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Jul 29, 2025 • 8min
Amid increased momentum for defense, the NATO Innovation Fund refreshes its investment team, and Google is testing a vibe-coding app called Opal
The NATO Innovation Fund is entering a new chapter, marked by the arrival of two new partners and the departure of its penultimate founding team partner. Also, Google is testing a new vibe-coding tool called Opal, available in the U.S. through Google Labs, that lets users quickly spin up web apps with just a few prompts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 28, 2025 • 6min
Tesla is behind on its pledge to build 5,000 Optimus bots this year, Apple broadens App Store’s age rating system, and Meta will stop selling political ads in the EU
Tesla is behind on its goal to produce at least 5,000 Optimus humanoid robots by the end of 2025. Also, Apple has expanded its age rating system to include 13+, 16+, and 18+ ratings, in addition to the existing ratings for younger users; and in response to the European Union's incoming regulation of political advertising, Meta said on Friday that it would stop selling and showing political ads in the EU from October 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 28, 2025 • 4min
A new AI coding challenge just published its first results – and they aren’t pretty
A new AI coding challenge has revealed its first winner — and set a new bar for AI-powered software engineers. On Wednesday at 5pm PST, the nonprofit Laude Institute announced the first winner of the K Prize, a multi-round AI coding challenge launched by Databricks and Perplexity co-founder Andy Konwinski. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 25, 2025 • 10min
Trump’s ‘anti-woke AI’ order could reshape how US tech companies train their models
When DeepSeek, Alibaba, and other Chinese firms released their AI models, Western researchers quickly noticed they sidestepped questions critical of the Chinese Communist Party. U.S. officials later confirmed that these tools are engineered to reflect Beijing’s talking points, raising concerns about censorship and bias. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 25, 2025 • 5min
Apple launches $19.99 monthly AppleCare One subscription, plus Snapchat's 'HomeSafe' feature
Apple launches $19.99 monthly AppleCare One subscription with coverage for three devices Also, Snap Map's new "Home Safe" feature sends one-time alerts to friends, so you don't need to remember to message others that you're back safely. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 24, 2025 • 5min
Proton’s new privacy-first AI assistant encrypts all chats ... plus NetZeroNitrogen wants bacteria to replace synthetic fertilizer
Proton's new AI assistant Lumo promises to keep user data private with zero-access encryption, no logging, and an incognito mode. In other news, NetZeroNitrogen's bacteria approach has attracted investors and $6.6 million in seed funding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 24, 2025 • 5min
21-year-old MIT dropouts raise $32M at $300M valuation led by Insight
Karun Kaushik and Selin Kocalar weren’t planning to raise a Series A so soon. Their AI compliance startup, Delve, which announced a $3 million seed round in January, was growing fast and signing customers at a steady clip. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 23, 2025 • 5min
Serial spyware founder Scott Zuckerman wants the FTC to unban him from the surveillance industry
The spyware maker was banned from the surveillance industry in 2021, but was caught flouting the ban less than a year later. Now the founder wants the ban lifted altogether. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 23, 2025 • 4min
A surveillance vendor was caught exploiting a new SS7 attack to track people’s phone locations
The new SS7 bypass-attack tricks phone operators into disclosing a cell subscriber's location, in some cases down to a few hundred meters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 22, 2025 • 8min
Starbase injury rates outpace rivals as SpaceX chases its Mars moonshot
SpaceX has been moving at breakneck pace, rapid progress comes at a cost. Worker injury rates at its Starbase facility are almost six times higher than the average, data reveals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
