Wednesday, 25 March 2026
Welcome to today's roundup of the most interesting developments in AI and technology.
Top Stories
Reddit takes on the bots with new 'human verification' requirements for fishy behavior
Reddit will require suspected automated accounts to verify they’re human, as it ramps up efforts to curb bot-driven spam and manipulation.
Read moreOcorian: Family offices turn to AI for financial data insights
To gain financial data insights, the majority of family offices now turn to AI, according to new research from Ocorian. The global study reveals 86 percent of these private wealth groups are utilising AI to improve their daily operations and data analysis. Representing a combined wealth of $119.37 b
Read moreGranola raises $125M, hits $1.5B valuation as it expands from meeting notetaker to enterprise AI app
Granola's valuation jumped from $250 million to $1.5 billion with this round, and it has added more support for AI agents after users previously complained.
Read moreMeta turns to AI to make shopping easier on Instagram and Facebook
Meta is using generative AI to provide more product and brand information to consumers when they're shopping in its apps.
Read moreLucid Bots raises $20M to keep up with demand for its window-washing drones
Lucid Bots has seen demand accelerate over the last year for its window-cleaning drones and power-washing robots.
Read moreKentucky woman rejects $26M offer to turn her farm into a data center
A "major artificial intelligence company" reportedly offered a Kentucky family $26 million to build a data center on their farm.
Read moreDatabricks bought two startups to underpin its new AI security product
With an overflowing war chest from its recent $5 billion raise, Databricks is buying startups and looking for more. It acquired Antimatter and SiftD.ai.
Read moreArm is releasing the first in-house chip in its 35-year history
Arm is producing its own CPU for the first time. It developed the CPU with Meta, which is also the chip's first customer.
Read moreIndustry
OpenAI's plans to make ChatGPT more like Amazon aren't going so well
OpenAI says it's moving away from Instant Checkout, which allowed users to buy items directly through the ChatGPT interface.
Read moreDoss raises $55M for AI inventory management that plugs into ERP
Doss's AI-powered inventory management system integrates with existing ERP systems. The Series B round was co-led by Madrona and Premji Invest.
Read moreAutomating complex finance workflows with multimodal AI
Finance leaders are automating their complex workflows by actively adopting powerful new multimodal AI frameworks. Extracting text from unstructured documents presents a frequent headache for developers. Historically, standard optical character recognition systems failed to accurately digitise compl
Read moreSecuring AI systems under today's and tomorrow's conditions
Evidence cited in an eBook titled “AI Quantum Resilience”, published by Utimaco [email wall], shows organisations consider security risks as the leading barrier to effective adoption of AI on data they hold. AI’s value depends on data amassed by an organisation. However, there are
Read morePalantir AI to support UK finance operations
UK authorities believe improving efficiency across national finance operations requires applying AI platforms from vendors like Palantir. The country’s financial regulator, the FCA, has initiated a project leveraging AI to identify illicit activities. The FCA is currently testing the Foundry p
Read moreResearch & Products
Google launches Lyria 3 Pro music generation model
Google is launching Lyria 3 Pro, an upgraded music model that generates longer, more customizable tracks, as it expands AI music tools across Gemini, enterprise products, and other services.
Read moreMeta launches new initiative to support entrepreneurship, drive AI adoption
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a memo to staff that small businesses have always been a big part of the company's business model, and that while tens of millions of entrepreneurs already use its platforms to grow and connect with customers, the company wants to do more in the space.
Read moreWith Sift, two ex-SpaceX engineers are bringing the software that helped launch rockets to the factory floor
Sift is building the data infrastructure for advanced manufacturing.
Read moreWith $3.5B in fresh capital, Kleiner Perkins is going all in on AI
The fundraise includes $1 billion for investing in early-stage startups and $2.5 billion for late-stage growth businesses.
Read moreOpenAI’s Sora was the creepiest app on your phone — now it's shutting down
Though the underlying Sora 2 video- and audio-generation model is scarily impressive, there was not sustained interest in an AI-only social feed.
Read moreSpotify tests new tool to stop AI slop from being attributed to real artists
The idea behind the new tool is to give artists more control over which tracks are associated with their name on Spotify.
Read moreGoogle TV's new Gemini features keep fans updated on sports teams and more
Three Gemini-powered features are coming to your Google TV. This includes visual responses, deep dives, and sports briefs.
Read moreTalat's AI meeting notes stay on your machine, not in the cloud
The subscription-free AI meeting notes app is a local-first twist on notetaking tools like Granola.
Read morePolicy & Ethics
Bernie Sanders and AOC propose a ban on data center construction
Senator Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced companion legislation to halt construction on new data centers until Congress passes comprehensive AI regulation.
Read moreAI agents enter banking roles at Bank of America
AI agents are starting to take on a more direct role in how financial advice is delivered, as large banks move into systems that support client interactions. Bank of America is now deploying an internal AI-powered advisory platform to a subset of financial advisers, rolled out to around 1,000 financ
Read moreAnthropic hands Claude Code more control, but keeps it on a leash
Anthropic’s new auto mode for Claude Code lets AI execute tasks with fewer approvals, reflecting a broader shift toward more autonomous tools that balance speed with safety through built-in safeguards.
Read moreOpenAI adds open source tools to help developers build for teen safety
Rather than working from scratch to figure out how to make AI safer for teens, developers can use these policies to fortify what they build.
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