “professional developer” who does not seek attention or theatrics from politics. Given this lens, he said, Vance’s characterization of Europe felt uncommitted to democratic values. Rubio’sspeechat this year’s Munich Security Conference, by contrast, “set the tone” that Tillis wished had been implemented the previous year. Tillis said his speeches reflected an important criticism that Europe has not invested enough in NATO. “We're a family of nations that are important,” Tillis said. “If you let people know that on the front end, you're more likely to produce positive behaviors and stand up against totalitarians who are just waiting for [NATO] to fail.” He likened the current disagreements between member countries regarding international defense to the dynamic of family relationships. On Ukraine and Russia, Tillis said he took issue with non-appointed ind [... 4,928 chars total]

In Durham today, February 24th, U.S. Senator Tom Tillis from North Carolina spoke out against parts of the Trump administration's foreign policy at a recent event hosted by the Duke. Program in American Grand Strategy, the Republican lawmaker, who announced he won't seek re-election after boating against the major bill in June, has grown bolder in his criticisms both at home and abroad, moderated by a Duke professor Tillis zeroed in on his key issue of international relations. He prey Secretary of State Marco Rubio speech at this year's Munich Security Conference from February 13th to 15th, saying it struck. The right tone on Europe needing to invest more in NATO. By contrast, Tillis called Vice President JD. Vance's speech from last year embarrassing, especially for slamming Europe's handling of far-right parties, immigration, and free speech. He compared NATO allies to a family that needs encouragement up front to stand strong against threats. Tillis took aim at unelected business figures like Jared Kushner and Steve Whitkopf leading high-stakes talks on Ukraine and Russia, calling it a bad. Look for America and its partners. He also blasts the comments from Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller pushing for the U.S. to take Greenland, which upset Denmark and Europe. Meanwhile, he questioned the strategy behind Trump's tariffs after a Supreme Court ruling struck most of them down that same day. While supporting strikes on an Iranian nuclear site last June and pulling Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro out in January, Tillis said there's no. Clear plan for what comes next in Venezuela. He even criticized Democrats for a video urging soldiers to refuse orders, calling a rage bait before courts could weigh in. In wrapping up, Tillis stressed real-world experience and humility for lawmakers, warning against fame-seekers who get little done. He opposes term limits and push for election integrity as key to strong leadership. The Daily News Now is powered by a sponsor. Link [... 2,102 chars total]

OpenAI is beefing up partnerships with four major consulting giants as the AI company looks to grow its enterprise business in 2026. OpenAI announced on Monday the“Frontier Alliances,”a signal that the AI lab is willing to try different approaches to get enterprises to meaningfully adopt its technology. The alliance includes multi-year partnerships between OpenAI and four major consulting firms, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), McKinsey, Accenture, and Capgemini, to sell its enterprise products. OpenAI’s Forward Deployed Engineering team will work with the consulting giants to help them implement OpenAI’s enterprise-focused technologies like OpenAI Frontier into customers’ tech stacks. The companylaunched OpenAI Frontier in early February. The no-code open software allows users to build, deploy, and manage AI agents both built on OpenAI’s AI models and beyond. OpenAI argues in its latest announcement that consultants are the right avenue to get enterprises on board. “AI alone does not drive transformation. It must be linked to strategy, built into redesigned processes, and adopted at scale with aligned incentives and culture to deliver sustained outcomes,” BCG CEO Christoph Schweizer said in OpenAI’s blog post. “Our expanded partnership combines OpenAI’s Frontier platform with BCG’s deep industry, functional, and tech expertise and BCG X’s build-and-scale capabilities to drive measurable impact with safeguards from day one.” Thus far,enterprise adoption of AI has been relatively slowas these companies struggle to find a meaningful return on investment from their AI pursuits. OpenAI’s alliance strategy makes sense and goes beyond just pitching enterprises on attaching AI to their existing workflows. Instead, this effort focuses on consultants persuading companies to change their strategies and workflows to fold in OpenAI’s tools where it makes sense. It’s worth noting the OpenAI rival Anthropic has inked deals with consulting giants, includingDeloitteandAccenturein rec [... 2,314 chars total]

It's February 23rd, here's what's happening in tech. OpenAI just announced a big move to boost its business side. They're launching the Frontier Alliance, teaming up with four huge consulting firms, Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey, Accenture, and Capgemini. These are multi-year partnerships aimed at getting more companies to use OpenAI's enterprise tools, especially heading into 2026. The idea is to go beyond just selling software. OpenAI's forward-deployed engineering team will work directly with these consultants to help businesses weave in tech, like OpenAI Frontier. That platform lost in early February and lets users build, deploy, and manage AI agents without coding, using OpenAI models or others. Enterprise adoption of AI has been pretty slow so far. Big companies struggle to see real returns on their investments. OpenAI thinks consultants are key here. Since they can tie AI into bigger strategy changes, redesign processes, and company-wide culture shifts for. Lasting results. Meanwhile, OpenAI's chief financial officer, Sarah Fryer, said, back in January that Enterprise is a top focus for 2026. They've already signed big deals this year with Snowflake and ServiceNow, and brought on Barrett's off to lead enterprise sales. It's not just OpenAI playing this game. Global Anthropic has similar partnerships with firms like Deloitte and Accenture. This alliance shows how AI leaders are betting on consultants to finally crack the enterprise market wide open. This episode is supported by our sponsor. It is a pillow that plays your podcast and music without earbuds, built for listening and bed. So L.I. SoleyPillow.com

Fewer bad actors are targeting Google Play with malicious apps, the company says, a shift that the tech giant credits with its increased investments in proactive security systems and AI technology. In its latestAndroid app ecosystem safety reportreleased on Thursday, Google said it prevented 1.75 million policy-violating apps from being published on Google Play in 2025, down from2.36 million in 2024and2.28 million in 2023. The annual report offers a look at how Google is keeping Android users safe by reviewing and monitoring apps to protect against malware, financial fraud, privacy invasions, sneaky subscriptions, and other threats. For instance, Google says it banned more than 80,000 developer accounts in 2025 that had tried to publish these types of bad apps. That figure is also down year-over-year from 158,000 in 2024, and 333,000 in 2023. Google touted how its investments in AI and other real-time defenses have helped fight these sorts of threats, but also how they served as a deterrent. “Initiatives like developer verification, mandatory pre-review checks, and testing requirements have raised the bar for the Google Play ecosystem, significantly reducing the paths for bad actors to enter,” the company’s blog post explained, adding that its “AI-powered, multi-layer protections” have been “discouraging bad actors from publishing malicious apps.” Google noted it now runs over 10,000 safety checks on every app it publishes and continues to recheck apps after publication. The company has also integrated its latest generative AI models into the app review process, which has helped human reviewers find more complex malicious patterns faster. Google said it plans to increase its AI investments in 2026 to stay ahead of emerging threats. In addition, Google said it prevented more than 255,000 apps from gaining excessive access to sensitive user data, a figure that’s down from1.3 million in 2024. The company also blocked 160 million spam ratings and reviews last year, and [... 2,494 chars total]

On this February 19th, here's what's making waves across the tech world. Google says fewer bad actors are targeting its play store with malicious apps thanks to beefed up security and AI tools. In its latest safety report for 2025, the company blocked 1.75 million policy violating apps from being published. That's down from 2.36 million in 2024 and 2.28 million in 2023. The report highlights how Google banned more than 80,000 developer accounts last year for trying to sneak in bad apps. That's a big drop from 1.58,000 the year before and 333,000 in 2023. Investments in AI-powered defenses and stricter checks, like developer verification, are raising the bar and scaring off troublemakers. These efforts mean Google now runs over 10,000 safety checks on every app before and after publishing. Google and reviewers are using new, generative AI to spot tricky threats faster. Overall, it's keeping users safer from malware, fraud, sneaky subscriptions, and privacy risks. On the data front, Google stopped more than 255,000 apps from grabbing too much sensitive user info, down sharply from 1.3 million in 2024. It also blocked 160 million spam ratings and reviews, helping protect honest app scores. Meanwhile, Google PlayProtect caught more than 27 million new malicious apps outside the store, up from 13 million last year. The company plans to pour even more into AI in 2026 to stay ahead of evolving threats. This DNN story is thanks to our sponsor details in the description. If sleep podcasts are your thing, this is your pillow, built for comfort and calm, go L-I-SOLY-PILLOW.com.

Brian Merchant, writing forBlood in the Machine, reports that people across the United States are dismantling and destroying Flock surveillance cameras, amid rising public anger that the license plate readers aid U.S. immigration authorities and deportations. Flock is the Atlanta-based surveillance startupvalued at $7.5 billion a year agoand a maker of license plate readers. It has faced criticism for allowing federal authorities access to its massive network of nationwide license plate readers and databases at a time when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is increasinglyrelying on datato raid communities as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Flock cameras allow authorities to track where people go and when by taking photos of their license plates from thousands of cameras located across the United States. Flock claims it doesn’t share data with ICE directly, but reports show that local police have shared their own access to Flock cameras and its databases with federal authorities. While some communities are calling on their cities toend their contracts with Flock, others are taking matters into their own hands. Merchant reports instances of broken and smashed Flock cameras in La Mesa, California, just weeks after the city council approved the continuation of Flock cameras deployed in the city, despite a clear majority of attendees favoring their shutdown. Alocal reportcited strong opposition to the surveillance technology, with residents raising privacy concerns. Other cases of vandalism have stretched from California and Connecticut to Illinois and Virginia. InOregon, six license plate-scanning cameras on poles were cut down and at least one spray-painted. A note left at the base of the severed poles said, “Hahaha get wrecked ya surveilling fucks,”reports Merchant. According toDeFlock, a project aimed at mapping license plate readers, there are close to 80,000 cameras across the United States. Dozens of cities have so far rejected the [... 2,268 chars total]

This is your tech update for February 23rd. People across the United States are taking direct action against Flock's surveillance cameras, smashing and dismantling them out of anger over there, role in immigration raids and deportations. Flock is an Atlanta-based company valued at $7.5 billion just a year ago. It makes license plate readers that snap photos of vehicles from thousands of cameras nationwide, helping track where cars go and win. While Flock says it does not share data directly with immigration authorities, local police have given federal agents access to the system. This has fueled criticism as U.S. immigration and customs enforcement ramps of community raids under the Trump administration. Residents are pushing back hard. In places like La Mesa, California, cameras were broken weeks after the city council kept them despite public outcry over privacy. Flockers hit California, Connecticut, Illinois, Virginia, and Oregon, where polls holding six cameras were cut down and spray painted with. Defiant messages? A group called D-Flock maps nearly 80,000 of these cameras across the country. Dozens of cities have rejected Flock contracts, and some police departments now block federal access. Flock has not commented on the rising resistance. Thanks to our sponsor for supporting today's coverage, do not just fall asleep, drift into what you are listening to.

Etsy is selling Depop, a secondhand clothing app popular with Gen Z and millennials, to eBay for $1.2 billion in cash, the companyannouncedon Wednesday. Etsy says the deal will allow it to focus on its own marketplace. The deal comes nearly five years afterEtsy acquired Depopfor $1.62 billion, at a time when secondhand clothing apps weregaining in popularity. Founded in 2011, Depop generated approximately $1 billion in gross merchandise sales — the total value of goods sold through its platform — in 2025. In the U.S., the company saw nearly 60% year-over-year growth. As of December 31, 2025, the marketplace had seven million active buyers, nearly 90% of whom were under 34, and more than three million active sellers. “Depop has built a trusted, social-forward marketplace with strong momentum in the pre-loved fashion category, and we are confident that as part of eBay, Depop will be even more well-positioned for long-term growth, benefiting from our scale, complementary offerings, and operational capabilities,” said eBay CEO Jamie Iannone in thepress release. The move comes as Etsy has struggled to grow its business after the pandemic-era e-commerce boom, competing with marketplaces like Temu and Shein, as well as Amazon. The company’s year-over-year revenue grew 2.2% in 2024, down from 7.1% growth reported in 2023. Etsy is scheduled to release its 2025 earnings on Thursday. “We are excited that this transaction allows us to focus exclusively on the compelling opportunity we see in front of us: to grow the Etsy marketplace in ways that matter most to our buyers and sellers,” said Etsy CEO Kruti Patel Goyal in the press release. “We are proud of what the Depop team has built – a truly differentiated brand and product, grounded in clear purpose and strong community – becoming one of the fastest-growing fashion resale marketplaces in the U.S. I am confident that Depop is well-positioned for its next phase of growth as part of eBay.” The sale is the latest in a pattern of [... 2,333 chars total]

It's February 18th. Here's your tech news in two minutes. Etsy just announced it's selling its second hand clothing app, D-POP to eBay for $1.2 billion in cash. The deal lets Etsy zero in on its main marketplace for handmade and vintage goods. D-POP, popular with Gen Z and millennials, was bought by Etsy almost five years ago for $1.62 billion when resale apps were exploding. D-POP started in 2011 and hit about $1 billion in gross merchandise sales last year. In the US, it grew nearly 60% year over year, with 7 million active buyers, 90% under age 34, and over 3 million. Sellers. Etsy leaders say they're proud of D-POP's community and social vibe in pre-love fashion, and they believe eBay's scale will boost it even more. Meanwhile, Etsy's been facing tough competition from spots like T-MU, Sheen, and Amazon, with revenue growth slowing to 2.2% last year. This sale fits Etsy's pattern of snapping of niche sites and later selling them off, like Brazil's ELO7 and the music gear side, Reverb. Etsy's chief exec is excited to double down on what buyers and sellers love most. The deal should close in the second quarter of this year, right after Etsy drops its 2025 earnings on Thursday. Support for this D-N-N episode comes from our sponsor. Some travel miles to fine piece, I just climb into bed and listen.

SpaceX’s company town in Texas, Starbase, is less than a year old, but it already has its ownvolunteer fire departmentand is working oncreating a police department. Now it wants its own court, too. Starbase’s city administrator submitted aproposed ordinanceto the city commission during a meeting on Wednesday that would create a municipal court with a part-time judge, prosecutor, and court clerk. Starbase’s mayor will serve as the judge until one is appointed to a two-year term. The administrator wrote that he hopes to have a candidate ready by next month’s meeting. The formation of a court within Starbase, which currently claims around 580 residents and sits adjacent to SpaceX’s South Texas rocket factory and launch facility, is the latest in a series of steps the city has taken to build up its own municipal services. In addition to the volunteer fire department, Starbase is also now handling its own building permits and fire code inspections. And when a plan to contract local county sheriff’s deputies to patrol the city fell apart, the citydecided instead to start up the Starbase Police Department. (The city is still paying the Cameron County Sheriff’s Department to use its jail facilities, though, according to paperwork filed ahead of Wednesday’s meeting.) Starbase is still in the process of establishing the police department, and it expects that process could take around six months. During Wednesday’s meeting, the city commission reviewed an application to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement that is required to stand up the police force. That application revealed some new details about the plans for the new Starbase Police Department. The city wrote that its expanding population has led to an increase in calls for service. Across 2025, there were 420 calls to law enforcement in the city, 180 calls for fire service, and 140 EMS calls, according to the application. There were also 353 crashes documented in the area last year, with more than 7,000 vehicles trave [... 2,978 chars total]

Tech Stories Making Headlines On February 19 Starbase, the SpaceX Company Town in Texas, is pushing to build its own municipal court just months after opening. Less than a year old, with around 580 residents next to the rocket factory and launch site, the city submitted and ordinance this. Wednesday for a part-time judge, prosecutor and clerk. The mayor will act as judge until a two-year point he is ready, possibly by next month's meeting. Earlier this year, Starbase launched a volunteer fire department and started handling its own building permits and fire inspections. When plans fell through to hire county sheriff deputies for patrols, the city decided to create the Starbase Police Department instead. They're still using the county jail, but expect the full police setup to take about six months. The push comes from a surge in needs, with 420 law enforcement calls, 180 fire calls and 140 emergency. Medical service calls last year. Officials also noted 353 crashes and over 7,000 vehicles daily on highway 4, the main road in and out. Meanwhile, the Cameron County Sheriff's Office couldn't promise steady coverage for the remote area, sparking worries among residents and leaders. About slow response times. High household incomes, rising property values, and a mix of tech innovation and coastal appeal have raised expectations for top-notch public safety. According to city paperwork, more SpaceX launches ahead, will draw crowds of tourists, and protecting those space-flight operations is a big priority. Starbase is racing to keep up as it grows into a self-sufficient hub. Support for this episode comes from our sponsor. See the description. A pillow that sounds as good as it feels. Bill for listening in bed, S-O-L-I-SOL-Pillow.com

OpenAI has partnered with India’s Tata Group to secure 100 megawatts of AI-ready data center capacity in the country, with plans to scale to 1 gigawatt. The move is part of a broader push to deepen the company’s enterprise and infrastructure footprint in one of its fastest-growing markets. OpenAIannouncedon Thursday that the partnership with the Tata Group is part of itsStargate project, which aims to build AI-ready infrastructure and expand enterprise adoption globally. OpenAI will become the first customer of Tata Consultancy Services’ HyperVault data center business, beginning with 100 megawatts of capacity. The deal also includes deploying ChatGPT Enterprise across Tata’s workforce and standardizing AI-native software development through OpenAI’s tools. The partnership, which falls under the “OpenAI for India” initiative, highlights the company’s expanding footprint in the country, which according to recent estimates from CEO Sam Altman hasmore than 100 million weekly ChatGPT usersspanning students, teachers, developers, and entrepreneurs. The scale of adoption has positioned India as one of OpenAI’s most important growth markets as it deepens enterprise and infrastructure investments in the country. The local data center capacity will allow OpenAI to run its most advanced models within India, reducing latency for users while meeting data residency, security, and compliance requirements for regulated sectors and government workloads. Hosting compute domestically is critical for enterprises that handle sensitive data and operate under data localization and digital infrastructure rules. These circumstances could widen OpenAI’s access to enterprise customers that require in-country processing. An initial 100 megawatts of capacity represents a substantial commitment in the context of AI infrastructure, where large-scale model training and inference require power-hungry clusters of graphics processing units, or GPUs. Scaling to 1 gigawatt over time would place the Ta [... 4,911 chars total]

It's February 19th, and here's what's happening across tech right now. OpenAI has joined forces with India's massive Tata Group to launch AI-ready data centers in the country. They're kicking off with a hundred megawatts of capacity, with plans to ramp up to one gigawatt over time. This partnership boosts OpenAI's infrastructure in one of its hottest growth markets. Announced on Thursday, the deal ties into OpenAI's Stargate project for Global AI expansion. OpenAI becomes the first customer of Tata Consultancy Services, new Hypervalt data centers. On top of that, Chad G.P.T. enterprise will roll out across Tata's workforce and they'll use OpenAI tools to modernize software development. India boasts over 100 million weekly Chad G.P.T. users, including students, teachers, developers, and entrepreneurs. Local servers mean faster response times and compliance with data residency rules, which is huge for sensitive enterprise and government work. Tata's chairman highlighted how this builds top-tier AI infrastructure and skills for India's workforce. The companies are also launching AI certifications through Tata Consultancy Services, the first outside the United States, and OpenAI plans new, offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru soon. Meanwhile, this ramps up amid India's AI impact summit in New Delhi, featuring leaders like OpenAI Sam Altman. It's OpenAI's boldest movie at in India, building on partnerships with firms like PhoneP and H.E.L.TEC to embed AI everywhere. This episode is brought to you in partnership with our sponsor. Press play. Put your head down. The sound is already there. S-O-L-I-SOLYPILO.COM

Hundreds marched in downtown Durham on Friday afternoon as part of anational protestagainst a series of forceful and violent tactics employed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The protest started at noon and included grandparents, workers on lunch breaks and student activists, marching and chanting side-by-side. Speakers from local progressive organizations, like the Union of Southern Service Workers and the North Carolina Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), rallied the crowd. Attendees held signs reading “Defund ICE,” “No war in our streets or abroad” and “Durham Stands with Minnesota.” Many signs referencedRenee GoodandAlex Pretti— two U.S. citizens shot and killed by ICE officers in Minneapolis in January. Andrea Cazalez, a Duke Intensive Care Unit nurse, said in a speech that the United States has been “doing nothing to improve working conditions, living wages, the housing crisis … all while making and profiting billions and pouring them into ICE and DHS [Department of Homeland Security].” Some speakers and attendees said the United States was moving toward an authoritarian regime. “The Trump administration is basically moving us toward a fascist regime,” Durham resident Jerry Gershenhorn said. “… People are arrested whether they're citizens or not. Immigrants are demonized.” But Shira Smith, an organizer for USSW, described how many flaws of the nation’s current political system are rooted in history. “The system that created the slave patrols is the same system that made the police officers kill Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Md., and George Floyd in Minneapolis, and the same system that made ICE officers kill Renee Good, Alex Pretti andKeith Porter,” Smith said. Durham resident Perry Shepherd echoed similar concerns, noting that the protest could help to raise awareness. “Of course, one protest can't change anything on the onset,” he said. “But I do think it gives people the idea of how serious these kinds of things are and how deep these issues go.” [... 2,526 chars total]

It's February 2nd in Durham. Let's get into the news. Hundreds of people marched through downtown Durham on Friday afternoon as part of a nationwide protest against violent tactics by immigration and customs enforcement. The event kicked off at noon, bringing together grandparents, workers on lunch breaks, and student activists all chanting side by side. Protesters waived signs calling to defund IC, declaring no war in streets or abroad, and showing solidarity with Minnesota. Many highlighted Renee Good and Alex Pretty. Two United States citizens shot and killed by ICE officers and Minneapolis back in January. Speakers from groups like the Union of Southern Service Workers and the North Carolina Party for Socialism and Liberation rallied the crowd. A duke intensive care nurse criticized how the government ignores poor working conditions, low wages, and the housing crisis while pouring billions into ICI and the Department of Homeland Security. Local residents voiced fears of a shift toward authoritarianism, with one saying the Trump administration is pushing toward fascism by arresting. People regardless of citizenship and demonizing immigrants. Organizers traced these issues back through history, linking slave patrols to modern killings by police and ICE agents. The group called for ongoing action, urging folks to hit up the next Durham City Council meeting where they'll vote on new surveillance tech for. ICE, the same kind IC uses in communities. Protesters agreed one March raises awareness, but real change needs daily collective effort like organizing and unionizing. A quick thank you to our sponsor of today's episode. A pillow that plays your podcast, music, or white noise privately. No earbuds required. S-O-L-I, solely pillow.com.

Only days after Spotify announced its foray into physical book sales, which included an audiobook feature that lets yousync your listening and your offline reading progress, Amazon-owned Audible has launched a feature that brings e-books together with audiobooks. The companyannouncedon Wednesday an “immersion reading” feature in the Audible app, which allows readers who have both the e-book and audiobook versions of a title in their Audible and Kindle libraries to read the e-book’s text while the audio plays. The feature also lets users switch between the different formats across devices. While in the “Read & Listen” mode, the text of the book is highlighted in real time in sync with the narration. The Kindle appalready offered a toolthat would allow readers to move between the Audible version and the e-book, when both versions had been purchased. This feature is now coming to Audible’s app for the first time. Customers will need to own both versions of the book for this to work, but discounted audiobooks will be made available to customers who own the matching e-book, the company says. At launch, hundreds of thousands of titles will be supported by the new “Read & Listen” feature, including those in English, German, Spanish, Italian, and French. Initially, the option will be offered in the U.S., with the U.K., Australia, and Germany gaining support over the next few months. To discover eligible titles, Audible will automatically identify which Kindle e-books have audiobook matches within its app. Of course, many customers were already reading and listening to their books without buying two versions — by having Alexa narrate their e-books from their Kindle library. Alexa is not a professional narrator by any means, and the AI assistant’s more monotonous delivery can lead you to zone out. By offering a way to add on the audiobook for a lower price when you’ve already bought the e-book, Amazon hopes to boost book sales across formats. The company also claims that the [... 3,286 chars total]

On February 18th, here's the latest in technology news. Just days after Spotify announced its push into physical book sales with synced audiobook and reading features, Amazon Own Audible has fired back. With its own immersion reading tool, launch this Wednesday, the new Read and Listen mode in the Audible app lets you follow e-book text on screen while the audiobook narration plays, with words highlighting in real time to match the voice. You can seamlessly switch between reading and listening across your devices, making it super flexible for multitaskers. This builds on a similar sync option already in the Kindle app, but now it's finally hitting Audible for the first time. To use it, you need both the Kindle e-book and Audible audio-book versions, though Audible offers discounted audiobooks if you already own the matching. e-book The app automatically spots eligible pairs in your library, so no hunting around required. Use of thousands of titles are ready at launch, covering English, German, Spanish, Italian and French. It kicks off in the US, with the UK, Australia and Germany coming in the next few months. Amazon says pairing, reading and listening sharpens focus and comprehension, backed by research and their data showing these users devour nearly twice, as much content monthly compared to audio-only fans. It's a win for students, language learners, and anyone ditching Alexa's robotic narration for Pro Voice Actors. Quit thanks to today's sponsor. See the description for more. Podcasts had different when the sound comes from your pillow. Once you try it, it just makes sense. S-O-L-I-SOLYPILLOW.COM

Microsoft announced a major gaming shake-up on Friday, with Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer departing the company, along with Xbox president Sarah Bond. Spencer will be replaced by former Instacart and Meta executive Asha Sharma. With Sharma’s most recent role as the president of Microsoft’s CoreAI product, these moves suggest that Microsoft might be doubling down on bringing AI into video games. The company had already been experimenting with ways to combine AI and gaming — for example,developing an AI gaming companionandreleasing a buggy, AI-generated level from Quake II. Indeed, in an internal memopublished by The Verge, Sharma wrote that Microsoft “will invent new business models and new ways to play” and said that “monetization and AI” will both “evolve and influence this future.” At the same time, she said that the company “will not chase short-term efficiency or flood our ecosystem with soulless AI slop.” “Games are and always will be art, crafted by humans, and created with the most innovative technology provided by us,” Sharma added. That’s just one of three “commitments” Sharma made in her memo. The others involve building “great games beloved by players” and prioritizing Xbox.

It's February 21st. Here's your tech news in two minutes. Microsoft made ways in the gaming world on Friday with a big leadership change at Xbox. Phil Spencer, the CEO of Microsoft Gaming, is stepping down along with Xbox president Sarah Bond. Taking over for Spencer is Asha Sharma, who recently led Microsoft's core AI products after stints at Instacart and Metta. This shake-up points to a stronger push for artificial intelligence in video games. Microsoft has already tested AI features, like a gaming companion, and even a glitchy AI-made level from Quake 2. Players and insiders are buzzing about what this means for the future of gaming. Some worry it could lead to more automated content, but others see it as a chance for fresh innovations that blend tech with creativity. In an internal memo, Sharma laid out her vision. She promised to create new ways to play and new business models, with AI and monetization playing key roles, but without flooding the market with. Global quality AI content. Sharma stressed three main commitments, building games players love, putting Xbox first, and using innovative tech while keeping human artistry at the U. Hard of it all. This story is shared with support from our sponsor. Relax deeper, reset faster, comfort, you can hear. This is O.L.I. SoleyPillow.com.

