Writing the summary…
Cupertino might be made for your mom, but it’s a good take on tech

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China’s Manus raises over $500M in first funding round since split with Meta
Boyu Capital and IDG Capital led the funding round, and existing shareholders Tencent, HSG (formerly known as Sequoia China), ZhenFund and others also participated.
Last call to volunteer at TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026
TechCrunch Founder Summit is gearing up to return to Boston on November 4! We’re doing a last call for exceptional volunteers to join us in bringing this event to life. If you’ve ever wondered about the inner workings of tech events, now’s your chance to get involved. Volunteer spots are limited, so don’t miss out! […]

Amazon unveils new Alexa tablets with Alexa+ and Google Play Store access
Amazon is launching a new lineup of tablets that bear almost no resemblance to any tablet Amazon has ever launched before. They're not even called Fire, the name Amazon has used for its tablets for the last 15 years. They're called Alexa Tablets, and they're designed to do two things: bring Alexa Plus to the […]

Hands-on with Amazon’s Alexa Tablet 12 Pro and its wild new matte display
Amazon's Fire tablets are notable for being dirt cheap. While they're great for kids, they don't offer a premium Android tablet experience. The company's new $499 Alexa Tablet 12 Pro is an attempt to build a device someone might actually want to use. It's one of a few new Android tablets Amazon announced today, and […]

Joe Rogan and Spotify renew massive podcast deal
Spotify has renewed its licensing agreement with Joe Rogan, whose podcast remains the number one show on the platform - and in the world. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, the multi-year agreement is valued at around $250 million, allowing new episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience to appear on Spotify and across other […]
Uber and China’s Pony.ai plan to launch robotaxis in London
The two companies said on Thursday that they would begin testing Pony.ai's Gen-7 robotaxis in London in the coming weeks.