January 14, 2026
Author

Nickie Louise

Nickie is a writer, editor, and co-founder of TechStartups.com based in the Washington Metropolitan Area. She covers early-stage startups, AI, emerging technologies, cryptocurrencies, gaming, and gadgets. When she’s not writing about innovation, Nickie enjoys crafts, spending time with her family and children, hiking, and exploring God’s majestic creation.


Artificial Intelligence  / Social Media  / Startup Spotlight  / Startups  / Tech Startup News  / Tech Startups  / Technology News
AI bots outsmart Reddit debaters in secret experiment—Internet reacts with outrage
Nickie Louise Posted On April 30, 2025


Imagine winning a heated debate on Reddit’s r/ChangeMyView, stacking up karma points, only to learn your opponent wasn’t a person at all. It was an AI bot, posing as a trauma counselor or political activist, engineered to persuade and blend […]


Continue Reading
0
2.7K Views


Artificial Intelligence  / Software  / Startups  / Tech Startup News  / Tech Startups  / Technology News
Cutting Dev Time in Half: The Power of AI-Driven Frontend Automation
Nickie Louise Posted On April 30, 2025


Imagine a world where your frontend prototypes are ready in days, not weeks. Where tedious code revisions vanish into the background, and developers channel their energy into building game-changing experiences. This isn’t a vision for 2030 — it’s happening now, […]


Continue Reading
0
1.2K Views


Artificial Intelligence  / Cloud  / Startup Funding  / Startup Spotlight  / Startups  / Tech Startup News  / Tech Startups  / Technology News
Cast AI raises $108M led by SoftBank and G2 to automate cloud efficiency amid surging AI costs, hits $850M valuation
Nickie Louise Posted On April 30, 2025


Cloud costs are eating into AI budgets, and businesses are fed up. Cast AI wants to fix that—with automation that does the hard work humans no longer have time for. Today, the Miami-based startup announced it has closed a $108 […]


Continue Reading
0
1.2K Views


Apps  / Artificial Intelligence  / Featured  / Software  / Startup Spotlight  / Startups  / Tech Startup News  / Tech Startups  / Technology News
AI now writes 30% of Microsoft’s code, CEO Satya Nadella says
Nickie Louise Posted On April 30, 2025


Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Tuesday said that as much as 30% of the company’s code is now written by artificial intelligence. Speaking onstage at Meta’s inaugural LlamaCon event, Nadella told a live audience that a growing portion of Microsoft’s […]


Continue Reading
0
1.5K Views


Artificial Intelligence  / Launch  / Startup Spotlight  / Startups  / Tech Startup News  / Tech Startups  / Technology News
Meta’s Llama AI models hit 1.2 billion downloads as open-source bet starts paying off
Nickie Louise Posted On April 29, 2025


Meta announced Tuesday that its Llama AI model family has been downloaded 1.2 billion times—a staggering number that highlights how quickly developers are adopting the company’s open-source models. The update was shared during the first-ever LlamaCon developer conference. The news […]


Continue Reading
0
1.3K Views


Artificial Intelligence  / FinTech  / Launch  / Startup Spotlight  / Startups  / Tech Startup News  / Tech Startups  / Technology News
Mastercard wants AI bots to handle your online shopping. Here’s what that could mean
Nickie Louise Posted On April 29, 2025


Mastercard is teaming up with Microsoft and a few big names in AI to change how online shopping works. The company just announced its new initiative, called Agent Pay, which lets AI agents make purchases and handle payments on your […]


Continue Reading
0
2.0K Views


Artificial Intelligence  / Featured  / Launch  / Startup Spotlight  / Startups  / Tech Startup News  / Tech Startups  / Technology News
Meta launches standalone AI app in bold challenge to ChatGPT
Nickie Louise Posted On April 29, 2025


Meta is stepping up its AI ambitions with the launch of a standalone Meta AI app, putting it in direct competition with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The timing is hard to ignore. The announcement comes less than a month after Meta’s longtime […]


Continue Reading
0
694 Views


Featured  / Startup Funding  / Startup Spotlight  / Startups  / Tech Startup News  / Tech Startups  / Technology News  / Venture Capital
Zest Equity raises $4.3M pre-Series A to digitize private market deals across emerging markets
Nickie Louise Posted On April 29, 2025


Most private market deals under $100 million get ignored by big investment banks. For founders and investors trying to close these transactions, it often means dealing with messy spreadsheets, scattered emails, and slow-moving legal paperwork. That’s where Zest Equity comes […]


Continue Reading
0
2.0K Views


Artificial Intelligence  / Featured  / Launch  / Startup Spotlight  / Startups  / Tech Startup News  / Tech Startups  / Technology News
Alibaba launches Qwen3, China’s boldest open-source AI response to U.S. models yet
Nickie Louise Posted On April 29, 2025


Just a month after rolling out its Qwen2.5-Omni-7B model, the Chinese tech giant is back with Qwen3—a new family of large language models that’s already generating buzz in China’s thriving open-source scene. In a blog post on Tuesday, Alibaba described […]


Continue Reading
0
1.1K Views


Bitcoin  / Cryptocurrency  / Stablecoins  / Startup Spotlight  / Startups  / Tech Startup News  / Tech Startups  / Technology News
Nexo re-enters the U.S. market with high-profile endorsements
Nickie Louise Posted On April 28, 2025


Nexo, the global digital assets wealth platform, has officially announced its return to the United States. The news was unveiled at an exclusive business event featuring keynote addresses from Donald Trump Jr., Executive Vice President of The Trump Organization; Gila […]


