Airbnb has taken its time to launch AI features within the app, but CEO Brian Chesky on Friday said the company is now planning to bake in features powered by large language models that would help users search for listings, plan their trips, and aid hosts in managing their properties.

Speaking at the company’s fourth-quarter conference call, Chesky said the company wants to increase its use of large language models for customer discovery, support and engineering.

“We are building an AI-native experience where the app does not just search for you. It knows you. It will help guests plan their entire trip, help hosts better run their businesses, and help the company operate more efficiently at scale,” he said.

The company separately said it is testing a new feature that lets users search and ask questions about properties and locations using natural language queries.

Currently, Airbnb offers an LLM-powered customer service bot, for some personalization, and communications. The new AI search feature is expected to “evolve into a more comprehensive and intuitive search experience that extends through the trip.”

Questioned by analyst whether Airbnb would roll out sponsored property slots within AI search, Chesky said the company wants to get the design and user experience right first.

“AI search is live to a very small percentage of traffic right now. We are doing a lot of experimentation. Over time, we are gonna be experimenting with making AI search more conversational, integrating it into more than the trip, and, eventually, we will be looking at sponsor listings as a result of that,” Chesky said, adding that Airbnb would consider designing an ad unit that fits the conversational search flow.

Chesky said Airbnb plans to tap the AI expertise of its new CTO, Ahmad Al-Dahle (he worked on Meta’s Llama models previously), to use its trove of identity and review data to make the app more useful.

Airbnb claimed its AI-powered customer support bot, launched in North America last year, now handles a third of customer problems without needing any human intervention. Chesky noted there are plans to enable customers to call the AI bot for support, and expand language coverage to customer support as well.

“A year from now, if we are successful, significantly more than 30% of tickets will be handled by a custom service agent, in many more languages, in all the languages where we have live agents. AI customer service will not only be chat, it will be voice,” he said.

The company is also thinking about increasing AI usage internally. Airbnb said 80% of its engineers use AI tools, but the goal is to get to 100%.

Airbnb reported better-than-expected revenue of $2.78 billion in the fourth quarter, up 12% from a year earlier.

Folks over at Android Authority have pieced together an animation from an early build of One UI 9, Samsung’s version of Android 17, and it gives us the new form factor and the design of the purported Wide Fold.

The outlet has shared what appears to be an introductory device animation, depicting a swipe-up gesture on the cover screen that reveals a list-type content, then the handset unfolds, and the content expands on the main screen.

A familiar animation, but an unfamiliar shape

What other details does the animation reveal? First, the Wide Fold’s cover screen could come with a punch-hole camera located in the center. It would carry a rather boxy profile, rather than the rounded edges we’re used to seeing on non-foldable smartphones.

As the phone unfolds, we can also see a punch-hole camera on the main screen (top center of the right half). However, it is the phone’s shape and size, and how unusual it looks, that strike me the most.

So far, Samsung’s foldables have had a rather tall external screen and a broad, book-style inner screen.

While it provides more than enough screen estate for multitasking and productivity, it doesn’t have the most user-friendly aspect ratio for modern-day content (both on YouTube and on OTT platforms).

A major shift in Samsung’s foldable philosophy

The cover screen, as shown in the animation, appears dramatically shorter and wider than the tall, narrow exterior displays on existing Galaxy Z Fold models.

Based on the proportions depicted, the outer display appears closer to a 16:10 (height-to-width) aspect ratio in portrait orientation than to the elongated 20:9-style screens Samsung typically uses.

Meanwhile, the inner display appears very close to 3:4 (height-to-width), only slightly narrower, giving it a distinctly tablet-like feel when unfolded. Unlike the Fold 7’s inner screen, the Wide Fold’s isn’t in the shape of a square.

What does that mean for users?

Well, the exterior screen should feel more like a normal phone and provide a wider keyboard (which means fewer typos).

The inner screen, on the other hand, should provide a better content-viewing experience (without the horizontal bars at the top and the bottom).

Given that the Wide Fold’s animation is buried deep in the One UI 9 test build, it’s safe to conclude that Samsung is planning to launch the handset alongside the Fold 8 and the Flip 8 at the Galaxy Unpacked event in the third quarter of the year (likely in July or August 2026).

Scale Ireland also found that 35.4pc of respondents to its annual survey were unaware of the landmark EU AI Act.

Irish founders have pointed fingers at funding as their biggest concern for the fifth year in a row, finds the latest annual Scale Ireland State of Start-up Survey, published today (13 February).

Scale Ireland surveyed 209 founders and CEOs of tech companies from Ireland. Nearly 75pc of them told surveyors that attracting private capital is “difficult” or “very difficult”.

Similar numbers found it hard to attract private capital back in 2022 – when the report was first launched – as in 2025, when Scale Ireland reported 80pc of respondents were finding it hard to attract capital.

