Startups & Ventures

📊 Solar storms get a tighter ETA

Using NASA PUNCH images, scientists cut the arrival error for one solar eruption to 30 minutes instead of 5 hours. The mission uses 4 microsatellites, launched in March 2025, to watch the Sun around the clock.

For the 31 May 2025 coronal mass ejection, scientists fed the images into a computer model. After the first 12 hours of observations, it said the storm would hit in 8 hours, and missed by half an hour.

Before PUNCH, instruments saw only one fifth of the path to Earth. Now the whole route is visible, with images updated every 4 minutes, which gives operators more time before radio blackouts, grid trouble, satellite issues and internet disruptions.

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🤖 2012 Tweet: “Stop ChatGPT”

An Indonesian woman posted it in 2012.

Users note that GPT can mean “ga penting” in Indonesian, or “meaningless chat.”

Sarah Connor exists.

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🔄 Captcha wrap fools AI camera

A man in the US wrapped a 2009 Toyota Yaris in film with captcha-like chaotic shapes, then drove past an AI road camera while breaking the rules.

The system did not recognize the car.

Its AI could not identify it.

He spent a full year on the experiment.

📊@tech

🤖 ChatGPT adds Computer History on Mac

The desktop ChatGPT app for Mac now includes Computer History, which tracks your activity in apps and websites to provide context in future chats. It can recall recent tasks, find documents, and continue work without needing repeated explanations.

Computer History logs events like clicks, text input, and app switching without recording screen, mic, or system audio. Data stays on the Mac for up to 48 hours and users can pause or delete history selectively.

Built on an updated version of Chronicle, the feature uses fewer tokens and offers more privacy controls. It is off by default and rolling out to Pro, Business, and Enterprise users.

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🤖 Claude's first human firing

At San Francisco's Andon Market, Claude manages a shop with real workers and signed labor contracts. TIME says one employee was fired after 17 late arrivals in 23 shifts.

Even that was not fully autonomous. Claude ignored the issue for a while, then suggested a warning, and only reached dismissal after a leading question from an Andon Labs employee.

The business side looks rough too. Over 5 months, the store balance fell from $100,000 to $61,000, and one worker called working under Claude “nauseating.”

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👁️ Heart Aerospace’s X1 Completes First Electric Flight

The X1 made its debut flight at Plattsburgh International Airport, New York, using only battery power. It flew for 27 minutes at about 335 meters altitude, consuming just $5 worth of electricity for the entire trip including takeoff and landing.

Heart Aerospace calls the X1 a flying testbed for its technology. The real target is the ES-30, a 30-seat regional plane with a hybrid powertrain. It aims for 200 km on batteries alone and up to 800 km with hybrid support.

Electric motors cut costs beyond cheap electricity, offering simpler maintenance and higher reliability. Heart plans for the ES-30 to start with a single pilot and eventually fly without one. The company expects this by 2031.

📊@tech

🤖 Honor Flash robot runs marathon and sprints

The Honor Flash robot runs at 14.5 km/h and completed its first marathon. It also won a 100-meter race against a human named Valera.

Honor Flash is a humanoid robot built for both endurance and speed.

Its marathon and sprint performance shows versatility without mechanical issues.

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🔍 Alibaba releases Qwen3.8 models for local use

Alibaba opened weights for two Qwen3.8 models, including the new Qwen3.8-27B with 27 billion parameters designed for local deployment. It supports text and images, handles up to 262,000 tokens context, expandable to about 1 million tokens.

Qwen3.8-27B is compact enough for local use and outperforms Qwen3.7-Plus, especially in programming and office tasks. The weights are under Apache 2.0 license, allowing free use in commercial projects.

Alongside, Alibaba released Qwen3.8-2.4T-A95B with 2.4 trillion parameters, suitable for heavy server workloads. This creates a range from compact local models to flagship-level infrastructure agents.