In the nation's capital, Duke men's basketball dethroned Michigan to replace it as the poll's No. 1, while the Blue Devil women broke their conference streak. The Blue Zone offers its thoughts on the rankings: Blue Devils claim top spot in hectic week For the first time this season, Duke stands at the top of the college basketball world. After former No. 2 Houston lost Monday to Iowa State, Saturday's matchup between then-No. 3 Duke and then-top-ranked Michigan was functionally a matchup between the top two teams in the country. The Blue Devils knocked off the Wolverines68-63, claiming the leading spot in the nation. Duke’s takedown of Michigan was the premier matchup in a loaded slate of top-25 contests this past week, with seven games taking place between ranked teams. Chaos in the Big 12 and around the country Former Nos. 2, 4, 6 and 23 — Houston, Arizona, Iowa State and BYU — all faced off against two ranked opponents this week in conference play, with each team faring dramatically differently. Arizona knocked off BYU and Houston, climbing to No. 2 after a very strong week. Houston lost to both Iowa State and the Wildcats, falling down to No. 5. The Cyclones beat Houston before losing to BYU on the road, but were rewarded with the No. 4 spot for their win. BYU climbed a few spots to No. 19 after beating Iowa State, but losing to Arizona kept them from rising any higher. The Big 12 has been the strongest conference in the country this season, with a number of national championship contenders in the mix. A clear pecking order hasn’t been established, but a tough regular-season slate has exposed each group’s weaknesses and forced them to get better. In all the chaos of this week, only two teams stayed stable. Nos. 10 and 20 Illinois and Arkansas kept their spots despite overtime losses to UCLA and Alabama. Tennessee joined the poll at No. 22 after two wins. Alabama’s win against the Razorbacks earned them the biggest jump this week, leaping eight spots to No. 17. K [... 3,873 chars total]

In Durham today, February 23rd, Duke Men's basketball has taken over the top spot in the latest polls for the first time this season. They knocked off then number one, Michigan 68-63, and a huge matchup that felt like a title game preview. That win, combined with Houston's loss earlier in the week, put the Blue Devils at number one amid a wild slate of 7 top 25 games. Chaos ruled the big 12, the toughest conference around. Arizona surged to number two with wins over BYU and Houston. Houston tumbled to number five after dropping both those games. Iowa State beat Houston but lost to BYU, landing at number four, while BYU climbed to number 19. A few teams held steady, like Illinois at number 10, Arkansas at number 20, and Tennessee at number 22. Alabama made the biggest leap, jumping eight spots to number 17 with a key overtime win over Arkansas. Kansas and Vanderbilt each fell six spots after rough losses. Over on the women's side, Duke snapped a long win streak with a tough 53-51 road loss to Clemson, dropping three spots to number 12. They have just two regular season games left, including a rivalry clash with number 21 North Carolina that could push them back toward the top 10. The women's top five stayed rock solid with Yukon, UCLA, South Carolina, Texas, and Vanderbilt. Iowa and Oklahoma roasts four spots each after beating ranked foes. With tournaments looming, these rankings hint at NCAA seeds and Duke joins Yukon and Michigan as one of three schools with both teams in the top 15. Support for this episode comes from our sponsor. See the description. Your pillow just got smarter. It plays your podcasts and music. S-O-L-I-S-O-L-P-L-O-D-L.

What would have been a moment of united commitment to global tech innovation at the ongoingIndia AI Impact Summitinstead proved an awkward one: When Prime Minister Narendra Modi prompted speakers at the event to join hands and raise them in a show of solidarity, all executives onstage obliged — except OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, who held their hands noticeably apart. As leaders of the two foremost labs in the AI race, it goes without saying that Altman and Amodei are fierce competitors. That rivalry has only intensified in recent months: After OpenAI said it would bring advertisements to ChatGPT, Anthropic took a swipe at OpenAI in a couple ads during the Super Bowl, declaring that it would never introduce ads into Claude. Altman soon afterhit back in response, calling Anthropic “dishonest” and “authoritarian.” “We would obviously never run ads in the way Anthropic depicts them. We are not stupid, and we know our users would reject that,” hewroteat the time. Both Altman and Amodei were in India this week for the AI summit held in New Delhi, which saw a bevy of AI-related investments, features, and products being announced. OpenAI said it is opening two new offices in India,partnering with IT giant TCS, anddeploying tools for higher education. Anthropic has also opened an office in India and teamed up withInfosys for internal and external deployment of its AI tools.

It's February 19th and here's what's happening across tech right now. Picture this. At the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on all the speakers to join hands and raise them high in. A show of unity for global tech innovation. Everyone on stage went along with it. Except for two big names, open AI Sam Altman and Anthropics Dariel Amode, who kept their hands noticeably, apart. These guys lead the top two labs in the Cutthroat AI race and their rivalry has been heating up lately. It kicked into high gear when open AI announced plans to add advertisements to chat GPT. Anthropic fired back hard with ads during the Super Bowl, basically saying they would never clutter Claude with ads like that. Altman didn't let his slide. He called out Anthropic as dishonest and authoritarian. Opening open AI would never run the kind of intrusive ads they were mocking because users would hate it and the company knows better. Meanwhile, both CEOs were in India for the summit where tons of exciting AI news dropped. Open AI revealed plans for two new offices there, a partnership with tech giant TCS and new tools rolling out for higher education. Anthropic jumped in too, opening their own office in India and teaming up with emphasis to deploy AI tools both inside and outside the company. Despite the awkward stage moment, the focus stayed on growth and collaboration in one of the world's biggest tech markets. The daily news now is powered by our sponsor, Lincoln the Description, No Earbuds, No Headbands, No Awkward Sleeping Positions, just a pillow that plays your sound, S-O-L-I, solely pillow.com.

As India pitches itself as a global hub for applied artificial intelligence, OpenAI has partnered with Pine Labs to integrate AI-driven reasoning into the fintech firm’s payments stack, automating settlement and invoicing workflows in a move the companies say could help accelerate AI-led commerce in India. The partnership will see Pine Labs embed OpenAI’s application programming interfaces — software tools that let companies plug AI into their existing systems — within its payments and commerce infrastructure, the companies said on Thursday, all with the aim of enabling AI-assisted settlement, reconciliation, and invoicing workflows. The deal underscores OpenAI’s broader push to expand its footprint in India,one of its fastest-growing markets, as it looks to move beyond being known primarily as the maker of ChatGPT and embed its technology into education, enterprise, and infrastructure. Earlier this week, OpenAI partnered with leading Indian engineering, medical, and design institutions tobring AI tools into higher education, betting that India’s large developer base and more than a billion internet users will play a central role in the next phase of AI adoption. Pine Labs is already using AI internally to automate parts of its settlement and reconciliation process, cutting the time it takes to clear daily settlements from hours to minutes, according to chief executive B Amrish Rau. The Noida-based company previously relied on manual checks by dozens of employees to process funds from multiple banks before markets opened each day, a workflow that is now largely handled by AI-driven systems, he said in an interview. For Pine Labs, the partnership is intended to extend those AI-driven efficiencies beyond internal operations to merchants and corporate clients, starting with business-to-business use cases such as invoice processing, settlements, and payments orchestration, Rau told TechCrunch. He noted the company sees faster adoption in B2B workflows, where AI agents c [... 5,376 chars total]

The latest in AI, startups, gadgets, and innovation right here on Tech News today. OpenAI is teaming up with Indian Fintech company Pine Labs to bring AI smarts right into their payment systems. The goal is to automate things like settlements and invoicing, speeding up commerce across India. As India pushes to become a global AI hub, this partnership plugs open AI's tools directly into Pine Labs' infrastructure for smarter workflows. Earlier this week, openAI announced deals with top Indian engineering and medical schools to weave AI into education. Pine Labs already uses AI inside their operations, slashing daily settlement times from hours down to just minutes. Before, dozens of staff did manual checks across banks. Now AI handles most of it before markets open. Pine Labs CEO, B. Amersh Rao, says this will extend those gains to merchants and business clients, starting with B2B tasks like invoice processing. It boosts efficiency on repetitive financial jobs, and helps Pine Labs grow from a simple payments processor into a full commerce platform drawing in. More transactions and revenue. Rollouts will happen quicker overseas, like in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, where rules allow more autonomous AI payments. In India, expect a slower pace with tighter regulations on authorizations. Pine Labs is adding extra security layers to protect sensitive data as AI takes over more. No revenue sharing here. Pine Labs lets merchants use openAI tools freely, and it's non-exclusive, similar to openAI's Stripe Deal in the US. This fits India's booming AI scene, highlighted at the ongoing AI impact summit in New Delhi, with global players showing off finance and education. Apps. Support for this day and end episode comes from our sponsor. You know what is better than earbuds in bed? No earbuds at all. S-O-L-I.

The European Parliament has reportedly blocked lawmakers from using the baked-in AI tools on their work devices, citing cybersecurity and privacy risks with uploading confidential correspondence to the cloud. Per an emailseen by Politico, the parliament’s IT department said it could not guarantee the security of the data uploaded to the servers of AI companies and that the full extent of what information is shared with AI companies is “still being assessed.” As such, the email said, “It is considered safer to keep such features disabled.” Uploading data to AI chatbots, like Anthropic’s Claude, Microsoft’s Copilot, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT, for example, means that U.S. authorities can demand the companies that run the chatbots turn over information about their users. AI chatbots also typically rely on using information that users provide or upload to improve their models, increasing the chance that potentially sensitive information uploaded by one person may be shared and seen by other users. Europe has some of the strongest data protection rules in the world. But the European Commission, the executive body that oversees the 27-member state bloc, last yearfloated new legislative proposalsaimed at relaxing its data protection rules to make it easier for tech giants to train their AI models on Europeans’ data, drawing ire from critics who said the move caves in to U.S. technology giants. The move to restrict European lawmakers from accessing AI products on their devices comes as several EU member countriesreevaluate their relationshipswith U.S. tech giants, which remain subject to U.S. law and the unpredictable whims and demands of the Trump administration. In recent weeks, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security hassent hundreds of subpoenasdemanding U.S. tech and social media giants turn over information about people, including Americans, who have been publicly critical of the Trump administration’s policies. Google, Meta, and Redditcomplied in several cases, even thoug [... 2,080 chars total]

This is Corey with Tech News Today, powered by the Daily News Now. The European Parliament just blocked its lawmakers from using built-in AI tools on their work devices. The main worry is cybersecurity and privacy risks from uploading confidential emails and files to the cloud servers of AI companies. In an email from the Parliament's IT team, they explained they cannot guarantee the security of that data. They are still figuring out exactly what information gets shared with those AI firms. For now, they say it's safer to keep the features turned off. These AI chatbots often use the info you upload to train and improve their models. That means sensitive details from one user could end up visible to others down the line, which is a big no-go for lawmakers handling top secret stuff. Europe already has some of the toughest data protection rules on the planet. But last year, the European Commission suggested loosening them a bit to let tech giants train AI on Europeans data more easily. Critics slammed it as giving in to big US companies. Meanwhile, several EU countries are rethinking their ties with those American tech giants who entered to US laws and the ups and downs of the Trump. Administration. Companies like Google, Meta, and Reddit have even complied with some sub-Sapinas that weren't court-ordered. The Daily News Now is grateful to our sponsor for today's episode. If earbuds fall out when you sleep, this is for you. A pillow with built-in sound.

Waymo’s big chance to bring its robotaxis to the state of New York has been thwarted — for now. New York Governor Kathy Hochul withdrew a proposal that would have amended vehicle and traffic laws to effectively legalize robotaxis in the state outside of New York City. Hochul spokesperson Sean Butler confirmed to TechCrunch that the proposal has been pulled. “Based on conversations with stakeholders, including in the legislature, it was clear that the support was not there to advance this proposal,” Butler said in an emailed statement. Bloomberg was thefirst to reportthe proposal had been removed. The withdrawal is a setback for Waymo which has tried for years — along with other autonomous vehicle (AV) companies — to test and eventually deploy robotaxis in New York. “We hear from thousands of New Yorkers who have experienced Waymo in other cities and want access to it at home,” Waymo said in a statement emailed to TechCrunch. “They want the safety, privacy, and comfort that riders in other major cities already enjoy. While we are disappointed by the Governor’s decision, we’re committed to bringing our service to New York and will work with the State Legislature to advance this issue.” “The path forward requires a collaborative approach that prioritizes transparency and public safety. We will continue to engage constructively with the Governor, the Legislature, and officials around the state to deliver this proven mobility option that New Yorkers are waiting for,” added Waymo’s statement. Hochul had introduced, as part of herbroader budget proposal, a plan to change a state law that mandates drivers keep one hand on the wheel at all times. That law essentially prevents robotaxi companies like Waymo from operating in the state since no human is behind the wheel — if there is a steering wheel at all. Even if Hochul’s proposal had survived, it would not have opened the floodgates to AV companies. The proposal contained a number of limitations, including that AV companies [... 3,386 chars total]

It's February 19th. Here's what's happening in tech. New York Governor Kathy Ho-Koole has poured a proposal that would have opened the door for Robotaxis like Waymo's outside of New York City. The plant and to tweak state laws requiring drivers to keep one hand on the wheel, which blocks fully driverless vehicles. A spokesperson confirmed the withdrawal due to lack of support from lawmakers and stakeholders. The proposal was part of the governor's budget and included strict limits. Companies when needs state approval, pay a $1 million fee, prove $5 million in financial security, and avoid big cities with over. One million people. It also required local support for any pilots. Waymo expressed disappointment, but remains committed. The company noted thousands of New Yorkers won its safe, private rides, already popular in places like Phoenix and Los Angeles. They planned to work with the legislature to push forward. This leaves the state's current autonomous vehicle pilot program in place, which is much tighter. It allows testing with exemptions, but no commercial Robotaxi services. Waymo was testing a Jaguar vehicles in Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn until March 31, but only with human safety drivers. Meanwhile, Waymo drives elsewhere, offering over 400,000 paid rides weekly across Atlanta, Austin, Miami, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and the Restio. San Francisco Bay Area. They're aiming for 1 million rides a week by year's end, showing Robotaxi's already if New York catches up. Appreciation to our sponsor for backing this episode. Soley Pillow is a pillow with built-in headphones. Layback, press play, and disappear into what you are listening to. SOLI, soleypillow.com

The creators of Dark Sky, whosold their popular weather appto Apple in March 2020, are back with a new take on weather forecasting. The team recently announced the launch of their new app,Acme Weather, which they claim offers a better and more reliable forecast than the one they had at Dark Sky. The app will also offer a range of unique weather notifications, including fun ones like alerts about rainbows and beautiful sunsets. Unlike typical weather apps, Acme Weather’s forecast is supplemented with a range of alternate predictions for better accuracy. Dark Sky co-founder Adam Grossman explains in an introductoryblog postthat the app’s homegrown forecasts will leveragedifferentnumerical weather prediction models, satellite data, ground station observations, and radar data, making its forecast fairly reliable. However, the app will also feature additional forecast lines that show the other possible outcomes as gray lines on its graphs. “Forecasts are often wrong — it’s the weather, right? It’s one of the hardest things to predict,” Grossman told TechCrunch via a telephone interview. “And our biggest pet peeve with a lot of weather apps is you just get their best guess, and you don’t know how certain they are.” Having an understanding of the alternatives helps people plan for big events, he noted. “I find it most useful for winter storms, where, maybe the storm starts out in the morning, and you’re going to get snow, but maybe there’s also a possibility it holds out a little bit later — to the afternoon — in which case it’s rain,” Gross explained. “Being able to just see that right there on the timeline just gives you this intuitive sense of whether, do all the models agree, and you’re getting snow? Or do half of them say snow and half of them say rain?” he says. This type of weather data could make for a valuable product, not just for consumers, but for other developers, too. At Dark Sky, the team had offered its weather API to developers for a fee. After being acqui [... 4,508 chars total]

On this February 23rd, here's what's making waves across the tech world. Acme Weather is the new app from former Dark Sky co-founders Adam Grossman, Josh Reyes, and Dan Aberton. Unlike most weather apps that give you just one prediction, this one shows your main forecast plus alternate outcomes as gray lines on the graphs. It pulls from multiple weather models, satellites, ground stations, and radar to make things more reliable and show uncertainty a friend. The idea came from their frustration with apps that only share their best guess without context. For big events like winter storms, you can see if models agree on snow in the morning, or if some predict rain later in the afternoon. This gives you a quick sense of the odds right on the timeline. People planning outdoor activities or travel will love how it helps weigh risks. Grossman says it's perfect for understanding alternatives, turning vague forecasts into actionable info. Early users are buzzing about its accuracy tweaks on what made Dark Sky famous, like pinpoint rain starts. The app costs $25 per year after a two week free trial covering pricey data feeds. It packs maps for radar, lightning, rain, snow, wind, temperature, humidity, clouds, and even hurricane tracks. Notifications cover basics like rain and severe alerts, plus fun experiments in acme labs such as rainbow or sunset predictions. Now bootstrapped as an NDIS app, the team left Apple to try wild ideas without big company hurdles. Android version is coming soon, and they might add a developer API later. It's a fresh take on weather that could shake up the app scene. Appreciation to our sponsor for backing this episode. It is a pillow that plays your podcast and music without earbuds, built for listening in bed. S-O-L-I-SOLYPILO.COM

Abu Dhabi-based tech company G42 has partnered with U.S.-based chipmaker Cerebras to deploy 8 exaflops of computing power via a new supercomputer system in India, the companies said on the sidelines of theIndia AI Impact Summitin New Delhi. The system will be hosted in India and follow local data residency, security, and compliance rules. The project aims to provide computing resources for AI applications to educational institutions, government entities, and small and medium enterprises. “Sovereign AI infrastructure is becoming essential for national competitiveness. This project brings that capability to India at a national scale, enabling local researchers, innovators, and enterprises to become AI-native while maintaining full data sovereignty and security,” Manu Jain, CEO of G42 India, said in a statement. Abu Dhabi’s Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) and India’s Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) are also part of the project. Last year, MBZUAI and G42 releasedNanda 87B, a Hindi-English large language model built on Meta’s Llama 3.1 70B model, which is purported to understand casual speech in Hindi and English. “Deploying this system in India marks a significant step forward in the country’s computational capacity and sovereign AI initiatives. It will accelerate training and inference for large-scale models, enabling researchers and developers to build AI tailored to India’s needs,” said Andy Hock, chief strategy officer at Cerebras. The India AI Impact Summit this week saw several AI infrastructure initiatives being launched by both Indian giants and international firms. Indianconglomerate Adani pledged $100 billionto build up to 5 gigawatts of data center capacity in the country by 2035. Reliance alsosaid it would invest $110 billionover the next seven years for gigawatt-scale data centers. OpenAI has teamed up with Tata Group to secure100 megawatts of AI computein the country as part of its Stargate project and [... 2,464 chars total]

On February 20th, here is the latest in technology news. A major partnership just dropped at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. Abu Dhabi-based tech firm G42 teamed up with US chipmaker Syribras to bring 8 ex-Afflops of computing power to India through a new supercomputer. System. The setup will be hosted right in India, sticking to local rules on data residency, security, and compliance. It targets educational institutions, government bodies, and small and medium enterprises, giving them access to serious AI resources. This builds on last year's work, where G42 and Mohammed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence released Nanda 87 billion. Hindi English Language Model that handles casual speech. India's Center for Development of Advanced Computing is also on board, boosting sovereign AI efforts. Leaders are excited, saying a ramps-up India's computing muscle for training big models tailored to local needs while keeping data secure. Manu Jain from G42 India called it key for national competitiveness. Meanwhile, the summit buzzed with more action. A Donnie pledged $100 billion for up to five gigawatts of data centers by 2035. Reliance plans $110 billion over seven years. Open AI link with Tata for 100 megawatts scaling to one gigawatt, an officials aim to pull in over $200 billion in. Investments soon. The Daily News Now is made possible with support from our sponsor. Relax Deeper, reset faster, come for you can hear, S-O-L-I, solelypilo.com.

The data breach that hit blockchain-based lending giant Figure affected nearly a million customers, according to a security researcher. Last week,Figure confirmed a data breachallowed hackers to steal “a limited number of files” from its systems. The company did not provide specifics on what kind of data was stolen nor say how many customers were affected. On Wednesday, Troy Hunt, a security researcher and creator of the data breach notification siteHave I Been Pwned, analyzed the data allegedly taken from Figure andfoundit contained 967,200 unique email addresses associated with Figure customers. The data also included customer names, dates of birth, physical addresses, and phone numbers. Figure did not respond to a request for comment and did not respond to whether the company disputes Hunt’s findings. The cybercrime group ShinyHunters told TechCrunch last week that it was to blame for the cyberattack targeting Figure. The group published 2.5 gigabytes of data allegedly stolen from Figure on its leak website, where the hackers shame their victims and publish stolen data if they fail to extort the hacked companies.

It's February 18th. Let's get into the latest tech headlines. A huge data breach has rocked figure, the major blockchain lending company, putting nearly 1 million customers at risk. Security researcher Troy Hunt dug into the stolen data and discovered 967,200 unique email addresses tied to, figure users. That's a massive haul that could lead to fishing scams or identity theft for those folks. Last week, figure admitted hackers got into their systems and stole a limited number of files. The company stayed tight-lift on exactly what data was taken or how many people were hit, leaving customers in the dark. Troy Hunt, the guy behind the, have I been point website that tracks breaches, broke down the leak on Wednesday. His analysis shows this isn't small potatoes, it's personal info that could haunt people for years. The stolen files included customer names, dates of birth, physical addresses, and phone numbers. That's the kind of sensitive stuff hackers love for targeted attacks or selling on the dark web. Meanwhile, the cybercrime group Shiny Hunters claimed responsibility and dumped two and a half gigabytes of the data on their leak site. Figure hasn't responded to questions about Hunt's findings, so the full impact is still unfolding. The daily news now is powered by our sponsor. Link in the description. Some chase peace. I put my head in it, S-O-L-I, solelypillow.com.

Microsoft has confirmed that a bug allowed its Copilot AI to summarize customers’ confidential emails for weeks without permission. The bug, first reported byBleeping Computer, allowed Copilot Chat to read and outline the contents of emails since January, even if customers had data loss prevention policies to prevent ingesting their sensitive information into Microsoft’s large language model. Copilot Chat allows paying Microsoft 365 customers to use the AI-powered chat feature in its Office software products, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Microsoft said the bug, trackable by admins asCW1226324, means that draft and sent email messages “with a confidential label applied are being incorrectly processed by Microsoft 365 Copilot chat.” The tech giant said it began rolling out a fix for the bug earlier in February. When reached, a Microsoft spokesperson would not say how many customers are affected by the bug. Earlier this week, the European Parliament’s IT departmenttold lawmakersthat it blocked the built-in AI features on their work-issued devices, citing concerns that the AI tools could upload potentially confidential correspondence to the cloud. Updated with response from Microsoft.

is February 18th. Let's get into the latest tech headlines. Microsoft has confirmed a serious bug in its co-pilot AI that let its summarize customers' confidential emails without permission for weeks. The issue started back in January and affected paying Microsoft 365 customers using co-pilot chat in apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Even with data loss prevention policies in place to block sensitive info from reaching Microsoft's large language model, the AI could still read and outline draft and send emails marked as confidential. Admins contract a bug by its code, CW12226324. Microsoft says it wrongly processed those confidential labeled messages. Bleeping computer first reported the problem, raising alarms about privacy and AI tools. Earlier this week, the European Parliament's IT team blocked built-in AI features on lawmakers' work devices, worried that confidential emails might. Get uploaded to the cloud. Appreciation to our sponsor for backing this episode. When you want calm, do not reach for your phone. Lay back and listen, SOLI, solelypillow.com.

With just forty seconds remaining in the contest, it seemed that Duke had staged a successful, albeit narrow comeback. The Blue Devils had spent all but nine minutes of the match playing from behind, but captured a three-goal run that pushed the visiting squad two points past Richmond. But the Spiders had other plans. Returning from a timeout, the home team sprinted across the field, sending the ball into the cage. The Blue Devils were back in overtime for the second game in a row. After a double-overtime loss toNo. 8 Johns Hopkins the week prior, Duke was ready for redemption. Junior Caitlin Barrett stepped up to the circle to capture a draw, and after a quick scuffle, Barrett positioned herself just past the restraining line. The Blue Devils were ready to attack. Pushing the Spiders farther and farther into the arc, the ball was passed between a steady Blue Devil offense, before landing in the cross of sophomore Avery Doran. Rushing forward from the back right corner, Doran found space just inside the critical scoring zone before sending a clean shot into the back of the net. Saturday, Duke fought to a 15-14 road victory over Richmond at E. Claiborne Robins Stadium. While struggling on both sides of the field for most of the contest, the Blue Devils pulled off a last-minute recovery. Doran led the team in scoring for the second time this season with four goals, followed by a season-high three from junior Bella Goodwin. Similar to last week’s brawl against Hopkins, junior Ellie White kept Duke alive at the circle with 10 draws to her name. “I would say the first half of the game today, boy, we looked young,” head coach Kerstin Kimel said after the game. “And I think we, as a coaching staff, have to remember to keep things simple, and we have to try to be efficient and patient as well.” At the kickoff of the third period, the contest was beginning to mirror Pittsburgh’s decisive win over the Blue Devils. The Spiders (2-2) had closed the first with a three-goal run t [... 3,639 chars total]

In Durham, it's February 24th. Here's what is happening. Duke Women's LaCrosse pulled off a thrilling 15-14 overtime road win over Richmond on Saturday at E-Clay-born Robin Stadium. The Blue Devils trail for most of the game bestased a massive comeback, tying it with just 40 seconds left before sophomore Avery Doran scored. The game winner in double overtime. The spiders jumped out to a strong lead, ending the first half of 9-6 after a 3-go run. Duke grabbed control in the second half with goals from Doran and Junior Bella Goodwin. Staying close, despite turnovers. They finally took the lead for the first time late in the fourth, forcing overtime after Richmond's last second goal. Coach Kirsten Kamel noted the team looked young early on and needed to stay patient and simple. She praised Richmond for coming out hot, saying Duke didn't settle in until the second half. The Blue Devils showed grit, especially after a double overtime loss to number A. Johns Hopkins the week before. Doran led with four goals, her second time topping the scores this season, while Goodwin hit a career high three. Redshirt Junior Eva Prontze added two goals and an assist in the final stretch, and Junior Ellie White won 10 draws to keep Duke in it. Junior Katelyn Barrett took a key draw in overtime to set up the winner. Duke moves to two and two on the year and heads home to face East Carolina on Wednesday. This comeback builds momentum as they fight through a tough early schedule. Appreciation to our sponsor for backing this episode. Do not just fall asleep. Drift into what you are listening to, SOLI solely pillow dot com.

Pre-Series A founders, this is your moment! If your startup is ready to be tested under real pressure, the battlefield is open. We’re still accepting nominations forTechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200. This is your shot to step into the arena atTechCrunch Disrupt 2026and go head-to-head in front of world-class VCs and the full TechCrunch audience. You’ll compete for$100,000 in equity-free funding, earn global exposure on the main stage atDisruptin San Francisco, and get raw, unfiltered feedback from the investors who shape the future of tech. In addition, you’ll join an elite cohort of founders preparing to take on the biggest startup stage in the world. Startup Battlefield alumni include Trello, Mint, Dropbox, Discord, and Fitbit —and more than 1,500 startupsthat once stood exactly where you are now: early, hungry, and ready to prove it. Make your mark or get left behind.Nominate now. Thousands of startups applied last year, and this year’s field will be even more competitive. TechCrunch reviewseverynomination, but founders who enter early give themselves a strategic edge. If you’re serious about winning, don’t wait to join the fight. Explore the full list of perks. We’re looking for bold, early-stage founders with an MVP and a vision that challenges the status quo. If you’re bootstrapped, pre-seed, or seed-funded, this battlefield was built for you. Series A startups in capital-intensive industries may also qualify. Nominations close on June 8, but champions don’t wait for the last call. Prepare early. Nominate early.Enter Startup Battlefield 200and fight for your place on tech’s biggest stage.

