Technology

News on tech innovations and their impact on businesses and markets.

Technology
Research: Astronauts aim to grow mushrooms in space
A SpaceX mission that will launch in the coming days will include an Australian-led experiment that could have serious ramifications for the future of space exploration. The Fram 2 mission is scheduled to blast off from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Monday and is set to make history by being the first human space flight to orbit the Earth’s polar regions. But the crew is also trying to set achievement as they attempt to “fruit” mushrooms in space for the very first time. Food and nutrition for lunar and Mars trips are among the top 30 priorities in NASA’s list of civil space challenges. The mushrooms will be supplied by the Australian firm FOODiQ. The company's chief executive, Dr Flavia Fayet-Moore, described the oyster mushrooms as the perfect crop as they grow fast and can be eaten raw. “Because we don’t have technology to process food in space yet … NASA is currently prioritising research into ‘grow, pick and eat’ crops – things like lettuce, tomatoes and mushrooms,” she said. According to Fayet-Moore, they also contain a range of nutrients, including vitamin D and are easy to maintain. “They don’t need a lot of inputs: they don’t need any special fertilisers, they don’t need a lot of water,”
Technology
DNA test firm 23andMe files for bankruptcy, seeks sale
Genetic testing company 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy protection, after reporting significant financial losses in recent years. The company is seeking authorisation to be sold under a chapter 11 bankruptcy plan. Its CEO, Anne Wojcicki, is stepping down from her role to pursue a bid to acquire 23andMe. “After a thorough evaluation of strategic alternatives, we have determined that a court-supervised sale process is the best path forward to maximise the value of the business,” said 23andMe chair Mark Jensen. “We expect the court-supervised process will advance our efforts to address the operational and financial challenges we face, including further cost reductions and the resolution of legal and leasehold liabilities.” “In addition, we are committed to continuing to safeguard customer data and being transparent about the management of user data going forward, and data privacy will be an important consideration in any potential transaction.” 23andMe said it plans to continue operating during the sale process, having secured US$35 million in funding from JMB Capital Partners to do so. California Attorney General Rob Bonta recommended last week that the state’s residents ask the company to delete or destroy their g
Technology
Netflix bets on video games in broad new strategy
Netflix announced their plan to expand its evolving video game strategy at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. This comes after Netflix replaced their gaming leadership last year when they added Alain Tascan, who had spent decades working at Epic Games, Ubisoft Entertainment SA and Electronic Arts, and Jeet Shroff who worked at Epic, Sony Santa Monica and more. As part of the new gaming upgrade, Netflix has announced their first MMO called Spirit Crossing which allows you and a group of friends to work on and nurture your village alongside a slate of other games. Netflix plans to work on smaller-scale games that solely live on their app across TVs and televisions as opposed to console games, after previous attempts at a big-budget multiplayer shooter that were axed. “I don’t want this move to be seen as, ‘We’re not going to do big ambitious games,'” Tascan said in an interview at the event. “It was just the genre of the game, I don’t think was matching the platform. “This team was really good at what they were doing, but we wouldn’t have been the best partner for them to express their skills and their expertise.” Tascan outlined that the streamer's four areas of focus in gaming would be party
Technology
Volvo using AI simulations to train safety software
Volvo has begun using artificial intelligence (AI) to train its driver assistance and safety software, as it continues to invest in AI features. Its Gaussian splatting technique can simulate road conditions in a three-dimensional virtual environment based on data collected by its cars’ sensors, and was developed with Volvo’s AI arm Zenseact. “We already have millions of data points of moments that never happened that we use to develop our software,” said Volvo head of global software engineering Alwin Bakkenes. “Thanks to Gaussian splatting we can select one of the rare corner cases and explode it into thousands of new variations of the scenario to train and validate our models against. This has the potential to unlock a scale that we’ve never had before and even to catch edge cases before they happen in the real world.” Volvo expanded its partnership with Nvidia in September, saying its new EX90 model would be powered by an Nvidia Drive Orin chip. The AI supercomputing platform used to analyse these cars’ sensor data is powered by Nvidia’s DGX systems, Volvo said. The company released its first AI-generated advertisement earlier this month, targeting Saudi Arabian buyers as Volvo hopes to reestablish its pre
Technology
Businesses encouraged to use tech to boost tourism
Small tourism businesses in Queensland are being called to lift their tech game with a rebate of up to A$2,500. More than $3 million will be available to more than 1,000 businesses through the Tourism Business Digital Adaption Programto help small to medium-sized businesses stay tech-savvy and attract more tourists. The program is being championed by the current Queensland Liberal Party government which minister for the environment and tourism, Andrew Powell said shows their understanding of the importance of small business in the tourism sector. “We know innovative digital technologies can pose challenges for small business owners – a challenge we can address with the help of these rebates,” he said. “A key focus identified in our 20-year tourism plan consultation is to improve experience delivery, and digital offerings are an essential aspect of this. “From better online booking systems to AI tools to develop digital content, I encourage all eligible businesses to apply for a rebate.” The program will have three components including free online webinars and resources, a Digital Champions Network, and a rebate to implement new digital products. More than 400 Queensland tourism operators will share in $945,0

