Used Waymo batteries will bolster California and Texas energy storage projects.

Overall, May’s active investor tallies painted a picture of a startup funding scene still dominated by familiar names.

All-in-one software ecosystem provider Scotch is a Denver-based AI-native operating system designed specifically for liquor store owners.

The author takes her son on weekly outings. Courtesy of Autumn Gavora I'd always heard about the "terrible twos" and thought we'd avoided it with our son. Then, I went back to work, and his behavior started to change. I quit my job to spend more time with him, but he still wasn't happy. A weekly "fun-day" helped. After having my son, I heard the horror stories of the "terrible twos." I'd stare down at my newborn and think there was absolutely no way this little bundle of rolls could one day be anything like my friends were describing. I kept that mindset as we rolled straight through his second birthday, and his behavior remained unchanged. I thought I won the golden ticket. My toddler was fantastic; no meltdowns in sight. Like any naive first-time parent, I was so wrong. My son turns 3 in August, and he started having tantrums recently. However, after asking him what was going on, I figured out a reason for the behavior — and something that helped. My son had a hard time when I went back to work I've had the incredible pleasure of being home with my son for the majority of his life. Then, when I returned to the office full-time last October, I slowly began to notice changes. His grandpa watched him while I was at work, and we started to notice he wasn't listening to either of us as well; his moods also had taken a dip. Coming home every day and seeing him upset broke me as a mom. In January, I decided to quit my job and return home full time to be with him. Since I've returned home, I've noticed that even though I'm here and we're spending a lot more time together again, his moods sour. He'd refuse to stop throwing toys and would have tantrums when he wouldn't listen to anything I asked him to do. But the usual things we'd do to quell this behavior — like time-outs and incentives for good behavior — also weren't working. A lightbulb moment went off when I sat down and asked him what was wrong. His answer was "I miss you" or, worse, "I want to see you." I didn't understand why he was saying this when I was literally right there. The same behaviors kept happening, and he kept giving the same answers; when I truly thought about it, I realized that even though I was physically right there, I mentally wasn't. My son was next to me, but I was focusing on cleaning, reading, or doing other things I thought were important, when he was the most important thing. The author's son loves going to the park. Courtesy of Autumn Gavora I wanted to be more present with him, so we started having a weekly 'fun-day' This realization led to a non-negotiable once-a-week "fun-day." I hated feeling like I was doing my son a disservice by not being present, so I wanted to fix it. I created an activity jar, filled with folded-up pieces of paper with special places on them. My son gets to pick from the jar, and one day a week, we do a fun activity together that gets us off our screens and focusing on each other. The change in my son was almost immediate. The joyful little boy was back. There were fewer tantrums, he was listening again, and he was visibly happy. Over the last few months, we have spent days at the Georgia Aquarium learning about his favorite species, like sting rays, sharks, and the brilliant red-and-orange octopus that reminds him of The Octonauts. We rode on a trolley at the Atlanta Zoo and learned about big silverback gorillas. His favorite thing to do is pack a lunch, have a picnic at a park, and then explore by hunting for unique rocks, learning about the different trees, and seeing how many different animals we can find. We've also been painters at an art studio, engineers like his dad at the Atlanta Children's Museum, and we got to be firefighters for a day at the firehouse. He still has meltdowns, but things have improved Like any toddler, he still has his meltdowns. I've learned over the months to give him more grace, as simple things are new things to him. I've realized I tend to forget that he is experiencing everything for the first time. We are both learning and growing together every day, and I am beyond happy to spend my days with him. This time together has shown me to take a step back for him and to soak it all in. Rarely do I hear him say, "I want to see you" as the reason for a meltdown anymore. It's more "I'm hungry" or a rebuttal against me telling him he can't do or have something, which we are working on. With summer quickly approaching, I cannot wait to bring him to more places to explore and meet new friends. So far, the terrible twos aren't as terrible as I thought they would be once we figured out that our fun-days are the key to success. Read the original article on Business Insider

Most days in her chambers, Judge Maritza Braswell, a federal magistrate judge in Colorado, sifts through stacks of documents written by people without a lawyer. Many of them can’t afford to hire a lawyer, and others have cases too weak or too small to interest one. She reads each one carefully, mindful of how daunting…

With $500 million in funding and a reported $2.5 billion valuation, Flourish wants to reinvent AI by putting real neurons under the microscope.

