Voice AI in vogue: Nvidia releases new open transcription model

Nvidia just released a free speech-to-text model that can transcribe up to 40 languages, but it only works on recordings, not live audio, so it’s a big step for meeting and medical transcription tools while still leaving real-time use to rivals like El…

Disruptive raises $10B fund to make big bets on at least 10 companies

Disruptive has made headlines in recent years for pouring money into companies like chip startup Groq and the AI voice-generation startup ElevenLabs.

Agent cloud startup Daytona hits $1B valuation backed by FirstMark and a who’s who of angels

Daytona is building a cloud for agents that’s like giving every agent its own computer. It has attracted founders of Stripe, Perplextity, Datadog, Mercor, and others as angels, it says.

As blockchain investing falls out of vogue, a16z Crypto rebrands as a16z Frontier

The digital asset unit, helmed by Chris Dixon, broadens its scope.

OpenAI working on new $30B raise at $1.25T valuation ahead of IPO

Should OpenAI command an over $1 trillion valuation with this round, it would break records as the most highly valued private company ever.

Chinese hackers spied on thousands of companies after breaching IT giant ConnectWise

Microsoft points the blame for ConnectWise’s breach at a China-aligned hacker, which relied on AI agents to rapidly hack into thousands of its customers.

Electric vehicle sales in the US are showing signs of life

The electric vehicle market in the U.S. has been growing for the last three consecutive quarters.

Spotify users on iOS 27 can now ask Siri to play music without having to say ‘on Spotify’

Siri can now learn users’ preferred music app, allowing Spotify listeners to request songs, podcasts, and playlists without specifying which app to use.

President Trump awards Big Tech donors with nation’s highest science prizes

Together, the awardees have donated nearly $6 billion to efforts tied to Trump and his administration.

Anthropic changes usage policy to ban model abuse and election interference

Anthropic’s updated usage policy explicitly prohibits users from repeatedly abusing Claude in extreme cases, though ordinary frustration and criticism are still allowed. The new rules also address election interference, deceptive campaigns, weapons sof…