Tech, AI, and finance news coverage and analysis
OpenAI closed a record $122 billion funding round at an $852 billion valuation, while Whoop raised $575 million at $10.1 billion to scale its subscription wearable business, and Disney's Nvidia-powered Olaf robot suffered a viral failure on its first day in parks.
Pope Leo XIV leads the Good Friday Passion service, delivering a homily that interprets Isaiah's four Servant Songs as Jesus' blueprint for breaking humanity's cycles of violence through non-retaliation, radical acceptance, and love for enemies.
The Vergecast hosts analyze OpenAI's strategic pivot from consumer AI products to enterprise automation, highlighting the growing disconnect between the industry's 'super intelligence' marketing promises and its actual delivery of business software tools, while also revealing that their Apple product ranking suffered a bot attack attempting to manipulate iTunes to number one.
NASA's Artemis 2 crew conducts pioneering exercise operations and systems checkouts during their first 24 hours in orbit, preparing for the historic Trans Lunar Injection burn that will commit them to the first crewed lunar mission in over 50 years.
Tech stocks whipsawed on Iran-Oman Strait of Hormuz developments and Trump's threats against Iran, while Tesla disappointed with 358,000 vehicle deliveries amid speculation of a future SpaceX merger. NASA's Artemis II mission reached orbit preparing for lunar injection, Amazon pursued Globalstar for satellite spectrum, and Chime reported resilient consumer spending despite fuel price spikes.
Pope Leo XIV celebrates his first Holy Thursday Mass as pontiff, delivering a homily that emphasizes Christ's foot-washing as the revelation of divine power through humble service and linking the Passover sacrifice to the Eucharist.
President Trump's announcement that the war with Iran will continue for several more weeks has triggered a risk-off reaction, with WTI crude surging 10% to $112/barrel while stock futures drop 1%, reigniting stagflation concerns and forcing markets to abandon expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts.
Jacob Walthour, CEO of Blueprint Capital Advisors, advocates for patient 'slow yes, quick no' investment discipline while identifying energy infrastructure and Nvidia as primary AI beneficiaries, warning that private credit markets face severe stress from overexposure to unprofitable tech companies and redemption-driven asset-liability mismatches.
Live coverage from Mission Control Houston captures the Artemis 2 crew approximately 12 hours into their historic lunar mission as they awaken to prepare for the critical Perigee Raise Burn, with teams managing complex orbital maneuvers, environmental systems, and science payloads.
NASA's Artemis 2 crew successfully executed the first perigee raise burn and completed critical emergency systems checkouts while troubleshooting cabin temperature and camera exposure issues, all while capturing unprecedented views of Earth from approximately 38,000 miles away.
TaskRabbit founder Leah Solivan shares how bootstrapping her company on credit cards before selling to IKEA taught her that diversity requires intentional systems—like requiring two female candidates for every male role from day one—while technical founders must build complementary 'mosaic' leadership teams to drive category-defining innovation.
Pope Leo XIV delivers his first Chrism Mass homily as Bishop of Rome, outlining three essential dimensions of Christian mission—detachment, encounter, and the cross—while calling priests to embrace vulnerability, inculturation, and witness through suffering.