The business of tech stories our desk judged worth your time, written so anyone can follow them.
A Gartner survey of 2,002 tech leaders finds most firms are not seeing big payoffs from AI, yet most CEOs plan to spend more on technology anyway.
Read more: Only 13 percent of companies see big returns from their AI spendingTractian, an Atlanta startup that uses sensors to predict when factory machines will fail, raised $130 million and is now valued at $1.4 billion.
Read more: Tractian, which warns factories before machines break, is now worth $1.4 billionUber is moving all 30,000 of its employees onto OpenAI's ChatGPT Work after a 1,000-person test. Here is what the company says it learned and what it has not shared.
Read more: Uber gives all 30,000 employees an AI assistant for workeBay reportedly plans to lay off about 1,000 workers, roughly 9% of its staff, and sellers may notice changes in support and tools.
Read more: eBay plans to cut about 1,000 jobs, its second layoff this yearInvestors are betting on a handful of AI giants while a profitable startup growing 600% a year can't get meetings. Here is what that means for founders and savers.
Read more: Money in tech is piling into a few big names, and good firms get ignoredKevin Weil, who ran science efforts at OpenAI, has started Warp Sciences with $215 million to use AI to speed up a key step in making new medicines.
Read more: Former OpenAI science chief launches drug startup with $215 millionSpotify is asking Family Plan members to scan a QR code to prove they share a home with the plan manager. Miss the seven-day window and you face a 12-month lockout.
Read more: Spotify now asks Family Plan members to prove they live with youVictoria, Australia, will ban smart glasses in all schools and camps from 2027. U.S. parents should check their own school's rules before buying a pair.
Read more: Australian state bans smart glasses in all schools from 2027Fusion company Helion has $225 million to build its own power chips, which it says could someday double a plant's output. The payoff is years away.
Read more: Fusion startup Helion gets $225 million to build its own power chipsA recruiting team says it cut chat noise by sending only the few hiring updates that need action to chat, and keeping the official record in one system.
Read more: How one recruiting team stopped drowning its chat in hiring alertsA Treasury agency flagged $270 million in suspicious student aid payments, and your stolen identity could be used to enroll a fake student.
Read more: Treasury flags $270 million in suspicious student aid paymentsApple's iOS 27.2 update, due next week, changes how the Music app looks. The red is gone from the icon, tabs and widgets, so expect a different look.
Read more: Apple Music loses its red look in the iOS 27.2 update next weekCalifornia, New York and Illinois now have laws for the most powerful AI. A new analysis says gaps remain, including harm to mental health.
Read more: Three states now police the most powerful AI, but gaps remainStartup Nirva raised $25 million for a wearable AI companion that offers relationship advice. Anything that listens to you raises privacy questions worth asking first.
Read more: Nirva raises $25 million for a wearable AI that gives life adviceA HowStuffWorks explainer looks at who owns Anthropic, the maker of Claude, and why that matters if you rely on the AI tool.
Read more: Anthropic makes Claude AI. Here is who owns and controls itWalmart says AI shopping agents arrive next month. You can approve each purchase or set a spending limit, and no membership is needed.
Read more: Walmart will let AI shop for you, with spending limits you setMeta's new business terms widen its rights over your content and linked websites, and simply using its products for business counts as agreeing.
Read more: Meta's new business terms start Oct. 30 and you accept by stayingStartup Nirva raised $25 million for a $249 pendant that listens all day but is built to capture only the wearer's voice. Here is what to know about the privacy.
Read more: Nirva's $249 jewelry pendant listens only to your voice all dayFigure, a lender that offers home-equity credit lines for business use, says it funded over $50 million in September. For owners, it is a fast option with real risk.
Read more: Figure's home-equity loans for small businesses top $50M in a monthSlingshot, a Minneapolis startup, raised $27M to help software companies sell low-cost add-on insurance at checkout without drowning in paperwork.
Read more: Startup raises $27M to make tiny checkout insurance cheaper to sellIreland's enterprise minister says the country wants a bigger share of the AI boom while still following Europe's AI rules, which affect many tools and sellers.
Read more: Ireland wants more of the AI boom while following Europe's rulesTesla says its Optimus humanoid robot is in early production, but the company admits the hands, safety, durability and AI still need work before it is useful.
Read more: Tesla starts building its humanoid robot, but admits it is not readyEnact Intelligence, a Swiss startup, raised $30 million to build robots that sense force and touch, not just sight, which could mean more careful machines at work.
Read more: Swiss startup raises $30M to give robots a sense of touchMeta will hand out a free share for every share owned in January, with more promised only if its stock price doubles, and doubles again.
Read more: Meta will give shareholders free shares if its stock doubles
