The Mozilla Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the Firefox browser maker, has laid off 30% of its employees as it reorganizes teams to increase agility and impact. The move is part of a broader effort to ensure a more open and equitable technical future, but has raised concerns about the future of advocacy and global…
industry on The Soothsayer / page 18
A team of researchers has made a groundbreaking discovery that could revolutionize potato farming. By understanding the genetic mechanism that controls nitrogen management in potatoes, scientists may be able to develop varieties that require less fertilizer, saving farmers money and reducing the environmental impact of potato cultivation. Forecast for 6 months: Within the next six…
Printful and Printify, two veteran European companies in the on-demand printing space, have announced a merger. The move aims to unlock greater economies of scale, efficiencies, and profitability. The combined company plans to expand into more markets, serving solo-entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 companies. The merger has already passed regulatory review and received overwhelming support from…
Anduril, a defense tech company co-founded by Palmer Luckey, is considering building its first major manufacturing plant, Arsenal-1, in Arizona, Ohio, or Texas. The facility will employ thousands of people and produce tens of thousands of autonomous military systems annually. Anduril plans to use the facility as a prototype for a faster, cheaper, software-defined factory…
The tech industry is experiencing a significant wave of layoffs, with over 130,000 job cuts across 457 companies in 2024. Major players like Tesla, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft have all conducted sizable layoffs, while smaller startups have also seen significant cuts. The impact of AI and automation on jobs is a major concern, and the…
Researchers have made a breakthrough in aviation with the development of a new airplane design that mimics the unique features of bird wings. The innovative design, which features a series of lightweight flaps that deploy passively, has shown significant improvements in lift, drag, and stall prevention. This technology has the potential to revolutionize the aviation…
Wiz, a cloud security startup, turned down a $23 billion offer from Alphabet, opting to pursue a $100 billion opportunity in the cloud security space. This decision has sparked interest in the tech world, with many speculating about the future of cloud security and AI. The news also highlights the growing importance of AI in…
The New York Times tech workers have gone on strike, demanding better wages and working conditions. In response, the CEO of AI search company Perplexity has offered to provide services to mitigate the effect of the strike. The move has sparked controversy, with many criticizing the CEO for acting as a scab. The strike will…
SpaceX is set to attempt a historic transfer of propellant from one orbiting Starship to another, paving the way for an uncrewed landing demonstration of a Starship on the moon. NASA is also counting on the Starship program to return humans to the moon under the Artemis program. Forecast for 6 months: SpaceX is expected…
Decart, an Israeli AI company, has emerged from stealth with a $21 million funding and released the first playable “open-world” AI model, Oasis. This model can simulate games like Minecraft in real-time, generating frames, physics, and graphics. While the current demo has limitations, Decart believes future versions could generate up to 4K gameplay and potentially…
