microsoft Microsoft AI Replaces Human Instructors for Driver Tests in India Microsoft's HAMS project uses smartphone cameras and sensors to automatically grade driver's license tests in Dehradun, India, eliminating the need for a human instructor in the car.
stampli Stampli Secures $25 Million to Expand AI-Powered Invoice Management Mountain View-based Stampli raises a $25 million Series B round to grow its collaborative, AI-driven invoice management platform. The software connects departments to streamline the procure-to-pay process without forcing companies to change their payment providers.
tines Dublin Cybersecurity Startup Tines Raises $4.1 Million to Automate Security Tasks Tines, a startup that automates repetitive manual tasks for cybersecurity analysts, secures $4.1 million in Series A funding led by Blossom Capital. The platform uses six simple software agents to build complex automated security workflows.
atlassian Atlassian Acquires Popular Jira Automation Tool Code Barrel Atlassian buys Code Barrel, the startup behind the widely used Automation for Jira plugin, to help users eliminate mundane tasks. The acquisition brings the original Jira engineers back to the company.
google ads Google Broadens Smart Bidding Exploration With New Promotion Mode Google introduces a new Promotion Mode feature while expanding its Smart Bidding Exploration capabilities for advertisers. The updates give marketers more control over automated bidding strategies during critical sales periods.
appzen AppZen Raises $50M at $500M Valuation for AI Finance Tools AppZen secures $50 million in Series C funding to expand its AI-powered finance automation platform. The startup now serves 1,500 enterprise customers, including Amazon and Nvidia, with its automated expense auditing technology.
artificial intelligence How Big Tech Could Use AI Feedback Loops to Build Unbreakable Monopolies Thomas Ramge's book explores how the feedback data essential for training artificial intelligence could allow major tech companies to stifle competition and unfairly dominate the market.
dasha ai Dasha AI Raises $2M to Automate Repetitive Phone Tasks Dasha AI emerges from stealth with a $2 million seed round to build highly realistic, human-like voice AI for business automation. The startup targets the disruption of millions of global call center jobs by replacing robotic voices with natural conversational flows.
google Google Enhances Smart Bidding with New Exploration and Promotion Features Google expands its Smart Bidding toolkit by broadening Exploration capabilities and introducing a dedicated Promotion Mode for advertisers.
amazon Amazon Builds Scout Delivery Robots Entirely In-House for Sidewalk Deliveries Amazon's new Scout sidewalk robots currently navigate Washington State neighborhoods with human assistants. The company designs and builds the entire robot in-house to maintain strict control over the technology.
amazon Amazon Tests Scout Robots for Last-Mile Package Delivery Amazon is currently field-testing a small fleet of autonomous delivery robots called Scout in Washington state. Despite growing public interest, experts note that robotic delivery remains too technologically immature to replace human drivers anytime soon.
boston dynamics Boston Dynamics Highlights Box-Moving Handle Robot Ahead of SpotMini Launch Boston Dynamics reveals a purpose-built box-moving robot called Handle and announces its first-ever acquisition as it pushes toward commercial production of the SpotMini quadruped.
fanuc Fanuc Uses AI to Simplify Robot Training for Factory Automation Fanuc introduces a new AI tool that allows operators to train industrial robots using simple screen taps instead of complex programming. This simplified approach reduces training time by hours and makes automation accessible to more industries.
artificial intelligence Why Startups Are Bypassing Licensing to Build Full-Stack AI Companies Rather than selling AI technology to reluctant legacy businesses, startups are finding greater success by building complete, end-to-end services that bypass traditional industry players entirely.
amazon Amazon Acquires Canvas Technology to Boost Warehouse Automation Amazon purchases autonomous warehouse robotics startup Canvas Technology to enhance its fulfillment center operations. The deal adds self-driving cart technology to Amazon's growing robotics portfolio.