Insights

17 Oct 2026

Minicor raises $3.8M seed to make legacy desktop apps callable by AI

IA Ventures led the round, with Y Combinator and Paul Graham taking part. The startup says most large companies still run software that has no API and that existing automation is slow or costly.

17 Oct 2026

Forgepoint raises $9.8M seed for an AI rep that quotes for factories

The New York startup's agent, Frank, reads requests for quote and drafts replies from a factory's own cost model. The founders previously worked in aerospace consulting and fintech engineering.

17 Oct 2026

SITA agrees to acquire Collins Aerospace Airport Solutions

The air transport IT provider will add check-in, self-service, bag drop and airport operations systems to its portfolio. Price and staff numbers are not disclosed; completion is planned for the first half of 2027.

17 Oct 2026

Spain restricts commercial calls to a new range of 400 numbers

The BOE resolution was published in April and set a six-month clock. The 400 range is outgoing only, cannot be called back, and is the single permitted source of sales calls.

17 Oct 2026

Windows needs its October update before three provinces stop changing clocks

Manitoba, Alberta and most of British Columbia will not fall back an hour on 1 November. Windows gets three new time zones, and devices without them will show the wrong time.

17 Oct 2026

MassRobotics opens its healthcare robotics catalyst to cohort six

A four-month, non-equity programme for robotics start-ups in healthcare and life sciences. Applications close on 31 December, and the cohort runs from February to June 2027.

17 Oct 2026

Waymo starts mapping Toronto and plans its first riders for 2028

Element Fleet Management will run the Toronto fleet, and Waymo cars with people behind the wheel start mapping the city now. It is Waymo's first Canadian city.

17 Oct 2026

Allstate unit Arity agrees to buy traffic data firm INRIX's assets

Arity, the mobility data company of Allstate, is buying substantially all of INRIX's assets and expects to close in 2026. No price has been disclosed.

17 Oct 2026

RapidCanvas raises $29m to put field AI engineers in mid-size firms

Vertex Ventures SEA & India led the Series B, with Hitachi Ventures joining. Total funding reaches $52.5 million after annual recurring revenue grew eightfold in six quarters.

Anthropic's new usage policy applies from 12 November 2026

Adds a human-stop rule for Claude-driven equipment, a ban on consentless tracking and fake-account campaigns, and spells out how the supported-regions limit reaches company-owned entities.

Seven decision models in ten days, and not one independent score

Our own research: seven decision models listed 15 to 24 September, five open-weight, two hosted. Five carry our red verification note, none has an independent benchmark score, and their latency claims cannot be compared. How to test one yourself.

From ten blue links to answer engines: how the role of search engines is changing

AI crawlers read our site ten times more than search engines did in one night. How answer engines, the US Google remedies, the EU DMA fine and the Bing API retirement change search.

Jev, the AI model that answers instead of writing: what is proven, and which Jev websites are not its maker

Jev, TypeSafe AI's decision model, is September's fastest-spreading AI launch. What it does, what independent tests show, and why three 'Jev AI' websites registered after launch are not its maker.

When the model you build on stops answering

Our own count: two of the 122 AI models we publish record a date on which they stop being served. So we read nine providers’ own documentation - four publish dates, two hide them on the price list, three publish nothing you can plan against.

The OpenAI Videos API and every Sora 2 model are removed on 24 September

OpenAI notified developers in March that the Videos API and all Sora 2 aliases and snapshots would be removed on 24 September 2026. That date is now here, and four more OpenAI shutdowns follow between 28 September and 11 December.

Open weights are back: Meta reopens the model debate, and buyers get leverage

Meta's return to open-weight releases is a strategic move, not a moral one - and that is precisely why it is useful to software buyers.

Employees are asking AI first: what that really means for internal tooling

New survey data is being read as AI overtaking managers. Look closely and it shows something more useful: people route by task, and they route away from slow answers.

