A folk musician became a target for AI fakes and a copyright troll
In January, folk artist Murphy Campbell discovered several songs on her Spotify profile that did not belong there. They were songs that she had recorded, but she'd never uploaded them to Spotify, and something was off about the vocals. She quickly surmised that someone had pulled performances of the songs she posted to YouTube, created AI covers, and uploaded them to streaming platforms under her name. I ran one of the songs, "Four Marys", through two different AI detectors, and it seemed to support her suspicions with both saying it was probably AI-generated. Campbell was shocked, "I was kind of under the impression that we had a little b … Read the full story at The Verge.
Really, you made this without AI? Prove it
"This looks like AI." It's a phrase I dread seeing as a writer who dabbles in illustration and amateur photography. In a world where generative AI technology is increasingly adept at mimicking the work of humans, people are naturally skeptical when online platforms refuse to label even obvious AI content. This leads me to one conclusion: maybe we should start labeling human-made text, images, audio, and video with something akin to a universally recognized Fair Trade logo. The machines sure as hell aren't motivated to label their work, but the creators at risk of being displaced most definitely are. Fortunately, I'm not alone in my thinki … Read the full story at The Verge.
Meet The Top 10 Indian Startup Investors Of Q1 2026
After a relatively stable 2025, expectations were that the Indian startup ecosystem would carry forward the momentum into 2026. However, the trend so far has remained uneven. In Q1 2026, the ecosystem entered a recalibration phase, with total funding falling 26% YoY to $2.3 Bn across 271 deals, down from $3.1 Bn in the same period last year, as per Inc42’s “Indian Tech Startup Funding Report Q1 2026”. This is the first such quarter since 2022. Meanwhile, the median ticket size rose to $3.3 Mn, even as overall investor participation saw a marginal decline, as investors increasingly prioritised unit economics, capital efficiency, and supporting existing portfolios rather than chasing aggressive expansion. While late-stage investments dropped sharply by 56% YoY to $782 Mn while early-stage funding rose 58% to $248 Mn.
Zaggle CFO Aditya Kumar Steps Down
Listed fintech SaaS company Zaggle’s chief financial officer (CFO) Aditya Kumar tendered his resignation with immediate effect on April 3. Kumar cited “personal reasons” for his exit. He joined the company in 2022 as a vice president – finance and was elevated to the position of CFO later in the year. Prior to Zaggle, Kumar has held various positions with companies like Spandana Sphoorty, noon, The Sanmar Group in a career spanning over 14 years. Meanwhile, Zaggle elevated deputy CFO, Rajesh Tummalaganti, to.
New-Age Tech Stocks Advance In Holiday-Curtailed Week, Ola Electric Top Gainer
Thirty one out of the 55 new-age tech companies under Inc42’s coverage gained in a range of 0.26% to close to 17% this week. After heavy selling on March 30 (Monday), stock momentum regained on April 1 (Wednesday) and April 2 (Thursday). On Monday, 11 new-age tech stocks. However, a majority of these companies ended the week in the green. The top three gainers of the week – Ola Electric (up 16.81%), Zaggle (up 16.69%) and Veefin Solutions (up 16.05%) – were stocks which plunged in 2026. Meanwhile, 24 new-age tech stocks declined in a range of 0.04% to over 12% this week.
From Noon To Palmonas— Indian Startups Raised $132 Mn This Week
Indian startup funding momentum slowed down in the first week of April amid escalation in geopolitical tensions. Between March 30 and April 3, startups raised about $131.5 Mn across 18 deals. This marked a 62% decline from the $348.2 Mn raised across 25 deals last week.
Anthropic essentially bans OpenClaw from Claude by making subscribers pay extra
Using OpenClaw with Claude AI is about to get a lot more expensive, thanks to Anthropic's new policy changes. Beginning April 4th at 3PM ET, users will "no longer be able to use your Claude subscription limits for third-party harnesses including OpenClaw,". Instead, if users want to use OpenClaw with Claude, they'll have to use a "pay-as-you-go option" that will be billed separate from their Claude subscription. With OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger now employed by OpenAI, Anthropic may also be encouraging subscribers to use more of its own tools, like Claude Cowork, instead.
OpenAI’s AGI boss is taking a leave of absence
OpenAI is undergoing another round of C-suite changes. Fidji Simo, OpenAI's CEO of AGI deployment – who was until recently the company's CEO of Applications – says in the memo that she will be stepping away on medical leave "for the next several weeks" due to a neuroimmune condition. While she's out, OpenAI president Greg Brockman will be in charge of product, including leading OpenAI's super app efforts. OpenAI's CMO, Kate Rouch, has also decided to step down in order to focus on her health, … Read the full story at The Verge.
Four things we’d need to put data centers in space
In January, Elon Musk’s SpaceX filed an application with the US Federal Communications Commission to launch up to one million data centers into Earth’s orbit. And last November Starcloud, a startup based in Washington State, launched a satellite fitted with a high-performance Nvidia H100 GPU, marking the first orbital test of an advanced AI chip. The company envisions orbiting data centers as large as those on Earth by 2030. Durand led a 2024 feasibility study on space-based data centers, which found that although challenges exist, it should be possible for Europe to put gigawatt-scale data centers (on par with the largest Earthbound facilities) into orbit before 2050.
