Author: GT

Some startups pride themselves on having prestigious financial backers — but just as important is having prestigious customers. It’s one of the main points of pride for Serval, an enterprise AI company that announced a $47 million Series A round on Tuesday. The round was led by Redpoint Ventures, with participation from heavy-hitting venture firms like First Round, General Catalyst, and Box Group. But even more impressive than the funders is the company’s list of clients, which include major AI players like Perplexity, Mercor, and Together AI. In broad strokes, Serval is using agentic AI models to automate IT service…

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s antitrust watchdog on Wednesday targeted Google and Apple for their “strategic” roles in mobile ecosystems, opening the door for regulators to impose changes to their business practices to improve competition.The Competition and Markets Authority escalated scrutiny of the two U.S. tech companies by labeling them with “strategic market status.” It follows separate investigations that the CMA opened at the start of the year into Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS using newly acquired digital market regulations designed to protect consumers and businesses from unfair practices by Big Tech companies. The regulator’s decision was expected. It proposed the…

Demolition of a section of the East Wing of the White House, during construction on the new ballroom extension of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. Aaron Schartz | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesTech giant Alphabet is contributing $22 million to help build the White House ballroom under a legal settlement reached with President Donald Trump last month over his being banned from the company’s YouTube platform after the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot by his supporters.Images showing the demolition of part of the White House’s East Wing to prepare for building the ballroom…

Meta on Tuesday introduced new scam detection features for its messaging apps, WhatsApp and Messenger, as part of its broader initiative to crack down on online scams that target older people. The company said it will begin to show warnings in WhatsApp when users try to share their screen during calls, and it will flag possible scam messages in Messenger, which can be sent to AI for review. The tech giant said it’s detected and disrupted about 8 million accounts engaging in scam operations during the first half of 2025, including those associated with scam centers in areas like Myanmar,…

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms.David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesMeta will lay off roughly 600 employees within its artificial intelligence unit as the company looks to reduce layers and operate more nimbly, a spokesperson confirmed to CNBC on Wednesday.The company announced the cuts in a memo from its Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang, who was hired in June as part of Meta’s $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI. Workers across Meta’s AI infrastructure units, Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Research unit and other product-related positions will be impacted.Axios was first to report the cuts.Meta has been aggressively investing in…

YouTube revealed on Tuesday that its likeness-detection technology has officially rolled out to eligible creators in the YouTube Partner Program, following a pilot phase. The technology allows creators to request the removal of AI-generated content that uses their likeness. This is the first wave of the rollout, a YouTube spokesperson informed TechCrunch, adding that eligible creators received emails this morning. YouTube’s detection technology identifies and manages AI-generated content featuring the likeness of creators, such as their face and voice. The technology is designed to prevent people from having their likeness misused, whether for endorsing products and services they have not…

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Millions of tons of discarded electronics from the United States are being shipped overseas, much of it to developing countries in Southeast Asia unprepared to safely handle hazardous waste, according to a new report by an environmental watchdog.The Seattle-based Basel Action Network, or BAN, said a two-year investigation found at least 10 U.S. companies exporting used electronics to Asia and the Middle East, in what it says is a “hidden tsunami” of electronic waste.“This new, almost invisible tsunami of e-waste, is taking place … padding already lucrative profit margins of the electronics recycling sector while allowing…

OpenAI announced Tuesday the launch of its AI-powered browser, ChatGPT Atlas, a major step in the company’s quest to unseat Google as the main way people find information online. The company says Atlas will first roll out on macOS, with support for Windows, iOS, and Android coming soon. OpenAI says the product will be available to all free users at launch. Browsers have quickly become the AI industry’s next battleground. While Google Chrome has long dominated the space, there’s a sense that AI chatbots and agents are fundamentally changing how people get work done online. A handful of startups have…

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have joined prominent computer scientists, economists, artists, evangelical Christian leaders and American conservative commentators Steve Bannon and Glenn Beck to call for a ban on AI “superintelligence” that threatens humanity.The letter, released Wednesday by a politically and geographically diverse group of public figures, is squarely aimed at tech giants like Google, OpenAI and Meta Platforms that are racing each other to build a form of artificial intelligence designed to surpass humans at many tasks.The letter calls for a ban unless some conditions are metThe 30-word statement says: “We call for a prohibition on the…

Gold and silver bars are stacked in the safe deposit boxes room of the Pro Aurum gold house in Munich, Germany, October 13, 2025. Louisa Off | ReutersGold prices fell for a second day on Wednesday, as investors took profits after a weeks-long rally.Gold futures were last down $61.30, or 1.49%, to $4,053.10 per ounce by 8:25 a.m. ET. Gold mining stocks such as Newmont and Barrick fell more than 4% in premarket trading.The precious metal sold off sharply Tuesday, losing 5.74% to close at $4,109.10 in its worst performance since 2013. The two-day selloff comes after gold futures hit…