“When is a bot a person?,” my colleague Kirsten asked after I learned that Polestar’s climate bot is more human than machine. Polestar launched its “Truth Bot” on X (formerly Twitter) ahead of COP28, the UN climate conference overseen by an oil executive. The Truth Bot replies to misleading tweets about the climate crisis … Read more
The Embracer Group has been on an intense cost-cutting drive as part of a major restructuring over the last six months, as it has canceled games, laid off workers and shut down studios. The company confirmed that in the three months to September 30, it reduced its headcount by around 900 people, some five … Read more
It’s a Macintosh! Only smaller! And made by Ayaneo! | Image: Ayaneo Ayaneo, which is mostly known for making handheld gaming consoles, just fully revealed the new Retro Mini PC AM01 after teasing it a few weeks ago. It says it plans to ship the AM01 before the end of the year — and … Read more
Walmart’s new Google TV stick has a remote with Google Assistant for voice control. | Image: Walmart Following the launch of its Onn Google TV 4K Streaming Box earlier this year, Walmart is back with a cheaper stick version for just $14.88. The Onn Google TV Full HD Streaming Device (catchy) has lower video … Read more
Meta has temporarily stopped selling the Elite Strap with Battery for the Quest 3, reportedly because of a firmware-related charging defect. The $130 accessory, which extends the standalone VR headset’s runtime by up to two hours while providing a counterweight for comfort, is currently unavailable from Meta and third-party retailers. Short of conducting a … Read more
Popular stock trading app Webull has acquired Mexican investment platform Flink, giving it an entry into the Mexico market. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Although Webull has China roots, it is based in the United States and rivals Robinhood in the country as a low-commission online trading platform that also offers … Read more
It’s a tough day for Dataminr, the New York-based big data unicorn last valued at $4.1 billion. TechCrunch has learned that the company — which AI and big data algorithms to provide predictive insights about news and other global events, is laying off about 20% of staff today, or around 150 people. It cites … Read more
Illustration by Aaron Fernandez for The Verge Leftovers often get a bad rap, but this small buffet of lingering Cyber Monday deals is just as appetizing as when the deals were fresh. Black Friday and Cyber Monday brought deep discounts across a manner of tech devices, from phones and wearables to video games and … Read more
Candex, a startup that aims to simplify procurement — specifically vendor management and payment processes — for businesses, today announced that it raised $45 million in a Series B investment led by Goldman Sachs with participation from WiL (World Innovation Lab), Altos, NFX, Craft, JP Morgan, American Express and Edenred. The tranche brings Candex’s … Read more
Amazon’s cloud computing subsidiary AWS (Amazon Web Services) has lifted the lid on a new palm-scanning identity service that allows companies to authenticate people when entering physical premises. The announcement comes as part of AWS’s annual Re:Invent conference, which is running in Las Vegas for the duration of this week. Amazon One Enterprise, as … Read more