Techmeme

Google says it is testing new ad formats in search results and AI Mode, including Conversational Discovery ads, Highlighted Answers, and AI-powered Shopping ads (Anu Adegbola/Search Engine Land)
Airbnb says it is adding luggage storage, airport pickups, car rentals, grocery delivery, and thousands of boutique and independent hotels to its platform (Jacob Passy/Wall Street Journal)
Sources: OpenAI is preparing to file confidentially for an IPO as early as Friday; the company plans to be ready to go public as early as September (Wall Street Journal)
Ubisoft reports a record operating loss of $1.40B for the year to March and says sales in 2026-27 will fall by about 8% to 9%; UBI falls 6%+ (Reuters)
Internal memo: Xbox hires game industry analyst Matthew Ball as chief strategy officer, and names Scott Van Vliet, who led Azure AI infrastructure, as Xbox CTO (Tom Warren/The Verge)
Internal memo: Mark Zuckerberg told employees that he does not expect more company-wide layoffs this year (Katie Paul/Reuters)
An interview with Match Group CEO Spencer Rascoff about plans for Tinder, including a redesign, AI features, live events, and group dating to win over Gen Z (Samantha Kelly/Bloomberg)
OpenAI's Chris Lehane says he is pursuing "reverse federalism", lobbying blue states to pass AI safety laws and create a de facto US standard, as DC dithers (Brendan Bordelon/Politico)
Stability AI releases a new family of audio models called Stable Audio 3.0 that is trained on licensed data; the top model can generate six-minute songs (Ivan Mehta/TechCrunch)
NanoClaw creator NanoCo raised a $12M seed led by Valley Capital and says it is booking enterprise customers; co-founders say they rejected a $20M buyout offer (Julie Bort/TechCrunch)
Variational, which has built a protocol for decentralized derivatives trading aimed at gathering liquidity from traditional markets, raised a $50M Series A (Jack Kubinec/Fortune)
Samsung Electronics and its South Korean labor union reach a preliminary pay deal; the union says it has suspended a general strike and put the deal to a vote (Reuters)
Mercury, which provides banking services to startups, raised a $200M Series D led by TCV at a $5.2B valuation, up from $3.5B in March 2025 (Hugh Son/CNBC)
Socket, which helps companies safeguard open-source code against hackers, raised $60M led by Thrive Capital at a $1B valuation (Dina Bass/Bloomberg)
Apple says the App Store prevented over $2.2B in potentially fraudulent transactions in 2025, rejected over 2M problematic app submissions, and more (Ryan Christoffel/9to5Mac)

Wired

I Gave My OpenClaw Agent a Physical Body
How Wet Weather in Argentina Helped Fuel the Cruise Ship Hantavirus Outbreak
A New York Cop Got Injured at a Boxing Match. Now Madison Square Garden Is Banning His Lawyer
It’s Officially Election Season in Trumpworld
‘Perfect Storm’: How Trump’s Aid Cuts Are Fueling the Ebola Outbreak
Ride1Up Roadster Review (2026): An Ebike That Feels Like a Bike
Hypershell X Ultra S Review: The Best Exoskeleton Yet
How to Upgrade Weber and Kamado Joe Into Smart Grills
Everything to Look for When Buying a New Laptop in 2026
Trump Wants to Be the Hero Vapers Don’t Really Need
Election Officials Are Getting Ready for ICE to Show Up at the Polls
Data Brokers’ and AI Firms’ Opt-Out Forms Are Built to Fail, Report Finds
Dell Coupon Codes: 20% Off for May 2026
LG Promo Codes and Coupons for May 2026
NordVPN Coupons and Deals: 77% Off in May 2026
Sony Coupons: 45% Off Sony Headphones, WF-1000XM6 Earbuds, and Sony Cameras for May
30% VistaPrint Coupon & Promo Codes | May 2026
Herman Miller Promo Code & Discounts: Save up to 40% in May 2026
Stearns and Foster Promo Codes: $300 Off in May
Literary Prizewinners Are Facing AI Allegations. It Feels Like the New Normal
California’s Wildfire Season Is Already Overactive
Everything Announced at Google I/O 2026: Gemini, Search, Smart Glasses
Meta Employees Are Scrambling to Use Up Benefits Ahead of Layoffs
Demis Hassabis Thinks AI Job Cuts Are Dumb
Google Makes It Easy to Deepfake Yourself
Hands-On With All of Google’s New Upcoming Android XR Smart Glasses
Google Search Goes Agentic—and Doesn’t Need You Anymore
Gemini Spark Is Google’s Response to OpenClaw’s 24/7 AI Agent
Former OpenAI Staffers Warn That xAI’s Poor Safety Record Could Complicate SpaceX’s IPO
The Zuckerbergs Are Hiring a Lifeguard but Calling It a ‘Beach Water Person’
The Best Action Cameras for All Your Craziest Adventures (2026)
The Herman Miller Coyl Standing Desk Is Built Just for Gamers
The US Built a Site to Ensure Fair Access to Public Lands. Then Everything Went Wrong
Set Up Your Phone’s Always-On Display So You’re Unlocking It Less Often
Tom Steyer Wants to Save California From Billionaires. But Also Doesn’t Want Them to Leave
Google I/O 2026 Live Blog: All the Gemini and Smart Glasses Updates as They Happen
You Can Get Some of Your Nudes Removed From the Internet Under a New Law
Tempo Promo Code: 60% Off Ready-to-Heat Meals in 2026
HBO Max Promo Code: 50% Off | May
Norton Coupon Codes: Up to 58% Off
Limited Time: TurboTax Full Service Coupons This May
Booking.com Promo Codes: 20% Off | May 2026
Lenovo Coupon Codes and Deals in May 2026
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iRobot Promo Code: 15% Off
Barkbox Promo Codes and Discounts: Up to 50% Off
30% Off Tempur-Pedic Promo Codes | May 2026
These 11 Automatic Cat Feeders Were the Best We Tested in 2026
Elon Musk Loses Landmark Lawsuit Against OpenAI
Leica Cine Play 1 Review: Pricey but Worth Every Penny

Engadget

Airbnb expands into hotel bookings and even grocery deliveries
Quantic Dream is shutting down its MOBA Spellcasters Chronicles
Cuneflow's e-paper writing tablet uses AI to record and transcribe meetings
An hour-long PlayStation State of Play is set for June 2
XGIMI Titan Noir Max projector review: Excellent image quality, but short on features
Engadget Podcast: Google I/O 2026 was AI all the way down
Android Auto's big 2026 makeover is Gemini at its most practical
The Kingdom Come studio is officially making a Lord of the Rings RPG
The Herman Miller Coyl is a very handsome and modular gaming desk
Mercedes-AMG's 1,153 hp electric GT 4-Door takes on Porsche's Taycan
Samsung faces strike from nearly 48,000 union workers
2027 Volvo EX60 first drive: An ultra-smooth SUV for around $60k
Kickstarter rolls back its mature content policy after outcry
Android XR is finally starting to feel real
Discord now has end-to-end encryption on all calls
Firefox AI guardrails arrive for mobile
The Apple Sports app expands to 90 new markets ahead of the World Cup
Google debuts AI-powered tools to optimize scientific research workflows
Fortnite is returning to the App Store globally, a year after its US comeback
Google announces Wear OS 7

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Cached on Atlas at May 20th 06:27 PM