Business
Funding, strategy, enterprise adoption and the industry at large.
OpenAI valued at $1.25 trillion, as rival Anthropic nears its IPO
OpenAI is now valued at $1.25 trillion in a new round of funding that has raised another $11 billion, according to Bloomberg. That would make it one of the world's most valuable companies, not long after raising $122 billion from investors in March at a valuation of $852 billion. Echoing FT and Wall Street Journal reports from last week, Bloomberg says OpenAI is still pursuing additional investments that could increase the amount to $20 billion, and that it had initially hoped to raise as much as $30 billion at a higher valuation of $1.4 trillion. That was before tech stocks dropped, and the results of the midterms showed how much public o … Read the full story at The Verge.
Meta’s Muse AI can create custom ‘spaces’ for the version of the app you need right now
Meta will now allow you to build customized, app-like experiences within Muse. The new feature, called "spaces," allows its AI assistant to build things like a shopping hub, school dashboard, music tracker, trivia game, and more, which you can interact with directly in the Muse app. Meta says you can create a new space by describing it. If you connect an outside app to Muse - like Gmail, Google Calendar, OpenTable, Notion, and others Muse works with - the AI assistant will continuously pull information from them, allowing it to update pricing, dates, and other information in your space in the background. You can also interact with elements … Read the full story at The Verge.
BusinessChina reportedly recruited AI exec to spy on Jensen Huang
China's intelligence agency recruited Megaspeed executive Alice Huang to spy on Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, according to The New York Times. The Ministry of State Security (MSS) enlisted her to glean information about American AI chips and "potentially influence the company to push for its most advanced chips to be made available to China." Megaspeed is a customer of Nvidia's, and Alice Huang also has "relationships with executives at the highest levels of the A.I. chip industry," including leaders at Gigabyte, the NYT says. Last week, the NYT reported that Jensen Huang was seen as the target of a "Chinese spy plot" and shared details about Al … Read the full story at The Verge.
BusinessAll the latest updates on AI data centers
Massive new data centers are the physical foundation for tech companies’ hopes and dreams for AI. But the rush to expand warehouses full of energy-hungry servers has also kicked up fights across the world over their impact on power grids, utility bills, nearby communities, and the environment. Data centers were a major bipartisan issue ahead of the 2026 midterms, and voters largely opposed data center expansion at the polls. Tech giants like OpenAI and Amazon are promising to work more closely with local communities and cover their data center energy costs. But following the election, Democratic leaders are calling for further data center restrictions and slowdowns that the AI companies will have to grapple with. From audacious plans about data centers into space, heated local battles over buildouts, and potential environmental impacts, here’s The Verge’s news, coverage, and reporting surrounding data centers and the companies that are building them. Lame-duck Congress might actually do something: speed up energy projects “We are a data center first company,” AMD CEO Lisa Su says. OpenAI is stepping back from NDAs for data center projects This week in the big AI data center buildout. Data centers lost the midterms Maine Republican Susan Collins concedes Senate seat in a tech-fueled race. Democrat projected to win Ohio seat that Republicans warned could spell trouble for data centers. Data center-dense Texas turns blue. OpenAI is quietly renaming data centers ‘compute campuses’ OpenAI pitches data center power plants as a way to protect nearby areas Could data center backlash flip Florida? Prop 45 in California could be hiding a loophole for data centers Maine’s data center revolt will decide who controls the Senate Data centers could send US climate pollution skyrocketing AI has come for Arizona’s water This week in the big AI data center buildout. Voters in Texas agree: They hate data centers Highway robbers are targeting trucks carrying data center components. Data center backlash is uniting America Anthropic is burning gas to feed the AI boom It’s a good time to sell gray paint. Data centers could erase decades of air quality gains This week in the big AI data center buildout. Trump says paying communities a “dividend” could make data centers more popular. Texas is still permitting data centers despite a supposed statewide moratorium. The fossil fuel comeback is here Microsoft abandons the UK’s largest data center project. Amazon is funding a new nuclea
BusinessClaude’s new Personal Finance tool aims to help analyze your spending – read-only, of course
Dragon Claws / iStock / Getty Images Plus ZDNET s key takeaways You can share bank information with Claude via Plaid. Anthropic won t use financial conversations to train models.
BusinessAmazon will let you text Alexa your shopping list
Amazon is adding a new feature to Alexa for Shopping that allows customers to purchase items by texting the AI shopping assistant. Users can describe the products they're looking to buy and/or provide a photograph of the item, and Alexa for Shopping will search for matching results in Amazon listings, text back with recommendations, and order the item on the users' behalf. This launch builds on the existing Alexa for Shopping experience that launched in May, allowing users to place orders during moments where texting is more convenient than using Amazon's app or website. The contact will appear in your phone as "Amazon Alexa," and can be us … Read the full story at The Verge.
BusinessOpenAI is stepping back from NDAs for data center projects
Following this week's midterms where voters resoundingly voiced their opposition to data center expansion, OpenAI today announced new commitments to communities where it is working on data center projects, including that it won't use non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with public officials. Many data center projects have come under scrutiny for relying on NDAs to hide discussions between developers and local officials. However, OpenAI says it is now allowing "only narrow protections covering legitimate security information, trade secrets, or proprietary or competitively sensitive information." In October, Amazon announced it would no longer u … Read the full story at The Verge.
BusinessAndroid is getting my favorite iOS tracking feature – what to expect
Jason Howell/ZDNET ZDNET s key takeaways Notify when left behind appears in Google s Find Hub. It notifies you when registered devices are left at an unsaved location.