Top Anchor Investors Powering Indian New-Age Tech IPOs
About 18 new-age tech companies have launched IPOs since the start of 2025, amid strong investor appetite for higher-risk, high-growth bets. A critical factor underpinning a company’s public market debut is the participation of large investors in its anchor round. Anchor investors are institutional backers in an IPO whose participation boosts credibility, demand, and investor confidence. Since anchor allocations can be up to 60% of the Qualified Institutional Buyer (QIB) portion, a sizable chunk of the institutional book is already committed before the IPO opens to the public. This improves subscription optics and reassures retail and high-net-worth investors about demand for the offering.
Apple’s best product ever
All week, we've been asking you to help us rank the 50 best products Apple ever made, as we mark the company's 50th anniversary. Thanks to everyone who pitched in – we ended up with more than 1.6 million votes! We also have lots of other coverage of Apple's first half century, and you should check it all out. Verge subscribers, don't forget you get exclusive access to ad-free Vergecast wherever you get your podcasts. On this episode of The Vergecast, after some housekeeping (vote for us in the Webby Awards, and come see Sn … Read the full story at The Verge.
Chatbots are now prescribing psychiatric drugs
Utah is allowing an AI system to prescribe psychiatric drugs without a doctor. It's only the second time the state – and the country – has delegated this kind of clinical authority to AI. State officials say it could bring costs down and ease care shortages, but physicians warn the system is opaque, risky, and unlikely to expand mental health care to those who need it. The one-year pilot, announced last week, will allow Legion Health's AI chatbot to renew certain prescriptions for psychiatric medications, in some cases. The San Francisco startup promises Utah-based patients "fast, simple refills" through a $19-a-month subscription.
Ola Electric’s Roadster X+ Gets PLI Certification
Listed two wheeler EV maker Ola Electric Limited has received Production Linked Incentive (PLI) certification for its electric bike, Roadster X+ 4.5 kWh. The certification, issued by the global automotive research centre (GARC), confirms that the Roadster X+ 4.5 kWh meets the minimum domestic value addition (DVA) requirements, making all units eligible for incentives under the PLI-Auto scheme. The development comes amid a series of strategic moves undertaken by Ola Electric to boost sales after a lengthy period of slowdown. The company recently cut the price of its flagship Roadster X+ 9.1 kWh model, powered by the 4680 Bharat Cell, by over 31%, from ₹1.9 Lakh to ₹1.3 Lakh. It cited increased cell production at its Gigafactory and cost efficiencies from vertical integration as key reasons behind the price reduction.
Noon Raises $44 Mn To Reinvent Product Design
San Francisco-based product design startup Noon has raised $44 Mn (about ₹407.6 Cr) in a funding round led by Chemistry, First Round Capital, Scribble Ventures, Elevation Capital and Afore Capital. The round also saw participation from angel investors associated with companies like Meta, Canva, Apple, and OpenAI. Founded in 2024 by ex-Bookpad CEO Aditya Bandi and ex-Leap cofounder Kushagra Sinha, Noon is an AI-native product design platform that allows users to build functional products using real code instead of static design files. Noon is currently operating in early access and plans to open the platform to design teams in the coming weeks. Bandi previously cofounded Bookpad, a cloud-based document technology startup that was acquired by Yahoo in 2014 for over $15 Mn.
Yu Foods’ Revenue Doubles To ₹75 Cr In FY26: CEO Bharat Bhalla
D2C instant food brand Yu Foods’ revenue more than doubled in FY26. Cofounder and CEO Bharat Bhalla told Inc42 that the brand’s operating revenue zoomed 114% to ₹75 Cr from ₹35 Cr in FY25. The cofounder said that the startup registered growth in sales throughout the fiscal year, with its sales touching ₹10 Cr in March. Meanwhile, Yu Foods’ bottom line remained largely flat even as the startup continued to spend on expansion. Founded in 2021 by former investment bankers Bhalla and Varun Kapur, Yu Foods sells ready-to-eat instant meal bowls, including pasta, noodles, and more. It has raised an equity funding of about $12 Mn to date from Asian Paints promoter group, Startup India Seed Fund, and Hardik Pandya.
LPG Triggers Gig Workers Exodus, NeuroPixel Shuts Down & More
The conflict in West Asia has triggered an LPG crunch, which is hitting the country’s kitchens, factories and gig workforce. Ground Reality: The blockage of ship movement through the Strait of Hormuz has sent the prices of a 1 kg LPG cylinder, which once cost ₹100, to nearly ₹400 in the grey market. Built For Future Threats: Founded in 2025, AllSecureX operates an AI-led platform that helps enterprises identify vulnerable encryption, measure exposure and understand the financial impact of such cyber risks. It helps companies detect cryptographic weaknesses before attackers, or quantum machines, can exploit it. The Quantum Layer: Its flagship product is a hyper-automated post-quantum cryptography platform, which scans applications to discover cryptographic dependencies and flags systems exposed to quantum threats.
