Amazon has told Perplexity to get its agentic browser out of its online store, the companies both confirmed publicly on Tuesday. After warning Perplexity multiple times that Comet, its AI-powered shopping assistant, was violating Amazon’s terms of service by not identifying itself as an agent, the ecommerce giant sent the AI search engine startup a […]
Amazon sends legal threats to Perplexity over agentic browsing Read More »
E-commerce software provider Shopify is bullish on AI-powered shopping agents, citing AI as an “incredible tool” to enable more entrepreneurs and calling it the “biggest shift in technology since the internet” during its third-quarter earnings call. The company, which partnered with ChatGPT maker OpenAI in September, reported that traffic from AI tools to its online
Shopify says AI traffic is up 7x since January, AI-driven orders are up 11x Read More »
India’s appetite for instant convenience — once confined to food and grocery delivery — is expanding into house help. That shift has helped Snabbit, an on-demand home-help startup, secure $30 million in new funding and lift its valuation to $180 million, up from $80 million five months ago. The all-equity Series C round — Snabbit’s
India’s Snabbit valuation doubled to $180M in 5 months on its quick house-help bet Read More »
Online marketplace Etsy said on Wednesday that its long-time CEO, Josh Silverman, would step down by the end of the year. Kruti Patel Goyal, Etsy’s president and chief growth officer, will become the company’s next CEO. Silverman, who headed the marketplace for eight years, will become its executive chairman. Goyal worked at Etsy for more
Etsy names former head of Depop, Kruti Patel Goyal, as its new CEO Read More »
When Phia‘s founders Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni decided to build an AI startup, they targeted an area they understood well: online shopping. The founders, who met at Stanford when they were randomly paired up as roommates, understood e-commerce because they had spent hours upon hours trying to find the right items to expand their
Phia’s founders on how AI is changing online shopping Read More »
Paypal said on Tuesday that it is adopting a protocol in combination with OpenAI’s “Instant Checkout” feature to let users pay for their shopping directly within ChatGPT, starting in 2026. Paypal is adopting the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP), an open-source specification developed by OpenAI that lets merchants make their products available within AI apps, consequently
PayPal partners with OpenAI to let users pay for their shopping within ChatGPT Read More »
On Friday, WordPress maker Automattic filed its counterclaims in the lawsuit initiated by hosting company WP Engine in October 2024, which had accused Automattic and its CEO, Matt Mullenweg, of defamation and abuse of power. Automattic believes that WP Engine has been abusing the WordPress trademark and has engaged in deceptive marketing practices, without properly giving back to the open source community.
Amazon has been stuffing AI features into its shopping experience for the past few years now. Today, the company unveiled a new feature called “Help me decide,” which takes into account your searches, browsing and shopping history on Amazon to suggest products and describe why a particular product is right for you For example, if
Amazon’s new AI shopping tool tells you why you should buy a recommended product Read More »
The sprawling metropolis of Phoenix continues to be a testbed for Waymo, and not just on the technical front. The Alphabet-owned company has used its first testing and commercial market to experiment with its business model, too, including delivery. Waymo is known for its robotaxis, but it has tested how its tech could be used
Waymo dips its wheels back into delivery, this time with DoorDash Read More »
Indian quick commerce startup Zepto said it has raised $400 million in a funding round led by a new investor, California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), a U.S.-based pension fund. The round, which is a mix of primary and secondary investment, also has participation from existing investors, including Avenir, Avra, Lightspeed, Glade Brook, The Stepstone
