Today’s top tech story centers on Bending Spoons, the Milan-based tech conglomerate that recently went public on Nasdaq with a valuation briefly surpassing $25 billion, doubling its previous private valuation. The company’s growing dominance is highlighted by a portfolio serving over 500 million monthly active users and its controversial strategies involving acquisitions like AOL and Vimeo. In AI news, Midjourney intensified its legal battle with major Hollywood studios by demanding transparency on their internal AI usage amid copyright infringement lawsuits. Meanwhile, Phosh 0.56.0 launched with improved usability features for mobile Wayland devices, and Tesla expanded its robotaxi autonomous ride service to Miami despite facing regulatory and safety challenges. Lastly, Mistral AI continues to grow as a notable European AI competitor, surpassing $400 million in annual recurring revenue and targeting enterprise customization.
AI
- Midjourney wants Hollywood studios to reveal the details of their AI usage: Midjourney pushes back in its copyright infringement lawsuits by seeking comprehensive disclosure from Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros about their AI development and use, claiming studios may be engaging in similar practices behind closed doors.
- Alibaba reportedly bans employees from using Claude Code: Alibaba will prohibit its employees from using Anthropic’s Claude Code programming tool starting July 10, labeling it high-risk software, and pushing in-house alternatives amid restrictions on Chinese use of Anthropic models.
- What is Mistral AI? Everything to know about the OpenAI competitor: Mistral AI, a French decacorn, grows rapidly with $400M+ ARR and ambitious plans, emphasizing customized AI deployment for governments and enterprises rather than just competing as a ChatGPT clone.
- Claude Design System Prompt: An open-source system prompt and skill library that transforms LLMs like Claude and GPT into opinionated, accessibility-focused design assistants with deep UI/UX guidelines and procedural skills.
Business
- What is Bending Spoons? The little-known AOL and Vimeo owner that’s now public: Bending Spoons IPOs on Nasdaq with a valuation over $25B, doubling its private worth by leveraging acquisitions and tech/AI enhancements across brands like AOL, Vimeo, Meetup, and Eventbrite, despite public criticism over its cost-cutting tactics.
- Almost 90 new unicorns have been minted so far this year — here they are: A currently updated list of startups achieving unicorn status in 2026, mostly AI-related but including others in healthcare and crypto sectors, highlighting the ongoing investor enthusiasm for innovative companies.
Hardware
- Phosh 0.56.0: The graphical shell for mobile devices on Wayland released version 0.56.0 with new features like a load meter plugin, better app management for immutable distributions, rotation for tablet lock screens, and multiple bug fixes and UI improvements.
- Tesla Robotaxis Now Available in Miami: Tesla expanded its limited autonomous robotaxi service from Texas to Miami despite only operating in select neighborhoods and facing challenges with safety reports and regulatory compliance.
- I Tested a New Intel 'Wildcat Lake' CPU. Should Laptop Shoppers on a Budget Get Excited?: Intel’s budget-oriented Wildcat Lake CPUs are now shipping in laptops like Lenovo’s IdeaPad 3 Gen 11, offering solid midrange performance at roughly $800.
- Matic’s robot vacuum is getting a $250 price hike in September: Matic will increase its robot vacuum price from $1,245 to $1,495, citing soaring memory and component costs, while offering free replacement bags and a longer return window.
Software & Dev Tools
- Shadcn/UI now defaults to Base UI instead of Radix: The popular React component library shadcn/ui has switched its default from Radix to the newer Base UI, reflecting community trends and Base UI’s growing maturity with over 6 million weekly downloads.
- Introduction to Compilers and Language Design: A free, comprehensive online textbook by Prof. Douglas Thain covering compiler fundamentals and language design, aimed at CS students building C-like compilers targeting x86/ARM.
- Show HN: KiCad in the Browser: A demonstration of running the KiCad electronic design automation tool completely in the browser, enabling PCB design without local installation.
Science & Environment
- Jellyfish can heal wounds in minutes. Scientists want their secrets: Scientists study the medusa stage of jellyfish Clytia hemisphaerica, which can heal wounds rapidly and without scarring, offering insights into embryonic-like, scar-free tissue regeneration.
- The missing 500 million: Cosmic bombardment melted Earth's first crust: New geological research suggests intense asteroid impacts during Earth’s early history kept crust thin and hot, enabling the formation of buoyant continental crust around four billion years ago.
- There’s a Global Network of Fungi Under Your Feet. This Is the First Complete Map: Researchers have mapped the massive underground mycorrhizal fungal network which underpins most terrestrial plant life, stretching an estimated 110 quadrillion kilometers worldwide.
- Chemical accidents rise as Trump administration proposes weakening safety rules: Chemical accident rates rose 57% from 2021 to 2025 amid proposed regulatory rollbacks under the Trump administration, raising concern for communities near industrial chemical facilities.
Space & Astronomy
- NASA launched an emergency mission to stop the Swift Observatory from crashing to Earth: NASA launched Katalyst Space’s Link spacecraft to rendezvous with and boost the aging Swift Observatory’s orbit by 150 miles to prevent uncontrolled reentry and maintain crucial gamma-ray burst studies.
Sports & Entertainment
- Review: Supergirl is not the disaster its low box office suggests: Despite negative online backlash and poor opening weekend numbers, the DCU’s latest film Supergirl received a moderately positive critical reception, with praise for its interplanetary road movie style.
- How to Watch Mexico vs. England FIFA World Cup Game Live for Free & How to Watch the Brazil vs. Norway FIFA World Cup Game Live for Free: Both highly anticipated Round of 16 FIFA World Cup matches happen today, with free streaming options covered for global audiences.
Other
- If you're a button, you have one job: An essay exploring the universal challenges of UI design, contrasting image rotation behavior on iPhone vs. Nothing Phone and underscoring the importance of accessibility and predictable user interactions.
- Knowledge Should Not Be Gated: A thoughtful critique of the trend toward complex AI knowledge infrastructures that obscure human-readable knowledge, arguing for markdown as a simple, transparent alternative.
- Fast Software, the Best Software (2019): A classic essay celebrating speedy software’s impact on user experience and productivity, illustrated by the author’s favorite fast text organizer nvALT.