Instacart slashes its valuation to $24 billion
Instacart's valuation doubled twice to $39 billion in the first year of the public health crisis, fueled by a pandemic boon to its on-demand grocery delivery business. Now it's falling back to earth......»»
AI hardware company from Jony Ive, Sam Altman seeks $1 billion in funding
A venture fund founded by Laurene Powell Jobs could finance the company. Jony Ive, the former Apple designer. (credit: Gary Cohen) Former Apple design lead Jony Ive and current OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are seeking funding f.....»»
The sun was born when a dense gas cloud collapsed 4.6 billion years ago
While the upcoming total solar eclipse is a special moment to reflect on our place in the universe, scientists have been studying the birth of the sun and the formation of our solar system for a long time......»»
EU questions whether Apple has changed anything after its $1.95 billion fine
Following the European Union's fining Apple for blocking music streaming firms from promoting cheaper alternatives to the App Store, regulators are assessing whether Apple has now complied.EU flags in BrusselsThe $1.95 billion fine on March 4, 2024,.....»»
Scientists solve a long-standing mystery surrounding the moon"s "lopsided" geology
About 4.5 billion years ago, a small planet smashed into the young Earth, flinging molten rock into space. Slowly, the debris coalesced, cooled and solidified, forming our moon. This scenario of how the Earth's moon came to be is the one largely agre.....»»
Apple chip maker TSMC wins $6.6 billion US subsidy
The US Commerce Department is awarding iPhone processor manufacturer TSMC $6.6 billion and providing low-cost loans, for a third fabrication plant in Arizona.TSMC's headquarters in Hsinchu, TaiwanTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) is the ma.....»»
The universe"s accelerated expansion might be slowing down
The universe is still expanding at an accelerating rate, but it may have slowed down recently compared to a few billion years ago, early results from the most precise measurement of its evolution yet suggested Thursday......»»
Is dark energy changing over time? A new survey suggests it could be
New results from a survey into dark energy show a look back 11 billion years into the past, with the largest ever 3D map of the universe......»»
App Store guidelines now allow game emulators; music apps in the EU can take users to an external website
After the EU commission fined Apple $2 billion and announced that it’s not satisfied with the changes the company made to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Apple on Friday updated the App Store guidelines again. This time, the company is m.....»»
Africa"s carbon sink capacity is shrinking
The population of Africa, the second-largest continent in the world, currently sits at about 1.4 billion, but is set to exceed 2 billion by 2040. This means greater swaths of land than ever before are being used for agriculture, and livestock numbers.....»»
Pacific rock samples offer glimpse of active Earth 2.5 billion years ago
In Earth science, small details can help explain massive events. Rita Parai, an assistant professor of Earth, environmental and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, uses precision equipment to measure trace lev.....»»
Factors impacting yield and size of day-neutral strawberries
Strawberries are a vital crop for California, the leading producer of fresh market strawberries in the United States, with a production value of more than $2 billion in 2021. The Central Coast region, encompassing areas like Watsonville and Salinas,.....»»
Researchers use the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument to make the largest 3D map of our universe
With 5,000 tiny robots in a mountaintop telescope, researchers can look 11 billion years into the past. The light from far-flung objects in space is just now reaching the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), enabling us to map our cosmos as i.....»»
What is Roblox? Everything you need to know
Released in 2006, Roblox grew from obscurity into a gaming juggernaut, culminating in a multi-billion-dollar public stock offering in 2021 — and controversy about its monetization model that relies on children. Here's what you need to know about th.....»»
How AI and deeper roots can help soil store more carbon
In 2020, global agricultural emissions were 16 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (an increase of 9% since the year 2000) and globally, the 2020 farm gate emission represented nearly half of total agricultural emissions, according to the Food.....»»
Hundreds of animals were rescued after the Black Summer bushfires, but how many actually survived?
The horrific Black Summer bushfires of 2019–20 burned more than 8 million hectares of vegetation across southeastern Australia. An estimated 3 billion animals were caught in the fire zone......»»
Daily Telescope: A shiny cluster of stars in a nearby galaxy
This cluster is about 2 billion years old. Enlarge / This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows a globular cluster called NGC 1651. (credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, L. Girardi, F. Niederhofer) Welcome to the.....»»
Impersonation scams cost US victims over a billion dollars last year
A new report from the FTC shows the cost of spoofing scams, and the new methods cybercriminals are adopting......»»
AI improves monsoon rainfall predictions
Every year, the South Asian monsoon season brings heavy rain to over a billion people in the Indian subcontinent between June and September. The rain falls in oscillations: Some weeks see 1 to 4 inches of water, while other weeks are mostly dry. Pred.....»»
Why Ontario school boards are suing social media platforms for causing an attention crisis
Four of Ontario's largest school boards have brought a lawsuit against four of the biggest social media companies for causing an epidemic of addiction among teens. The boards are seeking over $4 billion in damages......»»
Exploding stars are rare but emit torrents of radiation—one close enough to Earth could threaten life on the planet
Stars like the sun are remarkably constant. They vary in brightness by only 0.1% over years and decades, thanks to the fusion of hydrogen into helium that powers them. This process will keep the sun shining steadily for about 5 billion more years, bu.....»»