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Visitors are caught in the reflection of a store offering 50% off on all items on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica on July 16, 2024. Genaro Molina | Los Angeles Times | Getty ImagesA steady stream of promotions across the fashion industry has left consumers suffering from “discount burnout” ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, according to a new report from consulting firm AlixPartners released Wednesday. The firm surveyed over 9,000 U.S. consumers on their preferences and priorities across 140 retailers and nine fashion sectors. The report found shoppers see price increases as “inevitable,” and cost has become less…
I’ve often joked that I would love to have a pet if only animals did not need to poop and eat smelly, wet mush from a can. I want a fuzzy pal to hang out with all day, but then I’ll hear that my friend spent $500 at the vet because their cat nibbled on a leaf, and the illusion breaks. It’s hard enough to take care of myself — do I really want to be responsible for a creature who might wake me up at 4 a.m. to pee? So when Casio offered me a review unit of its…
After earlier this year launching a marketplace that allows websites to charge AI bots for scraping their content, web infrastructure provider Cloudflare is pushing for increased regulation in the AI sector. The company’s chief executive, Matthew Prince, says he’s in London to speak with the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), where he’s proposing stricter rules on how Google should be able to compete in the AI race, given its search dominance. The CMA earlier this month designated Google with a special status in the search and advertising markets because of its “substantial and entrenched” position. The move will allow…
Fal.ai, a startup that hosts image, video, and audio AI models for developers, has closed a new round valuing the company at over $4 billion, four people familiar with the deal said. The company raised approximately $250 million, two of the people said. Major investors in the round are Kleiner Perkins and Sequoia, according to our sources. Fal didn’t respond to a request for comment. Sequoia and Kleiner Perkins declined to comment. The new round is coming less than three months after Fal announced a $125 million Series C at a $1.5 billion valuation led by Meritech. At that time,…
Today, OpenAI launched its new Atlas web browser in a surprise livestream. The show started with CEO Sam Altman, speaking directly to the audience. “We think AI represents a rare, once-a-decade opportunity to rethink what a browser can be,” Altman said. “In the same way that, for the previous way people used the internet, the URL bar and the search box were a great analogue, what we’re starting to see is that the chat experience and the web browser can be a quick analogue.” It was an inspiring note, in the classic Steve Jobs mode. But even more important than Altman’s…
Sesame, a conversational AI startup and smart glasses maker, has raised a $250 million Series B round and is opening up its beta to a select group of testers, the company announced Tuesday. The startup, headed by former Oculus co-founder and CEO Brendan Iribe and Ankit Kumar, former CTO of AR startup Ubiquity6, is working to create a personal AI agent that interacts with users using a natural-sounding human voice. The company plans to embed the personal AI agent into lightweight eyewear that is designed to be worn throughout the day and that users can interact with via voice. The…
LangChain raised $125 million at a $1.25 billion valuation, the company announced on Monday. TechCrunch reported in July that the provider of a popular open source framework for building AI agents was raising fresh funds at a valuation of at least $1 billion. The deal was led by IVP, as we previously reported. New investors CapitalG and Sapphire Ventures joined in, as did existing investors Sequoia, Benchmark, and Amplify. LangChain began in 2022 as an open source project founded by machine learning engineer Harrison Chase. The startup was an early darling of the AI era, solving problems that made building…
by Lacey Pfalz Last updated: 9:50 AM ET, Tue October 21, 2025 Scenic Group is getting ready for the launch of its newest Discovery Yacht, the Scenic Ikon, in 2028, which will welcome up to 270 guests in a luxurious, expedition-style cruising experience. The new Scenic Ikon will weigh 26,500 gross tons and span 672 feet. With 135 suites, all with private verandas, travelers will enjoy luxurious, boutique-style accommodations. Boasting 15 dining venues, large relaxation spaces and a two-story spa, travelers will enjoy a truly all-inclusive luxury experience.Rendering of a Grand Deluxe Verandah Suite onboard the Scenic Ikon. (Photo Credit: Scenic…
As the entertainment industry reckons with when and how to use generative AI in filmmaking, Netflix is leaning in. In its quarterly earnings report released on Tuesday afternoon, Netflix wrote in its letter to investors that it is “very well positioned to effectively leverage ongoing advances in AI.” Netflix isn’t planning to use generative AI as the backbone of its content but believes the technology has potential as a tool to make creatives more efficient. “It takes a great artist to make something great,” Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos said on Tuesday’s earnings call. “AI can give creatives better tools to…
Royal Caribbean Group is making good on its promise to deliver the world’s first zero-energy cruise terminal in Galveston, Texas.On Monday, the cruise giant announced that the Galveston Cruise Terminal (GCT) is the first cruise terminal to formally achieve both Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Net Zero Energy and LEED Net Zero Carbon certifications for its ongoing operations. The two new eco-friendly distinctions arrive on top of Royal Caribbean Group’s existing LEED Gold certification for the design and construction of GCT, which began operations in November 2022.LEED Zero Carbon certification recognizes buildings such as GCT operating with net…