nerdmonitor

Larry Page’s flying car company Pivotal loses its CEO

The company told TechCrunch he is "pursuing new endeavors." Karklin will be replaced on an interim basis by Mike Ross, an aviation executive who joined Pivotal's board of directors in November 2025.

Reliance’s JioHotstar takes its streaming empire global — without sports

JioHotstar will only have entertainment content when it launches in the UK, Canada, and Singapore.

Apple follows Google in adopting Trump’s ‘Lake America’ name

Apple Maps is following President Trump's executive order to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America.

AfterQuery reportedly becomes Y Combinator’s fastest-ever unicorn, now valued at $3.2B

AI model-training startup AfterQuery has reportedly raised a round that valued it at $3.2 billion, just five months after announcing its $30 million Series A at a $300 million valuation in April.

OpenAI’s Astra model is on the way — and very good at breaking into computer systems

OpenAI previewed the precautions it is taking as it prepares to release Astra, its newest, cyber-critical LLM.

Google’s Android update tackles motion sickness, accessibility, and more

While some of the features see Google playing catch-up to Apple, which already offers similar features for iPhone users, others specifically leverage Gemini to provide various improvements.

X says attackers are targeting user accounts after the launch of X Money

X is investigating a wave of unsolicited password reset emails that it believes may be tied to the rollout of its new payments service.

John Ternus hypes ‘huge launch next week’ in first memo as Apple CEO

Apple is hosting its iPhone release event next week, which is rumored to feature the first-ever foldable iPhone.

Anthropic’s new Fable release is cheaper, less restrictive

Fable 5.1 includes changes meant to reduce token cost and false-positive restrictions from the model's safeguards.

Thrive’s Kushner defends involvement in FIFA mess, hires Elon’s go-to lawyer

New York's prestigious-yet-secretive venture firm Thrive Capital finally speaks out about its involvement in the messy drama upending international soccer.

How AI plotted an interstellar journey to Alpha Centauri

A nonprofit organization called the Fermi Explorer Mission announced today that it intends to launch a spacecraft to our nearest star system by the end of 2029.  It’s a hugely ambitious mission—if all goes well, the spacecraft could take up to 80,000 years to arrive at Alpha Centauri, which is 4.4 light-years away. And the…

Making the AI-powered case for legacy modernization

For years, legacy technology has been a problem companies knew they needed to solve, but one they often struggled to tackle. The cost, complexity, and risk of replacing business-critical systems could make modernization feel like a disruption to manage instead of an opportunity to pursue. But with the rise in customer expectations and the changes…

The Download: engineered microbes for crops, and OpenAI’s culture problem

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. How engineered microbes could help feed the world’s crops Fertilizer is crucial for the global food supply, but making it uses a lot of energy and produces a lot of emissions.…

How engineered microbes could help feed the world’s crops

Fertilizer is crucial for the global food supply, but making it uses a lot of energy and produces a lot of emissions. Some companies hope microbes can help. A growing body of research shows that seeding the soil around a crop’s roots with beneficial microbes can help feed the plant, providing crucial nitrogen to help…

The Hugging Face hack could indicate cultural issues at OpenAI

This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here. By now you’ve probably heard about last month’s major AI security incident, in which OpenAI agents escaped their sandbox and hacked into the AI platform Hugging Face while trying to cheat on…

Introducing agentic video understanding with Gemini

How AI-native companies turn workflows into operating capability

Basis, Clay, and Exa Labs use AI agents to improve onboarding, account management, and developer integrations. See what enterprise leaders can apply.

Path to Astra: critical capabilities and frontier safeguards

Astra is the first OpenAI model to meet the Critical cybersecurity capability threshold under the Preparedness Framework, with stronger safeguards for release.

Healthcare organizations can now connect EHR and additional industry data to ChatGPT

ChatGPT can now connect to trusted healthcare data, helping clinicians securely access patient context, medical research, and more.

How law firm Gilbert + Tobin governs and scales AI with OpenAI

See how Gilbert + Tobin combines CEO-led commitment, rigorous governance, and human accountability to scale ChatGPT Enterprise and Codex across the firm.

Developing Enterprise Frontier Safeguards with our customers

Developing Enterprise Frontier Safeguards with our customers

OpenAI supports California’s bill to advance youth AI safety

OpenAI supports California SB 1119, advancing strong, age-appropriate AI safeguards for teens while preserving opportunities to learn, create, and explore.

Polimill builds Japan's next-generation public AI infrastructure

Polimill uses OpenAI GPT models and Codex to help municipalities search and use administrative knowledge while accelerating development.

A milestone in expanding access to AI

ChatGPT Ads reaches $1 billion in annualized revenue run rate and expands globally, supporting broader access to AI through free and affordable options.