Only 26 of 84 funding announcements named a single customer

Our count of 84 October items finds 73 named a lead investor, 63 a stage and 6 a company-stated valuation, while none of the 48 customer or revenue figures came with independent confirmation, and 51 needed a red note.

Only 2 of 47 software deals we covered addressed customer contracts

17 of the 47 promised continuity, 10 gave a price and one gave a date on which part of a product stops. None paired a continuity promise with a word on contracts, data processing or hosting.

Only 7 of 345 described launches say where the maker is based

Our launch board also shows that 29 of 37 products calling themselves open source name no licence, and 30 of 36 products found through Hacker News rest on the maker's own word alone.

Spain sets rules for its public e-invoicing platform, SPFE

Using the tax agency's platform is optional, but any invoicing software outside it must send a UBL copy of each invoice. Deadlines for businesses run from 6 October 2027.

Nine e-invoicing and tax-system deadlines in four days of news, and none of them in the EU or the US

Our own count: nine e-invoicing and tax-system changes published 2 to 5 October from seven countries, none in the EU or US. Median warning 31 days; seven rest on one official page. How a buyer maps their own exposure.

Schneider Electric agrees to acquire PTC for $205 a share, with closing expected by Q3 2027

PTC and Schneider Electric signed a merger agreement on 4 October and announced it on 5 October: $205 in cash per share, about $22.6bn for the equity, closing anticipated by Q3 2027 subject to shareholder, HSR and CFIUS approval.

IT services takeovers completed on 30 September and 1 October 2026: Capgemini Government Solutions, OPTiM, GMO NIKKO, Empire State

Capgemini sold its US government unit to ITC Federal; Valtes bought OPTiM; GMO Commerce took over GMO NIKKO and GMO Insight; Usonar bought 70% of Empire State; Asia Quest agreed to buy Tetra Communications. What changes for customers.

What became of 653 software vendors we first listed in 2020

We re-read 653 software vendors first listed in 2020: 442 trade as before, 92 now belong to another company, 13 renamed, 17 closed, 46 had nothing current. What changed, and how to check a vendor yourself.

What buyers look for in new software when products change every month

Products now launch and change monthly. What careful buyers check first: the operating company, a dated price, the data contract, exit terms, AI switches, notice periods and security evidence.

IT service providers and their buyers: how the relationship is changing with AI

How AI changes the deal between IT service providers and buyers: pricing models, who keeps the productivity gain, IP and liability for AI-assisted code, and how to check provider claims.

How software products make money now: seats, credits and outcomes

Seats, credits and outcome prices: what vendor changes, pricing pages and filings show about how software earns money in 2026, with a pricing method for small vendors and a checklist for usage-priced contracts.

Twenty-eight vendor deadlines in September, and how much notice each one gave

We measured the notice behind 28 vendor changes we reported this month: a median of 31 days, six at a week or less, three at none. Where short notice comes from, why defaults that switch on matter most, and how to keep a deadline register.

Minicor raises $3.8M seed to make legacy desktop apps callable by AI

IA Ventures led the round, with Y Combinator and Paul Graham taking part. The startup says most large companies still run software that has no API and that existing automation is slow or costly.

Forgepoint raises $9.8M seed for an AI rep that quotes for factories

The New York startup's agent, Frank, reads requests for quote and drafts replies from a factory's own cost model. The founders previously worked in aerospace consulting and fintech engineering.

SITA agrees to acquire Collins Aerospace Airport Solutions

The air transport IT provider will add check-in, self-service, bag drop and airport operations systems to its portfolio. Price and staff numbers are not disclosed; completion is planned for the first half of 2027.

Spain restricts commercial calls to a new range of 400 numbers

The BOE resolution was published in April and set a six-month clock. The 400 range is outgoing only, cannot be called back, and is the single permitted source of sales calls.

Grab will grow its Singapore AV fleet fivefold and has certified 30 operators

From 10 WeRide vehicles to 50 within six months in Punggol, with a waitlist of more than 1,000 people and a training pathway for Grab's own driver and delivery partners.