News in 60 Words

Google’s AI Mode now lets you link and interact with select apps

Startups • Aisha Malik

Google has updated its AI Mode conversational search experience to allow users in the U.S. to link and interact with third-party apps like Instacart, Canva, and YouTube. This expansion enables AI Mode to complete tasks, such as creating grocery lists or curating playlists, rather than just answering questions. The move aims to increase user reliance and better compete with AI rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic.

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Startups • Ivan Mehta

Google is renaming its AI-powered research tool NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook, continuing its trend of unifying AI products under the Gemini brand. The update introduces coding execution for advanced data analysis, allowing users to create interactive outputs within secure notebook containers. Currently available to AI Ultra and Workspace business customers, the tool has grown to 30 million users since its 2023 debut as Project Tailwind.

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Startups • Sarah Perez

DoorDash has launched a limited beta of "dd-cli," a command-line tool allowing developers in the U.S. and Canada to order services via AI agents. This initiative exemplifies agentic commerce by enabling developers to integrate store searches, deal finding, and checkout processes directly into their own software. The tool expands DoorDash's AI strategy, following previous integrations with iMessage, ChatGPT, and its own "Ask DoorDash" chatbot.

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Startups • Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai

"Two teenage hackers, Owen Flowers and Thalha Jubair, were sentenced to five years and six months in prison for hacking Transport for London in 2024. The attack caused £29 million in losses and disrupted transit services for weeks. U.K. authorities stated that the jailing of the pair, members of the notorious cybercrime group Scattered Spider, represents a significant blow and has severely hampered the group's overall activities.".

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Startups • Zack Whittaker

Mozilla research revealed that the period-tracking app Stardust shares sensitive health information, including reproductive goals and symptoms, with third-party analytics firm RudderStack. Despite claims of privacy and end-to-end encryption, the app was the only one among six tested to share such data. While Stardust asserts that RudderStack cannot sell the information, Mozilla warns of risks like data breaches and law enforcement requests, recommending Euki instead.

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Startups • Amanda Silberling

OpenAI has expanded its product offerings beyond software, launching a $230 mini keyboard and a $70 rubber ChatGPT basketball as part of its "Pause. Play. Prompt." campaign. Additionally, the company introduced a line of merchandise, featuring items like a $175 "research" quarter-zip. While these physical products aim to encourage offline creativity and brand loyalty, they highlight the company's foray into unconventional hardware and apparel.

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Startups • Your story

Reo.Dev, a Bengaluru-based AI-native go-to-market platform, has raised $11.3 million in a Series A round led by Elevation Capital. The startup uses a Developer Knowledge Graph and AI agents to help software companies identify and engage technical buyers. With total funding now at $15.3 million, Reo.Dev plans to expand globally and enhance its AI capabilities, serving over 200 clients including NVIDIA and LangChain.

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Startups • Maggie Nye

Andrew Dai, former Google DeepMind researcher and CEO of Elorian, discussed raising a $55 million seed round at a $300 million valuation on the Build Mode podcast. Dai focuses on advancing visual AGI, emphasizing visual understanding and reasoning. He shares insights on pitching technical visions to investors, prioritizing strategic partners like Nvidia over higher valuations, and recruiting top AI talent to maintain a competitive advantage through speed.

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Startups • Sean O'Kane

"Sheryl Sandberg’s family office led a $10 million investment in Self Inspection, a San Diego startup specializing in AI-driven vehicle inspections. Using smartphone cameras, the company assesses car damage and provides detailed repair reports. Already utilized by Stellantis and other fleets, the platform has completed over one million inspections. Self Inspection plans to use the new funding to develop more products and expand its operations into Europe.".

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Startups • Your story

AI-driven fashion supply chain platform Groyyo has raised Rs 90 crore in the first close of its Rs 200 crore Series B funding round led by Cornerstone Ventures. The Gurugram-based startup will use the capital to enhance its AI capabilities, expand its manufacturing network, and accelerate global growth. Groyyo connects international brands with manufacturers to digitize apparel sourcing, aiming for revenues exceeding Rs 3,000 crore within three years.

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Startups • Your story

Wealth and asset management firm Neo Group has raised approximately Rs 350 crore in a funding round led by Peak XV Partners. This capital infusion follows a previous Rs 550 crore investment from TVS Capital. Neo Group plans to use the funds to enhance its technology platform, expand its advisory network, and develop new products. The Mumbai-based firm currently manages approximately Rs 1.3 lakh crore in client assets.

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Startups • Kate Park

AMI Labs CEO Alexandre LeBrun is developing world models to provide physical context and safety for robotics, distinguishing them from language models. Co-founded by Yann LeCun, the pre-product startup raised $1.03 billion to build AI that understands real-world physics. LeBrun is currently scouting partners in South Korea, leveraging the nation's advanced semiconductor and manufacturing sectors to move AI from the lab into practical, real-world applications.

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Startups • Your story

"Quick Clean, an institutional laundry infrastructure provider, has raised $14 million in Series B funding led by Stakeboat Capital. The company provides build-own-operate on-premise laundry services for hotels and hospitals. Quick Clean plans to use the capital to expand its Indian network from 140 to 500 units, invest in AI-driven automation, and enter Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern markets while maintaining its focus on water-efficient sustainability.".

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Startups • Dominic-Madori Davis

Chinese AI lab Moonshot AI is set to release Kimi K3, which may rival Anthropic’s Opus 4.8. As China's largest open-weight model with 2 to 3 trillion parameters, Kimi K3 aims to close the gap with closed-source frontier models. Meanwhile, Moonshot is seeking new funding at a $31.5 billion valuation as industries increasingly favor open-source alternatives over expensive, closed-source options for better data privacy.

