Josh Mackanic, a former Pacific Gas and Electric engineer, founded CivilGrid in 2020 after experiencing costly delays caused by unknown buried pipes during excavation projects. The startup aggregates data on utility lines, property ownership, and environmental regulations into a unified underground mapping platform, and has now raised a $26 million Series A led by Spark Capital, with participation from Afore, A*, Ford Street Ventures, SNR, and Energy Impact Partners.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-08-27
Google's newest Gemini Live update introduces distinct features—chat, Spark, and Daily Brief—each with its own icon and navigation slot in the Gemini app. Daily Brief pulls data from Gmail and Calendar to generate proactive updates, but it often surfaces unsolicited or unsettling information, like resurfacing old search history, rather than truly useful alerts. Spark, meanwhile, is a capable AI agent for taking actions on a user's behalf, but Google has needlessly turned it into its own branded sub-product rather than folding it into a unified assistant experience.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-08-26
Nvidia is gaining backing from more game studios for its RTX Spark technology and ARM-based chip architecture, signaling a shift toward wider hardware compatibility for PC gaming. This move could allow games to run more consistently across different laptop configurations, regardless of the underlying chip design.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-08-25
Perplexity has released Portable Computer, a version of its agentic 'Computer' platform designed to run entirely on local hardware, starting with Nvidia's DGX Spark desktop and Linux machines with RTX GPUs. The system keeps models, files, and processing on-device by default, only asking permission to route individual steps to cloud-based frontier models when needed, meaning local tasks incur no billing credits.
venturebeat.com
· 2026-08-25
Nvidia announced that its GeForce Now cloud gaming service will support Valve's Steam Controller and Steam Machine later this year, initially for the Steam Deck and Steam Machine app, with Windows and macOS support coming afterward. The update accompanies other GeForce Now additions, including DLSS 4.5 controls, GOG single sign-on, wider Fire TV Stick availability, and Firefox browser support.
theverge.com
· 2026-08-25
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