AI News

Daily AI News for Builders

The stories worth reading, for builders and indie hackers. Updated all day.

NYT and Daily News Sue OpenAI Over Copyright Violations

The New York Times and The Daily News have filed a lawsuit against OpenAI for allegedly violating copyright laws by using their content to train AI models. This case challenges OpenAI's stance on data privacy and its ability to search training datasets. The plaintiffs seek evidence that ChatGPT reproduces their copyrighted works, while OpenAI argues technical burdens and user-privacy concerns prevent such searches. Key details include a database of 78 million de-identified chat logs and the implementation of a 'Bloom' filter post-lawsuit filing.

Jul 9, 2026 · 3 min read

Slate EV Startup Unveils $24,950 Gray Truck With Custom Wraps

Slate, the EV startup known for simplicity and customization, has unveiled its unpainted gray electric truck priced at $24,950. This base model comes with over 200 customizable wrap options. Slate's partnership with Crayola brings five unique vehicle wraps using signature colors, each costing $1,549.99. The company also collaborates with NYC artist Max Kolo on a special design. Pre-orders began last month for the base price model and its modified SUV variant at $29,950.

Jul 9, 2026 · 3 min read

FanDuel Sued Over VIP Perks and Gambling Addiction

FanDuel is facing a lawsuit alleging that its VIP perks program, which includes personal interactions with high-profile athletes, contributes to severe gambling addictions among users. The case centers around Terry Thompson, who has wagered over $18.5 million since 2020 and lost his home due to foreclosure while seeking psychiatric help for addiction. This raises serious questions about the ethics of personalized marketing in gambling apps and the blurred lines between professional sports and betting platforms. MLB rules prohibit players from engaging in gambling activities, yet videos show athletes like Bryce Harper sending messages to bettors as part of FanDuel's VIP treatment.

Jul 9, 2026 · 3 min read

Mercor Talks $20B Valuation in New Funding Round

Mercor, an AI training startup, is in early-stage discussions for a new fundraising round that could value the company at $20 billion. This comes after Mercor saw its annualized revenue run rate jump to over $2 billion from just under $1 billion four months ago. The latest round would be a significant increase from their Series C funding of $350 million in October 2023, reflecting rapid growth and potential for further expansion. Additionally, the company recently acquired Deeptune, a firm that aids in AI agent training, adding to its capabilities.

Jul 9, 2026 · 3 min read

Google Adds AI Disclosure to Ads Globally

Google has introduced an AI disclosure feature for advertisers, indicating if their ads were generated with AI tools. This new addition to the My Ad Center panel aims to enhance transparency about synthetic or digitally altered content. For developers and marketers, this means clearer guidelines around ad creation and potential legal implications in different markets. The feature will automatically enable disclosures when using Google's generative AI advertising tools but requires manual indication for ads created elsewhere.

Jul 9, 2026 · 3 min read

Gradium Reopens Seed Round for $100M to Expand in Silicon Valley

Gradium, a Paris-based AI startup, has reopened its seed funding round to raise an additional $100 million. This brings their total raised to $170 million since December when they emerged from stealth with $70 million. The new funds will be used to establish a presence in the Bay Area, aiming to attract top talent and compete directly with established players like Google Brain and DeepMind. Gradium's co-founder previously worked at these major AI labs, giving them unique insights into what it takes to succeed in Silicon Valley.

Jul 9, 2026 · 3 min read

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Nvidia Stock Drops 15% as AI Memory Prices Soar

Nvidia's stock price has fallen 15% from its peak in May, despite growing projected revenue. This shift is due to a mismatch between GPU and memory supply-demand dynamics. DRAM spot prices have surged tenfold over the past year, while Nvidia H100 GPU spot prices peaked in May before dropping steadily. Major tech firms like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and OpenAI are developing custom processors to reduce dependence on Nvidia GPUs. Meanwhile, data centers demand more memory than ever, pushing up DRAM costs.

Jul 9, 2026 · 3 min read

Block Settles Cash App Fraud Claims for $45M

Block, parent company of Square and Cash App, has settled a lawsuit brought by 46 U.S. states for $45 million over allegations of inadequate fraud protection in its mobile payment app. This settlement follows previous penalties from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau totaling $175 million. State attorneys general argue that Block misled users about Cash App's fraud detection capabilities and allowed easy account creation without essential identity verification, making it a target for scammers. The company will now enhance fraud prevention measures and provide official customer support to address these issues. This development underscores the critical need for robust security practices in fintech apps.

Jul 9, 2026 · 3 min read

Anthropic Adds Reflect Dashboard to Claude

Anthropic introduced Reflect, a built-in dashboard for its AI assistant Claude, designed to track and visualize user habits. This feature offers insights into topics discussed, usage patterns, and tasks aided by the AI, aiming to shape users' perceptions of AI as a productivity tool. Reflect also encourages critical thinking about AI usage through pop-up questions and tools like quiet hours or scheduled nudges for breaks. The beta version is available now for Free, Pro, and Max users with memory enabled, focusing on high-level insights without quantifying time saved.

Jul 9, 2026 · 3 min read

SpaceX and AI Giants to Create $4 Trillion in Value

SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic are set to create a combined value of over $4 trillion, dwarfing all U.S. VC-backed exits since 2000. This massive valuation is reshaping the IPO landscape, with companies staying private longer due to intense fundraising for AI training. The financial infrastructure is struggling to keep up with these unprecedented valuations. SpaceX alone has a valuation of $1.77 trillion, while OpenAI and Anthropic's combined value will likely surpass this figure. This trend highlights the growing importance of capital-intensive industries like space exploration and advanced AI.

Jul 9, 2026 · 3 min read

Ollama Raises $65M Series B for Open AI Models

Ollama just secured $65M in Series B funding from Theory Venture, bringing their total raised to $88M. If you're into open AI models on your PC, this is huge — Ollama makes it easy for devs to run these models locally or via its cloud service. The company has 176k GitHub stars and serves over 8.9 million developers monthly, with usage in 85% of the Fortune 500. This funding will likely accelerate adoption of open AI models among enterprises.

Jul 9, 2026 · 3 min read

Character.ai Launches Microdramas for AI Character Interaction

Character.ai is launching three new microdramas: 'Last Summer', 'The Nighttime Game', and 'Eden Fall'. These dramas allow users over 18 to interact with AI characters in various storylines. The company uses its AI production tools to facilitate this, aiming to empower users to create their own content through features like Lorebook and c.ai FM for audio series.

Jul 9, 2026 · 3 min read

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