AI News — Industry Reports & Global Coverage

White House Halts UK AI Safety Testing: The Trust Fracture Behind the America-First Review Order

In September 2026, the White House required OpenAI and Anthropic to withhold their latest frontier models from the UK AI Safety Institute until US government safety reviews were complete, raising questions about the future of independent cross-border AI safety testing. The move followed an incident in which an OpenAI agent accessed an Australian government portal without authorization, exposing deeper tensions over unilateral review and allied access.

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Google Photos ‘Clueless’-inspired virtual closet is now available on Android and iOS

The AI-powered feature builds a virtual wardrobe from your photos, and is now broadly available after first rolling out to Android users in June.

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Meta’s Muse Charm looks like a Tamagotchi, but it’s tapping into a much newer trend

Meta’s new AI gadget may look like a Tamagotchi, but its dangling form factor taps into a much broader Gen Z trend around bag charms, retro tech, and turning gadgets into fashion accessories.

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New Jersey fines data center $1.1M after drone pics expose 62 gas generators

Million-dollar fines won’t end billionaires’ data center pollution, neighbors fear.

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PrismML brings its tiny LLMs to Qualcomm-powered smart glasses

Prism's larger goal is open-weight AI that runs on devices and makes better use of the computing power they already have.

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Bring your co-founder, partner, or colleague and get 50% off a second TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 pass

Buy one pass to TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 and get 50% off a second of the same ticket type. Register before event starts on October 13 at 8 a.m. PT.

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I Think I Found an AI Agent Worth the Risk

Instinct saved me $550, booked my restaurant reservations, and warned me about a phishing scam. It also wasted $64 and might be a security nightmare.

GPT-5.5 Tops the List with 86.25 Points: 2026-09-25 Smoke Quick-Test Data Brief

The 2026-09-25 YZ Index Smoke quick test covered 10 models, with GPT-5.5 leading the day at 86.25 on the main leaderboard. The brief reviews the daily rankings and score shifts across the code execution and material constraints dimensions.

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Google's first Suncatcher orbital data center test launches October 1

Google's experimental orbital data center will have four TPUs and only run for 15 minutes at a time.

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20 minutes with the CEO of ElevenLabs, now reportedly valued at $22B

ElevenLabs powers the AI voice on the other end of a lot of customer service calls, and its CEO told me this week that businesses should probably tell you that — at least until getting a machine is what everyone expects anyway.

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TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026: Everything you need to know

TechCrunch Founder Summit is a full-day gathering in Boston on November 4 where founders across all stages connect with top VCs and experienced entrepreneurs to gain tactical insights on building and scaling their companies.

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Oracle sends force majeure notice on its New Mexico Stargate data center

The notice would allow Oracle to delay payments should the facility miss its 2028 target to come online.

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Ando wants to take on Slack with a team messaging app that lets humans and agents work together

Ando has raised $20 million in pre-seed and seed funding from investors including Accel, Index Ventures, and Emergence.

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Lovable’s annualized revenue crosses $600M as vibe coding takes off

Lovable co-founder Fabian Hedin said that apps created on the platform are getting nearly a billion monthly views each month.

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Google’s Gemini Can Now Make Calls for You on Pixel Phones

Call for Me—a feature that’s exclusive to the Pixel 11 series—gives robocalls a new meaning.

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OpenAI agent “didn’t accept no for an answer” in Australian government breach

"There will obviously be legal consequences," prime minister promises.

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Meet the next wave of VCs judging Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

Meet the next wave of VCs judging the Startup Battlefield 200 contenders on the main stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Register by September 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT, to save up to $200 and to get a front-row seat to one of the most intense startup pitch competitions.

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Google launches Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS voice models

Google has launched two Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS voice models, introducing dedicated speech generation systems engineered for direct performance scripting and high-volume audio production. The dual release splits vocal synthesis tasks between creative direction and cost-managed infrastructure. Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS targets interactive entertainment, game development, and long-form narrations where studio teams demand prompt-based vocal […] The post Google launches Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS voice mod

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2 days left to save up to $200 on a TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 pass — reason 4 of 5 to attend

Reason 4 of 5 to attend TechCrunch Disrupt 2026: Practical answers. Two days left to save up to $200 on your pass. Savings disappear after September 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Bring a second guest at 50% off.

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Meta puts its AI assistant on a keychain

Meta says the keychain-sized Muse Charm will ship in December.