It's February 20th, and here's what's happening across tech right now. Pre-Series A. Founders. Listen up. TechCrunch is now accepting nominations for the Startup Battlefield 200 at Disrupt 2026. This is your chance to pitch your early stage startup on the main stage in San Francisco, right in front of top venture capitalists and the full. TechCrunch crowd. You'll compete for $100,000 in equity-free funding, plus get raw feedback from investors who fund the next big things. Past the alumni include breakout hits like Trello, Mint, Dropbox, Discord, and Fitbit. Over 1,500 startups have gone through this and launched from here. Just last year at Disrupt 2025, winners from Gleed and others took home the prize in midfierce competition. It's where hungry founders prove themselves under pressure and walk away with global exposure. On top of the main prize, every participant gets perks like a free exhibit table for all three days, four complimentary passes, access to the event, after branding, press opportunities, exclusive masterclasses, and a live pitch slot. Nominations close on June 8th, so don't wait. If you have a minimum viable product and a bold vision, whether bootstrapped, preceded, or seed, nominate now a TechCrunch. Meanwhile, check out the Founders Summit in Boston on June 9th for more networking with over 1,000 founders and investors. Welcome to our sponsor for backing this episode. No need to switch positions. The sound is already where your head is. S-O-L-I-SOLYPILLOW.COM

A year ago, Redwood Materials didn’t have an energy storage business. Now, it is the fastest-growing unit within the battery recycling and materials startup — a reflection of an AI data center building boom. The evidence of that growth, the company says, can be found at itsR&D labin San Francisco, which has expanded four-fold into a 55,000-square-foot facility and now employs nearly 100 people. Those are small figures compared to Redwood’s total workforce of 1,200 people and its sprawling campus at its Carson City, Nevada headquarters and another facility near Reno. But its value and recent expansion are tied directly to its burgeoning energy storage that launched in June 2025. The San Francisco facility, which opened in April 2025, is where engineers integrate the hardware, software, and power electronics for energy storage systems that power data centers, AI computing, and other large-scale industrial applications. The companysaid in a blog postThursday the expansion will support a wave of energy storage deployments related to data centers. The company’s recent$425 million Series Eraise will provide the capital needed to scale the business. Google, a new investor, as well as existing backer Nvidia, joined the round to support Redwood’s energy storage business venture. “AI data centers have definitely been a pressing area of focus,” Claire McConnell, vice president of business development told TechCrunch in a recent interview, who added there are other use cases for its systems including supporting renewable projects like solar and wind. Data centers have been around for decades, but advancements in AI have spurred a building spree and a need for reliable electricity. “What data center developers are seeing is something that they hadn’t experienced before,” McConnell said. “When they’re trying to connect to the grid, they are being told it is going to take five-plus years to get that and at the same time, you’re seeing this massive demand to build more data centers [... 3,408 chars total]

It's February 19th. Here's your tech news in two minutes. Just one year ago, Redwood Materials had no energy storage business. Now is their fastest growing unit, fueled by the boom in AI data centers. The battery recycling startup, founded in 2017 by former Tesla Executive, JB Straubel, is repurposing old electric vehicle batteries too. Provide reliable power. The San Francisco Research and Development Lab tells the story of this growth. It expanded four times over to a 55,000 square foot facility that opened in April 2025. Nearly 100 engineers there now work on integrating hardware, software, and power electronics for large-scale systems used in data centers. And industrial applications. Data centers have exploded thanks to AI, but connecting to the power grid can take five years or more. This created huge demand for quick solutions like Redwoods, Claire McConnell. The company's vice president of business development says AI is a top focus alongside renewables like solar and wind. On Thursday, Redwood announced a $425 million Series E funding round. New investor Google joined existing backer Nvidia to scale up energy storage deployments. This cash will help meet the surge in data center needs. The first customer is Crusoe with a system delivering 12 megawatts and 63 megawatt hours from recycled EV batteries. Bigger projects are coming, including hyperscalers planning hundreds of megawatt hours or even gigawatt hours. It's a smart pivot turning waste into power for the AI era. Dean in his sponsor by our partner, check out the episode description. Your favorite podcasts, music, or sleep sounds coming from your pillow. No earbuds, no distractions, just listen and relax. S-O-L-I-SOLYPILO.COM

Duke Student Government senators approved election bylaws for the upcoming election cycle and approved SOFC funding during their Wednesday meeting. Senators also announced that estimated costs for course materials will show up in DukeHub starting as early as next semester in an attempt to address potential financial burdens faced by students. Junior Olivia McConnell, vice president of the academic affairs committee, told the senate that as early as next semester, estimated costs for materials required in classes will display in DukeHub. The change is part of DSG'scost transparency initiative, which seeks to provide clearer outlines regarding potential financial concerns for students. Junior Angela Chen, vice president of the campus life committee, gave updates on the committee’s planned initiative that encourages students to write messages of appreciation for Duke facilities, dining and maintenance staff. The committee plans to table at Bryan Center Plaza next Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and distribute cards to students. DSG will collaborate with the quad councils to deliver the cards. Junior Edison Chen, vice president of the engagement and advocacy committee, announced that DSG will look into whether students with food allergies pay higher prices for on-campus dining options. The senators allocated $100 to buy two Duke Store vouchers for a raffle to incentivize students to share their experiences with gluten-free dining options on campus. Sophomore Raahim Hashmi, assistant vice president of the services and sustainability committee, announced that the committee will host an ongoing “e-waste recycling” program in collaboration with the Duke Technology Store and local technology refurbishing businessTriangle Ecycling. The committee has also established a collaboration with the Office of Climate Sustainability and the Student Affairs Office of Sustainability for the newDevil’s Thrifthouseinitiative. The collaboration will allow the senate to receive u [... 3,020 chars total]

On February 19th, here's the latest out of Durham. Duke Student Government Senators wrapped up a busy Wednesday meeting by approving election bylaws for the upcoming cycle and greenlighting funding. From the Student Organization Finance Committee, they also announced a big step toward financial transparency with estimated costs for course material set to appear in Duke Hub as early as next, semester. Junior Olivia McConnell from the Academic Affairs Committee shared that this change aims to help students spot potential money burdens before signing. Up for classes? Meanwhile, campus-life Vice President Angela Chen outlined a feel-good initiative to get students writing thank you notes for facilities, dining, and maintenance staff. The committee will table at Bryan Center Plaza next Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., handing out cars to distribute through the Quad, councils. On the engagement side, Junior Edison Chen said they're investigating if students with food allergies face higher prices at on campus dining spots. To get feedback, Senators approved $100 for two Duke store vouchers in a raffle for sharing gluten-free experiences. The Services and Sustainability Committee, led by sophomore Rahim Hashmi, is hosting an e-waste recycling drive with the Duke Technology Store and Triangle E-Cycling. They're also teaming up with sustainability offices for the new Devil's Thrift House pop-up, collecting unwanted items from move-ins and move-outs. In funding news, Duke Sports Business got $13,800 $505 for its April 10 conference while United Imprae's received $4,500 for its February 28th Gospel Choir Concert. Election registration opens February 24th and closes March 15th, with voting March 30th through 31st. No campaigning before. 8 a.m. on March 19th. The Daily News Now is powered by our sponsor. Link in the description. Press play. Put your head down. The sound is already there as O.L.I. solely pillow.com.

Over the past few months, several countries have announced plans to restrict social media access for children and teens. Australiabecame the firstto implement such measures at the end of last year, setting a precedent that other countries are now closely watching. Australia’s regulations, along with other countries’ proposals, aim to reduce the pressures and risks that young users may face on social media, which include cyberbullying, addiction, mental health issues, and exposure to predators. Of course, there are concerns about privacy regarding invasive age verification and excessive government intervention. Critics, includingAmnesty Tech, have said such bans are ineffective and that they ignore the realities of younger generations. Despite this, many nations are moving ahead with proposed legislation. We’ve compiled a list of countries that are considering or have already moved forward with bans on social media for young users. Australia became the world’s first country toban social mediafor children under 16 in December 2025. The ban blocks children from using Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, Reddit, Twitch, and Kick. It notably doesn’t include WhatsApp or YouTube Kids. The Australian government has said these social media companies must take steps to keep children off their services. Companies that fail to comply may face penalties of up to $49.5 million AUD ($34.4 million USD). The government says these platforms should use multiple verification methods to ensure that people using their services are older than 16. It also notes that they can’t rely on users simply entering their own age. Denmark isset to bansocial media platforms for children under 15. The Danish government announced in November 2025 that it had secured support for the ban from three governing coalition parties and two opposition parties in parliament. The government’s plans could become law as soon as mid-2026, according to the Associated Press. The Danish digital [... 3,933 chars total]

From the Daily News Now Network, this is Corey with Tech News Today. Australia made history last December as the first country to ban social media for kids under 16. The law blocks access to big platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube for anyone that young. Companies must verify ages using tough methods, not just self-reported info or face finds up to 49,500,000 Australian dollars. Now other nations are jumping in. Denmark plans a ban for under 15s by mid-2026, complete with a new app for age checks. France passed the similar bill in its lower house for kids under 15, backed by President Macron to cut screen time. Germany, Greece, Malaysia, Slovenia, Spain and the United Kingdom are all considering bans around age 15 or 16. Spain wants to hold executives personally responsible for hate speech too, while the UK is talking to parents and kids about limiting addictive. Features like endless scrolls. These moves aim to shield young users from cyberbullying, addiction, mental health struggles, and online predators. Parents and experts worry social media harms developing brains with studies showing links to anxiety and poor sleep. Lawmakers say enforcement starts with tech companies, but challenges remain. Like kids using fake ages or VPNs. As more countries watch Australia's rollout, expect global pressure on platforms to prioritize child safety over profits. The Daily News Now is powered by our sponsor, Link in the description. Do not just fall asleep, drift into what you are listening to. S-O-L-I-SallyPillow.com

Anthropic isaccusingthree Chinese AI companies of setting up more than 24,000 fake accounts with its Claude AI model to improve their own models. The labs —DeepSeek,Moonshot AI, andMiniMax— allegedly generated more than 16 million exchanges with Claude through those accounts using a technique called “distillation.” Anthropic said the labs “targeted Claude’s most differentiated capabilities: agentic reasoning, tool use, and coding.” The accusations come amid debates over how strictly to enforce export controls on advanced AI chips, a policy aimed at curbing China’s AI development. Distillation is a common training method that AI labs use on their own models to create smaller, cheaper versions, but competitors can use it to essentially copy the homework of other labs. OpenAI sent a memo to House lawmakers earlier this month accusing DeepSeek of using distillation to mimic its products. DeepSeek firstmade wavesa year ago when it released its open source R1 reasoning model that nearly matched American frontier labs in performance at a fraction of the cost. DeepSeek is expected to soon release DeepSeek V4, its latest model, whichreportedlycan outperform Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s ChatGPT in coding. The scale of each attack differed in scope. Anthropic tracked more than 150,000 exchanges from DeepSeek that seemed aimed at improving foundational logic and alignment, specifically around censorship-safe alternatives to policy-sensitive queries. Moonshot AI had more than 3.4 million exchanges targeting agentic reasoning and tool use, coding and data analysis, computer-use agent development, and computer vision. Last month, the firmreleaseda new open source model Kimi K2.5 and a coding agent. MiniMax’s 13 million exchanges targeted agentic coding and tool use and orchestration. Anthropic said it was able to observe MiniMax in action as it redirected nearly half its traffic to siphon capabilities from the latest Claude model when it was launched. Anthropic says it will con [... 4,366 chars total]

TechStore is making headlines on February 23rd, and Foropic is accusing three Chinese AI companies of creating more than 24,000 fake accounts to scrape its clawed model. The firms, DeepSeek, Moonshot AI, and Minimax allegedly generated over 16 million exchanges using a technique called distillation. This method lets them copy clawed strengths in agentic reasoning, tool use, and coding to boost their own models. distillation is a standard way labs make smaller, cheaper versions of their AI, but rivals can use it to steal ideas. Open AI recently warned lawmakers that DeepSeek did something similar with its products. Meanwhile, DeepSeek shook things up a year ago with its open source R1 model, which rival top US labs at low cost, and it's about to drop DeepSeek. V4. Said to be clawed in ChadgPT, encoding. These accusations hit amid heated debates on US export controls for advanced AI chips to China. Experts like Demetri AlPairovich from Silverado Policy Accelerator say it's no surprise, calling it theft, that's fueled China's fast AI progress. He argues it strengthens the case against selling chips to these companies. The attacks varied in scale. DeepSeek ran over 150,000 exchanges focused on logic and handling sensitive queries. Moonshot AI hit more than 3.4 million, targeting reasoning, tools, and vision, right before launching its KimiK 2.5 model. Many max win biggest with 13 million, siphoning coding skills from clawed's latest version, and theropic plans to beef up defenses against these raids and urges the whole industry, cloud providers, and policy makers to team up. They warned distillation could spread unsafe models, stripping safeguards against bio weapons or cyber threats, especially of open source for. Authoritarian uses. TechCrunch reached out to the companies for common, but no word yet. Quick thanks to today's sponsor. See the description for more. A pillow that plays your sound quietly, comfortably, effortlessly. Built for nighttime listening, S-O-L-I, [... 2,019 chars total]

Duke community members gathered Monday afternoon for a unique event in the Sanford School of Public Policy — a panel on grief, informed by both personal stories and policy research. At the event, co-hosted bySanford Wellness’sMental Health Mondays andSanford Women in Policy, the panelists envisioned grief-informed bereavement leave, better education about grief and impactful local and state-level advocacy. The panel featured Cassidie Bates, a Sanford Master of Public Policy candidate researching grief policy, Rebecca Feinglos, the founder ofGrieve Leaveand Professor of Medicine Tony Galanos, who focuses on grief management. The panel was moderated by Ariel Keller, a second-year graduate student and president of Sanford Women in Policy. At different points in their lives, Bates, Feinglos and Galanos, were all on the receiving end of an unexpected phone call, telling them a loved one had suddenly died. Bates lost her father, John, to a sudden cardiac event when she was 25. As the only child of her unmarried father, she became the sole executor for his estate. “I did not know how to put on a funeral, I did not know how to make decisions at a morgue, I did not know how to sell a house,” Bates said. “This was an experience that showed me just how little infrastructure we have to support grieving workers.” Feinglos lost her mother, Susan, who was the former head of the Duke Medical Center Library, when she was growing up. Feinglos heard from those around her that she was doing really well, at school and later professionally. Reflecting on how she coped, Feinglos recognized she didn’t fully acknowledge her grief: “What is grief? I’ve never heard of her. All was going great,” Feinglos said. But when Feinglos’s father, Mark, who was Chief of Duke Health’s Division of Endocrinology, died suddenly on the first day of lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, she realized she needed to approach grief in a new way. Feinglos founded the organization Grieve Leave, which aims to foste [... 4,774 chars total]

From Durham, this is your February 18th update. Duke University Community Members gathered Monday afternoon at the Sanford School of Public Policy for a powerful panel on grief. It blended personal stories with policy research. The speakers included Cassidy Bates, a master of public policy candidates studying grief policy, Rebecca Feingloss, founder of Grief Leave, and Professor Tony Galanos, an expert in grief management. Arielle Keller, a graduate student in head of Sanford Women in Policy, moderated the event. Each panel is shared how sudden loss hit them hard. Bates lost her father, John, to a cardiac event when she was 25. As his only child, she handled his estate alone. She struggled with funeral plans, more decisions, and selling his house. That experience highlighted how little support exists for grieving workers. Feingloss lost her mother young and seemed to cope well at school and work. But her father's sudden death on the first day of COVID lockdown changed everything. She found a Grief Leave to spark conversations and provide real support. Galanos, who started Duke's palliative care in 1998, lost his father after surgery and his son in 2018. Even with his expertise, he battled a mix of grief and guilt. The group called for better policies. There's no federal mandate for bereavement leave, and is usually unpaid, just three to five days for immediate family only. Bates pushes for grief-informed systems that include real experiences from the start. She wants flexible, non-consecutive leave, and a broader family definition. Feingloss fought six years for North Carolina State employees to get 40 hours of protected leave, secured by a former governor's order. They also suggested incentives for advanced care planning and grief education in schools. As Galanos put it, death ends a life, but not the relationship.

Social network Snapchatannouncedtoday it’s launching creator subscriptions in alpha with select people in the U.S. starting on February 23. The company noted that users will be able to buy subscriptions to creators, includingJeremiah Brown,Harry Jowsey, andSkai Jackson. This will allow users to unlock exclusive content while creating monetization opportunities for creators. Creators can set their own monthly prices for subscription within the app, while Snap will recommend different tiers to them. The subscription will unlock subscriber-only content, priority replies to a creator’s public Stories, and ad-free consumption for that creator’s Stories. Snap noted that this is a new way for creators to earn more money besides the existing programs. “Expanding on existing monetization offerings like the Unified Monetization Program and the Snap Star Collab Studio, Creator Subscriptions introduce a premium layer of connection directly into how Snapchatters already engage with creators across Stories, Chat, and replies,” the company said in the blogpost. Snapchat reached 946 million monthly active users, according to the company’s Q4 2025 results. The platform noted during its earnings that the number of U.S.-based users posting to Spotlight grew over 47% year-over-year. The company also spun outhardware to a new entity called Specs last month. The company added that it plans to expand the program to Snap Stars in Canada, the U.K., and France in the coming weeks. Rival company Meta also allows creators to offer subscriptions on platforms likeInstagram and Facebook, which gives users access to exclusive content and badges. The story has been updated to reflect that Snapchat has 946 million monthly active users.

It's February 17th. Here's your tech news in two minutes. Snapchat just announced is rolling out creator subscriptions in an alpha test starting February 23rd for select users in the United States. A few big names kicking things off include Jeremiah Brown, Harry Jowze, and Sky Jackson. Fans can buy monthly subs right in the app to unlock exclusive content and help creators make more money. Players get to set their own prices with Snapchat suggesting different tiers to fit various fans. Subscribers score perks like only for them content, priority replies on public stories, and add free viewing of that creator's stories. This builds on Snapchat's huge growth, with 946 million daily active users worldwide. In the US, people posting to Spotlight jumped 47% year over year, showing creators are thriving there. Snapchat says this adds a premium layer to how fans connect through, stories, chat, and replies, beyond programs like the unified monetization program. The rollout expands soon to Snapstars in Canada, the United Kingdom, and France. It's similar to what Metta offers on Instagram and Facebook, where creators sell subs for badges and exclusives. This episode is brought to you by our sponsor. See the episode description. Some travel miles to find peace. I just climb into bed and listen. So L.I. SoleyPillo.com

A U.S. federal court has sentenced a Ukrainian man to five years in prison for his part in a long-running identity theft operation that helped overseas North Korean workers gain fraudulent employment at dozens of U.S. companies. U.S. prosecutorsbrought charges in 2024against Oleksandr Didenko, 29, a resident of Kyiv, for setting up North Koreans with stolen identities of U.S. citizens to get hired and earn a wage. Under this scheme, the workers’ earnings were funneled back to Pyongyang, which the regime used to fund its internationally sanctioned nuclear weapons program. This is thelatest in a string of recent convictionsof individuals involved in facilitating ongoing North Koreanso-called “IT worker” schemes. Security researchers have described North Korean workers as a “triple threat” to U.S. and Western businesses, as they violate U.S. sanctions, all the while enabling North Koreans to steal sensitive company data, and then later extort those victim companies into not publicly releasing corporate secrets. Prosecutors said Didenko ran a website called Upworksell, which allowed people working overseas, including North Koreans, to buy or rent stolen identities for gaining employment with U.S. firms. Didenko handled more than 870 stolen identities, per the Justice Department. The FBI seized Upworksell in 2024 and diverted its traffic to its own servers. Polish authorities arrested Didenko, who was then extradited to the U.S. and later pleaded guilty. Ina statement this week, the U.S. Department of Justice said Didenko also paid people to receive and host computers at their homes in California, Tennessee, and Virginia. These “laptop farms” are rooms containing racks of open laptops, allowing North Koreans to remotely perform their work as if they were physically in the United States. Security giant CrowdStrike saidlast yearthat it has seen a sharp rise in the number of North Korean workers infiltrating companies, often as remote developers or other technical software [... 2,371 chars total]

It's February 20th, and here's what's happening across tech right now. A US federal court just sentenced a 29-year-old Ukrainian man from Kiev to five years in prison for running a scheme that helped North. Korean workers still American identities to land jobs at US companies. Oleksandr D'dinko operated a website called UpWorksL, where he sold or rented more than 870 stolen US identities to overseas. Workers including North Koreans. Those fake IDs let them get hired remotely, and the earnings got funneled back to North Korea to support his nuclear program, despite international sanctions. This case highlights the growing threat of North Korean IT workers infiltrating Western businesses. Experts call them a triple threat, because they dodge sanctions, steal sensitive company data, and even extort firms to keep secrets quiet. After this year, the FBI seized D'dinko's website and redirected its traffic to their own servers. Polish authorities arrested him, extradited him to the US, and he pleaded guilty after that. Security firms like Krautschreich report a sharp rise in these infiltrations, often as remote developers. Meanwhile, North Korea keeps finding ways to bypass global finance restrictions through schemes like this. This episode is proudly sponsored by our partner. It is a pillow that plays your podcast and music without earbuds. Built for listening in bed, SOLI, solely pillow.com

On Tuesday evening, Ilyasah Shabazz, an author, educator and activist, entered the Penn Pavilion stage to a standing ovation from around 400 Duke and Durham community members. As the 2026 Black History Month speaker, Shabazz gave her lecture four days before the 61st anniversary of the assassination of her father — Civil Rights Activist Malcolm X. Shabazz introduced herself as one of the “six tall, opinionated daughters” of X. She began her lecture by recognizing the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture, which sponsored the event. She honored the ‘first lady of jazz’ Mary Lou Williams, who, in Shabazz's words, “understood the transformative power of art, scholarship and community.” “My father would have loved that mission,” Shabazz said. “He was a devoted lover of jazz, poetry and literature, and he believed that culture was inseparable from liberation.” X’s history is tied to the Triangle. Duke and other local institutions did not allow him to speak as scheduled when he visited Durham in 1963. Instead, Durhamite Wilbur Page offered up a small, privately-ownedauditorium— known as “Page’s Auditorium” — where X spoke in front of around 150 people. Shabazz also celebrated the February 1969Allen Building takeover, when around 50 to 75 students — that majority of whom were African-American —occupiedDuke administration’s offices to deliver 11 demands to the University, including the formation of a “department of Afro-American studies.” Students frustrated with the slow-paced negotiations following the takeover threatened to leave Duke to attend the at-the-timenewly-foundedMalcolm X Liberation University, once located on East Pettigrew St. Shabazz expressed her gratitude to those students who protested in 1969, and discussed the significance of her ability to stand and speak at a University that “once refused [her] father a platform.” “His words carried a shared humanity, a call to action that resonates as powerfully today as it did back then,” Shabazz said. “Contrar [... 5,435 chars total]

It's February 19 and Durham. Let's get into the news. On Tuesday evening, Ilyasla Shabaz, daughter of Malcolm X, took the stage at Duke University's Pimp Avillion to a standing ovation from around four, hundred community members. As the 2026 Black History Month speaker, she delivered her lecture just four days before the 61st anniversary of her father's assassination. Shabaz introduced herself as one of his six tall, opinionated daughters and honored the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture, which hosted the event. She shared how her father would have loved the center's mission, given his passion for jazz, poetry, and literature, which he saw as key to. Liberation Shabaz highlighted local history too, noting that in 1963, Duke denied Malcolm X a speaking platform, so he spoke instead at a small auditorium in Durham to about 150 people. She also celebrated the 1969 Allen Building takeover when 50 to 75 mostly African American students occupied offices too. Demand a Black Studies Department. Shabaz spoke movingly about the power of language and truth, echoing her father's belief that truth cannot be hidden forever. She praised her mother, Betty Shabaz, for choosing life over bitterness after his death, working in higher education and passing on his values to their children. Importantly, she pushed back on stories dividing Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr, stressing their mutual respect and her mother's bond with. Coretta Scott King. Students raved about the events impact during Black History Month. Attendees like Bonsoe and Thompson said it united Duke's Black community by bridging the legacies of X and King. Exchange student Camille C from Spellman College appreciated building community at Duke, while sophomore Kalen Oliver saw it as a reminder of Black. Progress in the work ahead. The evening wrap with a reception and book signing for Shabaz's memoir, Growing Up X, her message rang clear. By focusing on unity over division, we can build a world of liberty [... 2,168 chars total]

Metaannounceda major update for its immersive virtual world, Horizon Worlds, on Thursday that will see it leave the metaverse behind. The tech giant said it’s shifting focus for Horizon Worlds to be “almost exclusively mobile” and that it’s “explicitly separating” its Quest VR platform from the virtual world. Meta’s Reality Labs division for VR and smart glasses development has lostnearly $80 billionsince 2020. The update to Horizon Worlds, and other recent moves, signals that Meta is significantly rethinking its VR ambitions. Last month, the company reportedly laid offroughly 1,500 employeesfrom its Reality Labs division — about 10% of the unit’s staff — andshut downseveral VR game studios. Additionally, it was reported that the VR fitness app Supernatural, whichMeta acquiredin 2023, will no longer produce new content and will move into “maintenance mode.” Horizon Worlds originally launched in 2021 as a VR platform and laterrolled outto the web and mobile. Meta said Thursday that to “truly change the game and tap into a much larger market, we’re going all-in on mobile.” By going mobile-first, Horizon Worlds is positioning itself to compete with popular platforms like Roblox and Fortnite. “We’re in a strong position to deliver synchronous social games at scale, thanks to our unique ability to connect those games with billions of people on the world’s biggest social networks,” Samantha Ryan, Reality Labs’ VP of content, said in the blog post. “You saw this strategy start to unfold in 2025, and now, it’s our main focus.” Ryan went on to note that Meta is still focused on VR hardware. “We have a robust roadmap of future VR headsets that will be tailored to different audience segments as the market grows and matures,” Ryan wrote. Meta’s metaverse ambitions have effectively been abandoned in favor of AI. After shifting its Reality Labs investmentsaway from the metaverse, Meta is now focused on developing AI wearables and advancing its ownAI models. During Meta’s latest e [... 2,313 chars total]

It's February 20th, and here's what's happening across tech right now. Meta has made a big pivot with its Horizon World's virtual platform. On Thursday, the company announced it's going almost exclusively mobile and explicitly separating it from its quest virtual reality headsets. This marks the end of Horizon World as a core metaverse experience. Reality Labs, Meta's division for Virtual Reality and Smart Glasses, has lost nearly $80 billion since 2020. Horizon World launched as a virtual reality platform in 2021 and later expanded to web and mobile. Now, Meta says it's all in on mobile to reach a much larger audience. This shift positions Horizon Worlds to take on giants like Roblox and Fortnite. Meta believes its social networks can connect these games to billions of users. Meanwhile, the company is still committed to virtual reality hardware with a roadmap of future headsets for different audiences. But the bigger picture shows meta-abandoning, metaverse dreams, and favor of artificial intelligence. After pulling back investments, it's now pushing AI wearables and its own AI models. During last month's earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg predicted most glasses people wear in a few years will be AI-powered. He noted sales of Meta's glasses have tripled in the past year, calling them some of the fastest growing consumer electronics ever. This DNA story is thanks to our sponsor details in the description. What is cooler than cool? A pillow that plays your sound. S-O-L-I-SOLYPILO.COM

Apple this week released thelatest versionof its mobile operating system,iOS 26.4, which introduces several new features, including an AI-powered playlist-generation feature in Apple Music, support for video content in the Podcasts app, end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for RCS messages, and more. The update is currently available in pubic beta, with the public release expected sometime in March or April. One of the most noticeable improvements arrives in Apple Music — iOS 26.4 introduces a new AI-powered “Playlist Playground” feature that leverages Apple Intelligence. The feature allows users to generate a custom 25-song playlist from a text prompt, such as “upbeat workout mix” or “calm evening.” Users can then further refine the results and even select matching cover art. In addition, Apple Music’s user interface has been refreshed to showcase full-screen artwork for albums and playlists. Plus, Apple Music is getting a new “Concerts Near You” section that helps users discover live shows from their favorite artists. You can filter this section by Date and Genre, or switch locations if you’re traveling. Following Spotify’s push into video, Apple’s Podcasts app is making it easy toswitch back and forth between audio and video episodeswith this release. Creators can publish video podcasts using HTTP Live Streaming (HLS), and listeners can seamlessly switch between audio and video playback within the same episode, moving to a full horizontal display if they choose. At launch, the video episodes will be integrated with other Apple Podcasts features, like personalized recommendations and editorial curation on the New tab and Category pages, just as audio podcasts are. HLS also brings an automatic quality adjustment feature, which helps videos play better whether listeners are on Wi-Fi or cellular. Plus, users will be able to download video episodes for offline viewing. At launch, HLS is supported by Acast, Amazon’s ART19, Triton’s Omny Studio, and SiriusXM, including SiriusXM [... 5,106 chars total]

It's February 20th. Here's what's happening in tech. Apple this week wrote out the Puppet Beta of iOS 26.4 packing in fresh features like an AI-powered playlist generator in Apple. Music, video support for the podcast app, and end-to-end encryption for RCS messages between iPhones and Android. It's a big update aimed at making your iPhone smarter and more secure, with a full public release expected, sometime in March or April. Earlier this week, Apple highlighted the new playlist playground in Apple Music, where you type something like a beat workout mix and then whips up a 25 song custom playlist using Apple Intelligence. You can tweak it, pick cover art, and there's even a refreshed interface with full screen album artwork plus a concert's near-use section to find live. Shows by date, genre, or location. Meanwhile, the podcast app is jumping into video, letting creator stream episodes with easy switches between audio and video playback, full screen, viewing, and offline downloads. It works with partners like Acast and Serious XM and adapts quality for Wi-Fi or cellular. On the security side, stolen device protection is now on by default, demanding Face ID or Touch ID for sensitive stuff like passwords. According to early testers, these changes feel seamless and boost everyday use, like clear audio zoom in the camera app that focuses mics on, subjects, or urgent reminders with loud alarms. CarPlay adds parked video playback, and apps like Apple TV, and access to AI services from Chad GPT, Gemini, and Claude, perfect for waiting parents. The beta skips a major Siri overhaul, which got delayed again, but smaller tweaks abound from health app bedtime averages to easier playlist ads in. Classic, grab the beta if you're adventurous, but stick to stable for now until the spring launch. The daily news now is made possible with support from our sponsor. When you need a moment alone, just lay back and listen. S-O-L-I, solelypellow.com.

