Priced at $0.034 per 1,000 images, Google’s new Nano Banana 2 Lite aims to corner the high-volume content market. The model promises four-second latency, positioning itself as a streamlined, budget-friendly alternative to the company’s more complex, premium generative tools currently used for rapid creative iteration.
A physical keyboard is making a comeback as Clicks Technology showcases its new Communicator, a device designed for users who prioritize efficiency over the endless scroll of modern touchscreens. Revealed in a new hands-on video, the phone aims to bridge the gap between retro tactile feel and contemporary functionality.
Anthropic has released Claude Sonnet 5, a midsize model designed to execute autonomous agentic tasks at a fraction of the cost previously required for such capabilities. By prioritizing lower price points and improved reliability, the lab aims to set a new competitive baseline for developers and enterprise users.
A $5 billion valuation and $1 billion in contract orders have thrust AI chip startup Etched into the spotlight, marking a dramatic reversal for a company that struggled to secure any venture funding just two years ago. The firm is now moving to deploy its custom hardware to major enterprise customers.
Singapore-based startup Acti has launched an agentic keyboard for iOS and Android designed to perform tasks across apps rather than simply suggesting text. By integrating AI directly into the typing interface, the tool aims to eliminate the friction of switching between chatbots to retrieve information or execute commands.
Anthropic has launched Claude Science, a specialized research workbench designed to consolidate computational workflows rather than introduce a new underlying AI model. By integrating over 60 scientific databases and multi-agent management tools, the platform aims to streamline the research process for scientists currently navigating fragmented digital environments.
Meta is broadening access to its Live Chats feature while introducing granular moderation controls for creators. By allowing Community Champions to host sessions and enabling co-host support, the platform is attempting to refine its real-time engagement tools to better compete with established social networks.
The May 28 explosion of a New Glenn rocket remains a mystery, as Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp admits the company has yet to identify the root cause. While initial assessments point toward the first stage’s aft section, the firm is racing to clear the wreckage and restore its sole launchpad in Florida.
A two-seat Cybercab prototype, stripped of both steering wheel and pedals, has appeared on public roads in Austin, Texas. The testing, captured in video footage shared on X, marks a transition from controlled environments to real-world conditions for Tesla’s vision of a fully autonomous robotaxi network.
Developers can now connect AI tools like Claude and Cursor directly to X via a new hosted Model Context Protocol server. By removing the need for custom infrastructure, the platform aims to transform its real-time data flow into a primary resource for automated analysis and intelligent application development.
Riverside is expanding its recording platform to include newsletter publishing, leveraging artificial intelligence to convert spoken content into written articles. By bypassing the blank-page struggle of traditional platforms like Substack, the company aims to help creators repackage existing video and audio recordings into new distribution formats without starting from scratch.
By 2050, the world must mine more copper than in all of human history to satisfy the energy transition. The California-based startup Arcturus is betting on a material science breakthrough, using laser-infused carbon nanomaterials to boost conductivity and potentially cut electrical grid energy losses by half.
Amazon Web Services is embedding specialized engineers directly into client companies to accelerate AI integration, mirroring a strategy recently adopted by OpenAI and Anthropic. The new organization, backed by $1 billion in internal resources, focuses on deploying agentic systems while simultaneously training clients to maintain their own infrastructure independently.
Proton has overhauled its privacy-centric AI assistant, Lumo 2.0, introducing image recognition, generation capabilities, and a dedicated "thinking mode" for complex queries. The update marks a significant expansion for the firm, which aims to bridge the gap between high-performance artificial intelligence and strict user data protection.
With over 10,000 industry leaders, founders, and investors converging on San Francisco this October, TechCrunch is opening applications for branded side events. Companies and organizations have until September 4 to propose workshops, roundtables, or networking sessions designed to capture the attention of the tech ecosystem's most influential attendees.
Crypto exchange OKX is betting that the future of finance lies in machines, not people, with the launch of a marketplace where AI agents can hire one another, negotiate services, and settle payments autonomously using blockchain technology and stablecoins to build portable on-chain reputations.
Nearly 90,000 job cuts have been attributed to artificial intelligence through May 2026, fueling widespread anxiety over the future of the workforce. However, new data from Ramp and Revelio Labs suggests that the reality for high-intensity AI adopters is surprisingly different, showing headcount expansion rather than the predicted mass displacement.
A year after being acquired by Wix for $80 million, the vibe-coding platform Base44 is shifting its strategy by rolling out a proprietary AI model. The company aims to move beyond reliance on external providers, betting that vertical integration will provide the speed, cost efficiency, and long-term defensibility that general-purpose frontier models cannot offer.
Venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya is stepping back into an operating role, announcing he will lead his AI coding startup, 8090 Labs, as CEO following a $135 million Series A funding round led by Salesforce Ventures to scale production-grade software development for enterprise teams.
Starting this week, Google is opening its personalized, Nano-powered image generation feature to all eligible users in the United States. Previously locked behind premium subscription tiers, this tool now allows free-tier participants to generate visuals tailored to their specific interests without complex manual prompting.
The digital book landscape shifted Monday as Rakuten’s Kobo eReader launched a direct integration with the reading tracker StoryGraph. By automating progress updates for ebooks and audiobooks, the partnership offers a functional alternative to the long-standing monopoly held by Amazon’s Kindle-Goodreads ecosystem.
The three-year experiment bringing Waymo robotaxis to the Uber app in Phoenix has quietly concluded. While both companies describe the pilot as a productive foundation for future growth, the vehicles have been pulled from the platform and reabsorbed into Waymo’s internal fleet to support independent operations across the city.
South Korea has unveiled an aggressive industrial strategy to secure its place in the global AI hierarchy, anchored by a massive $900 billion commitment from the nation’s tech titans. The plan aims to decentralize semiconductor production and establish the country as an indispensable hub for the next era of computing.
Governor Gavin Newsom has finalized a deal granting California state and local agencies access to Anthropic’s Claude at a 50% discount. The agreement aims to streamline document drafting and data analysis for government employees, marking a significant step in the state's push to integrate artificial intelligence into public operations.
Eight months after launching commercial services, the AI evaluation platform Arena has reached $100 million in annualized run-rate revenue. Originally a UC Berkeley research project, the company now monetizes its massive crowdsourced feedback loop, positioning itself as a vital player in the competitive market for post-training model refinement.
Users can now manage their AI coding agents directly from an iOS device, marking a shift away from traditional desktop-bound development. The new mobile app allows developers to initiate projects or oversee ongoing tasks while away from their monitors, mirroring a broader industry move toward portable AI oversight.
A surge in permitting friction under the Trump administration now threatens 92 gigawatts of clean energy capacity, placing $121 billion in private investment at risk. As AI-driven data centers demand unprecedented electricity, federal interventions are actively stalling projects that were once expected to meet the nation’s growing power needs.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Monday that individuals maintain a reasonable expectation of privacy in their cellphone location data, effectively requiring law enforcement to secure a search warrant based on probable cause before demanding geofence information from tech companies.
Sharing your private contact information with new acquaintances just became optional. WhatsApp is finally rolling out a username feature, allowing users to connect without revealing their phone numbers. While the platform still requires a number for account creation, this shift prioritizes personal privacy in an increasingly public digital landscape.
TIDAL is moving to strip monetization from fully AI-generated tracks, aiming to shield human artists from a flood of synthetic content. Starting July 15, 2026, the streaming service will implement automated filtering and mandatory labeling, prioritizing organic creativity over the growing volume of automated compositions filling digital libraries.
