Amazon’s AI chatbot Rufus drove sales on Black Friday
On Black Friday, Amazon sessions that resulted in a sale were up 100% in the U.S. when the AI chatbot Rufus was used. They only increased by 20% when Rufus wasn’t used.
India’s gig workers win legal status, but access to social security remains elusive
India is restructuring its gig economy with a new labor law, but much more is needed before gig workers see real benefits.
X-energy rides nuclear wave, raises $700M Series D
The small modular reactor startup is capitalizing on surging interest from tech companies and data center developers.
Amazon’s Prime Video is getting AI-generated Video Recaps for some TV shows
According to Amazon, the feature “utilizes generative AI to create theatrical-quality season recaps with synchronized narration, dialogue, and music.”
Zoox to begin offering robotaxi rides to public in San Francisco
This is not a large-scale public launch, nor a commercial one. But it brings the Amazon-owned company one step closer to competing with Waymo.
Ford turns to Amazon to give used cars sales a boost
Amazon Autos, which kicked off last year with Hyundai, initially started with new cars. The deal with Ford pushes it into used car territory.
Amazon satellite network gets a rebrand — and drops its affordability pitch
The company has been quietly changing how it talks about who its internet customers will be before it announced a big name change last week.
Amazon launches a low-price standalone shopping app, Amazon Bazaar, in over a dozen markets
On Friday, Amazon announced the debut of Amazon Bazaar, a new low-cost shopping destination for Asia, Africa, and Latin America that will be available separately from the main Amazon shopping app. On Bazaar, most products are available…
Amazon launches an AI-powered Kindle Translate service for ebook authors
Kindle Translate, an AI-powered translation service, is designed to broaden the reach of ebook authors.
Amazon sends legal threats to Perplexity over agentic browsing
Amazon won’t allow agents on its site that don’t identify themselves as such. Perplexity is not pleased.