Category: Apps

On Tuesday, two AI startups tried convincing the world their AI chatbots were good enough to be an accurate, real-time source of information during a high-stakes presidential election: xAI and Perplexity. Elon Musk’s Grok failed almost instantly, offering wrong answers about races’ outcomes before the polls had even closed. On the other hand, Perplexity offered…

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on Tuesday that it will be taking action against the online cash app and neobank Dave, which it says used “misleading marketing to deceive consumers.” At issue is how Dave marketed $500 cash advances to consumers that it rarely offered, and the “Express Fee” it charged if customers wanted…

Apple has released the AI-powered version of its latest mobile operating system, iOS 18.2, to its public beta users. The update includes new features like an AI emoji generator app called Genmoji, an Image Playground AI image app, ChatGPT integration with Siri, and visual search using the iPhone 16 cameras, among other things. Previously, these…

Roomba maker iRobot is laying off 105 employees — about 16% of the company’s workforce, per an SEC filing — saying the cuts are part of an “operational restructuring plan.” The move comes after iRobot slashed roughly 350 jobs — about 31% of its workforce — earlier this year. Those cuts were made after plans…

SpaceX will conduct the sixth flight test of Starship, the largest rocket ever built, as soon as November 18, following the smooth success of the previous mission less than a month ago.  The high flight cadence is thanks, in part, to that success, which included the first-ever return of the Super Heavy booster to the…

Following Donald Trump’s election victory, thousands of bettors anticipate a potential $450 million payout from online betting sites, says Reuters. As Trump’s odds surged on so-called prediction markets near the end of the race, platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket gained attention for diverging sharply from traditional polls, which suggested a much closer race.  Talking with…

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday announced plans in the country to ban social media for children under 16, saying that “social media is doing harm to our kids, and I’m calling time on it.” The proposed legislation will enter parliament this year, taking effect a year after lawmakers ratify it, said Albanese, adding…

The co-founders of Swedish caller identification app Truecaller are stepping back from day-to-day operations, marking the end of an era for one of Sweden’s most successful consumer technology companies as it pushes toward a goal of 1 billion users. Alan Mamedi and Nami Zarringhalam, pictured above, who co-founded Truecaller in 2009, will hand over control…

Renting in Latin America is restrictive. Most landlords require three months of rent as a deposit and a guarantor that owns property in the same city to co-sign the lease. Santiago Morales, the co-founder and CEO of proptech MoradaUno, said this dynamic makes 40% of prospective renters ineligible. His company wants to get more tenants…

The startup ecosystem in the Iberian Peninsula — the region encompassing Spain and Portugal — has been on a roll the last couple of years. The value of Spanish startups surpassed €100 billion in 2023, according to Dealroom data, with venture investment of €2.2 billion across some 850 rounds. Meanwhile, Portugal has produced a slew of…