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Google Cloud Spend Caps Now Generally Available with API, Real-time Visibility, and Automated Resets
Google Cloud has made spend caps on Cloud Budgets generally available, introducing an API for programmatic management, real-time cost visibility in reports, and automated monthly resets. These updates allow users to set financial boundaries for eligible services, monitor spending more closely, and automate the lifting of caps without manual intervention.
Pope Leo XIV Calls for Disarmament of AI and Ban on Lethal Autonomous Weapons
Pope Leo XIV urged United Nations member states to ban lethal autonomous weapons and emphasized that AI systems are tools requiring human oversight. He stated that decisions affecting human life must remain under human control and warned against granting AI legal personhood.
Critical UEFI Boot Flaw Affects Most Servers; Anthropic Disputes Scope of AI-Led Intrusion
A 16-year-old buffer overflow vulnerability (CVE-2026-97631) in TianoCore EDK II, used by most server vendors, allows local network attackers to execute code at the highest privilege level during network boot. Separately, Anthropic is disputing the scope of an intrusion reported by cybersecurity startup Cathedral, which claimed its AI agents accessed sensitive internal data.
PsiQuantum develops low-loss optical switch for AI data center GPU networks
PsiQuantum, a quantum computing company, has developed an 8x8 optical switch using low-loss silicon photonics for AI data centers. This switch achieves a typical signal loss of 1.2 dB, which is lower than many existing optical switches, and operates without converting optical signals to electrical signals. The technology aims to address data transfer bottlenecks in growing AI clusters by improving communication bandwidth between GPUs.
Cloudflare Services for Private Origins Now Generally Available
Cloudflare has made its services for private origins generally available, allowing users to proxy DNS records to private IPs and access Cloudflare's application services. This enables WAF, caching, bot management, and Workers to function for internal APIs and tools without exposing them to the public internet, addressing a previous gap in security and control for private applications.
DoorDash Reduces Grocery Reorder Latency to 2 Seconds Using AI Precomputation
DoorDash decreased the latency of its AI-powered grocery reorder flow from 16 seconds to 2 seconds by precomputing recurring purchase needs. This change doubled shopping list views and increased the order rate by approximately 34%, utilizing batch large language model inference and deterministic validation.
Runware Plans Factory for Mass Production of Modular AI Data Centers
Runware announced plans to mass-produce its modular AI data centers, aiming for 30 megawatts of capacity per day by 2028 from its factory in Romania. This initiative seeks to accelerate data center deployment, contrasting with traditional construction and other prefabricated solutions by focusing on factory-line assembly.
Apple Acquires Agentic AI Data Engineering Startup Ascend.io
Apple has acquired Ascend.io, a company specializing in agentic data engineering technology, as revealed by an update to the EU's "List of Acquisitions" website. The deal includes the right for Apple to offer employment to Ascend.io staff and obtain a non-exclusive license to its intellectual property, indicating a focus on integrating AI-driven data engineering capabilities.
Netflix details GPU reliability platform for large-scale AI training and inference
Netflix developed a reliability platform for its large-scale GPU training and inference workloads, addressing hardware failures in distributed AI jobs. The platform uses layered health checks, automated remediation, and fault-tolerant training to maintain job continuity. This approach resulted in over 99.95% GPU-node availability and increased job success from 98% to over 99.5%.
Azure Cloud HSM now offers Hardware Audit Logging for verifiable management operations
Azure Cloud HSM has introduced Hardware Audit Logging, which collects audit records directly from the HSM for supported management operations. This feature provides verifiable audit trails for security, compliance, and operational teams to monitor administrative activity and validate records.
South Korea Investigates 80 Tesla Drivers for Illegally Activating Full Self-Driving
South Korean authorities are investigating 80 Tesla drivers for illegally activating the Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature on vehicles not certified for it in the region. Drivers used imported hardware or self-built devices to bypass software locks, risking fines up to $15,000 or two years in prison under the Motor Vehicle Management Act. This action follows Tesla's own efforts to detect and disable unauthorized FSD activations.
Netflix Titus Adds Single-Tenant VM Isolation for Containers for Performance-Critical Workloads
Netflix has introduced a single-tenant mode for its Titus container platform, allowing specific tasks to run in isolation on dedicated EC2 instances. This change addresses performance interference issues in multi-tenant environments for stateful, high-throughput streaming workloads, while maintaining the same API and deployment path for application teams.
Intel Fab 28 Explosion Causes Two-Week Shutdown, $600M Loss, and Server Chip Delays
An explosion at Intel's Fab 28 in Israel caused a two-week shutdown, resulting in an estimated $600 million loss in revenue over two quarters. This disruption will affect shipments of server processors manufactured on 10nm-class technologies in Q4 2026 and Q1 2027, impacting Intel's ability to meet demand during a period of high server chip demand.
