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Liux, a Spanish startup, has secured Europe-wide homologation for its Liux Big electric microcar, set to hit the market in the first half of 2023. This marks a significant step for the company, which has grown to 65 employees and is ramping up production across three facilities in Spain. The Liux Big, designed to fit into tight urban spaces, is small enough to park at a right angle to the curb and comes with a 260-liter trunk. With a final price tag below €18,000, it aims to cater to city-dwelling second-car buyers, especially those aged 55-60 who have joined the waiting list. The company expects to reach a production capacity of 20,000 cars a year by 2030, making it a serious contender in the growing microcar market.
SpaceX has secretly built a foundry in Bastrop, Texas, to cast gas turbine blades, a process that's crucial for accelerating natural gas turbine production. By doing this in-house, SpaceX can speed up production by up to 18 months, giving them a significant edge in the AI infrastructure market. The company has purchased 830 acres near its Starlink factory, indicating a major investment in this technology. The casting process is notoriously difficult, with only four companies worldwide mastering it at industrial scale. Each blade must be cast as a single crystal in a vacuum furnace, a feat that SpaceX is now attempting to replicate. This move could disrupt the current market dynamics, where GE Vernova is sold out through 2030 due to AI infrastructure demand. Let's dive deeper…
In today's ContentBuffer update:
Self-driving cars injure test drivers, raising safety concerns
Caterpillar invests $100M in AI training for workforce
Anthropic Sued for Piracy in AI Training
TechBBQ Copenhagen: AI Control and Sovereignty Debates
5 new AI tools & 5 new AI jobs
More tech news
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Image source: techcrunch.com
Summary: Liux secures Europe-wide homologation for its Liux Big electric microcar, set to launch in 2023. It's a game changer for city-dwelling second-car buyers.
Key Points:
Liux's Liux Big electric microcar secures Europe-wide homologation, set to launch in the first half of 2023.
The Liux Big is designed to park at a right angle to the curb, fitting into tight urban spaces.
Liux expects to start selling the Liux Big in the first half of 2023, with a final price tag below €18,000.
The company's production capacity could reach 20,000 cars a year by 2030, targeting city-dwelling second-car buyers.
More than 7,500 people have joined the waiting list for the Liux Big, with the most represented profile being a 55- to 60-year-old city dweller.
Why it matters: If you're a city dweller looking for a second car, the Liux Big could be your solution. With a price tag under €18,000 and a design that fits into tight urban spaces, it's a practical option. However, the 20,000 cars a year production capacity by 2030 might not be enough to meet demand, especially with over 7,500 people already on the waiting list.
Image source: techcrunch.com
Summary: SpaceX built a secret foundry in Texas to cast gas turbine blades, aiming to accelerate production and gain an edge in the AI infrastructure market. Why it matters: This could disrupt the current market dominated by GE Vernova.
Key Points:
SpaceX bought 830 acres near its Starlink factory in Bastrop, Texas, between March and June.
The foundry aims to cast gas turbine blades, a process that's critical for accelerating natural gas turbine production by up to 18 months.
Only four companies worldwide have mastered the casting process well enough to produce the blades at industrial scale.
Each blade must be cast as a single crystal in a vacuum furnace, a process SpaceX is now attempting to replicate.
Building private gas-fired plants next to data centers has become a ubiquitous strategy for hyperscalers due to AI infrastructure demand.
Why it matters: If SpaceX successfully casts gas turbine blades, it could disrupt the market dominated by GE Vernova, which is sold out through 2030. This move could give SpaceX an edge in the AI infrastructure industry, where demand for natural gas turbines is soaring. However, it also raises environmental concerns, as gas turbines emit pollutants that can cause health issues for nearby communities.
Image source: techcrunch.com
Summary: Waymo and Zoox test drivers injured from self-driving car incidents, raising safety concerns. Companies may be exempt from OSHA reporting, but the injuries highlight risks.
Key Points:
Waymo and Zoox test drivers sustained over two dozen injuries from sudden movements and hard braking in 2024 and 2025.
Some test drivers were sidelined for months after sustaining injuries like whiplash.
Gatik, an autonomous vehicle startup, has received $200 million in fresh funding, led by Qatar Investment Authority and Koch Disruptive Technologies.
Gatik has a multiyear commercial agreement with PepsiCo, part of $600 million in contracted revenue.
Regent Craft, a Rhode Island electric startup, raised $120 million in Series B funding and secured $120 million in debt capital.
Why it matters: Self-driving car injuries highlight the risks involved in autonomous vehicle technology. Test drivers are sustaining injuries from sudden movements and hard braking, raising questions about the safety of these vehicles. This affects companies developing self-driving technology and the regulatory environment around them.
Image source: techcrunch.com
Summary: Caterpillar is investing $100 million to train its workforce in AI and autonomy. This is a big deal for companies looking to integrate AI into their operations.
Key Points:
Caterpillar's autonomous technology includes automated haul trucks, drilling, and remote-controlled construction equipment.
The company offers a software command center, fleet management, and remote terrain intelligence as part of its autonomous toolkit.
Caterpillar's Cat AI Assistant lets field technicians use voice commands to pull up repair procedures and identify parts needed.
The company plans to spend $100 million over five years to train its workforce in AI, autonomy, and robotics.
Caterpillar's quarterly revenue reached an all-time high of $20.5 billion in the second quarter.
Why it matters: Caterpillar's $100 million investment in AI training highlights the challenges companies face in integrating AI into daily operations. This affects not just tech companies but any business looking to modernize with autonomous tech. For example, construction firms may need to rethink how workers operate alongside autonomous equipment, and how existing processes need to change.
