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Microsoft launched its updated Surface Laptop and Surface Pro at Qualcomm's Snapdragon Summit, powered by Snapdragon X2 Plus chips, without an AMD option. Surface CVP Brett Ostrum told Windows Central the company's limited device portfolio forces selective processor choices, while insisting Microsoft still values its AMD partnership.
Boston startup Modulate has closed a $25 million funding round led by Future Ventures, with Hyperplane and Lakestar also participating. The company, founded in 2017 by Mike Pappas and Carter Huffman, runs over 100 models split between signal extraction (detecting emotion, tone, and synthetic voices) and analysis models that assess conversational intent and policy compliance for enterprise voice agents.
An opinion piece published on Entrepreneur argues that businesses need responsive, mobile-optimized websites since mobile devices account for more than half of global web traffic. The author contends that slow load times, outdated platforms and poor mobile navigation drive up bounce rates, hurt search rankings and cost companies sales or bookings. The piece frames mobile-first design and updated site infrastructure as now essential rather than optional for any online business.
UK Games Expo, the UK's largest tabletop convention, issued a new policy prohibiting exhibitors from displaying or selling games, art, text or related products created completely or mostly by AI tools. Exhibitors who refuse to remove such items risk having their booth shut down and being barred from future events. The policy allows only minor AI use, such as spell-checking or accessibility aids.
Executives and researchers from OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft and Meta said artificial intelligence systems could soon begin improving themselves at a pace beyond human ability to monitor or control. They called for stronger oversight mechanisms to be put in place before that happens.
ElevenLabs released two new speech models, v4 and v4 Turbo, adding expanded expression control, faster voice cloning from just 10 seconds of audio, and support for over 90 languages, up from 70. The company said quality improved most notably in Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, Mandarin and Cantonese, and the new models offer lower latency aimed at voice agent applications.
Outmarket, an AI startup that automates paperwork for commercial insurance brokers, has raised a $34.5 million Series B round led by SignalFire, with participation from Fika Ventures, Permanent Capital Ventures, TTV Capital and Dash Fund. The company, founded by former Ethos product lead Vishal Sankhala in late 2023, says it now works with over 300 insurance agencies, including a quarter of the top 100, since launching its current product 14 months ago.
TechCrunch is closing exhibit table bookings for its Disrupt 2026 conference on Friday, October 2, at 11:59 p.m. PT, after which no further reservations will be accepted. The event runs October 13–15 at Moscone West in San Francisco and is expected to draw more than 10,000 founders, investors and tech leaders. Exhibit packages include a branded table, ten team passes, lead-generation tools, and app and website branding.
Developer and author Alex Ewerlöf published an essay disputing the claim that 'coding is solved' by AI. He argues that while LLMs make code creation cheaper, they haven't addressed non-functional requirements like maintenance, reliability, security and scalability, which he says make up most of the real cost of production software. He also contends that even basic functional correctness remains unsolved by current AI coding tools.
The Trump administration is set to release new fuel economy standards Monday that would lower fleetwide mileage requirements for gasoline-powered cars and light trucks, according to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The proposed target is roughly 34.5 miles per gallon by 2031, down from the 50.4 mpg figure projected under Biden-era rules.
MIT researchers created a laboratory solution of 98% sulfuric acid, mimicking conditions in Venus's clouds, and tested whether complex organic molecules such as peptides could remain stable in it. The peptides retained their structure, contradicting the long-held assumption that such acidity would immediately destroy complex chemistry.
Apple's tvOS 27 update adds a setting that lets users restrict which apps can be opened under a specific profile on Apple TV 4K. Previously, profiles could limit content within the Apple TV app itself but couldn't stop a child from opening an entirely different app.