Wednesday

13 May 2026 Vol 19

Rivian spinoff Mind Robotics raises another $400M

Rivian spinoff Mind Robotics raises another $400M

Rivian’s spinoff company Mind Robotics has raised another $400 million, just two months after raising $500 million, as it works…
Anthropic courts a new kind of customer: small business owners

Anthropic courts a new kind of customer: small business owners

Anthropic is looking to court smaller companies. To that end, the company announced Wednesday the launch of Claude for Small…
Amazon launches an AI shopping assistant for the search bar, powered by Alexa+ 

Amazon launches an AI shopping assistant for the search bar, powered by Alexa+ 

Whether you like it or not, Amazon continues to put AI at the center of the shopping journey. The company…
Anduril raises $5B, doubles valuation to $61B

Anduril raises $5B, doubles valuation to $61B

Another year, another massive influx of capital for Anduril: the funding round that was rumored to be in process in…
WhatsApp adds an incognito mode in Meta AI chats

WhatsApp adds an incognito mode in Meta AI chats

Meta on Wednesday said it is adding the ability to start “incognito” conversations with its Meta AI chatbot within WhatsApp.…
Poppy debuts a proactive AI assistant to help organize your digital life

Poppy debuts a proactive AI assistant to help organize your digital life

Smartphones can be distracting with their dizzying array of apps and constant stream of notifications. A new app called Poppy…
Alexa is moving into Amazon.com

Alexa is moving into Amazon.com

Amazon is bringing Alexa Plus to Amazon.com, integrating its LLM-powered AI assistant directly into the company’s shopping experience. Beginning today,…
The Download: making drugs in orbit and NASA’s nuclear-powered spacecraft

The Download: making drugs in orbit and NASA’s nuclear-powered spacecraft

1 Sam Altman claims Elon Musk tried to seize control of OpenAIAltman said Musk initially wanted 90% of the equity.…
Adaption aims big with AutoScientist, an AI tool that helps models train themselves

Adaption aims big with AutoScientist, an AI tool that helps models train themselves

For years, AI researchers have anticipated the moment when AI systems will be able to improve themselves better than humans…
Inside the Race to Develop a Test for the Rare Andes Hantavirus

Inside the Race to Develop a Test for the Rare Andes Hantavirus

As passengers return to the US from the cruise that saw a rare hantavirus outbreak, much of the country is…