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Airbnb adds AI search, more social features
Airbnb is also launching new services such as meal delivery and laundry in select locations
Global AI Picks
Curated AI coverage from TechCrunch, MIT Technology Review, WIRED and other top global tech media. Please cite this site when republishing.
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OpenAI reportedly in talks to raise $30B round at $1.4T valuation
The new round is anticipated to be the company's last before its delayed 2027 public debut.
ARS
AMD acquires World Labs AI startup, upping the ante against Nvidia
The deal, which is expected to close by year's end, is worth $8.2 billion.
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The internet is convinced Elon Musk’s xAI trolled OpenAI’s ‘Dots’ launch
Before OpenAI launched its new AI agent, Dots, on Tuesday, Elon Musk's xAI had already acquired the domain name "dot.com," which now redirects to the Grok chatbot download page.
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America.gov gets really weird when you ask it about Minecraft, but it’s not a glitch
For the sake of national security, it's a relief to learn that America.gov is not hallucinating to the point that it's penning lengthy poetry.
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AI-powered app maker Wabi pivots to a messaging experience
Wabi is repositioning its prompt-based app builder as a personal AI agent that can create interfaces on demand, combining chat, apps and ongoing tasks.
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OpenAI’s latest features take direct aim at the app store model
OpenAI is building out the pieces of an alternative to the traditional app store model, turning ChatGPT into a place where software can be discovered and used by people and AI agents alike.
ARS
Protests against OpenAI get increasingly creative
New sculpture depicts AI leaders escaping a sinking ship.
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Here’s why OpenAI is absent from Nvidia’s industry-wide effort to end rogue AI agents
OpenAI isn't a public supporter of Nvidia's Open Agent Safety Platform, but it is privately working with Nvidia, TechCrunch has learned.
WD
OpenAI Gets Sued Over the Hugging Face Hack
A nonprofit in California is doing what Hugging Face has not—attempting to hold OpenAI legally accountable for the actions of its agents.
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OpenAI repotedly in talks to raise $30B round at $1.4T valuation
The new round is anticipated to be the company's last before its delayed 2027 public debut.
WD
OpenAI’s Dots Are Always-On AI Agents—and Its Answer to Meta’s Muse
These cute agents are designed to connect to your apps and tackle multistep tasks.
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OpenAI expands ChatGPT’s plugins with app-like interfaces and automations
OpenAI is expanding ChatGPT plugins with dedicated sidebar homes, interactive panels, file viewers, improved discovery, and support for automations.
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OpenAI launches GPT-6.1 Sol, says it nearly matches GPT-6 Astra and costs less
OpenAI says GPT-6.1 Sol delivers significant improvements over GPT-6 Sol across complex professional tasks, including code writing and debugging, document understanding, and executing multi-step business workflows.
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OpenAI launches Dots, its bubbly agentic avatar
Dots are meant to operate independent of any specific hardware or interface, pursuing user-defined goals continuously in the background with minimal oversight.
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OpenAI takes on Microsoft with the launch of what feels a whole lot like ChatGPT’s own office suite
OpenAI's newly announced suite of office features puts it into mor direct competition with more traditional software companies.
WD
Anthropic Says It Discovered a Crispr-Like System. Now What?
“The experiments are still in the queue. The PR is already live,” says one expert.
ARS
Here's what actually happened in OpenAI's Australian gov't server hack
Without a "full set of safeguards," agent accessed "system information and source code."
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OpenAI says planned GPT-6.1 is too insecure to release
Similar performance, security tradeoffs also seen in current public models.
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Instinct founder said more than 50% of transactions on the platform are travel-related
Instinct founder said the platform is growing 10% day by day, with transaction volume increasing at a similar rate.