With $3.5M in fresh funding, a Bay Area startup is building photorealistic synthetic data pipelines in hours, not months, for some of the world’s most demanding industries. Hungarian-founded startup tackling one of AI’s biggest bottlenecks: data scarcity in defense, aerospace, […]

The post DiffuseDrive raises $3.5M to solve physical AI’s biggest challenge: high-quality training data first appeared on Tech Startups.

Food and beverage brands are introducing new products that aim to address the questions raised by consumer usage of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like Mounjaro and Wegovy. At the same time, they’re beginning to borrow from the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry in their media choices.

Danone is experimenting with “patient portal” digital out-of-home investments alongside a battery of other digital channels it’s deploying to debut a new product aimed squarely at health-conscious consumers.

According to CMO Linda Bethea, Danone launched Oikos Protein Shakes this month backed by media spending on paid search, paid social, digital display, influencer marketing, retail media and connected TV (CTV). The “ambient” (industry code for non-refrigerated) shake targets consumers who seek more protein in their diet, including patients using GLP-1 drugs.

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This story was originally published on sister site, Glossy.

TJX, parent company to off-price leaders like TJ Maxx and Marshalls, reported 3% sales growth during its Q1 fiscal 2026 meeting on Wednesday.

“The availability of merchandise we are seeing is outstanding, and we are in a great position to take advantage of the plentiful opportunities that the marketplace is offering,” Ernie Herrman, CEO and president of The TJX Companies, said during the call. “We are confident in our ability to navigate the current tariff and macro environment in the short term. Importantly, our vision for long-term growth, profitability and market share opportunities remains the same.”

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There are a lot of questions in this year’s upfront market negotiations: Will ad prices come down after last year? How will TV networks and streaming platforms price sports inventory? How will Amazon and Netflix play into the allocation of upfront dollars?

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Paul Woolmington certainly looks the part of an ad agency creative. But in actuality he’s one of the senior media-side executives with decades of experience under his belt, including at holding companies including IPG, WPP, and Stagwell precursor MDC Partners. Woolmington has also channeled that experience into startups. 

He co-founded Naked Communications Americas and founded The Media Kitchen before taking over the CEO reins of Canvas Worldwide, one of the largest independent full-funnel media agencies with clients ranging from Zillow Group to Hyundai Group.

Hitting its 10th anniversary this year, Canvas is now comprised of 600 staffers, with a full-funnel offering that has more recently heavied up on data-side and performance chops — but in a way that balances the need for upper-funnel wisdom and lower-funnel insights. Woolmington explained the approach Canvas is taking to maintain and cultivate that balance. 

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A street-smart bird used crosswalk signals to sneak up on unsuspecting birds, a study finds.

A bad stumble by M&S but it has learnt a lesson

The technology exists to identify new threats from infected animals, laboratory accidents or rogue states — let’s use it

Large language models are unconcerned with truth because they have no concept of it — and therein lies the danger

Non-partisan budget group says the bill could increase US debt by over $3tn in the next decade

Chinese car manufacturers are pushing to replicate their success with EVs

iPhone-maker continues manufacturing pivot away from China but Donald Trump demands shift back to US

Marvel Studios has pushed back the release dates of Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Doomsday is being delayed from May 1st, 2026, to December 18th, 2026. Secret Wars’s release has been pushed from May 7th, 2027 to December 17th, 2027.

The Russo brothers are returning to direct the two films. Robert Downey Jr. will also be back, though this time as Doctor Doom instead of Iron Man, and Marvel reportedly spent big to get him.

Marvel has also already revealed that Doomsday will have a gigantic cast that includes actors from other Avengers movies, more recent Marvel films, a bunch of X-Men, and even stars from this year’s Fantastic Four: First Steps. Chris Evans is reportedly returning for Doomsday, too, but it’s unclear in what role.

Disney will replace Doomsday’s May 1st, 2026 release slot with The Devil Wears Prada 2, THR says. Earlier this month, Disney released Thunderbolts*, and First Steps will follow on July 25th. 

The popular fantasy RPG has long been rumored to be getting a big-screen adaptation—and now we know who's behind it.

The platform may be headed for new ownership soon.

The fire department said a room with batteries contributed to the blaze at a building leased by Elon Musk’s X near Portland, Oregon.

Amazon previously split the CEO and chair roles when Andy Jassy succeeded Jeff Bezos at the helm in 2021.

Elden Ring will soon be more than just a hit video game. On Thursday, Bandai Namco and A24 announced a live-action Elden Ring film directed by Alex Garland.

Japanese developer FromSoftware released Elden Ring across Xbox, PlayStation, and PC in 2022, while a version for the Nintendo Switch 2 is set to be released this year. The action RPG became an instant hit, and puts you in the role of a Tarnished tasked with restoring the Elden Ring by defeating various challenging bosses throughout the Lands Between. The Elden Ring spinoff Nightreign is coming out on May 30th, 2025.

Garland is a writer, director, and producer best known for films like Ex Machina, 28 Days Later, and Dredd.

FromSoftware first hinted at the potential to expand Elden Ring “beyond the realm of games” in 2022. Last year, George R.R. Martin — the A Song of Ice and Fire creator who helped write the game — also said, “There is some talk about making a movie out of Elden Ring.” A publication called Nexus Point News first reported on the adaptation with A24 earlier this month, but pulled its original article and didn’t explain why.

The Joe and Anthony Russo films have both been pushed from May releases to December releases.

And so would we. The 'Poker Face' creator talks leaving 'Star Wars' for murder mysteries.