Assort Health nabs $50M to automate patient phone calls, sources say
The startup, now valued at $750 million, is one of three that recently raised funding to use AI agents for helping healthcare practices answer patient calls.
The Download: carbon removal factories’ funding cuts, and AI toys
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. The Trump administration may cut funding for two major direct-air capture plants The US Department of Energy appears poised to terminate funding for a pair of large carbon-sucking factories that were originally set…
Verily is closing its medical device program as Alphabet shifts more resources to AI
Alphabet’s life sciences arm Verily laid off staff and eliminated its entire devices program as AI and data infrastructure takes center stage.
Microsoft headquarters go into lockdown after activists take over Brad Smith’s office
The incident is the latest escalation by current and former employees who are demanding the company end its cloud contracts with Israel.
When’s the Best Time to Sell Your Business? Here’s What I Tell My Clients (And It’s Not When You Think)
Don’t let outside noise impact your exit plan and consider talking to an expert who can help guide you during both good and uncertain economic times.
These Fields Are Losing the Most Entry-Level Jobs to AI, According to a New Stanford Study
Researchers analyzed millions of data points to find how AI affects employment for different age groups.
An ‘Awe Dropping’ Apple Event Is Two Weeks Away. Here’s What to Expect, Including a Skinny iPhone
A thinner iPhone 17 and other new upgrades are expected to be revealed on September 9. Here’s what we know.
Reimagining sound and space
On a typical afternoon, MIT’s new Edward and Joyce Linde Music Building hums with life. On the fourth floor, a jazz combo works through a set in a rehearsal suite as engineers adjust microphone levels in a nearby control booth. Downstairs, the layered rhythms of Senegalese drumming pulse through a room built to absorb its…
Junior Peña, neutrino hunter
Growing up in South Central Los Angeles, Junior Peña learned to keep his eyes down and his schedule full. In his neighborhood, a glance could invite trouble, and many kids—including his older brother—were pulled into gang culture. He knew early on that he wanted something else. With his parents working long hours, he went to…
MIT is worth fighting for
As I write in late July, we’re contending with a major tax increase on the annual returns from MIT’s endowment as well as other investments and assets. This new tax burden will strain the resources we use to support research, innovation, and student scholarships and financial aid—the heart and soul of the Institute. And the…
Infinite Threads
Textiles account for 5% of landfill space—and clothing made with polyester can take up to 200 years to decompose. Massachusetts tackled the problem by banning disposal of clothing and fabrics in 2022. And Infinite Threads, a spinoff of the Undergraduate Association Sustainability Committee, is addressing it by collecting lightly used clothing from the MIT community…