NerdNews

24 US AI startups have raised $100M or more in 2025, with companies like OpenAI, Glean, and Anysphere leading the pack. These startups are working on various AI applications, including enterprise search, AI coding, and generative AI.

OpenAI is phasing out its work with Scale AI following Meta's significant investment in the startup. This decision raises questions about Scale AI's core data labeling business and its ability to maintain neutrality with other clients.

Amazon-owned Zoox has opened its first major robotaxi production facility in Hayward, California, with plans to build 10,000 robotaxis per year. The facility will be used for engineering, software and hardware integration, assembly, storage, and testing, and will operate with a mix of human workers and robots.

The OpenAI Files is a project that aims to bring transparency and accountability to OpenAI's development of artificial general intelligence (AGI). The project highlights concerns with governance practices, leadership integrity, and organizational culture at OpenAI, and proposes a path forward for responsible governance and ethical leadership.

Google's AI Mode can have back-and-forth voice conversations, allowing users to ask complex questions and explore links from across the web. The feature uses a custom version of Gemini with advanced voice capabilities and is available in the Google app.

The Israel-linked hacker group Predatory Sparrow has carried out a series of cyberattacks on Iran's financial system, including a recent attack on the Iranian crypto exchange Nobitex, which resulted in the destruction of over $90 million in holdings. The group has also targeted Iran's Sepah bank, claiming to have destroyed all of the bank's data. The attacks are part of a larger cyberwar between Israel and Iran, with serious consequences for civilians and the financial sector.

Google's Search Live feature is now available on its app for iOS and Android in the US, allowing users to have a back-and-forth voice conversation with Search. The feature is powered by a custom version of Gemini with advanced voice capabilities and can be used to ask follow-up questions naturally. It also allows users to see a transcript of Google's responses and shift to written conversation if needed.

Two new local privilege escalation vulnerabilities (CVE-2025-6018 and CVE-2025-6019) have been discovered in Linux, allowing attackers to gain root privileges on major Linux distributions, including Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and openSUSE Leap 15. The flaws can be exploited by chaining them together, and patches are available to fix the issues.

A new MIT study used EEG to measure brain activity in college students writing essays with and without AI chatbot assistance. The results showed that using AI chatbots reduced brain activity by up to 55%, indicating lower cognitive engagement and potentially poorer fact retention. The study suggests that relying on AI may lead to shallow learning and decreased intellectual independence.

Waymo has applied for a permit to test its autonomous vehicles in New York City, aiming to bring its robotaxi service to the city. The company faces regulatory hurdles, but is advocating for changes in state law to allow for fully autonomous vehicles. Waymo has already mapped Manhattan and provides over 250,000 fully autonomous paid trips weekly in other US markets.

Waymo will start testing its autonomous cars in New York City again, with manual driving for now, aiming to bring its ride-hailing service to NYC. The company has applied for a permit to operate vehicles autonomously with a trained specialist behind the wheel.

Microsoft will update security defaults in Microsoft 365 to block access to SharePoint, OneDrive, and Office files via legacy authentication protocols, starting in July 2025. This change aims to prevent brute-force and phishing attacks by blocking outdated authentication methods, such as RPS and FPRPC protocols.

Voltron Data's accelerated SQL engine, Theseus, will support AMD's Instinct GPUs, providing an alternative to Nvidia's CUDA-based solutions. This move aims to give customers more choices in running their SQL query engines and could potentially reduce costs. The implementation is still in its early stages, but benchmarks show strong performance and scalability.

Multiplier, a startup founded by a former Stripe executive, has raised $27.5 million to fuel its AI-powered accounting roll-ups. The company aims to acquire existing professional service businesses and outfit them with its AI solution, increasing efficiency and profit margins.

Google's Veo 3 AI video generator will be integrated with YouTube Shorts later this summer, allowing creators to produce high-quality, short-form videos with stunning fidelity. Veo 3 produces video and audio from a simple text prompt and will require tweaks to fit YouTube Shorts' portrait orientation focus.

Microsoft and AMD are partnering to advance gaming silicon, delivering next-gen graphics innovation and immersive gameplay. The partnership will power upcoming Xbox hardware, including consoles and handheld devices, and will maintain compatibility with existing Xbox games. The move suggests a more unified ecosystem across Xbox platforms, with potential integrations with other PC storefronts like Steam and Epic Games Store.

Tech support scammers are using a new method to inject fake phone numbers into official websites of big companies like Apple, Microsoft, and PayPal. They buy Google ads that appear at the top of search results and append parameters to the URL, which injects the fake phone number into the webpage. This technique works on most browsers and can trick users into calling the malicious number, potentially leading to financial loss or identity theft.

A former Cloudflare executive has launched a website to archive pre-2022 human-made content, untouched by AI contamination, to preserve uniquely human media. The archive, called lowbackgroundsteel.ai, points to sources like Wikipedia dumps and public domain books, and accepts submissions.

Hackers stole at least $90 million from Nobitex, Iran's largest crypto exchange, and 'burned' the funds by sending them to inaccessible wallets. The hack was claimed by Pro-Israel hacking group Predatory Sparrow, which alleged that Nobitex was financing terrorism and evading international sanctions.

The NAACP has threatened to sue xAI over alleged pollution from its Colossus data center in Memphis, citing violations of the Clean Air Act. Thermal imaging suggests that xAI's methane gas turbines are operating without proper permits or pollution controls, posing a significant threat to the health of local residents.