This is a drone flying contest with a twist. Rather than humans operating drones, the drones must operate autonomously. The humans will be tested on their software-writing skills that cause the drones to outfly their competition. Someone suggested sponsoring a drone racing tournament, which was somewhat in line with the company's previous marketing tactics. For instance, Anduril sponsors the NASCAR Cup Series race known as the Anduril 250. Luckey generally liked the idea but then said, ''Guys, that would be a really dumb thing for Anduril to sponsor. The whole point, our entire impetus and reason for being, is this pitch that autonomy has finally advanced to where you don't have to have a person micromanaging each drone,'' he recalled, then adding, ''What we should really do is sponsor a race that's about how well programmers and engineers can make a drone fly itself.'' After discovering that such an event didn't exist, the company opted to create it themselves. Interestingly, though, Luckey pointed out that the teams in the AI Grand Prix will not be flying Anduril's drones, but those built by another defense tech startup: Neros Technologies. According to Luckey, Anduril's drones are too physically big to run in the contained course in Ohio where the finals will take place....

In keeping with Anthropic's enterprise focus, the launch apps are mostly workplace tools, including Slack, Canva, Figma, Box, and Clay, with a Salesforce implementation expected soon. In each case, the app will enable a logged-in instance of the service that's accessible to Claude, enabling users to send Slack messages, generate charts, or access cloud files, depending on which apps have been enabled. 'Analyzing data, designing content, and managing projects all work better with a dedicated visual interface,' Anthropic said in a blog post announcing the feature. 'Combined with Claude's intelligence, you can work and iterate faster than either could offer alone.' The system is similar to OpenAI's Apps system, which launched in October and enables interactive third-party tools. Both systems of app integrations are built on the Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open standard introduced by Anthropic in 2024. MCP launched support for apps in November, drawing on work from both companies. The new apps will be particularly powerful when integrated with Claude Cowork, an all-purpose agent tool launched by Anthropic last week. Built on top of Claude Code, Cowork lets users assign multistage tasks that draw on large and open-ended datasets ' tasks that would have previously required terminal commands. Combined with the new apps feature, Cowork could be granted access to cloud files or ongoing work projects. For example, Cowork could update a marketing graphic in Figma or use new data from the company's Box instance....

The decision comes as the company faces a 30-day suspension of its manufacturing and dealer licenses in its largest U.S. market, California. A judge ruled in December that Tesla engaged in deceptive marketing by overstating the capabilities of Autopilot and FSD for years. The California Department of Motor Vehicles, which originally brought the case and has a say over the licenses, stayed the ruling for 60 days to allow Tesla to comply by dropping the Autopilot name. Autopilot was a combination of Traffic Aware Cruise Control, which sticks to a designated speed while maintaining distance with cars ahead, and Autosteer, a lane-centering feature that could steer the car around curves. The decision comes one week after the company said that starting on February 14, it would stop charging a one-time $8,000 fee for the FSD software. After that, customers will only be able to access FSD through a monthly subscription of $99 ' though Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote in a post on Thursday that the subscription price will increase as the software's capabilities improve....

Founded in 2013, Applecart develops software used by senior executives to identify and engage key business, media, and policy stakeholders. Its platform is deployed by large corporates, communications agencies, and non-profits across brand marketing, investor relations, and public affairs. The investment was made through Blackstone's growth equity business. Ari Emanuel, executive chair of TKO Group Holdings and executive chairman of WME Group, will continue to serve on Applecart's board. He previously led the company's Series A round in 2018 while chief executive of Endeavor Group Holdings. The deal highlights continued private equity interest in enterprise software platforms that combine proprietary data with recurring revenue models, even as growth investors remain selective amid a tighter funding environment. Subscribe to our Newsletter to increase your edge. Don't worry about the news anymore, through our newsletter you'll receive weekly access to what is happening. Join 120,000 other PE professionals today....