Continue Reading
0
724 Views


Acquisition  / Artificial Intelligence  / Featured  / Startup Spotlight  / Startups  / Tech Startup News  / Tech Startups  / Technology News
Palo Alto Networks to acquire AI security startup Protect AI to strengthen AI defense
Nickie Louise Posted On April 28, 2025


Palo Alto Networks is making another big move. The cybersecurity giant announced today that it plans to acquire Protect AI, a fast-rising name in AI and machine learning security. The news comes a year after Palo Alto Networks acquired IBM’s […]


Continue Reading
0
820 Views


Blockchain  / Cryptocurrency  / DeFi  / Ethereum  / Launch  / Startup Spotlight  / Startups  / Tech Startup News  / Tech Startups  / Technology News
Flare launches USD₮0 to boost cross-chain stablecoin liquidity for XRP DeFi
Nickie Louise Posted On April 28, 2025


Flare is stepping up its interoperability game with the launch of USD₮0, the omnichain deployment of USDT, the world’s most widely adopted stablecoin. Now that USD₮0 is live, Flare is connecting the world’s largest stablecoin directly to XRP, the second-biggest […]


Continue Reading
0
2.3K Views


Artificial Intelligence  / Featured  / Infrastructure  / Startup Funding  / Startup Spotlight  / Startups  / Tech Startup News  / Tech Startups  / Technology News
London AI startup Nscale seeks $2.7B in funding to build global data centers in partnership with ByteDance
Nickie Louise Posted On April 28, 2025


London-based AI startup Nscale is seeking $2.7 billion to build global data centers in partnership with ByteDance, aiming to power the next wave of AI development. Nscale, which launched from stealth in May 2024, is already setting its sights high. […]


Continue Reading
0
1.3K Views


Artificial Intelligence  / Featured  / Startup Funding  / Startup Spotlight  / Startups  / Tech Startup News  / Tech Startups  / Technology News
Musk’s AI startup xAI in talks to raise $20 billion at $120 billion valuation to challenge OpenAI and Google
Nickie Louise Posted On April 28, 2025


Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI is gearing up for a major fundraising push that could surpass $20 billion, according to Bloomberg. The new round would push xAI’s valuation past $120 billion, marking another big leap for the company just […]


Continue Reading
0
812 Views


Acquisition  / Featured  / FoodTech  / Startup Spotlight  / Startups  / Tech Startup News  / Tech Startups  / Technology News
DoorDash offers to acquire Deliveroo for $3.6 billion in bold expansion into Europe
Nickie Louise Posted On April 25, 2025


DoorDash is making another big move in Europe. The U.S.-based meal delivery company has set its sights on Deliveroo, offering $3.6 billion to acquire the British firm, per Reuters. Deliveroo’s board said on Friday it reviewed the proposal, received on […]


Continue Reading
0
2.2K Views


Artificial Intelligence  / Blockchain  / Startup Spotlight  / Startups  / Tech Startup News  / Tech Startups  / Technology News
Smart Contracts and Startup Employment: Automating HR Functions for Growing Teams
Nickie Louise Posted On April 25, 2025


In 2025, startups face intense competition for talent while managing limited resources. With the Bitcoin price stabilizing after years of volatility, one technology has emerged as a powerful solution to these challenges: blockchain-based smart contracts. These digital agreements automatically execute […]


Continue Reading
0
1.3K Views


Artificial Intelligence  / Featured  / Startup Spotlight  / Startups  / Tech Startup News  / Tech Startups  / Technology News
AI search wars? Google still dominates as Alphabet’s revenue jumps 46% to $90 billion
Nickie Louise Posted On April 25, 2025


Despite mounting fears that AI-powered search engines could erode Google’s dominance, Alphabet crushed expectations in Q1 and delivered a resounding message: the empire is still standing strong. In its latest quarter, Alphabet stunned Wall Street with a 46% profit spike […]


Continue Reading
0
1.0K Views


FinTech  / Startup Spotlight  / Startups  / Tech Startup News  / Tech Startups  / Technology News
British fintech unicorn Revolut reports record $1.4B profit ahead of U.K. bank launch
Nickie Louise Posted On April 24, 2025


British fintech firm Revolut just crossed a major milestone, reporting a record $1.5 billion in net profit for 2024, the unicorn startup announced Thursday. Profits surged 149% year over year, driven by strong performance across its business units. According to […]


Continue Reading
0
885 Views


Layoff  / Startup Spotlight  / Startups  / Tech Startup News  / Tech Startups  / Technology News
Google to remote workers: Return 3 days a week—or lose your job
Nickie Louise Posted On April 24, 2025


Just a week after Google laid off hundreds in its Android, Pixel, and Chrome units amid a strategic shift to AI, the company is now tightening the screws on remote workers—many of whom were previously cleared to work from home. […]


Continue Reading
0
2.3K Views


Artificial Intelligence  / Cloud  / Startup Funding  / Startup Spotlight  / Startups  / Tech Startup News  / Technology News
Cloud Capital emerges from stealth with $7.7M to tackle the $344B cloud cost crisis for CFOs
Nickie Louise Posted On April 24, 2025


CFOs are staring down a growing financial black hole—and it’s coming from their cloud bills. As companies double down on AI infrastructure, cloud usage is spiking at a rate most finance teams can’t keep up with. Costs are ballooning, long-term […]


Continue Reading
0
1.3K Views