Mistral AI, the French companylast valued at $13.8 billion, has made its first acquisition. The OpenAI competitor has agreed to buyKoyeb, a Paris-based startup that simplifies AI app deployment at scale and manages the infrastructure behind it. Mistral has been primarily known for developing large language models (LLMs), but this deal confirms its ambitions to position itself as a full-stack player. InJune 2025, it had announcedMistral Compute, an AI cloud infrastructure offering which it now hopes Koyeb will accelerate. Founded in 2020 by three former employees of French cloud provider Scaleway, Koyeb aimed to help developers process datawithout worrying about server infrastructure— a concept known as serverless. This approach gained relevance as AI grew more demanding, also inspiring the recent launch ofKoyeb Sandboxes, which provide isolated environments to deploy AI agents. Before the acquisition, Koyeb’s platform already helped users deploy models from Mistral and others. In ablog post, Koyeb said its platform will continue operating. But its team and technology will now also help Mistral deploy models directly on clients’ own hardware (on premises), optimize its use of GPUs, and help scale AI inference — the process of running a trained AI model to generate responses — according to a press release from Mistral. As part of the deal, Koyeb’s 13 employees and its three co-founders, Yann Léger, Edouard Bonlieu, and Bastien Chatelard (pictured above in 2020), are set to join the engineering team of Mistral, overseen by CTO and co-founder Timothée Lacroix. Under his leadership, Koyeb expects its platform to transition into a “core component” of Mistral Compute over the coming months. “Koyeb’s product and expertise will accelerate our development on the Compute front, and contribute to building a true AI cloud,” Lacroix wrote in a statement. Mistral has been ramping up its cloud ambitions. Just a few days ago, the company announceda $1.4 billion investment in data ce [... 3,178 chars total]

From the Daily News Now Network, this is Corey with Tech News Today. Mistral AI, the French powerhouse last valued at $13.8 billion, just made its first big move with an acquisition. The open AI rival has snapped up Koyab, a pair of startup that simplifies deploying AI apps at massive scale while handling all the behind the scenes. Infrastructure. This deal ramps up my straw's push beyond just large language models. Earlier this year in June 2025, they launched Mistral Compute, their own AI cloud service. Koyab's Tech will supercharge that effort, letting Mistral deploy models right on customers' own hardware. Koyab's 13 employees and three co-founders are joining Mistral's engineering team under CTO Timothy Laquois. Their platform keeps running for now, but will fold into Mistral Compute soon. It already supported Mistral models and will now optimize GPU use and scale AI inference for faster responses. My Trial CTO called it a boost for building a real AI cloud. Meanwhile, the company just announced a $1.4 billion investment in Swedish data centers to meet surging demand for non-US options. Koyab had raised $8.6 million before this. With $400 million in annual recurring revenue, Mistral is eyeing enterprise clients big time. Deal term states secret, but CEO Arthur Mensch is hiring aggressively for infrastructure roles, touting Europe as the hub for cutting edge AI. Research. This episode is supported by our sponsor. Head in. Sound on. Lights out. That is the routine. S.O.L.I.

For nearly three decades, Bill Gurley has been one of the most influential voices in Silicon Valley — a general partner at Benchmark whose early bets on companies like Uber, Zillow, and Stitch Fix helped define what modern venture capital looks like. Now, having moved to Austin and stepped back from active investing, the native Texan is channeling that same pattern-recognition instinct into something different: a book, a foundation, and a policy institute aimed at problems he thinks he can actually help solve. The book is “Runnin’ Down a Dream” — a nod to Tom Petty and also an argument that following your passion isn’t just romanticized career advice but a true competitive strategy, one that becomes only more urgent as AI rapidly reshapes the workforce. The foundation, which he’s calling the Running Down a Dream Foundation, will award 100 grants of $5,000 a year to people who need a financial cushion to make a leap they’ve been afraid to take. We caught up with Gurley to talk about all of it — including what he makes of the somewhat surreal reality that several of his former peers in tech now hold enormous sway in Washington, why he thinksthe 996 grind culturemany young founders have adopted is less alarming than it sounds, and what AI really means for your career. The following has been edited for length and clarity. Our full conversation with Gurley drops Tuesday on TC’sStrictlyVC Downloadpodcast. Why write this book? I went through a phase where I was reading a lot of biographies — people from very different fields, different time windows — and I started noticing patterns the way I would notice patterns in a market evolving. I wrote them down. A couple years later I got invited to speak at the University of Texas, dusted off the notes, built a presentation. They posted it on YouTube, and James Clear — who wrote “Atomic Habits” — noticed and posted about it. That’s what got me thinking about a book. And when I went through my own process of moving away from ventur [... 9,521 chars total]

It's February 22nd, and here's what's happening across tech right now. Bill Gurley has shaped Silicon Valley for nearly 30 years as a top venture capitalist at benchmark with early investments in Uber, Zillow, and StitchFix. Now based in Austin, Texas, he's stepping back from investing to launch a book called Running Down a Dream, a Foundation, and a Policy Institute. Focused on real-world problems. The book argues that chasing your passion isn't just feel good advice. It's a smart strategy, especially as artificial intelligence shakes up jobs. Gurley draws from research showing about 60% of people would redo their careers if they could start over, highlighting regrets over past, not taken. Many young people struggle to see life's time as precious, often pushed by parents towards safe, stable jobs. Meanwhile, Gurley's running down a dream foundation will give out 100 grants of $5,000 each year to help folks make bold leaps. They've hesitated on. He warns that even paycheck to paycheck workers can benefit by becoming a unique candidate of one blazing their own trail. With AI making learning easier than ever, pursuing passion turns it into a superpower rather than a threat. Gurley also eyes policy pitfalls like over-regulation on AI, skeptical of big companies pushing rules that could hobble innovation, especially against. Global rivals. His message urges hard work and obsession, like top athletes, to thrive in this new era. Thanks to our sponsor for helping bring you this episode. Head in, sound on, lights out. That is the routine, S-O-L-L-I-SOLYPILO.com.

WASHINGTON—Duke’s monumental win against Michigan included plenty of alley-oops, fast-break dunks and crowd-pleasing triples. Fans who showed up to watch a match between two of the nation’s top three teams no doubt enjoyed the fast-paced circus of offensive theatrics. But when the final buzzer sounded, it was quieter defensive contributions that delivered the Blue Devils a season-defining68-63 winover the top-ranked Wolverines. “When you're playing someone like Duke, they make you pay for every mistake, and they did that tonight,” Michigan head coach Dusty May said after the game. The Blue Devils entered the halftime break upby just two points, having exchanged leads with the Wolverines 13 times in the first 20 minutes. When Duke returned to the floor, it extended the advantage by cutting Michigan’s field-goal percentage from 51.9% to 28.6%. The Blue Devils also out-rebounded the team in yellow by a 23-14 second-half margin, earning critical second-chance opportunities and valuable points against the best frontcourt in the nation. “One thing they do, I think, better than anyone, is they go get their own misses,” May said of the Blue Devils. “It's well-trained, because they all do it, but they just have a really good feel for knowing where the miss is coming off and getting there quicker.” Duke crashed the glass like clockwork. With 14 minutes left to play, it was Cameron Boozer who leapt up over Elliot Cadeau to grab a failed Isaiah Evans 3-point attempt. Though the ball slipped through his fingers, Boozer found it off a bounce and slung it to a waiting Caleb Foster at the top of the key. The Blue Devils’ junior point guard drove in for a layup and gave his team a 43-40 advantage. Five minutes later, a similar scene unfolded. Patrick Ngongba II handed the ball off to Cayden Boozer, who found himself unable to net a layup over 7-foot-3 Michigan center Aday Mara. Ngongba, who had followed Boozer into the paint, grabbed the rebound and tossed up a second shot. Before t [... 5,145 chars total]

Durham's story is making news on February 22. Duke pulled off a huge upset with a 68-63 win over the top, ranked Michigan Wolverines in Washington. Fans love the alley, oops, fast breaks and threes, but it was gritty defense that sealed the deal for the Blue Devils in this season defining match-up between two of the nation's best teams. At half time, Duke led by just two after 13 lead changes in a wild first half. Playing shifted big time after the break, as the Blue Devils held Michigan to a dismal 28.6% from the field, down from over. 50% earlier. They also crushed the boards 23-14 in the second half, grabbing key second chance points. Players like Cameron Booser and Patrick Nongba, shown on the glass, turning misses into quick buckets that built the lead. Booser leaped for a rebound and fed Caleb Foster for a layup, while In Gangbaugh cleaned up his teammates' miss to push Duke up by seven. Coaches noted how Duke's hustle and instincts made them unbeatable on rebounds. Ford Duke's starters hit double figures, with Booser scoring 18 despite some foul trouble. Michigan's Yaxel Lindoborg had 21, but only 5 came after half time. The Blue Devils stayed disciplined, avoiding fouls that hurt them in recent games and showing real growth on defense. Duke's coach John Shire called it a March style game, praising the team's connectivity and learning curve. With fans packing the arena, this neutral side thriller hints at big things ahead as they head back to conference play for more tune-ups. This episode is brought to you in partnership with our sponsor. You know what is better than earbuds and bed? No earbuds at all. So L.I. SoleyPolo.com

Marketing is one of the few operations no industry can afford to ignore, which is why we have a veritable host of AI-powered marketing tools being shoved into marketers’ faces today. All the social platforms, from Facebook and Instagram to TikTok, and major incumbents like Microsoft and Google, to content-generation startups like Jasper and Copy.ai, offer AI tools that claim to make marketers’ lives easier in uncountable ways. That was partly why I was confused to see yet another marketing AI startup entering the fray: San Francisco-based Kana just came out of stealth with a suite of AI agents that can do data analysis, audience targeting, campaign management, customer engagement, media planning, and optimizing for AI chatbots. The startup has raised $15 million in a seed funding round led by Mayfield. But Kana has something going for it that most marketing startups today don’t: Its co-founders, Tom Chavez (CEO; pictured above on the right) and Vivek Vaidya (CTO; pictured above on the left), have been building marketing tech for more than 25 years. Kana’s actually their fourth venture afterRapt(acquired by Microsoft in 2008),Krux(bought by Salesforce in 2016), and startup studiosuper{set}, which they incubated Kana in for nine months. Calling this a “wondrous” time to be building, Chavez said there was a clear opportunity to bring their experience and today’s AI tech to bear on this class of problems. “We see a market that’s crying out for solutions that meet this moment […] We understand the space deeply, having wallowed in it arguably a little too long; having really stood in our customers’ pain,” he told TechCrunch. The solution, as Kana pitches it, involves “loosely coupled” AI agents that can be tailored “on the fly,” integrated into legacy marketing software, and can simultaneously work on different operations. So a marketer could, for example, upload a media brief that Kana’s agents would analyze to figure out the campaign goals, search for the audience to ta [... 3,770 chars total]

The latest in AI startups, gadgets, and innovation right here on tech news today Marketing is getting flutter with AI tools from big players like Google, Microsoft, and social platforms such as Facebook and TikTok Now a new startup called Kana has emerged from stealth in San Francisco with its own suite of AI agents designed to handle everything from data Analysis and audience targeting to campaign management and media planning the company just raised $15 million in seed funding Led by Mayfield with sets kind of a part arts co-founders Tom Chavez a CEO and Vivek Vidya a CTO who have over 25 years building marketing tech This is their fourth venture Following wrapped acquired by Microsoft in 2008 Crucks bought by Salesforce in 2016 and there start of studio superset where they incubated Kana for nine months Kana's platform uses loosely coupled AI agents that marketers can customize on the fly and integrate with old software systems For instance upload a media brief and the agents analyze goals find audiences pull in data and Optimize campaigns automatically while tracking results It also generates synthetic data to cut costs on third-party sources and speed up testing Human stay in control approving actions giving feedback and tweaking as needed the founders say this flexibility lets marketers move faster than with rigid legacy tools from big companies Creating a real edge by building solutions right-of-on-side customers Kana plans to use the funding to hire more engineers product folks and sales talent Mayfield's Navy and Chata is joining the board betting big on their experience meeting today's AI demands in a crowded market The daily news now is presented by our sponsor linked in the description Headphones in a pillow simple idea surprisingly addictive So L.I solely pillow dot com

Move over, PayPal mafia: There’s a new tech mafia in Silicon Valley. OpenAI, the startup behind ChatGPT, is arguably the biggest AI player in town. The company is reportedly now in talks to finalize a $100 billion deal, valuing thecompany at more than $850 billion. Many employees have come and gone since the company first launched a decade ago, and some have launched startups of their own. Among these, some have become top rivals (like Anthropic), while others, just on investor interest alone, have managed to raise billions without even launching a product (see Thinking Machines Lab). In January, Aliisa Rosenthal, OpenAI’s first sales leader, spoke a little bit about this growing network. She,like the other OpenAI alumswho did not become founders, decided to become an investor and said she was going to tap into the ex-OpenAI founder network to look for deal flow. We know Peter Deng, OpenAI’s former head of consumer products (and now general partner at Felicis)already has. Below is a roundup of the major startups founded by OpenAI alumni, in alphabetical order. And we are certain this list will grow over time. David Luan was OpenAI’s engineering VP until he left in 2020. After a stint at Google, in 2021 he co-founded Adept AI Labs, a startup that builds AI tools for employees. The startuplast raised $350 million at a valuation northof $1 billion in 2023, but Luanleft in late 2024 to oversee Amazon’s AI agents labafterAmazon hired Adept’s founders. Siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei left OpenAI in 2021 to form their own startup, San Francisco-based Anthropic, which has longtouteda focus on AI safety. OpenAI co-founder John Schulmanjoined Anthropic in 2024, pledging to build a “safe AGI.” The company has since become OpenAI’s biggest rival and just raised a$30 billion Series G, nabbing a $380 billion valuationin the process. IPOrumors are also swirling,as the company reportedly prepares for a public listing that could come sometime this year. (OpenAI is also allegedly p [... 9,509 chars total]

On February 20th, here's the latest in technology news. Forget the PayPal Mafia. There's a new powerhouse crew in Silicon Valley coming straight from OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. They're the top AI player right now, and reports say they're close to sealing a $100 billion deal that could value OpenAI at over 8. $150 billion. Over the past decade, tons of employees have spun out to launch their own startups, sparking a wave of hot new AI ventures. Some have turned into fierce rivals like Anthropic. Founded by former OpenAI leaders Dario and Daniella Amote, back in 2021, a later got OpenAI co-founder John Schoeman on board. They focus on safe AI and just raise $30 billion in their latest round, hitting a $380 billion valuation. IPO talk is swirling for both Anthropic and OpenAI this year. Investors are throwing cash at these alumni left and right. Perplexity, started by ex-researcher Adavin Seneva's, pulled in $200 million at a $20 billion valuation. Mir Morati, OpenAI's former Chief Technology Officer, launched Thinking Machines Lab, now worth $12 billion with its first product out. Even pre-launch ideas like Periodic Labs scored $300 million from backers, including Jeff Bezos. Meanwhile, others are making waves too. Adept AI's founders sold to Amazon, Cresta raised over $270 million and newcomers like Applied Compute grabbed $20 million. Dollars in just 10 months. Ex-employees are behind robotics firms, climate tech and more, proving OpenAI talent is gold. This mafia is just getting started, with still startups for more alumni already in the works. It's reshaping AI, fueling competition, and drawing billions in funding as the industry explodes. This DNN story comes to you thanks to our sponsor. A pillow that plays your sound quietly, comfortably, effortlessly. Built for nighttime listening.

There came a point when Newton Asare realized AI agents weren’t just tools anymore. “They were operating more like teammates,” he told TechCrunch. The realization crystallized when Asare and Kiran Das, both serial founders, noticed they were using AI agents to perform tasks they usually would have done themselves. Asare said he came to believe that the future lay in people managing AI employees. “And if that’s true, we’ll need a real system to manage them, with structure around onboarding, coordination, and oversight for digital workers,” he added. Last year, the duo launchedReload, an AI workforce management platform. On Thursday, the company announced itsfirst AI product, Epic, alongside a $2.275 million round led by Anthemis, with participation from Zeal Capital Partners, Plug and Play, Cohen Circle, Blueprint, and Axiom. Reload is a platform that lets organizations manage their AI agents across teams and departments. Companies can connect agents, regardless of who built them (whether by a third party or internally), assign them roles and permissions, and track the work they perform. “Reload acts like the system of record for AI employees, providing visibility, coordination, and oversight as agents operate across functions,” said Asare, the company’s CEO. Right now, he observed, teams are using multiple agents simultaneously for tasks such as coding, debugging, and refactoring. The problem is that these agents are often focused solely on whatever they were prompted to do and don’t necessarily retain long-term memory of what a product is or why they were told to perform a specific function. They operate, in other words, with only short-term memory. Over time, an agent can lose context, or the system can evolve away from its original intent. That’s why Reload is launching Epic. Built on top of the Reload platform, it serves as an architect alongside other coding agents, continuously defining a product’s requirements and constraints, and reminding agents what they a [... 4,182 chars total]

On February 19, here's the latest in technology news, Newton Assare and Kiran Das, two serial founders realize AI agents are turning into real teammates. Last year, they launched Reload, a platform to manage these digital workers like employees. This week, they unveiled their first product, Epic, and raised $2,275,000 in funding led by Anthemis. Reload helps companies connect AI agents from any source, assign roles and permissions, and track their work across teams. It accesses the main system for oversight, giving visibility into how these agents coordinate on tasks like coding and debugging. The founders previously built and sold a company together, so they know the start of world well. Teams today struggle, because agents only remember short-term prompts and lose context over time, leading to inconsistent projects. Epic fixes that by serving as an architect and coding environments like HRSA, it defines product requirements, data models, and tech decisions upfront. Then keeps a shared memory of changes so agents stay on track, no matter who, uses them. With fresh funding, Reload plans to hire more people and build infrastructure for a wave of AI agents. In a crowded field with rivals like Longchain and Crew AI, they stand out by focusing on long-term project context for the next era of work. This episode is supported by our sponsor, C Details in the description. What is cooler than cool, a pillow that plays your sound, S-O-L-I, solely pillow.com.

Peak XVannounced on Friday that it has raised $1.3 billion across new India and Asia-focused funds. The firm, which now manages more than $10 billion in assets, is sharpening its focus on artificial intelligence and cross-border bets amid intensifying competition for deals in the region. The capital will be deployed across its India seed and venture funds as well as its APAC vehicle. A majority is earmarked for India, with the firm expecting to invest the pool over the next two to three years, managing director Shailendra Singh said in an interview on Friday. Peak XVsplit from Sequoia Capital in 2023, in an effort to separate the India-focused portions of Sequoia’s portfolio. The firm now counts more than 450 portfolio companies across fintech, software, and consumer internet, spanning seed to growth stages. The firm’s new fundraise comes as New Delhi hosts theAI Impact Summit, drawing major technology players including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. At the event,General Catalyst outlined plans to invest $5 billionin the country over the next five years, sharply increasing its earlier commitment to the market. Singh said Peak XV is not trying to match rivals dollar-for-dollar, emphasizing that the firm’s priority is generating strong returns rather than maximizing assets under management. The firm will continue to size its funds based on where it sees the best opportunity to deliver “high-performing funds,” he said. He added that Peak XV is still building its presence in the U.S. and is selective about where it competes. “In the U.S. market, we are an underdog — and that’s great,” Singh said, adding that the firm is focusing on areas where its experience in software, developer tools, and fintech gives it an edge. The latest fundraise follows a period of leadership changes at Peak XV, including therecent departuresof senior partner Ashish Agrawal and investors Ishaan Mittal and Tejeshwi Sharma. Singh told TechCrunch the firm retains significant experience on its lead [... 3,325 chars total]

This is Corey, keeping you plugged into what's happening in tech. You're listening to tech news today. Peak XVith just announced it raised $1.3 billion for new funds focused on India and Asia. The firm, which now manages more than $10 billion in assets, plans to zero in on artificial intelligence and cross-border investments as. Competition heats up for deals in the region. The money will go into their India seed and venture funds, plus an Asia-Pacific vehicle with most earmarked for India. They expect to invest it all over the next two to three years, according to managing director, Shylendra Singh. This comes after Peak XV split from Sequoia Capital in 2023 to handle India-focused investments separately. The firm backs more than 450 companies in FinTech, software and consumer internet from seed stage to growth. Meanwhile, New Delhi is hosting the AI Impact Summit, pulling in big names like Open AI, Anthropic and Google. General catalysts even revealed plans to pour $5 billion into India over the next five years, upping their earlier pledge. Singh says they're not chasing rivals dollar for dollar, but focusing on strong returns over growing assets. They'll target AI where they've already made over 80 investments, plus FinTech, consumer startups and D-Tech as US India ties help. Founders go global. This DNN story comes to you thanks to our sponsor. Lay back, press play, let the pillow do the rest, sound meets comfort, S-O-L-I, solely pillow.com.

