While API access may be the norm for the most popular language models, open models (in the broadest sense of the term) are increasingly in demand. French artificial intelligence startup Mistral, which raised a sizable seed round in June, has just released its first model, which it claims outperforms others …

After being detained upon arrival at a U.S. airport, having his phone searched, and being ordered to testify before a grand jury, only to have prosecutors backtrack and drop the investigation, a U.S. security researcher is warning of a chilling effect. After returning from a trip to Japan on September …

What is a Surface event without Panos Panay? Microsoft answered the existential question at a NYC Windows event today. After longtime division head Panay’s abrupt departure earlier this week, CEO Satya Nadella took the stage and unleashed the big guns. Hardware—specifically the Surface Laptop Go 3 and Studio 2—was the …

Elon Musk-owned X, formerly Twitter, is shutting down its Circle feature, which allowed users to share posts with a select group. The social network mimicked Instagram’s “Close Friends” feature. Users can no longer add people to their circle after October 31, according to the company. X will deprecate Circles on …

Microsoft’s restructured acquisition of Activision is being considered by the UK’s competition watchdog. In an update on its ongoing assessment today, it said the deal “makes important changes that substantially address the concerns it set out in relation to the original transaction earlier this year”. The Competition and Markets Authority …

Meta-owned Twitter rival Threads now allows account switching without logging out. The social networking app announced Thursday that users can swap accounts on its mobile apps by long pressing the bottom right profile icon. After the long press, tap “Add profile” to create a new profile. Switching between work and …

After Netflix and Disney+ launched ad-supported plans last year, Amazon announced today that Prime Video will see ads early next year. Prime members will get a $3-per-month ad-free tier. Amazon said ads will debut in early 2024 in the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Canada. Later this year, Prime Video users …

One-third of all food is wasted before it decomposes in your fridge, according to the UN. That terrible statistic is one reason leading VCs and celebrities have invested in supply-chain food loss prevention companies. Apeel coats produce, Shelf Engine predicts order volume with AI, and Misfits Market sells “ugly” produce. …

In a 10-year strategic partnership, autonomous trucking startup Waabi will provide billions of miles of driverless capacity to Uber Freight. Waabi’s test fleet will begin commercial pilots with Uber Freight shippers between Dallas and Houston this week. Waabi will eventually switch to a Driver-as-a-Service model where carriers buy trucks with …

Another EU privacy investigation is underway for OpenAI’s ChatGPT generative AI chatbot. ChatGPT and OpenAI were accused of violating the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation in Poland last month. Polish authorities made an unusual public announcement yesterday to confirm an investigation. In a press release, the Office for Personal Data …