The new A321XLR will have doors that slide closed in business class, but they can't be used until certified by the FAA. United Airlines United Airlines is set to take delivery of its first Airbus A321XLR on Wednesday. The specially-designed long-haul plane is expected to replace Boeing 757 routes. It has doors and beds in business class and a snack bar in economy. United Airlines is set to roll out its newest long-haul plane — and it's billing it as ultra-premium. Flight-tracking data showed the Airbus A321XLR departed the planemaker's factory in Hamburg, Germany, on Wednesday and landed in Tampa, Florida, later in the evening. The highly anticipated XLR is a specially-designed extra-long-haul plane that United says will deliver a "wide-body experience on a narrow-body jet." That means it can open new international routes that don't require a larger aircraft, when it's expected to debut this summer. The premium-heavy jet will feature sliding doors and beds in a suite-style Polaris business class and a walk-up snack bar in economy. All 150 seats — a fifth of which are business or premium economy — will have Bluetooth connectivity for pairing with the in-flight entertainment system. It's part of United's new "Elevated" cabins, which will also be installed on its Boeing 787s, A321neo "Coastliners," and CRJ450 regional jets. The redesign reflects United's continued bet on premium long-haul demand as more travelers show they're willing to pay up for better comfort. United said the A321XLR will replace flying that's now handled by the Boeing 757 — a dated plane from the 1980s that the A321XLR can outperform with better range and fuel burn. Thanks to an extra gas tank in the belly, the jet can fly about 5,400 miles — or roughly 11 hours nonstop — across oceans and continents. Its extended range and lower operating costs allow it to serve lower-demand routes that were previously out of reach for older narrowbodies or uneconomical for larger widebodies. For United, the A321XLR is expected to enter service on select international 757 routes this summer before expanding into Europe, South America, and beyond. It's unclear what the specific inaugural destination will be. "You can't really get much further than Spain with a 757," Patrick Quayle, United's SVP of global network planning and alliances, previously told Business Insider. He said to expect far-flung destinations in places like Northern Italy, France, Scandinavia, and West and North Africa. United has 50 A321XLRs on order and plans to have more than half in service by 2028. Here's a closer look at what the A321XLR will offer: Business class will have doors, but flyers can't use them quite yet. The door creates a cocoon for flyers. United Airlines United gave Polaris business class a facelift by adding what is among the industry's most popular perks: sliding doors. Airlines like American and Air India have recently adopted doors, too. However, United's have yet to earn regulatory approval and will remain open at launch. The FAA is expected to certify them as airworthy, but it's uncertain when it will make that decision. Polaris passengers will also get the usual plush linens, elevated meals, an amenity kit, and a 19-inch television screen with Bluetooth. connectivity for headphones. The bed will stretch up to 78 inches. The Polaris seats face inward instead of forward. The seats will angle in, making it more difficult for travelers to see out the window. United Airlines Because wide-body Polaris seats can't fit in a forward-facing configuration on narrowbodies, United has to angle them inward. This means they will face the aisle rather than the window — something that could frustrate frequent flyers accustomed to a full bird's-eye view. The new Premium Plus has more privacy and no middle seat. Premium Plus will be in a 2x2 layout between business and coach. United Airlines United has rolled out a new Premium Plus design — its most noteworthy upgrade being the privacy dividers. Unlike its widebody counterpart, the A321XLR version won't have a middle seat. Otherwise, the revamped A321XLR cabin sports 12 large reclining loungers, a 16-inch Bluetooth-enabled screen, and a foot and legrest. It also gets nicer meals and linens compared to regular coach. Overall, the A321XLR's 32 high-dollar seats between business and Premium Plus are 16 more than the 757 has. There's a self-serve snack bar in the back of economy. The snack bar will have snacks and drinks. United Airlines A snack bar will be situated behind the economy cabin. United had to remove several rows of coach seats to make room. The walk-up perk, which is already available on the airline's CRJ550 and A321neo, is available to all passengers. Coach will otherwise use the typical 3x3 layout with 118 seats, including 36 with extra legroom. The seats have 13-inch Bluetooth screens. Large overhead bins mean fewer gate checks. An example of Airbus' Airspace XL bins on an A320neo. Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images United said its A321XLR will feature larger overhead bins — designed by Airbus as part of its Airspace XL cabin — to accommodate more roller bags and reduce gate-checking during boarding. The same bin design is already in service on United's A321neo aircraft. The A321XLR will complement United's new "Coastliner." The "Coastliner" will have its own special livery. United Airlines The "Coastliner" is an A321neo exclusively flying transcontinental routes between United's hubs in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Newark, New Jersey. The Neo has less range than the A321XLR but will sport the same coach snack bar and lie-flat Polaris cabin with doors. United joins a growing fleet of A321XLRs. Iberia was the first airline to fly the A321XLR. Gustavo Valiente/Europa Press via Getty Images Spain's Iberia was the launch customer, flying the inaugural from Madrid to Boston in November 2024. American Airlines, Australia's Qantas, Ireland's Aer Lingus, Hungary's Wizz Air, and Uzbekistan's Qanot Sharq all also fly the plane. There have been more than 500 total orders for the A321XLR. Beds on long-haul narrow-body planes aren't new. JetBlue's Mint business class has lie-flat beds and doors that are certified to close. LHR United has long operated its lie-flat Polaris cabin on Boeing 757s flying across the Atlantic; so has Delta. JetBlue Airways has similarly flown its bed-equipped Mint cabin to Europe on Airbus A321LR aircraft — the A321XLR's predecessor. Read the original article on Business Insider