Improving our alignment and security efforts

Improving our alignment and security efforts

Gitlawb/openclaude

runs anywhere. uses anything

Imbad0202/academic-research-skills

Academic Research Skills for Claude Code: research → write → review → revise → finalize

THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC

Open Multi-Agent Interactive Classroom — Get an immersive, multi-agent learning experience in just one click

iv-org/invidious

Invidious is an alternative front-end to YouTube

jingyaogong/minimind

🧠 Train a 64M-parameter LLM from scratch in just 2h!

3b1b/manim

Animation engine for explanatory math videos

firecrawl/pdf-inspector

Fast Rust library for PDF inspection, classification, and text extraction. Intelligently detects scanned vs text-based PDFs to enable smart routing decisions.

browser-use/video-use

Edit videos with coding agents

K-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills

Turn any AI agent into an AI Scientist. The #1 Agent Skills library for science, used by 190,000+ scientists worldwide. 165 ready-to-use validated skills plus 100+ scientific databases covering biology, chemistry, medicine, and drug discovery. Compatible with Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, Pi, Antigravity, and the open Agent Skills standard.

handsomestWei/patent-disclosure-skill

中国专利.skill：专利点挖掘与交底书（发明/实用/外观）编写，通俗解读专利，嗅探政策动向，辅助审查答复。

VoltAgent/awesome-design-md

A collection of DESIGN.md files analysis by popular brand design systems. Drop one into your project and let coding agents generate a matching UI.

averygan/reclip

Download videos from almost any website. Lightweight, self-hosted media downloader with a clean web UI.

affaan-m/ECC

The agent harness performance optimization system. Skills, instincts, memory, security, and research-first development for Claude Code, Codex, Opencode, Cursor and beyond.

unclecode/crawl4ai

🚀🤖 Crawl4AI: Open-source LLM Friendly Web Crawler & Scraper. Don't be shy, join here: https://discord.gg/jP8KfhDhyN

Tech Layoffs: More Than 1,23,300 Tech Jobs Cut in 2026 So Far, Surpassing 1,22,606 in Full-Year 2025

Oracle Layoffs: The 6 AM Email Never Came On September 1. Why September 15 Now Matters

Report: Savvy Games Group CEO Brian Ward departs company

'As Savvy embarks on its next period of transformational growth, this is the right time for new leadership for that evolution.'

The majority of Doom: The Dark Ages' DLC got made 'in three or four months'

The team reportedly worked 60 to 80 hour weeks to get the project out the door.

Aggro Crab launches publishing label to splash that Peak cash

The studio wants to support 'intense, stylized games with an attitude' - but isn't interested in 'generative AI slop.'

Sega-owned Rovio is shutting down its Copenhagen studio

The closure follows the cancellation of Sonic Blitz and the exact number of redundancies are yet to be confirmed.

Paradox Interactive's Afterworld wants to entice new players to grand strategy with tasty RPG hooks

Game director Dan Lind explains the appeal of strategy in grand strategy games, and how to invite new players into a sprawling game.

Star Wars Zero Company studio furloughed workers ahead of launch

Bit Reactor has confirmed it temporarily suspended workers without pay due to concerns over how its debut title would perform.

Housemarque co-founder Ilari Kuittinen exits from studio

'Strive to be a better professional, and a better human being.'

Report: 13TB of Steam data leaked after users access 'publicly accessible endpoint'

The leaked data apparently includes beta builds and screenshots of pre-release Valve titles—and games from other publishers like EA and WB Games.

Indie devs and publishers hit in Gamescom equipment thefts

Thieves obtained access to Gamescom's Indie Arena and business area and stole a number of laptops and Steam Decks from smaller exhibitors.

GDC Side Quest - Inside Austin Wintory's Collaborative Composing Process

This month, celebrated composer Austin Wintory joins content marketing manager Beth Elderkin for a conversation about his creative process.

Panic refunds tariff fees, 1047 Games pivots from Splitgate, and Gamescom Dev grows - Patch Notes #67

Plus: No More Room in Hell 2 surpasses 1 million players after exiting a pivotal Early Access period.

Warlock's magic system was built on game-bending player choices

It's not a bug, it's a feature.

Spanish union calls for ongoing strike action at Ubisoft Mobile Barcelona

'The strike was communicated to the company in early August; however, the workers' representatives are still awaiting a response.'

How you (yes, you) can benefit from 1-on-1 synchronous playtesting

In his 2026 GDC Festival of Gaming talk, designer Brian Cronin makes the case for one-on-one playtesting.

CD Projekt Red has The Witcher 4 running on all target platforms after Cyberpunk 2077 lesson

Game Developer spoke to CD Projekt Red co-CEO Michal Nowakowski.

