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17 Apr 2026

Bernie Sanders and labor unions demand AI worker protections as $156 billion in data centers blocked

Senator Bernie Sanders joined leaders from major labor unions including the AFL-CIO, UAW, and AFT to demand stronger worker protections from AI and call for a moratorium on data center construction. The push comes as anti-data center sentiment grows nationwide, with $156 billion in projects blocked in 2025 and Maine becoming the first state to ban new data center construction.

3 Sources

Manycore shares surge 140% in Hong Kong IPO as Chinese AI firm bets on spatial intelligence

Manycore Tech raised $160 million in an oversubscribed Hong Kong IPO, with shares rallying 140% on debut. The Hangzhou-based Chinese AI firm is pivoting from its real estate software roots to spatial intelligence, targeting robotics and world models. Co-founder Victor Huang, a former Nvidia engineer, believes robotics will define the era as the company leverages 500 million 3D assets to train AI for the physical world.

3 Sources

Upscale AI targets $2 billion valuation in third funding round since September launch

AI infrastructure startup Upscale AI is negotiating a new funding round that would value the company at $2 billion, just seven months after emerging from stealth. The Santa Clara-based company aims to raise $180-200 million despite not yet releasing a product, betting on custom chips and full-stack infrastructure solutions to transform how AI data centers operate.

2 Sources

Google's Gemma 4 turns phones into local LLM servers, challenging cloud AI dominance

Google's new Gemma 4 open-source AI models have transformed how users run powerful AI models locally. The E2B and E4B variants enable on-device inference on smartphones and laptops, delivering vision, voice, and tool-calling capabilities without cloud dependency. Users are building self-hosted AI stacks that rival ChatGPT while maintaining complete privacy and eliminating subscription costs.

6 Sources

OpenAI unveils GPT-Rosalind AI model to accelerate drug discovery and life sciences research

OpenAI released GPT-Rosalind, its first domain-specific AI model built for life sciences research. Named after DNA pioneer Rosalind Franklin, the model aims to compress the 10-to-15-year drug development timeline by helping scientists synthesize evidence and generate biological hypotheses. Access is restricted through a trusted access program to enterprise partners including Amgen, Moderna, and Thermo Fisher Scientific.

14 Sources

Intel Core Series 3 mobile processors bring 40 TOPS AI compute to budget-friendly laptops

Intel launched its Core Series 3 mobile processors, targeting students, small businesses, and value buyers with AI-ready capabilities. Built on the same Panther Lake foundation as flagship Core Ultra Series 3 chips using Intel's 18A process node, these processors deliver up to 47% faster single-thread performance and 40 TOPS of on-device AI acceleration while reducing power consumption by up to 64%.

5 Sources

Google Chrome's AI Mode update lets you explore web pages side-by-side with AI search

Google rolled out a major update to AI Mode in Chrome that opens web pages alongside the AI chatbot sidebar, eliminating constant tab switching. Users can now search across multiple open tabs and ask follow-up questions while viewing source pages, streamlining research and shopping tasks.

17 Sources

OpenAI expands Codex with desktop control and 111 plugins as competition with Anthropic heats up

OpenAI rolled out major Codex updates that allow the AI coding tool to run computer in the background and control desktop apps while users work. The company announced 111 new plugins and partnerships with global consultancies including Accenture and PwC to accelerate enterprise adoption. Weekly Codex users surged from 3 million to 4 million as OpenAI positions the tool as the foundation for its planned desktop super app.

18 Sources

Solidroad Secures $25M Series A to Automate Quality Assurance for Customer Support with AI

Dublin and San Francisco-based Solidroad has raised $25 million in Series A funding led by Hedosophia to automate quality assurance for customer support teams. The AI-powered platform reviews 100% of customer interactions versus the industry standard of 1-3%, serving clients like Ryanair, Crypto.com, and Oura while delivering up to 90% reduction in manual review time.

3 Sources

Dead Space creator urges artists to learn AI while defending human creativity in AAA gaming

Glen Schofield, the veteran behind Dead Space and The Callisto Protocol, believes AI in game development is inevitable but won't replace human talent. He urges artists to learn AI tools now before graduates who understand the technology flood the market, while emphasizing that creativity remains essential to AAA gaming despite industry pressure to reduce development costs.

2 Sources

Runway CEO says AI could help Hollywood make 50 films instead of one $100M blockbuster

Cristóbal Valenzuela, CEO of $5 billion AI video startup Runway, sparked controversy by suggesting studios should produce 50 AI-generated films for the cost of one $100 million blockbuster. Speaking at the Semafor World Economy Summit, he argued this quantity-focused approach would increase box office success rates while cutting movie production costs across pre-production, scripting, and visual effects.

2 Sources

AI traffic to US retailers surges 393% in Q1 as shoppers spend more through AI assistants

Adobe reveals AI traffic to US retailers skyrocketed 393% in Q1 2026, with AI-referred shoppers converting 42% better than regular visitors. The dramatic shift marks a complete reversal from just a year ago when AI traffic underperformed, as consumer trust in AI shopping tools climbs to 66% and retailers scramble to optimize sites for LLMs.

3 Sources

College dropouts' fintech startup Slash hits $1.4B valuation with AI banking platform

Slash Financial Inc., founded by two 24-year-old college dropouts, raised $100 million at a $1.4 billion valuation. The fintech startup is launching an AI financial agent to help small businesses automate their financial operations. After pivoting from sneaker resellers to serving diverse industries, Slash now generates nearly $300 million in annualized revenue.

2 Sources

American Express acquires Sam Altman-backed Hyper to deploy AI agents for expense management

American Express announced it will acquire Hyper, an AI-focused expense management startup backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The deal, expected to close in Q2 2026, positions AmEx to deploy autonomous AI agents that categorize expenses, file reports, and handle compliance checks automatically, marking a shift from traditional expense software to agentic finance.

6 Sources

Anthropic's Model Context Protocol flaw threatens 200,000 servers with complete takeover

Security researchers from Ox have identified a critical architectural design flaw in Anthropic's Model Context Protocol that exposes over 200,000 servers to remote code execution attacks. The vulnerability affects software packages totaling more than 150 million downloads across Python, TypeScript, Java, and Rust implementations. Despite repeated requests to patch the root issue, Anthropic maintains the protocol's behavior is 'expected.'

3 Sources

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