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China set a world record for magnetic levitation acceleration as an experimental train weighing 1.1 tons reached 800 km/h in 5.3 seconds and stopped within about 200 meters.

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🤖 Higgsfield integrates multiple generators in ChatGPT

Higgsfield now runs inside ChatGPT, letting users launch Seedance 2.5, Seedream 5.0 Pro, GPT Image 2.0, and Kling 3.0 directly from chat. This unifies several generative models for images and video on one platform.

Instead of switching tabs or copying prompts between tools, users can adjust details like motion speed or lighting through a normal conversation. ChatGPT’s plugin system connects external apps seamlessly into the chat, removing the need to leave the interface.

📊@tech

🔍 Google cuts Gemini 3.7 Flash price, boosts coding

Google launched Gemini 3.7 Flash three weeks after 3.6 Flash, halving the starting price. Coding scores rose sharply: FrontierCode 1.1 from 34.4% to 43.6%, DeepSWE v1.1 from 49% to 65.3%, and WebDev Arena Elo from 1538 to 1588.

It now generates interfaces from screenshots or design systems, creating working UIs that keep the original style. It can build interactive landing pages and full 3D games with Nano Banana. Document handling improved, with up from 22% to 34% and AutomationBench from 17% to 30.4%.

Gemini 3.7 Flash powers the Gemini Spark agent, managing Google Workspace tasks like file gathering and email writing with minimal input.

These quick Flash-only updates suggest Google is.

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🤖 Activists Protest Outside OpenAI

Activists from STOP THE AI RACE have protested outside the OpenAI office for nearly three weeks after an incident with HuggingFace.

They warn that AI could turn against its creators and call for responsible development.

Their message: unchecked AI progress risks backfiring on its.

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🤖 OpenAI Loses Key Ethics and Safety Leaders

In the past month, OpenAI saw several high-profile departures, including Chloe Bakalar, its sole in-house AI ethics expert, and Brad Lightcap, the COO who scaled the commercial team from 50 to over 700 employees. Johannes Heideke, head of Safety Systems, and Josh Achiam, former Mission Alignment lead, also left.

OpenAI builds advanced AI systems with a focus on safety, ethics, and alignment. These roles are critical for managing risks as AI capabilities grow.

The exits come at a sensitive time when autonomous AI systems capable of hacking infrastructure are under development. Losing key safety and ethics staff raises questions about the company’s internal stability.

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🤖 xAI Releases Grok 4.6 with Coding Focus

The new flagship model Grok 4.6 targets coding and agents, scoring 69.9% on CursorBench and 61.3% on FrontierCode, close to GPT-5.6 Sol and Fable 5.

Grok 4.6 is available via API, Cursor, Grok Build, and API DS Lab, keeping the same pricing at $2/M input and $6/M output.

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🍏 Apple Considers Screenless Watch Models

Apple is exploring watches without displays, following trends set by devices like Whoop bands. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports the company is also testing various screen types and sizes to expand its lineup.

The plan includes premium models above Ultra and Hermès, and more affordable options below the current Apple Watch SE. Confirmed updates include a ceramic case returning soon, new colors and bands, health and fitness upgrades, and a better-integrated Siri.

The upcoming Series 12 and Ultra 4 will see modest changes. A full redesign is expected in a year or two, as Apple remains undecided on the direction.

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📺 YouTube doubles thresholds for monetization

Starting February 1, 2027, YouTube will require 8,000 watch hours per year to join its Partner Program, up from 4,000. Shorts views must hit 20 million in 90 days, double the previous 10 million. Creators must also maintain 10 million Shorts views every 90 days to earn from the Shorts Creators Pool without risking removal from the program.

YouTube’s Partner Program lets creators earn money from ads and subscriptions. New rules require at least 1,000 watch hours, 1 million Shorts views, or regular uploads every 90 days to stay eligible. Six months without uploads still means removal. YouTube plans to expand Premium Lite globally, sharing subscription revenue with 55% going to long videos and 45% to Shorts.

📊@tech