GoKawiil
Tech News
Amazon has discounted the HyperDrive Next Thunderbolt 5 Dock to $319.99, an $80 cut from its $399.99 list price, matching its lowest price to date. The dock combines a Thunderbolt 5 hub with a built-in M.2 NVMe SSD enclosure, letting users store files directly inside the unit rather than using a separate external drive.
Reuters reports that SK Hynix, which supplies Apple with RAM and flash memory, is discussing a deal with Intel to produce chips at Intel's planned Ohio facility, potentially leasing part of the site. This would mark the first time the South Korean company manufactures memory chips on US soil, though sources say details remain unclear and nothing has been finalized.
Despite stepping down as Apple CEO, Tim Cook has kept the responsibility of engaging with governments as part of his new executive chairman title. Bloomberg reports Cook, along with OpenAI's Sam Altman, will attend a White House state dinner honoring Chinese President Xi Jinping amid tense US-China relations over AI, trade and geopolitics.
Rhodium Group estimates that all major Chinese AI companies combined—including DeepSeek, MiniMax, Moonshot, Z.ai, ByteDance and Alibaba—generate roughly one-tenth the annualized revenue of OpenAI and Anthropic alone. DeepSeek's estimated annual recurring revenue is just $500 million, while OpenAI's reaches $40 billion and Anthropic's $65 billion.
Spotify introduced Fresh Finds Forward, a program offering artists placed on any Fresh Finds playlist after January 1, 2026 a year of extra support. Benefits include free studio sessions at notable US studios, early access to Spotify tools, priority partnerships for tours and videos, software subscriptions from Landr and Splice, and six months of free therapy via BetterHelp.
Businesses are tracking rising leads, engagement, and sales quotas alongside faster customer service response times, yet customers remain dissatisfied despite these positive indicators. The disconnect suggests that standard departmental metrics are failing to capture the actual customer experience.
Valor Equity Partners, the venture firm led by SpaceX board member Antonio Gracias, has transferred about 8.5% of its SpaceX stake—roughly $8.5 billion worth—directly to its limited partners rather than selling shares and returning cash. An SEC filing shows Valor retains more than 460 million shares after the distribution.
Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel told the BBC his company would consider adopting default daily time limits for teenage users, echoing measures Meta agreed to in a recent $12.7bn settlement with US states. Meta had pledged two-hour daily caps, muted school-hours notifications and nighttime blocks for teens, and offered to pay an extra $5.3bn if rivals like Snap, TikTok and YouTube adopt similar restrictions.
The US central bank lifted its benchmark interest rate, marking the first increase in three years as it responds to persistent inflation pressures. The move comes as American consumers face rising prices, with fuel costs climbing sharply amid geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
The Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously to raise interest rates by a quarter point, marking the Fed's first increase since July 2023 and pushing its benchmark rate to a range of 3.75 to 4 percent. Chair Kevin Warsh cited persistently high inflation as the reason for the move. The change will ripple differently across consumer debt, from mortgages to car loans to credit cards.
Dark Reading's podcast featured incident response veteran Hal Pomeranz discussing his career path from Unix administration to digital forensics consulting. The conversation centers on the unusually harsh current job market in cybersecurity, with Pomeranz known for offering encouragement to professionals facing layoffs.
Amazon has discounted the recently released Garmin Vivoactive 6 fitness smartwatch by 23% off its list price, marking the lowest price the device has seen since launch. The deal applies to Garmin's latest wearable, which tracks fitness and health metrics.