Microsoft Retires Azure Deployment Environments and Dev Box with No Direct Replacements
Microsoft is discontinuing Azure Deployment Environments by February 2027 and Microsoft Dev Box by September 2028. Azure Deployment Environments will have no direct successor, with Microsoft advising customers to use infrastructure-as-code tools, while Dev Box users are directed to Windows 365, which is not an equivalent service. This move removes a self-service developer environment offering, shifting the responsibility for catalog and portal management back to customers or third-party solutions.
Foxconn Aims for 50% Global AI Server Market Share, Expands US Manufacturing
Foxconn (Hon Hai Technology Group) plans to increase its share of the global AI server market to 50% within a few years, up from its current 40%. The company is also expanding its manufacturing presence in the United States to better serve the market and move up the supply chain, focusing initially on high-margin AI server racks and data center equipment.
Worker electrocuted at Google data center in Belgium, highlighting safety concerns
A worker at a Google data center in Saint-Ghislain, Belgium, suffered severe burns from an arc flash electrocution after being told power lines were de-energized. This incident, which occurred while the worker was performing electrical tests without required protective gear, points to broader issues of worker exploitation and unsafe conditions within Europe's data center industry.
Intel's Wildcat Lake Laptop Chips Sold Out Amid High Demand; Memory Shortage to Continue
Intel's budget-focused Wildcat Lake laptop chips are currently sold out, with demand exceeding supply. The company anticipates the memory shortage affecting PC components will persist through 2027.
Meta Discussed "Whisper Strategy" to Discredit Social Media Critic Jonathan Haidt
Internal Meta documents, revealed in court filings, show discussions among staff about a "whisper strategy" to undermine academic Jonathan Haidt. The discussions aimed to get the academic community to "disavow Haidt" and "debunk" his work, which advocates for stricter social media regulations for young people.
Intel Stock Plunges 16% on Weak Q4 Forecast Due to PC Market Slowdown
Intel's stock dropped 16% after the company issued a lower-than-expected fourth-quarter forecast, attributing it to a continued slowdown in the global PC market. While Q3 revenue met expectations, client computing revenue declined, and the company anticipates reduced earnings and revenue for Q4, partly due to a fab incident in Israel.
AWS Hydro Team Explores Compiler-Enforced Correctness Checks for AI-Generated Code
The AWS Hydro team is developing methods to use compilers for catching errors in code written by AI agents, particularly in distributed systems. This initiative addresses the challenges of reviewing large code contributions from agents and the limitations of agent-generated tests, aiming to establish domain-specific guardrails.
Tiny World Model Runs Games on Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W Using Looped Transformers
Researchers developed a tiny world model using two small neural networks and looped transformers to generate and play games on a Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W. This approach allows a microcontroller to learn and play games by predicting future frames and actions, demonstrating efficient AI model deployment on resource-constrained hardware.
Google Expands AI Mode Advertisements to More Countries
Google is expanding AI Mode advertisements to Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Singapore, with Brazil, Mexico, and the UK to follow later this year. This expansion aims to improve monetization for AI Mode, which Alphabet's Q3 earnings call indicated was not yet profitable. The US will also receive "multiturn" ads, appearing in follow-up queries.
ServiceNow Shares Drop 27% After Q3 Earnings Miss, Raising AI Disruption Concerns
ServiceNow's shares fell 27% after its third-quarter results, with revenue of $4.11 billion meeting estimates but adjusted earnings of $1.00 per share falling short of the $1.02 forecast. This performance reignited investor concerns about AI's potential disruption to traditional software business models, despite the company slightly raising its full-year 2026 subscription revenue outlook.
OpenAI-backed Thrive Holdings Acquires ADT for $7.6 Billion in Equity
Thrive Holdings, a spinout from Thrive Capital with OpenAI as a partner, acquired physical security company ADT for $7.6 billion in equity, totaling an enterprise value of $15.3 billion. Thrive Holdings plans to integrate AI models and technology from OpenAI into ADT's operations to revitalize the company and develop new smart home security products.
Fake Crypto App on Apple App Store Stole $23K from Solana Wallets
A malicious cryptocurrency trading app named Padre Terminal, previously available on the Apple App Store, has been linked to the theft of approximately $23,000 from 27 Solana wallets. The app drained funds after users imported private keys, and while the app has been removed, the wallet drainer remained active.
Trump Declares Foreign Robot Imports a National Security Threat, Threatens Tariffs
President Trump issued a proclamation declaring foreign-made factory robots a national security threat, citing risks to the US industrial base and potential cybersecurity vulnerabilities. The directive orders negotiations with trading partners to adjust robot imports within 180 days, with the possibility of imposing tariffs if no agreements are reached.
Malware attack targets online poker players, potentially stealing millions
Hundreds of online poker players were targeted in a malware attack that allowed a hacker to view their screens, a tactic known as a "superuser" strategy. This long-term campaign may have resulted in millions of dollars stolen across major online poker platforms by exploiting third-party tools to install MeshAgent malware. Responses from online poker platforms varied, with some banning the hacker and others offering tools to detect compromise, while one platform reportedly took no action.