Saber exec: The game industry must look beyond North America and dilute risk

Saber chief creative officer Tim Willits said studios need to find 'reliable' income to support their big swings.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma once again stresses Xbox's need for affordability

Xbox isn't healthy, she said again.

Saudi media conglomerate MBC expands into video game industry with new studio

MBC Game Studio broke cover at Gamescom 2026 and has already hired veterans from BioWare, Hi-Rez, Ubisoft Montreal, and Bungie.

Obituary: Actor Tim Curry, celebrated for his work in games, has passed at age 80

The charismatic star of stage and screen also lent his likeness to a number of celebrated video games.

Rockstar Games 'heartbroken' by Grand Theft Auto 6 leaks

The Grand Theft Auto 6 maker has responded to the game's massive leaks.

Playdate maker Panic is refunding tariff fees to customers

'It's just not our money to keep, and it felt really good to give it back.'

Xbox officially announces disc to digital program

The Verge reported this program back in July.

CD Projekt Red to distribute The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt on Blizzard's Battle.net

The remastered rendition of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is coming to Battle.net, along with the new upcoming expansion and a Diablo IV collab.

Creative UK launches Barclays-sponsored growth program for screen businesses

The program led by Creative Enterprise, which is part of Creative UK, is funded by the BFI National Lottery.

Ubisoft debuts Player Council platform to expand early game development feedback

Player Council members will be invited to test 'early concepts, prototypes, and live experiences.'

Riot Games is winding down 2XKO active development in December

Riot says it hasn't seen 'enough players stick with the game to get to a path toward sustainability.'

Report: Among Us 3D co-dev Schell Games lays off staff

Schell Games has provided multiple interviews over the years on avoiding layoffs.

Irish browser games start-up Entity raises $5M in funding for 'console-quality games for the 'new web' era'

The 'next-generation gaming platform' will launch in 2027.

Journey maker thatgamecompany announces thatgamepublisher

Profit from Sky: Children of the Light will support the initiative.

W4 Games raises $18M to expand its international team

W4 Games has also signed a multi-year strategic partnership with Tencent to scale its business and the Godot ecosystem in Asia.

Creative Artists Agency spins up indie funding venture Frame1Games

'We want to support emerging, often under-resourced teams that don't necessarily have the financing, relationships or marketing resources that other titles do.'

Mutter and Blue Prince among winners at Gamescom Dev Awards 2026

Six winners were crowned in Cologne.

'Each event has to feel local and relevant to its market:' Gamescom wants responsible expansion after record-breaking year

Gamescom 2026 is about to deliver its biggest show in history, so where does the industry expo head next?

Report: Take-Two subpoenas Microsoft and Discord in bid to halt extensive Grand Theft Auto VI leak

Take-Two is racing to halt a series of GTA VI leaks from an entity known as "Cyberleek" that may have access to a playable build of the game.

We're finally talking about AI, ft. David 'Rez' Graham and Luke Dicken

We're chatting about AI and AI techniques, but it's also a conversation about the nature of work and the inherent value of AI in game development.

EA staff worries over Saudi buyout, Grand Theft Auto 6 leaks, and Peak's last major update - Patch Notes #66

Plus: The Duskbloods sounds like a design shakeup for FromSoftware.

Makers Fund expands game industry footprint through $250 million investment round

Makers general partner Jay Chi said the VC firm was 'founded on the belief that creators are the constant.'

Hundreds of union workers rally across North America to protest Xbox layoffs

CWA members and supporters are keeping pressure on Microsoft after the company announced plans to eliminate 3,200 roles across Xbox during the current fiscal year.

Harvey Smith and fellow Arkane Austin veterans announce a new studio, Black Pony Immersive

Black Pony Immersive will design and develop first-person action RPGs.

Triple-A vets and accessibility experts launch new game dev co-op: Raze and Rebuild Studio

Raze and Rebuild Studio hopes to make the most of its co-op structure.

Report: PlayStation scales back live service ambitions for Horizon Hunters Gathering, reassigns devs

PlayStation-owned Guerrilla Games is reportedly stripping out the live service component of Horizon Hunters Gathering following poor feedback.

Human: Fall Flat veterans launch new UK studio Pretty Cool Games

The studio is hiring after securing financing for its debut project.

Memory crisis is driving uncertainty over PlayStation 6's launch date

Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki says the company is yet to fix a date for the PlayStation 6 launch.

Deus Ex director Warren Spector is retiring after nearly 45 years in game dev

Spector 'thinks' he's retiring for good, despite having ideas for three games he'd love to make.

Godot adoption is rising: what are devs getting out of the engine?

Godot's 'lightweight' features are a major reason why devs are sticking with the open source engine.

Roblox being investigated by U.S. Senate after reporting 65,381 instances of suspected child abuse in 2025

'Let us be clear: children on your platform are hurting. Congress will not look the other way.'