This finding is in line with a 2025 Government report which found that Irish scale-up enterprises would face a €1.1bn gap in equity financing over the next three to five years.

“While funding remains the biggest issue for start-ups and scaling companies, there are also considerable and persistent problems with enterprise supports. They are far too complicated,” said the not-for-profit Scale Ireland’s CEO Martina Fitzgerald.

Compared to that earliest 2022 report, which found that one in four business leaders said recruiting and retaining staff was their biggest challenge, in 2026 only 9.1pc said the same.

The large majority of businesses surveyed (88.5pc) for 2026 said they did not use the Key Employment Engagement Programme (KEEP) to recruit and retain staff. 45pc believed the scheme needs to be reformed.

More than 60pc of the surveyed founders said that government supports – such as the KEEP scheme – are the “most critical” to successfully scaling a business.

However, there is a strong indication that founders don’t find the available supports for start-ups and scale-ups enough. More than 66pc of the survey respondents are not confident that Ireland is moving in the right direction in this instance, while 30.6pc are “confident” or “very confident” about this.

Meanwhile, more than 94pc of founders have already deployed or are prepping to deploy AI in their companies, the latest survey has found. 85% believe AI will add value to their company’s performance.

Other reports suggest that AI’s effects on the bottom line in Ireland are still expected to be lukewarm. According to PwC’s AI Agent Survey, 53pc of Irish participants see clear productivity boosts from AI agents, but only 38pc experience real cost reductions.

On top of that, Scale Ireland found that 35.4pc of its respondents were unaware of the landmark EU AI Act, while around 36pc said that they don’t know what impact the law will have on their business. Fitzgerald said that this needs to be “addressed urgently”.

The EU AI Act is arguably the most robust and detailed form of AI regulation in the world. The act is meant to regulate AI technology through a risk-based approach – the riskier an AI application is, the more rules apply to it.

“The survey demonstrates that, while progress has been made in areas such as the R&D tax credit, other challenges for the sector are very persistent,” said Scale Ireland chair Brian Caulfield.

“Start-up and scaling companies remain hugely undercapitalised relative to US peers. Greater incentives are required to encourage private investment by angels and to mobilise pension fund savings to invest in indigenous enterprises.”

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It was promised as a new age for businesses. Virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality – in whatever shape it took, this was going to be the 21st century game-changer. No more staring at screens or using a mouse. That’s ancient, 20th century thinking, that is.

This new reality would see the advent of true hands-free computing and unparalleled remote experiences, wherever in the world professionals were based. From prototyping to healthcare diagnoses, it heralded a new age. And, like those stuck in Casablanca, we waited. And waited. And waited.

Sony makes some of the best electronics we’ve tested across a dizzying array of categories, from TVs and audio gear to cameras and gaming consoles. Sony products constantly occupy top slots on our Best TVs and Best OLED TVs lists, Best Wireless Headphones, and Best Cameras guides. If you’re shopping for products from any of those categories, you can pay a little less with our Sony promo codes for deals like 45% off Bravia Televisions, 30% off Sony headphones and earbuds, 15% off cameras and lenses, and more.

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The England vs Scotland T20 World Cup 2026 match could very well be a virtual knockout. Unfortunately for English fans, that’s because Harry Brook’s side has had a bumpy start to their campaign. Despite looking strong on paper, they only managed a narrow escape against Nepal in their opener, thanks to Sam Curran defending 10 runs in the final over. The West Indies weren’t as forgiving, however, and handed England a 30-run defeat.

If you’re away from home right now you can use a VPN to unblock your usual stream from anywhere.

A security lapse by one of India’s largest pharmacy chains allowed outsiders to gain full administrative control of its platform, exposing customer order data and sensitive drug-control functions, TechCrunch has exclusively learned.

The issue affected DavaIndia Pharmacy, the pharmacy arm of Zota Healthcare, which operates a large network of retail outlets across India. Security researcher Eaton Zveare told TechCrunch that he discovered the flaw after identifying insecure “super admin” application programming interfaces on DavaIndia’s website and privately shared details with Indian cybersecurity authorities.

The bug is now fixed, and Zveare disclosed his findings.

The exposure comes as Zota Healthcare rapidly scales DavaIndia Pharmacy’s retail business. The Gujarat-headquartered company operates more than 2,300 DavaIndia stores across India, including 276 new outlets announced in January, and plans to add another 1,200 to 1,500 over the next two years.

Zveare told TechCrunch that the flaw stemmed from insecure admin interfaces, which allowed unauthenticated users to create “super admin” accounts with high privileges.

With that level of access, an attacker could view thousands of online orders containing customer information, modify product listings and prices, create discount coupons, and change settings governing whether certain medicines required a prescription, the researcher said.