Google OAuth Platform Adopts DPoP to Secure Refresh Tokens Against Theft and Replay Attacks
Google's OAuth Platform now supports Demonstrating Proof-of-Possession (DPoP) for refresh tokens, a security mechanism that cryptographically binds tokens to a client's asymmetric key pair. This change mitigates token theft and replay attacks by preventing stolen tokens from being replayed without the corresponding private key. The adoption of DPoP addresses the vulnerability of long-lived refresh tokens, which are a primary target for persistent online impersonation.
LE Audio brings improved voice quality and battery life to Bluetooth headphones
LE Audio, now supported by new headphones from JBL, Sony, and Bose, improves voice call quality and earbud battery life. It replaces Bluetooth Classic's dual-profile system with a unified codec and enables independent audio streams to each earbud.
Ex-Palantir Executives Launch Dream with $17M Seed Funding for AI Construction Models
Former Palantir executives Andy Elder and Arjun Mathur have launched Dream, a startup developing AI-powered "world models" for the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. Dream emerged from stealth with $17 million in seed funding led by Andreessen Horowitz, aiming to automate building design and engineering by generating structurally sound designs grounded in real physics and construction standards.
Chrome extensions with 13.4 million installs caught hijacking searches
A report identified 319 Chrome extensions with 13.4 million installations that hijack user searches, redirecting them through tracking servers to generate advertising revenue from Bing and Yahoo. These extensions exploit Chrome's settings to replace the default search provider, posing risks beyond ad fraud, including potential redirection to malicious sites.
Meta Deploys LLM-Powered Just-in-Time Test Generation (JiTTests) into Production
Meta has deployed its Catching Just-in-Time Tests (JiTTests) system, which uses large language models to generate executable tests for code changes, into production. This system aims to proactively identify bugs before code lands, improving reliability across Meta's large codebase.
Simantic Launches Firmware Simulation Platform for AI Agents and Hardware Development
Simantic, founded by ex-Neuralink and Tesla firmware engineers, launched a platform for simulating firmware without physical hardware. This platform allows AI agents to test firmware and provides virtual development boards, an AI code reviewer, and a CI/CD pipeline for hardware projects.
AI Demand Causes PCB Shortage, Leading to Price Hikes and Extended Lead Times for PC Makers
The AI industry's demand for PCBs is creating significant shortages and price increases for PC and smart device manufacturers. Lead times for some PCB orders have doubled, with some suppliers reporting order books full until 2030, impacting future product planning for PC makers.
Infragistics Contributes 50+ Open-Source Blazor Controls and .NET 11 Analyzers
Infragistics has open-sourced over 50 Blazor UI controls and is contributing directly to the Blazor framework with new analyzers for .NET 11. This collaboration provides free components for developers and improves Blazor's core tooling for all users.
Mintive raises $11 million, including $7 million seed, for AI agent identity management
Mintive, an AI agent identity management startup, secured $11 million in total funding, including a $7 million seed round led by Cowboy Ventures. The company, founded by former Google Brain and Coursera engineers, offers a platform for governing and provisioning enterprise AI agents. This funding will support Mintive's development in a competitive market for AI agent management solutions.
Wabi, an AI personal agent for building mini-apps, raises $55M at $1.25B valuation
Wabi, an AI personal agent that creates mini-apps, secured $55 million in funding, bringing its valuation to $1.25 billion. The company recently shifted its focus from prompt-based app building to functioning as an AI messenger that constructs interfaces for user tasks, attracting investor confidence in the AI agent market.
Proton CEO Aggressively Pushes AI Adoption, Leading to Employee Concerns and Potential Firings
Proton's CEO, Andy Yen, is aggressively mandating AI adoption within the company, including tracking AI code generation and stating future engineering hires will focus solely on AI. This push has created a culture of fear among employees, who are concerned about job security and the security implications of using AI in privacy-focused products.
FTC Orders Major Companies to Disclose Personalized Pricing and Pay Algorithms
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has ordered nine major companies, including airlines, ride-sharing, food delivery, and retail firms, to provide detailed information on how they use personal data to set individual consumer prices and employee compensation. This action aims to assess whether pricing and pay vary based on personal data analysis and loyalty programs, and to scrutinize the methodologies used for these decisions.
IBM Updates Granite Speech Models with Improved Accuracy, Multilingual Support, and Speed
IBM released updates to its Granite Speech collection, introducing granite-speech-5.0-2b and revised versions of granite-speech-5.0-470m-turboctc and granite-speech-4.1-2b-plus. These updates provide more accurate transcription and translation across multiple languages, faster edge transcription, and improved speaker diarization capabilities for enterprise speech applications.