Latest headlines from The Next Web, covering technology, with clear attribution and direct links to the original publisher.
New York has banned AI chatbots from pretending to be human with children. Bots also may not build emotional dependency, encourage self-harm or hold sexual conversations with them. Governor Kathy Hochul signed the law on Wednesday, with a second law on baby monitor security. The banned features are off limits to anyone under 18 and […] This story continues at The Next Web
San Francisco’s Biological Computing Co. released TBC Mischief 1, an image-to-video model built on Wan 2.2. It says insights from living neurons make it about five times faster at the same quality, priced at $0.005 per second of video. It has not published independent benchmarks. San Francisco startup The Biological Computing Co. has released an […] This story continues at The Next Web
Proton, the Swiss company behind Proton Mail, will “re-interview” some of its staff about how they use AI at work. The results may affect who keeps their job. Internal messages show chief executive Andy Yen telling engineers to stop hand-writing code and use AI instead, 404 Media reported. Joseph Cox revealed the plan for 404 […] This story continues at The Next Web
Thrive Holdings, the holding company set up by Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital, has agreed to buy ADT for $10 a share in cash. ADT sells home security systems in the US. The deal values ADT at about $7.6bn in equity and $15.3bn in enterprise value. The price is a 45.6% premium to ADT’s close of […] This story continues at The Next Web
Ford CEO Jim Farley says the drivetrain in its new low-cost EV platform is about 30% more efficient than BYD’s, so Ford can use smaller, cheaper batteries. The platform debuts in the $28,350 Fathom pickup in late 2027. Ford did not say which BYD system it compared. Ford says the motors, gearboxes and inverters in […] This story continues at The Next Web
Anthropic spent $2,745,874 on personal security for chief executive Dario Amodei in 2025, more than four times his $654,167 salary. The figure is in the company’s IPO filing. The filing also says its co-founders’ pledge to give away 80% of their stakes is not legally binding. Bilin Lin first highlighted the security costs for Fortune, […] This story continues at The Next Web
Cognition, the startup behind the AI coding agent Devin, has received investor offers that value it at $70bn to $80bn. The San Francisco company is seriously considering raising a new round before the end of the year. Katie Roof reported the talks for Business Insider on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. The talks […] This story continues at The Next Web
Toyota will build driverless versions of its bZ electric SUV for Waymo at its Takaoka plant in Japan, with testing from 2027. Japan comes first, then the UK. Neither company said how many robotaxis Toyota will make. Toyota will build driverless versions of its bZ electric SUV for Waymo, with testing in Japan set to […] This story continues at The Next Web
Entourage, the early-stage venture firm founded by Showpad co-founder Pieterjan Bouten, has closed its second fund at €100m. It passed its €75m target within two weeks, took more than €100m in commitments, and capped the fund there. Fund II will back about 25 companies at pre-seed and seed stage, in Europe and beyond, Entourage said […] This story continues at The Next Web
The European Commission wants Frontex, the EU’s border agency, to monitor public social media posts about migration. It would also flag illegal content to platforms. MEPs and digital rights groups say the plan puts online speech under a border agency’s watch. The Commission proposed the change on Tuesday as part of a wider overhaul of […] This story continues at The Next Web
STMicroelectronics expects fourth-quarter revenue of $4.15bn, up about 10.5% on the third quarter and above analysts’ forecasts. The Franco-Italian chipmaker says AI data centres and satellite makers are adding to a wider recovery in chip demand. Third-quarter revenue rose 17.9% to $3.76bn, ST said on Thursday in its earnings statement. Operating income excluding one-off charges […] This story continues at The Next Web
Ofcom has named four age checks it says can reliably tell whether UK social media users are 16 or over. They will underpin the UK social media ban for under-16s due next year, and many adults will have to pass them too. The regulator published its assessment on Thursday. The ban is due to start […] This story continues at The Next Web
South Korea has fined Google and Apple a combined 63.7bn won ($47.6m). The regulator says they forced app developers onto their own payment systems and delayed app reviews without explanation. Both must now let Korean developers link to outside payment options inside their apps. The Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) fined Google 42.9bn won […] This story continues at The Next Web
Vladimir Putin has called Elon Musk “a real genius” and said Russia is in close contact with him over satellites in orbit. Putin spoke on Wednesday at the Russia-Africa summit in Moscow, during a presentation on Rassvet, Russia’s answer to Starlink. The remarks follow weeks of disruption to Starlink over Ukraine. Kyiv’s military lost speed […] This story continues at The Next Web
Elon Musk’s xAI is buying homes next to its power plant in Southaven, Mississippi. The catch is that sellers must drop any claims in a noise lawsuit against the company. A realtor told one resident the target is 418 homes in the Colonial Hills neighbourhood. So far, 18 owners have agreed to sell. Oliver Milman […] This story continues at The Next Web
