Disney is raising the prices of Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions starting October 21. Several standalone plans and bundles will see price increases. The Disney+ standalone plan with ads will increase to $11.99 per month, while the no-ads Disney+ Premium plan will increase to $18.99 per month. The Hulu standalone plan with ads is increasing to $11.99 per month. However, the premium version of Hulu with no ads will remain at $18.99 per month. The Disney+ and Hulu with ads bundle will increase to $12.99, while the Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN Select bundle with ads will increase to $19.99. This follows a previous price hike in October 2024.

Goodnotes is launching new features aimed at professionals, including a collaborative whiteboard, document creation capabilities, and an AI assistant that can summarize meetings, create visuals, proofread text, and generate templates. The AI assistant supports handwriting, typing, sketches, and voice input.

The company acquired a South Korean startup specializing in meeting and video summaries to power these new features. Goodnotes is also introducing Goodnotes Essentials ($11.99/year) and Goodnotes Pro ($35.99/year) plans, offering features like AI for Q&A and math, Google Calendar and OneDrive integration, and AI-powered content suggestions.

Goodnotes aims to become a comprehensive notetaking app for all users and devices. They report having over 25 million monthly active users.

WhatsApp has launched a new feature that allows users to translate messages directly within the app. This update is available for both iOS and Android users. To translate a message, users can long-press on the message and select 'Translate'. They can then choose the desired language for translation.

Android users have the option to enable automatic translation for entire chat threads. WhatsApp emphasizes that the translations are processed on the user's device, ensuring message encryption and privacy. This feature aims to facilitate communication across different languages for WhatsApp's global user base.

The translation feature is available in one-on-one chats, groups, and Channel updates. Android users can translate into six languages: English, Spanish, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian, and Arabic. iPhone users have access to a broader range of languages, including Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.

California-based startup Telo has raised $20 million in Series A funding to develop its MT1, a small electric truck designed for urban environments. The funding round was co-led by Yves Béhar and Tesla co-founder Marc Tarpenning, with additional investment from Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and other early-stage funds.

Telo aims to address the challenges faced by larger electric trucks by focusing on a compact design and a starting price of around $41,000. The company plans to use the funding to build a production-intent version of the MT1, meet U.S. safety standards, and conduct crash testing. Telo plans to manufacture around 5,000 vehicles per year via contract manufacturing.

The MT1 is designed to seat five people and has a five-foot bed, with a range of approximately 350 miles on a full battery. Telo intends to target city-dwellers, with the first deliveries expected by the end of 2026.

Meta is investing millions in a new super PAC, the American Technology Excellence Project, to challenge state-level AI regulations perceived as stifling innovation. This move follows the launch of a California-focused PAC and aims to support tech-friendly politicians from both parties.

The super PAC will promote U.S. tech leadership, advocate for AI progress, and focus on parental control amid growing child safety concerns related to AI. This initiative emerges as numerous states propose AI regulations due to the perceived inaction of the federal government.

Silicon Valley is increasing efforts to influence AI legislation, arguing against a fragmented regulatory landscape and emphasizing the need to compete with China in AI development.

Tim Chen, the solo VC behind Essence VC, has successfully closed his fourth fund with $41 million. This occurred without active fundraising efforts, as investors eagerly pre-empted the process.

The surge in interest followed the acquisition of Tabular, one of Chen's portfolio companies from his second round, by Databricks for approximately $2.2 billion in 2024. This acquisition significantly elevated Chen's profile among LPs, who began to recognize his expertise.

Chen's focus on early-stage developer-tool and infrastructure startups, combined with his background as a software engineer, sets him apart in the venture capital landscape. His ability to assist founders in product development, as demonstrated with ComfyUI, further enhances his appeal to both founders and investors.

Fund IV is supported by investors such as Tomasz Tunguz and Ethan Kurzweil. Chen's unique background as an infrastructure engineer is recognized as a valuable asset in the VC world.

Alloy, an Australian startup, is addressing the challenge of managing the vast amounts of data generated by robots. The company provides data infrastructure that helps robotics companies process and organize data from various sources like sensors and cameras. Alloy encodes and labels data, enabling users to search for bugs and errors using natural language and set up rules for future issue detection. CEO Joe Harris emphasizes the importance of reducing time spent on data plumbing to focus on reliability. Having launched in February 2025, Alloy has secured four Australian design partners and plans to expand into the U.S. market. The company raised over AUD $4.5 million (approximately $3 million USD) in a pre-seed round led by Blackbird Ventures, with participation from other firms and angel investors. Alloy aims to provide a specialized tool similar to Databricks for robotics, capitalizing on the increasing commercial applications of robotics.