A homeschooling center in Manhattan is part of the company’s nationwide expansion. Internal documents reveal its strategy: “Opening date > safety.”

Amazon is offering its AI shopping technology to other retailers through a new Agentic Shopping Assistant built on AWS, with Kate Spade among the first brands to use it. The service allows retailers to build AI shopping assistants for their own websites and apps. Amazon said each deployment can be customised to a retailer’s catalogue, […] The post Amazon brings AI shopping assistant to retailers with Kate Spade appeared first on AI News.

Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis raised the possibility of a "post-scarcity world" with the imminent arrival of artificial general intelligence. Karl Mondon / AFP via Getty Images Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis said artificial general intelligence is a "few years away." He said AI will have huge societal implications, bringing about a "post-scarcity" world. Hassabis estimated that AGI will arrive around 2030. The CEO of Google DeepMind said a more advanced AI is just around the corner — and humanity needs to prepare as soon as possible. During a fireside chat at the Stanford Graduate School of Business that was posted on Tuesday, Demis Hassabis said artificial general intelligence, or the ability for AI to perform cognitive tasks at or beyond human levels, is a few years away. "Maybe 2030, plus or minus a year, which is astounding to think, really. I think that will be such an enormous transformative technology; it's gonna effectively be a new human era," Hassabis said. He equated its arrival to the singularity — a point in time when there's no turning back from a breakthrough technological development. Hassabis, who leads one of the world's most influential AI labs, has been among the frontier AI executives warning that society has a narrow window to prepare for the next stage of the technology. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said that AI could make wide swaths of jobs disappear, while Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said half of entry-level white-collar work could vanish in the next half-decade. Recently, the executives pulled back the doomerism talk. During the fireside chat, Hassabis said some of his peers in the industry are being "way too certain" about their predictions. But he said AGI could unlock medical breakthroughs and economic transformation, raising the possibility of a "post-scarcity world" — an idea invoked by futurists like Elon Musk. Because of AGI's potential, the DeepMind CEO said now is the time to brace for the impacts, calling on humanities and STEM students to adapt to the new era and "lean in" to the technology. "Society needs to hear that because we don't have long to prepare for what that means," he said. "The future, in my view, is still to be written, but these next few years are going to be very critical as to which way that will go and how we collectively want that to look like." Read the original article on Business Insider

Quantinuum, a quantum computing startup, is losing millions. Investors want in anyway.