Nearly two years after Dukereplacedthe Reginaldo Howard Memorial Scholarship Program with its namesake Leadership Program, students have found that the program has upheld its predecessor’s key values. The scholarship program was discontinued in 2024 amid a national trend of universitiesterminatingrace-based scholarship programs. The new leadership program was created out of the former scholarship’s philanthropic funding, with fewer student funding opportunities and a larger cohort size. It maintained the scholarship program’s emphasis on leadership and service, admitting the first cohort of Reginaldo Howard Leadership Fellows in spring 2025. Many fellows believe the leadership program plays a critical role, both in their personal experiences at Duke and in anational climatewhere identity-basedprogramsandcentersare often heavily scrutinized or subject to closure. In addition, former scholars have gained the opportunity to engage with the new program’s offerings. “Being able to show agility, resilience [and] adaptivity is one of the main things that I would say that this program represents,” said junior Jaden Small, a Reggie Scholar. Considering federal changes across higher education, he described the leadership program as “a great depiction” of the predecessor program’s message and legacy. Members of the leadership program took the time to learn about their program’s origins and shared how it has improved their Duke experience. “I had known about the Memorial Scholars Program in the past, but I took the time to deep dive into who Reggie [Reginaldo Howard] was and how he exemplified those traits on campus, and I knew that was something I wanted to be a part of,” said junior Maria Junaid, the leadership program's vice president. Leadership fellows described being welcomed into the new and expanded program, which junior Avery Armstrong called “very fruitful.” Armstrong, the current leadership program president, added that terminating the scholarship program was “very u [... 4,979 chars total]

It's February 6th in Durham. Let's get into the news. Nearly two years ago, Duke University shut down its Reginaldo Howard Memorial Scholarship program in 2024 following a wave of schools. Dropping race-based scholarships, they replaced it with the Reginaldo Howard Leadership Program funded by the same donors. This new setup keeps the core focus on leadership and service for black students, but with a larger group of fellows and fewer direct scholarships. The first cohort joined in spring 2025. The original program, launched back in 1979, paid full tuition, room, and board for a small group of black undergrads. It built tight communities and opened doors at Duke. Now, the leadership program expands access to those resources, even inviting past scholars to join in. Officials say it adapts to tougher rules on identity-based initiatives nationwide, while staying true to Reggie Howard's legacy. Students love how it carries on the spirit. One junior described it as, agile and resilient, a perfect match for today's challenges in higher ed. The program's president called the switch unfortunate, but said it's growing into a key staple, welcoming everyone with fruitful experiences. Fellows feel right at home in this bigger family. Activities keep things lively, like semester book clubs reading works by black authors such as Percival Everett's James, complete with campus talks. They also volunteer at food drives and M.O.K. Day service events, sharpening leadership skills daily. Directors note it supports students success openly for all. Recently, they welcomed a fresh class of freshmen and sophomores, picked for their standout impressions on faculty. Alumni are pitching in during the shift, and everyone agrees this program not only holds the torch, but lights more for the future. It's positioning these students to thrive at Duke and Way Beyond. Quick thanks to today's sponsor, see the description for more. Layback, press play. Let the pillow do the rest. Sound meets comfort. [... 2,030 chars total]

Ford is promising to deliver an EV truck next year that starts at $30,000 and can compete with Chinese automakers without undermining profit margins. A combination of 3D-printed Lego-like parts, Formula 1 thinking, and a bounty program will help the company hit that target, Ford said Tuesday. It will have to. Ford took a$19.5 billion hitin December and ended production of its battery-electric F-150 Lightning. It can’t afford for this new EV business strategy to fall flat. Ford’s bet on a line of affordable EVs began several years ago with askunkworks teamled by Alan Clarke, a 12-year Tesla veteran. Pieces of its plan were revealed last August, when Ford said it would ditch its traditional moving assembly line andinvest $2 billionin its Louisville factory to adopt a new production system that promises to speed up manufacturing by 15%. The company said at the time that its line of EVs would be built on a universal platform with single-piece aluminum unicastings — large components cast as one piece to eliminate parts and allow for faster assembly — and lithium iron phosphate batteries with tech licensed from China’s CATL. Now Ford is sharing more specifics in aflurry of blog and social media postson how it will fulfill its promise of a desirable EV truck that will be $20,000 cheaper than the average new vehicle while still generating profits. Ford didn’t share specs like the range, features, or charging times of this future EV. But it did reveal how it plans to build lighter, cheaper, more efficient EVs made with fewer parts. It all starts with the universal EV platform, or UEV. The platform will underpin a midsized truck first, then could support a sedan, crossover, three-row SUV, and even small commercial vans, according to Clarke. The UEV is Ford’s first “clean sheet” EV built from the ground up — a strategic shift for the company, which built its Mustang Mach-E and the Lightning EVs using existing infrastructure and manufacturing practices. “It’s a platform that is [... 6,257 chars total]

What's up? This is Tech News today, bringing you the fastest updates in tech right now. Ford is gearing up to launch an affordable electric truck next year, starting at just $30,000. The goal is to take on Chinese automakers head on while keeping profit margins strong. They're using a mix of three-dimensional printed Lego-like parts, Formula One engineering tricks, and a bouncy program to hit that low price. This push comes after tough times for Ford. The company took a $19,500,500 hit in December, and even paused production on its battery electric F-150, blinding. They can't let this new electric vehicle strategy flop. The effort started years ago, with a secret skunkworks team led by Alan Clark, a 12-year Tesla veteran. Last August, Ford revealed plans to scrap its old assembly line and pour $2,000,000 into a Louisville factory for 15% faster, manufacturing. The trucks will ride on a universal electric vehicle platform, with big one piece aluminum castings and batteries licensed from China's Cadill. Now Ford is spilling more details on how they'll build lighter, cheaper rides with fewer parts. X Formula One engineers helped to make the mid-size truck 15% more aerodynamic than any pick-up today. They tested with thousands of snapped together three-dimensional printed prototypes in wind tunnels, way earlier than usual. Meanwhile, the team adopted smart moves like Tesla's Zonal Architecture, cutting electronic control units to just five main modules. That slashed wiring by 4,000 feet and 22 pounds. Ford's homegrown software ties it all together for smoother control and future-proof features, aiming to make long-range electric trucks accessible to everyone. This story is made possible by our sponsor. See the episode description. Some people meditate. I just lay down and press play. S-O-L-I-SOLY-PILLOW.com

Soft jazz plays as chef John Eisensmith, cooking coach at Duke and professional chef by training, puts on his apron. A spotless station in front of him, he has a small legion of ingredients neatly stacked and organized within an arm’s reach. Within two hours, Eisensmith, along with a handful of students in his cooking class, will have produced pizza, Greek salad and garlic knots. For many beginner cooks taking to their respective stations, there’s a feeling of excitement, mixed with apprehension. But this isn’t his first rodeo: the former head chef and owner ofSeason to Taste NCis ready to teach. Eisensmith is teaching a five-week course offered by Duke Dining on the second floor of the Brodhead Center called “Keep Cooking.” It is a follow-up to the fall class series “Get Cooking,” also taught by Eisensmith. “The world doesn’t need more swoops on plates,” Eisensmith said, referring to the culinary practice of gracefully dragging a sauce or puree across a plate for artistic effect. “It needs more people who are comfortable with a knife, with a sauté pan, with understanding the basic fundamentals of food.” According to Kirsten Anderson, Duke Dining’s director of communications, the classes filled within 30 seconds of registration opening, leaving more than 100 students on the waitlist. For senior Joshua Bauer, learning from Eisensmith is an opportunity to prepare for life post-graduation. “Once I graduate, I want to be able to make some cool dishes when I live by myself,” Bauer said. “I hadn’t ever really cooked before, living on campus, so it seemed like a pretty cool opportunity.” According to Eisensmith, college students are one of his favorite demographics to teach because they are “just getting to that point where they realize how important [cooking] is going to be.” For the approximately dozen students present at Eisensmith’s Tuesday night class, the warm cookery came along with detailed demonstrations paired with lighthearted jokes. “How yeast works is: it’s ac [... 4,707 chars total]

From Durham, this is your February 11th update. Imagine Soft Jazz filling a kitchen at Duke University as Chef John Eisensmith fires a pistachian for a hands-on cooking class. This professional chef and former restaurant owner is leading a five-week course called Keep Cooking, where students whip up pizza, Greek salad, and garlic knots in just two hours. Trained at the Culinary Institute of America, Eisensmith now coaches beginners on real kitchen skills. This class follows his popular fall series Get Cooking, both offered by Duke Dining. Registration sold out in 30 seconds, with over 100 students on the wait list, showing huge demand among campus cooks. Students like seniors and grad students are thrilled, seeing it as a way to build confidence for life after graduation. Many never cooked much on campus, but now they're eager to master basics, like knife work, and saltaying, ditching fancy plate designs for practical. Know how? Eisensmith dives into the science, explaining how yeastfarts gas to make dough rise, while demoing tricks like slicing peppers from the flat side. His style comes from childhood, on his grandfather's Virginia farm, and years running spots like six plates wine bar. Through his business, season to taste, he feels the gap for home cooks, with pro techniques adapted for everyday life. Students rave about his encouraging approach, and by class end, everyone's tasting their fresh creations with big smiles. As the ending story comes to you, thanks to our sponsor. Comfort you can hear. Sound you can relax into, solypillo.com.

With OpenAI onthe verge of finalizing a new $100 billion round, and Anthropic just closing its own monster$30 billion raise, one thing is clear: The concept of investor “loyalty” is only hanging on by a thread. At least a dozen direct investors in OpenAI wereannouncedas backers in Anthropic’s $30 billion raise earlier this month, including Founders Fund, Iconiq, Insight Partners, and Sequoia Capital. Some dual investments are understandable if they come from the hedge fund or asset manager worlds, where their focus is still largely investing in public stocks (competitors or not). These include D1, Fidelity, and TPG. One of these was a bit shocking. Affiliated funds of BlackRock joined in Anthropic’s $30 billion raise even though BlackRock’s senior managing director and board memberAdebayo Ogunlesiis also on OpenAI’s board of directors. In that world, it’s true that if various BlackRock funds get a chance to own OpenAI stock, they are likely to take it, never mind the personal association of a member of their senior leadership. (BlackRock runs every type of fund, including mutuals, closed-ends, and ETFs). And we all know thehistory of OpenAI and Microsoft’s relationshipand why Microsoft is hedging its bets. Ditto for Nvidia. But venture capital funds have — until now — operated differently. VCs market themselves as “founder friendly” and “helpful,” the idea being that when a VC firm buys a chunk of a startup’s company, the investor will help that startup be successful, particularly against its major rivals. If you are an owner of both OpenAI and Anthropic, who does your loyalty belong to, besides your own investors? Additionally, startups are private companies. They typically share confidential information with their direct investors on their business status — data that isn’t disclosed publicly the way it is with public companies. In many cases, the VCs also take board seats, which carries another level of fiduciary responsibility to their portfolio companies. What m [... 4,233 chars total]

I'm Cory with the story, bringing you the latest from the tech world. OpenAI is on the verge of closing a massive $100 billion funding round while Anthropic just wrapped up its own $30 billion. Raise. What's standing out is how investors are jumping into both camps, shredding the old idea of loyalty in venture capital. At least a dozen backers of OpenAI, including big names like Founders Fund, Iconic, Insight Partners, and Sequoia Capital, also piled into Anthropics. Round this month, even some hedge funds and asset managers like D1, Fidelity, and TPG make sense for dual bets since they play in public markets. But one surprise was BlackRock affiliated funds, joining Anthropic, despite a senior BlackRock director sitting on OpenAI's board. Venture firms have always pitched themselves as loyal partners to Founders, helping startups crush rivals, not funding them too. Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO and a former Y Combinator President reportedly warned investors against backing rivals like Anthropic, XAI, and Safe. Superintelligence. He later clarified that active investments in competitors would cut off confidential info sharing, but denied barring future rounds. Start-of-share sensitive private data with VCs and board seats at Ferdoushary duties, making these overlaps tricky. The AI boom is changing everything with sky high funding needs for data centers and growth. Returns look too juicy to pass up, so loyalty is slipping. Microsoft and Nvidia are hedging bets too, given their ties. Not everyone is crossing lines yet. Firms like Antres and Horowitz back only open AI, while Menlo Ventures sticks to Anthropic. Others such as Bessamer, General Catalyst, and Greenoaks remain exclusive. One investor shard that off, saying no board seats means no real harm. Deand in his brought to you by our sponsor link in the description. If earbuds fall out when you sleep, this is for you. A pillow with built-in sound. S-O-L-I-SOLIPILLOW.COM

AI-powered dictation startupWispr Flowhas launched its Android app today. The company released its app for Mac and Windows first, thenlaunched on iOS in June 2025. On iOS, users could use Wispr Flow through a dedicated keyboard. On Android, the interface is a bit different, as you can access the dictionary through a floating bubble. You can hold the bubble and dictate, or press once to start, and then press the close button to stop the process. Just like on other platforms, in addition to dictation, the app cleans up the filter words and also formats the text based on the context of the app and spoken content. “Android finally gave us the freedom to build the voice experience we always wanted. Only when the platform gets out of the way can we truly expect voice to replace typing on mobile,” Tanay Kothari, co-founder and CEO of the startup, said. The app can support translation in over 100 languages and can work across other apps. Along with the Android app release, Wispr Flow said that it has done an infrastructure rewrite that makes dictation 30% faster than before. Loading the player… While there are tons ofAI-powered dictation apps available on desktop and iOS, Wispr Flow is one of the few available on Android with this launch, besides Typeless, which launchedan app for the platform last month. What’s more, the company has also released a new model for Hinglish, a mix of Hindi and English, for people in India who speak in mix-coded way. “If you’re someone like me, English and Hindi weave together when I’m chatting with family and colleagues back home. This is one of those times when I just had to build something for me: the first voice model to actually support transcription in Hinglish instead of traditional Hindi script,” Kothari said. The company noted that even with early rollout to select users, users have spoken over 1.3 million words in English in the last few days. Wispr Flow has been one of the more popular startups in the category of AI-powered dictatio [... 2,351 chars total]

It's February 23rd, and here's what's happening across tech right now. Whisper Flow, the AI-powered dictation startup, just launched its app for Android users today. They first rolled it out for Mac and Windows, then hit iOS back in June 2025. Now Android folks can finally ditch typing for voice input that works smoothly across apps. On Android, it uses a handy floating bubble. You hold it to dictate or tap once to start and hit close to stop. Like on other platforms, it cleans up filler words and formats your text based on the app and what you're saying. It even handles translation in over 100 languages. The company's co-founder and CEO, Taneca Thari, says Android finally lets them build the voice experience they always dreamed of, without the platform getting in the way. He built a new model for English that mix of Hindi and English many in India use daily, because it's perfect for chatting with family or colleagues, back home. Alongside the launch, they rewrote their infrastructure to make dictation 30% faster. It's one of the few solid AI dictation apps on Android, especially after typeless dropped theirs last month. Early users have already spoken over 1.3 million words. Whisper Flow has drawn big investor interest, raising $30 million in June led by Menlo Ventures, then 25 million more in November. From notable capital, for a total of 81 million. Sources put their latest valuation at $700 million. Voice typing on mobile is heating up fast. The Daily News Now is powered by our sponsor, Link in the description. If earbuds fall out when you sleep, this is for you, a pillow with built in sound. S-O-L-L-I, solely pillow.com.

President Donald Trump said in a social media post Saturday that Netflix will “pay the consequences” if it doesn’t fire Susan Rice, who has served on the company’s board of directors since 2018. Trump’s comments came after Rice — a former ambassador to the United Nations who held diplomatic and advisory roles in the Obama and Biden administrations —appeared on the “Stay Tuned with Preet” podcasthosted by Preet Bharara and predicted that corporations that “take a knee” to Trump will be “held accountable” when Democrats return to power. “If these corporations think that the Democrats, when they come back in power, are going to, you know, play by the old rules, and […] say, ‘Oh, never mind. We’ll forgive you for all the people you fired, all the policies and principles you’ve violated, all, you know, the laws you’ve skirted,’ I think they’ve got another thing coming,” Rice said. In response,Trump posted on his social network Truth Social, “Netflix should fire racist, Trump Deranged Susan Rice, IMMEDIATELY, or pay the consequences. She’s got no talent or skills – Purely a political hack! HER POWER IS GONE, AND WILL NEVER BE BACK. How much is she being paid, and for what???” Trump’s post also includes a screenshot of a post from far-right activist Laura Loomer criticizing Rice’s comments and claiming, “The Netflix-Warner Bros. merger would result in a streaming monopoly, which the Obamas will have a significant stake in” due tothe deal between Netflix and the Obamas’ production company Higher Ground. While Trump’s post does not mention specific consequences,Netflix’s massive Warner Bros. acquisitionwill need to be approved by federal regulators. The streaming company’s co-CEO Ted Sarandosreportedly met with Trumpbefore the deal was announced, with Trump subsequently saying that Netflix is a “great company […] but it’s a lot of market share, so we’ll have to see what happens.” Last fall,Trump published a similar post demanding that Microsoft fire its president of global a [... 2,082 chars total]

Today is February 22nd. Here's what's trending in technology. President Donald Trump fired off a post on Truth Social Saturday, demanding that Netflix fire Susan Rice from his board or face serious consequences. Rice has served on the board since 2018 and held top roles in the Obama and Biden administrations, including Ambassador to the United Nations. This all stems from Rice's recent appearance on the stay tuned with pre-podcast. There, she predicted that companies cow-towing to Trump by firing people or dropping principles would get held accountable once Democrats take power. Again, she made it clear they shouldn't expect forgiveness for bending the rules. Trump didn't hold back in his response, calling Rice a racist, Trump obsessed political hack with no real talent or skills. He questioned her pay and shared a screenshot from far-right activist Laura Loomer, who slammed Rice and tied her comments to Netflix's planned merger. With Warner Bros., which could give the Obama's a big stake through their production company, that massive deal needs approval from federal regulators, putting Netflix in a tricky spot. Co-CEO Ted Cerandos reportedly met with Trump just before the announcement, and Trump called Netflix a great company, but flagged the huge market share. It would control. It would control, meanwhile, this isn't Trump's first such demand. As fall, he urged Microsoft to dump its global affairs president Lisa Monaco over similar criticisms, but she's still on the job today. Support for this DNN episode comes from our sponsor, Your Pillow, Your Podcast, Your Moment, Made for Listening and Bed, SOLI, solelypillow.com

Google on Wednesdayintroducedits latest entry-level Pixel smartphone. The $499 Pixel 10a launches with new AI software capabilities and minor hardware updates. The smartphone is available for preorder now with shipments starting March 5.  It comes in Lavender, Berry, Fog, and Obsidian. The Pixel 10a features a completely flat back, which means the camera bar blends with the back of the phone and lies flat when you place it down on a surface. Google notes that the smartphone’s 6.3-inch Actua display is 11% brighter than the Pixel 9a. It also has faster charging than its predecessor, with more than 30 hours of battery life and up to 120 hours with the “Extreme Battery Saver” setting turned on. The Pixel 10a comes with the same Tensor G4 chip that powered last year’s Pixel 9a. It features a 48 MP main camera, which Google says is the best camera on a phone under $500, along with a 13 MP ultrawide camera. After debuting a set of AI-powered camera features on the Pixel 10 series last summer, Google is now bringing them to the A-series phone. The “Auto Best Take” feature captures multiple frames in one shutter press and automatically selects the best version so everyone looks good in a group photo, while the “Camera Coach” feature gives users step-by-step guidance on lighting and composition. Additionally, Google is bringingSatellite SOSto the A-series for the first time, allowing users to connect with emergency services even when they don’t have Wi-Fi or cellular service. As with recent Pixel phones, the Pixel 10a will come with seven years of software and security updates. It’s worth noting that the Pixel 10a doesn’t have the “PixelSnap” magnetic Qi charging feature on the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, and Pixel 10 Pro Fold. The smartphone’s arrival comes just ahead of Apple’s upcoming new entry-level phone,the iPhone 17e. The device is expected to cost $599, like last year’s iPhone 16e. Google also announced that it’s launchingPixel Buds 2ain two new colors, Berry and Fog, t [... 2,024 chars total]

Today is February 19th. Here's what's trending in technology. Google's Pixel 10A is now out, priced at $499. It's their mid-range budget Android phone, known for solid cameras and everyday features at a great price. But this year's model feels like a minor tweak, more like an upgraded Pixel 9A than a true companion to the flagship Pixel 10 series. It sticks with last year's Tensor G4 chip and 8GB of RAM. That means it misses out on the Pixel 10's exciting new AI tools, like Magic Q for music, or advanced Pixel screenshots. Some blame-rising RAM costs, but overall, the update lacks the wow factor that makes the pricier Pixel stand out. Reviewers call it a bit of a lead-down, especially since so few flagship perks trickle down. Still, the berry color really pops and steals the show among options, like Lavender, Fog, and Obsidian. A few AI-aditioned shine, such as AutoBest Take, which picks the perfect group shot, and Camera Coach, which gives smart framing tips. Design-wise, it's Google's toughest A-series phone yet, with stronger Gorilla Glass 7i and a peak brightness of 3,000 nits for sunny days. Basil's are 10% narrower, rear cameras sit flush, and a key's IP68 water resistance. Charging speeds up slightly to 30 watts wired, and 10 watts wireless. No magnetic Pixel Snap accessory support, which is a miss. It pairs nicely with new fog and berry Pixel Buds 2A. If you want a reliable budget Pixel, this could still fit the bill. Thanks to our sponsor for supporting today's coverage. It is a pillow that plays your podcast and music without earbuds, built for listening and bed. S-O-L-I-SOLY-PILLOW.com

Finnish unicornIQMtoday announced plans to go public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), valuing the company at approximately $1.8 billion. The move will see IQM join the growing cohort of quantum computing companies listed on U.S. stock markets. Founded in 2018 as a spinout from Finland’s Aalto University and VTT Technical Research, IQM commercializes both on-premises full-stack quantum computers and a cloud platform to access its systems, with clients including academic and industrial labs around the world. Public quantum companieshave seen their stocks surge in recent months, fueled by signals from governments and Big Tech that the “quantum advantage” over regular supercomputers may soon be within reach. This has led believers todouble down, with the conviction that the field will soon have lucrative real-life applications in life sciences, new materials, and more. Going public will provide IQM with an extended runway to support its commercial plans. The company reported $35 million in 2025 revenue and over $100 million in bookings. With the close of this transaction, its cash position will exceed $450 million. But the company could also see its market cap trend upward or downward, depending on how investor appetite for quantum stocks has evolved when it begins trading. With industrial applications still years away, questions remain as to whether the current quantum frenzy will last. These questions arise to an even greater extent because most of these companies went public via SPACs — a route that is faster than a traditional IPO, but that peaked in 2021 and left many investors nursing losses in its wake. Despite this sour aftertaste, quantum SPACs are back in fashion. Earlier this month, neutral-atom quantum company Infleqtionjumped in its debuton the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) via a SPAC, with Canadian firm Xanadu Quantum Technologies planning to go public via a SPAC on the Nasdaq by the end of March. Now, IQM is following in their footsteps [... 2,654 chars total]

You're listening to Tech News today, powered by the Daily News Now. Finish Quantum Computing Company IQM just announced? It will go public through a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, putting a 1.8 billion dollar value on the business. This move puts IQM in line with other quantum firms hitting US stock markets. Founded in 2018 as a spin-out, from Finland's ALTO University and VTT Technical Research, IQM builds full-stack quantum computers for. On-site use and offers cloud access to its systems. Clients range from academic labs to big industrial players worldwide. Quantum stocks have surged lately, thanks to buzz from governments and tech giants, about reaching quantum advantage over supercomputers soon. Investors are betting big on future breakthroughs in fields like life sciences and new materials. The public listing gives IQM a longer runway, with $35 million in 2025 revenue already reported in over 100. Million dollars in bookings. After the deal closes, the company will have more than $450 million in cash to fuel growth. Meanwhile, quantum SPACs are heating up again, like in fleek-sion strong NYSE debut this month, and Canada's Xanadu I-Nazdak by late March. IQM plans a U.S. listing via Nasdaq's real asset acquisition corp, possibly adding a Nordic exchange, though real-world apps remain years away amid. Investor, caution. Thanks to our sponsor for supporting today's coverage. When you need a moment alone, just lay back and listen. S-O-L-I-SOLY-PILLOW.com

Redditannouncedon Thursday that it’s testing a new AI search tool that takes community recommendations and matches them with products from some of the company’s shopping and advertising partners. A small group of users in the U.S. will start to see search results that include interactive product carousels with pricing, images, and direct where-to-buy links. The announcement reflects Reddit’s broader push to combine its community-driven platform with e-commerce capabilities. The move comes as Reddit launched itsfirst shoppable ad productlast year, called Dynamic Product Ads (DPA), which display personalized product recommendations to users based on their interests. Now, when users who are part of the test search for something like “best noise-canceling headphones” or “electronic gift ideas for a college student,” they will see a carousel of related products at the bottom of the results. This carousel will feature products directly mentioned by users from conversations on related posts and comments. If users tap on the product, they can view more details and then be directed to the retailer to purchase the item. “This feature surfaces top-recommended products directly from discussions, giving redditors instant information about any product,” the company wrote in ablog post. “This test is designed to make Reddit easier to navigate while keeping community perspectives at the center of the experience. We’ll continue learning from how people use this new feature and refine the experience over time.” While platforms like TikTok and Instagram have long integrated shopping features, Reddit is now looking to follow suit. Of course, Reddit isn’t the only tech platform that recently started exploring AI-driven shopping, as OpenAI’s ChatGPT rolled out an“Instant Checkout”feature last September that lets users make Etsy and Shopify purchases within conversations. Thursday’s announcement comes afterReddit CEO Steve Huffman saidduring the company’s earnings release last week that t [... 2,422 chars total]

It's February 19th. Here's what's happening in tech. Reddit announced this Thursday that it's testing a new AI search tool. The feature pulls recommendations straight from community discussions and pairs them with products from the company's shopping and advertising. Partners. A small group of users in the United States will soon see interactive product care sales right in their search results, complete with prices, images, and direct links to buy. When someone searches for things like the best noise-canceling headphones or electronic gift ideas for a college student, a carousel pops up at the bottom. It shows products that real users have mentioned in related posts and comments. Tap on one and you get more details before heading to the retailer's site to purchase. This move builds on Reddit's push into e-commerce. They wrote out their first shoppable ads last year with something called Dynamic Product Ads, which personalized recommendations based on your interest. Platforms like TikTok and Instagram have had shopping baked in for years, and even ChatGPT added instant checkout for sites like Etsy and Shopify last. September. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman highlighted this during last week's earnings call, calling AI search a major opportunity for growth and revenue. He shared that weekly active search users jump 30% over the past year, from 60 million to 80 million. Their AI-powered Reddit answers feature also exploded, going from 1 million users in the first quarter of 2025 to 15 million buy. The fourth quarter. As the test rolls out to more users, it could change how Reddit turns conversations into cash, blending its unique community vibe with easy shopping. Keep an eye on it, because this might just be the start of bigger things. We'd like to thank our sponsor for making this episode possible. Your favorite podcasts, music, or sleep sounds coming from your pillow, no earbuds, no distractions, just listen and relax. S-O-L-I-SOLYPILLO.COM

Tech investors haven’t given up on the dream of making physical products with the same speed and ease as coding software. Executives atFreeform, a startup developing a novel 3D-printing system for metal components, told TechCrunch that the company raised a $67 million Series B to expand its manufacturing platform. Investors include Apandion, AE Ventures, Founders Fund, Linse Capital, Nvidia’s NVentures, Threshold Ventures, and Two Sigma Ventures. FreeForm declined to disclose the company’s post-financing valuation, which PitchBook cites as $179 million. CEO and co-founder Erik Palitsch said the funding would allow the company to upgrade its current GoldenEye printing system, which uses 18 lasers to fuse metal powders into precision components, to a new version. Dubbed Skyfall, the next iteration of the platform would use hundreds of lasers to produce thousands of kilograms of metal parts each day. That’s the culmination of a vision Palitsch launched in 2018 after developing rocket engines at SpaceX, where they found that industrial machines for printing metal components are expensive, finicky, and not well designed for mass manufacturing. Their new company would build its platform from the ground up to achieve higher throughput and flexibility, with an emphasis on active software controls. Palitsch says Freeform’s platform is “AI native,” noting apartnership with Nvidiathat allows the company to access advanced GPUs. “I think we’re the only quote-unquote manufacturing company out there that has H200 clusters in a data center on site,” Paltisch told TechCrunch. “What are they doing? We’re running real-time physics-based simulations and learning all the different aspects of the end to end manufacturing workflow.” The data collected by sensors in the company’s manufacturing platform and during the simulations allows Freeform to rapidly improve production quality and quantity. “We have more meaningful data on the physics of the metal-printing process than any company in [... 2,844 chars total]

It's February 19th. Here's your tech news in two minutes. Tech investors are still chasing the dream of building physical products as fast and easy as riding software. Freeform, a startup revolutionizing metal, 3D printing, just raised $67 million in a Series B funding round. Backers include heavy hitters like Founders Fund, Nvidia's Inventures, and 2 Sigma Ventures. The company is now valued at around $179 million. The cash will supercharge their manufacturing platform. Right now, their GoldenEye system uses 18 lasers to fuse metal powders into precise parts. The next version, called Skyfall, will crank it up with hundreds of lasers, churning out thousands of kilograms of metal components every day. The idea started back in 2018 with Founders' Erick Palich and Thomas Ronnaker. They met at SpaceX building rocket engines and got frustrated with clunky, expensive industrial printers that were built for mass production. So they designed freeform from scratch for speed and flexibility. What's set them apart is the heavy use of artificial intelligence. They partner with Nvidia for powerful graphics processing units, right on site, running real-time physics simulations. That gives them more data on metal printing physics than anyone else, letting them boost quality and output fast. Freeform is already shipping hundreds of mission-critical parts to customers and plans to hire up to 100 new employees while expanding their facility. It's part of a hot trend in manufacturing as a service, with rivals like Hadrian hitting billion-dollar valuations for similar tech in defense and beyond. This episode is brought to you in partnership with our sponsor. When you need a moment alone, just lay back and listen. S-O-L-I, solelypillow.com

After initially testing its AI-powered “Prompted Playlist” feature inNew Zealandand recently launching inthe U.S. and Canada, Spotifyannouncedon Monday that it’s rolling out the tool to Premium subscribers in the U.K., Ireland, Australia, and Sweden. The Prompted Playlist feature allows users to create custom playlists by simply describing what they want to listen to in their own words. Instead of searching for individual songs or artists, users can describe the vibe, scenario, or inspiration they want, and Spotify will take care of the rest. To access the feature, users tap “Create” and then select “Prompted Playlist,” then enter any prompt in English. The feature is designed to interpret themes including moods, aesthetics, and even memories. Prompts can be as broad or specific as the user wants, referencing musical eras, genres, activities, lyrics, instruments, or even requesting a playlist inspired by a TV show, movie, or personal milestone. Users can also specify whether they want the playlist to include mostly new music or just music from their library in the prompt. Once a prompt is submitted, Spotify’s AI generates a customized playlist tailored to the request. The system draws on the user’s listening history and incorporates current music and cultural trends. Plus, each song comes with a short explanation that offers insight into why it was chosen for that particular playlist. Users can refine their playlists by adjusting their prompts or starting over. For those whose musical tastes constantly evolve, playlists can be scheduled to automatically refresh on a daily or weekly basis. Because this is still in beta, Spotify noted that there might be changes as the company gets feedback, and that there are currently usage limits in place. Some users havereportedhitting limits after roughly 20 or 30 prompts. Spotify has recently expanded AI features throughout its platform, includingPage Match, which lets users scan a physical book page to jump to the corresponding [... 2,690 chars total]

Here's more tech news for February 23rd. Spotify has exciting news from music fans. On Monday, the streaming giant announced its rolling out its AI-powered prompted playlist feature to premium subscribers in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and Sweden. This comes after testing in New Zealand and a recent launch in the United States and Canada. The tool makes creating playlists super easy, just tap Create, pick prompted playlist, and type a description in English, like a viper a roadtrip, songs from the 90s inspired by a movie, or tunes, matching your mood with new tracks or from your library. Spotify's AI handles the rest. It pulls from your listening history and current trends to build a custom mix. Each song even comes with a quick explanation of why it fits. You can tweak the prompt, start fresh, or set it to refresh daily or weekly as your taste change. Publicly users love the convenience, but since it's still in beta, there are usage limits. Some hit them after 20 or 30 prompts. Spotify plans tweaks based on feedback to make it even better. Meanwhile, the company is going all in on AI internally. One co-CEO said their top developers have encoded since December. They're also expanding audio books into physical book sales for users in the United States and United Kingdom right from the app. A message from our sponsor supports today's story. A pillow that plays your sound quietly, comfortably, effortlessly, builds for nighttime listening, S-O-L-I, solely pillow.com.

