BusinessSpotify adds paid AI music features and stokes investor concernsSpotify is developing AI-powered features — including a chatbot and tools for user-created AI remixes in partnership with Universal Music Group — that the company plans to offer as paid add-ons.2 min read
BusinessDeepSeek warns of substantial API price increases after sparking global AI cost warDeepSeek, the Chinese AI company that recently undercut rivals with very low-priced models, has signalled plans for a “significant” price increase for its API services.2 min read
BusinessGulf Investors Back AI Infrastructure Projects in Asia, Pledging Hundreds of Millions and Gigawatt-Scale CapacityInvestors from the Gulf are financing large AI-related data center projects in Asia, seeking relative stability amid geopolitical tensions and supply-chain uncertainty.2 min read
BusinessAllianz: Q2 net profit falls as IT overhaul and AI investments drive higher restructuring costsAllianz reported an 8.7% decline in second-quarter net profit to €2.595 billion, below analyst expectations, after booking sharply higher restructuring charges linked to replacing legacy IT systems for artificial intelligence–based processes.2 min read
BusinessOpenAI Publishes Defense After Apple Sued It Over Alleged Trade-Secret TheftOpenAI has publicly responded to Apple’s July lawsuit accusing the startup of obtaining confidential information through former Apple employees as it develops AI hardware.3 min read
BusinessSoftBank borrows $10 billion using OpenAI stake as collateral, repeating Masayoshi Son’s leverage strategySoftBank disclosed in its earnings report that it borrowed $10 billion from a group of global lenders with its stake in OpenAI pledged as collateral.2 min read
BusinessNaïve raises $28.5M to scale infrastructure for automated AI-run businessesNaïve, a startup that provides infrastructure allowing AI agents to set up and operate businesses, has closed a $28.5 million Series A led by Nexus Venture Partners.3 min read
BusinessAI matchmaker Ditto gains traction among Gen Z college studentsDitto, an AI-driven dating service founded by Allen Wang and Eric Liu after they left UC Berkeley, lets college students sign up via iMessage and receive weekly, curated in-person dates.3 min read
BusinessAschenbrenner Pours $400M into Private Holding After Hedge Fund Near-CollapseLeopold Aschenbrenner, founder of Situational Awareness, invested $400 million into a private company days after his hedge fund faced a liquidity crisis that forced the sale of most public equities.3 min read
BusinessMirendil signs $100M+ Google Cloud deal for compute to develop self-improving AIAI lab Mirendil has entered a multi-year agreement with Google Cloud to secure compute capacity — a deal the company says is worth more than $100 million.3 min read
BusinessEx-Spotify engineers bring real-time, intent-driven recommendations to e-commerceThree former Spotify engineers—Sidd Motwani, Ian Anderson and Shivaditya Sinha—have launched Malachyte, a startup that applies the team’s Vector AI approach to online retail to predict shoppers’ intent in real time.3 min read
BusinessOmilia raises $67M to expand its AI-driven customer service platformAthens-based Omilia raised $67 million in a Series B led by Expedition Growth Capital to expand self-learning customer service agents and U.S.3 min read
