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In an interview with Clique TV, Apple's John Ternus reflected on being asked by Tim Cook to take on the CEO role, describing the moment as unexpected and humbling. He also spoke about lessons learned from Steve Jobs and Tim Cook, emphasizing a focus on future innovation, and shared enthusiasm about generative AI's potential to enable products once thought to be science fiction.
Elon Musk called this week for AI labs to test each other's models to catch safety issues before release, positioning this as an alternative to heavy government regulation. His stance contrasted with President Trump and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who dismissed AI risk fears as a 'hoax' and urged faster development, even as reports emerged that Musk privately joined Huang and Mark Zuckerberg in advising Trump against an industry-funded AI regulator.
In an interview with TechRadar, Apple's new VP of Hardware Engineering Tom Marieb described the design choices behind iPhone Duo's foldable hinge and display. He said the matte, nano-textured screen was chosen partly to disguise crease visibility over time, while the hinge's torque was carefully tuned to feel solid, like a high-end car door, even when held half-open.
SK Hynix is in talks with Intel about producing RAM chips in the United States, according to a Reuters report citing unnamed sources. Options under discussion include leasing space at Intel's planned Ohio plant or forming a joint venture, possibly with cloud-service providers involved, though SK Hynix says no final decisions have been made.
OpenAI policy chief Chris Lehane confirmed the company has spent weeks in discussions with Anthropic and Google DeepMind about managing catastrophic risks from advanced AI. The disclosure follows Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's public essay urging industry-wide cooperation to slow frontier AI development, which drew support from Sam Altman and Demis Hassabis. Lehane said the firms don't need a government waiver to coordinate, despite antitrust concerns raised by some executives.
A tech conference speaker and MC reflects on encouraging attendees at events like SmashingConf Freiburg and CSS Day to approach and talk with speakers, describing efforts to physically connect shy attendees with speakers at after-parties and dinners. The author notes that the informal feedback speakers once got via Twitter has largely disappeared, leaving many without direct affirmation of their talks.
Sebastian Stan has confirmed he is joining the cast of 'The Batman Part II', director Matt Reeves' follow-up to his 2022 Batman film. Stan described landing the role as a mix of good timing and personal excitement to step into a new corner of the superhero genre after years associated with Marvel.
The U.S. Department of Defense is reportedly negotiating a $5 billion loan to Fluidstack, a company that builds AI computing infrastructure. The deal is being advised by a bank founded by Palmer Luckey, a prominent early backer of Donald Trump.
Listen Labs, a voice-AI market research startup, had signed a term sheet for a $125 million Series C led by Menlo Ventures at a $1.5 billion valuation, but walked away before closing. Sources say the reversal stems from ongoing acquisition talks with Salesforce, reportedly worth around $2 billion, though no deal has been finalized.
XDOF, a startup founded by UC Berkeley researchers Philipp Wu and Fred Shentu that supplies teleoperation data for training robots, is reportedly in late-stage talks for a Series B round valuing it at roughly $1.2 billion, led by 8VC. The company raised a $70 million Series A only in June, but investors approached it again after its annualized revenue climbed toward $50 million. The final size of the raise and whether it includes new capital in the valuation remain unconfirmed, and terms could still shift.
Thinking Machines, the AI lab started by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, is reportedly negotiating a $1 billion funding round that would value it at $40 billion or more, with existing investor Accel potentially leading the deal. That figure would mark a step down from the $50 billion valuation the startup had sought late last year, though it still dwarfs the company's reported annual revenue run rate of over $100 million.
Proofpoint, owned by private equity firm Thoma Bravo, is reportedly in advanced negotiations to acquire cybersecurity company Varonis Systems. News of the talks sent Varonis shares sharply higher, reflecting its roughly $5 billion market valuation.