Tech Roundup: DeepMind AlphaEvolve, Regeneron's 23andMe Acquisition & More

[A recurring feature on the latest in Science & Technology.]

• The U.S. government signs the Take It Down Act, criminalising the distribution of nonconsensual intimate content and requiring platforms to promptly remove it when notified.
• Microsoft announces an enterprise agentic platform called Microsoft Discovery to accelerate scientific discovery and enterprise R&D efforts; adds support for Anthropic's open-source standard Model Context Protocol to Windows and rebrands the AI platform inside Windows as Windows AI Foundry, as it introduces Foundry Local, a service coming to Windows AI Foundry as well as macOS, to run AI models and tools on-device, using ONXX Runtime.
• Microsoft launches an open project called NLWeb to help devs add a "conversational interface" to their website in a few lines of code; debuts experimental cross-platform APIs for Edge to give web apps access to models built into Edge, like Microsoft's Phi-4-mini.
• Microsoft's GitHub announces an AI coding agent for GitHub Copilot that can fix bugs, add features and improve docs; open-sources GitHub Copilot in VS Code; open-sources a command-line text editor for Windows called Edit that's similar to vim.
• Microsoft open-sources the Windows Subsystem for Linux and makes it available on GitHub, except for a few Windows-specific components; unveils a new Windows feature called Command Palette, a Spotlight-like launcher app that provides quick access to commands, apps, and development tools.
• Google releases a standalone NotebookLM app for Android and iOS, as its Google One subscriber base surges to 150 million.
• Biotechnology company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals plans to buy 23andMe and its data for US$ 256 million; assures that the data associated with 15 million customers will be protected "with our high standards of data privacy, security and ethical oversight."
• X rival Bluesky tests a new "live" indicator, allowing select accounts to link their Twitch or YouTube accounts to their profiles, which will display a red indicator and the "live" badge when they're actively streaming.
• OpenAI rolls out Codex, an AI coding agent powered by codex-1, a version of o3 optimized for software engineering, for ChatGPT Pro, Enterprise and Team users; says OneDrive and SharePoint users can connect their files to ChatGPT's Deep Research for analysis, in beta for ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Team subscribers.
• Xiaomi debuts the XringO1, the company's first self-developed mobile chip, for its high-end devices.
• A U.S. federal judge asks Apple to approve Fortnite's submission on the U.S. App Store or return to court to explain the legal basis as to why it has not done so; comes as the company was compelled to allow third-party app developers to include links to external payment mechanisms, bypassing its App Store payment systems.
• Apple originally complied with the court's decision in the lawsuit by allowing U.S. developers to apply for an exception to its App Store rules, but it has continued to collect a 27% commission on those alternative purchases, down from the usual 30%. Apple has also required developers to use "scare screens" that warn consumers when they attempt to make a purchase outside its App Store. That said, while the ruling currently is limited to the U.S., what happens next may inspire similar legal action or regulation in other global markets.
• xAI publishes system prompts for Grok on GitHub, including telling Grok to be "extremely skeptical" and not to "blindly defer to mainstream authority or media."
• Meta-owned Threads lets users add up to five links to their profile bios and rolls out analytics tools to track clicks on profile links and links shared in posts; adds a new account status dashboard that allows users to see how their accounts are being reprimanded for breaking the platform's rules, and rolls out new features, including an improved video player and the ability to set following feed or any custom feed as the default, and limit post replies to followers.
• Microsoft extends support for Microsoft 365 apps on Windows 10 until October 10, 2028, after previously announcing plans to end support by October 14, 2025.
• Huawei unveils its first laptop running the company's self-developed operating system, HarmonyOS 5, after its Windows license for PCs expired in March 2025.
• AI company Perplexity partners with PayPal to let U.S. customers book travel, buy product, and secure concert tickets via Perplexity's chatbot, paying with PayPal or Venmo.
• Meta updates its Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses' privacy policy as of April 29 to enable the Hey Meta voice command by default and store voice recordings for a year.
• Netflix says it plans to start testing a TikTok-like feed of vertical videos in its mobile app "in the coming weeks" to help users find more content to watch; unveils a new homepage design for TVs, its first major update since 2013, featuring fewer titles but more video and animation, and showcases its ChatGPT-powered search that lets users express preferences using natural phrases.
• OpenAI unveils OpenAI for Countries, an initiative to help build out AI infrastructure and customize OpenAI's products for specific languages and local needs; abandons its controversial plans to become a for-profit company after mounting pressure from critics.
• Design company Figma releases AI-powered tools to take on Canva and Adobe: Figma Sites for creating sites, Figma Make for app prototypes, and Figma Buzz for marketing assets.
• Samsung subsidiary Harman agrees to acquire Masimo's audio division, which includes the Bowers & Wilkins, Denon, and Polk Audio brands, for US$ 350 million.
• Apple unveils iOS and macOS accessibility features such as App Store Accessibility Nutrition Labels, Magnifier for Mac, Accessibility Reader and Braille Access; rolls out CarPlay Ultra, the next generation of CarPlay, in new and existing Aston Martins in North America after months of delays.
• Microsoft shuts off API access to Bing Search results for third-party developers (barring big ones like DuckDuckGo) starting August 11, 2025, and recommends developers use "grounding with Bing Search as part of Azure AI Agents."
• Roblox rolls out tools to let eligible creators bundle physical purchases with digital items via new Commerce APIs, with Shopify as our first integration partner.
• NVIDIA plans to build an AI supercomputer with Foxconn and Taiwan's government that will support local researchers and enterprises; TSMC plans to use the system.
• Apple partners with brain-computer interface startup Synchron to explore letting iPhone users control the device using brain signals via a stent-like implant.
• Meta unveils AssetGen 2.0, an AI system that generates higher quality 3D assets compared to AssetGen 1.0; releases the Open Molecules 2025 dataset and the Universal Model for Atoms, a family of AI models, to accelerate the development of new drugs and materials.
• Microsoft says it will support Google's Agent2Agent spec, known as A2A, in Azure AI Foundry and Copilot Studio; to join A2A's working group on GitHub.
• Meta tests using AI tools in the U.S. to detect teen Instagram users, even if they've lied about their birthday to make it seem like they're an adult, and automatically change their account settings.
• Character.AI unveils AvatarFX, a new AI video generation model in closed beta that animates characters in diverse styles and voices, including human-like and 2D.
• Meta-owned Instagram launches an invite-only, personalised Reels feed called Blend for users and their friends in a group chat with new content everyday.
• Apple says it's looking to add AI search engines as options to Safari and that Safari searches dropped for the first time in April 2025; Google says it continues to see overall query growth in Search, including an increase in total queries coming from Apple's devices and platforms.
• Anthropic launches web search on its API for Claude 3.7 Sonnet, 3.5 Sonnet, and 3.5 Haiku at US$ 10 per 1,000 searches, giving the models access to up-to-date information.
• Uber launches a simpler user interface for older adults, offering larger text, easier-to-find saved destinations, and fewer home screen buttons.
• Google says it will end support for first- and second-generation Nest thermostats on October 25, 2025; pulls Nest thermostats out of Europe entirely, citing "unique" heating systems.
• Google's DeepMind division unveils AlphaEvolve, a Gemini-powered AI coding agent that designs and optimizes advanced algorithms using an evolutionary framework.