Nimmi Ramanujam, Robert W. Carr, Jr. distinguished professor of biomedical engineering and director of the Center for Global Women’s Health Technologies, waselectedto the 2026 class of the National Academy of Engineering. The decision, announced in February, represents one of the highest awards given to engineers. Ramanujam joins a group of 130 engineers from the United States and 28 international members for the 2026 class. She is the 13th Duke engineering professor and second biomedical engineering professor to hold the honor. Ramanujam was awarded the distinction for her work developing technologies to improve women's health, including better cervical cancer detection and breast cancer treatment, according to the Academy’s website. For Ramanujam, the accomplishment represents welcome attention to work in women’s health that expands beyond her individual contributions. “It’s nice to see that this is being brought to the forefront … that what we’re doing is considered meaningful and impactful,” she said. Much of Ramanujam’s work has centered on access. She has worked extensively to create tools to improve access to medical care across the United States as well as lower- and middle-income countries like Kenya and Peru. Through her role as the founder and chief scientific officer of Calla Health Foundation, she developed thepocket colposcopeand thecallascope, which make cervical imaging more affordable and less invasive. In 2024, Ramanujamreceivedthe Department of Defense’s Innovator’s Award, a $10.4 million dollar grant that will cover the next four years of her team’s breast cancer research. With the money, the lab hopes to develop a new model for treatment that decreases the burden of receiving care by only requiring one visit. But the technical details aren’t everything, Ramanujam says. Engineering requires working through social and structural barriers to get the government to “buy into” a new technology. Ramanujam advocates for this broader “systems thinking” a [... 3,165 chars total]

This is Corey, here with your quick two-minute update from Durham News Today. Duke Professor Nimi Ramanujam has been elected to the 2026 class of the National Academy of Engineering. She's a distinguished professor of biomedical engineering and director of the Center for Global Women's Health Technologies. This honor recognizes her pioneering work on technologies for better cervical cancer detection and breast cancer treatment. She joins 130 engineers from the United States and 28 international members. Ramanujam is the 13th Duke Engineering Professor and second in biomedical engineering to earn this prestigious distinction. Her innovations focus on making healthcare more accessible, especially in lower and middle income countries, like Kenya and Peru. As founder and chief scientific officer of Calahel Foundation, she created the Pocket Culposcope and Caliscope. These tools make cervical imaging cheaper and less invasive, helping women get care without big medical setups. Ramanujam sees this award as a spotlight on women's health efforts that go beyond one person. She stresses that engineering must tackle social and structural barriers to get governments on board with new tech. It's about systems thinking and tailoring solutions to real community needs. In 2024, she received the Department of Defense Innovators Award, a $10,400,000 grand for the next four years. This funds her team's breast cancer research toward a one-visit treatment model that cuts the care burden. Ramanujam also teaches project-based courses on global health and co-authored a textbook on biomedical engineering for global health. She pushes for teamwork across disciplines at Duke. Her official induction happens in fall 2026. Support for this episode comes from our sponsor, see the description, your pillow, your podcast, your moment, made for listening in bed, so L.I. solely pillow dot com.

Led by a stalwart defense, No. 4 Duke men’s basketball claimed victory over No. 20 Clemson Saturday afternoon.The Blue Zone analyzes this ACC matchup by highlighting one player, one word and one stat from the 67-54 win: In a game defined by offensive execution and defensive discipline, Isaiah Evans provided Duke with stability on both ends of the floor. The sophomore wing finished with 17 points, but more importantly influenced nearly every meaningful possession throughout the second half. Evans’ offensive contributions arrived at pivotal moments. Shortly after halftime — with Clemson still within a single possession — he scored five quick points that stretched the margin and forced the Tigers to speed up their offensive pace. From that point forward, the Blue Devils played with control rather than under pressure. The sophomore sharpshooter's ability to space the floor also prevented Clemson from fully committing extra defenders toward the paint, opening driving lanes for Duke’s guards. Defensively, Evans’ presence was equally significant. He rotated early on ball screens, disrupted passing angles and repeatedly forced the Tigers into late shot-clock situations. Rather than producing highlight steals or blocks, Evans consistently prevented clean looks before they developed: Several Clemson possessions ended in contested jumpers after he shut down the initial action. Overall, the Fayetteville, N.C., native dictated the rhythm of the game — not through volume scoring, but through dependable two-way play that allowed the entire Blue Devils squad to function cohesively as a unit. Saturday’s contest never felt fast. Both teams entered with efficient offenses, yet the afternoon unfolded into a possession-by-possession grind. Duke slowed Clemson’s actions before they even began, cutting off driving lanes and forcing the Tigers to restart sets repeatedly; even simple baskets required multiple actions to create. Clemson hovered within reach for much of the first half, but ra [... 4,418 chars total]

On February 16, here's the latest out of Durham. Fourth ranked Duke men's basketball team picked up a solid win over 20th ranked Clemson on Saturday afternoon, 67-54. The boot doubles leaned on a rock solid defense to control the game from start to finish, never letting the Tigers get comfortable. Isaiah Evans stood out as the key player for Duke. The sophomore wing scored 17 points, including five quick ones right after half time, that pushed the lead and set the tone. He spaced the floor in offense and locked down passing lanes on defense, forcing Clemson into tough shots all second half. The defense was straight up suffocating, turning the game into a slow grind. Clemson hung around early, but got worn down possession by possession with no real rhythm. Caden Booser helped run the show, adding 12 points in three assists while keeping everything under control. One big stat tells the story, Clemson shot just 35.1% from the field. They went 6-24 from deep and struggled inside, too, making only 5-15 layups. Cameron Booser anchored the pain with 8 rebounds and 2 steals. If Duke keeps holding teams to mid-30s shooting like this, their defense will carry them deep into conference play. It was a team effort that shows their built for the long haul. This episode is supported by our sponsor, C Details in the description. Headphones in a pillow, simple idea, surprisingly addictive, S-O-L-I-S-O-L-P-L-O-D.com.

No. 4 Duke will fight to keep its unbeaten record in Cameron Indoor Stadium alive against a strong No. 20 Clemson squad. The Blue Zone has you covered with its take on a few key prop bets ahead of the matchup: In a designated big game for the Cameron Crazies, Duke is favored to win by double-digits. While Clemson’s offense is averaging a mighty 75.6 points a game, its schedule so far has been comparatively weak to the Blue Devils’, who have managed an 82.9 point average through 24 games. Even though their two season losses have come against ranked opponents, head coach Jon Scheyer’s squad has managed to take down seven other top-25 teams in the process. The same cannot be said for the Tigers, who have lost two of their three ranked games this season. All Duke fans will remember last season’s match-up, though, where underdog Clemson massively upset Cooper Flagg and company 77-71. In a court storm finish, the South Carolina team asserted themselves as worthy opponents to the Blue Devils. This year’s team, headlined by freshman star Cameron Boozer, who is notably averaging 23 points a game, will look to expand their series lead over the Tigers to 85-30. Duke may start off slow, but Clemson will likely lack the star power to hold it down long-term. Even though last year’s upset proved Clemson is a capable team, Duke still has the clear offensive edge. Pick:Clemson +12.5 In these two ACC foes’ last five head-to-heads, they have scored more than 133.5 points every single time. Their lowest scoring matchup, a 72-64 Duke loss in 2023, still combined for 136 points. Though the Blue Devils and Clemson are the ACC’s best two defensive teams, allowing an average of 63.5 and 64.6 points per game respectively, both also seem to have a knack for scoring high in big games. In the Tigers’ face-offs against No. 12 Alabama, No. 10 BYU and No. 24 SMU, it has scored 84, 64 and 74 points, respectively. Against a ranked opponent, the least the Blue Devils have scored is 66 in their win ag [... 3,317 chars total]

Endurum today, February 14th. Number 4. Ranked Dupes takes on number 20 Clemson tonight in Cameron Indoor Stadium, as the Blue Devils try to stay undefeated. Dukes favored by 12 and a half points, boasting an average of 82.9 points per game over 24 contests. They beaten 7 top 25 teams this season, while Clemson sits at 75.6 points per game against the softer schedule and has dropped 2 of 3 games against ranked foes. Last year, Clemson pulled off a huge upset, winning 77-71 at Duke in a wild court storming finish. That's things for Blue Devils fans, but this year's squad, led by freshman star Cameron Booser averaging 23 points, aims to push their series. Lead to 85 wins over 30. Duke might start slow, yet their offensive edge should shine through against the Tigers. Cameron Crazies will pack the arena for this ACC showdown, hyped as a big one. People teams ranked top in defense, Duke allowing 63.5 points in Clemson 64.6, but history says expect fireworks. In their last five meetings, totals have topped 133.5 every time, even in lower scoring games. Looking at the over-underset at 133.5, recent trends point high. Clemson scored 84 against number 12 Alabama and 74 versus number 24 SMU, while Duke hit at least 66 in ranked. Wins. Defense matters, but these Carolina rivals often light up the scoreboard in big spots. Finally, Cameron Booser's rebound props sits at 10.5. The 6-foot-9 freshman averages 10 per game nationally, ranking 15th, with no Clemson player close at 5.7. In a gritty battle, Booser grabs 11 or more to help Duke dominate the glass. At Responsibly, folks, we'd like to thank our sponsor for making this episode possible. Your bedtime ritual just got better. Built in Sound, built in Comfort, SOLI, solelypillow.com.

The third-ranked Blue Devils and the top-ranked Wolverines traveled to Washington for a highly-anticipated game in Capital One Arena. After 20 minutes of play, Duke leads Michigan 35-33: For just the third time in regular-season NCAA history, the nation’s top four college basketball teams met on the same day. No. 4 Arizona kicked off the action by toppling No. 2 Houston, leaving all eyes on the nation’s capital as No. 3 Duke and No. 1 Michigan prepared to face off. The rowdy crowd in Capital One Arena donned blue and yellow gear in nearly equal proportions. Michigan fans exploded when their top-ranked team put up the first four points, but an Isaiah Evans dunk just under two minutes into the contest brought the Duke faithful to their feet with a far louder rallying cry. The Wolverines’ phenomenal cast of big men quickly forced the Blue Devils to rework their typical paint-first strategy. Just under three minutes into the contest, both Cameron Boozer and Dame Sarr found themselves unable to penetrate the Michigan defense on attempted drives to the basket. Quite literally backed into the left corner, the pair of freshmen pivoted. Boozer passed the ball to Sarr, who swished a tight 3-pointer on his first field-goal attempt of the night. Evans would add one of his own shortly after, and Caleb Foster eventually joined the 3-point party with top-of-the-key triples on two subsequent possessions. Duke lost some of its rainbow shooting as the half wore on, however, finishing 4-of-12 from deep. It was all fireworks to open the game, with both teams combining for 23 points less than five minutes into the contest. Michigan, who entered the game with one of the quickest tempos in the nation, wasted no time putting the Blue Devils on notice. Head coaches Jon Scheyer and Dusty May watched the lead change hands seven times in the first nine minutes of play, with the teams reaching a 22-21 stalemate in the same time frame. Fans were treated to an exhilarating mix of fast-break jumpe [... 3,150 chars total]

In Durham, it's February 22nd. Here's what is happening. What is showdown in Washington, D.C. at Capitol, One Arena, where the third ranked Duke Blue Devils are taking on the top ranked Michigan Wolverines. At the half, Duke holds a slim two-point lead at 35 to 33. This game is part of a rare day in college basketball history, with the top four teams all in action during the regular season. Earlier today, fourth ranked Arizona pulled off a big win over second rank Houston, setting the stage for this clash between number three and number one. The crowd was split right down the middle in blue and yellow gear, roaring from the tip off as Michigan jumped out to a four-nothing lead before. Duke's Isaiah Evans slam home a dunk to tie things up. Fans got treated to pure fireworks right away, with both teams combining for 23 points and under five minutes. The lead changed hands seven times in the first nine minutes, hitting a 22-21 stalemate. Duke had to adjust against Michigan's big men, firing from deep with three pointers from Dame Sarr, Evans, and Caleb Foster. Things got physical fast, with fouls piling up on key players like Evans, Foster, and Michigan's seven-foot-three center a day Mara, who sat with three. Early, free throws were rough for both sides. Duke hit 70%, but Michigan managed just two out of six. Michigan's six-foot-nine senior forward. Yaxel-Lendabork stole the show, dropping 16 points on perfect shooting through the half, nearly half his. Teams total. Duke's Evans had the tough job guarding him, but now Bolt squads head to the locker room with everything still on the line. This story is made possible by our sponsor. It looks like a pillow. It sounds like headphones, built for comfort and sound, S-O-L-I, solely pillow.com.

Apple hasinvited the tech pressto a “special Apple experience” on March 4, but it might unfold a bit differently than the company’s standard press event. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that instead of announcing everything at a single keynote,Apple is planning a “three-day flurry of announcements”— presumably announced online, and culminating in the March 4 “experience” that will consist of three events in New York, London, and Shanghai, where the press will be offered a chance to get hands-on with the upcoming products. Similarly, Daring Fireball’s John Gruber speculated that the experience could be“a hands-on thing with in-person demos.” Apple will reportedly be announcing at least five new products during that time, including a low-cost MacBook. Other reported possibilities: the iPhone 17e, an iPad Air with an M4 chip, a new entry-level iPad, an upgraded MacBook Air, and new MacBook Pro models. Gurman said all of those products are due this spring, but he sounded less certain about which ones will be announced when.

On February 23rd, here's the latest in technology news. Apple might unveil at least five new products during a three day event starting March 4th. According to a Bloomberg report, expect a low-cost MacBook and iPhone 17i, a new iPad Air, plus updated MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models. This could mark a fresh way for Apple to launch hardware. Instead of the usual big event, it's called a special experience happening in New York, London and Shanghai. It kicks off on March 4th with announcements spread over three days, including hands-on time for in-by-tees. Apple hasn't commented yet on the details. Fans are buzzing about the timing, especially with low inventory on current iPad Air and iPhone 16i models. That often signals upgrades are coming soon, building excitement for more affordable options like colorful low-cost MacBooks. Details point to the iPhone 17i launching this spring. Alongside an iPad Air powered by an M4 chip and a refreshed basic iPad, the MacBooks will get processor boost 2, focusing on hardware over software previews. Looking ahead, Apple plans to ditch one giant iPhone event in 2026 for at least two rollouts a year. This multi-city approach could become the new normal for product drops. This episode is brought to you in partnership with our sponsor. Comfort you can hear, sound you can relax into, S-O-L-I, solelypillo.com.

A government customer of sanctioned spyware maker Intellexa hacked the phone of a prominent journalist in Angola, according to Amnesty International, the latest case of targeting someone in civil society with powerful phone-hacking software. The human rights organizationpublished a new reportTuesday analyzing several hacking attempts against local journalist and press freedom activist Teixeira Cândido, in which he was sent a series of malicious links via WhatsApp during 2024. Cândido eventually clicked on one and his iPhone was hacked with Intellexa’s spyware, dubbed Predator, Amnesty found. The new research shows again that government customers ofcommercial surveillance vendorsare increasingly using spyware to target journalists, politicians, and other ordinary citizens, including critics. Researchers have previously found evidence of Predator abuse inEgypt,Greece, and Vietnam, where the governmentreportedly targeted U.S. officialsby sending the spyware via links on X. Contact UsDo you have more information about Intellexa? Or other spyware makers? From a non-work device, you can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Telegram and Keybase @lorenzofb, oremail. Intellexa is one of the most controversial spyware makers of the last few years, operating from different jurisdictions to skirt export laws and using an “opaque web of corporate entities” — as a U.S government officialput itat the time — to hide its activities. In 2024, around the same time one of Intellexa’s customers was targeting Cândido with its spyware,the outgoing Biden administration sanctionedthe company, as well as its founder Tal Dilian and his business partner Sara Aleksandra Fayssal Hamou. Earlier this year, the Treasurylifted sanctionsagainst three other executives tied to Intellexa, a decision that left Senate Democratsdemanding answersfrom the Trump administration. Dilian did not respond to a request for comment. Amnesty researchers wrote in the repo [... 3,822 chars total]

It's February 18th. Let's get into the latest tech headlines. A prominent journalist in Angola named Tashira Kandito had his iPhone hacked with powerful spyware called Predator. Amnesty International revealed this in a new report, saying a government customer of the spyware maker, Intellecta, sent malicious WhatsApp links to him. Throughout 2024, Kandito clicked one, infecting his phone. These researchers found forensic evidence linking the hack to Intellecta's tools. The spyware hid by pretending to be normal iPhone processes. Kandito rebooted his phone hours later, which wiped it out, but his device was running an older iOS version at the time. This case highlights how governments are using commercial spyware against journalists and critics. Intellecta has faced accusations in places like Egypt, Greece, and Vietnam. The company operates through a shady network of firms to dodge export rules as US officials have noted. In 2024, the Biden administration sanctioned Intellecta, its founder, Taldillion, and a business partner. Earlier this year, the Treasury lifted sanctions on three other executives, sparking questions from Senate Democrats to the Trump administration. Amnesty spotted multiple domains tied to Predator in Angola, dating back to March 2023, suggesting testing or wider use. They believe Kandito is likely one of many targets there, and for every case found, many more probably stay hidden. Thanks to our sponsor for helping bring you this episode, it is a pillow that plays your podcast in music without earbuds. Built for listening in bed, S-O-L-I-SOL-Pillow.com

No. 1 Duke men’s basketball will play its first game as the nation’s top-ranked team Tuesday evening, traveling to South Bend, Ind., for a 7 p.m. ACC matchup with Notre Dame. The Blue Zone previews the matchup with an overview and an X-factor for each team: 2025-26 record:12-15, 3-11 in the ACC Head coach:Micah Shrewsberry (third season) Series history:Duke leads 32-8 since 1965 (Duke leads 9-4 in away games) Last meeting:86-78 Duke, Jan. 11, 2025 Duke did not come across its new ranking easily. The Blue Devils beat then-No. 1 Michigan68-63 Saturday nightin Washington, D.C., and climbed to No. 1 in the AP poll. But, the joy of being No. 1 is only matched by the toil of bearing it. This is the first time Duke has had“No. 1” next to its namein nearly a year, and the first stop with that target is on the road in the Hoosier State. It’s also a conference game, and the Blue Devils (13-1 in league play) still have work to do in the ACC. This part of the calendar is less about style points than calmly piling wins, staying healthy and keeping a hold of the first-place reins. Notre Dame comes home searching for anything steady. The Fighting Irish were handed a 73-68 loss at Pittsburgh Saturday, during which they went 9-of-38 from 3-point range. That loss also fits a broader trend: Since the calendar flipped to 2026, Notre Dame has dropped 11 of its 13 games. It is 9-5 at home, though, and those home splits matter when the opponent is bringing a No. 1 ranking into your building. Purcell Pavilion has been a tough road stop for top-ranked teams: The Fighting Irish hold an 8-3 all-time record at home against No. 1 opponents and enter Tuesday on a seven-game win streak. The last such case was when Notre Dame toppled North Carolina 80-76 in 2016. The matchup itself is straightforward: Duke’s profile travels. It scores 82.4 points per game and allows 63.1 — good enough for a +19.3 scoring margin that leads the ACC. Head coach Micah Shrewsberry’s squad does not have many easy answer [... 4,713 chars total]

What's up? I'm Corey, and these are your headlines from Durham News today. 1. Duke Men's basketball team plays its first game as the nation's top ranked tonight, heading to South Bend, Indiana for a 7pm matchup with Notre Dame and the ACC. The Blue Devils just climbed to the top spot after beating then-number-one Michigan 68-63 on Saturday night in Washington, D.C. Duke leads the all-time series 32-8 since 1965 and won their last meeting 86-78 back on January 11th. Meanwhile, Notre Dame sits at 12 wins and 15 losses overall with a 3-11 mark in the ACC under coach Micah Schruzberry in his third season. The fighting Irish lost 73-68 at Pittsburgh on Saturday, shooting just 9-38 from 3-point range. They have dropped 11-13 games since the start of 20-26, but boasts a 9-5 record at home where they have an 8-and. 3 all-time mark against number-one teams, including a 7-game win streak in those spots. Duke brings a dominant profile scoring 82-point-4 points per game while allowing just 63-point-1 for the best scoring margin in. The conference at plus 19-point-3. Their star Cameron Booser leads with 22-point-6-point-10 rebounds and force his per game making him the favorite for national player of. The year, though, he dealt with four fouls against Michigan. The Blue Devils' vulnerabilities include turnovers at 10-point-8 per game. Foul trouble especially for Booser and Patrick Engongba, the second, and... Free throw shooting at 71-point-4%. The key ex-bacter for Duke is Malik Brown, who provides tough defense physicality rebounding and paint protection especially crucial on the road to win. Those effort plays without fouling out alongside their big men. For Notre Dame, it's Cole Serta stepping up with star freshmen, Jalen Haralson, sidelined by an ankle injury. Serta dropped 37-points in 7-3s in a recent win, and if he gets hot early the home crowd at Purcell Pavilion could make things tough. For the top ranked visitors, this should be a gritty battle where Notre Dame hunts [... 2,381 chars total]

The Duke women’s tennis team has already started its season, and its spring campaign is shaping up to be a big one. Driven by a young core of players, head coach Jamie Ashworth’s group started its season with a2-0 opening weekendandqualificationfor the ITA Indoor Nationals for the first time in three years. Four of Ashworth’s starting six singles players are underclassmen: sophomores Irina Balus and Liv Hovde, along with freshmen Aspen Schuman and Claire An. Action this year started in the fall with the individual swing. At ITA qualifying events in September and October, Balus, Hovde and Shavit Kimchi qualified for the NCAA Championships. Balusled the trioin November in Orlando, Fla., where she reached the Round of 16. In the spring, the team comes back together to play in dual matches. After a 24-4 2025 season that saw the Blue Devils go undefeated in conference play, Ashworth’s squad ended its campaign last year with alossto No. 1 and eventual NCAA champion Georgia in the tournament quarterfinals. This spring, Ashworth’s schedule features stacked non-conference opponents, including No. 2 Ohio State and No. 10 Texas. Its ACC lineup is no easier, featuring a March 27 revenge match against No. 15 Virginia — which the team lost to in theACC Tournament semifinalslast year — and an April 1 battle with No. 3 North Carolina. The Blue Devils checked in as the ITA No. 8 team to start the season and currently sit at No. 19. Ashworth’s roster features ranked players in No. 22 Balus and No. 118 Hovde, as well as ranked doubles pairs No. 12 Kimchi/Hovde, No. 39 Yu/An and No. 30 Hovde/Balus.–Seyun Park Schuman is the newest player to join the team in Durham. The Menlo Park, Calif., native joined the roster in January after playing on the junior circuit, where she competed in six Junior Grand Slam main draws and was No. 1 in the USTA Girls 18s National Combined rankings. Despite being a new addition, the freshman is already making an impact. Schuman has only dropped one match thr [... 4,996 chars total]

This is Corey, here with your quick two-minute update from Durham News today. The Duke Women's tennis team is off to a hot start in its 2026 spring season. They kicked things off with the 2-0 opening weekend and qualified for the ITA indoor nationals for the first time in three years. Led by head coach Jamie Ashworth, this young squad features four underclassmen in the starting singles lineup including sophomores Erena Ballis and Liv Hobday plus freshman Aspen Schumann and Claire Ann. Veterans like senior Katie Codd and junior shaven Kim Chi add some experience to the mix. After a strong 2025 season with a 24-4 record and an undefeated ACC run, the Blue Devils fell to top ranked Georgia in, the NCAA quarterfinals. This year they opened ranked number 8 by the ITA and sit at number 19 now. Their schedule is tough with non-conference clashes against number 2 Ohio State and number 10 Texas plus ACC battles like a revenge match at. Number 15 Virginia on March 27 and number 3 North Carolina on April 1. Fans are buzzing about key players making waves. Freshman Aspen Schumann from Menlo Park, California has dropped just one match in six outings and beat number 52 now Nishino at the indoor nationals. Sophomore Erena Ballis from Slovakia is the top single star at number 22 with all America honors and big wins like upsetting number 2. Carmen Andrea Heria from Texas. The team boasts ranked doubles teams 2 including number 12 Kim Chi and Hobday and number 30 Hobday and Ballis. That North Carolina match up Looms large as Duke stole last year's game in Chapel Hill but hasn't won at home against them since 2022. The Tar Heels bring back stars like number 1 Reese Brandmeier. Looking ahead, predictions are optimistic with riders forecasting 25 to 26 wins and deep ACC and NCAA runs. Coach Ashworth's history includes nine conference titles and a national championship in 2009. So a final 4 push is an out of reach for this talented group. This episode is brought to you in partnership wi [... 2,108 chars total]

Late last month, The Informationreported thatApple was developing an AI wearable — an AirTag-sized pendant with cameras that could be pinned to a user’s shirt. Now, Bloombergwrites thatthe development of such a device — along with two other AI-powered items — is accelerating as Apple looks to stay competitive with other tech giants that are racing to release similar products. In addition to the AI pin, Apple is also speeding up the development of its upcoming AI-powered smart glasses,which have been code-named N50, the report claims. Apple obviously has competition in this space, as other companies — including Meta (which is arguably the mostsuccessful playerwhen it comes to smart glasses) and Snap (whichplans to releaseits “Specs” later this year) — are working on similar products. Apple’s new smart glasses, which will supposedly include a high-resolution camera, may see a public release sooner rather than later, with Bloomberg reporting that the company is “targeting the start of production as early as December, ahead of a public release in 2027.” Additionally, Bloomberg reports that Apple is working on AirPods with new AI capabilities. All of these items will be designed to connect to the iPhone and will include Siri, the company’s virtual assistant, as a critical component of the user experience, the outlet notes. The glasses are being described as “more upscale and feature-rich” than the AirPods and the AI pendant, however. TechCrunch reached out to Apple for more information.

