November 12, 2025, 2:42 PM EST. Google finally released the Android 16 QPR1 source code on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), marking a long-awaited release. The update lands on the android16-qpr1-release branch across multiple repositories, enabling developers and custom ROM makers to leverage new features like Material 3 Expressive and Desktop Mode. This open-source release restores transparency and lets projects such as LineageOS rebase on the latest codebase. The move follows a delayed publication after Pixel devices received the update in September 2025, with questions about timing tied to new Pixel Drop features or the Android PC project teased at the Snapdragon Summit. Developers are invited to explore the code and review changes since the initial rollout, accelerating community-driven innovation within the Android ecosystem.
November 12, 2025, 2:38 PM EST. Dow's renewed partnership with Kyndryl accelerates AI-powered IT modernization of its infrastructure and applications, aiming to boost operational agility and spur innovation across its technology stack. The deal highlights how AI and automation are reshaping the investment narrative for large industrial names, potentially supporting efficiency gains even as macro headwinds press margins. While the near-term impact may be modest due to high energy and feedstock costs, Dow is also idling upstream assets in Europe to preserve cash. Investors should weigh near-term margin pressures against longer-term gains from modernization initiatives. Dow's outlook points to ~$43.6B in revenue and ~$1.5B in earnings by 2028, with a fair value around $27.94 and varied community estimates, suggesting uneven investor consensus.
November 12, 2025, 2:36 PM EST. Eight Sleep markets itself as a full-body Fitbit for your bed: a $3,050 mattress cover with sensors tracking heart rate and temperature, plus a $199-$399 annual subscription and an optional $2,000 base that tilts the bed. The system can automatically heat or cool to hit sleep-optimal temperatures, and it even vibrates you awake with 'deep rest' cues. But an AWS outage revealed a core risk: the bed's functions rely on the cloud. When Amazon Web Services went offline, the bed froze in deep sleep or maxed at 110°F, leaving users stranded until the cloud came back (and a Bluetooth backup was introduced). The incident underscores a broader trend: people are turning to tech to optimize rest, driving a $29.3B market now, projected to $135B by 2034, with more sleepmaxxing products on the horizon.
November 12, 2025, 2:32 PM EST. Google unveils Private AI Compute, a privacy-enhancing platform that processes AI queries in the cloud while preserving on-device-like privacy. It relies on Trillium TPUs and Titanium Intelligence Enclaves (TIE) to run Gemini models within a secure, fortified environment, encrypting and isolating data from Google infrastructure. The system uses AMD-based TEE hardware, mutual workload attestation, and peer-to-peer encryption, with Noise protocol, Oak sessions, and ALTS to validate identities. The architecture is ephemeral by design: inputs, inferences, and computations are discarded after each user session, ensuring data never leaves the secure enclave. This enables cloud-scale AI with strong privacy protections, shielding data even from Google.
November 12, 2025, 2:30 PM EST. Kevin Reilly, a veteran of Fox, NBC, and HBO Max, is stepping in as CEO of Kartel, a Beverly Hills-based AI startup billed as a 'creative engineering' company for Fortune 500 brands, agencies, and studios. Kartel says it blends human artistry with advanced AI to build adaptive frameworks that connect data, design, and production into scalable creative infrastructure. Reilly's arrival-powered by his Hollywood network and a track record of hits like The Sopranos, The Office, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine-signals a deeper push into the entertainment-AI frontier. Kartel, which emerged from stealth with about $2 million in funding earlier this year, has yet to reveal whether it will develop original programming or offer backend AI-driven production services.