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It's Greg Brockman's OpenAI now
OpenAI has had a turbulent year, battling Elon Musk in court, facing a trade secrets lawsuit from Apple, and dealing with scrutiny over an unreleased model. As the company prepares for an IPO, Greg Brockman is taking on an expanded leadership role. The shift marks a significant moment in OpenAI's evolving internal structure.
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Google gives publishers a new way to fight AI-driven traffic losses
Google is introducing a button that allows readers to designate specific publishers as preferred sources across Search, Discover, and Google News. The feature is designed to help publishers recover traffic lost to AI-generated search summaries that reduce click-throughs to websites. It represents one of Google's first concrete steps to address publisher concerns about AI search cannibalizing web traffic.
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Agentic AI in government just hit the hard part: deciding what a machine may decide
The UAE, a nine-year pioneer in national AI strategy, is now wrestling with one of the hardest questions in public-sector AI adoption: which decisions can and should be delegated to autonomous agents. The country is developing a classification framework to define the boundaries of machine decision-making in government. The effort could serve as a global template for other nations navigating agentic AI in public administration.
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AI data centre regulation just got a template that needs no new law
Pennsylvania has introduced a novel regulatory approach for AI data centres that requires developers to sign a contract accepting fixed conditions and penalties before a permit application is even opened. The framework also requires buy-in from the local community that will host the facility. Crucially, the model works within existing law, offering a replicable template for other states.
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Stripe agrees to buy OpenRouter as AI model routing expands
Stripe has agreed to acquire OpenRouter, an AI model-routing platform providing developers access to over 400 models from 80+ providers through a single API. The deal bolsters Stripe's existing AI billing and token-based usage infrastructure. It signals growing consolidation in the AI model routing space.
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OpenAI is gaining on Anthropic with business users, new data indicates
New data shows OpenAI is closing the gap with Anthropic among enterprise users, though businesses are switching between AI providers frequently as new models are released. This volatility raises concerns for investors about how sticky enterprise AI spending truly is. Both companies face a competitive landscape where loyalty is fragile.
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A third of ChatGPT ads appear in irrelevant conversations
An analysis of over 11,000 ads served inside real ChatGPT conversations found that roughly a third appeared in contexts irrelevant to the advertised product or service. AI visibility platform Searchable conducted the study, covering ads served between July 4 and August 4, 2026. The findings undercut the premise that ChatGPT's contextual awareness makes it an ideal ad platform.
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AI data startup Micro1 reaches $500M gross run rate amid AI training boom
Micro1, a startup supplying AI training data, has reached a $500 million gross run rate as demand for training data surges across the industry. The rapid growth reflects a broader boom benefiting Micro1 and its competitors in the AI data supply chain. The milestone underscores how foundational data curation has become to the AI industry's expansion.
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Amazon's Prime Air autonomous drones to reach 500 US cities
Amazon plans to expand its Prime Air drone delivery service to nearly 500 US cities and towns by end of 2026, a sixfold increase from its current footprint. The expansion would bring autonomous drone delivery to tens of millions of additional customers. The scale-up represents one of the most ambitious autonomous delivery rollouts in history.
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Runlayer, Rippling drop lawsuits — but the brouhaha is still a cautionary tale for founders
Runlayer and Rippling have mutually dropped their legal disputes with no money exchanging hands, bringing a high-profile startup legal battle to a quiet close. Rippling marked the resolution by launching a competing product. TechCrunch argues the saga remains an important cautionary tale for startup founders about the risks of public legal conflicts.
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Ramp launches its own AI model router, called Router
Ramp has launched an AI model routing service called Router, allowing users and companies to switch between large language models via a single API. The move puts Ramp in competition with platforms like OpenRouter in the growing model-routing market. The service is aimed at businesses seeking flexibility across AI providers.
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Slack is launching collaborative vibe-coding channels
Slack is introducing Slack Code, dedicated channels where teams can collaboratively build software with AI agents without switching between tools. The feature includes project-specific channels with user tabs, code comparison tools, and HTML output previews before deployment. It represents Slack's move to embed AI-assisted development directly into team communication workflows.