Cofounders Alex Ruber and Parth Chopra. Courtesy of Alex Ruber Alex Ruber and his cofounder, Parth Chopra, entered YC's fall 2024 batch with an AI shopping tool. After running at a loss, they pivoted through five to six ideas before finding success. He said their biggest mistake during the search for a winning app was how they handled pivots. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Alex Ruber, a 29-year-old cofounder and CEO, based in San Francisco. The following has been edited for length and clarity. About five months after being in Y Combinator, my cofounder, Parth, and I thought we might have to give up. We met through Y Combinator's Co-founder Matching Program, a free resource to help people find potential business partners, in January 2024. We were both working full-time. After building some projects together, we launched an AI-powered shopping tool and were accepted into Y Combinator's fall 2024 batch. It became clear that the shopping app was not economically viable and was running at a loss, with no clear path forward. We entered what I call our three-month pivot hell. Within those three months, we tried out about five to six different ideas and almost gave up. Then, we built a very simple game on a whim, and by August 2025, roughly five months after launch, our monthly revenue had reached $144,533. Business Insider wants to talk to founders of AI-powered companies with fewer than 10 workers, and employees working alongside AI agents, to understand what the "Tiny Teams" era really feels like — the wins, the fears, and the human skills that stand out. Share your story by filling out this quick form. We did not want to let go of our first app idea Parth and I were both full-time engineers when we met and bonded over our love of building projects on the side. Also, we're both really into fashion, especially thrifting. We thought that the secondhand shopping market would only grow as concerns about the environment grew. Combining that with the advent of AI, we built a basic conversational search engine where users could type anything in natural language, like "I'm looking for a leather jacket under $500 with two stripes, and it has to be a little bit worn in." The engine would search resale sites like Poshmark, eBay, Mercari, and ThredUp, then compile all the results into a single page. We loved using the app and got some traction, but it was very expensive to run. People were browsing every day, but they weren't necessarily buying. The commission we made on the final sale wasn't great either. We had poured so much time and energy into this, and wanted to continue because of that, but we hit a breaking point. Eventually, we made the call to explore other ideas as our main pursuit. We spent 2 to 3 weeks on each new idea We cycled through five to six fleshed-out ideas, up to 10, depending on how you define an idea execution. We tried everything from a therapy product to a self-journaling product to ideas for dating apps. We even went into the B2B side of the insurance and paper industries. We'd constrain ourselves to build the solution in one to two days so that we could put it in front of real users through friends, family, Reddit, X, and online communities as quickly as possible. For each of these ideas, we went super hard for maybe two to three weeks. We did user interviews. We'd also determine the product's success metrics, and we were ruthless about them. We asked ourselves a simple question: Do people come back, or care enough to pay? If the answer was no, we'd switch to a new idea very quickly. Constantly trying to dive into a new industry or space put a huge mental and physical strain on us, but we were really trying to find a problem we could help solve. Right before we came up with our successful app, we hit a low point We had cycled through so many ideas, and the metrics weren't looking good. We were completely exhausted and didn't know what to do. There was one night when Parth and I decided to go for a walk. We both wanted to take a break and, honestly, get out of the startup world. We took two or three days off to reflect on what went right and what went wrong for each pursuit. On the last day, we went back to the whiteboard. We decided we wanted to build in the consumer space. That's one thing that we learned from that whole pivot hell: we didn't love B2B. We started making observations about the world around us. Being a founder is a very lonely experience, and we noticed that a lot of our friends and family were worried about us. Every time they checked in or called, we'd always be like, "Oh, we're just working." Same bland answer every time. So we built a very early version of Candle, our social connection app, mainly to feel closer to our loved ones again. It gives a one-question-a-day prompt for both people to answer. We didn't have any metric goals when we first created our best idea We were so strict about the metrics during our constant pivot cycle, but we didn't have metrics for Candle right away because it wasn't one of the ideas we took seriously enough to define metrics for before we built it. Then it started making a big difference in our own relationships. The retention seemed really good organically among our family and friends. We started measuring it, and it was the best metric-wise of our ideas. We published the app on the App Store in March 2025. We have a full-time team of four, and in our first year, we made over $1 million in revenue. The full-time team of four at Candle. Courtesy of Alex Ruber We don't throw AI at every step, but it does help us We have a large question library, and we're actually opposed to AI-generated questions for our app. We feel like they come across as inauthentic, and this is an app for human connection, so we have human question writers. However, we do use AI to edit grammar. We use Claude Code and Codex for much of our code generation and for building mini-games in the app. We don't have a translator, so we've started using AI to translate into German, French, and Spanish. This has worked very well, especially using Gemini and Claude. We also have AI recommendations for activities that two users could do together. Using AI to recommend content or information that helps two people connect is how I think AI should be used, not to replace the connections humans form with each other. We pinpointed our biggest mistake and learned from it We feel so passionate about our app. Looking back, the biggest mistake we made was making an industry pivot that was too large each time we explored a new product idea. Instead of picking a problem space we really love, trying our solution, and, if it didn't work, switching to a different solution, we kept switching industries. We lost our passion for what we were building as we did that. My advice would be to pick the problem space and not change it very easily. How you approach that problem is what you should be changing. Do you have a similar story to share? If so, please reach out to the reporter at aapplegate@businessinsider.com. Read the original article on Business Insider

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ChatGPT introduces a new memory system to better remember preferences, keeping context fresh and relevant across conversations.

PLUS: Automate your social content calendar with Manus

Turn policy changes into an operating model for building, monitoring, and governing production agents.

New Dawn Bio, a deeptech startup developing what it describes as the world's firstcultured wood, has closed a €2.1 million oversubscribed pre-seed funding round.The round was led by CapitalT, with par...

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Madhumita Murgia / Financial Times: A profile of Anthropic as it prepares to go public and broaden access to Mythos, amid criticism that commercial pressures have eroded its AI safety standards  —  Can the AI company hold on to its ethical founding principles as it strides to market with its most powerful and unnerving tool yet?

Mike Masnick / Liberalism.org: Centralized control over the user experience not only leads to enshittification, but to “despotification”; decentralized protocols bring back democratic ideals  —  In January 2011, somewhere in the crush of bodies in Cairo's Tahrir Square, a man held up a handwritten sign.