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Startups • Your story

A NITI Aayog report suggests India can scale its bioeconomy to $691 billion by 2035 and $2.6 trillion by 2047 through coordinated national execution. To achieve this, the government needs mission-mode BioMissions, regulatory reforms, and a Rs 50,000 crore Growth Fund. By integrating AI-enabled biotechnology and biomanufacturing, India aims to create 30 million high-value jobs and become one of the world's top three biotechnology powers.

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Startups • Sarah Perez

"Apple Intelligence is launching in China after receiving approval from the Cyberspace Administration of China. To enter the market, Apple has partnered with Alibaba to integrate the Qwen AI model into its operating systems. Baidu is also collaborating on AI features, while Apple explores further integrations with ByteDance and DeepSeek. This move supports Apple's growth in Greater China, where sales recently rose 28% in the second quarter.".

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Startups • Your story

Elon Musk personally acquired APR Energy for over $1 billion to secure fast-deployable mobile power plants for xAI's Grok chatbot data centers. By purchasing the company personally rather than through his corporate entities, Musk avoids shareholder scrutiny and board oversight. The deal highlights the urgent need for electricity in the AI race, as mobile gas and diesel turbines bypass lengthy utility grid interconnection queues.

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Startups • Your story

Conquest, Asia's largest student-run startup accelerator from BITS Pilani's Centre for Entrepreneurial Leadership, has selected 22 startups for its 2026 cohort from over 3,000 applications. Operating on a zero-equity, zero-cost model, the program focuses on diverse sectors including AI, healthcare, and deep-tech. Selected founders will undergo structured mentorship and a Bengaluru-based workshop, culminating in a Demo Day to present their scalable, global-facing innovations to investors.

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Startups • Your story

* Role: Professional editor. * Task: Summarize the provided news article. * Length: Exactly 60 to 70 words. * Tone: Neutral. * Focus: Key facts. * Constraints: No introductory phrases, no conclusions, no bullet points, no lists, no metadata. * Formatting: Wrap in `<summary>` and `</summary>` tags. * Main theme: Short books that can change your mindset over a weekend. * Books mentioned: 1. *The Four Agreements* (Don Miguel Ruiz) - Principles for emotional freedom. 2. *Man's Search for Meaning* (Viktor E. Frankl) - Finding purpose in adversity. 3. *The Psychology of Money* (Morgan Housel) - Behavior and decision-making. 4. *The Comfort Book* (Matt Haig) - Self-compassion and balance. 5. *Who Moved My Cheese?* (Spencer Johnson) - Adapting to change. * *Draft 1:* Changing your mindset doesn't require long books; several short reads can offer life-altering perspectives in a single weekend. Don Miguel Ruiz’s *The Four Agreements* promotes emotional freedom, while Viktor Frankl’s *Man's Search for Meaning* focuses on resilience. Morgan Housel explores behavioral finance in *The Psychology of Money*, Matt Haig offers comfort and balance, and Spencer Johnson’s *Who Moved My Cheese?* teaches adaptability in a changing world. (68 words) * *Word Count Check (Draft 1):* 1. Changing 2. your 3. mindset 4. doesn't 5. require 6. long 7. books; 8. several 9. short 10. reads 11. can 12. offer 13. life-altering 14. perspectives 15. in 16. a 17. single 18. weekend. 19. Don 20. Miguel 21. Ruiz’s 22. The 23.

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Startups • Your story

"Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy laid the foundation stone for Amazon's Data Centre in Hyderabad's Bharat Future City. To achieve a $1 trillion state economy by 2034, Reddy urged Amazon to invest Rs 1 lakh crore. Meanwhile, Amazon plans to invest over $21 billion in Indian cloud infrastructure between 2026 and 2030, supporting the nation's AI and Digital India ambitions through expanded data centre capacity.".

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Categories

Google’s AI Mode now lets you link and interact with select apps

Google continues its renaming streak by turning NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook

Yes, you can now order DoorDash from the command line

UK cops say arrest of two young hackers disrupted the operations of an infamous hacking group

Period tracker Stardust shares users’ health data with analytics firm, says Mozilla research

Why is OpenAI selling a ChatGPT basketball?

Reo.Dev raises $11.3M in Series A led by Elevation Capital

How a former DeepMind researcher raised at a $300M pre-seed valuation before launching a product

Sheryl Sandberg leads $10 million investment in AI-powered vehicle inspection service

Groyyo raises Rs 90 Cr in first close of Series B round led by Cornerstone Ventures

Neo Group raises Rs 350 Cr in funding led by Peak XV Partners

Why AMI Labs’ Alexandre LeBrun won’t call his AI ‘AGI’ or ‘superintelligence’

Quick Clean raises $14M in Series B round led by Stakeboat Capital

Moonshot’s upcoming Kimi 3 is expected to close the gap with Anthropic’s Opus 4.8

NITI Aayog charts 2047 roadmap to expand India's Bioeconomy to $2.6T

Apple Intelligence approved for launch in China with Alibaba and Baidu

Musk quietly buys APR Energy in $1B deal to power Grok

Conquest BITS Pilani Selects 22 Startups from Over 3,000 Applications for Its 2026 Cohort

5 Books that will change your mindset in a weekend

Telangana CM lays foundation for Amazon Data Centre, seeks Rs 1 lakh Cr investment