Here's more tech news for February 18th. Apple is gearing up for a big push into wearable AI tech, with plans for smart glasses, an AI pendant, and even camera equipped airpods. According to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, these devices will have built-in cameras that connect to your iPhone, letting Siri use visual info to, handle tasks smarter. The smart glasses are the star here, set to star production in December for a launch in 2022. They will pack speakers, microphones, a high resolution camera for photos and videos, plus another lens for AI features, going head-to-head with, Meta's Rayban Glasses. Apple wants to stand out by building the frames in-house, skipping partners like Meta uses with Rayban and Oakley. Early prototypes needed a cable to a battery pack and iPhone, but newer ones embed everything right in the frame for a sleeker look. Meanwhile, there's this air-tax sized AI pendant you can wear as a necklace or pin. It acts like an always-on camera and mic for Siri, relying mostly on your iPhone's power, and it could hit shells as early as next year. Apple might also upgrade airpods this year with low resolution cameras to scan your surroundings for AI help. These moves build on series recent upgrades and show Apple chasing the wearable AI trend hard. Quick thanks to today's sponsor. See the description for more. Hidden, sound on, lights out. That is the routine, S-O-L-I-SOLYPILO.com.

The Cameron Crazies sat on the wooden bleachers of Section 17, eying the familiar championship banners hanging from the rafters. Over the course of their Tuesday evening, they would add another title to Duke basketball’s long list of accolades — not a national championship, but a Guinness World Record. Seven hundred and eleven students crowded Cameron Indoor Stadium to participate in the largest game of knockout basketball officially recorded. After 158 minutes and five seconds, they beat thedecade-old markset by the Dallas Mavericks in 2015. Four Duke basketball players — Nikolas Khamenia, Maliq Brown, Taina Mair and Delaney Thomas — kicked off the action by demonstrating the rules of the classic backyard game. Competitors line up at a free-throw line, with the first two holding basketballs. The first player shoots, quickly followed by the second. If the second player makes a basket before the first, the first player is eliminated. Otherwise, the first player passes to the next and rejoins the back of the line. Play continues until only one person remains. Thomas won the demonstration after a long duel with Khamenia, earning loud approval from the Crazies. The eager participants then formed a line, snaking single-file up the stairs on the south side of Cameron Indoor Stadium before wrapping through the concourse and back down to the entrance on the north side of the court. Patrick Ngongba II took the game’s first shot at 7:07 p.m., launching the record attempt into action. It took over an hour to complete the first round. Participants passed the time by munching on pizza, collecting swag and answering trivia for cash prizes. Hundreds donned “Certified Crazies” shirts and orange sweatbands provided by the Dollar Shave Club, shuffling across the court in sneakers, loafers, Crocs, Birkenstocks and the rare pair of basketball shoes. In order to speed up the game, any player that shot an airball was instantly eliminated. Michael Empric, a Guinness World Record Adjudicat [... 4,673 chars total]

I'm Corey, and this is your Pulse of the City, Durham News Today. Duke's students made history Tuesday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium. 711 Cameron Crazies packed the bleachers and set a Guinness World record for the largest game of knockout basketball. They beat the old mark of 701 players set by the Dallas Mavericks back in 2015. The epic game lasted 158 minutes and 5 seconds. Four Duke basketball players kicked things off with a demo of the rules. They lined up at the free throw line, shooting quick shots where the second player could knock out the first by making theirs faster. The line of students snaked through the stadium, starting at 7.07 pm, with freshman Patrick Nongbaugh, the second taking the first shot, to keep it moving air balls meant instant elimination. Participants Munch Pita, grab swag, and even answer trivia for cash while waiting. The first two were certified crazy shirts and orange sweat bands from sponsor Dollar Shave Club. Guinness adjudicator Michael Imprick washed closely from the sidelines, clipboard, and hand. He chatted with early drawbacks and shared stories from wild records like uncorking 308 wine bottles at once. Even the company's CEO, Larry Bodner, rebounded balls under the basket. As the night wore on, the crowd thinned out. After 113 minutes, the line still wrapped the court. Twenty minutes later, only 60 remained. It took 157 minutes to get to the final three, who battled amid cheers for 40 seconds. sophomore Dash Hort clinched the win with a perfect free throw over his wrestling teammate, earning a $1,000 prize. A quick ceremony at half court featured photos with the official plaque. For now, it's a fun record to celebrate while Duke Hoops fans dream of that next championship banner. This DNN story is thanks to our sponsor details in the description. Headphones in a pillow. Once you try it, it just makes sense. So L.I. SoleyPillow.com

DeDreana Freeman, former city council member representing Durham’s Ward 1, will be running for the North Carolina Senate in District 22 this year challenging fellow democrat and incumbent Senator Sophia Chitlik for the seat. “It has been an incredible honor to serve Durham, and I am ready to bring that same passion for justice to the state level,” Freeman said in a statement on hercampaign website. Her campaign focuses on the acronym “S.E.E.,” which stands for “social, economic and environmental justice.” Freeman’s platform outlines that she wants to improve public health resources, expand public transportation and facilitate economic mobility. She also hopes to work specifically with and for marginalized communities. Freeman filed to run for the State Senate seat on Dec. 17, less than two months after she narrowly lost her seat on the city council to Matt Kopac. The campaign’s launch was relatively quiet. But in January several voters got a text message from the campaign speaking to its affordability commitment. “I’m committed to fight for a state where families can afford to live, workers can earn dignified wages and communities are protected,” Freeman wrote in a text message to voters. Although Freeman is challenging the incumbent, Chitlik has held elected office only since January 2025. Before entering state politics, she worked as a field organizer on Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and later held positions at both the U.S. Department of Labor and the White House. Freeman has long been active in the Durham and North Carolina community. Sheservedtwo terms on the Durham City Council after first being elected in 2017. She sought a third term in 2025 but was defeated in the general election. Freeman also unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2023, placing third behind former state Sen. Mike Woodard and Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams. On council, Freeman served as a member of the committee on racial equity, the housing committee and the workforce development boa [... 2,834 chars total]

On this January 28th in Durham, here's what is making headlines. Dejorena Freeman, a former Durham City Council member for Ward 1, has announced she's running for North Carolina Senate in District 22. She's challenging the incumbent Democrat, Senator Sophia Chitlick, in what promises to be a lively primary race. Freeman filed her paperwork on December 17th, just months after narrowly losing her council seat. She has campaigned centers on social, economic and environmental justice, with she calls SEE. She wants to boost public health resources, expand public transit, and help marginalize communities with economic mobility. Voters started getting text messages from her team in January, highlighting her push for affordable living, fair wages, and community protections. Freeman has deep roots in Durham politics. She served two terms on the City Council, starting in 2017, and was active on committees for racial equity, housing, and workforce. Development. She ran for mayor in 2023, finishing third, and her council time included some controversy, like a heated physical clash with another. Member in a 2023 meeting. Meanwhile, Senator Chitlick is relatively new to elected office, starting her term in January 2025. Before that, she worked as a field organizer for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign and held roles at the U.S. Department of, Labor and the White House. Chitlick says she's looking forward to a positive campaign. The Democratic primary is set for March 3rd, and both candidates are gearing up. Freeman, now a non-profit consultant focused on economic support and environmental health, brings plenty of experience to the table as this race heats. Up in District 22, appreciation to our sponsor for backing this episode. Cash rules, everything around me, but solely pillow rules my bedtime.

We are officially down to the final 5 days tosave up to $680on yourTechCrunch Disrupt 2026ticket. These lowest rates of the year disappear on February 27 at 11:59 p.m. PT. If you’ve been mapping out your 2026 tech event calendar, this isn’t the moment to wait.Register now to lock in your savings before prices increase. Each year,Disruptbrings together 10,000+ founders, tech leaders, and VCs at San Francisco’s Moscone West. From October 13–15, you’ll gain valuable takeaways and curated networking opportunities designed to elevate your startup trajectory, accelerate your career, or strengthen your portfolio. Last year, Disrupt featured 200+ onstage conversations with 250+ top voices shaping the tech ecosystem. Expect the same level of powerful, candid conversations this year. Highlights from 2025 include the following: Keep an eye on theevent pageas we roll out the 2026 agenda. Last year, more than 20,000 curated meetings took place across three days. This year, we’re rolling out improved networking technology to make those connections even more targeted and efficient. Meet the one person who can change the trajectory of your startup. It only takes one. You get: Startup Battlefieldis where 200 TechCrunch-selected, pre-Series A startups compete for $100,000 in equity-free funding, global visibility, and direct access to the industry’s top investors. This iconic pitch competition has helped launch breakout companies like Discord, Cloudflare, and Trello. Over 300 startup exhibitorswill showcase innovations across the venue, especially in the Expo Hall, where foot traffic converges. Discover tomorrow’s breakthroughs and today’s solutions — all in one place. Throughout Disrupt Week, October 11–17, TechCrunch Disrupt Side Events will take place across the Bay Area beyond the main venue. Attend a post-event cocktail hour, grab breakfast before the day begins, or even host your own off-site panel. The opportunities to make powerful connections around Disrupt are endless. Five [... 2,205 chars total]

It's February 23rd. Here's your tech news in two minutes. We've got just five days left to snag the lowest ticket prices for tech crunch. Disrupt 2026 was savings up to $680. These deals vanish after February 27th at 11.59pm. Pacific time, so if you're planning your tech calendar, now's the time to... Lock a man before prices jump. The main event hit San Francisco's Moscone West from October 13th to 15th. Drawing over 10,000 founders, tech leaders and venture, capitalists. Expect more than 200 on-stage talks from top voices, just like last year, when investors from places like Insight Partners shared series A. Tips and founders dished on social media virality and AI hardware rules. Networking is a huge draw too, with over 20,000 curated meetings last year. And even better tech this time around for targeted connections. That one key intro could change your start-ups path, whether it's funding or partnerships. Don't miss the start-up battlefield, where 200 early-stage companies battle for $100,000 in equity free cash and investor. Eyes-pass winners include Discord and Trello, plus 300 plus exhibitors in the expel hall showcase the latest breakthroughs. Meanwhile, check out Disrupt Week's side events from October 11th to 17th across the Bay area for more mixers and panels. And for another deal, save up to $300 on the TechCrunch Founder Summit in Boston on June 9th in March 13th. Head to the site and register today. This story is shared with support from our sponsor, Headphones in a Pillow. Once you try it, it just makes sense. S-O-L-I-SOLYPILLOW.COM

Mohsen Kadivar is no stranger to speaking out about injustice. As a prominent Iranian dissident, he has criticized the repressive Islamic Republic in the face of imprisonment and persecution. Today, however, Kadivar, a research professor of Islamic studies, is confronted with a new threat as colleges and universities across the U.S. contend with the Trump administration’s threats to freedom of speech. As U.S. President Donald Trumppledgesto cut funding and conduct far-reaching investigations into their practices, universities and their faculty are increasingly self-censoring out of fear of being targeted. Duke has found itself in the midst of this crackdown. President Vincent Price emphasized the University’s “strategy of silence” in October 2025 in the face of repeated federal scrutiny, an approach that hastrickled downto faculty. But for Kadivar, speaking out, no matter the threat of consequence, has always been an unconditional principle. Recognized in Iran as aleading scholaron Shia theology and jurisprudence, Kadivar became a vocal critic of the Islamic Republic’snarrow religious justificationfor its autocratic rule. His criticism of Ayatollah Khomeini’s government led to his 18-month imprisonment in Iran’s notoriousEvin Prisonin northern Tehran in 1999, a decade after the death of Khomeini. Unrelenting and impenitent following his release, Kadivar was eventually condemned to exile from Iran in 2008 by the theocracy for his continued dissent. Even after facing multiple prison sentences, threats from the Iranian government and ultimately exile for his unwavering calls for governmental reform in the country, Kadivar said he has not, and will never be, deterred from his “struggle for justice and freedom.” Carrying a harrowing past of personal consequences for criticizing a government considered far more oppressive than the U.S., Kadivar’s insight proves especially apt in today’s atmosphere of academic self-censorship in higher education. Kadivar made no distinctio [... 6,289 chars total]

This is Durham News Today. Every story, every city, every day. At Duke University, research professor Muhammad Ali Kadivar stands out as universities across the US grapple with threats from the Trump. Administration to cut funding and probe pre-speech. While many schools adopt a strategy of silence to avoid scrutiny, Kadivar refuses to self-sensor, openly criticizing both the oppressive Iranian, regime in the US government. Kadivar rose to prominence in Iran as a top scholar on Shiite theology, but his books expose contradictions between the regime's rule and the prophet. Muhammad's teachings that led to his arrest in 1999 and 18 months sent in the notorious Evan Prison and eventual exile in 2008. He joined Duke in 2009 and became a research professor in religious studies in 2015. Drawing from his past, Kadivar draws no lines between injustices. He says people warned him in Iran not to speak out, just as some advise him now in America to avoid criticizing leaders like President Trump or Prime. Minister Netanyahu. For him, the US Constitution demands testing free speech equally, no matter the side. Recent protests in Iran over the collapsing rile and economic woes drew brutal crackdowns with thousands dead in internet blackouts. Kadivar condemns the regime fiercely, but also blasts Trump's comments promising help, which he believes incited more killings without follow-through. With nearly 50,000 social media followers, he calls out biases in media from both nations. Kadivar remains committed to global justice, writing letters to US lawmakers and even meeting Iran's president during a 2025. Visit to Voice Reforms. As an immigrant dissident, he declares himself a citizen of humanity, pushing for peace and freedom everywhere, no matter the personal cost. Appreciation to our sponsor for backing this episode. A pillow that sounds as good as it feels. Dilt for Listening in Bed, SOLI, solelypillow.com

Military service members at Duke’s graduate programs allegedly may soon lose their tuition assistance following Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s campaign against universities that he claims “openly loathe our military.” Hegseth first rolled out the policy in a Feb. 6 memo announcing that the U.S. Department of Defense woulddiscontinueits professional military education, fellowships and certificate program partnerships with Harvard University. The decision was intended to “maximize taxpayer value,” Hegseth said in a videoposted on X. He cited instances of professors partnering with the Chinese Communist Party or students “celebrating Hamas,” saying that students are turning into “ideological automatons.” “Why should the war department support an environment that’s destructive to our nation?” Hegseth said in the video. Hegseth ordered the military services — the Army, Navy and Air Force — to evaluate major universities’ graduate programs to determine whether they provide cost-effective strategic education for future senior leaders compared to less expensive public universities,according to reporting by CNN. The branches have begun compiling a list of universities at risk of losing tuition assistance for service members. On Feb. 13, CNN reviewed apreliminary listcompiled by the Army of 34 law schools, including Duke, at “moderate to high” risk of being banned from using military tuition aid. Other schools at risk include Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University and every Ivy League institution except Dartmouth College. Although the list focuses on law schools, CNN was informed that “graduate programs for highest performing officers and non-commissioned officers are almost certainly at risk.” The announcement creates uncertainty for the hundreds of Duke students affiliated with the military, whichnumbered700 as of 2024. Active-duty service members are eligible for up to $4,500 per yearin tuition assistancefor civilian education programs. Currently, [... 2,403 chars total]

In Durham, it's February 18th. Here's what is happening. Secretary of Defense Pete Hakeseth is targeting universities. He says openly dislike the military and now service members and graduate programs at places like Duke could lose their tuition assistance. Hakeseth kicked this off with a memo on February 6th, cutting off professional military education and fellowships at Harvard to save taxpayer money and avoid hostile environments. He pointed to issues like professors working with the Chinese Communist Party and students supporting Hamas, calling campuses places that turn people into ideological robots. Hakeseth asked the Army, Navy, and Air Force to review top graduate programs and compare them to cheaper public schools for training future leaders. Meanwhile, the Army put together a preliminary list of 34 law schools that moderate to high risk, including Duke, MIT, Stanford, and every Ivy. League school except Dartmouth. Officials say graduate programs for top officers and non-commissioned officers are likely next on the chopping block. This news hits hard for the roughly 700 military affiliated students at Duke in 2024. Active duty members can get up to $4,500 a year into Wishing Aid for approved schools like Duke, but that could vanish for. Grad work, leaving many in limbo. Undergrad ROTC scholarships remain safe for now. Duke says it's aware of the reports and fully committed to supporting service members' education. As branches finalize their lists, military students everywhere are watching closely for what's next. This story is shared with support from our sponsor. If sleep podcasts are your thing, this is your pillow, build for comfort and calm, S-O-L-I, solely pillow.com.

Google announced on Wednesday that it’s adding a music-generation feature to the Gemini app. The company is usingDeepMind’s Lyria 3 music-generation modelto power the feature, which is still in beta. To use the feature, you’ll describe the song you want to create, and the app will generate a track along with lyrics. For instance, you could ask Gemini to create a “comical R&B slow jam about a sock finding its match,” and the app will generate a 30-second track along with cover art made by Nano Banana. Google said that you can even upload a photo or a video, and the AI-powered tool will create a song to match the mood of the media file. Loading the player… The company said that Lyria 3 improves onthe previous generation of models, creating more realistic and complex music tracks. Users can also change and control other elements like style, vocals, and tempo. Along with rolling out Lyria 3 to the Gemini app, Google is making the model available to YouTube creators through the Dream Track feature on YouTube,a toolthat helps creators make AI-generated tracks. The option was only available to YouTube creators in the U.S. until now. But with this release, Google is expanding Dream Track availability globally. Google said that you can’t mimic an artist outright, but if you add an artist’s name to your prompt, Gemini will create a track in a similar style or a mood. (It’s not clear if generation will make it easier for others to decode the music style of a particular artist.) “Music generation with Lyria 3 is designed for original expression, not for mimicking existing artists. If your prompt names a specific artist, Gemini will take this as broad creative inspiration and create a track that shares a similar style or mood. We also have filters in place to check outputs against existing content,” the company said in ablog post. Google noted that all songs created with the Lyria 3 model will have a SynthID watermark to identify AI-generated content. The company said that it’s [... 2,787 chars total]

Tech Stories Making Headlines On February 18th Google announced this week that it's adding a music generation feature to its Gemini app. The tool uses DeepMind's Luria 3 model, which is still in beta. You can upload a photo or video, and it creates a custom song that matches the mood perfectly. Luria 3 builds on earlier versions with more realistic and detailed tracks. Users get control over style, vocals, tempo, and other elements to make it their own. Meanwhile, reactions in the music world are mixed. Some platforms like YouTube and Spotify are embracing AI music with deals for labels, while others face lawsuits from artists over training data. Copyrights. Google is also expanding Luria 3 to YouTube's Dreamtrack for creators. Now available worldwide instead of just the United States. It won't outright copy artists, but naming one in your prompt inspires a similar style or vibe. All generated songs include a synth ID watermark to mark them as AI made, and Gemini can now check uploaded tracks for that too. The feature rolls out to users 18 and older globally, supporting English, German, Spanish, French, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, and Portuguese. D&N is brought to you by our sponsor link in the description. Do not just fall asleep, drift into what you are listening to, S-O-L-I, solelypillow.com.

On Thursday, Googlereleasedthe newest version of Gemini Pro, its powerful LLM. The model, 3.1, is currently available as a preview and will be generally released soon, the company said. Google’s new model may be one of the most powerful LLMs yet. Onlookers have noted that Gemini 3.1 Pro appears to be a big step up from its predecessor, Gemini 3 — which, upon its release in November,was already considereda highly capable AI tool. On Thursday, Google also shared statistics from independent benchmarks — such as one called Humanity’s Last Exam — that showed it performing significantly better than its previous version. Gemini 3.1 Pro was also praised by Brendan Foody, the CEO of AI startup Mercor, whose benchmarking system, APEX, is designed to measure how well new AI models perform real professional tasks. “Gemini 3.1 Pro is now at the top of the APEX-Agents leaderboard,” Foody saidin a social media post, adding that the model’s impressive results show “how quickly agents are improving at real knowledge work.” The release comes as theAI model wars are heating up, and tech companies continue to release increasingly powerful LLMs designed for agentic work and multi-step reasoning. Other major names — including OpenAI and Anthropic — have recently released new models as well.

This is Corey with Tech News Today, powered by the Daily News Now. Google just dropped the latest version of its powerful language model, Gemini 3.1 Pro, on Thursday. It's available now as a preview, with a full general release coming soon. This update is turning heads as one of the most advanced AI tools out there yet. It builds big on the previous Gemini 3.0, which launched back in November and was already a standout for its smarts. Independent benchmarks shared by Google, show this new version crushing it, way ahead of its predecessor, on tough tests like humanity's last exam. Folks in the AI world are buzzing. Brendan Fudy, CEO of Startup Merchor, called it a game changer on social media. Their APEC system, which tests real professional tasks, now ranks Gemini 3.1 Pro at the top of the Agents leaderboard. That means it's excelling at complex, multi-step work that mimics actual jobs, showing how fast these AI agents are leveling up and knowledge-based roles. Meanwhile, the race is on in the AI model wars. Big players like OpenAI and Anthropic have rode out their own heavy hitters lately, all pushing boundaries and reasoning in agente capabilities. Appreciation to our sponsor for backing this episode. Layback. Press Play. Let the pillow do the rest. Sound meets comfort. S-O-L-I-SOLYPILLOW.COM

Apple hasinvited the tech pressto a “special Apple experience” on March 4, but it might unfold a bit differently than the company’s standard press event. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that instead of announcing everything at a single keynote,Apple is planning a “three-day flurry of announcements”— presumably announced online, and culminating in the March 4 “experience” that will consist of three events in New York, London, and Shanghai, where the press will be offered a chance to get hands-on with the upcoming products. Similarly, Daring Fireball’s John Gruber speculated that the experience could be“a hands-on thing with in-person demos.” Apple will reportedly be announcing at least five new products during that time, including a low-cost MacBook. Other reported possibilities: the iPhone 17e, an iPad Air with an M4 chip, a new entry-level iPad, an upgraded MacBook Air, and new MacBook Pro models. Gurman said all of those products are due this spring, but he sounded less certain about which ones will be announced when.

It's February 22nd, and here's what's happening across tech right now. Apple has sent out inbys to the tech press for a special Apple experience on March 4th. This one looks different from their usual big keynote events where everything drops at once. According to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, Apple is planning a three-day flurry of announcements shared online. It all builds up to that March 4th date. The special experience will happen in three cities, New York, London, and Shanghai. Last year, we'll get hands-on time with the new products. Daring Fireballs, John Gruber thinks it could focus on in-person demos to let people try out the gear up close. Fans are buzzing about this fresh approach. It might mean more detail spread out, keeping the excitement going all week long. The Daily News Now is grateful to our sponsor for today's episode. Headphones in a pillow, simple idea, surprisingly addictive, uh, S-O-L-I, solely pillow.com.

