Your Hub for Tech News and Handy Online Tools.

Gaming Industry

Game Platforms Face Payment Processor Pressure Over Adult Content

Recent crackdowns on adult content in games on platforms like Steam and Itch.io have sparked controversy.
Mastercard denies pressuring these platforms, stating they only require merchants to control unlawful purchases, including illegal adult content. However, Valve claims payment processors cited a Mastercard rule against "illegal or brand-damaging transactions" when rejecting Steam's content policy.
Itch.io is re-indexing free adult games while negotiating with payment processors like Stripe, which cites banking partner restrictions on sexually explicit content.

Business & Technology

SAP Enhances HR Suite with SmartRecruiters Acquisition

SAP has announced its acquisition of SmartRecruiters, a recruiting software company, aiming to enhance its HR solutions.
The integration of SmartRecruiters' user-friendly interfaces and streamlined workflows will provide customers with a comprehensive candidate lifecycle management system, from sourcing to onboarding.
The deal, expected to close in Q4, will allow SAP to offer a single system for recruiters, hiring managers, and candidates. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Artificial Intelligence

OpenAI's Journey Towards General-Purpose AI Agents: Overcoming Reasoning Challenges

OpenAI is actively developing AI reasoning models and agents that can perform tasks like humans. The MathGen team played a vital role in improving AI's mathematical reasoning capabilities, leading to models that can compete at a high school level. These advancements are tied to reinforcement learning techniques, allowing models to learn from feedback and improve their performance.
The development of the o1 reasoning model marked a breakthrough, leading to the creation of AI agents. OpenAI aims to create general-purpose agents that can handle complex, subjective tasks, but faces challenges in training models for such tasks. The company is exploring new techniques to improve the performance and intuitiveness of AI agents, with the goal of building an AI system that can understand user needs and perform tasks autonomously.
While OpenAI was initially ahead, it now faces competition from other companies in developing AI agents.

Fashion and Artificial Intelligence

AI Models Spark Debate in Fashion Industry: Vogue's AI-Generated Ad and the Future of Human Models

The fashion industry is grappling with the increasing use of AI-generated models, sparking debate about the future of human models and the impact on creative jobs.

Key points:

  • Controversy over AI Models: Vogue's July print edition featured a Guess ad with an AI-generated model, causing an uproar and raising questions about the role of AI in fashion.
  • Cost Benefits: AI models are cheaper and allow for scaled content production, but concerns arise over the displacement of human models, especially e-commerce models.
  • Diversity and Ethics: The use of AI to create "diverse" models raises concerns about "robot cultural appropriation" and the potential for bias in AI-generated content.
  • Model Alliance: Fashion Workers Act is being worked on, which would require brands to get a model’s clear consent and provide compensation for using their digital replicas.
  • The Human Element: Authenticity and unique human stories remain valuable, particularly for luxury and heritage brands.

Experts suggest models differentiate themselves by building personal brands and exploring new revenue streams.

Technology

Apple's AI Ambition: Cook Urges Employees to Seize the Opportunity

Apple CEO Tim Cook emphasized the company's need to excel in AI during an all-hands meeting, following an earnings call where increased AI investments were announced.

Cook reportedly told employees that dominating AI is 'ours to grab,' acknowledging past instances where Apple wasn't first but innovated modern versions of existing products.

Despite recent AI-powered features, promised upgrades to Siri have faced delays, indicating a need to catch up with competitors in the AI landscape.

Finance

Khan's Stance on Startup Acquisitions Validated by Figma's IPO Success

Lina Khan, former chair of the Federal Trade Commission, views Figma's successful IPO as a validation of her approach to scrutinizing mergers and acquisitions, particularly in the tech industry. Khan argues that allowing startups like Figma to grow independently fosters innovation and generates greater value, referencing the failed Adobe acquisition of Figma due to regulatory concerns. While critics attribute Figma's success to its innovation, Khan sees it as a win for employees, investors, and the public.

Artificial Intelligence

Anthropic Restricts OpenAI's Access to Claude AI Models Amid Competition Concerns

Anthropic has revoked OpenAI's access to its Claude family of AI models due to concerns that OpenAI was using Claude to benchmark its own models, potentially violating Anthropic's terms of service. Anthropic's terms prohibit using Claude to build competing services. While access is cut off, Anthropic will allow OpenAI access for benchmarking and safety evaluations. OpenAI expressed disappointment, noting their API remains available to Anthropic. This decision follows previous resistance from Anthropic to providing access to competitors.

Venture Capital & Startups

Navigating Series C Funding: Key Insights for Startup Founders

According to Sapphire Ventures partner Cathy Gao, startup founders seeking Series C funding in 2025 face a complex capital market where access to capital is challenging. Only a small fraction of startups raising a Series A make it to Series C, and investors are prioritizing certainty and market leadership over mere growth.

Companies should demonstrate they are category leaders with efficient growth and undeniable market pull. Metrics are important, but investors need to be convinced of the company's potential to dominate its space. Gao emphasizes that continuity and sustainable growth are more valuable than short-term virality, with investors seeking compounding loops where the company strengthens as it scales.

Founders should treat fundraising like a go-to-market campaign, building relationships with VCs well in advance. Creating an "investor CRM" to track investor preferences and sending periodic updates can be beneficial. Most importantly, companies should only initiate a fundraise after receiving interest from multiple firms, as timing and planning are critical at the Series C level.