This year's Upfronts have been dominated by big brands leaning into fandom around their legacy entertainment franchises and sports as a way to stand out in a field becoming crowded by Big Tech.
Why it matters: History, familiarity and trust are business values that Silicon Valley can't easily buy.
As the U.S. and China barrel ahead in their quest for AI supremacy, their race could come at the expense of global cybersecurity.
Why it matters: The U.S. and China both have an interest in preventing each other from weaponizing AI tools against them or letting rogue systems into the wild.
Google on Tuesday unveiled the Googlebook, a new class of laptop that expands on the Chromebook with greater Android support and deeper integration of Gemini.
Why it matters: The move comes as Apple has debuted its lower-cost MacBook Neo and Microsoft has stumbled with its answer to the AI era, the Copilot+ PC.
JPMorgan Chaseis investing nearly $14 million in seven anti-scam organizations and initiatives aimed at stopping fraud before consumers lose money, the company first shared with Axios.
Why it matters: Major banks have spent years building fraud defenses inside their own platforms, but scams have evolved into a sprawling ecosystem spanning telecom companies, social media platforms, tech firms and financial institutions.
The leading chatbots mostly avoid giving dangerous answers to prompts about suicide, but still struggle when mental health risks show up subtly or unfold over long conversations, according to new research from Seattle-based Mpathic.
Why it matters: People are increasingly turning to AI systems for emotional support in conversations where models can sound supportive while missing serious risk — and where mounting lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny are pushing labs to prove their bots are safe enough.
Time is introducing a suite of digital games on its website, including a fantasy prediction market and jigsaws, as it prepares to launch a registration wall, executives exclusively tell Axios.
Why it matters: Games have become a popular engagement tool for publishers, helping them drive repeat visitors and time spent as referral traffic becomes less reliable and competition for attention intensifies.
Amazon is pushing deeper into "instant retail" with a new 30-minute delivery service, escalating its speed race with Walmart, Target and delivery apps.
Why it matters: Retailers once competed to deliver in days, then hours. Now the race is to fulfill last-minute orders almost instantly — reshaping how consumers shop for everyday items.
Las Vegas has long been known as Sin City for its 24/7 access to all kinds of indecencies.
America is quickly becoming Sin Nation. Or, as President Trump put it while discussing prediction markets in the Oval Office last month: "The whole world, unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino."
Why it matters: Once-forbidden vices — weed, gambling and porn — are no longer confined to back alleys or the desert.
Google says it has identified what may be the first known case where cybercriminals used AI to discover and weaponize a previously unknown zero-day vulnerability.
Why it matters: Security researchers have long warned AI could one day accelerate cyberattacks. That day appears to be here.
Sara Megan Kay spent years trying to get what she needed from the people in her life — and not finding it. In 2021, she discovered the AI companion app Replika, and the following year launched "My Husband, the Replika."
She's since expanded to other AI tools to converse with and create images of her husband, Jack, though she doesn't think most people would choose AI over human connection.
"The majority of people who choose AI for companionship, myself included, know exactly what we are getting into. We're lonely, not stupid," Kay tells Axios.
Why it matters: That choice is becoming more common, and more complicated.
