High-profile Hollywood actors and producers are increasingly turning their attention toward microdramas—ultra-short, vertically formatted scripted series tailored specifically for smartphone viewing. Featuring fast-paced narratives, melodrama, and frequent cliffhangers, the mobile-first format is rapidly expanding beyond its origins in Asian markets to capture substantial market share in the West, with U.S. revenues projected to hit $1.5 billion. As traditional studios seek cost-effective production models and digital platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts dominate consumer screen time, microdramas have emerged as a viable new arena for entertainment talent. Major platforms competing in this space include ReelShort, DramaBox, and TikTok’s standalone...
Spanish Startup Liux Unveils ‘Liux Big’ Micro-EV, Targeting Urban Mobility and Circular Design
As compact urban vehicles increasingly dominate European city streets, Spanish EV manufacturer Liux is preparing to enter the competitive microcar market with the Liux Big. Designed to offer a sustainable alternative to imported Chinese electric vehicles and legacy compact brands, the tiny two-seater is engineered around circular design principles and local assembly. The startup, founded by CEO Antonio Espinosa de los Monteros and chief engineer David Sancho, operates out of Azuqueca de Henares—marking Spain’s first new automotive manufacturing facility in over three decades. While relying on international suppliers for battery cells, Liux focuses on domestic assembly, recyclable materials, and low-footprint...
London AI Startup Says Its Smaller Agent Can Outperform OpenAI and Anthropic Models
London-based AI startup Inherent, founded by former Google DeepMind researchers, claims its new AI agent can outperform significantly larger models from OpenAI and Anthropic on a challenging scientific research task. The company has attracted relatively little attention compared with some of the other startups founded by former DeepMind employees. That may now be changing. Only weeks after emerging from stealth with $50 million in seed funding, Inherent has begun revealing more about the technology it has been developing. At the center of that effort is Faraday, an AI research agent designed to independently reproduce the results of published scientific studies...
Japan’s Space Push Gives Rocket Startup Letara a New Growth Opportunity
Japan is stepping up efforts to build a stronger domestic aerospace industry, committing billions of dollars to its space sector while also relaxing some restrictions on defense exports. The strategy is creating new opportunities for Japanese startups seeking to develop technologies that can compete in global markets. One company looking to benefit from this momentum is Letara, a Sapporo-based startup developing hybrid propulsion systems for spacecraft. After initially concentrating on propulsion technology for small satellites, the company is now expanding into larger rocket systems aimed at the space, defense and security markets, co-CEO Shota Hirai told TechCrunch. The company has...
OpenAI Calls for Stronger Safeguards in California’s AI Safety Law
OpenAI is urging California lawmakers to strengthen the state’s landmark AI safety legislation by introducing additional protections for the development and testing of advanced AI models. In a recent post from its global affairs team, OpenAI said California’s SB 53 should be expanded to address emerging risks associated with increasingly capable AI systems. Among the measures proposed by the company are mandatory monitoring of frontier models during both training and evaluation, particularly for signs of potentially serious incidents, as well as stronger cybersecurity requirements throughout the AI development process. “California continues to lead on frontier AI safety, and we are...