The business of tech stories our desk judged worth your time, written so anyone can follow them.
Karta AI, a startup whose voice bots answer calls for banks and lenders, raised $3 million. Your next call to a lender may be handled by AI.
Read more: Karta AI raises $3 million for phone bots that serve bank customersVisa is reportedly close to buying Fireblocks for about $2.5 billion, a move that could make paying with digital dollars simpler for shoppers and businesses.
Read more: Visa in talks to buy crypto payments firm Fireblocks for $2.5BXona raised $250 million to build a private satellite network meant to rival GPS, which could give your maps and apps a second source of location.
Read more: Startup Xona raises $250 million to build a rival to GPSMeta's European ad revenue grew 18% in the third quarter, well below earlier in the year. The slowdown follows a new privacy option, which matters to anyone who advertises there.
Read more: Meta's European ad growth slows sharply after privacy changesAnthropic's IPO, pitched at a $2 trillion value, has slipped to November amid pushback. A guest critic says the price rests on shaky math.
Read more: Anthropic's planned $2 trillion stock debut faces doubts and a delayWired's guide says the 2024 Surface Laptop at $999 beats the 2026 model, which costs over $400 more and was never sent out for independent testing.
Read more: Wired says buy the older Surface Laptop, not the new oneTesla's CEO says its Optimus humanoid robot must learn by playing, like a toddler. Production has begun, but a useful home or office robot is still a way off.
Read more: Musk says teaching Tesla's Optimus robot is like raising a toddlerSpotify's third quarter showed steady growth and €672 million in operating profit, but revenue landed a hair under what analysts expected.
Read more: Spotify hits 306 million subscribers, but revenue just missesHugging Face released Carbon-X, an open-source AI that answers questions about DNA in plain language and runs on a lab's own computers, keeping patient data private.
Read more: Hugging Face releases free AI that lets scientists "chat with DNA"Barclays plans to cut 5,000 jobs by the end of 2026, and AI-driven savings are part of the reason. Support and software roles take the biggest hit.
Read more: Barclays to cut 5,000 jobs as AI starts to save moneyImpact Factory has released a marketing plug-in for ChatGPT and other AI assistants. Small business owners may be able to use it without buying a new app.
Read more: Impact Factory releases a marketing add-on for ChatGPT and other AI assistantsA Bernstein analysis finds only about 35% of announced AI data center capacity is likely to get built, so big announcements may promise far more than will arrive.
Read more: Most announced AI data centers may never actually get builtStripe now lets AI assistants like ChatGPT and Claude check balances, pay invoices and move money for a business, which could cut admin but raises access questions.
Read more: Stripe lets AI assistants like ChatGPT and Claude handle your business money tasksA security firm says most AI agents at its customers have not run in months, yet their logins still work and some can be started by outsiders.
Read more: Most AI agents sit unused for months but keep their accessA small open AI model can now run on a desktop machine, but cost, upkeep and staff time may outweigh the benefits for many businesses.
Read more: A small AI model can run on your desk, but it may not pay offParityCube, a Mumbai company, has launched OpenTrust, a free shared list for Indian merchants to flag and check phone numbers tied to fraud.
Read more: Indian company ParityCube launches free fraud-number registry for shopsAn Australian court says Apple must allow rival app stores and outside payments on iPhones from March 2027. Apple plans to appeal, so the date could still move.
Read more: Australia orders Apple to let iPhones use rival app storesNVIDIA says power, not chips, now holds back new AI data centers, and a group of energy companies is joining its platform to fix that.
Read more: Power Shortages Are Now the Biggest Roadblock for AI Data CentersNVIDIA's open Earth-2 weather models are being used by AXA, TotalEnergies and others for sharper local forecasts. Here is what that could mean for business and risk.
Read more: European firms use free AI weather models to forecast storms and sunTesla says hands-off driving for owners could arrive around Q2 next year, but only inside the small areas where its Robotaxi service already runs.
Read more: Tesla's self-driving may work only in conditions it handles wellGoogle CEO Sundar Pichai says AI agents now handle his daily catch-up, a sign that routine information work is being handed to software, with limits.
Read more: Google's CEO says a team of AI helpers now assists him at workDeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, raised about $15 billion, which could mean more choice and lower prices for the AI tools businesses and families use.
Read more: Chinese AI startup DeepSeek raises $15 billion to take on US rivalsGM plans to debut OnStar AI, a voice assistant that can run car functions and check for problems, in the 2027 Cadillac Lyriq. Here is what to ask first.
Read more: GM plans a talking car assistant that can run checks and tasks for youAnthropic's new Claude Duet app can shop for your business and keep working while you are away, but it asks before it pays, sends, signs or deletes.
Read more: Anthropic's Claude Duet can now buy business supplies for you
