News Archive
Pick a date to read that day's stories.
Days with a blue dot have stories.
- 01 of 10SHOPPING
Walmart opens its tills to AI shopping agents
Walmart has launched tools that let AI assistants find products and complete purchases. Shoppers will be able to set spending limits, approve individual orders and withdraw access.
OUR TAKEEven the impulse purchase now requires a delegation policy.
Read more → - 02 of 10FUNDING
Flapping Airplanes raises $1bn for leaner AI
AI research startup Flapping Airplanes has raised $1 billion at a reported $6 billion valuation. The year-old company wants to train large AI models with less data.
OUR TAKEA modest name for a company already travelling business class.
Read more → - 03 of 10CODING
Recursive releases free laptop coding AI
Recursive has released Flint, a free coding model that can run on a laptop. The company says its own AI research system helped a small team build the model in under four months.
OUR TAKEThe assistant has started making assistants, which should simplify the org chart.
Read more → - 04 of 10SECURITY
AI-found PHP flaws send websites offline
Governments and other organisations have taken websites offline after AI-assisted research found serious flaws in PHP. The PHP Foundation has released fixes, and US officials urged operators to update promptly.
OUR TAKEThe internet has been asked to turn itself off before trying again.
Read more → - 05 of 10GOVERNMENT
Japan brings AI agents to 180,000 civil servants
Japan is adding AI agent tools to Gen-nai, its work platform for about 180,000 government staff. Employees will be able to build assistants through chat, with a more advanced development workspace planned by December.
OUR TAKEThe paperwork may finally encounter something with greater patience than a civil servant.
Read more → - 06 of 10FACTORIES
Humanoids build robot parts at new China factory
Schaeffler has opened a factory in Taicang, China, to make key parts for humanoid robots. The site combines component assembly with facilities for training and testing physical AI systems.
OUR TAKEThe robots are now making colleagues, without consulting human resources.
Read more → - 07 of 10ROBOTICS
Agile plans up to 2,000 research humanoids
Germany's Agile Robots plans to make between 1,000 and 2,000 smaller humanoid robots next year with Nvidia. The machines are aimed at universities and company research labs, with production due to begin late this year.
OUR TAKEA smaller robot is a considerate choice for laboratories already short of desk space.
Read more → - 08 of 10TRAVEL
UAE uses AI to speed tourist tax refunds
The UAE has introduced an AI-powered platform that cuts the wait for tourist VAT refunds from about nine days to one business day. The Federal Tax Authority developed the service with refund operator Planet.
OUR TAKEA tax refund arriving before the holiday glow fades is almost suspiciously civilised.
Read more → - 09 of 10LEGAL
Swedish legal AI firm Legora raises $550m
Stockholm-based Legora has raised $550 million at an $8.8 billion valuation. The company builds AI agents for legal work and says annual recurring revenue has passed $200 million.
OUR TAKEThe lawyers have found something that grows faster than the billable hour.
Read more → - 10 of 10BUSINESS
France's Pigment raises $250m for AI planning
Paris-based Pigment has raised $250 million at a $2.3 billion valuation in a round led by the EU-backed Scaleup Europe Fund. The business planning software company wants AI agents to handle more of the work behind corporate forecasts.
OUR TAKEThe spreadsheet has secured a substantial budget for its own succession plan.
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