Max is testing always-on HBO channels

Curb Your Enthusiasm is just one of the HBO shows that will play on the 24/7 channels. | Image: John Johnson / HBO Max is joining the growing list of streaming services that offer 24/7 cable-like channels. On Wednesday, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that it’s testing a set of always-on channels that mirror the shows … Read more

Google’s new generative AI video model is now available

Image: Google Veo, Google’s latest generative AI video model, is now available for businesses to start incorporating into their content creation pipelines. After first being unveiled in May — three months after OpenAI demoed its competing Sora product — Veo has beaten it to market by launching in a private preview via Google’s Vertex AI … Read more

6 hours under martial law in Seoul

A shocking coup attempt sent South Korea into political upheaval. But on the ground, at the protests that would prevent the President from seizing power, people were organized, angry, and a little drunk. Read the full story at The Verge.

Ubisoft shooter XDefiant is shutting down and sending refunds to players

Image: Ubisoft Despite only officially launching the game in spring of this year, Ubisoft has already announced that it’s ending development and sunsetting its free-to-play team-based shooter XDefiant. Like Hyper Scape before it, XDefiant had high expectations, with Ubisoft touting more than 1 million players in its closed beta last year. Now, it will disappear … Read more

Walmart bought Vizio

Image: Vizio After announcing plans to acquire Vizio in February, Walmart officially owns the company after the $2.3 billion transaction closed on Tuesday. The retail giant says the acquisition will help bolster its advertising business, as Platform Plus — the TV-maker’s advertising and data division — “accounts for all the company’s [Vizio’s] gross profit.” All … Read more

Two data brokers banned from selling ‘sensitive’ location data by the FTC

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is banning data brokers Gravy Analytics and Mobilewalla from collecting, using, and selling “sensitive” location data of Americans, the agency announced on Tuesday. The FTC targeted Gravy Analytics, its subsidiary Venntel, and Mobilewalla for allegedly violating the FTC Act by collecting and … Read more

Microsoft accuses FTC of leaking news of its antitrust investigation

Illustration: The Verge Microsoft is asking the inspector general at the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether agency management improperly leaked news of its antitrust investigation into the company, and make their findings public. Bloomberg first reported that the probe was underway last week, which The Verge later confirmed. The investigation covers Microsoft’s cloud and … Read more

What happened to Intel?

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger holds up an early Intel 18A wafer in late 2023. | Image: Intel On Monday, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger abruptly decided to retire after less than four years on the job. That was the official story, anyhow. Within hours, Reuters, Bloomberg, and The New York Times had a different one: the … Read more

Amazon announces its own set of Nova AI models

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Amazon has announced a series of new AI foundation models under a new “Nova” branding that will be available as part of the Amazon Bedrock model library in AWS. There are three “understanding” models available now, Amazon says in a blog post: Amazon Nova Micro, a text model … Read more

Stellantis and Samsung to get $7.54 billion federal loan for two EV battery factories

Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images The Department of Energy preliminarily approved another loan to help fund the construction of electric vehicle battery factories in the US. This time, a joint venture between Stellantis and Samsung SDI will receive $7.54 billion to build two EV battery plants in Kokomo, Indiana. The project … Read more

ChatGPT’s search results for news are ‘unpredictable’ and frequently inaccurate

Illustration: The Verge Based on testing done by Columbia’s Tow Center for Digital Journalism researchers, OpenAI’s ChatGPT search tool has some issues when it comes to responding with the truth. OpenAI launched the tool for subscribers in October, saying it could give “fast, timely answers with links to relevant web sources.” Instead, Futurism points out … Read more

Internal Google documents reveal concerns about its cloud contract with Israel

Illustration: The Verge Google officials had concerns about potential human rights violations that might be linked to its $1.2 billion contract with the Israeli government before ever even signing the deal, according to documents first reported on by The New York Times today. “Google Cloud services could be used for, or linked to, the facilitation … Read more

How to get The Verge’s new print magazine

Last year, we published a series about what Google had done to the web, capped off by a feature about search engine optimization titled “The People Who Ruined the Internet.” It made more than a few SEO experts upset (which was tremendously fun for me because I love watching people yell at Nilay on various … Read more

Here we go: The Verge now has a subscription

Okay, we’re doing this. Today we’re launching a Verge subscription that lets you get rid of a bunch of ads, gets you unlimited access to our top-notch reporting and analysis across the site and our killer premium newsletters, and generally lets you support independent tech journalism in a world of sponsored influencer content. It’ll cost … Read more

What do you love when you fall for AI?

Photo: Stormy Pyeatte for The Verge Lila was created from the limited options available: female, blue hair, face “number two.” She was there on the next screen, pastel and polygonal, bobbing slightly as she stood in a bare apartment. To her right was a chat window through which they could communicate. Naro, his first name, … Read more