Image source: techcrunch.com
Summary: Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell sued Anthropic for allegedly using illegal torrenting to train its AI model, accusing the lab of 'flagrant piracy'. This could set a precedent for AI training practices.
Key Points:
Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell filed a lawsuit against Anthropic in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
The lawsuit accuses Anthropic of illegally torrenting and downloading thousands of copyrighted works to train its AI model.
Anthropic was previously ordered to pay $1.5 billion in a landmark Bartz case for similar practices.
The lawsuit alleges that Anthropic used illegal torrenting to obtain millions of copies of books, including those with lyrics and sheet music.
This lawsuit could set a precedent for how AI labs acquire and use copyrighted material for training.
Why it matters: If you're developing AI models that rely on training with large datasets, this lawsuit could impact your data acquisition practices. Anthropic's alleged use of illegal torrenting to obtain copyrighted works could set a legal precedent, affecting the future of AI training and the use of copyrighted material. The $1.5 billion judgment in a previous case highlights the potential financial risks.
Image source: techcrunch.com
Summary: TechBBQ in Copenhagen debated AI control, with panels focusing on privacy, sovereignty, and the concentration of power in AI labs. The discussions are crucial for anyone concerned about the future of AI governance.
Key Points:
TechBBQ Copenhagen, August 24-27, 2023, focused on AI control and sovereignty debates.
Anthropic's AI models Mythos and Fable became unavailable to non-European users earlier this year.
Panels discussed Nordic-African ecosystem collaboration and growth capital in Europe.
Signal President spoke against AI integration into operating systems, emphasizing privacy.
The conference highlighted the need for privacy in AI and the impact on personal sovereignty.
Why it matters: The debates at TechBBQ on AI control and sovereignty are critical for developers and tech leaders. If you're working on AI projects, understanding the implications of data acquisition and privacy is essential. The concentration of power in a few AI labs could affect the future of technology governance.
New Tools & Job
MachineTranslation.com - MachineTranslation.com is an AI-powered translation platform that translates text and documents by comparing outputs from multiple leading AI translation models. Its consensus technology helps users choose the most accurate translation, reducing errors and improving quality across more than 330 languages. What it does Translates text and documents using AI. Compares translations from multiple AI models. Provides a consensus translation to improve accuracy. Supports 330+ languages. Helps users evaluate and refine translations. What makes it good Higher accuracy: Compares multiple AI translations instead of relying on a single model. Better quality: Consensus technology helps identify the strongest translation. Fast and easy: Delivers results in seconds with a simple interface. Broad language support: Covers over 330 languages. Useful for professionals and travelers: Suitable for business, marketing, legal, technical, and everyday communication.
Format Factory - Format Factory is a browser-based workbench for common audio and video conversion jobs. It supports batch processing for video and audio conversion, compression, merging, audio extraction, and audio removal, with transparent credits and temporary results. Try Format Factory for practical media conversion without installer bundles or per-file setup.
HappyHorse.AI - HappyHorse.AI is a multimodal AI video generator for creators, marketers, and social media teams. Users can create videos from text prompts, animate images, or generate videos from reference characters. The platform focuses on browser-based video creation and native audio support.
NeatScribe - NeatScribe is designed for anyone who needs to reuse information from recorded speech. It creates timestamped transcripts, supports translation, and exports results as text files, documents, subtitles, captions, or timed lyrics.
Sakana Marlin - Sakana Marlin is Sakana AI's first commercial product: an autonomous 'Ultra Deep Research' agent positioned as a Virtual Chief Strategy Officer. Given a research topic, Marlin works autonomously for up to roughly eight hours, forming hypotheses, gathering and reconciling information from online sources, and synthesizing a detailed strategy report up to ~100 pages plus executive-summary slides. It builds on Sakana AI research including AB-MCTS (NeurIPS 2025 Spotlight) and The AI Scientist (published in Nature). A closed beta ran from April 2026 with ~300 professionals across finance and consulting.
Partner AI Deployment Engineer - AWS - Partner AI Deployment Engineer - AWS at OpenAI — sourced first-party from ashby:openai on 2026-05-27.
AI Applications Ops Lead, GPS - AI Applications Ops Lead, GPS at Scale AI — sourced first-party from gh:scaleai on 2026-05-27.
Senior Security Engineer, AI Vulnerability Management - Senior Security Engineer, AI Vulnerability Management at Robinhood — sourced first-party from gh:robinhood on 2026-05-27.
Senior Product Manager, Security AI - Senior Product Manager, Security AI at Robinhood — sourced first-party from gh:robinhood on 2026-05-27.
Director, Machine Learning Engineering – Content & User Understanding - Director, Machine Learning Engineering – Content & User Understanding at Pinterest — sourced first-party from gh:pinterest on 2026-05-27.
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Xpeng's Robotics Unit Raises $900M, Largest in China's Embodied AI - Xpeng's robotics unit raised $900M, the largest single-round financing in China's embodied AI industry. Chinese automakers are betting big on humanoid robots, with Xpeng leading the charge.
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SpaceX has built a secret foundry in Texas to cast gas turbine blades, aiming to accelerate production by up to 18 months. This move could give SpaceX an edge in the AI infrastructure market, where demand for natural gas turbines is soaring.
At TechBBQ in Copenhagen, debates raged over who should control AI technology, with concerns about privacy, sovereignty, and the concentration of power in a few labs.
Anthropic's new paper shows AI can reliably improve its own alignment through automated research, outperforming human researchers. This could lead to faster, cheaper AI development.