The business of tech stories our desk judged worth your time, written so anyone can follow them.
SaaStr's AI agents destroyed data the business needs to run, twice in a few weeks. Both times, an unplanned copy saved it. Your business could be next.
Read more: Two AI helpers wiped key business data, and an accidental copy saved itIntuit added fund and grant tracking for nonprofits and inventory tools for manufacturers to its accounting software, which could replace some spreadsheets.
Read more: Intuit adds AI accounting tools for nonprofits and manufacturersPayPal says it is working with Meta and others so AI assistants can pay with PayPal, while pay later volume grew 25% and the company cut over 2,000 jobs.
Read more: PayPal Preps for AI Shopping Agents as Pay Later Use Jumps 25%A former DeepMind researcher is building a startup around AI that keeps a checkable record of what it knows. So far it is only a plan on paper.
Read more: Ex-DeepMind researcher wants AI that checks its facts before answeringT-Mobile's new T-Mix plans arrive in November with monthly credits for perks like Netflix. Single lines may save money, but bigger families could pay more.
Read more: T-Mobile's new T-Mix plans start at $55 and let you pick your perksAnduril and Qualcomm are making BlueChip, a laptop designed and assembled in the US for industries that want a home-grown supply chain.
Read more: Anduril and Qualcomm Are Building Laptops Made Fully in the USThe Dutch government wants to cut 25,000 civil servant jobs with help from AI, a test of whether the technology can really shrink the state.
Read more: The Dutch government plans to cut 25,000 jobs and lean on AISince October 9, free Gemini accounts get only one model. Here is what you lose, what you keep, and who actually needs the $20 Pro plan.
Read more: Google's free Gemini now gets one basic model; Pro costs $20 a monthAdclear, a company that checks ads against advertising rules, has built a tool that works inside Claude and ChatGPT. Details are still thin.
Read more: Adclear lets Claude and ChatGPT check your ads against the rulesAmazon Business has added Value Intelligence, a report that puts savings, time saved and off-policy buying in one view. Eligible buyers should check its math first.
Read more: Amazon Business adds a tool to show what your buying really savesVisa says AI agents can now pay approved business invoices in live pilots, and new spending controls could help businesses cut fraud risk.
Read more: Visa is testing AI helpers that pay business invoices for youLumion says its AI agents answer calls and texts after hours and revive old leads. One career school reports 16 enrollments, but that is one customer's result.
Read more: Lumion's AI Agents Answer Customer Calls and Texts After HoursSalesCloser says its AI sales agent can now reply to WhatsApp leads in seconds, any hour, and pass the chat to a person when asked.
Read more: An AI assistant can now answer your WhatsApp sales messagesA data company says small errors at each step snowball, and one sales team used accurate counts to find 700 accounts it had missed.
Read more: Small data errors add up: 80% accurate steps end at 33%A COO who runs 16 AI agents says the hard part is not the technology. It is naming a human manager for each one and writing down its rules.
Read more: Treat Your AI Software Like a New Hire With a ManagerRobotics startups raised $9.9 billion in Q3, more than double last year, and the money is flowing mostly to China and the US. Here is what that signals.
Read more: Money pouring into robot startups has more than doubled in a yearAmazon and Google have invested in Anthropic, supply its computing power and sell rival AI products. That matters if you use or buy AI tools.
Read more: Anthropic's biggest backers are also its rivalsStartups raised $515.8 billion in nine months, yet many founders struggle to land their next big round. Here is what that means if you work at a young company.
Read more: Record startup funding, yet many founders hit a wall at round twoNvidia helped fund Simplismart, an Indian startup whose software aims to cut the AI chips companies need, which could eventually mean cheaper AI tools.
Read more: Nvidia backs a startup that helps firms use fewer AI chipsHyphenate raised $45 million to build AI that handles business money tasks. If you run a company, it could save time, but your financial data is the question.
Read more: Startup raises $45 million to build AI that runs a company's financesTom's Guide compared five kid phone makers and leaned toward the Waffle Go, a $169 device with no screen where parents choose who your child can call.
Read more: Five kid phones compared, and the simplest one has no screenAustralia's cyber agency says it cut one criminal off from 180,000 infected computers worldwide, a reminder that fake updates and cracked software are still common traps.
Read more: Australia's spy agency cuts a hacker off from 180,000 infected computersMeta plans to raise $95 billion by selling new shares to pay for AI, and Nvidia says it will put in $3 billion. Existing shareholders should take note.
Read more: Meta plans to raise $95 billion for AI, and Nvidia is putting in $3 billionAmazon's customer service software can now score whether a customer left happy, may quit, bought something or solved the problem alone.
Read more: Amazon's customer service software now tracks if customers were helped
