Author: GT

Sometimes a tool — like a hammer — comes along and everything starts looking like a nail. But other times, new tools end up being more than a simple blunt-force object. The investors at SOSV are betting that plasma will become a nuanced implement capable of everything from enabling fusion power to changing the way semiconductors are made.  It sees so much potential that it plans on investing in more than 25 plasma-related startups over the next five years. It is also opening a new Hax lab space in partnership with the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and the U.S.…

Anthropic is nearing a deal to raise between $3 billion and $5 billion in funding, valuing the large language model developer at $170 billion, Bloomberg reported. Iconiq Capital is leading this funding round, but there’s a possibility of a second lead investor joining the deal. The company has also been in talks with Qatar Investment Authority and GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, according to the report. If finalized, the deal would nearly triple Anthropic’s valuation, which was $61.5 billion after a $3.5 billion funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners announced in March. Other participants in the startup’s last round…

The U.K. government is reportedly backing down from its earlier demand that Apple build a secret backdoor allowing its authorities access to customer data worldwide, following a harsh rebuke from the U.S. government. But one U.S. senator wants to know if other tech giants, like Google, have also received secret backdoor demands from the U.K. government.  Google refused to answer the lawmaker’s questions but has since told TechCrunch that the technology giant has not received a backdoor demand, marking the first time that Google has confirmed it is not subject to a similar U.K. order. Earlier this year, The Washington…

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai during the Google I/O developers conference in Mountain View, California, on May 10, 2023.David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesGoogle executives are pushing employees to act with more urgency in their use of artificial intelligence as the company looks for ways to cut costs. That was the message at an all-hands meeting last week, featuring CEO Sundar Pichai and Brian Saluzzo, who runs the teams building the technical foundation for Google’s flagship products.”Anytime you go through a period of extraordinary investment, you respond by adding a lot of headcount, right?” Pichai said, according to audio…

Smoke stacks from the Hugh L. Spurlock Generating Station are seen in Maysville, Kentucky, on June 12, 2025.Jeff Swensen | Getty ImagesThe Trump administration is seeking to repeal a landmark finding that greenhouse gas emissions pose a threat to public health, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday.”This has been referred to as basically driving a dagger into the heart of the climate change religion,” EPA administrator Lee Zeldin told the conservative “Ruthless Podcast.” “Repealing it will be the largest deregulatory action in the history of America,” Zeldin saidThe EPA under the Obama administration issued an endangerment finding…

LG Innotek, the components and materials subsidiary of South Korea’s LG Group, has struck a manufacturing partnership with Aeva Technologies, which makes 4D lidar sensing systems. The partnership will see LG Innotek manufacturing and supplying Aeva’s Atlas Ultra 4D lidar sensor for automobiles, and eventually expanding the technology for use in consumer electronics, robotics, and industrial automation. As part of the deal, LG Innotek will invest up to $50 million in Aeva, acquiring an equity stake of about 6% in the U.S. company. “The first part of the partnership is focused on the automotive sector,” Aeva’s co-founder and CEO Soroush…

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV surprised tens of thousands of young Catholics on Tuesday and showed up unexpectedly at a Holy Year welcome ceremony, thrilling the kids and receiving a rock star’s welcome in the first big youth event of his pontificate.Leo emerged in St. Peter’s Square in his popemobile at the end of an evening Mass that kicked off the Jubilee of Youth, a weeklong celebration for young Catholics. The estimated 120,000 young pilgrims who had packed the square erupted in shocked cheers and chants, as Leo looped around the square and up and down the boulevard…

Middle Eastern food delivery startup Calo said Tuesday it has raised $39 million in a Series B extension that was led by Aljazira Capital. The fundraise, which was more than 1.5x of its original $25 million raise in December, also saw participation from existing backers such as Nuwa Capital, STV, Khwarizmi Ventures, and Al Faisaliah Group. The company is using this funding to expand into territories like the U.K. and to explore different partnerships in physical space. Calo primarily offers ready-to-eat meals that customers can heat up later. The company delivers different plans to cater to various health goals. The…

U.S. President Donald Trump looks on, during a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (not pictured), after an announcement of a trade deal between the U.S. and EU, in Turnberry, Scotland, Britain, July 27, 2025. Evelyn Hockstein | ReutersPresident Donald Trump’s massive energy deal with the European Union will be difficult to implement, setting Washington and Brussels up for a potential future confrontation over tariffs and trade.The EU has agreed to purchase $750 billion of U.S. energy and invest $600 billion in the U.S. by 2028, according to the White House. In exchange, Trump has agreed to…

A security researcher says sex toy maker Lovense has failed to fully fix two security flaws that expose the private email addresses of its users and allow the takeover of any user’s account. The researcher, who goes by the handle BobDaHacker, published details of the bugs on Monday after Lovense claimed it would need 14 months to fix the flaws so as to not inconvenience users of some of its legacy products. Lovense is one of the largest makers of internet-connected sex toys and is said to have more than 20 million users. The company made headlines in 2023 for…