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Google says UK government has not demanded an encryption backdoor for its users’ data The U.K. government is reportedly backing down from its earlier demand that Apple build a secret backdoor allowing its authorities access to customer data worldwide, following a harsh rebuke from the U.S. government. But one U.S. senator wants to know if other tech giants, like Google, have also received secret backdoor demands from the U.K.…

Nvidia AI chip challenger Groq said to be nearing new fundraising at $6B valuation AI chip startup Groq is in talks to raise a fresh $600 million at a near $6 billion valuation, sources tell Bloomberg, although the deal isn’t yet final and terms could change. Groq raised $640 million at a $2.8 billion valuation in August 2024, making this double the valuation in about a year. Groq previously…

YouTube to be part of Australia’s youth social media ban YouTube will be included in Australia’s world-first social media ban for children under 16, after the government ditched a previous exemption for the platform. The video sharing site was set to be excluded from the ban – which will limit TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X and Snapchat and is due to start in December. Under the…

Space Force bets on commercial entrants in $4B satcom contest American warfighters need jam-proof communications, and the Space Force is planning to spend hundreds of millions to ensure they have them. As part of that effort, the service established the Protected Tactical Satcom program to build out secure battlefield communications via satellites. The Space Force has already awarded contracts to defense primes Boeing and Northrop…

New Brazil development law risks Amazon deforestation A new law in Brazil could cause “significant environmental harm and human rights violations”, and represents a “rollback for decades” of protections in Brazil, including for the Amazon, a UN expert has told BBC News. Plans to speed up approvals for development projects were criticised by Astrid Puentes Riaño, a UN special rapporteur, as the…

Luma and Runway expect robotics to eventually be a big revenue driver for them AI video-generating startups Luma and Runway are looking beyond movie studios. These video-generating AI companies have their sights set on other markets for future revenue streams and have been in talks with both robotics and self-driving car companies, according to reporting from The Information. The report didn’t identify which companies Luma and Runway are in…

Google won’t say if UK secretly demanded a backdoor for user data The U.K. government is reportedly backing down from its earlier demand that Apple builds a secret backdoor allowing its authorities access to customer data worldwide, following a harsh rebuke from the U.S. government. But one U.S. senator wants to know if other tech giants, like Google, have also received secret backdoor demands from the U.K.…

Hundreds of arrests during deadly fuel-price-rise demonstrations EPA Parts of the capital, Luanda, came to a standstill on Monday Police in Angola say four people have been killed and 500 have been arrested after demonstrations in the capital, Luanda. What began as a three-day strike by taxi drivers against rising petrol prices has escalated into one of the most widespread and disruptive…

TikTok adds YouTube Music as an option to save songs playing in videos TikTok has been making it easier for users to add songs playing in video clips on the platform to their choice of music streaming platform. The short video service today added YouTube Music as an option to this list. The company first introduced this feature in the U.S. and the U.K. with support for Spotify,…

Nigeria bandits kill 38 hostages even after ransom paid Kidnappers in Nigeria have killed at least 35 people they abducted from a village in northern Zamfara state despite ransoms being paid for their release, a local official told the BBC. In recent years, criminal gangs in the region, known in the country as bandits, have taken to kidnapping people as a means to raise…

Harmonic, the Robinhood CEO’s AI math startup, launches an AI chatbot app Harmonic, an AI startup co-founded by Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, announced Monday the beta launch of an iOS and Android chatbot app where users can access its AI model, Aristotle. With this launch, the company aims to broaden access to Aristotle, which Harmonic claims to offer “hallucination-free” answers for questions involving mathematical reasoning — a…

Waymo taps Avis to manage robotaxi fleet in Dallas Waymo said it plans to launch a robotaxi service next year in Dallas, the latest city to be added to the Alphabet-owned company’s growing commercial footprint that already includes Los Angeles and San Francisco. This time around, Waymo is partnering with Avis Budget Group to manage its fleet of all-electric autonomous Jaguar I-Pace vehicles. Avis…

France and Germany lead downbeat EU response to US trade deal Leaders from Europe’s two largest economies have led a chorus of gloomy reactions to the trade deal struck between EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the agreement would “substantially damage” his nation’s finances, while French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said it was tantamount to “submission”.…

AI data analyst startup Julius nabs $10M seed round Julius AI, a startup that describes itself as an AI data analyst, announced it has raised a $10 million seed round led by Bessemer Venture Partners. Horizon VC, 8VC, Y Combinator, the AI Grant accelerator participated in the round along with several high-profile angel investors, including Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas, Vercel CEO Guillermo Rauch, and…

Gaza experiencing ‘real starvation’, Donald Trump says David Gritten BBC News, Jerusalem Reuters Tom Fletcher, UN humanitarian chief, said most of the UN’s food lorries were looted by desperately hungry Palestinians after entering Gaza on Sunday There is “real starvation” in Gaza, Donald Trump has said, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted there was no such thing. Asked if he agreed…

Flexport sells former freight unicorn Convoy’s tech two years after buying it Two years ago, logistics company Flexport bought the assets of Convoy, a former freight tech unicorn that had closed up shop. Now it’s sold that platform and delivered a “massive return on investment for Flexport.” Flexport announced the sale on Monday to DAT Freight & Analytics, but declined to disclose terms. “Over the past 18…