Spotify announced last week that it would roll out public play counts on all podcasts as a way of “helping attract new fans.” But podcasters swiftly responded with criticism of the new feature — mainly, that it would further promote podcasts that already have large audiences while making smaller shows less appealing to new listeners. […]
OpenAI launches Codex, an AI coding agent, in ChatGPT
OpenAI announced on Friday it’s launching a research preview of Codex, the company’s most capable AI coding agent yet. Codex is powered by codex-1, a version of the company’s o3 AI reasoning model optimized for software engineering tasks. OpenAI says codex-1 produces “cleaner” code than o3, adheres more precisely to instructions, and will iteratively run […]
After adding its own billing option on iOS, Apple asks Patreon to move it to an external browser
Creator platform Patreon has to modify its app to comply with Apple’s guidelines after a recent update allowed U.S. users to make purchases via the web. The company says that its own web-based checkout option is now the default for U.S. fans, but it has to update its app so that this checkout option opens in […]
Mystery investor’s attempt to stop Canoo asset sale shot down by judge
The judge in Canoo’s bankruptcy case has blocked an attempt by a mysterious financier to disrupt the sale of the EV startup’s assets. In a hearing Tuesday, Judge Brendan Linehan Shannon ruled the financier, a UK-based man named Charles Garson, lacked standing to request the sale to Canoo’s own CEO be vacated. While Garson had […]
The Nuclear Company raises $46M to develop massive reactor sites
The funding round arrives as tech companies and utilities are struggling to secure power for data centers.
Epic Games says Apple is blocking Fortnite from the US and EU App Stores
Epic Games claims that Apple is blocking its Fortnite app from the U.S. and E.U. App Stores. After winning a decisive victory for app developers in a legal battle with Apple, forcing the tech giant to allow external payments in its U.S. App Store without charging commission, Epic Games attempted to resubmit Fortnite to the […]
Chipotle president Jack Hartung joins Tesla’s board ahead of Tesla Diner launch
Veteran Chipotle executive Jack Hartung was appointed a member of Tesla’s board of directors Thursday, according to a Tesla filing with the SEC. Hartung’s addition to the board comes as Tesla quietly works to finish its 1950s-style diner and charging station in Los Angeles. Hartung brings over two decades of experience as a Chipotle CFO, […]
xAI blames Grok’s obsession with white genocide on an ‘unauthorized modification’
xAI blamed an “unauthorized modification” for a bug in its AI-powered Grok chatbot that caused Grok to repeatedly refer to “white genocide in South Africa” when invoked in certain contexts on X. On Wednesday, Grok began replying to dozens of posts on X with information about white genocide in South Africa, even in response to […]
Sam Altman’s goal for ChatGPT to remember ‘your whole life’ is both exciting and disturbing
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman laid out a big vision for the future of ChatGPT at an AI event hosted by VC firm Sequoia earlier this month. When asked by one attendee about how ChatGPT can become more personalized, Altman replied that he eventually wants the model to document and remember everything in a person’s life. […]
Vibe coding startup Windsurf launches in-house AI models
On Thursday, Windsurf, a startup that develops popular AI tools for software engineers, announced the launch of its first family of AI software engineering models, or SWE-1 for short. The startup says it trained its new family of AI models — SWE-1, SWE-1-lite, and SWE-1-mini — to be optimized for the “entire software engineering process,” […]