In early 2023, Luminar was riding high. After going public during the pandemic and scoring a key deal with Volvo, the company had added Mercedes-Benz and Polestar as customers of its “life-saving” lidar sensors. Founder and CEO Austin Russell called it an “inflection point,” as Luminar prepped to have those sensors integrated into the first production vehicles.Volvo in particular was all-in on the technology. The Swedish automaker, which spent decades building a brand around the idea of making the safest ca ...

Netflix and audio powerhouse iHeartMedia have entered into a new partnership to bring 14 video podcasts exclusively to Netflix in early 2026, the companies announced Tuesday. This represents Netflix’s second major step into the podcast space, following its recent collaboration with Spotify.The new video podcast episodes will premiere on Netflix in the U.S. in early 2026, with plans to expand to additional markets.  As part of the agreement, Netflix will get a diverse range of shows spanning comedy, crime, ...

Instagram is expanding Reels-viewing beyond mobile, the social network announced on Tuesday. The company is piloting IG for TV, a new experience that lets you watch Reels on TV, starting with Amazon Fire TV.By bringing Reels to TVs, Instagram can better compete with YouTube, which largely dominates the TV space. Instagram likely wants viewers to switch to its TV app while watching content on the couch, similar to flipping through TV channels. For example, you could be watching something on Netflix and decid ...

In Brief Disney’s three-year licensing partnership with OpenAI includes just one of exclusivity, Disney CEO Bob Iger told CNBC. The company signed the partnership with OpenAI last week that will bring its iconic characters to the AI firm’s Sora video generator. Once that exclusive year is up, Disney is free to sign similar deals with other AI companies.The deal gives OpenAI a high-profile content partner, allowing users to draw on more than 200 characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars to create ...

英伟达在开源AI领域的战略扩张 - 公司通过收购与发布新模型，在开源AI领域进行双线扩张，旨在巩固其作为生成式AI和物理AI关键基础设施供应商的地位 [1][3][8] 收购SchedMD以强化高性能计算基础设施 - 公司收购了领先的开源工作负载管理系统Slurm的开发商SchedMD，交易条款未披露 [1][2] - Slurm系统专为高性能计算和AI设计，于2002年推出，公司计划将其作为开源、供应商中立的软件继续运营 [1] - 公司与SchedMD已有超过十年的合作历史，认为该技术是生成式AI的关键基础设施，并计划持续投资以加速其在不同系统中的接入 [3] 发布新一代开源AI模型Nemotron 3 - 公司发布了名为Nvidia Nemotron 3的新系列开源AI模型，声称其是构建精准AI智能体“最高效的开放模型家族” [3] - 该模型家族包括：用于特定任务的Nemotron 3 Nano、为多AI智能体应用构建的Nemotron 3 Super，以及为更复杂任务构建的Nemotron 3 Ultra [4] - 公司CEO黄仁勋表示，开源创新是AI进步的基石，Nemotron旨在将先进AI转化为开放平台，为开发者提供构建规模化智能体系统所需的透明度和效率 [6] 近期在开源AI领域的其他举措 - 上周，公司发布了一个专注于自动驾驶研究的新型开源推理视觉语言模型Alpamayo-R1 [7] - 公司同时为其在宽松许可下开源的Cosmos世界模型增加了更多工作流程和指南，以帮助开发者更好地利用模型开发物理AI [7] 战略背景与行业展望 - 上述活动反映了公司对物理AI将成为其GPU下一个前沿领域的押注 [8] - 公司旨在成为众多机器人或自动驾驶汽车公司在寻找AI与软件以开发技术“大脑”时的首选供应商 [8] - 近几个月来，公司持续推动加强其开源和开放AI产品供应 [6]

Amid Ford’s shift away from making large electric vehicles, the automaker is adding a new product line to find a home for its batteries. Ford said Monday that instead of scuttling plans to build the batteries for those vehicles, it will pivot that capacity into a new battery storage business. Those storage systems, which will use cheaper LFP batteries, will be used to power data centers and help buffer demand on the electric grid.  Ford says the battery storage systems will start shipping in 2027 and that ...

Ford is ending production of the fully-electric F-150 Lightning as part of a broader companywide shakeup of its electric vehicle plans, the company announced Monday. In its place, Ford will sell what’s known as an “extended range electric vehicle” version of the truck, which adds a gas generator that can recharge the battery pack to power the motors for over 700 miles. The company did not share when the new F-150 Lightning will go on sale, or how much it will cost. Ford said it will report a charge of $19.5 ...

