Stories from San Francisco · United States

xAI has released Grok 4.3 featuring an "always-on reasoning" capability and a 1M token context window. The company also launched a voice cloning suite named Custom Voices.

DTC skin, hair, and menopause care brand Musely has secured $360 million in non-dilutive capital. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate customer acquisition efforts.

The San Francisco residence of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was targeted in two separate attacks during a single week in early April. The source noted that the attacks occurred amid growing dissatisfaction and a lack of transparency regarding powerful AI models.

Wells Fargo has recruited a $6 billion advisor team from Morgan Stanley. This move is part of a larger recruitment drive for the banking institution.

Anthropic has refused to allow the US Defense Department to use its technology. The pushback has led to litigation. Trump officials are seeking new deals with other Silicon Valley players to force a compromise.

AI chipmaker Cerebras Systems Inc. is attempting to raise as much as $4 billion in an initial public offering. The move comes amid high demand for artificial intelligence hardware.

A KQED commentator described a Department of Justice document regarding religious bias as absurd. The commentator stated the DOJ document fails to present arguable allegations of targeting or discrimination. Instead, the document points to differences in law and policy between the administration and certain religious communities. The commentator noted that labeling policy disagreements as anti-Christian is troubling and privileges conservative Christian perspectives. No specific actions from the administration regarding the report were mentioned. The report repeatedly uses the term "traditional Christian" when discussing the defense of Christian beliefs. Critics noted the report focuses on concerns such as abortion, vaccines, and LGBTQ rights, which align with the interests of conservative white evangelicals.

Dr. J. Craig Venter, head of a private genome effort, died this week at the age of 79. Venter was the first person to create a living thing from scratch by inserting artificial DNA sequences into a bacterium. He and colleagues jointly published a draft genome sequence in 2001.

California gubernatorial candidate Javier Becerra is reducing his support for a government-run single-payer healthcare system. The shift comes as Becerra seeks endorsements from influential medical groups, including the California Medical Association.

Y Combinator alumnus Skio has been sold for $105 million in cash.