Defense tech Mach Industries doubles valuation to $3.7B in 3 months
The buzzy startup raised another $600 million in a Series C extension round, bringing the total of the round to $900 million.
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Sources: TechCrunch, The Verge
European founders and VCs urge lawmakers ‘to get EU Inc right’
Amid negotiations for a new EU-wide corporate status, an open letter signed by unicorn founders and investors warns that 'EU Inc.' shouldn’t be watered down.
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US Army places $11M bet on Austin-based GPS alternative Tern
Tern has described its tech as "Google Maps for the battlefield."
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Volvo XC40 PHEV is back with a new look, better sensors, and Gemini AI
It's been about three years since Volvo discontinued its plug-in hybrid XC40. The mild hybrid version remains on sale in the US and elsewhere, alongside the electric EX40. Today, Volvo announced it was bringing back the PHEV version and giving it a major facelift. When it…
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The variable aperture isn’t the cool part of the iPhone 18 Pro’s camera
Apple always makes a big show of the latest cameras in its phones, and the major talking point of the iPhone 18 Pro is about the new variable aperture. Both the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max have an adjustable mechanical iris in their main camera modules to let more or less light…
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Xbox picks up Kojima’s Physint after PlayStation dropped it
Xbox will now publish Physint, an upcoming game from Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima, after PlayStation decided to cancel it. The unexpected swap came in a flurry of announcements from PlayStation, Xbox, Kojima Productions, and Kojima himself. Sony, which published both of…
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Nintendo’s latest Switch 2 update adds VRR support in TV mode
Nintendo always promised that the Switch 2 would support variable refresh rate (VRR) when docked, but the console launched without this key feature. A new 23.0.0 firmware update now adds VRR support to the Switch 2 when it's docked and in TV mode. VRR adjusts a display's refresh…
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The Trump phone just got a $250 price hike
Bad news if you didn't lock in a Trump phone at launch: It now costs $749, a $250 increase on its price at launch. The T1 Phone itself hasn't changed. Trump Mobile didn't announce the price increase, instead quietly changing its website overnight. This wasn't a total surprise…
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It’s the year of smartphone price hikes
Paying more for a new phone seems almost unavoidable after Apple's event today. The new iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max start at $1,199 and $1,299, respectively - a $100 price hike over their predecessors. You can't dodge the price hike by opting for an older iPhone, either, because…
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AI research startup Listen Labs scrubbed a $1.5B funding round for Salesforce talks
Listen Labs walked away from a signed Series C term sheet from Menlo Ventures, sources say.
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Automattic’s board forces CEO Matt Mullenweg into leave of absence
Mullenweg said in a company Slack message that it was against his will.
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There aren’t AirPods with cameras yet and I hope it stays that way
September Apple events are always a swirl of information and new, exciting products, and today's was no different. Apple announced its first foldable, the iPhone Duo, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max; active noise cancellation (ANC) is now on the cheapest AirPods model,…
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The black iPhone Pro returns
Apple has seen reason: It has a black model in the iPhone Pro lineup again. Last year, Apple went bold with its colors for the iPhone 17 Pro, offering a flashy orange, a shiny silver, and a dark blue. Don't get me wrong, they looked nice. But there was no black (or dark gray)…
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Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg placed on leave
Matt Mullenweg, the CEO of WordPress.com owner Automattic, has been placed on a paid leave of absence, as reported earlier by 404 Media. In an internal message by the outlet, Mullenweg claims Automattic chief financial officer Mark Davies "conspired" with board members to place…
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OpenAI adds a prominent AI doomer to its board of directors
Paul Christiano, an influential AI researcher focused on alignment, is joining the OpenAI Foundation as a member of its board.
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The incomplete history of Duo devices
Apple announced the company's first device with a folding screen today, the iPhone Duo, but that's where the firsts end. The Duo is not only far from the first foldable on the market thanks to the efforts of Samsung and Google, but it's also not the first product to be called…
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Massachusetts hits data centers with new clean power rules
Massachusetts has become the third state in as many months to slap new restrictions on data center development.
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Wolverine on the PS5 goes back to a simpler (and bloodier) style of action game
Marvel's Wolverine captures just how angry its lead character is. The latest PS5 exclusive from Spider-Man developer Insomniac, Wolverine is a straightforward action game that is at its best when you're (literally) slicing through enemies or thrust into a sequence pulled from a…
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