Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

Canadian AI startup Cohere is taking over Germany-based Aleph Alpha with support from Schwarz Group (parent company of grocery chain Lidl). With the blessing of their governments, the companies intend to offer a sovereign alternative to enterprises in an AI landscape dominated by American players. As companies that develop large language models, Aleph Alpha and Cohere have been hometown stars, while still lagging far behind OpenAI and the likes globally. But similarities aside, this isn’t an alliance between equals. Last valued at $6.8 billion, Cohere will lead the new entity that will incorporate Aleph Alpha, subject to approval by authorities…

Every major tech conference has themes. Most are vague enough to mean everything and nothing at the same time. SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 is doing something different — four tightly defined technology domains, each backed by live demonstrations, dedicated exhibit floors, and sessions featuring the people actually building and funding these technologies globally. TechCrunch is partnering with SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 as an official media partner, and our Startup Battlefield team will be on the ground selecting one standout semifinalist from the SusHi Tech Challenge to advance to the TechCrunch Disrupt Startup Battlefield 200 — one of the most prestigious…

As Apple races to stay competitive in AI while navigating tariffs and supply chain uncertainty, the company’s future is about to shift under new leadership. On Monday, Apple announced that John Ternus will take over as CEO later this year, succeeding Tim Cook. Cook transformed Apple into a $4 trillion global powerhouse, expanded its services business, and oversaw some of the most profitable years in tech history. Ternus brings a different kind of skillset. A longtime hardware executive, he has spent his career building Apple’s devices rather than managing the broader business. Ternus joined Apple in 2001 and rose through…

Apple’s outgoing CEO, Tim Cook, proved his predecessor, Steve Jobs, wrong: some people love a large iPhone. Loading audio narration… Jobs, the cofounder and driving force behind the iPhone, once knocked smartphones larger than 4 inches. “You can’t get your hand around it,” he said in a 2010 press conference. “No one’s going to buy that.”When Cook took the reins in 2011, he began expanding the iPhone’s size. In 2012, the release of the iPhone 5 increased the phone’s screen size from 3.5 inches to 4 inches. Later base models reached up to 5.8 inches before landing at around 6.3…

AI-related layoffs are already hitting America’s job market, and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang thinks the fallout could be substantial. Loading audio narration… During an interview on The New York Times’ “Hard Fork” podcast, Yang said the technology, when compounded with America’s current economy, could lead to “inequality on an epic, unprecedented scale.””We’re going to have our first trillionaire. The folks at the top stratum of American life are going to get richer and richer. It’s going to compound over itself,” Yang said. “Then there are going to be a lot of families wondering what the heck happened. My kids…

Attendees at Sequoia’s recent AI events received more than just the chance to have intimate conversations with leading voices in the field. Loading audio narration… Sequoia partner Alfred Lin personally purchased and gave out 200 custom-engraved, numbered Mac Minis on behalf of the VC firm to the event’s attendees and speakers — the latest example of an AI status symbol.The compact Apple computer is one of the preferred ways of running OpenClaw, the open-source agentic AI tool that has taken the tech world by storm. Mac Minis have become increasingly hard to come by, too, with the base $599 model…

When layoffs are looming, do you grind harder or dust off your résumé? Loading audio narration… Meta employees are now facing that thorny question after the tech giant said on Thursday it plans to eliminate about 10% of its workforce on May 20, acknowledging that the announcement “puts everyone in an uneasy state” and leaves them “with nearly a month of ambiguity.”The long notice period has created a peculiar kind of workplace limbo: Unlike the abrupt cuts that have become common in tech, Meta’s warning gives employees time, but not clarity.”It freaks everybody out,” former Netflix chief talent officer Patty…

He put his money where their mouths were. Loading audio narration… A manufacturing entrepreneur paid $100,000 to unlock a paywalled interview with OpenAI’s top executives.The interview, featuring CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman, was initially published behind a paywall by journalist Ashlee Vance as part of his “Core Memory” podcast. After some listeners complained on X that it wasn’t free, Vance said he would consider making it public if someone forked over about $100,000.Jim Belosic, the CEO of Nevada-based laser manufacturing company SendCutSend, reached out.”He saw the tweet that I put up and reached out,” Vance told Business Insider.…

Another state-level effort to ban new data center development just failed, this time in Maine. Loading audio narration… Maine Gov. Janet Mills on Friday vetoed a bill that would have put a pause on data centers in the state until late 2027. Mills said she supports a moratorium on data center projects but that the bill, which passed the state House and Senate his month, did not include an exemption for a project already underway.”A moratorium is appropriate given the impacts of massive data centers in other states on the environment and on electricity rates,” Mills said in a letter…

A tech banker really, really wants Anthropic shares. Loading audio narration… The hunt for shares in Anthropic has become so frenzied in recent weeks that Storm Duncan is offering up his $4.8 million Marin County estate in exchange for stock.”If you’re going fishing, you’ve got to put a worm on the hook,” said Storm Duncan, the founder and managing partner of Ignatious, a tech boutique investment bank, in an interview with Business Insider. “What’s my other option? Not being in it?”The offer comes as Anthropic’s valuation on secondary markets soared to $1 trillion, driven by investors who have been wowed…