OpenAI-backed biotech firm Chai Discovery raises $130M Series B at $1.3B valuation
Chai is building foundation models for drug discovery, specifically to predict interactions between molecules so they could be reprogramed for cures.
The Download: Yann LeCun’s new venture, and lithium’s on the rise
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. Yann LeCun’s new venture is a contrarian bet against large language models Yann LeCun is a Turing Award recipient and a top AI researcher, but he has long been a contrarian figure in…
I hate that I love Riverside’s AI-driven “Rewind” for podcasters
Riverside’s year-end review is amusing, but it represents a creative culture that’s increasingly entwined with AI.
Disney’s OpenAI deal is exclusive for just one year — then it’s open season
After the one year is up, Disney is free to sign similar deals with other AI companies.
Nvidia bulks up open source offerings with an acquisition and new open AI models
Nvidia acquired SchedMD, the lead developer of Slurm, and launched the Nemotron 3 family of open source AI models.
Ford is starting a battery storage business to power data centers and the grid
Amid Ford’s shift away from making large electric vehicles, the automaker is adding a new product line to find a home for its batteries. Ford said Monday that instead of scuttling plans to build the batteries for those vehicles, it will pivot that capacity into a new battery storage business. Those storage systems, which will use cheaper LFP batteries, will be […]
Ford’s next F-150 Lightning will have a gas generator as it pivots away from large EVs
The company is abandoning plans for a brand new all-electric pickup truck codenamed “T3” and ending production of the battery-only Lightning.
Creative Commons announces tentative support for AI ‘pay-to-crawl’ systems
The organization offered support for this idea of an AI marketplace, and suggested several guiding principles.
Lightspeed raises record $9B in fresh capital
The massive fund haul will allow the Silicon Valley firm to continue to invest in cash hungry AI startups.
Merriam-Webster names ‘slop’ the word of the year
AI-generated content has dominated the internet over the past year, and America’s dictionary took note.
Google’s ‘dark web report’ feature will no longer be available starting in February
Google has revealed that its “dark web report” feature will be discontinued starting February 16, 2026. Launched initially about a year and a half ago, this tool aimed to help users monitor their personal information on the dark web For some users, the dark web report seemed like a valuable tool, scanning various data breach […]