Israel's top stories
SpaceX launches Starship flight test 15; booster explodes over the sea
SpaceX launched Starship flight test 15. The booster exploded over the Gulf of Mexico, and the spacecraft reached orbit and released 26 Starlink satellites.
A worldwide outage in Microsoft's cloud services, including Outlook, Teams and Copilot, disrupted users in 74 countries starting Tuesday evening. At its peak, about 130,000 reports of Outlook problems were logged on the Downdetector site.
Colette Kress, Nvidia's CFO since 2013, has been named interim CEO of the chipmaker, replacing Jensen Huang, who was removed from his position. The board is searching for a permanent CEO, and Nvidia has approached Arm CEO Rene Haas, who was among the candidates.
Nvidia Shares Fall Sharply After Jensen Huang Announces Retirement
Nvidia's stock fell sharply after Jensen Huang announced he is stepping down as CEO. Baird downgraded the stock to "neutral" and cut its price target from $500 to $200.
Talks on Merger of SpaceX and Tesla; Announcement May Come in December
Elon Musk's two giant companies, Tesla and SpaceX, are advancing merger talks that would create a company with a combined value of $3.5 trillion. The announcement could come as early as December of this year, subject to shareholder approval.
WhatsApp Tests View-Once Text Messages
Meta is testing text messages in the Android beta version that are permanently deleted immediately after the recipient opens them. The feature blocks screenshots, copying and forwarding, and there is no launch date yet for all users.
Nvidia CEO resigns; new relationship with another employee revealed
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has resigned after 33 years at the company, and reports of intimate relationships with employees continue. According to details revealed so far, it concerns another relationship with an employee whose identity has not been published, and the company has not responded.
Vine Ventures Raises $236 Million for Technology Investments
Venture capital fund Vine Ventures has completed a $236 million fundraise for its third fund, its largest to date. Assets under management have passed half a billion dollars, and about half of the sum is earmarked for Israeli companies in the fields of technology, cyber and artificial intelligence.
GTA 6 Arrives in Israeli Stores a Week Before Global Launch
The first shipments of GTA 6 arrived in Israel this morning, a week before the global launch on November 19. The game sells for 329 shekels, and the physical package includes a download code instead of a disc.
Logitech to Give Employees a Day Off for GTA 6 Launch
Logitech has announced Logi Game Day, under which each employee can take a paid day off to play a game of their choice ahead of the launch of GTA 6 on the 19th of the month. Management is encouraging teams to explore the gaming world, and the move comes as ten million pre-orders for the game have been recorded.
Keshet 12 Leads the Ratings, Channel 14 and Channel 13 Compete for Second Place
Keshet 12's "The Masked Singer" led prime time with roughly 16.6%-16.8% rating and about 468 to 511 thousand viewers. "Survival" reached about 13.9% and 407 thousand viewers, while the second-place spot between the channels remains open between Channel 14 and Channel 13.
United Airlines Blocks AI Agents from Booking Flights
United Airlines said it will not allow autonomous artificial intelligence agents to book flights on behalf of customers through its systems. The airline will allow digital assistants to display prices, but only a human may carry out the purchase.
Anthropic CEO: Within Less Than a Decade, Cancer, Alzheimer's and Mental Illness Will Become "Relics of the Past"
Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, said in a video for investors ahead of the IPO that cancer, Alzheimer's, heart disease and mental illness will become "relics of the past" within less than a decade. According to him, the vision depends on rigorous management of the risks.
Tesla will gradually end production of its Cybertruck electric pickup at its Giga Texas plant by mid-2027, CEO Elon Musk announced. The production lines will be converted to the Cybercab robotaxi, and sales have remained far below the set targets.
Wall Street Recovers: CoreWeave Stock Surges and Restores Optimism for the AI Sector
CoreWeave stock surged sharply after the company released its earnings, lifting the Nasdaq index. The company reported a jump in revenue and a backlog of orders of about $130 billion.
Apple Shuts Down Its Official Support Forum After Nearly 30 Years
Apple has announced the closure of its official support forum, which operated for almost three decades. The site has been locked to read-only mode, and the shutdown is expected on November 20.
After More Than Six Years and Two Abandoned Versions, Amazon's Ring Launches a Home Security Drone
Ring, owned by Amazon, unveiled a home security drone that flies between rooms for $250, and an autonomous robot for businesses priced at $1,000. The products are launching after years of delays and two abandoned versions.
Edelbyte Raises $70 Million to Compete With Tech Giants' Data Infrastructure
Edelbyte, founded about a year ago by four former Microsoft engineers, was revealed and announced a $70 million raise led by Sequoia and Quiet Capital. The company is developing a data infrastructure platform that enables fast searching and analysis of large volumes of information, aiming to solve the problems that AI infrastructure creates.
Anthropic Launches Office Tools, Challenging Microsoft
Anthropic has launched three new tools in Claude: Claude Sheets, Claude Whiteboards and Claude Data, which allow users to build spreadsheets, whiteboards and data dashboards directly within the chat window. Following the announcement, Microsoft's shares fell by up to 3.5%.
Israeli researchers reveal severe security vulnerabilities in xAI's Grok AI agent
Israeli cybersecurity firm Profero has disclosed a series of security vulnerabilities in xAI's Grok AI agent that could allow attackers to take over the work environment and steal sensitive information. According to the researchers, the vulnerabilities include a default password, storage of login credentials in plain text, and bypassing of encryption mechanisms.
Cybersecurity startup Bay, founded by former Unit 8200 member Yuval Zakharia, unveils $50 million fundraising
Israeli cybersecurity company Bay, founded about nine months ago under the leadership of entrepreneur Yuval Zakharia, a former member of Unit 8200, has been revealed after completing a $50 million fundraising round. The company has developed a system that checks, in real time, actions taken by artificial intelligence agents within organizations and blocks dangerous actions before they are carried out.
Nvidia CEO admits affair outside marriage; company opens probe over suspected espionage
Jensen Huang, Nvidia's founder and CEO, apologized to the company's employees for an affair he had outside his marriage. At the same time, the company's board opened an independent investigation over suspicions that the mistress was recruited by a Chinese intelligence agency.
Trial of Facial Recognition and Other Technology Solutions to Be Tested at Ben Gurion Airport
The Israel Airports Authority has selected three Israeli companies, out of 42 that submitted proposals, to carry out pilots at Ben Gurion Airport in the fields of facial recognition, aviation incident investigation and recovery from cyberattacks. The pilots will be conducted under real-world conditions at an active airport, as part of the RUNWAY 2-6 innovation program.
Apple CEO Pushes to Speed Up AI Development
Apple CEO John Ternus is demanding that the company accelerate the pace of development of its artificial intelligence systems, according to a Bloomberg report whose details are not fully specified. According to the report, Ternus is frustrated that Apple is focusing on Siri upgrades and is not acting with similar urgency to its competitors.
WhatsApp Prepares Interface Changes, Including a Message Preview Without Read Receipts
WhatsApp is developing interface changes to its app, including tapping a contact's name to open a slide-up menu instead of going straight to the profile. Among the changes is a preview for reading messages without sending a read receipt.
Anthropic Connects Claude to US Bank Accounts
Anthropic has launched a personal finance tool for Claude in beta, allowing paying subscribers in the United States to connect bank accounts and credit cards and ask about balances and expenses in natural language. The tool operates in read-only mode: it does not transfer funds, make investments or provide investment advice.
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