The business of tech stories our desk judged worth your time, written so anyone can follow them.
Amazon's CEO says AI shopping agents don't hurt its ad business, yet Amazon blocked Muse. Here is what that means if you use an AI helper to shop.
Read more: Amazon says AI agents don't hurt its ads, yet it blocked MuseDoorDash is buying Instacart, and Anthropic is set to go public, per a deal roundup. Delivery app users and sellers should watch for changes.
Read more: DoorDash buys Instacart as Anthropic prepares to go publicAmazon says pharmacy customers grew more than 60% in a year, and its app can now take you from a health question to a prescription at your door.
Read more: Amazon Now Lets You Ask a Health Question and Get the PrescriptionStarbucks says it will explore drive-thru menus that recognize returning customers and change for them. If you join in, your visits could be tied to your habits.
Read more: Starbucks plans a drive-thru menu that recognizes you and changes for youRe:Build raised $2.1 billion and Kalshi $1 billion in a week when money flowed to factories, robots and AI tools that could shape what businesses buy.
Read more: Investors put $2.1 billion into a factory startup this weekInc. looks at how companies grow without venture capital, and why owners may want to know their options before giving up a share of their business.
Read more: How some companies grow without venture capital moneyReddit says Google sent it over a million fewer visits a week in October, and its CEO blames Google's AI answers. Any business that relies on search should pay attention.
Read more: Reddit says Google's AI answers are cutting off its visitorsThe largest US grid operator plans a special March auction for new power capacity for data centers, if federal regulators approve new rules on who pays.
Read more: Biggest US power grid plans a March auction for data center electricityTyler Shultz, who exposed Theranos, says AI is hard to check from the outside, which makes it easy for a bad actor to fool investors and buyers.
Read more: Theranos whistleblower says the AI boom is easy cover for fraudA four-line prepaid plan from Cricket Wireless costs $100 a month with taxes and fees included. A mid-tier postpaid plan runs $160 to $180 before them.
Read more: Four phone lines on prepaid can cost $60 to $80 less each monthExperts warn that letting AI firms use copyrighted work in Australia could force the government to pay compensation to rights holders around the world.
Read more: Australia's AI copyright plan could cost it a huge payout, experts warnWalmart says shoppers will be able to cap what an AI assistant spends and keep card details hidden from it, while Amazon reportedly blocked Meta's Muse agent.
Read more: Walmart plans spending limits for AI shopping assistantsRunware wants to build AI data centers in a factory like cars, in hours instead of years. The plan is big, but it is still unproven.
Read more: Startup plans to build AI data centers on an assembly lineA San Francisco startup is paying people $20 an hour to walk robot dogs, and the walks help teach the machines to get around a city.
Read more: Startup Pays People $20 an Hour to Walk Robot Dogs Around San FranciscoA 77-year-old caregiver in Arizona says a $3 local ride service replaced $30 to $40 Uber trips and saves her family as much as $400 a month.
Read more: A $3 ride service cut one couple's $500 monthly Uber billSalesforce will pay $5.66 billion for Braze, far above its market price. The deal shows why investors doubt software that charges per user as AI agents spread.
Read more: Salesforce pays a 58% premium for Braze as sales software sinksRo's CEO Zach Reitano talked with Business Insider about how the health company grew from early services to GLP-1 care, and about its new AI agent.
Read more: Ro's CEO explains how the health company built its new AI agentThree AI startups watch your ticket after you buy it and ask airlines for money back when the fare falls. Here is what they charge and where the catch is.
Read more: Three startups use AI to win you refunds when airfares dropLocal Code, from the makers of Draw Things, lets Mac owners run an AI assistant on their own machine for free, keeping files off outside servers.
Read more: Free Mac app runs an AI assistant on your own computerThe US cyber agency says attackers are using a top-severity GitLab flaw that was fixed this month. Companies running their own GitLab server should update now.
Read more: Hackers are now attacking a serious flaw in GitLab softwareApple's HomePod mini 2 is on sale today for $149 in the U.S., which is $20 more than the old model cost after a June price rise.
Read more: Apple's new HomePod mini 2 speaker is in stores today at $149China's CXMT says quarterly revenue hit about $16.7 billion as AI demand lifted memory prices, which could make phones, laptops and cloud services cost more.
Read more: Chinese memory chip maker's quarterly revenue jumps more than sixfoldGitHub has launched Copilot Fusion, an AI agent tool, as agents now start about 40% of pull requests. Here is what that means for software you pay for.
Read more: GitHub launches Copilot Fusion as AI agents open 40% of code requestsApple has agreed to acquire Ascend.io, a startup whose AI agents handle data prep work, and an EU disclosure rule is how the deal came to light.
Read more: Apple buys a small AI company that automates data work
