Patina raised $2M in May 2026 (including Betaworks and True Ventures) to develop Sense1, a foundational model that mimics nose scent receptors and targets a “universal code of smell and taste.” The New York startup says it can recreate rose-oil scents without plant extraction and is in talks with fragrance houses and fashion brands about custom formulas.
Trump delayed signing a May 2026 AI security executive order, saying he “didn’t like” parts of the language because it could have been a “blocker” to U.S. leadership. The draft would have let the Office of the National Cyber Director run pre-release security reviews and require advanced model sharing 14–90 days before release. Reports also blamed not enough tech CEOs traveling to Washington, D.C. on short notice.
Palantir held a company-wide hack week this spring focused on building new user-auditing and oversight tools for its software used by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and…
Spotify announced in May 2026 a set of AI-powered features that allow users to generate their own podcasts and ask questions about episodes they are listening to, marking a shift from the platform’s…
Spotify released a new standalone desktop app in May 2026 called Studio by Spotify Labs, designed to let users create AI-generated personal podcasts from their own data and web browsing.
The app…
Spotify is launching Studio, a standalone AI app that generates personalized daily briefings, podcasts, and playlists for users on PC. The app, developed by Spotify Labs, was announced in 2026 and is…
Spotify and UMG’s 2026 licensing deal lets Spotify Premium users prompt AI-generated remixes and covers through a paid add-on (launch date and pricing TBD). Artists can opt out and collect royalties; Co-CEO Alex Norström says it’s “grounded in consent, credit, and compensation.”
Stellantis, the automaker behind Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, and Dodge, announced in May 2026 a commercial partnership with U.K.-based self-driving startup Wayve to bring hands-free driving technology to…
Maka Kids, a startup building a streaming app for children ages zero to six, announced in 2026 that it has raised $3 million in seed funding to scale its platform. The app is currently accepting…
AI startup Hark says it raised a $700M Series A in May 2026 at a $6B post-money valuation, led by Parkway Venture Capital and backed by Intel Capital and Qualcomm Ventures. Founded in late 2025 by Brett Adcock, the 70-person team runs Nvidia B200 GPUs and plans to release its first multi-modal models this summer for a personal AI platform.
A new AI therapy and coaching app called The Path has raised $14.3 million in seed funding, with motivational speaker and author Tony Robbins joining as a co-founder alongside former Calm employees Anson Whitmer and Tyler Sheaffer. The round was led by Prime Movers Lab, where…
Fresha’s May 2026 $80M round led by KKR’s Next Generation Technology Growth fund lifts its valuation above $1B and totals $285M raised. The London-founded platform now runs 35M appointments/month for 140,000 businesses, and plans to expand to more countries and add AI features.
