Google’s $10 Million Spirit Data Deal Delayed Over Employee Privacy Risk
A U.S. bankruptcy court delayed approval of Google’s proposed $10 million purchase of Spirit Airlines’ internal
Tecno Pova 8 Pro 5G Debuts in India at ₹49,999, Sales Start August 21
NEW DELHI, August 18, 2026, 16:02 IST — Tecno, a smartphone brand under Shenzhen Transsion Holdings, priced the new Pova 8 Pro 5G at ₹49,999 for India. The phone goes on sale
ChatGPT for Teens Defaults Under-18 Users to Safer Mode
OpenAI launched ChatGPT for Teens on Tuesday for users aged 13 to 17. The service automatically applies tighter safeguards when an account declares, or appears, to belong to a minor.
Nvidia Backs OpenAI’s Ohio AI Campus With Up to $105 Billion Guarantee
PIKETON, Ohio, August 18, 2026, 01:44 EDT — Nvidia agreed to provide up to $105 billion in guarantees supporting OpenAI’s 20-year lease at an Ohio AI campus, Reuters reported. OpenAI separately confirmed Nvidia credit support for the project’s initial 4.25 IT-gigawatts.
Higgsfield pulls in $400 million, puts valuation at $5.4 billion on business deals
Higgsfield pulled in $400 million in a Series B round, sending its valuation up to $5.4 billion. That’s about four times higher than where it was in January. DST Capital led the investment.
Xiaomi Smartphone Margins Slide to 8.5% as Memory Costs Jump
Xiaomi Corporation saw smartphone margins take a hit Tuesday, with rising memory costs weighing on cheaper models. Gains from its electric vehicle business haven't caught up to offset the squeeze in the wider group's earnings.
Wispr Raises $280 Million, Says Canto Cuts Noisy-Speech Errors to 5%–10%
Wispr has raised $280 million in a Series B led by Menlo Ventures. The private financing values the voice-software maker at $2 billion. Wispr also previewed Canto, its first proprietary speech model.
Anthropic Revenue Run Rate Tops $65 Billion, Raising the IPO Bar
SAN FRANCISCO, August 17, 2026, 19:53 PDT — Anthropic’s annual revenue run rate topped $65 billion by the end of July, a person familiar with the matter said. That was more than 38% above the $47 billion pace the company disclosed in May.
Honor Robot Phone Reaches China at 9,999 Yuan With a Built-In 4-DoF Gimbal
Honor's Robot Phone reaches its scheduled China sale date on Tuesday. The device starts at 9,999 yuan and puts a moving camera inside a flagship phone. That turns stabilization hardware into the product, not an accessory.
Reddit Rolls Out ‘Play’ Posts Test to iOS and Android as Video Grows
Reddit is running small tests that let some posts become audio or video on mobile. In the iOS and Android apps, users can now pick to either read or play certain posts.
Anthropic Revenue Run Rate Tops $65 Billion, Raising the IPO Bar
SAN FRANCISCO, August 17, 2026, 19:53 PDT — Anthropic’s annual revenue run rate topped $65 billion by the end of July, a person familiar with the matter said. That was more than 38% above the $47 billion pace the company disclosed in May.
Honor Robot Phone Reaches China at 9,999 Yuan With a Built-In 4-DoF Gimbal
Honor's Robot Phone reaches its scheduled China sale date on Tuesday. The device starts at 9,999 yuan and puts a moving camera inside a flagship phone. That turns stabilization hardware into the product, not an accessory.
Reddit Rolls Out ‘Play’ Posts Test to iOS and Android as Video Grows
Reddit is running small tests that let some posts become audio or video on mobile. In the iOS and Android apps, users can now pick to either read or play certain posts.
Spotify Playlist Notes Roll Out on iOS and Android in 100-Plus Markets
Spotify Technology is rolling out Playlist Notes, letting listeners attach context to songs, podcast episodes and audiobooks inside playlists. The mobile feature reaches more than 100 markets on iOS and Android.
Apple Spyware Alerts Reach 110 Countries as Help Requests Jump 30%–40%
Apple sent mercenary-spyware warnings to targeted users in 110 countries. Access Now said requests for help rose 30%–40% above its normal volume after an Apple alert wave. The nonprofit described the influx as a record.
YouTube’s August 24 View-Count Change Splits Exposure From Engagement
Alphabet’s YouTube will change its public view counter on August 24. A view will register when a video starts or a viewer enters a live broadcast. The move makes the headline number a measure of exposure, not sustained attention.
Google’s $10 Million Spirit Data Deal Delayed Over Employee Privacy Risk
A U.S. bankruptcy court delayed approval of Google’s proposed $10 million purchase of Spirit Airlines’ internal data. The September 9 hearing will follow a union challenge over employee privacy.
Tecno Pova 8 Pro 5G Debuts in India at ₹49,999, Sales Start August 21
NEW DELHI, August 18, 2026, 16:02 IST — Tecno, a smartphone brand under Shenzhen Transsion Holdings, priced the new Pova 8 Pro 5G at ₹49,999 for India. The phone goes on sale August 21 on Flipkart and in retail shops.