Lidar company Luminar has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after months of layoffs, executive departures, and a legal fight with its largest customer, Volvo. The company aims to sell off its lidar business during the bankruptcy proceeding, and has already reached a deal to sell its semiconductor subsidiary. While the company will continue to operate during the bankruptcy process to “minimize disruptions” for its suppliers and customers, Luminar will eventually cease to exist once it’s completed. ...

收购交易核心信息 - Netflix宣布计划以827亿美元收购华纳兄弟探索公司(WBD) [1] - 该交易在好莱坞引发震动 行业反应普遍负面 引发对就业、影院上映未来以及影视内容多样性表达的担忧 [1] 交易方声明与战略意图 - Netflix联合首席执行官Greg Peters和Ted Sarandos在致员工公开信中安抚担忧 承诺维持WBD电影的影院上映 并称将“没有业务重叠或工作室关闭” [2] - 公司高层表示“交易关乎增长” 旨在“加强好莱坞最具标志性的工作室之一 支持就业 并确保影视制作的健康未来” [2] - 为反驳垄断担忧 公司高层引用尼尔森数据称 合并后的Netflix与WBD所占收视份额将低于YouTube当前水平 也低于Paramount与WBD合并可能产生的份额 [6] 行业竞争与潜在替代方案 - Paramount曾提出1084亿美元的竞争性报价以收购WBD 表明媒体主导权之争远未结束 [7] - 据报道 WBD董事会拒绝了Paramount的收购条款 [7] 监管与行业反对声音 - 美国编剧工会(WGA)成为交易的公开反对者 认为其违反了旨在防止垄断的反垄断法 [2] - 参议员Elizabeth Warren、Bernie Sanders和Richard Blumenthal致信司法部反垄断部门 表达对娱乐业大规模合并潜在影响的担忧 [3] - 参议员们认为 合并后的新媒体巨头将拥有“比现有公司更大的市场力量来提高消费者的电视成本” 并提及Netflix去年1月已上调订阅价格 [4]

核心观点 - 特斯拉在得克萨斯州奥斯汀的Robotaxi测试取得关键进展 已移除车内安全员 向商业化服务迈出重要一步[1] - 公司计划与Waymo等公司竞争 但测试车队规模有限且涉及多起事故 面临监管与公众审视压力[2] - 首席执行官埃隆·马斯克对Robotaxi车队规模的预测经历大幅下调 从覆盖“美国一半人口”修订为在奥斯汀将现有车队规模翻倍至约60辆[4] 技术测试与进展 - 特斯拉在奥斯汀的Robotaxi测试始于约六个月前 最初有安全员在乘客座 九月移至驾驶座 目前已在部分车辆中完全移除安全员[1][3] - 周末社交媒体流传空无一人的特斯拉Model Y SUV视频 马斯克确认公司正在进行“无乘员”测试[3] - 公司AI负责人暗示进展节奏为“缓慢 然后突然加速” 但未公布向无安全员载客服务推进的具体时间表[3] - 测试服务区域已逐步扩大至覆盖奥斯汀大都会区的大部分区域[3] 车队运营与规模 - 测试车队规模始终不大 根据大多数粉丝统计从未超过约25至30辆车[3] - 马斯克在七月曾预测Robotaxi车队将在年底覆盖“美国一半人口” 但十一月修订为目标为将现有奥斯汀车队规模大致翻倍 即约60辆车[4] - 公司多年来一直讨论允许车主将个人车辆加入Robotaxi车队 但早期关于硬件已完备的承诺未能实现 数百万已上路车辆需要硬件升级[7] 竞争与监管环境 - 马斯克声称Alphabet旗下的Waymo“从未真正有机会与特斯拉竞争”[2] - 在加州旧金山湾区 特斯拉过去几个月一直在测试使用其高级驾驶辅助软件的网约车服务[6] - 加州法规要求特斯拉若想提供完全无人驾驶服务需结合多项许可 而得克萨斯州则无此要求[6] 安全与事故记录 - 自六月以来 特斯拉的小型测试车队已涉及至少七起碰撞事故[2] - 公司向美国国家公路交通安全管理局提交的报告被大量删减 事故细节外界知之甚少[2] - 移除安全员很可能加剧对特斯拉在奥斯汀持续测试的审查 当公司开始提供空车搭乘服务时审查压力会加倍[2]