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Cybersecurity

Zero-Day Exploit: 'Landfall' Spyware Targeted Samsung Galaxy Phones

Security researchers at Palo Alto Networks' Unit 42 discovered a new Android spyware called 'Landfall' that targeted Samsung Galaxy phones for nearly a year. The spyware exploited a zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2025-21042) in Galaxy phone software, allowing attackers to compromise devices by sending a malicious image. Samsung patched the flaw in April 2025.

The attacks, likely driven by espionage, targeted specific individuals, potentially in the Middle East. 'Landfall' shares infrastructure with Stealth Falcon, a known surveillance vendor. The spyware can access victim data, including photos, messages, contacts, call logs, and can tap the device's microphone and track location.

The spyware targeted Galaxy S22, S23, S24, and some Z models running Android versions 13 through 15. Samples were uploaded to VirusTotal from Morocco, Iran, Iraq, and Turkey. Turkey's national cyber readiness team (USOM) flagged a related IP address as malicious.

Automotive Technology

Tesla's Cybercab: Autonomous Production Set for April 2026

Tesla plans to start producing the Cybercab, an autonomous electric vehicle without pedals or a steering wheel, in April at its Austin, Texas factory. CEO Elon Musk announced this during the company's shareholder meeting.

The Cybercab is designed for unsupervised, full self-driving with a focus on low cost-per-mile. The production line aims for a 10-second cycle time, potentially yielding 2 to 3 million units annually.

This initiative faces regulatory hurdles, as putting a vehicle without standard controls on the road requires federal approval. Tesla's plans contrast with chairwoman Robyn Denholm's suggestion of including a steering wheel and pedals as a backup.

Despite potential regulatory challenges, Musk expressed confidence in deploying the Cybercabs, citing Waymo's efforts in paving the way for autonomous vehicles.

Energy Investment

Lowercarbon Capital Doubles Down on Fusion Energy with New Fund

Chris Sacca's Lowercarbon Capital is launching a second fund to invest in nuclear fusion energy companies. The firm previously raised a $250 million fusion fund in 2022 and has supported startups like Commonwealth Fusion Systems and Pacific Fusion. While fusion reactor development is costly, with Commonwealth raising significant funding rounds, investors remain optimistic about achieving commercial viability, fueled by promising advancements. The size of the new fund is expected to exceed the initial $250 million.

Business and Finance

Accel and Prosus Invest in Rapido, India's Ride-Hailing Competitor

Accel has invested in Rapido, the ride-hailing platform competing with Uber in India, while Prosus has increased its stake after TVS Motor sold its entire holding for ₹2.88 billion (about $32 million). Rapido, founded in 2015, has grown into a major player in India’s ride-hailing market, expanding from bike taxis to auto-rickshaw bookings, car services, and courier services. It is also piloting a food-delivery service. Accel's backing marks a return to India’s ride-hailing sector, while Prosus expanded its stake through a secondary share sale in September. Rapido is in talks with Accel and Prosus for a new primary funding round that could close next year.

Video Games

GTA VI Release Pushed to November 2026

Rockstar Games has announced that the release of Grand Theft Auto VI has been delayed until November 19, 2026. This marks the second delay for the highly anticipated game, which was originally planned for Fall 2025 and then May 2026. The company stated that the additional time is needed to ensure the game meets the expected level of quality. Grand Theft Auto VI is the sequel to Grand Theft Auto V, a record-breaking title.

Rockstar Games recently fired some employees for allegedly leaking confidential information.

Artificial Intelligence

OpenAI's Ambitious Expansion: $20B ARR and $1.4 Trillion Data Center Vision

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed the company's financial projections, expecting to surpass $20 billion in annualized revenue run rate by the end of the year and aiming for hundreds of billions by 2030. The company is looking at commitments of about $1.4 trillion over the next 8 years.

Altman outlined several future business plans, including an upcoming enterprise offering, consumer devices and robotics (following the acquisition of Jony Ive's io), and scientific discovery initiatives.

OpenAI is also considering becoming a cloud computing provider to offer 'AI cloud' services. In addition to revenue, the company may explore selling more equity or taking on more loans to fund its needs.

Artificial Intelligence

Laude Institute's 'Slingshots' Program Fuels AI Research with Grants

The Laude Institute has launched its Slingshots program, providing grants to researchers to advance AI science and practice. This initiative offers resources like funding, compute power, and engineering support, not typically available in academic settings. In return, recipients commit to producing tangible outputs such as startups or open-source code.

The first group includes fifteen projects, emphasizing AI evaluation. Noteworthy projects include Terminal Bench and ARC-AGI, along with new approaches like FormulaCode and BizBench. Other grants focus on reinforcement learning and model compression. SWE-Bench co-founder John Boda Yang's CodeClash project will use a dynamic competition-based framework to assess code.

Yang emphasizes the importance of third-party benchmarks for driving progress, cautioning against company-specific benchmarks.

Business & Finance

Elon Musk's $1 Trillion Pay Package Approved by Tesla Shareholders

Tesla shareholders have overwhelmingly approved a compensation package for CEO Elon Musk that could be worth up to $1 trillion in company shares. More than 75% of participating shareholders voted in favor of the plan. The package is divided into 12 tranches based on operational, profit, and market capitalization goals. If achieved, Tesla's market capitalization would need to increase from $1.5 trillion to $8.5 trillion over a decade. The vote followed an aggressive campaign by Tesla and its board. The previous 2018 pay package was struck down by Delaware's Chancery Court, leading to this new proposal.

Business & Finance

Meta's Revenue Boosted by Tolerating Fraudulent Ads, Report Suggests

A recent report indicates that Meta estimates 10% of its annual revenue, around $16 billion, is derived from fraudulent ads.

The company reportedly allows ads promoting illegal gambling, investment schemes, and banned medical products to run for years.

Meta uses a system to detect potential scams but only deactivates accounts with 95% certainty of fraud, charging suspected scammers more instead.

Meta claims to have reduced user reports of scam ads by 58% and removed over 134 million scam ads in the last 18 months.

Artificial Intelligence

OpenAI Rejects Government Bailout Amid Infrastructure Financing Discussions

OpenAI executives, including CEO Sam Altman and CFO Sarah Friar, have addressed questions regarding the company's plans to finance its significant data center investments. Friar initially suggested the possibility of government "backstops" for infrastructure loans, but quickly retracted the statement following public criticism.

Altman clarified that OpenAI is not seeking government guarantees and believes governments should not favor specific companies. He mentioned discussions about loan guarantees for semiconductor fabs in the US but stated OpenAI has not formally applied.

Despite infrastructure commitments reaching $1.4 trillion over the next eight years, Altman expressed confidence in OpenAI's revenue prospects, projecting substantial growth through enterprise offerings, consumer devices, and robotics. The company anticipates exceeding $20 billion in annualized revenue this year and aims for hundreds of billions by 2030.