PSA: Anyone with a link can view your Granola notes by default
If you use the AI-powered note-taking app Granola, you might want to double-check your privacy settings. Though Granola says your notes are "private by default," it makes them viewable to anyone with a link, and also uses them for internal AI training unless you opt out. Granola describes itself as an "AI notepad for people in back-to-back meetings." It integrates with your calendar to capture audio from your meetings, and then uses AI to generate a bulleted list of what you've heard, which it calls a "note." You can edit the AI-generated notes, invite other collaborators to view them, and use Granola's AI assistant to ask questions about y … Read the full story at The Verge.
Elon Musk is about to be a very busy boy!
To be honest, I thought Elon Musk would confidentially file for SpaceX's IPO on the 20th of this month, rather than the 1st. But maybe that just means he's moved on to other numbers, and we should all mark our calendars for June 7th as an IPO date just in case. Based on the April 1st filing, and the general length of an SEC review before the S-1 document becomes public, the earliest I am expecting a SpaceX IPO is June. (At least, assuming there is still anyone left at the SEC who wants to do their job instead of just glance at the first page of the filing, say, "Seems fine!" and then go out for a smoke break.) Of course, this process could … Read the full story at The Verge.
OpenAI just bought TBPN
OpenAI has purchased TBPN, the viral online talk show that often interviews AI executives and other tech leaders. The show – which goes live every weekday, often for a three-hour duration – considers channels like Bloomberg and CNBC as its competition and counts OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, as well as executives from Meta, Microsoft, Palantir, and Andreessen Horowitz, among its past guests. TBPN host John Coogan wrote on X that the show will be "staying the same." He added, "This is a full circle moment for me as I've worked with [OpenAI CEO Sam Altman] for well over a decade.
KiloClaw targets shadow AI with autonomous agent governance
With the launch of KiloClaw, enterprises now have a tool to enforce governance over autonomous agents and manage shadow AI. Employees are bypassing official procurement, deploying autonomous agents on personal infrastructure to automate their daily workflows. To address this vulnerability, software provider Kilo launched KiloClaw for Organizations, an enterprise-grade platform built to rein in decentralised agent deployments and restore architectural oversight. When engineers set up autonomous agents to parse error logs, or financial analysts deploy local scripts to reconcile spreadsheets, they prioritise immediate efficiency over security protocols. KiloClaw provides a centralised control plane for security teams to identify, monitor, and restrict these autonomous actors without blocking their productivity gains.
New ways to balance cost and reliability in the Gemini API
Apr 02, 2026 Introducing Flex and Priority inference: advanced controls for developers to optimize costs and reliability through a single, unified interface. Today, we are adding two new service tiers to the Gemini API: Flex and Priority. These new options give you granular control over cost and reliability through a single, unified interface. As AI evolves from simple chat into complex, autonomous agents, developers typically have to manage two distinct types of logic: Until now, supporting both meant splitting your architecture between standard synchronous serving and the asynchronous Batch API. To use Priority Inference, simply set the service_tier parameter accordingly: Priority inference will be available to users with Tier 2 / 3 paid projects across the `GenerateContent` API and Interactions API endpoints.
Create, edit and share videos at no cost in Google Vids
Apr 02, 2026 New AI capabilities are coming to Google Vids, powered by Lyria 3 and Veo 3.1, including high-quality video generation at no cost, custom music creation and more. Google Vids is an intuitive, easy-to-use video editing suite. It helps you turn your ideas into polished stories — whether you're creating a quick video tutorial, recapping a weekend getaway or putting together a birthday montage for a friend. This week, we're adding more advanced capabilities like high-quality video generation for all users, custom music generation and AI avatars to help you create more in Vids. As of this week, anyone with a Google account can generate video clips at no cost using our latest video generation model, Veo 3.1.
It’s not easy to get depression-detecting AI through the FDA
For the past seven years, the California-based startup Kintsugi has been developing AI designed to detect signs of depression and anxiety from a person's speech. But after failing to secure FDA clearance in time, the company is shutting down and releasing most of its technology as open-source. Some elements may even find a second life beyond healthcare, like detecting deepfake audio. Mental health assessments still largely rely on patient questionnaires and clinical interviews, rather than the lab tests or scans common in physical medicine. Instead of focusing on what someone is saying, Kintsugi's software analyzes how it is being said.
5 best practices to secure AI systems
However, it is this same power that introduces a new attack surface that traditional security frameworks were not built to address. As this technology becomes embedded in critical operations, companies need a multi-layered defense strategy that includes data protection, access control and constant monitoring to keep these systems safe. Enforce strict access and data governance AI systems depend on the data they are fed and the people who access them, so role-based access control is one of the best ways to limit exposure. AI models and the data used to train them must be encrypted when stored and when moving between systems.