A new social network has been quietly blowing up with Gen Z and younger, and it’s not from Meta. San Francisco-based Airbuds offers a mobile, social app that lets people express themselves through their music. Users can share what they’re streaming with friends through a smartphone widget that works with a range of streaming services….

Nvidia just got shut out of the Chinese market — this time by the Chinese government instead of the US.   China’s internet regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China, banned domestic tech companies from buying Nvidia AI chips on Wednesday, as first reported by the Financial Times.   The agency also told tech companies including ByteDance and Alibaba to stop testing and…

The founders who previously sold their livestreaming video startup Periscope to Twitter are back with a new startup — and no surprise, it’s an AI-focused company this time around. On Wednesday, former Twitter head of product Kayvon Beykpour announced the launch of Macroscope, an AI system aimed at developers and product leaders that summarizes updates…

AI chip startup Groq confirmed Wednesday that it raised a fresh $750 million in funding at a post-money valuation of $6.9 billion.   This topped the rumored numbers when word leaked in July that Groq was raising. At that time, reports suggested that the raise would be about $600 million, at near a $6 billion…

Google’s Nano Banana image-generation model, officially known as Gemini 2.5 Flash Image, has fueled global momentum for the Gemini app since launching last month. But in India, it has taken on a creative life of its own, with retro portraits and local trends going viral — even as privacy and safety concerns begin to emerge….

At Meta Connect 2025 on Wednesday, the company unveiled its new Oakley Meta Vanguard smart glasses that are geared toward runners, cyclists, and other athletes. The glasses retail for $499 and are launching on October 21. Meta Connect is the social networking giant’s biggest conference of the year, where it unveils smart glasses and VR…

Although today’s Meta Connect developer conference was largely about new smart glasses, the social networking company did announce a handful of metaverse updates during Wednesday’s keynote. Of these, one of the largest was the introduction of Hyperscape, first demoed at last year’s event, which allows developers and creators to build more photorealistic spaces in virtual…

Meta on Wednesday unveiled a new pair of Ray-Ban branded smart glasses with a built-in display for apps, alerts, and directions on the right lens. The smart glasses are controlled by a wristband that picks up on subtle hand gestures, called Meta Neural Band, the same one it unveiled at last year’s Connect as part…

Ticket reseller StubHub went public on Wednesday. Although StubHub’s shares closed 6% below their IPO price of $23.50, valuing the company at over $7 billion, the public debut itself is a testament to the co-founder’s decades-long perseverance. StubHub CEO Eric Baker co-founded the company with Jeff Fluhr in 2000 while they were attending the Stanford…

On Wednesday, AI security firm Irregular announced $80 million in new funding in a round led by Sequoia Capital and Redpoint Ventures, with participation from Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport. A source close to the deal said the round valued Irregular at $450 million. “Our view is that soon, a lot of economic activity is going…