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There was a lot of emphasis on AI at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference. Apple announced Apple Intelligence, a generative AI product that will be available on iOS later this year. iOS 18 will bring a ton of new features, including the ability to schedule text messages and customize your home screen, a major upgrade to Siri with ChatGPT integration, AI-generated emoji, and more. In case you missed it, we've prepared a handy summary of everything Apple announced.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has secured enough shareholder votes to approve his stock option compensation package for 2018. The vote would give Musk up to $56 billion in compensation, the largest CEO compensation package in history, but a Delaware judge has ruled the package unfair and must make a final decision.
In funding news, Mistral AI has closed its much-rumored Series B funding round. The company secured €600 million (roughly $640 million at today's exchange rates) in a combination of equity and debt. This new round values the startup at $6 billion, putting it in competition with OpenAI, Anthropic, and other AI giants.
news
Former NSA Director Joins OpenAI: Former NSA director and retired Army General Paul Nakasone will join OpenAI's board of directors and serve on the board's “Security and Safety” subcommittee. read more
Tesla Shareholders Sue Elon Musk: Shareholders Tesla is suing Elon Musk and other board members over their decision to form xAI, alleging that talent and resources are being diverted from Tesla to the new startup. read more
BeReal is acquired: French mobile app and game publisher Voodoo has acquired BeReal for €500 million. BeReal co-founder and CEO Alexis Barreyat will leave the company after a transition period. read more
You can also throw away the ring: Apple has finally developed a way for users to pause the Activity rings on their Apple Watch, which is especially useful if you're unable to do physical activity due to illness or other reasons. read more
Raspberry Pi goes public: The maker of small, cheap single-board computers priced its IPO on the London Stock Exchange at £2.80 a share, valuing it at $690 million at current exchange rates, but that quickly jumped to £3.70 a share. read more
The iPad finally has a calculator app: For the first time, iPad will have a dedicated calculator app — but teachers, take note: the app will include Math Notes, a new feature that will do the math for you. read more
Your new distraction-free smartphone: Minimalist smartphone maker Light has unveiled its latest model, the Light Phone III, which doesn't have social media or internet access but does pack a larger OLED display and a new camera. read more
Spotify goes in-house: Spotify is further expanding into advertising with the launch of its first in-house creative agency, Creative Lab, and the company also said it will begin testing generative AI ads. read more
Will your device have iOS 18? Apple's iOS 18 will be compatible with many Apple devices this fall, but you'll likely need to upgrade if you want to experience the full Apple Intelligence experience. read more
analysis
Apple Intelligence isn't trying to be flashy. In iOS 18, Apple is taking a more measured approach: instead of overwhelming users with countless AI features, it carefully deploys AI where it will actually be useful. While Apple's AI is certainly not as flashy, Sara Perez argues that it's the company's way of defining the bare minimum that an AI-powered device should be able to perform. read more
Tesla fans, go vote: Tesla and its fans have engaged in an unprecedented battle over Elon Musk's $56 billion compensation package. Over the past few months, Tesla's most enthusiastic fans have waged a relentless vote-to-vote campaign. Sean O'Kane examines the countless calls to action made at X to get shareholders to vote in favor and reinforce the belief that Tesla cannot exist without Musk. read more
Why Y Combinator encourages small seed rounds: In 2024, many Y Combinator startups want only small seed rounds, which may alienate many institutional seed VCs. That might not be such a bad thing if YC startups treat these rounds like pre-seed funding. But as Rebecca Szczak writes, there's a risk that companies will label these smaller rounds as “seed rounds” and then look to raise a Series A. read more
