California city at the heart of Silicon Valley
Thales has agreed to pay €134 per Exail share, valuing the target at €3.9 billion, in a deal that includes a 44% premium to the pre-announcement price. Exail shares rose sharply ahead of the transaction.
The LAPD has let its three-year contract with Flock Safety expire amid civil-liberties and privacy concerns. An external audit recommends pausing new ALPR deployments, tightening data-control rules, and boosting public input before any new agreements. City officials and civil-rights groups are pressuring for stronger safeguards and clearer ownership of data.
Zoox has received a temporary NHTSA exemption that allows it to charge fares for its purpose-built robotaxis and will start paid rides in Las Vegas on Aug. 10. The company can deploy up to 2,500 vehicles annually for two years under enhanced federal oversight while state and local approvals remain required for expansion.
Google has rolled back a new Google Earth feature that used the Nano Banana 2 image model to generate AI images over satellite, aerial and 3D imagery after researchers and journalists created fabricated scenes — from refugee camps to bomb craters — that could be shared as persuasive, falsified evidence.
Google has reorganised its AI leadership: Demis Hassabis has stepped back from day-to-day running of DeepMind to become its chair and Alphabet chief scientist, and Koray Kavukcuoglu has been promoted to senior vice-president to run Google DeepMind. Several senior engineers, including Jeff Dean and Sanjay Ghemawat, have left to launch a new startup; Alphabet shares have fallen.
Vogue World is relocating a major fashion event to San Francisco, highlighting the city’s growing status as a hub for arts, culture, and tech. The move follows recent tech-driven economic and cultural shifts, with San Francisco now touted as a focal point for creative industries.
Vintage computer collectors are restoring iconic machines like the Apple I and Xerox Alto as interest in computing history grows, with festivals drawing thousands and prices for rare items reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The Florida Department of Transportation has revoked permits for license-plate reader systems used by local law enforcement, ordering removal from state roadways within 30 days. The move follows concerns about misuse, data privacy, and surveillance.A broader wave of state actions parallels Texas and other jurisdictions amid privacy worries and allegations of abuse in ALPR programs.