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Welcome to the AI crisis in math
OpenAI recently published solutions to longstanding mathematical problems, sending shockwaves through the academic math community. The Verge's Decoder podcast explores what AI's growing capabilities mean for the field of mathematics and the existential questions leading mathematicians are now grappling with. The episode features The Verge's London-based AI reporter Robert Hart.
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A third of web pages published since ChatGPT's launch show signs of AI authorship, study finds
A new study finds that roughly one-third of web pages published since ChatGPT's launch in late 2022 show signs of AI authorship or heavy AI editing. The findings suggest AI models are now substantially shaping the composition of the modern web. The trend raises questions about content authenticity and the long-term impact on online information ecosystems.
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OK, can we actually cool data centers with our pee?
NFL star Jason Kelce's tongue-in-cheek suggestion to cool data centers with urine rather than potable water has sparked a surprisingly serious conversation about data center cooling alternatives. TechCrunch examines whether the idea has any technical merit amid growing concerns about data centers' water consumption. The piece highlights how AI infrastructure's environmental footprint is prompting creative — and unconventional — thinking.
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Inertia Enterprises finds a way to make its fusion fuel fast
Fusion startup Inertia Enterprises has dramatically reduced its fuel filling process from a week to just a few hours, clearing one of ten key hurdles needed to build a profitable fusion power plant. The breakthrough is a significant engineering milestone for the company as it works toward commercial viability. Fusion energy remains a long-term but increasingly credible solution for powering AI infrastructure and beyond.
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ChatGPT can now send texts for you with new Apple Messages plug-in
OpenAI has introduced an Apple Messages integration that allows ChatGPT to compose and send text messages on a user's behalf. The new plug-in positions ChatGPT as an automated messaging assistant within Apple's ecosystem. The feature extends ChatGPT's agentic capabilities into everyday personal communication.
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Grok keeps sending gibberish responses to users
Users of xAI's Grok chatbot, particularly those on Grok Lite, have been reporting nonsensical or garbled responses since at least Wednesday morning. Multiple affected users confirmed the issues to TechCrunch. The malfunction raises reliability concerns for xAI's flagship AI assistant.
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Google Discover is getting an AI chatbot-tuned feed
Google is rolling out a new feature for its Discover feed that lets users describe their content preferences in natural language, with AI automatically adjusting the feed accordingly. The feature will also remember user preferences for future visits and is accessible via the three-dot menu in the Google app. The rollout is expected within the coming days.
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Meta brings Pocket, an app that lets you vibe-code and share games, to US users
Meta is expanding Pocket, its AI-powered app for creating and sharing interactive games, to US users after a quiet test in Brazil. The app allows users to build games through AI-assisted vibe-coding without traditional programming knowledge. The US launch marks a broader push by Meta into generative, social creative tools.
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Meta AI's new Mac app wants you to talk to your apps
Meta AI has launched a new Mac app featuring a dictation tool that works across all applications, similar to competitors like Wispr Flow and Superwhisper. The feature allows users to control and interact with their Mac apps through voice commands powered by Meta AI. It signals Meta's ambition to make its AI assistant a system-level tool on desktop.
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Binance now lets AI agents trade, but keeping them in check is largely up to users
Binance has launched Agent OS, a platform that allows AI agents — including tools like ChatGPT, Claude Code, and Cursor — to execute trades on the exchange. While the system opens the door to autonomous crypto trading, responsibility for managing and constraining agent behavior falls primarily on individual users. The launch highlights growing tensions around accountability in agentic AI deployments.
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HoneyBook bets on agentic AI to streamline small business operations with its new Claude connector
HoneyBook has launched HoneyBook MCP, a connector for Anthropic's Claude that brings agentic AI capabilities to independent and small businesses. The tool aims to automate business operations tasks that have previously been accessible mainly to large enterprises. The move comes as McKinsey data shows AI adoption accelerating across business sizes.
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Linkdaze's smart calendar is built to run a household, not just track a schedule
Linkdaze has launched a smart digital calendar designed to manage household logistics, including an AI-powered meal planner, without locking features behind a paywall. The product differentiates itself from competitors by offering its full feature set freely. It targets families and households looking for an all-in-one AI-assisted home management tool.
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