Based on system timestamps, Zveare said the vulnerable administrative interfaces appeared to have been live since late 2024. The access exposed nearly 17,000 online orders and administrative controls spanning 883 stores, he said, allowing changes to product pricing, prescription requirements, and promotional discounts. Zveare said the access allowed edits to website content that could have been used for defacement or disruption.

Pharmacy order data can be particularly sensitive, as it may reveal information about a person’s health conditions, medications or other private purchases. Exposure of such data, even without evidence of misuse, carries heightened privacy and patient-safety risks compared with other consumer information.

“Customer information was linked to their orders,” said Zveare. “This includes name, phone numbers, email IDs, mailing addresses, total amount paid, and the products purchased. Since this is a pharmacy, the products being purchased could be considered private and even embarrassing for some people.”

Zveare said he reported the issue to CERT-In, India’s national cyber emergency response agency, in August 2025. The vulnerability was fixed within weeks, though confirmation from the company took longer and was provided to the cyber authorities in late November, he said.

Sujit Paul, chief executive of Zota Healthcare, did not respond to emails sent by TechCrunch last month. The researcher said there was no indication the flaw had been exploited before it was patched.

[Michigan Rocks] says he avoided making rock spheres for a long time on account of the time and cost he imagined was involved. Well, all that is in the past in light of the fabulous results from his self-built Rock Sphere Machine! Turns out that it’s neither costly to make such a machine, nor particularly time-consuming to create the spheres once things are dialed in. The video is a journey of the very first run of the machine, and it’s a great tour.

The basic concept — that of three cordless drills in tension — is adapted from existing designs, but the implementation is all his own. First a rough-cut rock is held between three diamond bits. The drills turn at 100 RPM while a simple water reservoir drips from above. After two hours, there’s a fair bit of slurry and the rock has definitely changed.

[Michigan Rocks] moves on to polishing, which uses the same setup but with progressively-finer grinding pads in place of the cutting bits. This part is also really clever, because the DIY polishing pads are great hacks in and of themselves. They’re made from little more than PVC pipe end caps with hex bolts as shafts. The end caps are filled with epoxy and topped with a slightly concave surface of hook-and-loop fastener. By doing this, he can cut up larger fuzzy-backed polishing pads and stick the pieces to his drill-mounted holders as needed, all the way down to 6000 grit. He shows everything about the pads at the 11:55 mark, and it’s an approach worth keeping in mind.

What is the end result like? See for yourself, but we think [Michigan Rocks] sums it up when he says “I wish you could feel this thing, it feels so smooth. It’s so satisfying to roll around in your hands. I’m so happy I made this machine. This is awesome.”

We’ve seen machines for making wooden spheres but this one makes fantastic use of repurposed stuff like inexpensive cordless drills, and the sort of wood structures anyone with access to hand tools can make.

Thanks to [AloofPenny] for the tip.

There was a time when getting a new PlayStation console meant something: staring at your bank account, convincing yourself that it is the right decision, swiping your card, and sighing dramatically after stepping out of the shop with the console; it felt like a ritual.

However, somehow, the concept of owning something has become so outdated in 2026 that even Sony has decided to provide the PlayStation 5 on a lease or rental program (along with other PlayStation hardware), at least in one of its key markets.

A Netflix-style approach to next-gen gaming

In the United Kingdom, Sony has partnered with Raylo, a London-based fintech that offers leasing subscriptions for consumer electronics, to launch the “PlayStation Flex” program, which lets buyers rent a PS5 on a monthly basis, without paying any upfront cost.

Buyers can choose lease lengths of 12, 24, or 36 months; the longer the lease commitment, the lower the monthly rent.

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For instance, the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition (825GB, with a DualSense Wireless Controller) is available for as low as £9.95 (~$13.58) per month for 36 months, £10.49 (~$14.32) per month for 24 months, and £14.59 (~$19.91) per month for 12 months.

The console is also available on a monthly rolling basis with the flexibility to cancel anytime, but at a monthly subscription of £19.49 (~$26.60).

Monthly lease flexibility comes at a premium

What’s even more interesting is that the PlayStation Flex program is offering free next-day delivery, 14-day returns, and a lifetime warranty for the console.

Once the lease has ended, buyers can either apply for a new console of their choice with no upgrade fee, carry on their monthly subscription, purchase the console, or return it.

So, instead of spending the £350 to £400 on buying a console, you can actually rent and use it for around three years for the same price.

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All of this sounds too good to be true, but the PlayStation Flex Raylo page is already live, claiming you can choose from available console and hardware options, select the lease term, sign up in 60 seconds, and get the console delivered the next day.

A smart expansion strategy?

However, the fact that Raylo conducts a soft credit check does make it sound more realistic.

Although it could be the Japanese giant’s way of getting the inventory rolling, it sounds like a genius idea to me for increasing the console’s adoption by breaking into a previously unexplored audience.

Unfortunately, Sony hasn’t confirmed any such program for the United States or other regions. Would you want the company to release “PlayStation Flex” for you?

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