Spain’s Xoople raises $130m to build the data infrastructure AI needs to understand Earth
Spain’s Xoople raises $130m to build the data infrastructure AI needs to understand Earth

In short: Xoople, a Madrid-based geospatial data company founded in 2019, has raised a $130 million Series B led by Nazca Capital, bringing its total funding to $225 million and pushing its valuation into unicorn territory. The round was co-invested by…

The one piece of data that could actually shed light on your job and AI

This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here. Within Silicon Valley’s orbit, an AI-fueled jobs apocalypse is spoken about as a given. The mood is so grim that a societal impacts researcher at Anthropic, responding Wednesday to a call for…

OpenAI calls for robot taxes, a public wealth fund, and a four-day week
OpenAI calls for robot taxes, a public wealth fund, and a four-day week

Sam Altman’s 13-page policy blueprint, ‘Industrial Policy for the Intelligence Age,’ proposes auto-triggering safety nets, containment playbooks for rogue AI, and direct citizen dividends from AI-driven growth. He told Axios it is a starting point, not…

IBM and Arm are partnering to stop mainframes being left out of the AI era
IBM and Arm are partnering to stop mainframes being left out of the AI era

In short: IBM and Arm announced a strategic collaboration on 2 April 2026 to enable Arm-based software to run on IBM Z and LinuxONE mainframes, the platforms that process the bulk of the world’s regulated enterprise transactions. The partnership target…

AI is changing how small online sellers decide what to make

For years Mike McClary sold the Guardian LTE Flashlight, a heavy-duty black model, online through his small outdoor brand. The product, designed for brightness and durability, became one of his most popular items ever. Even after he stopped offering it around 2017, customers kept sending him emails asking where they could buy it.  When McClary…

Salesforce gives Slackbot 30 new AI powers, and a strategy that looks a lot like Microsoft’s
Salesforce gives Slackbot 30 new AI powers, and a strategy that looks a lot like Microsoft’s

In short: Salesforce unveiled more than 30 new AI capabilities for Slackbot on 31 March 2026, the most sweeping overhaul of the platform since its $27.7 billion acquisition in 2021. The update transforms Slackbot from a conversational assistant into an…

Vibe coding is flooding Apple’s App Store, and Apple is fighting back
Vibe coding is flooding Apple’s App Store, and Apple is fighting back

In short: AI-powered “vibe coding” tools have driven an 84% jump in new app submissions to Apple’s App Store in a single quarter, according to reporting by The Information, the largest surge in a decade. The flood is straining Apple’s review infrastruc…

Microsoft calls Copilot ‘entertainment only’ while charging $30 a month for it
Microsoft calls Copilot ‘entertainment only’ while charging $30 a month for it

In short: Microsoft has spent billions building Copilot into every corner of its product lineup, pitching it as an indispensable AI co-worker. Its own Terms of Use tell a different story. A clause quietly buried in the document labels Copilot “for ente…

Anthropic cuts Claude subscribers off from OpenClaw in cost crackdown
Anthropic cuts Claude subscribers off from OpenClaw in cost crackdown

In short: Anthropic has blocked Claude Pro and Max subscribers from using their flat-rate plans with third-party AI agent frameworks, starting with OpenClaw. The move, which took effect on 4 April 2026, shifts the cost of running autonomous agents onto…

Anthropic ramps up its political activities with a new PAC

With the midterms right around the corner, the new group is positioned to back candidates who support the AI company’s policy agenda.