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Cash App launches a wand for tap-and-pay

  • Cash App is launching a new physical payment gadget this Thursday inspired by viral social media trends. πŸͺ„
  • The device functions as a "magic wand" that allows users to complete real-world transactions with a simple tap. πŸ“±
  • The product design stems from DIY creators who began hiding tap-and-pay credit cards inside homemade wands. πŸ’³

Waymo’s spent robotaxi batteries will be used as grid storage

  • πŸš— Waymo has partnered with B2U Storage Solutions to give retired autonomous vehicle battery packs a "second life."
  • πŸ”‹ The deal focuses on repurposing these batteries for large-scale energy storage systems rather than discarding them.
  • ♻️ This initiative aims to improve sustainability by extending the utility of battery hardware after it leaves the road.

Ramp raises $750M at $44B valuation as investors hunger for fintechs with an AI story

  • πŸš€ Corporate card startup Ramp has seen its valuation nearly triple over the past 12 months, signaling explosive growth.
  • πŸ’° High investor demand has led to a competitive scramble to secure a stake in the rapidly expanding fintech company.
  • πŸ“ˆ The surge in valuation cements Ramp's position as one of the fastest-growing players in the current startup ecosystem.

Is Silicon Valley ready to put robots in people’s homes? Hello Robot is.

  • California startup Hello Robot has officially unveiled Stretch 3, the fourth-generation model of its mobile home assistant. πŸ€–
  • The robot is specifically designed to help users with domestic tasks and support independent living through its compact, versatile frame. 🏠
  • This latest iteration features hardware and software upgrades to improve how the machine navigates and interacts with home environments. πŸš€

Chinese spies are using LinkedIn to lure Westerners into sharing sensitive information

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  • ⚠️ Security Alert: A new advisory warns that Chinese intelligence agencies are actively using mainstream job search platforms to identify and recruit potential targets.
  • πŸ•΅️ Digital Espionage: Spies are creating deceptive profiles to approach individuals who possess high-level access to sensitive or non-public information.
  • πŸ›‘️ Vigilance Required: Professionals are urged to exercise caution when receiving unsolicited job offers or networking requests from unknown sources online.
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Apple touts $1.4 trillion in App Store billings and sales, 90% without a commission

  • πŸ’° Apple's App Store reached a record-breaking $1.4 trillion in total sales this year.
  • πŸ“ˆ The new figure represents a steady growth trend, rising from $1.3 trillion in the previous year.
  • πŸ“± Revenue from digital goods specifically accounted for $149 billion of the total ecosystem sales.

Oura Ring 5 review: Thinner, lighter, better

  • πŸ’ Oura has unveiled the Ring 5, which the company claims is the world’s smallest smart ring.
  • πŸ“ The new wearable features a significantly more compact design, measuring 40% smaller than its predecessor.
  • πŸ’° Customers can purchase the high-tech device starting at a base price of $399.

Lovable signs multiyear deal with Google Cloud to up usage 5x, source says

  • Lovable and Google have finalized an expanded multiyear partnership to deepen their technological collaboration. 🀝
  • The agreement features a massive 5x expansion of Lovable’s infrastructure footprint on Google Cloud. ☁️
  • The deal provides Lovable with significantly broader access to Anthropic’s Claude AI models via the platform. πŸ€–

Alphabet’s record-breaking $85B raise for Google’s AI business is a helluva good signal

  • πŸš€ Alphabet achieves a historic milestone with a record-breaking $85 billion stock sale.
  • πŸ€– The massive sale highlights a surging investor appetite for AI-related technologies and offerings.
  • 🍽️ Market trends signal that investors are "ready to chow" on significant opportunities within the artificial intelligence sector.

Substack’s new ‘Reply Rules’ feature lets creators control how people respond

  • Enhanced Creator Control: Substack has launched "Reply Rules," a new feature designed to give writers greater authority over how their audiences engage and respond to content. πŸ”’
  • Broad Initial Rollout: The moderation tool is currently available to all English-language publications across the platform. 🌍
  • Community Management: This update aims to help creators foster healthier discussions by setting specific boundaries for their comment sections. ✍️

Google’s Dreambeans, its weirdest-named AI tool to date, will turn your life into a cartoon

  • πŸ€– **Personalized Narratives:** Dreambeans is a new platform that generates unique, AI-illustrated stories based on individual user experiences.
  • πŸ“‚ **Data-Driven Storytelling:** The service creates these custom tales by analyzing and "culling" personal data directly from your connected Google account.
  • ✨ **Curated Visuals:** Users receive a curated list of digital stories that transform their mundane digital footprint into a visual, artistic gallery.

Still facing copyright lawsuits, AI music generator Suno raises another $400M

  • πŸš€ A prominent AI music-generation startup has seen its valuation soar to over $5.4 billion.
  • πŸ“ˆ This massive increase comes just seven months after the company was valued at $2.45 billion.
  • 🎡 The rapid surge highlights the explosive investor interest and growth within the AI-driven music industry.

These two founders left Goldman and Meta to build voice AI for markets everyone else overlooked

  • πŸš€ The startup has successfully deployed its proprietary technology stack to streamline regional communications.
  • 🌍 Expansion efforts are seeing significant traction across key markets in Africa and the Middle East.
  • πŸ“ž The platform is now operating at scale, processing a high volume of over 17,000 calls every day.

GitLab cuts 14% of staff as it scales its platform to serve AI workloads

  • πŸ“‰ The company is implementing workforce reductions and streamlining operations by cutting multiple management layers.
  • 🌍 A major restructuring is underway as the firm exits 22 countries to refocus its global footprint.
  • πŸ› ️ Resources are being redirected toward infrastructure investments to enhance and scale the platform's long-term capabilities.

Publishers will be able to opt out of AI Search, thanks to new regulation

  • πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ U.K. regulators are mandating that Google provide a new tool for website publishers to opt-out of generative AI search features.
  • πŸ›‘ This tool will allow creators to prevent their content from being used to train or populate AI-driven search results.
  • 🌍 The feature will undergo initial testing in the United Kingdom before being implemented for publishers globally.