Cerebras CS-4 Packs Six Times CS-3 Compute Into a New AI Rack
SAN FRANCISCO, August 18, 2026, 20:13 PDT — Cerebras Systems unveiled the CS-4, a three-wafer AI rack delivering 750 sparse-FP16 petaflops. First shipments are scheduled this quarter.
Apple Rolls Out 5% Commission for EU Apps Sold Outside App Store, Drops Per-Install Tech Fee
STOCKHOLM, August 19, 2026, 02:11 CEST — Apple is dropping its EU per-install tech fee and moving to a 5% commission on digital sales from apps distributed outside the App Store. The changes take effect October 1 and will apply to all EU developers with one set of terms.
Samsung Wallet Adds Volkswagen ID. Digital Keys, but Older EVs Miss Out
SEOUL, August 19, 2026, 06:09 KST — Samsung Electronics began adding Volkswagen ID. electric-vehicle keys to Samsung Wallet across Europe. The feature can unlock, start and share access to seven named ID. models without a physical key.
Fairphone Gen 6+ makes U.S. debut at $649.99, focuses on repairability
AMSTERDAM, August 18, 2026, 20:12 CEST — Fairphone is launching its first phone for the U.S. consumer market, selling the unlocked Gen. 6+ for $649.99. The company is pushing the device on the ability to swap out 12 parts, instead of hardware specs. The phone was listed as out of stock and marked “coming soon” on Fairphone’s official U.S. store Tuesday.
ChatGPT for Teens Defaults Under-18 Users to Safer Mode
OpenAI launched ChatGPT for Teens on Tuesday for users aged 13 to 17. The service automatically applies tighter safeguards when an account declares, or appears, to belong to a minor.
Nvidia Backs OpenAI’s Ohio AI Campus With Up to $105 Billion Guarantee
PIKETON, Ohio, August 18, 2026, 01:44 EDT — Nvidia agreed to provide up to $105 billion in guarantees supporting OpenAI’s 20-year lease at an Ohio AI campus, Reuters reported. OpenAI separately confirmed Nvidia credit support for the project’s initial 4.25 IT-gigawatts.
Higgsfield pulls in $400 million, puts valuation at $5.4 billion on business deals
Higgsfield pulled in $400 million in a Series B round, sending its valuation up to $5.4 billion. That’s about four times higher than where it was in January. DST Capital led the investment.
Xiaomi Smartphone Margins Slide to 8.5% as Memory Costs Jump
Xiaomi Corporation saw smartphone margins take a hit Tuesday, with rising memory costs weighing on cheaper models. Gains from its electric vehicle business haven't caught up to offset the squeeze in the wider group's earnings.
Wispr Raises $280 Million, Says Canto Cuts Noisy-Speech Errors to 5%–10%
Wispr has raised $280 million in a Series B led by Menlo Ventures. The private financing values the voice-software maker at $2 billion. Wispr also previewed Canto, its first proprietary speech model.
Anthropic Revenue Run Rate Tops $65 Billion, Raising the IPO Bar
SAN FRANCISCO, August 17, 2026, 19:53 PDT — Anthropic’s annual revenue run rate topped $65 billion by the end of July, a person familiar with the matter said. That was more than 38% above the $47 billion pace the company disclosed in May.
Honor Robot Phone Reaches China at 9,999 Yuan With a Built-In 4-DoF Gimbal
Honor's Robot Phone reaches its scheduled China sale date on Tuesday. The device starts at 9,999 yuan and puts a moving camera inside a flagship phone. That turns stabilization hardware into the product, not an accessory.
Reddit Rolls Out ‘Play’ Posts Test to iOS and Android as Video Grows
Reddit is running small tests that let some posts become audio or video on mobile. In the iOS and Android apps, users can now pick to either read or play certain posts.
Spotify Playlist Notes Roll Out on iOS and Android in 100-Plus Markets
Spotify Technology is rolling out Playlist Notes, letting listeners attach context to songs, podcast episodes and audiobooks inside playlists. The mobile feature reaches more than 100 markets on iOS and Android.
Apple Spyware Alerts Reach 110 Countries as Help Requests Jump 30%–40%
Apple sent mercenary-spyware warnings to targeted users in 110 countries. Access Now said requests for help rose 30%–40% above its normal volume after an Apple alert wave. The nonprofit described the influx as a record.
YouTube’s August 24 View-Count Change Splits Exposure From Engagement
Alphabet’s YouTube will change its public view counter on August 24. A view will register when a video starts or a viewer enters a live broadcast. The move makes the headline number a measure of exposure, not sustained attention.
Groq grabs $350M at $3.5B valuation for AI cloud
Groq’s new financing shifts it from an upstart chipmaker to a cloud operator with large capital needs. The company now has to go beyond showing LPU speed and start putting dependable compute into data centers.
Atlassian AI policy now active; Jira, Confluence admins get new controls
Atlassian Corporation rolled out new customer-data contribution settings starting Monday. The update lets eligible metadata and content from user activity help boost products and AI features for other customers.
Uber, Zipline eye 1 million daily drone deliveries
Uber Technologies and Zipline said Monday they'll roll out drone delivery for Uber Eats in Dallas and Houston by late 2026. The companies set a big goal: hit one million autonomous deliveries a day before 2030.