Technology
TechCrunch: Regent doubles up in media expansion
A regent may technically be a temporary ruler, but the company of the same name is making a permanent mark in technology journalism with its second acquisition in less than week. Media investment firm Regent is buying the TechCrunch start-up and technology news website from Yahoo for an undisclosed price. This follows Regent’s acquisition of global media, data, and marketing services company Foundry from International Data Group (IDG) on 20 March. Regent said TechCrunch had been the number one publisher for “all things start-ups” since its foundation in 2005 and it aimed to expand its reach in provided breaking technology news, opinions, and analysis on tech companies worldwide. "We're excited to bring TechCrunch and Foundry into our portfolio,” Regent said in a statement. Yahoo said although TechCrunch had consistently stood out as a distinguished component of its portfolio, its original reporting, incisive analysis, and comprehensive industry coverage was distinct from the company’s broader focus on news aggregation and innovative tools for users. “We believe this next chapter under Regent can help maintain TechCrunch's influence and support its continued growth,” said Yahoo, which is 90% owned by private equ
Technology
Tesla recalls almost all Cybertrucks for panel fault
Tesla has recalled almost all of its Cybertrucks in the United States due to a defect in an exterior trim panel. More than 46,000 Cybertrucks will be recalled, according to Tesla’s filings with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The exterior cant rail panel can become unglued and detach from the car. “The cant rail assembly is affixed to the vehicle with fasteners. On affected vehicles, the cant rail stainless steel panel may delaminate at the adhesive joint, which may cause the panel to separate from the vehicle,” Tesla said in its safety recall report. “If the cant rail stainless steel panel separates from the vehicle while in drive, it could create a road hazard for following motorists and increase their risk of injury or a collision.” The recall impacts all U.S. Cybertrucks made from 13 November 2023 to 27 February 2025. Production on the Cybertruck began in November 2023, and the vehicle is only available in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. Around 1% of these Cybertrucks would include the cant rail defect, Tesla estimated. The company said 151 warranty claims had been linked to the defect, although it had not identified any collisions or injuries it may have caused. The company plans to replace
Technology
Nvidia, xAI join group to expand AI infrastructure
Nvidia and Elon Musk’s xAI have joined a Microsoft-backed group to expand the United States’ artificial intelligence infrastructure, as energy demand for AI data centres increases. The group, known as the AI Infrastructure Partnership, is also supported by BlackRock and Emirati investment firm MGX. Nvidia will act as a technical adviser to the group, as well as a full member. “The global buildout of AI infrastructure will benefit every company and country that wants to achieve economic growth and unlock solutions to the world’s greatest challenges,” said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. “As we welcome new partners to the AI Infrastructure Partnership, we will accelerate innovation and technological breakthroughs to achieve transformational productivity gains across the global economy,” said MGX chair Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan. “Our singular focus is accelerating AI’s responsible and inclusive development for the benefit of humanity.” Energy equipment company GE Vernova and electric utility company NextEra Energy will also collaborate with the AI Infrastructure Partnership on energy solutions for AI data centres. The group plans to raise US$30 billion from investors and corporations, and has said this will mobilise up to
Technology
Baidu stocks skyrocket after latest AI announcement
Chinese tech giant Baidu has released a new Artifical Intelligence reasoning model that has caused their shares to rise by 10.7%. A reasoning model is a league language model designed to process complex problems by breaking them down into smaller pieces and considering multiple approaches before generating responses. Baidu’s new model is called Ernie and according to the media release announcement, it is set to deliver “performance on par with DeepSeek R1 for only half the price”. In the announcement, Baidu announced both their foundational model, Ernie 4.5 and thinking reasoning model Ernie 4.5, which are freely accessible to users. “The launch of ERNIE 4.5 and ERNIE X1 marks a significant milestone in pushing the boundaries of multimodal and reasoning models, offering advanced capabilities at a more accessible price point,” the announcement said. “It also underscores Baidu's commitment to continued investment in developing smarter and more powerful next-generation foundation models.” The announcement marks a twist in the competition between Chinese tech giants as DeepSeek overtookBaidu earlier this year in the stock market, despite Baidu being one of the first to release a Chat-GPT-like chatbot.