Tuesday kicked off the Year of the Fire Horse, and student groups found meaningful ways to celebrate the Lunar New Year on campus. Through student performances and tea tasting, community members fostered cultural exchange and joyful celebration. Many Asian countries and communities celebrate Lunar New Year, an Eastern festival based on the lunisolar calendar that welcomes the spring. The calendar cycles through 12 zodiac animals and five elements — last year was the Year of the Wood Snake. Coffeehouse, a student-led late-night cafe run by Duke University Union, celebrated Lunar New Year by becoming “Tea House” and serving traditional Chinese tea on Monday evening. On typical evenings, Coffeehouse serves coffees, teas and snacks free-of-charge to students. After first-year Marilyn Zhao visited Coffeehouse, she was struck by the absence of Chinese tea options, despite having “a whole tea section.” To celebrate Duke’s “vibrant space” and “diverse community,” Zhao proposed that Coffeehouse incorporate Chinese herbal tea into its offerings starting this Lunar New Year. With the support of Coffeehouse’s general manager, the team went to Li Ming’s Global Mart and purchased a wide variety of teas, including osmanthus, oolong, butterfly pea, star anise, jasmine and hibiscus. Additionally, the student baristas practiced authentic tea brewing techniques. At Tea House, students were given the opportunity to pick whichever traditional Chinese tea they wanted, and their pick was freshly brewed. According to Zhao, the event showed off “the traditional aspects of Chinese culture,” and highlighted what “the Chinese youth are doing now.” In addition to tea, Coffeehouse served LaoGanMa ice cream, a combination of ice cream topped with Chinese chili oil that previously went viral on the internet. “People there [were] talking, laughing [and] making their own teas,” Zhao said. The Duke Chinese Students and Scholars Association also celebrated the Lunar New Year with its annual Spring Fes [... 3,594 chars total]

In Durham today, February 20, Tuesday marked the start of the year of the Firehorse, kicking off lunar new year celebrations across Duke University campuses. Student groups turn the holiday into a vibrant mix of performances, tea tastings, and cultural sharing to welcome spring and honor the Lunasolar, calendar cycle of zodiac animals and elements. Earlier this week, the student run Coffee House transformed into Tea House for a special Monday evening event. First year student, Marilyn Zhao, sparked the idea after noticing no Chinese teas in their usual lineup of free coffees and snacks. With the manager's help, they stocked up on Osmantis, Ulong, Butterfly P, Star Anis, Jasmine, and Hibiscus from a local market in Baristas, learned authentic brewing methods. Meanwhile, the Duke Chinese Students and Scholars Association hosted their annual Spring Festival Gala on Wednesday night. The talent show packs page auditorium with hundreds of people enjoying 18 acts, from traditional Chinese dances by Duke Chinese Dance to K-Pop. And Instrumental pieces by the student band, The Trinch. Planning started back in October, complete with auditions, rehearsals, marketing, and a raffle for prizes like an iPad, iPhone, and MacBook. Students raved about the lively atmosphere at Tea House, where folks chatted, laughed, and customized their brews, even trying viral Lao-Gan Ma ice. Cream topped with Chinese chili oil. Zhao said it highlighted both timeless Chinese traditions and what young people are doing today, fostering real community vibes. Even with these successes, students like Zhao point out that East Asian culture still feels underrepresented at Duke, especially in campus dining. Spots that offer tons of options but little authentic Chinese food. They hope events like these spark more inclusive celebrations year round. A quick thank you to our sponsor of today's episode. A pillow that plays your sound quietly, comfortably, effortlessly, built for nighttime listening, S-O-L-I, s [... 2,015 chars total]

OpenAI is partnering with Reliance to add AI-powered conversational search to the Indian conglomerate’s streaming service JioHotstar. The feature, which is powered by OpenAI’s API, will let users search for movies, shows, and live sports using text and voice prompts in multiple languages, and receive recommendations based on their preferences and history. OpenAI has recently expanded its footprint in India, which is home tomore than 100 million weekly ChatGPT users. The company plans to open offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru later this year, adding to its current office in New Delhi. The partnership was announced at the ongoingIndia AI Impact Summitin New Delhi, whereSam Altman is appearingalongside industry leaders, including Anthropic’s Dario Amodei and Google’s Sundar Pichai. The companies also plan to extend the partnership to surface JioHotstar recommendations directly within ChatGPT, allowing users who search for entertainment through ChatGPT to receive contextual suggestions and deep links into the platform’s catalogue. The move positions the integration as a two-way discovery layer rather than a standalone in-app feature. The move comes as streaming and TV platforms increasingly experiment with conversational interfaces.Netflixsaid in May 2025 it was testing a new search experience using OpenAI’s ChatGPT to help viewers find content through natural language, while Google in November introducedGemini-powered discovery features for its Google TVplatform. Fidji Simo, chief executive of applications at OpenAI, said the partnership is aimed at bringing more personalized AI experiences into entertainment and live sports, enabling viewers to move “from curiosity to context” through natural interactions. Embedding AI into content discovery will help reshape how audiences find and engage with programming, said Uday Shankar, vice chairperson of JioStar. The rollout will span both live and on-demand formats, the companies said. The JioHotstar partnership is part of OpenA [... 2,361 chars total]

Here's more tech news for February 19th. OpenAI is teaming up with India's Reliance Conglomerate to bring AI-powered search to GeoHotstar, their big streaming service. Users will be able to find movies, shows, and live sports just by typing or speaking in multiple languages. The tech uses OpenAI's tools to give personalized recommendations based on what you've washed before. This partnership comes as OpenAI ramps up in India where more than 100 million people use Chad GPT every week. They're planning new offices in Mumbai in Bengaluru this year, on top of their spot in New Delhi. It was announced that the India AI Impact Summit, where OpenAI Sam Altman shared the stage with leaders from Anthropic and Google. Industry folks are excited about how this could change how we discover shows. OpenAI's Fiji Seemo says it helps viewers go from casual curiosity to real context through natural chats. GeoStars Uday Shankar, as that embedding AI will reshape audience engagement for both live events and on-demand content. The deal goes both ways too. Soon, if you search for entertainment in Chad GPT, you'll get suggestions with direct links straight into GeoHotstar's library. It's not alone. Netflix is testing similar Chad GPT search, and Google wrote out Gemini features for its TV platform last fall. This fits OpenAI's bigger push, called OpenAI for India, with other tie-ups like data centers with Tata Group and deals with companies such as, Make My Trip. The rollout will cover live and on-demand stuff, making streaming smarter across the board. Quick thanks to today's sponsor. See the description for more. Some people meditate. I just lay down and press play. S-O-L-I-SOLYPILO.COM

Super Early Bird pricing forTechCrunch Disrupt 2026ends February 27 at 11:59 p.m. PT. This is your final window to lock in the lowest ticket prices of the year. If Disrupt has been on your must-attend list, now is the time to act. Save up to $680 on your pass or secure up to 30% off with community passes.Register now before prices increase. From October 13–15, San Francisco’s Moscone West will become the global epicenter of tech. Disrupt is a curated, three-day experience built to maximize signal over noise — bringing together 10,000 founders, investors, operators, and tech leaders for 200+ expert-led sessions featuring 250+ influential voices. Across the ecosystem, past attendees consistently point to the same value: AtDisrupt, you’ll explore what’s next as300+ exhibiting startupsdebut new breakthroughs, feel the high-stakes energy of the intense startup pitch-off inStartup Battlefield 200, and engage incurated, high-impact networkingwith the people shaping the future of tech. The 2026 agenda drops soon. Visit theevent pagefor updates. Disrupt isn’t about wandering between sessions. It’s about intentional connections and curated experiences designed for how people actually grow in tech. Founders meet investors actively backing breakthrough ideas. VCs cut through the noise to discover startups aligned with their investment focus. Operators exchange real-world lessons on building, scaling, and shipping what’s next. Aspiring innovators get inspired with a front-row seat to tomorrow’s tech and invaluable insights from those shaping it. If you’re building, investing, or scaling in tech, Disrupt was built for you. Find your ticket match now and secure the lowest rate before it’s gone. Founders and investors can unlock specialized passes designed to support your goals: Founder Pass:Accelerate growth with the right insights, tools, and connections. Investor Pass:Discover standout startups and expand your portfolio through curated access. This deal ends in just one week. Lo [... 2,160 chars total]

On February 22nd, here's the latest in technology news. Hey everyone, time is running out to snag the super early bird tickets for TechCrunch disrupt 2026. Prices end on February 27th at 11.59pm. Pacific time, so you've got just 6 days left to save up to 680. Dollars on an individual pass, or grab 30% off with community passes. The big event hits San Francisco's Moscone West from October 13th to 15th, bringing together 10,000 founders, investors, operators, and innovators for three days packed with launching, scaling, and shaping the future of Tech. You'll dive into direct chats with top founders, venture capitalists, and builders that often lead to funding, partnerships, and hires. Plus, check out over 300 exhibiting startups. The high stakes start up battlefield, 200 pitch competition, where one winner takes home. $100,000 equity free, and tons of curated networking. Speakers include heavy hitters like WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg, General Motors CEO, Mary Barra, and legendary venture capitalists Vinat Kostla, sharing insights across AI, Fintech, Climate, and more, in over 200 sessions. Meanwhile, don't sleep on the TechCrunch Founders Summit in Boston on June 9th, 2026, with over 1,000 founders and investors. Focusing on growth and scaling early savings up to $300, and March 13th. Register now before rates jump. DNN is brought to you by our sponsor link in the description. If sleep podcasts are your thing, this is your pillow. Built for comfort and calm. S-O-L-I-SOLYPILLO.COM

Duke once again gave the Cameron Crazies a performance to love. In a battle for first place in the ACC, No. 4 Duke knocked off No. 20 Clemson 67-54 for another home domination against a ranked conference opponent. Cameron Boozer and Isaiah Evans led the way for the Blue Devils with 35 combined points. The Tigers shot 35.1% from the field and 25% from deep in the rout. "I thought our defense was was top-notch today. I thought we made it really difficult on them, and to get a lead in the second half and sustain it whole way was great," head coach Jon Scheyer said. When the ACC’s two best defensive teams clash, the first half was about what fans would expect; mid-30s field-goal shooting percentages, physical play inside and a few ugly turnovers. Duke had decreased its volume from three in conference play, but in this contest, the Blue Devils took a whopping 18 threes in the first half. While the percentage was only 33.3%, Duke made six in comparison to Clemson’s one. That allowed the Blue Devils to take a slimfive-point lead into the locker room. But Duke’s energy coming out of the second half was palpable. On the first possession of the half, Clemson double-teamed Cameron Boozer, leaving Isaiah Evans open for a three. Dame Sarr forced a jump ball off the inbound, and after a Boozer lay-in, the Blue Devils led by 10, their biggest lead yet. "I thought our defense is what carried the day, and against Clemson, that's your only chance," Scheyer said. "And getting on a run, your defense has to be there. And then we were fortunate to play inside out, which I thought was something we talked about at halftime." The pesky Blue Devil ball pressure from Sarr and Evans made it difficult for the Tigers to initiate any offense. Without a primary scoring threat from Clemson (20-6, 10-3 in the ACC), Duke (23-2, 12-1) gained steady separation. A beautiful Cayden to Cameron one-handed skip pass led to Cameron’s second 3-pointer of the half. Duke’s freshman All-American then slammed hom [... 4,548 chars total]

Durham's story is making news on February 14th. The fourth ranked Duke Blue doubles face the 20th ranked Clemson Tigers in a Valentine's Day showdown at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Chronicle beatwriters share their predictions for this ranked ACC matchup, and opinions are split down the middle. Five picked Duke to win narrowly, while two see an upset for Clemson. Clemson has given Duke trouble lately, taking two of the last three games and nearly stealing one in Cameron last year. Both teams play tough defense, but the Tigers lack a top score and reliable three-point shooting. Duke's home record stays perfect this season, adding extra pressure. The big question mark is Duke's Patrick Ngwa the second, who's probable but crucial inside. Writers like Dom Fennoglio and Abbey DeSalvo say, if he's out or in foul trouble, Clemson's deep bench and second best conference defense could force. Turnovers and bad shots for an upset. His writers back Duke anyway, trusting Cameron Booser and Malik Brown to dominate the pain. Picks range from Duke 60 to 84 over Clemson, with close scores like 70 to 67 or 67 to 62. They highlight the Cameron crazy's energy and shares adjustments. This one's set to be a heartbreaker on Valentine's Day, with momentum swings all game. Whether Duke keeps his streak or Clemson pounces, fans won't want to miss it. The Daily News Now is powered by our sponsor. You know what is better than earbuds and bed? No earbuds at all. S-O-L-I, solelypillow.com.

People in the European Union are now allowed to access alternative app stores thanks to theDigital Markets Act(DMA), a regulation designed tofoster increased competitionin the app ecosystem. Like Apple’s App Store, alternative app marketplaces allow for easy access to a wider world of apps on Apple devices, but instead of the apps going through Apple’s App Review process, the apps on these third-party marketplaces have to go through anotarization processto ensure they meet some “baseline platform integrity standards,”Apple says— like being malware-free. However, each store can review and approve apps according to its own policies. The stores are also responsible for any matters relating to support and refunds, not Apple. To run an alternative app marketplace, developers must accept Apple’s alternative business terms for DMA-compliant apps in the EU. This includespaying a new Core Technology Fee of €0.50for each first annual install of their marketplace app, even before the threshold of 1 million installs is met, which is the bar for other EU apps distributed under Apple’s DMA business terms. Despite the complicated new rules, a handful of developers have taken advantage of the opportunity to distribute their apps outside of Apple’s walls. Beyond the EU, other markets are experimenting with alternative app stores, as well, like Japan. In December 2025,Apple announced its compliancewith the Mobile Software Competition Act (MSCA), which gives developers new options to distribute apps and process payments outside of Apple’s App Store. This option also requires developers toaccept new business terms, like a reduced 10% to 21% App Store commission, a payment processing fee for Apple in-app purchases of 5%, a core technology fee of 5%, and a 15% store services commission on web sales made through a link in the app. Below is a list of the alternative app stores iPhone users in these markets can try today. Co-created by developer Riley Testut, maker of the Nintendo game emul [... 7,324 chars total]

From the Daily News Now Network, this is Tech News Today. People in the European Union can now download apps from alternative stores on their iPhones thanks to the Digital Markets Act. This new rule aims to boost competition beyond Apple's App Store. Apple still requires these apps to pass a basic notarization check for things like malware protection, but each store handles its own reviews, support, and refunds. Developers running these marketplaces must agree to Apple's terms, including a core technology fee, a 50-year-old sense for every first-year install of. Their app. That's even before hitting one million installs. A few bold developers have jumped in despite the extra costs and rules. Reactions have been mixed, with excitement over more choices, but frustration at Apple's ongoing fees and restrictions. Epic Games, after years of battling Apple over Fortnite's removal from the App Store, launched its own store in the EU last August. It now offers Fortnite and other games, marking a big win for competition. Several stores are live today, like Alt Store P.A.O. created by developer Riley Testedat. It features apps such as the UTM Virtual Machine and Emulator Delta, all self-hosted by devs. There's also AppTiWi for games, MobeVincent for Business Apps, and Skige with its Swipe to Match Discovery. Sadly, Setup Mobile shut down in February 2026 over complex terms. Meanwhile, Japan is following suit with its own law. Apple now allows alternatives there too, like Onside, which launched last month. It promises lower fees, secure payments, and exclusive apps. This shift can mean more options worldwide, as regulators push back on App Store dominance. Special thanks to our sponsor for supporting this episode. Headphones in a pillow? Once you try it, it just makes sense. S-O-L-I, solidpillo.com.

Election Day in North Carolina is coming up on March 3. Voters will be selecting nominees in races for federal, state and local positions. While a competitive Democratic primary isshaping upin North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District, another is set to take place in State Senate District 22 where a former Durham city councilmember ischallenginga Democratic incumbent. To vote in a North Carolina party’s primary, voters must be registered with thatspecific partyor as an unaffiliated voter; they cannot be registered with a different party. Here is a guide to voting this election season: Although the voter registration deadline passed,same-day voter registrationis available during the early voting period, which begins Thursday. To participate in same-day registration, you must provideproof of residencewith your name and current address. For students living on campus, a physical DukeCard or Duke Student Voter ID card is sufficient, but for those living off campus, they must also bring a Duke-issued document with their name and current address. Those unsure of voting status — or which party they registered under — can use theNorth Carolina voter searchto check registration status and voter record. Karsh Alumni and Visitor’s Center will serve as an early voting location for Durham County starting Thursday, Feb. 12, through Saturday, Feb. 28, giving voters the opportunity to cast their ballots ahead of Election Day. Karsh will be open as a polling place from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. Voters registered in Durham County can vote early at any early voting location in the county, which can be foundhere. Voters who plan to cast absentee ballots in-state request their ballot two weeks before Election Day. North Carolina voters are required to provide photo identification when voting either in-person or by absentee ballot. However, the North Carolina Board of Electionsapprovedphysical DukeCards as a valid for [... 3,243 chars total]

From Durham, this is your February 12th update. Early voting is now open in North Carolina for the 2026 primary elections, running through February 28th. In Orange County, voters are picking their favorite candidates for key races, from the Orange County Board of County Commissioners to Seats & Na. North Carolina General Assembly. You can head to one of six early voting sites around the county, including the Chapel Hill Public Library, Chapel of the Cross, Drake for Library, Complex Orange Works Employment and Training Center, Eflin Cheeks Community Center, and the Seymour Center. Hours vary to fit different schedules, most weekdays from 8 a.m. to 7 30 p.m., Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and even a Sunday, session on February 22nd from noon to 4 p.m. All sites offer same-day voter registration, as long as you bring proof of your North Carolina residents, like a driver's license, photo ID with your current address or a recent utility bill, just remember to show a photo ID when you vote, such as a North Carolina driver's license, State ID, U.S. Passport, or UNC-1 card. It's your chance. To make your voice heard early, D&N is sponsored by our partner. You know what is better than ear buds in bed? No ear buds at all. S-O-L-I-SOLY-PILLOW.com

Here’s something that you’ve never seen on Big Tech social platforms: The decentralized open social network Bluesky has integrated new technology from a startup calledGerm Networkin order to bring end-to-end encrypted (E2E) messaging to the Bluesky app. The move makes Germ DM the first private messenger that can be launched natively within the Bluesky app. Alongside the launch, Germ is also releasingnew guidancethat would allow other apps built on the underlying AT Protocol that powers Bluesky to do the same thing. The move is a notable example of how open social networking ecosystems work differently from the Big Tech platforms that dominate the space today, as new functionality and features can be developed by the community, not just by the company itself. Blueskyannouncedthe integration with Germ earlier this month, noting that the experimental integration will allow Germ users to add a button to their profile so others can message them on Bluesky in an E2E encrypted environment. Meanwhile, Germ’s standalone app is also available in a public beta on iOS in North America and Europe. That app had seen thousands of downloads so far, but after the official integration announcement, daily active users jumped by 5x, the team said. California-based Germ is a startup founded byTessa Brown, a communications scholar who previously taught at Stanford, andMark Xue, who worked as a privacy engineer at Apple on technologies like FaceTime and iMessage. The idea, the company previously explained to TechCrunch, was to offer an alternative to other E2E encrypted platforms like iMessage, Signal, and WhatsApp that’s built on newer technologies. Today, Germ takes advantage of Messaging Layer Security (MLS), a new standard approved by theInternet Engineering Task Force(IETF), and theAT Protocol(or ATProto), which powers Bluesky, Skylight, and a growing number of other social apps. Instead of requiring a user’s phone number, Germ integrates with ATProto to enable its encrypted chats. T [... 5,490 chars total]

From Silicon Valley to the world, this is Tech News Today. BlueSki, the decentralized social network, has integrated into and encrypted messaging from a startup called Jerm Network. This marks the first private messenger that launches natively right inside the BlueSki app, setting it apart from big tech platforms. Earlier this month, BlueSki announced the experimental feature, letting users add a bash to their profiles for secure direct messages. Jerm also released new guidance, so other apps built on the same AT protocol can add encrypted chats to. This community-driven approach shows how open networks differ from closed systems, where features come from developers, not just the main company. Jerm's standalone iOS beta app in North America and Europe saw daily active users jump five times after the news, with thousands of downloads already. The California startup was founded by Tessa Brown, a former Stanford communication scholar, and Mark Shue, an ex-Apple Privacy Engineer who worked on FaceTime and I message. They used fresh standards like messaging layer security and tie into AT protocol without needing phone numbers. To start chatting, just tap the badge on a profile. It opens a lightweight app clip, you log in with your handle, and send secure messages. BlueSki skipped building its own encryption since its complex, and now apps like BlackSky have followed suit. Jerm plans future paid tools for creators and power users down the line. D&N is sponsored by our partner. Some travel miles to find peace. I just climb into bed and listen, S-O-L-I-SoliPillo.com.

Two matches, two sweeps, zero wasted minutes. After a two-week hiatus following the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, No. 19 Duke women’s tennis opened conference play and the outdoor season by hosting ACC challengers Boston College and Syracuse. In a dominant performance, the Blue Devils delivered two shut-out victories, beating the Eagles 5–0 and the Orange 4–0 to earn their fifth and sixth sweeps of the season. A cloudy, drizzly morning broke into a sunny, breezy, 70-degree afternoon as the Eagles, fleeing frigid Boston weather, arrived at Ambler Tennis Stadium in Duke’s first outdoor match of the season. Boston College is no stranger to the Blue Devils — entering Friday’s contest, Duke boasted a 21–0 record against the Eagles, including 19 under head coach Jamie Ashworth’s tenure. “Tennis is supposed to be an outdoor sport. We have a great facility out there, a brand new scoreboard out there, and it was great to finally get a match in outside,” Ashworth said. “Historically, Ambler Stadium has been a great place for our program and we hope to continue to build on that.” As doubles play began, the Blue Devils immediately established dominance, going up 3–0 on all three courts with early breaks. The tandem of Irina Balus and Aspen Schuman was the first to finish with a commanding 6–1 set win, with the remaining two courts ending almost simultaneously, each with a score of 6–2. “We're efficient enough in these matches that other teams sometimes don't believe that they can win,” Ashworth said. “We don't give them any confidence at the start of a match to start to think that they can win.” The strong performance continued as singles play unfolded, with Balus — playing on court one — claiming her match 6–0, 6–1 at an eyewatering pace, with some Blue Devils still in first-set play. On court two, Liv Hovde was eyeing a first set victory of her own after converting a mid-set break point with a long groundstroke rally to take the lead 5–3. Following a verbal spat wit [... 5,402 chars total]

This is Durham News Today, every story, every city, every day. The 19th Ranked Duke Women's tennis team is back in action after a two-week break, kicking off conference play with two total sweeps. They hosted Boston College on Friday and Syracuse on Sunday, shutting out the Eagles 5-0 and the Orange 4-0. These wins mark their 5th and 6th sweeps of the season, all without dropping a single match. On Friday, perfect outdoor weather at Amber Tennis Stadium helped Duke dominate Boston College, a team they have now beaten 21 straight. Times, the blue doubles what doubles with scores of 6-1 and 2-6-2s then rolled through singles. Irina Ballis finished first on court 1 with a quick 6-0, 6-1 win, while Liv Hobday overcame some umpire drama on court 2 to take her match, 6-3, 6-3. Sunday brought rain, so the team moved indoors to Sheffield Tennis Center against Syracuse. Duke grabbed the doubles point again with 6-1 and 6-2 victories. In singles, Ballis led off once more, with 6-2, 6-3, Aspen Schumann followed with 6-3, 6-2, and Claire Ann sealed the sweep at 4-2. 0 by winning 7-5, 6-3. Coach Jamie Ashworth praised the team's efficiency, noting how they build confidence early and avoid wasting points or time. He highlighted the strong history at both venues, including 18 ACC titles indoors, and said playing outdoors felt great after the long indoor stretch. Duke stays hot in conference play, heading to Dallas on February 27th to face 23rd ranked SMU. Fans, keep an eye on these sweeps, they are building serious momentum early in the outdoor season. We'd like to thank our sponsor for making this episode possible. Relax deeper, reset faster, comfort you can hear, SOLI, solelypillow.com.

Indian vibe-coding platformEmergentwas launched just eight months ago, and it now says it’s generating annual run-rate revenue of more than $100 million, thanks to surging demand by small businesses and non-technical users. The startup on Tuesday said it had doubled its annual run-rate revenue to $100 million in the past month, and it now has more than 6 million users worldwide across 190 countries, of which about 150,000 are paying customers. Emergent claims its users have created over 7 million applications on its platform. Nearly 40% of Emergent’s users are small businesses, and about 70% have no prior coding experience. People mostly use the platform to digitize operations previously run on spreadsheets, email, or messaging apps, and to build custom software, co-founder and CEO Mukund Jha told TechCrunch. Emergent’s rapid growth comes as interest in “vibe-coding,” or using AI to code software, skyrockets around the world. The demand seems to be mostly driven by non-technical users who want to build production-ready applications using natural language and AI agents, though plenty of developers have turned to using such platforms to reduce their workloads. The startup competes with the likes of Replit, Lovable,Rocket.new,Wabi,andAnything, among others. Jha said most users on Emergent are building business-facing apps such as custom CRMs, ERPs, and inventory management and logistics tools. About 80% to 90% of new projects are focused on mobile apps, reflecting demand for software that can be deployed quickly and used on the go. Emergent generates revenue through a mix of subscriptions, usage-based pricing, and deployment and hosting fees, Jha said, adding that all three segments are growing rapidly and that the company’s gross margins are improving every month. “Growth is accelerating,” Jha told TechCrunch. “As the models and platforms are improving, we’re seeing a lot more users getting to success.” While usage today is dominated by consumers and small businesses, [... 3,636 chars total]

Welcome to Tech News Today, two minutes of technology news that matter. Imagine this, an Indian startup called Emergent Launch just eight months ago and it's already hitting an annual run rate revenue of more than one, $100 million. That's all thanks to exploding demand from small businesses and everyday folks without coding skills who want to build real apps using simple language. And AI. App coding is the hot trend here where people describe what they want in plain English and AI agents turn it into working software. Developers love it too for cutting down their grunt work, putting Emergent up against players like Repplet and Lovable. Small businesses are snapping it up fast with revenue coming from subscriptions, paper use fees and hosting costs all growing quickly. Founder Joss says growth is speeding up as the tech gets better helping more users succeed right away. This week Emergent dropped a mobile app for iOS and Android. Users can voice chat or type prompts to create apps, websites or full platforms, then publish straight to app stores. Even in testing, folks have already built over 10,000 apps and it sinks seamlessly with the desktop version. Looking ahead, they're testing enterprise tools with security-focused pilots while the US and Europe make up 70% of revenue and India. Is their fastest growing spot? Packed by $70 million in fresh funding, Emergent's valuation triple to $300 million. DNA is brought to you by our sponsor link in the description. Your favorite podcast, music or sleep sounds coming from your pillow, no earbuds, no distractions, just listen and relax. S-O-L-I-SOLYPILLOW.COM

Democratic candidates for Congress and judgeships shared their goals and backgrounds in a “Democracy in Action” candidate forum hosted by the Durham Young Democrats on Sunday. The event was co-sponsored by Durham Democrats and Durham Democratic Women, and was moderated byRashad Sullivan, a Durham native and political podcast host. The panel included candidates competing in the Democratic primaries for North Carolina’s Fourth Congressional District, Superior Court, District Court and the Clerk of Superior Court. The Democratic candidates for the Court of Appeals, Judge Christine Walczyk and James Whalen, only briefly shared their positions. Both the Democratic and Republican primaries in North Carolina will be heldMarch 3.Polling locations will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Incumbent Rep.Valerie Fousheeis running for a third term in the U.S. House of Representatives but is being challenged by two other candidates,Nida Allam, vice chair of Durham County’s Board of Commissioners, and Mary Patterson, a manager business analyst at Worldwide Staffing Solutions. Foushee is the first African American and woman to represent North Carolina’s Fourth District. She previously served in the North Carolina State House and Senate. During the forum, Foushee highlighted her progressive record in Congress, which she said included “introducing” articles of impeachment against Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, voting against a spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security, which includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement and voting for a bill to provide humanitarian aid in countries like Sudan and Ukraine. Although Foushee is a co-sponsor of theimpeachment articlesagainst Noem, she did not introduce the legislation; Rep. Robin Kelly of Illinois did. Foushee emphasized that her “main priority is working to safeguard our democracy from authoritarianism.” Allam is running out of a resolve to “stand up and fight back” against the Trump administration. According to [... 6,617 chars total]

Durham's stories making news on February 4. Democratic candidates for Congress and local judgeships gathered at a democracy in action forum hosted by the Durham Young Democrats on Sunday. The event, co-sponsored by Durham Democrats and Democratic women, featured contenders in North Carolina's fourth congressional district primary, along. With races for Superior Court, District Court seats, and clerk of Superior Court. The shot Sullivan, a local political podcast host, kept things moving as moderator. In the big congressional race, incumbent Valerie Fushie is pushing for a third term after becoming the first African-American woman to represent the district. She's facing challenges from Nita Alam, a county commissioner vice chair, and Mary Patterson, a business analyst. Fushie touted her progressive votes, like opposing homeland security spending and aiding places like Sudan and Ukraine, while stressing protection against authoritarianism. Alam fired back, calling to end immigration and customs enforcement, boost the minimum wage, and criticizing Fushie's stance on the Israel Hamas. Conflict. Meanwhile, for the Open Superior Court seat, Amesia Cooper Chester, from the District Attorney's Office, emphasized her ties to Durham victims and community routes. Her opponent, Myra Griffin, brings 28 years as a public servant, including civil litigation work and pledge balance between victims. Rights and defendants protections. Over in District Court, seat two pits incumbent Doretta Walker, a judge since 2010 against Attorney Keith Bishop with 33 years. In practice, Walker loves the non-stop pace of handling heavy caseloads while Bishop wants to fix courtroom frustrations. For seat five, Clayton Jones highlights respect and experience, facing Christie Malat, who pushes trauma-informed care for family and immigration, cases. For clerk of superior court incumbent Amina Thompson, a former magistrate, Ames for more proactive equity and customer service, challenger Armajin Ellis-M [... 2,309 chars total]